"An invitation to a wedding invokes more trouble than a summons to a police court." - William Feather
Katniss had been staring at the card in her hand for well over ten minutes, and she still wasn't sure if she had actually processed what it was telling her. She'd been surprised enough before she'd even discovered what the card contained. A regular, daily mail service had taken a bit of time to set up nationwide after the war, and even once it was going, Katniss only expected the occasional letter from Annie when she didn't want to use the phone. All of the people she knew in the Capitol preferred the much quicker method of the telephone, and no one in District 12 needed the bother of sending mail to each other.
That's why she had been taken aback to see that this envelope had traveled only inside the district. Once she had freed the card from the envelope, Katniss could tell that a lot of work had gone into making cheap materials appear as nice as possible. Her stomach sank as she realized that this was something important. Something she'd probably get trapped into.
Katniss didn't know what she had been expecting, but a wedding invitation certainly wasn't it. The district was still in the middle of repairs. The rubble had all been cleared away, but many of the buildings around town were still little more than steel frames. Some lots still sat empty, like the scars of the town. Katniss didn't know this Jett Pourahmadi man, but she knew that Delly was heavily involved with the rebuilding process.
Katniss also knew that weddings could be performed with very little fuss, yet this invitation suggested Delly was going all out. District 12 didn't do fancy weddings. No one had ever had the time or money. Apparently, Delly intended to change that. How she planned to change that and help rebuild the town at the same time, Katniss didn't know. Delly had always struck Katniss as a bit too optimistic about things. No sane person would ever do that to themselves. Then again, no sane person would have a big wedding in Katniss's mind. What was the point when you could just walk into City Hall and be done with it?
Katniss wasn't sure how long she had been staring at the letter when a knock sounded at her door. Laying the card down on the kitchen table she'd been sitting at, Katniss went to go let Peeta in. It had become their routine lately. Peeta would come over in the morning, they'd each go off and do their own thing during the day, and they'd meet back at Peeta's for supper.
"Have you seen this?" Peeta asked, waving his own card in Katniss's face as soon as he was in the door.
Katniss nodded as she lead the way back to the kitchen. She pulled out the cheese buns that Peeta had given her the night before along with some jam and sat them in front of Peeta at the table. He eagerly began piling some on his plate as Katniss joined him.
"Have you met the guy?" Katniss asked as she added jam to a bun. She didn't particularly want to discuss the wedding, but she had no other ideas for conversation. Besides, she would begrudgingly admit to being curious about the man Delly was apparently planning to share her life with.
Peeta frowned and shook his head. "Not surprising though, is it? We haven't exactly been social the past couple of months."
"I suppose not." The thought didn't quell Katniss's discomfort. "But Delly's only been back in District 12 a week or so longer than us. She has to have only met this guy two months ago at the most. How is she already engaged?"
"Clearly, she's managed to fall in love with him."
Katniss snorted. "That's ridiculous."
Peeta raised an eyebrow, and Katniss felt a light blush color her cheeks.
"Not falling in love," she felt the need to explain. "Falling in love after knowing each other less than two months."
"Maybe they've known each other for a long time. Hey, it's possible he followed her back here from District 13."
Katniss wrinkled her nose. She was all for a greater freedom to move amongst districts, but the idea of someone from District 13 living in 12 left a bad taste in her mouth.
"Maybe," she relented. "But she still can't possibly know by now that she wants to spend her whole life with him."
"I don't know." Peeta was looking intently at his food. "I think you can sometimes tell pretty quickly."
"But you never know when something will happen to make you change your mind."
Peeta laughed slightly, still not looking directly at Katniss. "I don't think people usually change their minds. Maybe they forget for a while, but you don't fall out of love. If you do, then you were never really in love with someone in the first place."
Katniss was watching Peeta intently now. For the first time in her memory, it frustrated her that he wouldn't make eye contact. A large part of her wanted to continue the conversation, but an even larger part was screaming at her to avoid all talks of love with Peeta. Abruptly, she loudly scooted her chair back from the table. She could think of nothing to occupy her or excuse her sudden movements. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she headed into the hall and to the closet that stored her hunting gear.
