Katniss stood at the full length mirror, admiring Cinna's handiwork one last time.
She ran her hands over the ivory fabric, a material she didn't know the name of, and smoothed out the folds of the full skirt, her hand skimming the bump of her stomach.
It was all happening so fast.
It had been five years or so since the declaration of peace, since the day the war was won. And here she was, about to marry Peeta, and about to become a mother. The thought filled each waking hour with terror. Her - a mother. How could she be when she had failed almost everybody she had ever cared about. Rue, Peeta, Gale, Cinna…
She could go on. The list was almost interminable and the ghosts of those thousands that died for her – for her cause, still haunted her to this day.
Her chest tightened at the thought of Prim. She would've just turned eighteen.
Katniss pushed the painful thoughts from her mind of Prim and the woman she could've been, forcing herself to focus on the dress.
She had never worn this before, not even before the Quell at the photo shoot showcasing all of the beautiful gowns for her and Peeta's 'marriage'. She was glad of this. There would be no sad memories attached to it.
Effie had told her that since Cinna's success after the Seventy-Fourth Games, he had become something of a fashion phenomenon and it was later discovered that he had created a collection never intended for sale. The whole thing had been lost during the war, or supposedly so but Effie being Effie had managed to track it down.
When she and Peeta had announced their engagement for a second time, Effie had brought the whole thing with her to Twelve as a gift.
It wasn't large; there was a jacket, some jumpers, a pair of boots and, of course, a wedding dress but Katniss loved everything. It was so explicably her.
The sleeves of the dress came to her wrists where they floated delicately whenever she moved, miniscule flecks in the material catching the light. The bodice, a gentle lace, darted in underneath her breasts, almost as if Cinna had her pregnancy in mind while designing it. The man's intellect never failed to astound her.
There was a knock at the door, jarring Katniss from her thoughts.
"Who is it?"
The door opened and in walked Effie holding a bouquet of flowers.
"Katniss dear, I have your-" she cut herself off, letting out an audible gasp. "Oh," she breathed coming towards the younger woman, the simplistic lilac dress flowing around her ankles.
"Oh, Katniss. You look so beautiful." Her voice broke towards the end of her sentence, tears glazing her eyes. She sighed again, taking in the sight of her former Victor.
"Thank you, Effie." Replied Katniss, smiling.
Effie laid the bouquet of evening primrose, gypsophilia and ivy down on top of the dresser in order to embrace Katniss in a tight hug.
"I'm so proud of you. Of both of you." She said sniffing, making it blatantly clear that she was crying.
Katniss couldn't help but smile. Her former Escort, having discarded the lofty high heels, puffy dresses and garish wigs was truly tiny, at least a head or so smaller than she was. She wondered just how she stood up and supported the weight of all of the outlandish outfits.
Effie laughed lightly. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry until the ceremony."
Katniss snorted and pulled away, taking in the sight of her face, strewn with tears. "I think everyone knew that was a promise you wouldn't be able to keep."
Effie nodded, wiping her eyes and sighing loudly. "Yes. Well I have an excuse to cry. You and Peeta are like children to me." She took one of Katniss' hands in her own. "We're a team."
"We're a family." Katniss corrected successfully setting off Effie again.
Katniss had never known how to deal with people crying well and patted Effie's shoulder consolingly.
"Agreed"
Both women whirled round at the sound of another voice.
Haymitch sauntered into the room looking particularly smart in a suit that Katniss presumed Effie managed to wrestle him into.
"Well, well. Look at you." He said taking in the sight of Katniss. "Nice dress."
All three of them laughed at the old joke.
"Yours too," he sent Effie a wink and she smiled back fondly.
"Now, I will go and check on Peeta one last time and then we should be good to go. Five minutes maximum, you two. We are on a schedule."
With that she left the room.
Haymitch rolled his eyes. "You can take the girl out of the Capitol, but you can never take the Capitol out of the girl."
Katniss smiled knowingly. "Somehow I knew letting Effie plan my wedding would come back to haunt me."
He chuckled. "She's done a good job. The place looks really beautiful."
He was referring to the back yard. Both she and Peeta decided they didn't want to make a spectacle of their wedding, not like the last one. They had invited a few close friends and people they considered family. Effie and Haymitch had taken care of the press from the Capitol, giving them a brief statement and instructions to stay away. It would be a modest affair and Katniss knew she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Oh," said Haymitch digging around in his trouser pocket. "Here."
He handed her an old hair pin made of silver and blue opal.
"I know it's not much but it belonged to my great-grandmother, my grandmother and my mother. Before… before she died, she told me to give it to my daughter on her wedding day and since you're probably the closest I'm going to get, I'm giving it to you. Besides, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to have something blue."
Katniss smiled gratefully, tears forming in her eyes. "Thank you, Haymitch." She slid the pin into the back of her hair.
"Don't you go crying on me, sweetheart. Bad enough I have to sit next to Effie."
She laughed and moved to hug him, letting a carefully preserved tear fall.
They remained in silence until Haymitch pulled away, pushing a strand of hair behind Katniss' ear.
"Come on. Let's go get you married."
A/N: Since Catching Fire, I've had a lot of feels. Especially at the moment when Katniss was preparing for her interview and Effie came to see her, saying she would've made "the most beautiful bride". It kind of melted my heart a little and this was the result. Sorry for throwing a teency bit of Hayffie in. I couldn't help myself.