ᴏɴᴇ ʏᴇᴀʀ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ

WAKING UP IN BED NEXT TO Finnick was something Aella still hadn't gotten used to. Just waking up and feeling the sun shining on her through the open curtains before opening her eyes and seeing him lying there was something she would forever cherish. Finnick was beautiful every second of the day but there was just something about him when he was waking up on a morning and the golden glow of the sun cast over him.

She counted her blessings every morning.

She wasn't sure what time it was but judging by the suns position in the sky outside their window it was early morning. Only she and Finnick were in their bed meaning Piper had slept through the night again without a nightmare and was still asleep because she hadn't been to wake them up like she usually did. So they were either having a very late morning or Aella was awake before everyone else at the crack of dawn.

It happened sometimes. Even after all this time she still could only acquire four or so hours of sleep on a night but she no longer suffered with the insomnia. No, that had vanished the second she started sleeping in Finnick's arms.

But even if she was awake she wasn't at all ready to get out of bed. She rolled over into his him as he laid on his back and she curled her body into his side, fitting perfectly like they had been moulded for one another specifically. She entangled herself in him, wrapping her leg over his while draping her arm over his bare torso—the exact position they'd fallen asleep in that night...or the early hours of the morning.

She didn't do anything, didn't say thing. She merely laid there and listened to the steady thrum of his heart knowing hers was beating the same rhythm and looked out of their window at the magnificent cobalt sea just outside their house as it shimmered under the sun. The picturesque view was something that left her speechless every damn day and she counted her lucky stars that she got to wake up seeing it every morning.

It could've been another hour before she felt Finnick shift underneath her body. He released a soft groan before stretching his body somewhat, relaxing into a yawn. His hands found their place on her body once he was finished, one wrapped around her bare back while the other found her hand and carefully interlaced their fingers together as if he thought she was still asleep.

He lifted his head to press a soft kiss to her hair, his calloused yet comforting fingers brushing soothing patterns across the skin on the side of her stomach absentmindedly.

"I'm awake, you know." She said softly, quietly, to him before she lifted her head and instead rested her chin against his chest.

She gave him a dazzling smile, so pure and happy, and it took his breath away seeing her lying there in the morning sun. The glow that came in through the window scattered across one side of her tanned face. The now permanent freckles that dusted her cheeks and nose jumped out under the sun and ring of gold around her cobalt eyes danced with the sun.

He released her hand softly to push her shining onyx hair away from her face, the soft strands falling behind her ear as he tucked them there and cupped her cheek lovingly, "I will never not be speechless by how beautiful you are, Miss. Barnes." He said to her.

Her smile broadened into a bashful grin as red crept to her cheeks, "Just you wait until you see me tomorrow Mr. Odair." She replied.

"Yes," he hummed, "and then I get to call you Mrs. Odair for the rest of our lives."

"Poor me." She quipped jokingly.

Finnick's smile matched hers, his face lighting up in love and happiness as he looked at the woman he loved lying before him, "Poor you or poor me?"

"Poor us." Aella replied, leaning into his hand against her face.

His arm around her back grabbed her, shifting her body to lie against him and his fingers moved to draw mindless patterns across the bottom of her bare back. She smiled in content, placing her hand over his heart before her eyes left his to look at the white jagged scars across his collarbones. Her fingers swept over them mindlessly and Finnick watched her, quiet as a mouse.

The soft touch of her fingertips brushing over the sensitive skin made him shiver slightly, especially as she followed the scarring upward. She traced the three jagged lines up across his throat slowly, goosebumps rising everywhere her fingers touched, until she reached the very top of the scar just near his ear. She remained silent as she continued to look at his scar before her fingers swept slowly across the sharp outline of his jaw and to his chin. A lovers caress and all Finnick could do was watch her.

The horrors of those days had faded over time, the memories weren't as sharp anymore but the nightmares were still clearer than day itself. But it didn't really matter. The nightmares she could deal with because when she woke up and saw him lying in bed beside her, his chest rising and falling with every breath she reminded herself that he was still alive and he was still with her like he promised.

Her fingers continued, brushing over his parted lips lighter than a feather before she swept them over his sharp cheekbone before she ended her path and lowered her hand back to rest over his heart again. Finally, she met his gaze once more and raw emotion swam in both their irises as they reflected on how lucky they both were that they were alive and together. Finnick moved his hand from her hair and rested it against hers over his heart.

