Yeah... you really shouldn't be surprised about who wins these games... if you pay attention to my notes at the beginning/end of chapters this makes sense
Also i had too much fun with this chapter
During day 3 of the Hunger Games, Finnick and Peeta find me in my room at one in the morning. I got out of bed and walked towards them cautiously. I could sense the levels of stress coming off of Finnick, and Peeta looked agitated.
"Client?" I asked Finnick, trying to understand his stress.
He shook his head. "I think you should sit down."
I slowly sat back down on the bed, and he sat next to me, holding my hand gently. Peeta remained standing
"I had a meeting with Snow earlier this evening."
"Is everything alright?"
Finnick shrugged. "It could be worse," He let out a dry laugh. "It could always be worse, couldn't it? No, I think we've come to a reasonable solution, I just want to make sure you're on board with it."
"Okay..." I said uncertainly.
"Snow thinks the public is far too invested in us as a couple, so his profits are going down. No one wants to buy us, because they don't want us cheating on each other." He explained.
"But we haven't confirmed we're back together." I argued.
"I think the footage they have of you is enough, Katniss," Peeta pointed out.
"So what is he doing about it?" I asked, nervous to hear the answer. It usually wasn't anything good.
Finnick said, "He thinks a wedding would bring in a ton of profit."
I stared at him. "He wants us to get married?" I repeated slowly.
He nodded. "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine," I stammered.
"I'm so sorry," He said, letting go of my hand and standing up. "I know you wanted to wait a bit."
I latched onto his arm. "And you wanted it to be something special and personal. This isn't going to be the wedding we hoped for, but God, Finnick. We're getting married."
He stared at me and slowly sat back down. I noticed Peeta leaving the room out of the corner of my eye, to give us some privacy. "We're getting married," He repeated softly.
"Snow is letting us get married." I said, my hands rising to cup his face.
Finnick made a face "He's also officiating the ceremony."
I groaned and flopped back on the bed. Finnick gently laid down next to me. "It won't be that bad," he promised. "It will be ugly and tacky and we're going to absolutely despise the reception, and, of course, it will be hard to enjoy the ceremony with Snow standing three feet away, but it's still our wedding and the rest hardly matters."
"And the food will be delicious," I added.
"And we can hold hands under the table." He whispered conspiritoly.
I giggled. "And Effie will wear something atrocious."
"Just like your wedding dress will be."
I snorted. "It's going to be so ugly."
"I bet you can pull it off."
I blushed, and then another thought hit me like a train. "We won't have many appointments from now on,"
He grinned. "Just with each other."
"I want to wait," I said suddenly, staring at him seriously. "Until we're married to sleep with you."
Shock was written on his face. I usually ignored his innuendos. "Oh. I get that." He said.
I misunderstood his expression and scrambled to excuse myself. "I think- It's just that we've both been used and raped and... I don't even know what else. Over and over again. It's lost its meaning. It's not special for us to just... have sex. But I think if my first time with you was on our wedding night, it would mean something more."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me," He said, kissing my fingertips. "That makes perfect sense. And you know I would never force you, so even if you weren't ready then, I would wait."
I smiled at him, and pulled myself closer so I was nestled up against his side.
"Honestly, Katniss, I couldn't even handle making out with you." He laughed. "Do you remember that? Years ago. You took off my shirt and I had a panic attack."
"Don't laugh at that," I said seriously. "That's called trauma, Finnick. We talk about that, not laugh. And you know if you weren't ready, I wouldn't force you, either."
"I know," He said quietly. "You aren't like them."
We sat in silence for a few moments before he spoke up again. "We're getting engaged during the victory banquet, assuming it's alright with this year's Victor. I'm going to talk to them and make sure it's a go. If not, I'll let you know and we'll find a different time to do it."
"We could always stay in the Capitol for a few days. You could schedule an interview with Caesar, and propose then." I suggested.
"Shush. This is your engagement, so you can't make suggestions. Otherwise, you won't be surprised."
"Finnick, I'm not going to be surprised." I said, smiling again. My cheeks ached.
