The Champion | Finnick Odair x oc | PJO & THG crossover

Chapter 27 | Slim Jims |

    A few days after Katniss left for Two, I stood doing nothing, in Finn and mine’s compartment, in front of a mirror, shirtless. “I’m so thin!” I complained to Finn, who had already seen my entirety so I didn't really care if he saw anything, even if I was wearing a bra.

    “No one’ll notice or ask, and you’re healthy enough.” He said, reassuringly, but I didn’t care. I poked my stomach, or particularly, my ribs.

    “I’m a Slim Jim! Oh gods, Leo’s gonna call me that! Then everyone’s gonna assume my name is Jim! And my name’s not Jim! It’s Aria!” At times like these, it’s easy to tell I’m mentally unstable. Finnick came over, wrapping his arms around my waist, his lips brushing my bare shoulder. I pushed his head up, knowing he was looking down my bra. He rested his head on my shoulder and stared at us through the mirror. We’re just a pair of weirdos, keeping each other alive.

    “Relax, Aria. Everybody knows your name is Aria. They’ve all seen your games. But if it bothers you this much, put your shirt on and let’s go to lunch. Besides, all I see is the beautiful young woman I fell in love with.” He said, and I nodded. He didn’t care at all. All he cared about was his lunch. This didn’t bother me too much. It just showed that he couldn’t care less about my appearance, and even though I already knew that, it relieved me just a bit.

    When we went to lunch, we sat with my half-blood friends. Finnick didn’t talk much, but I was talking avidly with Will about who would win, Percy or Jason, in a fight. I was on Percy's side and Will was on Jason’s side. This awakened a small bicker between Percy and Jason which led to Nico declaring he was the strongest and the smartest of the children of the big three, but one look from me and suddenly changed his mind.

    It was fun, hanging out with family, I guess. Everyone at the table was my family in some way. Percy was my brother. Annabeth was my sister in law. Jason, Nico, and Hazel were my cousins. Frank was a distant relative. Leo all felt like a long lost sibling. Piper was my cousin in law and Will was my future cousin in law.

    When we went back to our compartment, Finn pressed a small kiss to my head before going off to Command. I received a schedule every day as usual, but since I’m deemed mentally unstable which I am, but not as bad as they believe I am, I received an identical schedule to Finnick and am not missed if I didn’t show up. The only thing I never miss was training, determined that if we were sent into battle, I would be on a team.

    Finnick rejoined me later that night, and we both lied down in bed, not speaking, just existing together. “You drive me crazy sometimes, you know that?” He said, and I laughed because it’s just so real.

    “Oh, you do quite the same, my dear. Quite the same.” I teased in a posh voice, and he straightened up.

    “I know I do. I push you so far everyone believes you unstable, my love. But you’ll always be my everything.” He joked, and I slapped his chest teasingly. He whispered the next thing so quietly, like he’s so nervous at what I’ll say when he knows I’m head over heels. The only reason I heard it was because he was so close. “Marry me?”

    I’m stunned for a moment, and Finn began to pull back, taking my silence as a no. I gripped his arm, and I looked him directly into his eyes. “Yes.” I muttered, quietly. “Yes, yes, yes! Hell yes!” He snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me into a long winded kiss. Eight years of separation will be made up for an eternity of being with him.

    There was a knock on the door, and Finnick answered and I trailed after him vaguely aware of what I was doing. My arms were around his neck, and I looked at Will and Nico’s happy faces. It was so weird seeing Nico this happy. Finn told them about what just went down. Nico’s had a Happy Meal in his hand, and it clicked in my head. I had been asking him for months, years even, to bring Austin’s spirit back so I could talk to him.