"Is Piper still in bed?"

She nodded silently and titled her head to the side as her lips quirked into a half smile, "Good job, too."

His brows furrowed, "Why?"

A small and quiet chuckle slipped past her lips, "Well neither of us are wearing any clothes." She observed, "Poor kid would have the fright of her life climbing into bed with us in the middle of night seeing that."

Finnick's eyes widened briefly before amusement swept over his face. He nodded and chuckled, "Yeah, you're right about that."

Aella nodded and said, "I suspect she'll be up soon. We better put some clothes on."

She moved to push herself up off his chest but he caught her wrist with ease, tugging her back down. She fell into him, chest to chest, where he cupped her cheek and caged her in with his hand around her back before he guided her head lower with his hand until their lips met.

She inhaled deeply when their lips collided before he kissed her ever so slowly. Her whole body melted into him while a blissful moan emitted from her lips. She swept her hand into his hair and cradled the back of his neck and kissed him back with equal passion and love. The tantalising pace made her toes curl and she squirmed as heat flooded her body but she didn't stop. His tongue swept across her bottom lip while his hand traced over the curve of her waist and over the top of her thigh.

She kissed him with fervor, pulling his lip between her teeth gently and listening to him hum in approval so she did it again once more before she stopped. Finnick opened his eyes to see her face mere inches away from his, their noses practically touching. Her hair fell around them like a blanket, blocking out the sun and she smiled when he frowned.

"There is a seven year old child across the hall, Finnick." She reminded him, "A seven year old child who will be awake any minute."

"Didn't stop you last night." He grumbled.

Aella's grin turned into one of amusement and she said, "There was no way she would've interrupted us last night. But you and I both know how she loves to wake us both up on a morning by jumping on our bed."

He pouted before saying, "We'll finish this later."

"Try tomorrow," she quipped, "since you're sleeping at Clio and Daniel's tonight and tomorrow is our wedding day."

He hummed, sliding both hands over the curves of her body, "And I get you all to myself."

"You do." She replied with a nod, "No Piper, no responsibility. Just me and you, all night."

His eyes glimmered in mischief when he said, "It's a date."

Aella gave him a brief smile before she rolled off him and sat up facing away from him. She kept the sheets tucked under her arms, keeping herself covered but her back was completely bare to him. He laid there for a moment, tucking his arm behind his head as he looked at her back, at the scars marring her skin like she had his only a few minutes ago.

Slowly, he sat up. Aella didn't move her body when she felt the bed shift, instead, she kept the sheets where they were around her chest and sat there.

Finnick reached out slowly and gently touched her back. She didn't like being touched from behind, not when he wasn't close or she didn't know about it. Surprise wasn't her friend and he knew that so he tried to be as gentle and as soft with her as he could. Slowly his fingers swept over the raised skin of a scar that ran across her right scapula. The white scar was almost none existent now. It had healed well over time but he knew it was still there and so did she.

The scars on her back were a reminder of what she'd fought through for them to have this life together. They were a reminder of her strength and her power.

Every time Finnick saw them he was reminded of what she'd had to go through. It remained him that he hadn't been there when she needed him most. That he hadn't been able to protect her. But he knew he couldn't change the past, like Sal had told him.

So he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the scar he'd just traced. His touch was feather light and he kept one warning hand on her lower back while he moved to the largest scar across her spine, pressing his lips there tenderly. Then he kissed the vertical scar that overlapped it and travelled down to her mid back. He kissed the small scar over her left shoulder and the one on her arm and he continued until he'd kissed every last scar on her back....all seventeen of them before he finished with a chaste kiss against her neck.

She released a soft sigh, leaning back into his broad chest for a moment. His lips pressed against her temple before he whispered softly, "I love you."

She nodded, her eyes closed as she savoured the moment, and replied quietly, "And I love you."

"Please come back to bed." He begged her.

Her lips curved again but she made no move to open her eyes, "We have a wedding to set up, Finnick." She reminded him.

He brushed her thick waves over her shoulder, his fingers dancing lightly over her collarbone, "That's what our family is for."

"You're the worst influence in the world, you know that?" She asked him.

"I know," He replied, snaking his arm around her body and pulling her flush against his chest, "but I just can't help my obsession over my beautiful soon-to-be wife."

"Finnick—"

"Just," he interrupted her, "fifteen minutes, I promise.

