You wouldn't think something this small could bring a grown man to his knees.
I roll my shoulders and give myself a nod in the mirror. This time I'll get it right.
I do my best, but when I finish, it looks like a third grader has tied a sloppy bow around my neck.
I shake the ends loose and sigh. I probably should have taken Finnick's advice and joined the Boy Scouts when we were kids. He could tie a knot like this with his eyes closed.
"Mellark."
I turn from the mirror to see Gale standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Can I speak to you for a minute?" he asks, nodding toward the hall.
"Yeah. Sure," I reply, grateful for the break from the hopeless bow tie.
As I follow him, Katniss pokes her head out of the room across the hall. "Everything okay?" she asks, glancing between the two of us suspiciously.
"Everything's fine," I assure her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Now get back in there and let Cinna finish his work."
She nods, but narrows her eyes at Gale's back before closing the door.
He makes it outside before me, stopping in the middle of the yard and crossing his arms across his broad chest. I have to admit he looks sharp in his tux. And of course, his bow tie is perfectly knotted at his neck. I tell myself Madge must have taken care of it.
"I wanted to talk about Ivy," he says. His tone is brisk, but not cold. We've made our situation work over the past couple of decades. We aren't friends, but we're civil.
"Okay. What's up?" I ask.
He drops his arms to his sides and sighs, nerves starting to show. "I want to ask you a favor."
"What did Gale want?" Katniss asks, tapping at my chin so that I'll lift my neck higher. "You two aren't going to start fighting on today of all days, are you?"
"Nobody's fighting," I reply, staring at the ceiling as she works. "Don't worry."
"So what did he want?" she asks again. "There."
I turn to the mirror and admire the perfect knot. "Wow. How'd you do that?"
"It's all in the wrists," she says with a chuckle. "Now tell me. What did Gale want?"
"I… can't say." She frowns and opens her mouth to protest, but I press on. "I'm sorry; I promised him." I place a gentle kiss on her lips, careful not to mess up her makeup. I take a moment to admire Cinna's handiwork: smoky gray eyes, smooth olive skin, and her hair a sea of perfect dark waves. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?"
She raises an eyebrow but says nothing. Clearly she's not convinced.
"Dad?" Caleb enters the room holding both ends of his tie, his blond curls ruffled in frustration. "I can't get this stupid thing on. Can you help me?"
"Actually, I was just going to check on Ivy. But your mother is a bow tie expert. I think she can take care of it, buddy."
I toss a wink over my shoulder as I leave them, smirking as Katniss shoots her best scowl at me.
"You… look… stunning."
Ivy smiles at me from her spot on the bed. She's perched on the edge in a cream dress, a matching piece of lace skimming over the back of her intricate dark braids. "Thank you, Papa," she whispers.
My eyes well up at her childhood name for me. She hasn't called me that in almost ten years; as a teenager, she decided it sounded too babyish, and started just calling me Peeta.
"I can't believe our little girl is all grown up and getting married. How did that happen? Just yesterday you were six years old, telling me I better be nice to your mommy or you'd shoot me with your bow and arrow."
She laughs and gives me her best attempt at a stern expression, looking so much like Katniss my throat tightens. "That offer still stands." But the expression fades quickly and a look of sadness replaces it.
"Honey," I say, sitting down beside her on the bed and taking her hand between mine. "Are you okay? Your father asked me to come and talk to you. He said you had some things on your mind."
She plays with the chain around her neck for a few moments before finally speaking. "Am I… making a mistake?" she asks in a small voice. In her eyes I can see the sixteen-year-old again, crying on my shoulder after having her heart broken for the first time.
"What do you mean?" I square my shoulders, the father in me rising up in concern. "Did something happen? Should I have a talk with Gil-"
"No," she answers quickly, shaking her head. "No, nothing happened. I just mean… is marriage a mistake? It never seems to work out in the long run."
"Hey!" I say, clutching my chest in mock hurt. "Your mother and I happen to be very happy!"
She rolls her eyes. "I know you are. But she and Dad were miserable. All they did was fight!" She stands up and begins pacing around the room. "Every day I listened to them scream at each other until they just... stopped talking at all. And then after all that, they split up anyway!" Her voice lowers, her lip trembling. "What if Gil and I end up that way, too?"
"Ivy…" I stand up and pull her into my arms. I can feel her collapse into me, her head buried in my chest. "There are no guarantees in life. But you love Gil, right?" I feel her nod her head against me. "And I know that he loves you. That boy never would have risked asking your father's permission to marry you if he didn't love you like crazy. The Crossbow Champion of the East Coast isn't someone to upset."
Ivy laughs, leaning back to wipe a tear from her eye. I pull the handkerchief from my breast pocket and dab at her cheeks carefully. "Sometimes you just have to take a chance on love," I continue. "And no, sadly, it doesn't always work out." Her eyes drop to the ground. "But even then, it's worth the try. Honestly, I'm glad your mother and father took that chance all those years ago. Because if they didn't, we wouldn't have you."
