One.

Annie considered the two shells for a long moment before setting one aside. Carefully, she set the other on the very peak of the mountain of sand before her. "There. Now it's a mansion." She wiped her hands on the front of her sundress and took a step back to admire their masterpiece.

"With that shell, it's taller than you," Finnick said. He measured the height of their sand mansion with his hand, moving it to hover above her head.

Annie giggled at the obvious height difference between their mansion and his hand. "It's not that tall. That's bigger than you." She looked up at it again. "A lot bigger than you."

Finnick shrugged. "It's still taller than you. How much doesn't matter."

"Yeah, it does, but I don't care too much. Come on, help me decorate it. I'm not going to live in an ugly mansion."

Together, they scoured the beach for seaweed, bits of shells, and smooth rocks, anything that could make their creation even more beautiful, wading further out in search of unbroken shells than they were allowed to go by themselves. Annie clung to his hand as one wave crashed against her stomach, sending her tumbling back a step. He didn't let go. She pulled the soaked material away from her skin, frowning when it clung to her again the instant she let go. "I think we have enough now," Annie said. She tugged on his hand, and he allowed her to lead him back to shore.

She sorted the pretty bits of pink shell from the other treasures they had found and began to press them into the damp sand. Finnick draped long strands of seaweed over the structure. "I think this is going to be my room," he said, pointing to a point near the top."

"No, this is my mansion. We can make yours tomorrow."

"But I'm going to live in the same one as you!"

Annie looked up from her task. "No, 'cause I'm really going to live in a mansion in the Victors' Village when I grow up."

"Yeah, and you're going to marry me, and we'll live there together."

She barely even had to think before she came to her response. "No."

"Well, not now, 'cause people don't get married when they're six, but when we're older." He had stopped decorating to watch her. "Then you'll want to marry me."

"No, because you didn't ask me first. You don't just get to tell people that they're gonna marry you. That's not how it works." She grabbed another pretty piece of shell. "Come on, I want to finish this before Mom makes me go home."

Finnick didn't move for a long moment, so she poked him. "Okay, I'll help, but tomorrow, can we make mine right next to yours?"

"Fine, but let's hurry."

Two.

"What are you doing here?" She meant for it to sound every bit as standoffish as it did. What makes him think he can ignore her for years and then stroll up to her door and knock as if he had never left? Finnick grinned at her, that grin she had always loved, where one side of his mouth pulled up just a little bit further than the other. Annie did her best to stay angry, crossing her arms across her chest and scowling up at him. "I asked you a question, didn't I?"

"I thought I'd come over and ask you to marry me."

Damn that boy. It wasn't as though she'd never thought about it, just like every other girl in the district. Hell, ever since she came back from a summer at her grandmother's house out on the islands to find him all tall and golden and gorgeous – stop it. "Excuse me?"

He rested one arm on the doorframe and leaned on it. "I was wondering if you wanted to get married."

"I think I can do better."

She started to close the door on him, but he stopped her. "What about dinner, then?"

"Fuck you." Annie waited for a moment for him to move, and when he didn't, she tried to shut the door on him anyway.

"Is that an invitation?" He winked at her, and she wanted nothing more than to smack that smirk off his smug little face.

He'd tried that same line on half the girls in the district, hadn't he? Annie was painfully aware that he hadn't spared a plain girl like her a glance since he'd won his Games. He must have burned his bridges with all the pretty ones, she thought, but she didn't say anything.

"So, that's a yes, right?" He smiled down at her, and his voice grew serious. "Annie, I'd really love to see more of you."

She rolled her eyes. "Nice double entendre there. I bet that one works every time."

His lips pursed and he glanced up for an instant. She knew the instant the second meaning dawned on him, as his grin grew and he chuckled. "That is a good one. I'll have to add it to the repertoire." Something about him was different now, more like the Finnick she remembered. "Well, um, if you're sure about dinner then…"

"I am. Have a nice day, Finn."

"Yeah, you too. And I'll see you around sometime?"

"I'm sure you will." She gave him a quick smile before shutting the door. Annie leaned against it for a moment, replaying their reunion over and over again in her mind.

Three.

"That one's pretty." She nodded towards the television, where the Girl on Fire modeled a potential wedding dress.

Annie felt Finnick shrug from where he was nestled behind her. "I don't really have an opinion on any of them." Katniss stepped out in a new gown. "Okay, now I do. That one's hideous."

She had to wrinkle her nose at the heavily beaded white gown with sleeves so long that they dragged on the ground. "You, my friend, have excellent taste." Annie glanced up at the clock. There were about twenty minutes left of the broadcast, and then she could call it a night. Thank goodness. Yes, it was still early, but she had gotten up with the sun for a swim, and now –

"Do you want to?"

She belatedly realized that Finnick had been talking to her. "Do I want to what?" she asked.

"Get married."

"Oh." He was terribly still as he waited for her response, and Annie sat up to look down at him. Finnick lifted his eyebrows at her, and he looked so nervous that she couldn't help but giggle. "I'd love to." She felt like she ran a risk of tearing her face if her smile grew any wider.

"Really?" Finnick seemed somewhat in shock that she had agreed.

"Really really." She leaned down a bit, and he leaned up a bit, and they met halfway for a kiss. Annie allowed herself to become lost with him in a world where only the two of them existed, but all too soon, the sound of the anthem pulled her back to reality. Her lips separated from his, and her eyes flicked over to the television.

She froze. This could only mean one thing. Finnick tensed beneath her as President Snow began reading from a beautiful piece of white stationary with only the ugliest words written on it.

A/N: Happy belated birthday, Johanna!