She sighed and against her better judgement said, "Fifteen minutes."

Finnick grinned against her ear before he swept her into his arms and back into bed.

He was not fifteen minutes.

• • •

Aella loved Summer but the heat in District Four during the daytime was not something she was interested in contending with on her wedding day. Instead, she and Finnick decided on a Spring wedding but what she didn't expect with a Spring wedding was to wake up on her wedding day to a heavy downpour of rain.

If she was anything but laid back she probably would've screamed or cried, proclaiming that her day had been ruined but she didn't. Truthfully, she didn't care if it was raining, snowing or even hailing. She would even marry Finnick in the middle of a goddamn hurricane if it meant that she still got to walk down that aisle say 'I do' and call herself Aella Odair after it.

So while everyone else was busy fretting over the rain Aella merely sat at her back door with a mug of tea and watched the downpour with Piper curled into her side. There was no way of telling how long it would last but even if she had to walk down the aisle under an umbrella and stand in the pouring down rain she'd still do it. She didn't care.

But, by some higher power, the rain stopped just as she had to start getting ready. The cloudy skies cleared and the sun came out to grace them, brightening the sky with it's golden hue and filling the District with warmth.

Aella didn't have prep team to get her ready for her wedding. She knew if Cayenne and Flax were still alive she'd entrust them to get her ready for her big day without a second thought but only them. She didn't want someone she didn't know. She wanted her whole day to be intimate and filled with people she knew and loved. Not strangers. Instead, the woman who had once been her escort but had turned into the sister she never had helped her.

There was something special about having everyone she loved in one room, laughing and joking with her while she got ready to marry her soulmate. Obviously no men were allowed. No, they were across the street in Daniel's house doing whatever it was that men did before they got married.

Clio, Sal, Johanna, Annie, Natalia and Piper were all sat in Aella's dressing room together, the adults sipping on sparkling wine. Clio was fixated on Aella's hair. She had parted it down the centre, pulling the front back into loose twists to the crown of hair where she secured the two sections of hair with a beautiful white clip. The rest of her hair cascaded down her back in her natural waves, long and luxurious.

Piper was occupied with talking to Johanna—who had surprisingly taken to the young child with wide, innocent eyes, who liked to question everything. Natalia was talking to her future sister-in-law, Annie, constantly feeling her swollen belly for her unborn niece or nephew kicking. Sal was busy doting over Elizabeth—Clio and Daniel's fourteen month old daughter who had her father's eyes and her mother's face—but they all still talked back and forth, even when Clio moved on to Aella's makeup.

She kept it soft and natural. Her eyeshadow was of a champagne colour with a hint of brown to darken the corners and a light dusting of golden shimmer over her eyelids. Clio had just finished painting Aella's lips a pinkish-nude colour and applying a clear gloss when Piper walked over to them both and climbed into Aella's lap wordlessly. She put her flute of sparkling wine down as Piper draped her legs over Aella's and sat there, her bunny in her lap, while she admired her makeup.

It had been a big adjustment for them all the day they adopted Piper and took her out of her home District. The young child's innocence made it difficult for she and Finnick to explain to her what was going to happen but Piper trusted Aella with her whole heart. She found that same instant connection with Finnick, also when they first met. He was smitten with her immediately.

When they brought her to District Four their family gave them a few days together to adjust. Aella and Finnick introduced Piper to the sea and the beach that was practically in their back garden before they took her inside to show her what would be her new bedroom. It had been just a simple room, painted all white with a new single bed and a white wardrobe with a set of matching drawers but it had since become an extension of Piper's whole personality. Aella had never known there to be so many different shades of purple, but still they managed to find more each day.

That first night they tucked her into her bed she lasted all of five minutes before she came creeping back down the stairs to Aella and Finnick with tears in her eyes, scared of the dark. It was an easy remedy but still she never slept the full night in her own bed and she didn't for the first two months. Occasionally Aella would still wake up on a morning, or even in the middle of the night and Piper would be wedged between she and Finnick, sleeping soundly clutching her bunny to her chest.

But the bond that the three of them had created was beyond unbreakable. Aella and Finnick loved Piper like she was their own and in turn, Piper loved them both, too. The child had managed to work her way into the hearts of the full family, even Johanna.

But Piper was never far from Aella and if she was she always came back.

She pouted and looked between Aella and Clio before saying, "Why can't I have that on my eyes?" She asked, looking at Aella's eyeshadow.

