➳❦

THE LARGE GROUP WAITED IN THE OFFICE, having been pulled in there by Commander Paylor and her men. They had been left alone, all of them trying to figure out what had just occurred in front of them. Snow was dead. But so was Coin. Although her suddenly dropping dead had them all on edge. "Does anybody know what happened?" Xander asks, his arms crossed against his chest. He wasnt exactly upset but more confused and wanting to know how this was possible.

"Uh, Coin dropped dead and Snow was ravaged by an angry mob." Johanna states confidentially with the biggest smirk on her lips.

"Thanks captain obvious." Wesley says as he looks toward her and she just shrugs her shoulders.

"What did you do?" Finnick asks, his voice a bit hushed but he knew some of them would most likely overhear.

"Why are you assuming I did it? Katniss was the one who was gonna shoot the woman." Arya points out, gesturing toward the woman but Finnick narrows his gaze.

"Because i know when you're scheming."

"Aw, you pay so much attention, Finn." Arya responds, resting against him as she slides her hand down his chest. Finnick rolls his eyes but smiles at the girl.

"Do you really think it's a coincidence that all of us are in this room?" Haymitch asks them, raising his eyebrows. "They think one of us did it."  He points out, glancing at the group of knowing suspects.

It was the victors and Gale. Of course he was all by his lonesome since nobody liked him. "Maybe it was baby killer over there. He's just hungry for power." Arya taunts, sending a smirk his way and Gale glares back at her.

"You wanna say that again to my face?" He warns but Arya didn't seem afraid in the slightest as she took a step forward.

"Oh, gladly." Finnick wraps his arm around her waist quickly to hold her back.

"Enough." A voice interjects them and as they look to the door, they see Paylor and a few guards. "There's no need for any of this. We already know who did it." She admits and Katniss furrows her eyebrows.

"You do?"

"Coin was poisoned. A quick acting agent, something that we've Haven't seen in years." Paylor explains to them, shaking her head. "She never stood a chance." She denies and Arya looks down at her hands. "Now, its no use to hide or lie because even if you don't confess, we have all the proof we need." Paylor states and Johanna raises her hands.

"Can i just say, no one will really miss her." She states, blurting out her thoughts and Wesley grabs her hand, bringing it down.

"Jo."

"Wes, am I wrong?" Johanna mumbles back to him.

"Come on, I'm giving you one chance to fess up and maybe you can avoid execution." Paylor tells them, her eyes shifting around the group who all stay silent. "No? No takers?" She asks, raising an eyebrow before letting out a sigh. "That's fine with me. Take em to the cellar." She demands, turning to the person beside her.

Arya tenses as the man comes right for her and she grabs onto Finnicks hand. He seems to notice this, giving her a confused look but as the man nears, he seemed to understand why. Biting her tongue, her eyes move to Johanna who shared her nerves.

Until the man bypassed her and grabbed a hold of Gale. "What?" He was confused as he was brought forward. Everyone in the room was surprised by this as Arya just lets out an exhale. "This is insane, I didn't do anything." Gale denies and Paylor rolls her eyes.

"Come on, Gale. I said there's no need to lie."

"I'm not lying. I didn't poison Coin." He snaps back at her, a bit irritated.

"Really?" Payne just simply brings something out. "Then what's this?" She asks curiously and Gales eyes drop to what she is holding.

"My flask?" He retorts, still confused as to why he was the one being accused.

"Mhm." She simply hums. "We had it tested and would you look at that, it's a perfect match for the poison found in Coin's system." Paylor announces and Gale was shocked to say the least, blinking quickly and stuttering over his words.

"T-thats crazy." Gale denies as he shakes his head. "I only had that flask--" He stops himself, his eyes moving over to Arya who seemed to be enjoying this. "You set me up." Gale accuses as he points in her direction. "You fucking bitch, you set me up!" He goes to rush at her but the guards stop him, holding him back.

"I can't hear you over all the murderous tendencies, Gale." Arya denies as she puts her hand to her ear.

"You think you can get away with this?!I'll gut you! You hear me?!" Gale screams as he's dragged toward the door and Arya lets out a mocking laugh.

"Don't let the cellar bugs bite." Arya calls out after him, a victorious smirk on her lips as she wiggles her fingers in the man's direction.

