One-Shot: Why Not Make It Official?

Peeta Mellark watched from the back porch as his beautiful wife played with their small children, Eric and Clementine.

Well, she wasn't exactly his wife. Partner might be a better word. And that's what bothered him. He wanted to make the gorgeous Katniss Everdeen his, and not just in symbol. In name, law and deed. He wanted to marry her.

Katniss now came in with a child under each arm, whom she then prompted to go scampering up the stairs. "Time for your nap! Mommy will be up to sing you your lullaby in a minute!" She then sauntered gracefully over to Peeta and draped her arms around his neck. Tenderly, she kissed his lips before moving on to his jawline.

"Anything you... wanna do while we have a moment alone?" she purred.

Peeta felt his pants tighten. He was tempted, to be sure, but he had to focus. "Yes. I want to ask you something."

"Hmmmmmmm? And what is that, my love?"

"Katniss... will you marry me?"

The worshipping of his face abruptly stopped. Katniss drew back to look up into his face. She eyed Peeta, amused.

"What do you mean, silly? We already are."

"Really? I can't recall having a wedding. And I don't see a ring on your finger."

Katniss sighed. "Peeta..."

"I'm serious, Katniss! We've been living together for years. Sleep in the same bed every night. Have two kids together, by the way. I don't know about you, but if this is what is still known as 'living in sin', we should be in Hell by now!"

Katniss laughed. "Well, we've already been to Hell and back again a couple times; the view just isn't that exciting anymore."

"Oh, so I'm not exciting anymore?" Peeta demanded, feeling offended. "Eric and Clementine aren't exciting anymore?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean?"

Katniss paused, taking a deep breath. "What I meant was... is a wedding really necessary? Everybody else in Twelve knows that I'm spoken for. When I go trade in the Hob, some of the vendors actually call me 'Mrs. Mellark'! How crazy is that? They know I'm with you, and that I will be for the rest of our lives! They know we have the kids!" She slid back into Peeta's arms again, resting her head on his chest. "As far as I'm concerned, I married you when we kissed that night... on the beach..."

Peeta chuckled. "Sure, let's go with that kiss - and not the one that involved me lying half-dead in a cave with a raging fever!"

Katniss giggled. Peeta kissed the top of her head.

"You love me: real or not real?"

"Real," she sighed against him. "Always real."

"Then why won't you marry me?"

She was silent for a moment. Then: "Is that what you really want?"

"Yes," Peeta stressed. "I want to show everyone that we love each other enough to pledge our lives to each other."

"We already did that, too," Katniss mumbled into his shirtfront. "When we entered an arena to fight to the death. Twice!"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"Oh, shut up!" Peeta playfully swatted her as they both laughed.

"Yes."

"To what?"

Katniss smiled up at him. "Yes. I will marry you."

Peeta kissed her harder than he ever had in his life.

Katniss watched herself in the mirror as she fixed the veil to her forehead. She didn't think her mother's old wedding dress would fit, and yet it did. Like a glove. Maybe she was meant to go through with this whole marriage thing after all, despite vigorous insistence to the contrary in her youth.

"Mama?" And she looked down at where her daughter was struggling with the bow behind her dress. Clementine would be serving as the flower girl. "Why are we doing this?"

Katniss knelt down and helped the little girl fix her bow. "Well, you know how Daddy and I love each other very much?"

"Yes."

"Well, when two people love each other very much, they often stand up in front of their family and friends and tell them so. That's what Mommy and Daddy are doing today - telling our friends that we want to be together forever!" She chuckled. "We probably should have done it a long time ago - before you and your brother were born, but... life got in the way."

The door to her and Peeta's room suddenly opened, and in slouched Haymitch Abernathy, the drunken Victor himself and the couple's surrogate father. As usual, he had a semi-permanent frown attached to his face - a frown that was currently being directed at tie troubles of his own. The bow tie around his neck, to be precise.

"I'm not built for suits! Don't know how I made myself presentable in the Capitol for so many years..."

"You look very alluring," Katniss promised her father figure.

"I think the word you're searching for is alarming, Katniss! I look like a goddamn circus clown in this tux!"

"Nonsense!" Katniss straightened Haymitch's bowtie. "There." She pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks for walking me down the aisle, old man."

"And being the Best Man. And presenting the rings. I know, I know," Haymitch harrumphed. "I almost feel sorry for you two that you don't have any other friends!"

She punched him on the arm.

Haymitch did more than just walk Katniss down the aisle, however. He walked her out of their house in the Victors' Village and all the way through the dirt roads of town to the Justice Building, little Eric perched on his shoulders. Clementine held up her mother's bridal train.

The little chapel inside the Justice Building was packed. All of District 12 was there, anxiously awaiting the Star-Crossed Lovers to finally say, 'I do.' In the front row sat the couple's four fellow surviving Hunger Games Victors: Enobaria, Beetee, Johanna and Annie. The latter had her teenaged son, Finn, by her side. A camera crew from the Capitol was filming the event live from the rear of the church - their presence was one of the reasons Katniss had never wanted an official wedding in the first place.

Haymitch handed Katniss off to Peeta, then took up his post beside the groom. Clementine held up her mother's bouquet to her. Katniss took it before kneeling down and kissing her daughter on the cheek. "Thank you."

Clementine joined her brother in the front row with the Victors.

"Dearly beloved," the preacher began. "We are gathered here today..."

That was all it took to get Effie Trinket hysterically crying in the front pew. Haymitch rolled his eyes. "For the love of God, woman..."

"Haymitch, pipe down! Best Men don't talk!" Peeta hissed scoldingly at his mentor.

The preacher now reached the most important part of the ceremony. "Peeta Mellark, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"And do you, Katniss Everdeen, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," Katniss echoed.

"May I have the rings, please?" the preacher asked. Haymitch dutifully presented them, and Katniss and Peeta exchanged them. "I now pronounce this couple husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Peeta dipped Katniss and kissed her thoroughly; the chapel erupted in applause and cheers. The whole congregation then streamed out of the church, back to Victors' Village.

Inside the Mellark home, Peeta stoked up a fire and cooked a piece of bread over it. Breaking the bread, he and Katniss shared it before sealing the tradition with a kiss. No one in District 12 felt truly married until after a toasting.

Everyone clapped and cheered, before someone got some music playing. Then, the whole crowd partied long into the night.

That night, Peeta and Katniss lay together in bed: he still dressed in his tuxedo, she in her wedding dress. Both were too tired to even make love.

Peeta kissed Katniss's temple. "I love you, Mrs. Mellark."

"I love you too, Mr. Mellark," Katniss yawned.

And with that, the newlyweds went to sleep.