"You're going to absolutely hate the ring, just pretend that you like it." He informed me.
"Naturally," I drawled.
...
It wasn't until the next day that it really caught up to me. I was getting married. I was only nineteen. I couldn't get married. I was barely a legal adult.
Finnick entered the mentor's lounge, obviously in a good mood. He stopped at the bar to pour two mugs of coffee, then sat next to me on the floor by Johanna's feet.
"Alright?" He asked me, handing me a mug. I sniffed it. It was definitely spiked. I took a long drink, feeling the burning liquid slid down my throat. Finnick watched me with a raised eyebrow. "Impressive," He said when I managed not to cough and sputter. "That can't good for your esophagus."
"Finnick, I'm terrified." I told him bluntly, before he could make any more comments about my drinking.
"Join the club," He said. "What's gotten you so shaken up?"
"The thing we talked about last night."
He watched me speak, concern written all over his face. He tucked a loose hair behind my ear.
"I'm nineteen, Finnick. I always planned on being with you for the long run, but this is way too fast. If we're going to be together for the rest of our lives, I don't want this to be rushed. We have all the time in the world, but I was hoping for some more time to myself... to get my life together. I love you, and I really want to be with you, and I know I don't have much choice, but I was hoping to have more time."
He looked confused, and he certainly had the right to be. Not too long ago I told him how much I wanted to marry him, when he proposed that night on the roof. And now I was backing out of it, now that Snow actually approved. I knew I wasn't being fair to him, but I was just so nervous.
He exhaled. "I understand. Take your time. I don't know how far we can push it back, but we could probably have a long engagement. Maybe say you've always wanted a summer wedding, so they would have to wait until next year. I think we could buy you some more time."
I set my glass on the coffee table in front of us and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. I would still marry him, but it might be in my own time. "Thank you," I whispered.
"I know this is overwhelming," He replied, his voice muffled in my shoulder. "But I think it will be so much better than the alternative."
"Where will we live?" I asked, pulling away and sliding closer across the carpet so our shoulders were touching. He put his arm around my shoulders and took a sip of his drink. Normally I would be a little concerned, talking openly about Snow's plans for us, but the only other people in the room were Johanna and Zahra. It was still early, so just a few mentors were up.
"Anywhere we want. District 4, District 12... maybe a bit of both." He replied.
"We could switch off. Whenever your mom starts grating on your nerves, we could just leave." I said with a smile.
"That sounds like a good plan. I want to spend winter in District 12," He told me. "I've never seen snow."
I stared at him, shocked. "You've never seen snow?" I repeated.
He shook his head. "I've only been there twice, and both times there was no snow."
"Then visit this winter. We have snow, sometimes starting as soon as October and ending as late as April."
"That long?" Finnick asked.
I shrugged, "Well not the whole time. It's just like rain, so some days we'll have it, and then it will melt away and we might not have it for a little while."
"It melts," Finnick repeated.
"Well, yeah, it's just frozen water, so-"
He laughed. "I know that, I just didn't know..." He trailed off. "How cold does it get in District 12?"
"In the winter it's usually around twenty degrees, but it can get low into the negatives, or up into the forties and fifties. So snow melts eventually, but it takes a few days."
He stared at me, clearly lost in thought. "What season do you want to get married in?" He asked, clearly still thinking about snow.
I raised my eyebrows. "I've never put much thought into it. I guess I just figured I would never get married, and I didn't really want to, anyway."
"Why not?" He asked, shocked. Finnick was always much more romantic than me, and he had probably always wanted to get married. I felt bad for not matching his enthusiasm.
"It just doesn't seem realistic to me," I told him. "I never thought Snow would let us get married. Also, I never wanted any kids, and I feel like, with my Victor status, I would have to have them."
"Why don't you want them?"
"I don't want them to deal with the Hunger Games. This world we live in is so hard to grow up in, and I don't want my children to have to go through what I did. And besides, we both know a child of two high-profile Victors would be reaped."
"Day and night," He murmured.
I felt bad for crushing all his hopes and dreams, so I asked him, "What about you? What season would you want to be married in?"