❧

HAYMITCH NOTICED ARYA STANDING AWAY FROM THE GROUP, sipping on her champagne as the others celebrated victorious at last. Walking over to her, he leans on the wall beside her, simply watching the group as he places his hands inside of his pockets. "How'd you do it?" He asks her curiously, not sparing her a glance. Arya bit her tongue to suppress a smirk, simply shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Arya responds as she keeps her eyes watching the others. Haymitch can't help but chuckle lightly as he looks around the room.

"You know, I always knew you were a clever, vengeful girl but you've truly outdone yourself." Haymitch admits, moving his hand up to rub his chin.

"I knew i could never spike her drink, so I spiked his." Arya says, finally looking toward Haymitch who raises an eyebrow curiously. "The flask he used to celebrate their victory, was the cause of his own downfall." She states with a laugh, loving the fact that she really didn't have to get her hands dirty.

"But how come he didn't die of the poison?" Haymitch questions. If the poison was in the flask, it was very easy for Gale to have drank some of it too.

"Cause i switched out his flask when he was done basking himself in it." Arya admits. She knew he would be drinking so she waited until he wouldnt want anymore to do it. "He was so busy gloating that he didn't even see Johanna switching them out."  She explains. Johanna had gave her his flask while having any extra one and when she added the poison, Johanna gave Arya the extra and returned the poison flask back to Gale.

"I pretended to pour the normal flask into the glasses cause i knew coin would come and talk to me." Arya was betting on the woman needing the last word and she got exactly what she had asked for. "She didnt drink from the glass knowingly so she believed i had failed. And because of that, her guard was down with Gale who never even realized he had the poison all along." She finishes and Haymitch seemed to put the pieces together as she spoke.

"I knew katniss was gonna end up killing coin from the moment she voted yes to killing innocent Capitol children. I couldn't let her get killed or exhiled from the Capitol so I took matters into my own hands." Arya says with a shrug of her shoulders. If katniss was able to kill Coin and face no repercussions, Arya wouldn't have done anything. But to save katniss and get rid of Gale? That was a two in one deal.

"I've never felt prouder in my entire life." Haymitch admits. It was a clever plan, he will give her that. And no one will really miss Gale, not after all of the shit he's pulled.

"I'm telling Katniss you said that." Arya tells him with a smirk on her lips.

"Go right ahead." Haymitch says, smirking back toward the woman as he backs away from her. "Cause the wicked witch is dead." He says, pointing toward Arya and she couldn't help but laugh, nodding her head.

"That she is."

➳❦

RUNNING HER FINGERS ALONG THE DOOR, she unlatched the lock before pulling the squeaking metal door open. She had convinced the guard to leave them alone for a few minutes and as she lets the door hit the wall, her eyes land on Gale. "Feeling cozy?" Arya taunts, tilting her head as she smirks toward the man. Gale scoffs as he lifts his head, meeting her devious gaze.

"You feel proud of yourself? Setting up someone for a murder they didnt commit?" Gale asks her as she simply leans against the wall, pressing her foot against it as she crosses her arms against her chest.

"Last i checked, you did commit murder." Arya corrects him. It just wasn't one simple murder, it was hundreds.

"You dont really think you can get away with this, do you?"

"Get away with what?" She retorts, acting like she had no idea what he was talking about. Gale bites his tongue as he glares toward her.

"Will Finnick love you still when he finds out what you did?" Gale questions and Arya raises her eyebrows. He was seriously making her killing of a maniac seem even remotely close to what he did.

"Im sorry, did you not bomb hundreds of innocent people or am i just making things up?" Arya retorts as she moves her hand to wave at her head for a moment. "You really wanted to win, at any cost. And you can say it was for the greater good, to stop the war but we both know it was only for yourself." She sneers at him. If Gale ever cared about anybody, he wouldn't have said all that shit back at district thirteen. He wouldn't have had such a lack of empathy for the people suffering around him.

"You're suggesting that I killed people for my personal gain?" He responds, seeming amused but she just placed her hands on her hips.

"Not suggesting, stating." Arya corrects him but he shakes his head, looking away from her.

"You truly are crazy." Gale mutters and Arya only smirks toward him.