"You want some makeup on, too?" Aella asked her with a smile.

Piper nodded, curling her body into Aella's as she mumbled, "Yes."

She smiled down at the child in her arms and ran her hand soothingly over her thick blonde hair that she'd braided that morning and decorated with small, white, butterfly clips at Piper's request, "If you want to wear a little makeup you can." Aella said to her.

"Really?" Piper asked, looking at her with hope shining in her doe eyes.

"Of course." Aella chucked, "You can even sit in my seat like a big girl."

Piper smiled and said, "Will you do it?"

"Of course." Aella nodded, standing up while holding Piper before she turned to put her down in the plush chair she'd just been sitting in, "You have to close your eyes though."

"I can do that!" Piper grinned and squeezed her eyes shut in excitement.

Aella chuckled, "Not that hard, Pipes," she shook her head in amusement, "relax. Close them like you're about to go to sleep."

She did but frowned in confusion, "But I don't want to go to sleep."

Aella swiped the brush over the brown eyeshadow and began to dust it over Piper's eyes softly, "You won't silly." She said to her before she poked her stomach.

Piper giggled but kept her eyes closed, letting Aella apply the light dusting of eyeshadow over her small eyes. She kept it very simple and once she was done she grabbed the small handheld mirror and said, "Open your eyes."

Piper looked in the mirror for a moment before her lips spread into a contagious smile and she said, "I look so beautiful," and then she looked at Aella, "just like you."

Aella couldn't help but smile as she looked at the child she'd adopted as her daughter. Tears threatened to burn her eyes but she managed to hold them back and say, "That's because you are beautiful, Piper."

Clio swept in before anything else could be said and clapped her hands together as she reached for the white dress carrier hanging on the back of the door, "It's time! It's time." She gushed before she turned to Aella, "Come now, I can't take it anymore."

"Okay, okay," Aella chuckled as Clio grabbed her wrist, "I don't even think you were this excited on your own wedding day, Clio."

The woman shot her a silent look as if to agree with her but wisely didn't say anything. Instead, she looked to Piper with a soft smile and said, "Wait here, P, and once we're back we can put your dress on, okay?"

"Okay!" Piper replied happily. She ran to Johanna again, sitting down next to her and grabbing the purple colouring pencil she'd abandoned earlier.

Both Aella and Clio chuckled, looking to Johanna who merely shooed them away with a scowl but her scowl soon disappeared when she looked down to Piper who chatted away mindlessly next to her. Knowing she was going to be okay, both women slipped next door into Aella's bedroom so she could change into her wedding gown.

• • •

The wedding party was ready, seated outside or in their position to walk down the aisle. The only person who was not ready was Aella.

She was still upstairs standing before her floor length mirror, staring at herself in her dress. When she had first seen the design in Palex's final sketchbook it had brought tears to her eyes. At that time she hadn't known what had become of him apart from the fact that he was missing. Though now she knew and she was staring at his final design that had been made into a reality.

Part of her never thought she'd ever get to wear this dress when she first saw that design. They were in the middle of a war with no guarantee of their future and when Finnick had been attacked by those mutts....  She honestly thought she was going to lose him. But she didn't. He survived and so did she. Now, her dream was a reality yet it still didn't feel real.

She looked down to her hands, her fingers more specifically, and counted backward from ten slowly. She double checked every finger until she reached one. It was real.... This was real. She was minutes away from walking down the aisle and marrying the love of her life. It wasn't a part of the same re-occurring dream she had when she had been a hostage in the Capitol.

She dropped her head back to look at the ceiling and blew out a deep, deep, breath before she looked back at herself in the mirror again. She didn't expect to see someone standing in the doorway behind her and she jumped slightly in fright, placing her hand over her chest.

"I'm sorry," Daniel apologised, guilt etching on to his face, "I didn't mean to scare you. Clio said you were still up here. I came to see if you were ready?"

Aella shook her head dismissively and exhaled before saying, "It's okay," she felt her heart starting to slow down again before she nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm ready... just taking a moment to make myself realise that this is real."

Daniel stepped into the dressing room with a pressed smile and looked at her from head to toe. He could hardly believe his eyes. The woman he once knew—the one who used to drown her sorrows in whiskey bottles and fall asleep on the sofa clutching her bothers pillow—was now getting ready to marry her soulmate. He never thought it would happen... to either of them, but it had. Against all odds they both somehow found that light at the end of that very long and narrow tunnel and came out smiling.

