Annie Cresta is one with the waves (lifeisastorm) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-08-03 11:53:00 |
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Gale wasn’t really one to take out a full-page ad about his upcoming nuptials, or even really announce it - neither he or Leliana had, they’d just told their friends and family, who could expect to receive invitations in the mail very soon. One of those helpful ‘save the date’ cards maybe, but who knew - both he and Leliana wanted something small and intimate, something beautiful and picturesque at the medieval castle of the bride’s dreams (literally). The details would come together and it would be perfect, he wasn’t too anxious, but he also knew he had to do his part and help plan things too.
He also had no idea how to go about picking out a wedding ring. The actual band, slipped on for the ceremony (he wasn’t even sure if Leliana had decided to train one of the nugs to be a ring bearer or not, it sounded dangerous - they might laze out and fall asleep during lessons), the symbol of their commitment. Picking out the engagement ring was simple enough - it was pretty nontraditional because they were nontraditional, an aquamarine gemstone nestled in a lover’s knot. But what was he supposed to do for a wedding ring? Something not stupid, clearly.
He had a friend who designed jewelry, and so she could help him. Or so he hoped. Which was why after work one day, he brought a box containing banana split cupcakes (they were fucking delicious, and it’d been someone’s birthday at the studio) and also a to-go carrier of tea in paper cups to Annie’s apartment - if nothing else, it’d be nice to catch up.
Yep, there he was. A gigantic soldier in civilian dress clothes, carrying cupcakes. Knocking on the door. This was his life.
It was a bad day. Okay, so this time of year was just a bad time of year for Annie in regards to memories and phantom sensation and pain, but it was an especially bad day. But that was what happened when you were convinced you saw ghosts from your past only to panic and then see it was a complete stranger. Which was why following her day at the studio (which admittedly had been cut short because of said panic attack), Annie had managed to do the rational thing and put on a swimsuit once home before swimming as opposed to late night swimming in her clothing.
That had been hours ago and finally her mind was mostly focused. She wasn’t in a state of panic, her lungs didn’t hurt. Well no, they did but that was from the physical exertion of swimming in the ocean for hours until it felt like her limbs would fall off and less from hyperventilating and a need to run away. With the beach beginning to clear out, Annie wrapped her towel around herself and headed to the apartment building, blinking as she saw Gale at the door.
“Gale?” Talk about unexpected, but she was at least mostly calm now and it was Gale, not a stranger. People she knew were better to be around right now, even if she was caught off guard. She was pretty sure that there hadn’t been plans to meet up, though admittedly her entire day had turned into a whirlwind and it was very likely she could have forgotten if that were the case.
Keys still in hand, she tilted her head to the side as she couldn’t just open the door as he was currently in front of it.
Oh, uh. Okay? Had Annie been swimming? Obviously, since she was wrapped in a towel and her hair looked damp - and since she lived right on the beach (perfect, for a mermaid such as herself) then it made sense to take a dip on a particularly hot day. Which it had been lately - hot, and humid. Felt like swimming through the fucking air sometimes, a lot different than desert heat that could scorch your skin right off your bones and what Gale was more used to.
“Hey Annie - sorry, I just thought I’d drop by to talk to you about something. I brought cupcakes and tea too,” he added, holding up the cardboard carrier for emphasis. “We had a birthday party at the network too. Banana split cup - or actually, I can come back if you want?”
Maybe she wasn’t up for company. Not that he’d blame her. He did kind of show up unannounced.
“It’s fine. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t forget something.” Smiling slightly even if she was a bit out of sorts, Annie shifted her weight and then moved to the door once she had an opening to do so, unlocking it and letting Gale step in. It really had been annoyingly humid. They clearly lied when they said Southern California didn’t get humid. Though in the time she’d been in the area, it seemed to simply be picking up, year after year. Yay climate change.
“Just give me a second. But feel free to make yourself comfortable.”
Door closed once they were both inside, Annie headed to her room to quickly change into something that wasn’t a bathing suit, skirt and blouse, then added her customary bracelets to cover the scars before heading back to the living room.
“I’d offer something to drink but it seems you have that covered.”
Gale waited patiently for Annie to change clothes; he settled on the sofa in the living room, setting the offerings down on the coffee table. He’d just popped the top off his cup of tea to blow a little on the liquid, to cool it, when she wandered back in. “Yep,” he grinned, leaning in to knock the top off the box holding the cupcakes. If he didn’t have to watch what he ate he’d have annihilated those damn things. “Would have brought coffee but it seemed more like a tea day, I don’t know.” Maybe he was just influenced by Leliana, who was firmly in the tea camp.