"Maybe i am."

"You really have such a blinding idealism about the future, that you don't even realize that you'll only get it because of what I did." Gale informs her and she rubs her face, not understanding how someone could be this far gone.

"My idealism isn't blinded it all. I see a man who colluded with a psychopathic murderer to kill a bunch of innocent kids in order to get Snow to 'surrender' himself."  Arya responds to him as she tilts her head and Gale just shrugs his shoulders.

"And he did."

"You truly think he did it because of you?" She asks, laughing as she shakes her head. "He was a madman but he wasnt stupid. He knew he had no chance once the rebels were at the gates." Arya tells them. She was not about to let him believe that Snow gave up because of what he did.

"I guess we'll never know." Gale responds staring back at her like he had won. But the funny thing was, only she was walking out of this cellar.

"Enjoy your slow and painful death, Gale." Arya sneers at him and she could see the way his eyes darkened.

"You know, they'll find out eventually."

"Maybe. But you wont be around to see it." She denies. Arya knew they'd never find out, she was careful and meticulous. Besides, she had alibis planted for a reason.

"Oh, I won't?" Gale coaxed clearly trying to get a reaction out of her.

"Even without Coin's death on your hands, you still have the blood of innocents drowning you, Gale." Arya states and she could see his jaw clench as he looks down at the ground. "And even if you do get out of this, just remember this." She bends down so she was eye level with him. "All the souls of the lives you took will be watching you, and so will I." She sneers, glaring at the man before she got up, walking toward the door and slamming it shut behind her.

➳❦

JOHANNA TAKES A LONG SIP OF HER BEVERAGE, her arm wrapped around Arya's shoulders as a smirk played on her lips. "I can't believe you pulled it off." She admits with a small laugh, shaking her head. Arya let's out a gasp, placing her hand on her chest in false offense.

"You doubted me, Jo?" Arya retorts, faking a disappointed expression. Johanna rolls her eyes but pulls her closer.

"Not for a minute, sweetheart." Johanna denies, kissing her cheek and Arya laughs, pushing her away slightly.

"What are you two conspiring about over here?" Katniss asks, her gaze narrow as she stops infront of them.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Arya retorts with a wink and Katniss crosses her arms against her chest.

"I would. Cause much to my surprise, as i went to aim my arrow at that bitches head, she drops dead. How could that possibly happen?" Katniss tilts her head and it was quite clear she knew it was them but was waiting for them to actually tell her.

"Gale is a conniving snake?" Johanna answers with a shrug.

"He is, but we both know he wouldn't kill Coin. He needed her." Katniss adds with a simple roll of her eyes and Arya shakes her head, acting like she was sad by the fact.

"What a shame." Arya wipes a nonexistent tear from her eye.

"It's just us, guys. You can let us in on your deep dark secret." Peeta says as the rest of the group circles around them.

"It was masterful, I'll give Her that." Haymitch says with a chuckle, looking at Arya.

"Wha-- haymitch you knew?" Finnick asks, furrowing his eyebrows. Even he wasn't told what was happening.

"No, but it really wasn't that hard to figure out." He denies with a scoff.

"I knew Coin had to go and I wasn't gonna let you go down for it Katniss. So.... I did something and may or may not have framed poor Gale." Arya says simply like it was just a flick of her wrist and she hadnt framed a man for murder.

"I wonder why." Xander responds with a laugh, taking a sip of his drink.

"Hm, maybe because he was a raging cunt?" Ciela adds, leaning against the man and he simply wraps an arm around her.

"That he was." Wesley agrees, shaking his head.

"I never liked him." Arya denies with a firm shake of her head causing Finnick to snort a little.

"That was pretty obvious, princess." He tells her, pressing a soft kiss to the nape of her neck and she gasps, looking at him.

"I was being extremely subtle, what on earth are you talking about?" She accused making the man playfully roll his eyes before simply pulling her back against him.

"So, what now?" Xander asks curiously, wondering what their lives would change into now that everything was so different.

"I know, it feels way too peaceful with no lunatic looming over us." Johanna agrees, scrunching her nose up.

"I mean, Arya could take over the role." Wesley suggests with a smirk playing on his lips. Arya grabs the closest thing to her which happened to be a potted plant, throwing it in his direction. He's lucky her aim isn't perfect and it hit the grass beside him.

