Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! This chapter as well as the next are going to have a lot of Finnick and Annie in them, but rest assured the main plot will not be lost. Enjoy!
Finnick Odair has become an entirely different person since Annie's return. The Capitol heartthrob act was now a plastic veneer that was as easy to see through as cellophane. He never lets go of her hand. Annie, for her part, isn't mad like they say. Perhaps a little odd, but not crazy. She looks like she's floating on a cloud all the time, and you can see her love for Finnick in her eyes.
It's a few days after her return that Finnick, letting Annie's hand go for a minute, pulls Peeta aside in the mess hall. They speak in hushed tones, and I want to know what they're talking about, but I figure I can ask Peeta later. For right now, I just want to enjoy my food.
I don't notice when Finnick returns, but my senses- highly alert thanks to my pregnancy, pick up Peeta coming up behind me. He plants a kiss on my head and then sits beside me, eating his meal. The brown lump of meat in what looked like dirty water sits in my bowl. I poke at it with my fork, wondering if sludge would pop out when I did. Nothing happened. Tentatively, I take a bite. It's horrible and awful, but it's meat, and I can't afford not to eat.
Soon, Dinner is done, and Peeta holds my hand as we walk to our compartment. Evenings were, for the most part, our own. As soon as the door shuts I ask it.
"What did Finnick want?"
"He just wanted to ask me something."
"Oh? What?" Peeta shakes his head.
"Sorry, Katniss. I'm sworn to secrecy. When it's over I'll tell you everything. I promise."
I let out an angry huff. I hate being kept out of the loop.
Peeta leaves my side for the first time that Friday, and I know that he has to be doing whatever Finnick asked. My desire to know what my husband is keeping from me overrides my better judgement, and I follow him from a long distance. He turns to go into the kitchen, and for a moment I wonder if Finnick had asked him to bake something, but then I see him get out meat and spices and I know he's cooking something. Something shiny gleams by the corner of my eye, and I look over to see a table in the mess hall, covered with a white tablecloth and the best plates and silverware District thirteen has to offer. There are even two candles on fake gold candlesticks.
Whatever Finnick's planning, it's big.
I am all the way down the hall, and Finnick and Annie don't notice me when they go into the mess hall. I find the two small windows in the door and I stand on my tiptoes to see.
Soup is already on the table, and I wonder what the occasion is, when Peeta emerges with the best equivalent to steak that the district can give. I watch like a wallflower and see dessert being served. I have no idea what it is, but I bet it's delicious.
Suddenly, Finnick stops eating and looks deeply into Annie's eyes. Gazes locked, he stands up, comes around to her side of the table, and gets down on one knee, pulling a box from inside of his suit jacket. He flips it open, and there it is- a gorgeous ring. Of course Annie accepts and he slips the ring onto her finger before gingerly cupping her face in his hands and sharing perhaps the sweetest and most pure kiss I have ever had the honor of witnessing. My hand automatically drops to my belly, which is sticking out just a bit now, and I caress it unconsciously. I finally realize how long I've been snooping, and I retreat back to my room.
It's a good twenty minutes before Peeta comes back to me. I'm laying on our bed, stroking my stomach. I grin when I see him.
"Hey there, handsome." He flashes me a white, toothy grin.
"Hey." Hey says. He kicks off his shoes and moves to lay next to me. We're quiet as he puts a hand on my stomach. The silence stretches minutes and I wonder if it will ever be broken. He kisses my cheek.
"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?"
"Hmmm... No, I don't think you have today."
"Well I do. I love my smart, sexy, wonderful wife... Even when she sticks her nose into my business."
I blush at that. "How did you know?"
"You don't think I can hear your footsteps from down the hall? I know it's you by the way you walk."
Oh.
For a minute I'm too embarrassed to say anything.
"You got to see it firsthand. The proposal, I mean."
"I did. It reminded me of ours." He says quietly. Ah yes, how could I ever forget?
It was winter, and the snow was falling gently, blanketing the ground in white. Peeta and I had gone for a walk together. It was still during the work day, so we had a good portion of the town to ourselves. As we walked we spoke quietly to each other and eventually we circle back around to Peeta's house. A warm fire greets us and we take time to thaw before we dig in to a luxurious spread of Capitol food that I can only assume Peeta bought exclusively for this date. We had the lamb stew I loved so much, and Peeta baked us some bread, and a hand-frosted cake for dessert.
When he'd first put the cake on the table, I had been too wrapped up in eating my lamb stew to notice. But then I saw it- he'd frosted Katniss flowers on the sides of the cake. Slowly, I stood up and looked at the top of the cake. In a heart of frosted roses, written in green icing were the words "Katniss, will you Marry me?" I was stunned. When I turned around he was on one knee. My breath caught in my throat and my hand unconsciously flew to my chest in shock. My left hand was at my side. He looked up at me with more love than I'd ever seen.
"Katniss, from the first time I heard you sing I fell in love with you. I fell in love with your green eyes, your smile, and your beautiful chestnut hair. But in the first hunger games I got the chance to know you in a way I never would have been able to on my own. You saved my life in more ways than one. If you marry me, I promise to love you more than anyone else ever could. I promise to never let you face a nightmare alone. I promise to do everything I can to show you how much I care about you. Katniss Everdeen, will you Marry me and do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
My heart is racing in my chest, and a rush of blood makes my ears pound. I keep hearing "will you marry me?" Playing over and over again in my head like a broken record. It takes my mind a second to process what he's said, and when I finally understand all that comes out is a tiny whisper.
"Yes."