Her fiance didn’t drink his from dainty little cups though. Huge hands dwarfing china would look pretty ridiculous.
“How are things?” She seemed a little on edge, but if you were once a citizen of Panem, who could ever truly relax? Pretty much no one.
“Tea is always appreciated.” The only time Annie drank coffee were the days that she was desperate not to sleep. And even then, it made her more jittery and anxious. No, she would definitely stick with her tea instead. That or juice. She could remain in control then, know what was happening around her and wasn’t a bundle of nerves.
Or more so than she normally was.
And the ever tricky question on how were things. Because she never wanted to drag people into her issues, but she also was honest. Her insanity, if it could be called that - and it was only called that to diminish its truth, was honesty in the face of the traumas she had seen, both here and Panem.
“They’re as okay as they can be. Nothing I can’t handle though.” No. She could handle this. She had been. Okay so she’d been swimming for hours to get under control, but she had it handled. “You?”
If you asked Gale, he wouldn’t have ever thought Annie to be insane. She just saw the world differently, her perceptions colored - but she had her own moral code and clarity and wisdom; Finnick, in the dreams, had served as an anchor of sorts. With him gone, Gale wasn’t sure how she would manage but she seemed to find inner strength and carry on - probably for the sake of their child. Then again, what did he know about people’s endings - his was being buried in his fancy job in District 2, forever alone. But he guessed it had been his own fault there. Here, he aimed to avoid that.
“We’re all good at handling things - at least we don’t have to handle them alone,” he said, offering a cupcake. He had one for himself, carefully peeling the wrapper off. “I’m okay though. Leli and I found a place for the wedding and the party afterward. The only thing I really wanted was the bread toasting from District 12.” Anything else, he was fine with - pretty easygoing. “That’s going in, in place of lighting a unity candle.”
Finnick had been the calm in the storm of her life, the anchor. Just like the anchor charm bracelet she always wore. While she didn’t really want much to do with the dreams, the reminders, that was one she always wore because it grounded her when she had to try and calm down in a place like work or if she was out and about. And in the dreams, their son kept her going. She did her best to keep tabs on everyone from the Games, to check in on them. None of them should be alone, even if it was just through letters.
“No, no we don’t.” And Annie knew that. If she really needed to, she could go to any of them. Peeta usually was the easiest since they lived in the same building. Or Finnick as she had a key to his place. But it was still nice to know that option was there. It was just a bit harder to go to people when it dealt with New York as only two people really knew the truth of it. But that was neither here nor there. Still she took the offered cupcake and nodded as Gale started discussing the progress made for the wedding. “That sounds like it will be really lovely.” They all needed that happiness, they had all suffered enough in Annie’s opinion.
“I hope so,” he admitted, and was relieving that Leliana had been understanding about forgoing some sort of unity candle. Because what the hell was the point of that anyway? It seemed weird, and what did you even do with the candle afterward? But different strokes for different folks, he guessed - he liked how, in Panem, each District had their own traditions though. The ones from District 4 had been interesting to see and experience, when he dreamed of Finnick and Annie’s sea-themed wedding.
Wiping a bit of frosting from his upper lip, with a swipe of his tongue, Gale turned steely blue-grey eyes on Annie, looking almost humbled to be asking. “I was wondering...maybe you could help me design a wedding ring? Obviously I picked out an engagement ring for her. But I wanted something unique for the wedding ring too. If you had time to help,” he added, as a disclaimer.
Each person had their own preferences for what they wanted in a wedding. There were of course the different traditions depending upon religion. Then personalities. Add in the dreams and their own traditions, such as District Four with sea water on the lips, and it wasn’t surprising that weddings in Orange County would certainly be more unique with so many things to tie in.
The look caught Annie off guard as she had been preparing to take a sip of tea. But what he was asking? That certainly seemed to perk her up, and in that moment, she was able to focus solely on the conversation at hand and not the ghosts of her past that were always there, lurking, more loud right now and why she’d been swimming for so long.
“I’d love to!” Really. This was what she loved more than anything. Yes, she had the jewelry she sold at farmer's markets, she had the designs she did for the movie studio. But being able to create something strictly for her friends, unique to them? That was what gave her the most joy.
“Really?” Gale smiled, relieved at the response. Annie seemed excited - she’d visibly perked up, which was nice to see. Maybe being creative with designing a ring would help her as much as it would help him - in that case, he was glad he’d asked about it. “That would be great. I kind of want...maybe some kind of nightingale theme? Or bird...design. I’m not sure the word for it,” he admitted sheepishly.
He was a soldier, very regimented and scheduled and everything in its place, has to go a certain way. Protocols and procedures. Artistic license was kind of over his head; luckily he wasn’t too proud to ask for help in that regard.
