True to Finnick's word, Dahlia was only wearing her wedding ring when she woke up the next morning. This was an opportunity that her husband took full advantage of, wrapping his arms around her bare midriff and pulling her back close to his chest in order to plant loving kisses all over her skin. It was just as well that Coin gave them a few days off from any duties, because Dahlia didn't think Finnick would be letting her leave their bed anytime soon (though she wasn't complaining one bit).

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that." Finnick whispered lowly into her ear, gently nipping at her pulse point as his lips trailed their way down her shoulder. "The restraint I've had to have when you look so good all the time. It's been torture to be limited only to my imagination."

Dahlia quirked a brow at those words, glancing up at Finnick with a questioning glance as she playfully remarked, "Oh, you've imagined this? And tell me, did it live up to your expectations?"

Finnick stifled any further teasing comments she was cooking up in that sharp mind of hers by placing numerous kisses on her already swollen lips. Once he had finished proving his adoration for her, he pulled back and assured her, "It was better than anything I could have ever imagined. You were worth the years of waiting."

Grinning serenely at the sincerity in his words, Dahlia intertwined her left hand with Finnick's until the gold bands on their ring fingers clinked together melodically. It was a physical representation of their love for each other, a reminder of their official union. Funny how such a small circle of metal could make a relationship feel so much stronger and everlasting. A minuscule difference, but one that meant the world to Finnick and Dahlia.

"I wish we could stay here like this forever." Finnick sighed peacefully, fully able to relax in the comfort of his own space with his wife nestled safely in his arms. An eternity with her where they were unbothered by the horrors of the world and could just live their lives in peace sounded like the future they deserved together. A future he longed for more than anything.

"Me too." Dahlia murmured wistfully, snuggling deeper into Finnick's warm and soothing hold. That dream for their future was a fantasy that they both happily would've taken as reality. But Dahlia knew better than to get their hopes up. "But we can't... Not yet." Finnick propped his body up on his elbow in interest as Dahlia turned to face him with a sympathetic expression. "War's not over, Finn. And neither is our mission."

"What mission?" Finnick asked in confusion, softly brushing a strand of hair from Dahlia's face as he gazed down at her lovingly.

A tight-lipped smile spread on Dahlia's lips as she answered, "Protecting the Mockingjay." Realisation dawned on Finnick's face, now fully understanding what his wife was talking about. "We can't hide out in here forever and Katniss needs our help."

"I understand that, but..." Finnick shook his head as he cut off his own sentence, almost struggling to find the words he wanted to say. Finally, he shifted his eyes to meet hers, allowing Dahlia to see the sorrowful demeanour that had overpowered his mind. Voice heavy with melancholy, he muttered, "I just got you back, Lia. I don't want to lose you again."

The heartbreaking confession made Dahlia reach up to cup his cheek, smoothing her thumb along his bronzed skin as he nuzzled into her touch. "I don't want to lose you either, Finn." She admitted, knowing she wouldn't survive another devastation like that. "But I don't want to live the rest of our lives stuck underground in District Thirteen. I want to go home with you. I want to live by the sea and go for walks along the beach and find shells buried in the sand." Finnick stared intently at his wife with tears in his eyes as she passionately declared her desires. Because she wasn't describing her home in District Five, she was describing his home in Four. She wanted to live in his district. Her home was him. "I want a life with you... but we need to fight for it."

Sighing to himself in dismay, Finnick was reluctant to admit that Dahlia was right because he didn't want to fight anymore. He knew Dahlia didn't want to either. The pair were exhausted from a lifetime spent fighting to survive. But he and Dahlia couldn't fully rest until the war was won. They needed to put this rebellion into the past so they could focus on their future.

"You're right." Finnick relented, unable to argue against his wife's reasoning any longer. Glancing down at Dahlia with determination in his gaze, he softly declared, "The job's not done. Katniss needs our help..." Then his solemn frown morphed into a suggestive smirk as he announced, "But just not right now." And he's diving straight back in to capture her lips, ready to ravish his wife once more before they set off into the heart of the war.

He's never been able to say no to her, and that was not about to change. After all, happy wife happy life, right?

•——————•°•✿•°•——————•

Coin was always dismayed to find Dahlia Odair waiting for her in District Thirteen's headquarters as, whenever that woman entered the room, a headache was sure to follow for the President. So when she returned to find one of the sources for her growing irritation and discontent lounging comfortably in a chair with a smirk on her face, Coin had to take a moment to calm her temper. After taking numerous deep breaths and plastering an unconvincing smile on her face, the usually formidable woman strutted across the room to face her toughest critic.

"Miss Blossom," She greeted politely, nodding to the woman whose confident expression never wavered. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Dahlia took her time to reply, eyeing the woman up and down to enjoy watching her squirm uncomfortably in the silence. Eventually she spoke up only to correct an error in the President's statement, "I believe it is Mrs Odair now."

