It takes Gale 2 weeks to convince me to move in. My biggest concern is my mother's reaction, of course, and it doesn't help that I have to endure another horrifying 20 minute lecture on birth control and "propriety" once Prim points out that I stayed at Gale's after the wedding. I manage to worm my way out of the discussion early by pointing out that we caught her and Rory kissing, and Prim and I aren't on speaking terms for a few days.

Eventually, however, Gale's constant badgering breaks down my defenses and I agree. As much as I hate to admit it, I want to live with Gale. I'm 18, I have a job at the apothecary, Gale has his job, and we'll make it just fine, especially when we factor in our hunting.

Of course, when we talk to our mothers about the plan, all hell breaks loose. After a week of fighting, arguing and insisting that no we do not want to get married, my mother tells me in no uncertain terms to drop the issue, and Gale's mother all but forces him to move into Rory's house.

Prim gets back into my good graces by coming up with a surprisingly manipulative plan that solves our problems. But it still takes Gale until mid-November to convince me to go along with it.

Prim's reasoning is this: Gale and I want to live together, but we don't necessarily want a wedding or the official paperwork. Our mothers want us to be "officially" committed to on another before we move in together, and they don't want to have to explain to anyone that we're not married. Prim, I'm pretty sure, is just trying to distract everyone from teasing her and Rory about the day Haymitch caught them kissing. But her idea is brilliant.

We tell our mothers that we want to get married, but we have concerns about the paperwork side of things. Specifically, tying another Everdeen to a Hawthorne, changing my last name, and further tying victors to our family (especially since Haymitch and Peeta technically own the Apothecary) seems like a risky endeavor. Not just for me personally, but for the rebellion. So Prim insists that if we have a toasting, we'll be married in the eyes of our mothers, and no one will look at the official paperwork. So Gale and Prim decide that the best plan is to have a toasting without a legal marriage.

I'm hesitant. It's still a marriage of sorts, and while not legally binding, the legal side of the issue is not actually at the heart of my hesitancy. Moving in with Gale makes the whole thing slightly more real (although if I'm honest with myself, it's what I want), but a toasting... I've loudly, publicly stated since I was 12 that marriage was not in the cards for me. Not that I care what anyone thinks about me, but the idea of marriage (and particularly children) is the greatest source of anxiety for me. I debate for weeks as to whether I can emotionally handle being married, even if it's unofficial.

But eventually I get tired of trying to sneak around with Gale, avoiding our parents and siblings. We manage to get a few stolen moments in the woods, and even sneak into his house with Haymitch's bug-detecting books under the very real guise that we need to make sure we're not being spied on (Gale's house is surprisingly clear of bugs, and Rory's house is unsurprisingly crawling with them). But I'm itching for my own space, even if it's a rickety house in the seam with no running water and drafty windows. So I put aside my inflexibility and agree.

The day I agree to marry Gale is cold and gray. The sky matches the color of his eyes. We've been hiking toward the lake on a Saturday afternoon, intent on catching some fish before the water freezes, and keeping an eye out for the bears we've seen recently. After we set up some nets and traps, we lie down on a rock to eat our lunch, my head on Gale's chest, our bows within reach.

"So...I've been thinking about the toasting..." I start the conversation, and Gale quiets. "I think I want to do it."

There's a pause, then before I know it, I'm lifted into the air and spun around. "Katniss." His eyes are shining and there's a grin on his face. As he leans down to kiss me, I appreciate the fact that I'm the only person who can elicit this reaction from him.

"When?" I contemplate his question. I had been thinking so hard about whether I wanted to do this toasting thing that I hadn't thought about when we should do it.

"I see no reason to wait. There's nothing to plan, no house to prepare."

Gale grins mischievously. "So tonight?"

I smack him lightly. "Yeah, because our mothers will accept that."

He sighs. "So...tomorrow?"

I laugh at the thought, but it has a certain appeal. I don't like to wait on things. Neither Gale nor I is particularly patient. And the sooner we do this, the less time our mothers have to plan, argue, or try to stuff me into a white dress. "Let's do it. Tomorrow."

And so I pack my few belongings and spend my Sunday morning hauling them to Gale's house and setting things up. My mother gives me a few of her belongings from her early days with my father, in spite of her annoyance that our marriage isn't "official". My sister spends the early afternoon talking me into wearing a dress (I had intended to do the toasting in my everyday clothes) and curls my hair while my mother cooks some rabbit stew.