"You know if someone had told me three years ago that you and I would be standing right here now I'd of laughed in their face." Daniel said to her.

A brief smile stretched across her lips and she nodded, "I know exactly what you mean."

Daniel chuckled quietly as he looked at her again and said, "You look beautiful, Aella. I know your parents and Josh will be so proud."

She took a composing breath, lifting her chin as she said, "You're not allowed to make me cry before I get to the aisle, Daniel."

He swept her up in an embrace, careful of her dress and her veil and her hair and held her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her chin on top of his shoulder, trying to calm her breathing and will away the tears that were so close to falling, "They're watching....right?"

"They are." He told her with a nod, "Wherever they are, I know they're watching."

She nodded briefly and they stayed there for another moment before they pulled away. Aella turned back to look at herself in the mirror one final time and swept her hands over her dress, admiring it.

Palex had always designed sleek and form fitting garments for her but this was anything but. It was like he had the beaches of District Four in mind when he designed it .... As if he knew she'd be marrying Finnick there.

It was a sweetheart neckline that was fitted around the bodice until it reached the waist.An abundance of soft, flowing, tulle skirts fanned around her. They stretched out behind her in a five metre train. Off the shoulder sleeves were made of the same sheer tulle the skirts were made of and bunched at her elbows and wrists with elastic, creating a soft hanging sleeve.  The skirt underneath the sheer tulle was decorated with beautiful lace motifs that ran up her back and around the bodice. Delicate buttons fastened the garment and up the left side of the dress was a modest slit that reached her mid thigh.

Her train was made of that same tulle, one delicate strip of material sewn to a clip in her hair that flowed eight meters long.

She looked like a princess and she felt like one. If Palex were alive to see her in it, he'd cry over her and call her the Goddess he always knew her to be. She embodied her in every way and became the 'Ethereal Bride' he had named the design after.

"Are you ready?" Daniel asked her.

Aella smiled at him through the mirror and nodded, "More than."

Daniel smiled and he offered his arm for her to take. She accepted it gratefully, gathering her skirts in her other hand while he helped her down the stairs and to the open french doors in the back sitting room. Aella's small wedding party were already there waiting for her. Clio—her chief bridesmaid—Johanna, Natalia, Annie and Piper wore lilac dresses, the colour Piper's choice and they barely had a minute to say anything to Aella before the soft melody of the violin began, signalling the start of the ceremony.

Clio handed Aella her flowers with tears glistening in her eyes and it was everything Aella had and more not to reciprocate those tears.

Her sister pressed a kiss to either cheek and whispered, "So proud."

Aella smiled as tears rose to her eyes. She barely managed a nod as Clio placed a chaste kiss to Daniel's lips before she took Piper's hand and walked down the steps, out on to the beach that backed on to Aella and Finnick's house. Aella watched them walk down the sand, Piper scattering lilac flowers as they went.

Johanna went next—completely and utterly mortified to be walking down an aisle in a dress but she'd do it for her best friend. She looked at Aella once and said, "If that boy doesn't cry the second he sees you in that dress I'll give him something to cry about."

Aella chuckled heartily, not doubting her for a second, before she watched her follow Clio and Piper. Natalia and Annie were next and both told Aella how beautiful she looked before it left just she and Daniel waiting for their turn.

Aella gripped her bouquet of lilacs and lilies in one hand and Daniels arm in the other as she waited and he glanced to her briefly, "Nervous?" He asked her. 

She met his gaze with a smile and shook her head, "No."

"Good." He replied before the quartet of violins changed pitch indicating Aella's arrival. Down on the beach the few guests they had rose and turned to look back at the house, waiting.

But she didn't move. She looked at him with an earnest smile and said, "Thank you for giving me away."

"Thank you for asking me to." He replied.

And then they began their walk. Aella was careful in her dress and Daniel walked slowly for her. The grass under her feet turned into soft, warm, sand and they walked through it barefoot. It was one of Aella's bonuses about getting married on the beach—she didn't have to wear shoes, or rather couldn't physically.

Everyone except Finnick watched her walk down the aisle, all grinning at her. Some stood with tears in their eyes until eventually Aella reached the last row of chairs set out, only fifteen or so metres away from the alter, and Sam tapped Finnick on the shoulder once.