"Ah yes, my apologies." Coin renounced insincerely, making Dahlia's stare grow darker at the feigned interest she seemed to portray. "Congratulations on the--"

"I heard your precious Mockingjay went rogue." Dahlia sharply interjected, displeased and tired of the false niceties the woman was trying so hard to present. Coin was temporarily taken aback by the rude interruption, appalled that anyone would dare speak to her in such a manner. This only served to make Dahlia's authority over the conversation grow like a dark cloud hanging over Coin's head. Dahlia always had the upper hand, no matter how hard Coin tried to deny her it. "Can't say I blame her, to be honest. Smuggling herself out of District Thirteen in a hovercraft, dropping herself right in the heart of all the action... Ballsy move but a necessary one in my opinion."

"Well no one asked for your opinion." Coin retorted, her civil facade dropping slightly to reveal her true feeling of annoyance over the situation. The smirk on Dahlia's lips grew larger by the second. "And for your information, the Mockingjay was sent there on my orders with my authority."

"Oh, is that the narrative you're trying so desperately to push to your people?" Dahlia scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief of the woman's claims. "You just don't want to admit that you've lost control of her." Cocking her head to the side tauntingly, Dahlia's lips pursed in amusement as she declared, "Well for your information, you've never had control of her. You can't control fire."

"I'm not trying to control her." Coin protested, unwilling to take Dahlia's bait and admit to her temporary loss of dominance. "The Mockingjay is a friend to the rebellion, not a weapon... Or a monster."

She was trying to get a reaction out of Dahlia. Poking and prodding her like a chained animal in a cage, waiting for her to lash out in retaliation so she could be punished for attacking. But Dahlia wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Her features remained hard as stone, glaring at the woman who was searching for any reason to lock her back up and never deal with her again. Dahlia was stronger than that.

Voice devoid of all traces of respect and instead pumped full of venom, she harshly spat out, "Tell me, Madam President... If it was me who disobeyed you, would you be so forgiving? Would you shake my hand and call me a friend to the rebellion? Would you publicise my actions as part of your carefully conceived plans?" Coin's silence was the only answer Dahlia needed. Of course she wouldn't. Dahlia nodded bitterly at the confirmation, arms crossed in contempt as she cynically muttered, "No, I didn't think so. Special treatment for your special pet."

"Is there a reason you're here, Mrs Odair?" Coin questioned curtly, leaning forward slightly as her exhausted desperation began to show through the cracks in her facade. She wanted to get Dahlia out of her sight as soon as possible, by any means necessary. But that meant that she was willing to do anything for Dahlia to leave her alone, which was exactly what the woman was hoping for.

"To ask for permission." She answered bluntly, not beating around the bush when it came to her demands. Coin was obviously not expecting that reply, almost recoiling in surprise with an eyebrow quirked curiously. "Finnick and I would like to join Katniss in her fight."

Sensing a chance to assert her superiority on the situation, a badly contained smirk tugged on the corners of Coin's lips. With a smug manner of power, she arrogantly asked, "And why would I let you do that?"

Dahlia was not at all fazed by Coin's demeanour, simply grinning innocently as she replied, "Because I am only asking for permission out of respect for formality. I don't give a shit about your orders or authority. If you refuse me, we will find another way to reach the Mockingjay and nothing you do will be able to stop us."

"What you're saying could be seen as treason." Coin announced in a warning tone, almost willing Dahlia to actually go through with her plans of treachery. "I could declare you and Finnick to be traitors to the rebellion."

"You could..." Dahlia admitted, nodding her head as though contemplating this dilemma. Little did Coin know she was fighting a losing battle. In a battle of wits, Dahlia knew how to outsmart the rest. The President should've known not to play games with a girl who can play better. "But who do you think the districts will believe? A cowardly president hiding underground in a district they never knew was still active or their beloved Mockingjay who fights alongside them on the front lines?"

With that, Coin knew that she had been beaten. The citizens of Panem didn't know her, but they knew Katniss Everdeen. They loved the Mockingjay so much, they were willing to follow her into battle. None of them would've done that for Coin. If Dahlia and Finnick stood with the Mockingjay, the rest of Panem would stand with them too.

Sighing in defeat and shaking her head with utter disappointment, Coin attempted to maintain her dignity by having the last word. Resentfully she snapped back, "You are ma--"

"Mad?" Dahlia finished for her, taking the words right out of Coin's mouth and forcing her to nod mutely in confirmation. "Yeah, so I've been told." Dahlia hummed impassively, jaw clenching as she remembered all the times people had called her mad or insane. But in Dahlia's opinion, anyone who has ever loved and lost has a little bit of madness within them. It shows that they once cared so deeply and passionately about something that losing it felt like losing a part of themselves. She knew better than most that madness was not something to be feared. It was those who had lost everything and yet remained whole who should truly be feared. For that is the sign of a man who would sacrifice everything for his own selfish desires. The sign of a man who would force children to fight to the death for entertainment. The sign of a man whose reign was about to come to an end. With a determined smirk of pride on her face, Dahlia stated, "Maybe it's time we embrace the madness."