“But her nickname was once Nightingale, both here and in her dreams. She also has three ravens that she really cares about.” Leliana was an animal person in general, but birds seemed to hold a special place in her heart.
Being able to create was something that could always inspire and make her feel better. It was the opposite of the destruction the past had brought in it’s way, the opposite of the pain and suffering dreams and war and the things that happened in Orange County. It was a way to bring something beautiful into the world, and to be able to be trusted to do so for a friend’s wedding? All the better, all the more meaningful.
So she let Gale talk about what he was hoping for, what would be unique to Leliana. Nightingale. Ravens. Okay. She could work with that.
“Any particular band you want? Gold, white gold, silver, rose gold?”
Gale blinked. Oh, shit. That was a question - kind of short circuited him for a second there, but then he was able to come up with a helpful answer. “Her engagement ring is white gold, so probably that?” he suggested, sipping from the tea to-go cup. It was a regular black tea, which he found tasted fine on its own. Green tea meant he was adding honey, because that stuff tasted like grass.
“It’d probably look weird to have a different color band, right? And let me know how much you charge, too. However much it costs, I don’t mind.” He wasn’t rolling in dough (well, sometimes he literally was at the bakery) but he worked two jobs and since getting a raise and position promotion at Arendelle Network, things had been a little cushier. Being able to put money aside for the wedding was nice.
“White gold, got it. And do you want a matching one as well?” As wedding bands did tend to match for both bride and groom. Slight differences, of course, but they were part of a set and so she figured it would be good to get that information. That and ring size, which could be worked out once she had a working design to go with.
Then the mention of money, which Annie shook her head at.
“That won’t be necessary. You’re my friend, it’s an honor you even trust me to design the rings for you.”
Well, damn. Gale wasn’t expecting Annie to offer that. He was incredibly flattered - may have even melted some of that tough-as-nails exterior, and the guarded interior that was his iron heart. “If you’re sure, I - “ Rare that he was at a loss for words, “...thanks, Annie. I really appreciate it.” And those words paled in comparison to how truly grateful he was, but they’d have to do for now. Until he figured out something extra nice to do for her in return.
“But yeah, I think I’d like a matching one,” he nodded. Funnily enough, he also knew Leliana’s ring size too - he’d had to guess when he bought the engagement bauble, but it fit perfectly and she didn’t really need to get it resized so he had apparently been a decent enough guesser. That info might be helpful now, he assumed. “She’s got small fingers - she’s like a size four, I think?”
The giant held up his own hand, fingers flexing. “Me, I’m not so dainty,” he laughed.
When the world was insane, even small gestures could mean the world. For Annie it was being trusted with the rings, why would she charge? Besides, it wasn’t like she was struggling thanks to her work at the studio. It was just something nice to do for a friend for his wedding. Which was why she just smiled and nodded.
“Good good. I can figure that out.” Because it was Annie. The rings would be a pair, unique to each, but obviously meant to go together. That was the point of marriage, wasn’t it?
“Not quite.” Taking his hand for a moment, she examined it just to get a size reference for herself before dropping it, nodding more to herself than anything as she made her mental references for sizing.
Yeah, Gale just assumed she filed that under ‘oafish’ and had a certain ring size in mind for men with large fingers. He didn’t have fat fingers, just long, like the rest of him - he’d set a lot of traps in Panem, assembled a lot of weapons both here and there, and he carried his fair share of scars too.
“You’ll have plenty of time too,” he made sure to say. “We’re not getting married until December. Exact date to be picked soon, invitations sent, all of that.” He didn’t know how long it would take to design a set of rings, but Annie was dedicated to her craft - and what was meant to last forever couldn’t be rushed.
That was the nature of Panem and real life. The scars. Some were physical, she had those as well, ones that were often hidden beneath ribbon and bracelets, a mock turtleneck swimsuit to hide the ones on her back. But then there were the scars beneath the surface. But they each moved on.
“December… yes, definitely enough time..” Four months, maybe a little over depending on when in October. But as it was the beginning of August, that gave her four full months. More than enough time. Which meant she could do mock ups of a variety of different designs and ideas as well.
That sounded good to Gale. Neither of them were what he would refer to as ‘touchy feely’ but, making sure he wouldn’t smoosh cupcake on her or something, he leaned over and gave his friend a hug. “Thanks again for this, Annie.”
It’d be a pretty great wedding, given the location and the scenery - but even better that both he and Leliana would have their friends there to celebrate with them. It was, honestly, more than a person like Gale ever thought he’d get to see in his lifetime.