"Winter or summer. Something extreme."
I grinned. "And I suppose you've always wanted eight little boys running around your feet?"
He shook his head. "Seven kids. Five boys, with one set of twins in the middle, and two girls, one as the second-oldest and one as the second-youngest."
I stared at him, shocked that he actually had that planned out. This was something that he actually wanted.. "I'm sorry, Finnick," I said sadly. "Maybe in a few years I'll be alright with having a family, but I really don't know if I can right now, or any time soon."
He kissed me softly. "That's alright, Katniss. I'd rather have you as my wife than have my fake dream family."
...
The Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games
In the bloodbath, thirteen tributes died. Over half. All that remained was District 1, District 2, the boy from District 3, the girl from District 4, the girl from District 5, the girl from District 8, the boy from District 10, and both tributes from District 11.
The Career pack went hunting for more tributes, when they found the girl from District 8, who had started a fire, and they slit her throat.
Ten tributes remained.
The boy from District 3 was caught the next morning, and killed as well.
Nine tributes remained.
Kora from District 4, as well as Glimmer from DIstrict 1 were poisoned by nightlock berries, laid out for them to find by the girl from District 5, two days after the District 3 boy's death.
Seven tributes remained.
The next day, the Careers went searching for Thresh from District 11, realizing that he was their greatest enemy. They ventured into the tall fields, where he was hiding along with the District 10 boy with the limp.
They found the weaker boy first, and Marvel from District 1 finished him off quickly with his spear. Thresh saw that happen and snapped Marvel's neck, before disappearing silently into the field. The two remaining Careers followed him for a few hours, but without any luck. The fields were too large, and Thresh knew them much, much better. They returned to the Cornucopia.
Five tributes remained.
That night, Cato and Clove realized there were so few tributes left. They split up the remaining supplies and Clove disappeared into the woods while Cato stayed near the lake.
"Attention, tributes, attention. Tomorrow at dawn, there will be a feast at the Cornucopia," Claudius Templesmith announced.
The District 5 girl was the first in and out of the Cornucopia, clutching a bag marked with her number.
Cato and Clove ran at the same time, coming from opposite sides of the Cornucopia. They each grabbed their own bag, pausing, waiting for the other to make the first move. Clove ran first, and when she glanced behind her, Cato had started running in the opposite direction. She hesitated, glanced around and saw Thresh standing by the edge of the woods. Clove took the first step to killing her monstrous District partner, and sent a knife in Cato's direction, and it landed in his ankle, taking him down. Clove didn't wait to see what happened, but took off into the woods, quickly scaling a tall tree, climbing too far up for Cato or Thresh to reach her.
Cato landed hard, feeling the sharp pain in his leg. Clove. Groaning in pain, he lifted himself up on his forearms so he could start crawling. He knew his leg wouldn't be able to support him. Not with a knife hanging out of it. Screaming in pain and frustration, he army crawled back to the lake, cursing Clove the entire time. He never imagined she would do something like that. She was sadistic.
That's when he heard the footsteps behind him. Thresh stood behind him in the grass. He picked up his bag, marked 11, and then walked past him into the fields, only stopping to pull the knife out of Cato's leg. That was the second step in killing him. Cato took his sword and tried to slash at Thresh's ankles, but there was only so much he could do, lying on the ground bleeding out. Thresh got away with just a cut on his heel.
It was little Rue that finished him off in the end. Hours later, he hadn't quite made it back to camp yet, and the District 11 girl saw him, lying on the ground, scorching in the hot sun, bleeding out all over the grass. She was armed with just a slingshot, so very cautiously, she creeped forward and picked up the discarded knife that Thresh had left there. Careful to stay far away from his hands, so he wouldn't be able to grab her, Rue plunged the knife into the back of his neck. She listened for the cannon, then fled back into the treeline.
Four tributes remained.
Rue herself died that night, by Clove's hands. From her perch in the tree, the Career sent one well-aimed knife into the little girl's heart, and the cannon boomed just a second later. It was a quick, painless death.
