Heart of Gold • Finnick Odair

-57-

Rosalie Odair slept peacefully in the arms of her husband. As she traced patterns softly against his bare chest, her mind recalls small moments of her wedding day.

The safety she felt with her arms wrapped round Haymitch's as they walked the short distance down the isle, the bittersweet feeling of Chaff's absence, the pure joy she felt as Finnick smiled at her, the butterflies that still appeared in her stomach when she looked into his eyes, the warmth that filled her chest as they shared their first kiss as a married couple.

And then the party. Peeta's glorious cake, she reminds herself to thank him. The crowded room was filled with joy and laughter and dancing, and some plotting from Katniss that Rosalie had merely smirked at.

But nothing could quite compare to the feeling of being wrapped in Finnick's embrace. His body against hers, his lips warm and gentle as he gave her all his affections.

A soft sigh brings her out of her thoughts. She tilts her head upwards to see her husband is awake, a lazy smile playing on his tired lips. He placed a gentle kiss to her temple muttering a 'good morning' into her hair.

She hums in acknowledgement, allowing a smile to form on her face as he traces his fingers up and down her arm.

She has never felt such pure, unaltered, happiness. Such peace.

But all peace must come to an end eventually.

"Hey Katniss," Finnick smirks as he approaches the Mockingjay, his arm wrapped round his wife's shoulders. On Rosalie's other side was Johanna in all her glory.

She had just barely passed her test to be allowed to come, but she had been rather insistent to be by her best friend's side.

"Hey guys! Are you with us?" Katniss moves away from the group she had previously been stood with to greet the two, a genuine smile gracing her lips.

"Looks like it," Rosalie smiles as Katniss hugs her.

"That was a short honeymoon," the girl comments as she hugs Finnick too.

Johanna makes no move to hug the younger girl but she nods her head with a hint of a smile.

It was strange to think that not that long ago the two had a mutual hatred for the other, arguing over who would take first watch in the arena. Rosalie pushed the thoughts away.

"Yeah, well, I guess we're gonna have to have one in The Capitol," Finnick places a kiss to Rosalie's head before adding, "after we take it."

Boggs approaches with the rest of the team, sending a small (almost invisible) smile towards the newly married couple.

He immediately turned professional again, "Gather round. Squad 451, you're my unit. Lieutenant Jackson is my second in command. Each one of you is elite in some form of combat, but we are a non-combat unit. So we'll be following days behind the frontline troops."

"You're to be the onscreen faces of the invasion," Cressida explains. "The Star Squad. It's been decided that your most effective when seen by the masses."

"So we're not gonna fight?" Gale speaks up.

"You do whatever you're ordered to do, soldier. It's not your job to ask questions," Boggs commands.

"Yes, sir," Gale obeys, folding immediately.

"Our instructions are to shoot propaganda footage on the battle scarred streets of the Capitol. You were handpicked to intimidate their forces-"

"-and inspire surrenders," Cressida finishes.

"Even though we'll be working in abandoned streets miles behind the frontlines, I guarantee you, wherever they put us, will not be safe. This is a war zone. It is likely that we'll encounter both active pods and Peacekeepers. You're considered high value targets to the Capitol. In the event of capture, you'll be given a nightlock pill," Boggs raises a small box and hands it to Jackson, "a poison that acts immediately that ejects into the arms. I've already briefed you on the pods." Jackson walks around the group, handing each person a nightlock. "I remind you they are on every block. Our unit has been given a Holo, a database that contains a detailed map of the Capitol, and a list of every known pod. These pods can trigger anything from bombs to traps to mutts. We cannot move without this device. There's no guarantee that our database is complete. There could be new pods that we're not aware of. Because we don't want the gamemakers to know we have this intel, it has a self-destruct on it. You flip the switch, say 'nightlock' three times, and it blows itself and anything within a 10 foot radius. Stay within our unit. Even with the Holo, it's likely that new pods have been set. Whatever they contain, they're meant to kill you."

Finnick, who was standing between Rosalie and Katniss, smirks and says under his breath, just loud enough for the squad to hear, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th Hunger Games."

"And may the odds be ever in our favour," Johanna smirks, feigning a fancy Capitol accent, gently nudging Rosalie's shoulder as she rolls her eyes in response.