He turned, finally, to see her and like Johanna had predicted his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Aella felt her heart pound against her chest in anticipation as herd upon herd of butterflies swarmed her stomach in the best way possible. There he was standing there looking at her life she was his everything and she had never felt better.

She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. There would never be no doubt about it. He loved her with all his heart and more and finally she was about to become his wife.

When Aella and Daniel reached the bottom of the aisle they stopped. Daniel pressed a chaste kiss to Aella's cheek before he shook Finnick's hand with a smile on their face. He officially handed Aella over to Finnick and Clio swept in to take her bouquet out of her hands and then it was just them.

Everyone and everything disappeared around them as they stared at one another. They could've been the only two people left on the earth for all they knew for they were completely and utterly engrossed with each other.

Aella looked into his sea-foam green eyes and saw the swirling colours of blue that only shone under the sun. His golden locks were effortlessly tousled like they always were and his sun kissed skin glowed under the sun. She squeezed his hands once as if reminding herself that he was real and he squeezed back to confirm.

He wore simple clothes. A pair of black three-quarter length trousers and a white loose shirt, the first three buttons open like he used to wear them. His chest was left exposed, the old scar on his left pectoral from his first Games barely visible and the three long claw marks from the mutts there, too, but they were all him. Just like the visible scars on her back and the one on her face were her. It didn't change anything about either of them.

Finnick had a lilac flower pinned to his shirt, as did Sam and Daniel—who was also Finnick's best man as well as being the one to walk Aella down the aisle—and he wore a necklace of white seashells.

He finally managed to compose himself enough to speak but even then, he couldn't find the words to tell her how beautiful she looked. So he told her that instead, saying quietly, "There are not enough words to describe how you look, Ella, but I'll start with breathtaking."

She smiled but shook her head and said, "Don't make me cry."

He grinned mischievously and said, "You made me cry. It's only fair."

"Ladies and gentlemen, please, sit." The officiant said, a middle aged man from the District.

The wedding guests followed his instruction and Aella and Finnick turned their heads to look at him as he said, "We come together today to witness a momentous occasion. Today Aella and Finnick have chosen to unite and form the ever lasting bond that will hold them together for all eternity... If there is anyone who knows and understands the trails and tribulations of love it is these two who stand before us but they have demonstrated over and over again their strength and dedication toward one another."

The officiant smiled at them both as he said, "Before we proceeded with the ceremony I am obliged to ask if anyone know of any just cause of why this man and this woman should not marry." And when no one spoke he nodded with a smile and said, "that's always the worst part."

A collective chuckle sounded across the beach as the officiant looked back at them both again and said, "As you learn to live as one you will encounter many challenges that will help you grow. You will spend time doing the things that make life precious. You will learn to cooperate with one another, always make time to laugh together and never lose appreciation for the love that you share. You will be each other's strength in times of need and be that person they can trust to fall back on. You will be there when no one else is and love and support and cherish each other every day of the rest of your lives together,"

"Now, who bares the rings?" He asked.

Piper stepped forward, guided by Clio and she held a small lilac bag that contained both rings. With a sheepish grin she opened it up and took out the two rings inside, handing them to Aella and Finnick.

Aella bent forward slightly with a smile and took Finnick's wedding band, "Thank you." She whispered.

"You look really pretty." Piper whispered back before she looked at Finnick and said, "Hi, Fin. I missed you last night."

Finnick leaned forward to take Aella's ring from her and he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I missed you, too, P."

She giggled lightly and looked between them until Clio stepped forward and waved her over, whispering, "Piper."

"Oh!" She realised and looked back at them briefly, "Bye!"

Aella and Finnick watched her run back to Clio with smitten smiles on their faces while everyone chuckled lightheartedly. The officiant looked to Finnick then with a smile and said, "Finnick, your vows. If you will, please, repeat after me.... I, Finnick Odair, take you, Aella Barnes, to be my wife."

Finnick nodded, turning his attention back to Aella who was smiling so broadly at him. There was nothing but love and happiness swirling in her cobalt blue eyes, the embers of gold shining through in a magnificent way.

"I, Finnick Odair, take you, Aella Barnes, to be my wife." He recited, lips stretching into a smile.

The officiant continued, "To have and to hold, forever and always, in sickness and in health or whatever this life may present us with, 'til death do we part."

Finnick took a composing breath, as he held her ring in his hands and slid it on to her finger whilst saying, "To have and to hold, forever and always, in sickness and in health or whatever this life may present us with, 'til death do we part."