Three tributes remained.
Thresh and Foxface seemed to be in a duel of wits. Thresh stole Foxface's water supply, Foxface stole Thresh's food. While Thresh mapped out his next move on a particularly hot day, Foxface struck again, stealing his blankets and discarded jacket. The temperatures dropped below freezing that night, and Thresh caught hypothermia, but still managed to place the fatal blow. Foxface was led to believe Thresh had been eating berries from a particular bush. Believing them edible, she ate them herself, not recognizing them as nightlock.
Two tributes remained.
When the finale arrived between Thresh and Clove, Clove was healthy and strong, spending her nights wrapped in her jacket and sleeping bag, and eating squirrels she had hunted. Thresh, on the other hand, was suffering from frostbite and starvation, and looked like death itself when he appeared at the Cornucopia to fight. Hand-to-hand was his forte, but he was in no condition to fight.
Clove grinned when she saw her easy competition. She tackled him from behind, pinned him down, knife in hand, and drew a smiley face across his neck.
She watched in grim satisfaction as Thresh choked on his blood, unable to breathe, unable to speak, and then stood up as the final canon boomed and then only
One tribute remained.
...
I heard Finnick groan as Clove struck the final blow. "There's another win for District 2," he muttered. "This is their third year in a row."
I raised an eyebrow. "Finnick, your Career is showing."
He smirked, but said nothing in reply, knowing I was right.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, he stood up and offered me his hand. I took it and he hauled me up from the couch.
"I guess we should go visit our newest comrade."
Clove was wide awake when we got there. Her mentors, Enobaria, Brutus, and the previous year's victor, sat nearby in chairs while Clove tried to speak with her oxygen mask on. She was tied down to the bed, so she probably reacted violently to being reintroduced to human civilization, which wasn't uncommon.
I took a few cautious steps toward her and took her oxygen mask off. It was clear that she was breathing fine and didn't actually need it at the moment. I stepped away as soon as I got it off, far out of her range.
The first thing she said was, "Afraid I'm going to bite you, Girl on Fire?"
I shrugged. "Maybe. You know that if you do, I'm going to finish what you started. And I think I should remind you I have a very high body count."
The newest victor tilted her head. "Fair point."
Well, at least she was willing to back down from a fight. That put her a step ahead of the other careers I met.
Finnick made eye contact with me, obviously trying to convey a message that I wasn't getting. Finally he cleared his throat. "Britt," He addressed her as she first entered the room. "Could you take Katniss downstairs? I think Cinna wanted to speak to her about her dress for the banquet tonight."
Britt stared at him blankly, clearly forgetful of our upcoming engagement plans. I figured Finnick must have told her, but it just slipped her mind at the moment.
"You're right," I said, catching on. "Come on, Britt."
I dragged her into the elevator. "He wants an excuse to get me out of the room," I explained to her. "He wants Clove's permission to propose to me at her banquet tonight."
"You know about the proposal?" Britt asked, with a smile on her face.
I shrugged. "Yeah. He's not great at hiding things so..."
So apparently Britt knew about the proposal, but didn't know that it was by order of Snow. I stored that bit of information in the back of my mind. Clearly Finnick didn't want her to know.
We sat on my floor, ordered ice cream, and watched Caesar and Claudius talk about the 74th Hunger Games.
Finnick found us about a half hour later, gave me a small smile, but was soon whisked off on one last-minute appointment before Snow couldn't sell him anymore.
I stood up and kissed him. "One last time," I whispered. "You're almost there."
Cinna came to find me not long after, and fitted me in a dark blue a-line dress with off the shoulder sleeves. "Have fun tonight," He said, kissing my forehead. So he clearly knew, as well.
...
I wandered around that night, eating food and avoiding the Capitol guests. Zahra accompanied me for most of the night, except I danced with Finnick and Peeta once each and spoke briefly with Clove, as was required.
After she gave her interview with Caesar and watched the recaps of the Games, Finnick came back to find me, and asked me if I was doing alright. I thought it was odd, but he was probably trying to make sure I was alright with proceeding with our plan.