"Wes, i will beat your ass." Arya warns him, pointing her finger at him and he simply sends an air kiss her way.

"Please don't, he has such a beautiful face." Johanna pouts, leaning against Wesley and Arya scoffs.

"Are you blind?" She asks, narrowing her gaze and Johanna flips her off.

"I never thought we'd ever get to this point." Katniss says, moving the subject away from the bickering between the friends.

"It seemed like such a fantasy until this exact moment." Peeta agrees as he places his hand on top of Katniss's.

"Let's raise a toast." Arya says, raising her glass which everyone does the same. "To everyone we've lost along the way, to every soul that was reaped into the games, to those who tried to put a stop to Snow's antics." She says, her eyes becoming teary for a moment. "To Matthew, to Prim." Her eyes flickered to Katniss for a moment and she could see the saddened but appreciative smile on her lips.

"They're watching over us, I know they are." Katniss responds, sniffling lightly.

"Probably having a party up there." Johanna states with a small laugh.

"While Snow and Coin are enjoying the deep pits of hell." Ciela adds, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Soon enough Gale will join them." Peeta mutters and Wesley scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"Thank God for that." He had heard everything of what happened from Johanna and had immediately joined the hating Gale club.

"Wait, guys." Arya says, catching their attention. "Are we all actually happy at the same time?" She asks, narrowing her gaze as it was weird but also kind of nice at the same time.

"We are in some sort of a parallel universe." Finnick suggests, his chin resting on Aryas shoulder as she leans back against him slightly.

"I mean, Haymitch pulled Effie, we've got to be dreaming." Peeta adds and Haymitch chucks something toward his head making him duck suddenly. Everyone else laughs, basking in the sweetness of victory, although more bittersweet than anything.

➳❦

ARYA STUMBLED, glaring into the dark as she hit Finnick's arm. He mumbles an apology as he just continues to guide her. She groans, tilting her head back a bit granted as she couldnt see anything anyways. "Where are we going, Finnick?" She asks him curiously, wondering where he was taking her and why she had to be blindfolded to get there.

"Just wait, you'll see." Finnick answers her, his hand on her back, guiding her and she was antsy as she brushed back against him.

"Well, can I just see now?" Arya questions with a long sigh causing him to chuckle.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're impatient." Finnick retorts and Arya was silent for a minute.

"...Yes."

"Just stand right here for me." He tells her, pulling her to a halt, his hands squeezing her hips for a moment before letting go.

"Am I gonna get a midnight mystery kisser?" Arya teases, wiggling her eyebrows as she puckers her lips a bit. "It better be Tigris." She adds and she could practically see the scolding look Finnick was giving her.

"You have to ruin the moment?" Finnick asks her and she gives him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry."  She apologizes, just anxious to see what he wanted to show her.

"You can take it off now." He informs her and she wasted no time in throwing the blindfold off. As her eyes adjust, she is met by fairy lights hung across the top of the terrace they stood on, candles lit in numerous spots along with rose petals scattered along the ground.

"Oh, my god." She gasps out, taking everything in before seeing him stood before her with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "Finnick..." Arya says, a smile overtaking her features. "This is beautiful." She tells him and he moves toward her.

"Almost as beautiful as you." Finnick says as he hands her the flowers, pulling her closer to him and she narrows her gaze.

"That was cheesy but I'll allow it." Arya says, shaking her head before turning back to admire everything. "You did all of this?" She asks, biting her bottom lip. She had never experienced anything like this before, let alone to this extent.

"Ciela will try and take credit but yeah." Finnick tells her, running his palms over his pants. "Do you like it?" He asks nervously, clearing his throat a bit. His nerves seems to go away in the slightest as she turns to smile at him.

"I love it." She responds as she wraps her arms around his neck. "What's the occasion?" Arya asks, a bit suspiciously before gasping loudly, covering her mouth with one of her hands. "Oh, my god. You're pregnant, aren't you?" She teases him and Finnick nods with a serious expression.

"With twins, they're already as stubborn as you are." He responds and she scoffs, hitting his arm as he laughs back at her before squeezing her hips. "I just wanted to do something nice for you." Finnick admits and she bites the inside of her cheek, pretending to think.