Ivy looks up at me again, a small smile on her lips. "Daddy's right; you are a cheesy sap," she replies. Before I can object, she wraps her arms around me again. "But that's why we love you," she whispers in my ear.
I give her a squeeze and will myself not to cry before we've even said goodbye.
"You still won't tell me?" Katniss whispers as we wait for our turn.
"It was nothing, really," I reply, watching as Caleb walks with Gil's cousin a few paces ahead of us. He was so excited when Ivy asked him to be a groomsman. "Ivy was nervous about everything, so Gale asked me if I would talk to her. Something about me being a cheesy sap."
"That's true," Katniss chuckles and hugs my arm a little tighter. "But you're my cheesy sap."
I give her hand a squeeze and we proceed down the aisle, smiling at family and friends along the way.
As we move toward our seats, the music changes. Everyone turns to watch as Gale and Ivy come out from behind the closed doors. I'm relieved to see that Ivy is smiling happily as she holds Gale's arm, no sign of the clouds from earlier.
They begin their walk, but after a few paces, Gale stops abruptly. Ivy looks up at him, questioning, and he bends to whisper something in her ear. She smiles and gives him a hug, then turns to look in our direction. We watch as Gale walks briskly down the aisle without her, coming to a stop where Katniss and I stand in the front row.
"Sorry, Catnip," he says to my scowling wife. "I wanted to know if we could borrow Mellark for a few minutes."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"I need you to help me walk Ivy down the aisle," he replies. I try to refuse but he shakes his head; there's no arguing with him. "You've been there for her since she was six years old. She needs both of us today, and I think we should do this together. You're her father, too."
I feel myself start to cry for the third time today. I don't trust myself to speak, so I just nod and shake his outstretched hand.
We make our way back to where Ivy waits and she greets both of us with hugs. She loops her left arm through mine and her right through Gale's and we continue the walk as a team.
As we reach the end of the aisle, I see Gil wiping tears from his cheeks as he beams back at his bride. I give Ivy a kiss and shake Gil's hand before placing her hand in his.
Katniss tucks herself into my side when I return. I wrap my arm around her and together we watch as our daughter and her groom recite her vows.
At one point, Ivy reaches up to brush away a tear from his cheek. Gil catches her hand, bringing her knuckles to his lips for a kiss. They share a smile, oblivious to the crowd around them. Katniss sniffs beside me, and I hug her tighter.
They're going to be just fine.
"Again?" Katniss gives me a teasing smile and brushes at my damp cheek.
I just shrug as she wraps her arms around my middle and puts her head on my chest. "I'm just really happy for them," I reply, nodding my head toward the dance floor, where Ivy and Gil are lost in each other's arms.
"Me, too."
"Yeah?" I ask. "There was a time you weren't so thrilled about your baby girl getting married."
Katniss moves to my side to watch the young couple with me. "True, my reaction probably wasn't the most positive at first."
"I think your exact words were: 'Don't make the same mistake I did,'" I reply, squeezing her shoulder.
"Don't remind me," Katniss groans. "I was worried. They're so young! I just didn't want her to go through the same struggles I did; alone, with a child…"
"She'll never be alone," I remind her. "She'll always have us. And Gale and Madge. Caleb."
"I know," Katniss says, moving back in to hug me again. "I was wrong," she mumbles into my chest.
"What was that?" I tease, tickling at her sides. "Can you repeat that, please?"
Katniss just chuckles and squeezes me tighter.
"I. Was. Wrong." she answers, punctuating each word with a kiss to my lips. I deepen the last kiss and savor the taste of her before resting my forehead on hers.
"I love you," I whisper.
"I love you, too." She places one last kiss to my lips. "And I'm so glad you came into our lives. That you are the father of my children. Both of them."
"We did a pretty good job, didn't we?" I ask. I watch as Caleb cuts in and has a dance with his big sister. "All of us." I glance over to where Gale's standing by the bar, having a whiskey with Haymitch. He raises his glass to me and I give him a grateful nod in return.
"We did," she replies. "But we've still got a long road ahead."
I turn back to my wife, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Can you imagine the competition between the two of you once the grandchildren start coming? One of you will be building treehouses for them, and the other will fill their bellies with cookies."
"Wait a minute," I ask, a look of mock consternation on my face. "Which one will I be?"
She raises her eyebrows and chuckles before pulling my face to hers for a kiss. "Only time will tell." Her hand drifts down to mine and she tugs a little, leading me forward. "Now how about a dance, Papa?"
I pull her into my arms and lead her around the dance floor, excited to face our future together.
A/N - This was inspired by this true story: usatoday dot com/story/news/nation-now/2015/09/29/father-bride-asks-stepdad-walk-down-aisle-them/73020470/. Thank you to deinde-prandium for prereading this mess, and to Jessa/peetaspenis for all of your hard work running PiP these past few years.