Ocean Eyes - Finnick Odair

Thirty-Six

Marissa instantly launches herself into Finnick's arms when they meet him inside what Marissa assumes is where he's been assigned to live. The room is white and clean and Marissa frowns. The only sense of home in this room is a handful of hard-boiled sweets on the floor and a photo from their home in District Four.  Marissa knows she's going to have a hard time adjusting to life in District Thirteen. She feels guilty; she knows people have it worse than she does right now but, she's spent so long in the luxury of Victors Village and the Capitol that the bland, uniform make-up of District Thirteen is new to her.

"Is this your room?" Marissa asks Finnick quietly as Mira leaves to give the couple their privacy. Finnick peels her arms off of him and holds her out in front of him.

"Our room, Mari," he says. Marissa's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"What do you-?"

"The doctors told me that they're discharging you tonight and President Coin has assigned us to this room. Annie and Mags are next to us on the left and Mira, who will have Johanna with her soon, is on the right," Finnick tells her, grinning. He waits for her expression to light up but, her weary expression doesn't disappear and he frowns. "What's wrong? I thought you would be happy to be out of the hospital."

"I am... but... Peeta?"

"What about him?"

"We'll be leaving him there!"

"Mari, my love," Finnick says, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, "we'll still visit him every single day. I promise."

"Okay..." Marissa glances around the room and Finnick knows that she's uneasy. "I wish we were in District Four."

"Me too. But, we're together, that's what matters," Finnick guides Marissa over to their bed and they sit on the edge of it. Marissa cannot tell which beds are more uncomfortable, the hospital beds or these ones. "You can lie on me if you don't think it's comfortable."

"I'd like that," Marissa smiles softly. She snuggles into his side, links their hands together and holds onto him tightly. "You're warm."

"You're not," Finnick replies, squeezing her hand ever so slightly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Do you remember that conversation we had before we went into the arena? About us having kids if the plan worked?"

"Yes," Marissa nods, chewing anxiously on her lip. The mention of children makes her stomach hurts. The rebel plan seems to be growing more and more successful each day and now Finnick must be expecting that after they win, she'll want to start trying to get pregnant.

"Well, the plan seems to be working pretty well. But, I want us to be married before we have children."

Finnick stands up from the bed and stands before her.

"What are you doing?" Marissa asks him, perplexed.

He takes her hands in his and gets down on one knee in-front of her, smiling.

"Finnick...?"

"Marissa Guinevere Johnson," he says quietly, pulling a small silver ring out of his pocket, "will you marry me?"

Marissa shakes her head. Her hands tremble when she rips them away from Finnick and shoots to her feet. Her chest is heaving and tears blur her vision as she turns her back on him and flees the room. Mira is waiting outside the room for them and her face lights up when Marissa emerges but her joy quickly fades when she sees the distressed state of her older sister.

"Marissa?" Mira calls after her as Finnick bursts out of the room. "Finnick, what happened?"

"I don't know... I- I asked her and she ran away," he tells her. "Do you know where she's going?"

"No, but I'll find her," Mira assures him.

"Shouldn't I go after her?"

"No," Mira insists. "I'll talk to her about it."

Mira rushes off in the direction Marissa had run and Finnick waits anxiously in the corridor for them to return.

Mira struggles to locate Marissa for a while, she even checks Peeta's hospital room but, eventually she finds her sister hiding in some sort of supply cupboard. Marissa is curled up on the floor, her knees are tucked up to her chest and she's sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.

"Marissa," Mira speaks softly, lowering herself to the floor beside her. "What happened?"

"Finn- Finnick asked me- he asked me to marry him," Marissa chokes out. Mira coaxes her sisters trembling body into her embrace and holds her tightly.

"Is that not what you want? I thought you would be happy to marry Finnick?"

"I- I did want to," Marissa explains. "But- but- he was talking about babies and- and I-"

"He told me that you wanted to have children with him. You'd be a great mum, Marissa. And, we're going to win so they'd be safe from the Capitol."

"I don't want to have a baby. I don't - I don't want to make a baby. If I marry Finnick... everyone will be expecting us to have sex and children and I- I can't-"

"Oh, Marissa," mira shushes her sister. "Finnick would never make you do anything you don't want to do. He's never done anything like that before, has he?"

"This is different. We'll be married!"

"Marissa, Finnick isn't going to change if you get married. He doesn't care about having sex and he won't make you have children or do anything that you're not ready for. He loves you and he wants to marry you because of that, not because he wants to start having sex with you," Mira promises her. "He's been through the same thing as you, Marissa. He understands what it's like and he's never going to put you in a situation that upsets you on purpose."

"He probably hates me now," Marissa sniffles, wiping the leftover tears from her face. "He was being so sweet and I ran away."

"He could never hate you, Marissa and he'll understand if you explain it to him."

"Are you sure?"

"Why don't you go and speak to him? You don't have to marry him if you don't want to but you need to speak to him."

❛ ━━━━━━･❪⚓️ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

A/n: I've got covid 🥴