For Prim- An Everlark Fanfiction

Part 7- The Wedding

Peeta POV: Today's my wedding. To Katniss. Somebody pinch me. I still can't believe the beautiful sleeping woman lying next to me is going to be my wife. I glance over at her, inspecting every last inch of her. The soft rising and falling of her chest is a rhythm that beats on and on. I press a kiss to her forehead and her eyes flutter open.

"Good morning, Peeta." She whispers, her voice raspy from sleep.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I need to go, I have to get ready. So do you. I'm heading to Finnick's. I will see you later." I say, so excited that the next time I will see her she will be walking in a beautiful dress towards me.

"Aw, must you go?" She asks playfully.

"Yes," I murmur regretfully. "Love you."

"I love you too," she says before she again falls asleep. I watch her for a second before I decide that I'm being creepy and get up. As soon as I walk out the door Prim and Johanna come busting through the hall.

"Peeta! Is Katniss awake? Ah, we'll wake her up." Prim says.

"Hey lover boy, nervous?" Johanna winks. I breathe heavily; if only she knew.

"Yeah," I mutter, "I'm going to Finnick's to get ready."

"Bye Peeta," they say as they run into my room.

Once at Finnick's, I quickly change into my father's too big suit and style my curls off of my face. I stand in front of the small mirror, attempting to fix my wild mess of a hair.

"Buddy, I'm excited for you. You've liked- loved- this girl for as long as I can remember, and now she's marrying you. This is crazy." Finnick stares as he walks up behind me.

"I know. I never thought I would get the chance to marry Katniss. She's end up with Gale and I'd end up alone, working by myself in the bakery. But instead, I'm getting the chance to love her, not Gale or anybody else. Me." I proudly stand up straight and turn to Finnick. He hugs me, saying words of encouragement and patting my back. We turn to leave his house, heading towards the justice building for my wedding. I'm ready to start this new life.

My breath hitches as I see Katniss walking towards me. She's beautiful, gorgeous, amazing. The white dress she's wearing fits her like a glove, and her soft brown hair falls into curls that frame her face. Her face contains not a pinch of makeup but she is flawless. She stands out in the sea of brides surrounding us, also waiting to be wed. I cannot handle how angelic Katniss is, or how lucky I am."You are... breathtaking, Katniss." My eyes stare deeply into hers. Her silver ones stare straight back.

"Thank you," she blushes. Prim and Johanna stand behind her, each wearing a nice dress. But neither can compare to Katniss's beauty. Finnick also tells Katniss how great she looks. We're all talking, laughing, when Gale arrives. He quickly says that he's happy for us, but can't stay to watch. It would be too painful. I understand completely.

After Gale leaves, we return to a quiet conversation and are so enthralled in it that we barely hear Haymitch, the man who performs the weddings, say "Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen. You are next to be wed. Please bring your company in with you." And with that I grab Katniss's hand and take a deep breath. We start our way up the steps to be married.

Katniss POV: I walk carefully up the steps to where Haymitch just called us. Peeta's hand has mine in a vice grip. My eyes drifts up to meet his which were already on me with such a look of adoration. His demeanor calms me. It reminds me that I'm not my mom, and Peeta's not going off to the mines. We will both be fine.

Haymitch brings us to a small room in the justice building marked "Marriage Room 1073" inside is 8 chairs and a small alter.

"Now if you'll just follow me to the alter, your guests can be seated in the chairs." Haymitch says powerfully, and Prim, Finnick and Johanna rush to sit down, seeming very excited. I gulp as Haymitch leads Peeta and I to the alter. He pulls out a piece of paper and sets it down. I skim over it and realize it is our marrige lisence. My heart beats heavily, nervously as Peeta and I sign our names. On the last line, I write Katniss Mellark. My new name. I can feel Peeta exploding with joy. "Okay, time for the actual ceremony you'll both say a few vows, then I'll pronounce you husband and wife. Peeta, you may begin." Haymitch states and Peeta clears his throat.

"Katniss, I've loved you for as long as anyone can remember. You're my everything, my life, my heart. You bring me joy when I'm sad, and comfort me when I'm hurt. Every moment I'm without you I long for your soft, careful voice. My love, that night when you asked me to stay with you, after you fell asleep I said 'Always'. And that's true. I will love you forever and always." His words bring tears to my eyes as I look at him. Hopefully my eyes show him my love.

"That was great, kid. Now Katniss, your turn." Haymitch says and all attention in the room turns to me.

"Peeta, I never wanted love. All I wanted to do is take care of my sister. But from the moment you threw me the bread that one faithful day, I knew we had a connection. And I can't believe that connection turned to love. You bring out a side of me I never knew existed. I savor the moments spent with you. I cannot understand why I am so special to you, but it's one of the things I'm most greatful for. Peeta, I haven't loved you forever, but I'm ready to love you until the end. You're my heaven, and I love you so much." I breathe heavily. Peeta looks shell-shocked. He leans over and whispers "thank you" into me ear.

"Amazing. Now Peeta, do you take Katniss to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." I hear Finnick sigh in the background.

"And Katniss, do you take Peeta to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." I mutter.

"Then Peeta, you may now kiss the bride." Peeta leans in and kisses me softly. All around us people are cheering but right now it's just me and him in this world.

"Alright, you guys are done. I'm ready to escort you downstairs whenever you want." Haymitch says, and I grab Peeta's hand and we walk downstairs. When we arrive home, Prim reveals she's been cooking up a meal of our dreams. A small chicken sits on top of roasted vegetables, and we all sit down and dig in. We're stuffed to the brim when Finnick and Johanna day they have to leave, and Prim excuses herself upstairs.

"Peeta..." I mutter, pulling myself to him.

He gives me a lingering kiss before saying "It's time. We need to do our toasting." And I agree.

The toasting is a marriage tradition in District 12. The newly wedded couple sits in front of the fire and toasts a small piece of bread. Nobody really feels married until they have their toasting.

Peeta runs to the kitchen and grabs a loaf of rich bread. He breaks off a two pieces before joining me in front of the fire."Katniss, I love you. There isn't much else to say. This has been my dream for most of my life." Peeta says before sticking the bread on a stick and putting it in the fire.

"I love you too, Peeta. Always." I say before putting my small piece into the fire and then we both wait for the bread to toast. Soon, our bread is charred just right and we pick them off the sticks. I turn to Peeta again and slowly rise my hands to his mouth. He bite the bread from my hand, his lips brushing against my fingers and sending shutters through my body. He chews for a moment before feeding me the bread that he toasted. I chew for what seems like forever, and as soon as I finish chewing Peeta's kissing my forcefully. I return with the same force and he picks me up and carries me up the stairs to his - our- room. Once we enter, we lie in bed and share passionate kisses for hours. I feel weightless next to him, like I'm floating.

I feel my eyes getting droopy. "This was the best day of my life." I murmur against his lips before pulling back and resting my head on his arm.

"I don't want to fall asleep." Peeta says wistfully.

"Why?"
"Because I might wake up and realize this is all a dream."

"Trust me, this is real." I say before we both fall asleep.