The officiant smiled, "Now, Aella, if you will," he instructed, "I, Aella Barnes, take you, Finnick Odair, to be my husband."

Aella nodded as the first hint of tears rose to her eyes and she said, "I, Aella Barnes, take you, Finnick Odair, to be my husband."

"To have and to hold, forever and always, in sickness and in health or whatever this life may present us with, 'til death do we part."

She swallowed the lump in her throat as she held Finnick's gaze. He gave her an encouraging nod as she began to slide his wedding band on to his finger and say, "To have and to hold, forever and always, in sickness and in health or whatever this life may present us with, 'til death do we part."

"And now we progress to your vows," he said, "Finnick, if you'd like to start."

He took a breath and nodded, taking her hands in his, "There are only so many ways I can tell you how much I love you, Aella, but I promise I will spend the rest of my life trying to find new ones but know it will never be enough, for there are not enough words in this world to explain how much I love you," he began by saying, "from the night we first met I knew you were going to be an important part of my life, the whirlwind that came in and swept me off my feet, keeping me on my toes constantly, but I would never change it. I would never change you. The rest of our lives together is not enough but it's a start. I will be here, right by your side, taking everything life has to offer us, forever and always."

The officiant looked to Aella and offered her a warm smile as he said, "Aella, if you will."

She nodded but for a moment she couldn't say anything. She tried to blink back the tears that lined her eyes but she couldn't and ultimately she released a sound that was a mixture of a laugh and a sob as the first tear rolled down her cheeks quickly. Finnick released her hand and swept in to wipe it away with a smile.

She held his hand and closed her eyes for a brief second, taking breath after breath before she was able to look at him and say, "I hope you're ready to cry."

He grinned and said, "It's only fair."

She smiled and said, "I've been in love with you—had feelings for you—for over six years and yet when I look at you each day I feel as if I'm falling in love with you for the first time over and over again. You make me feel like it's only ever me and you in this world, like it was always only supposed to be us. I thank whoever brought you into my life every single day because without you life wouldn't even be worth living. You're my best friend, my absolute everything, and I will fight anyone or anything that tries to keep me from you. You're mine and I am yours and I will spend the rest of my life falling in love with you over and over again, every single day.... I love you, Finnick, and I will until my last breath and even after that."

He nodded, tears glistening in his eyes as he said, "I love you."

"Now, as it is traditional in this District, the bride and groom will signify their love by throwing this seashell into the ocean together." The officiant said as he looked between them, "If you will both, please, follow me."

Aella and Finnick did as instructed, following the man forward to the edge of the beach. They stopped just before the wet sand, arm in arm as the officiant passed the small white seashell into both of their open hands. Aella looked at Finnick with a smile as she closed her fist around the shell and he closed his fist around her hand. A slight breeze blew in and her hair and her veil followed outward toward the sea. Together, they drew back before they threw the shell into the sea ahead of them, not seeing how far it went but not caring either.

With smiles on their faces they followed the officiant back to the alter and they stood facing each other again, hands still entwined.

"Now, Finnick, do you take Aella to be your wife? To love and support her for the rest of your lives together?"

Finnick nodded and said, "I do."

"And Aella, do you take Finnick to be your husband? To love and support him for the rest of your lives together?"

Another sob that mixed with a laugh passed her lips as she nodded and said, "I do."

"Then I now pronounce you as husband and wife," he said to them both, looking to Finnick as he added, "you may kiss your bride."

And neither of them could possibly hold on a minute longer. Finnick leaned in, cupping her cheeks in his hands as he pressed his lips to hers fervently. She moaned against his lips, melting into his touch as her hands rested against his chest. They kissed with love and passion, tongues colliding and Finnick's hand slid around her back to snake around her waist before he bent her backward gently. She moved with him, reaching up and crossing her arms around his neck as the applause of their loved ones became nothing but white noise in their ears.

They pulled away an inch, their noses still touching and Aella opened her eyes to see Finnick already looking at her with so much love in his eyes.

"Forever and always, Mrs. Odair." He promised her.

She nodded, running her thumb across his cheekbone before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips and promising, "Forever and always, Mr. Odair."

• • •

A/N; full on sobbing over here🥹😭

For anyone wondering, this is the inspiration I used for Aella's dress.

Final update on Friday❤️