"Hm, well I guess I approve." She gives him a wink as she turns, looking out over the terrace. "Johanna would make so much fun of you if she saw this though." Arya says with a laugh, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh, trust me, she has." Finnick mumbles, fiddling with his pocket before clearing his throat. "Arya." He says, trying to get her attention but she was too starstruck by what she was seeing.

"You can see the whole Capitol from here. Never thought it'd be a pretty sight." Arya admits as she leans against the railing.

"Arya?"

"Everything's so quiet, I can't remember the last time anythings ever been this calm." Arya says, shaking her head as she admires the view.

"Arya." Finnick says one last time which finally snaps her out of it.

"What?" She asks as she turns to face him only for him to be down on one knee with a ring in his hand. Arya completely freezes, staring down at the man. "Finn..." Arya trails off, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she felt butterflies swarm her stomach.

"From the day that I met you, I knew that you were the girl for me. Even though you practically spit in my face and put a knife to my throat." Finnick says with a teary laugh and Arya rolls her eyes playfully but her mind was still running at a million miles an hour.

"I truly never thought I'd get a chance with you, let alone to find this deep connection that I've never had with anyone before in my entire life. You are by far the most remarkable woman i have ever laid my eyes on. You're strong, brave, cunning, smart, a fucking badass-- even though you can be hotheaded at times." Finnick tells her and she narrows her gaze but smiles brightly at him, kicking his shoe lightly.

"I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life." Finnick denies, a tear running down his cheek as he gazes up at her. "I want everything with you, Arya. I want my life to be with you, I want to spend every day by your side, to be your husband... the father of your kids. All of it, is meant to be with you." He says and she felt like she was on top of the world, seeing the man she loved more than anything, down on one knee right in front of her.

"So, my beautiful Arya, will you do the absolute honour and marry me?" Finnick asks with the most sweetest smile she had ever seen but the nerves were showing as well, the bit of hesitancy in his final question lingered.

And without even thinking Arya said all the wrong words because she was just so caught up in the moment. "Shut up." She gasps out and she could see the way his smile fell a little bit.

"What?" Finnick's voice cracks and her eyes widen as she realizes the mistake in what she said, rushing to fix it as she stumbles over her words.

"No, no, I mean-- yes, I will marry you, you stupid idiot." Arya answers him, bringing Finnicks smile back but he laughs at her words, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow, so romantic."

"Just kiss me, Finn." Arya mutters as she grabs a hold of him, pulling him up towards her and smashing her lips against his own passionately. Finnick kisses her back deeply, his arms wrapping around her as he picks her up a bit.

Arya kissed him like her life depended on it, all their love, all their emotions rushing into it as their tears mixed together in a salty taste that lingered on their lips. Finnick pulls back after a moment but Arya chases for his lips, another long kiss being pressed to them. This makes Finnick sink into her a bit, sighing as he ran one hand through her hair, the other still holding the ring.

Her arms wrap around his neck and he dips her slightly, his hand moving to the small part in her back. It lasted a few seconds longer before they pulled away from each other, their lips slightly swollen, their eyes a bit wild as their breathing was heavy and layered together. But a sloppy grin forms on Finnicks face as he gripped her hips.

"I love you." Finnick says breathlessly, staring in her eyes as his fingers interlace with hers. Arya smiles brightly as he slips the ring onto her finger and she only pulls him ever so closer toward her.

"I love you." She responds, her eyes dazzling underneath the moonlight.

Arya had gotten everything she wanted. Even if it wasn't in the way she had imagined. Although she had lost a lot in her life, family, friends, soul mates. Everything she would hold dear to her heart until she met them again in the after life. It didnt mean that she was left with nothing.

Because she still had people who cared about her, who loved her and who made this broken world worth living in. And yes, there was still a lot to fix, a lot of pain to mend, but all the troubles that were making that impossible were gone. And they were free. Everything was back to the way it should be. Back to how it was before the rebellion happened seventy six years ago. But without the capitol dictating the lives of the people they supposedly cared about.

But as the ashes of her past scatter around, she is left with the blossoming flowers of her future,

A future that she imagined for her children.

➳❦