Katniss was tying up her boots when she heard Peeta's ever loud footsteps coming down the hall and stopping right behind her.
"I guess I should leave and let you go hunt then." He cleared his throat and began walking for the door, not waiting for Katniss to respond.
Katniss's mind had gone blank with no idea of what to say, but just as Peeta was about to close the door, she heard herself speak. "See you later, Peeta."
Peeta stopped the door, and Katniss could just barely see him smiling through the small crack.
"See you later, Katniss."
She offered him a slight smile as the door shut tight.
XXX
Katniss had the nasty habit of running into Delly at least once a week, so she shouldn't have been surprised to come face to face with the girl several days later. It wasn't that Katniss didn't like Delly. At this point, Delly was one of the few people Katniss could consider a friend. It was just that the girl was chatty, and Katniss didn't like getting suddenly thrown into long conversations that she wasn't prepared for.
Now, Delly had an even brighter glow about her, and Katniss knew that this would be even harder to get through than usual.
"Katniss!" Delly called excitedly. She was running the twenty feet to Katniss while waving her left hand in the air. Katniss could just make out the glint of the ring that graced one of the fingers. Engagement rings were a fad that went in and out in the Capitol, but Katniss believed no one in District 12 would have ever wanted something so flashy and useless, even if they could afford it. Except for Delly, it seemed.
Once Delly got closer, the ring was being shoved directly in Katniss's face, and Katniss could see that it was a quite modest, if completely useless, ring. In fact, Katniss wasn't even sure if that was a real diamond in the middle or not, but it didn't matter, as few from District 12 would be able to tell the difference.
"Isn't it gorgeous?" Delly gushed as she bobbed up and down on her toes. Katniss offered a slight nod in response. She didn't think Delly had actually been expecting one because she immediately launched into a long speech about the engagement and this Jett man who Katniss still didn't know.
Delly seemed to realize this same fact after several minutes, and her loud gasp caused Katniss to actually snap her attention back to the girl.
"You haven't met Jett yet, have you?"
Katniss shook her head and fought to keep a frown off of her face. She just wanted to get home after selling the last of her meat. She didn't want to be introduced to anyone today, yet she didn't resist as Delly wrapped a hand around her wrist and began pulling her in the direction of a group working on what had formerly been the butcher shop.
Katniss took in the work they'd managed since the last time she'd seen the building. It was finally starting to look like a building instead of a metal skeleton. They seemed to be rebuilding the former building exactly, but Katniss had no idea if it would once again be a butcher shop. They'd have to find a new butcher since Rooba was gone. If anything, Katniss had begun to fill the job with her hunting no longer being considered a part of the black market.
Katniss had barely taken in the building when Delly came to a stop in front of a man that was slightly taller than Peeta. He had a Seam look about him, which made it odd for Katniss to see Delly, with her town look, saddle up to him. They kissed in greeting, and Katniss inspected a metal beam several feet away, not looking back until Delly spoke.
"Katniss, this is my fiance Jett. Jett, this is Katniss."
Katniss nodded slightly as the man smiled at her.
"I've heard of you." He stuck a hand out for her to shake, which Katniss took briefly. "The famous Mockingjay. I'd actually seen you around before the bombings, but I was several years older, so we never really crossed paths."
Katniss nodded along, not sure what to say. It was quiet for several moments before Katniss said, "Congratulations," realizing that she hadn't offered the customary words yet.
Delly and Jett didn't seem to sense her awkwardness, and turned once more to smile at each other happily. Katniss cringed as it looked like they were about to kiss once more.
"Thank you," Delly finally spoke as if realizing that Katniss was still there. "It's all been kind of fast, but it feels like it's for the best, you know?"
Katniss didn't know, but she nodded along anyway, still trying to think of how to get away without being rude. She was starting to hope they'd just start kissing again so she could escape.