At 4pm we show up at Gale's house with the stew and some bakery bread from next door. Gale answers the door in his nicest clothes and ushers us in. As my mom putters around the kitchen, Hazelle arrives with Rory, Vick and Posy in tow (and some garden vegetables and fruit which she takes to the kitchen). Rory quickly joins Prim on the couch, and Posy dashes around the house, chattering excitedly about the toasting.

We're surprised when, a few moments later, there's a knock on the door. Haymitch, Peeta, Delly, Madge and Nick stand on the rickety porch, wearing their nice clothes.

I think my mouth hangs open. Rather than welcoming them in, I simply stand there for a moment.

Madge breaks the silence. "Posy spilled the beans. I know you don't want an audience, but we couldn't miss this."

Haymitch just huffs and takes a sip out of his flask.

They file in and Peeta puts a box down on the kitchen table and opens it to reveal a wedding cake, decorated with katniss flowers and hawthorn berries. Hazelle and my mother cluck over it excitedly.

Suddenly things seem much more...real. Until this point, I could pretend that the toasting was just a pretense to appease our mothers, but now there are more witnesses, and a cake...

I retreat to the corner and close my eyes for a moment. I hate being the center of attention, and I wanted this to be small and uneventful, and it keeps growing bigger. While I'm happy that my friends are here, I'm also overwhelmed.

I open my eyes to find Gale in front of me. "You're not backing out now, are you Catnip?" He smiles a little, but I can tell that he, too, is overwhelmed. Plus, my friends are here, but his are not.

"No...but are you OK with this? We can go get some of your friends if you want, or reschedule for another day, or ask Peeta and Haymitch and Madge and Nick and Delly to leave..." I am rambling.

Gale simply puts his hand on my shoulders and kisses my head. "It's fine. I don't care who is or is not here, I just want to make some toast with you." He takes my hand, barks at his brothers to calm down, And we have our toasting in the small fireplace in the house where Gale grew up. The walls are drafty and the electricity is usually off. It's too warm in the summer and too cold in the winter, but it's Gale's and mine.

After a delicious meal (plus some cake, of course), our family and friends leave us to settle in together. After almost 18 months under the constantly watchful eyes of our mothers and siblings, it feels almost like we're breaking a rule when we get to go to bed together.

The novelty of our arrangement wears off eventually, and by the time the 77th reaping comes around, we've settled into a comfortable and happy routine. My mother graciously gives me Sundays off at the Apothecary so that Gale and I can hunt together (when the fence is off), and in the evenings we often sneak out of the district together to gather herbs or check the snares. Sometimes we spend time up at Rory's with our siblings. Other times we hang out with some of our friends, including Nick and Madge. It feels strange and grown up to have dinner with none of our parents around, but we come to enjoy spending time in the apartment above the candy shop, which Madge has re-named "Maysilee's" in honor of her late aunt.

Our routine also includes increased involvement with the rebellion. We have snuck a large quantity of explosives to an area near a train trestle a few miles out of the district. All that remains is to complete our stash of survival gear. When the time comes, we are to sabotage the tracks, then hide out in the woods until the rebels have control of the district. The explosion is the signal for the rest of the rebels to complete their roles, overpower peacekeepers, and take control of the district. Then they'll send up a signal (most likely blowing up the Peacekeepers' headquarters) and we can return to town. The district itself is preparing as well. More and more gardens are popping up, and even some Seam families are finding ways to obtain livestock. Both are completely legal, and the feeling that something is changing has given District 12 the extra energy to start taking care of itself. If we are cut off from supplies, we can survive.

The 77th reaping finds me clutching at Gale's hand while Prim and Vick stand within the roped off area. Prim, now 15, steals glances at Rory, who looks on with steely anger. His outbursts have calmed, and he seems to understand just how much is at stake. The Capitol all but ignores him, much to my relief. Vick is in the 12-year-old section, looking pale but determined. As Rory's brother, he probably has a better-than-average chance of being chosen as tribute. His friends pat him on the shoulder.

Effie draws the names of a 16-year-old seam girl and a 14-year-old boy from the community home. Prim is safe for another year.