"Caesar, I have something to say," He said as he picked up Clove's discarded microphone. He cleared his throat once. "I've spoken with our lovely new Victor, and she's given me permission to make this announcement."
"Then by all means, Mr. Odair," Caesar said. "Please continue."
"Everyone in this city, I would even go as far as to say the country, knows my reputation. Everyone knows that I'm a bit of a player, a bit of a womanizer, and I'll admit I've broken a few too many hearts in the past, including our own favorite Girl on Fire." His eyes found mine in the crowd. "Well, I don't believe you know quite how that story ends. A little over two years ago, I got back together with Katniss Everdeen, just six months after our breakup. We kept it a secret this time. As much as we love all of our fans, we thought it would be better to build a relationship in private. So for that, I apologize. But Katniss, darling, I have something very important to say to you, and I would appreciate it if you came to the stage with me?"
I smiled for the cameras and made my way up to the stage. There were no stairs up to this stage. It had to be entered from behind, so Peeta gave me a boost and I climbed up. Finnick laughed when he saw me hoist myself up and then stumble a bit as I tried to regain my balance on my heels. He took my hands in his.
"Katniss Everdeen," He began. "I met you eight years ago. Can you imagine telling our twelve-and-fifteen year old selves that we would fall in love one day?"
I grinned at the idea. Twelve year old Katniss had not yet discovered boys, and fifteen year old Finnick was so young.
"But anyway, here I am, trying to remember this long speech I wrote about how much I love twenty year old Katniss. But I'm at a loss, so I guess I just have to start over. For starters, you are my best friend. You always have been, since I first met you. You get me like no one else does. You're okay with me eating sugar cubes straight out of the bowl. You're fine if sometimes I want to sleep with the lights on. You know what to say if I'm in a mood... you understand all my quirks that everyone else has gone after me for. And I understand yours.
"When you get upset, I know you disappear for hours, probably shooting something somewhere, and honestly, I think that is the hottest thing ever. When you're sad, you lock yourself in your room and write music, and you reappear with the most beautiful art I've ever seen. When you're happy, you hug me so tightly I struggle to breathe, but I won't ever complain about it. When you're tired and grouchy, you start to lose your filter and will call me out on every little mistake I make, which drives me insane, but you're always right.
"I love everything about you. Every detail. You are the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes on, and you have the biggest heart of anyone here in the Capitol, out in the District, and I'm sure even outside of Panem. You care about your family above all else, and all I want is to be part of that family."
Finnick got down on one knee, and pulled a ring out of his jacket pocket. His tie matched my dress. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes," I said softly, then pulled him up off the ground. He slipped the ring onto my finger, and I kissed him for way longer than I should have in public, but neither of us were pulling away, using each other as shields from the public.
Peeta was the first to congratulate us. He shook Finnick's hand and gave me a hug. Britt came over to admire my ring, which was probably the ugliest thing I'd ever seen. I knew it was probably the most muted thing he could find in the Capitol, but it was large and circular, and far too sparkly. Britt gave me a rather fake smile and told me it was beautiful and she was so happy for us. Finnick couldn't contain his laughter after that. I, myself, struggled, too. As I passed by Johanna, I waved my ring in her face and she stuck her tongue out at me. We had several pictures taken with Clove, who was handling the entire ordeal with honor and dignity.
...
That night, Finnick and I planned out the next few months. We would need to be seen together several times, so we decided I should visit him in District 4 in the fall, and then he would come to District 12 in the winter.
We laid on his bed, curled against each other. "I'm sorry about the ring," he said. I grinned. "It's atrocious, I know. But to be honest, it was the best they had."
I started to laugh at the thought of Finnick trying to ring shop and only being able to find atrocious, large, colorful rings, none of which I would like.
"I'm going to get you a new one," he promised. "One of these days."
"You don't have to," I assured him.
"But I want to. I intend to make the best out of this gaudy wedding we have in our future, so that includes buying you a sensible engagement ring, one that you can actually wear without giving someone a stroke."
I kissed him softly. My fiance.