"There's been so much to do with the wedding being in just a few weeks. Jett's mom wanted to have longer to plan, but I want to be married, you know?" Katniss just kept up her frequent nodding. "It's definitely been keeping me busy. I've been so concerned with figuring out the guest list. I want to give people time to reply, but I also need it finalized as soon as possible. You're coming right? And Peeta?"
Katniss froze. She hadn't been planning on going, but Delly was looking at her so eagerly and even Jett was smiling expectantly.
"Hard to believe the Mockingjay will be at my wedding." Jett shook his head. "Never would have thought."
Katniss's stomach sunk, but she forced a smile on her face. "I-We'll be there. Peeta and me both. Yeah."
Delly clapped her hands together in excitement. It was becoming even more of a struggle for Katniss not to frown.
"I, um, need to go," Katniss said. "Peeta's waiting."
"Oh, of course." Suddenly, Delly was tugging Katniss back out of the construction area. "I need to go see about some wedding plans anyway. Walk together?"
Katniss nodded even though they already were.
By the time Katniss finally made it to Peeta's for supper, he was waiting for her on his front porch, sketchpad in hand. He watched her closely as she approached, no doubt picking up on her mood. She perched herself on the step beside him and blew out a huff of air before speaking.
"We're going to Delly's wedding."
"We are?"
He was no doubt thinking about her flat out refusal over the past several days.
"Ran into Delly. I couldn't say no."
Katniss buried her face in her hands, which kept her from seeing the happy smile on Peeta's face.
XXX
Katniss frowned at her reflection in the mirror of her room. It was three weeks later, and Delly's wedding was in an hour. It hadn't occurred to Katniss until several days ago that the invitation called for "your best outfit." She had spent a good deal of time digging up the Capitol clothes that she had so happily buried away to never be seen again.
She stood now in a dress of Cinna's design. It was the simplest one she'd been able to find, partly as a small rebellion against the "best" the invitation had requested and also a desire to not stand out amongst the other guests.
Peeta's knock sounded through the house, and Katniss quickly turned away from the mirror and hurried downstairs. He was standing on the other side of the door wearing a simple suit that was clearly Capitol-made, and Katniss found herself thankful that she wouldn't be alone in that regard.
"Ready to go?" Peeta asked. He was smiling brightly as Katniss stepped out from her house.
It was still in the throes of summer, but Katniss felt a bit chilly from the amount of skin she was showing with her dress. She wasn't revealing anything she hadn't revealed before on national television, but there was a large difference from being dressed up by a prep team in the Capitol to be the Mockingjay and being dressed up by yourself in District 12 to be yourself.
Once they reached the wedding, Katniss was happy to see that others had arrived as well, but the crowd was small enough at the moment that she could be seated without walking in front of everyone. Peeta led her to a still empty row towards the back, understanding that Katniss wouldn't want to sit farther up. A few of the guests turned to look at the Mockingjay and Peeta Mellark as they sat, but Peeta didn't seem to notice. Katniss stared pointedly at the platform the bride and groom would stand on to avoid the looks.
Katniss was actually thankful when the ceremony that she'd been dreading began and the looks all turned towards Delly and Jett instead. Even Katniss could admit that the couple looked happy, although she didn't understand the sobbing she heard throughout the crowd. The entire thing was simpler than Katniss had expected, which was nice. It was also over within fifteen minutes, which was even nicer.
Peeta was adamant that they stand around for what must have been a half an hour just to briefly shake Delly's and Jett's hands and offer their congratulations, but they were still back in Victor's Village much sooner than Katniss had anticipated.
It was still the early afternoon, but Katniss didn't decline Peeta's invitation to come directly over to his house. That morning she had been adamant about removing her dress as quickly as possible, but she had grown used to it and wasn't as eager to rid herself of it when there was only Peeta around.
"It was nice," Peeta commented as they sat in their usual seats at his kitchen table. They always sat in here, and Katniss wondered if Peeta was worried about her seeing his paintings. In all the time she had spent in his house over the past month and a half, she had yet to step foot in the living room.
"It was," she agreed.
Peeta smiled at her from across the table, and Katniss offered a tentative smile back. Neither one said anything else about the wedding, but it remained on Katniss's mind for the rest of the night.