Disclaimer: I own nothing.

I walked and held on to Haymitch's arm until I found myself two steps away from Peeta. His eyes shone in a special way, a way that I had seen only on very few occasions. They were shining with happiness. It was a contagious happiness, one that eliminated thoughts of pain and guilt. He took my hand and kissed it sweetly, squeezing it gently. I couldn't help but smile excitedly. Seeing Peeta like this intoxicated me.

"You're beautiful, Katniss."

"Thank you," I blushed.

The mayor coughed from behind the table; I hadn't even noticed him up until that moment. We looked at him and he indicated that we sit down on the chairs covered in red velvet. Peeta sat down without letting go of my hand. He seemed as nervous as I was.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the mayor began, (and hearing him reminded me of Madge), "We have gathered here today to celebrate a serious act, as is the marital contract between Ms. Katniss Everdeen and Mr. Peeta Mellark. From this moment on, the spouses are required to live in mutual respect, live together, and share happiness and mutual protection." I sighed; it was what we had been doing for months already. "Do any of you have anything to add?"

"Katniss," Peeta looked even more nervous. He took my other hand too and kissed both; he then coughed to clear his throat, maybe to relieve his anxiety, "Katniss, I give myself to you today, to share my life with you. You can trust in my love because it is real. I promise to be a faithful husband and share and support all of your hopes, dreams, and goals. My heart will be with you forever. When you fall, I will pick you up; when you cry, I will comfort you; when you laugh, I will laugh with you. Everything I am and everything I have is yours from this moment on until the rest of eternity." I couldn't help but let my eyes water in stupid tears of happiness. The love I felt for this man increased with each word.

"Peeta," I placed a finger on his lips, smiling. "I know…" I turned to the mayor again.

"Let us continue." He handed us a book from which we had to read the marriage vows.

"Katniss," Peeta began, "do you accept to be my lawfully wedded wife?"

"Yes," my smile tugged at my cheeks painfully. "Yes, I do," I kissed his hand. "Peeta, do you accept to be my lawfully wedded husband?"

"Yes, I do," he whispered as he looked into my eyes. "Katniss, I take you as my wife and promise to love you faithfully all of my life."

"Peeta, I take you as my husband and promise to love you faithfully all of my life."

"Good, now sign here…"

The mayor laid out a yellow sheet with several paragraphs on it that I didn't bother to read and signed it without hesitation. I could have been signing my death sentence and I wouldn't have cared. Peeta also signed it without a thought and took my hand again.

"Now the rings," the mayor whispered.

Peeta took out a tiny box from his pocket and from it, a perfect ring. Just like the engagement ring, it had a golden band engraved with the same designs as my angel caller, but this time, the jewel that decorated it was not a diamond; it was a pearl, a small and perfect pearl. And I loved that more than the most expensive diamond in the country because the pearl meant something to us. He then handed me the box, and in it remained one ring, the same golden color as mine and with the same designs, but thicker and without a pearl. Inside it I could read the inscriptions Katniss & Peeta and today's date. I supposed that mine had the same thing written on it. My hands shook slightly while I slid it onto his finger.

I grinned at him and his lips pressed against mine in a soft and sweet kiss that brought the official ceremony to a close. Now we just had to do the Toasting. I knew that the mayor said something, but my ears didn't catch it; all of my senses were concentrated on the sensation that Peeta's kiss had provoked me. When we pulled back, a roar of applause flooded the room, and my cheeks turned an intense shade of red. I couldn't help it. Peeta kissed my hand while everyone approached us to congratulate us.

Everyone that we had invited had attended. Everyone except one person. Everyone except Gale. As I had guessed, he hadn't come, and that hurt in the deepest part of my heart. A piece of my being shattered. My hopes were destroyed in that moment. But I couldn't be down right now. Neither Peeta nor anyone who expected a beautiful celebration deserved that.

After all of our friends had congratulated us, we left the Justice Building holding hands.

"You're my wife now," Peeta whispered in my ear softly before leaving a gentle kiss on my cheek.

"You know it's not official until we toast the bread," I winked at him, trying to be seductive.

We walked with our friends towards our house. Now I could say it was ours without a doubt. It was where we would live together- forever. As we reached the door, we noticed that a few of those who had survived from the Seam were decorating the garden. They were arranging tables, flowers, white lanterns, and other party decorations. Everything was beautiful; everything was perfect. When those people saw us, they came by to congratulate us. Strangely enough, they all seemed happy. They smiled and laughed, they hugged us. And we didn't even know them personally. Obviously I knew them all from years ago, from seeing them in dusty streets, and some I had even sold fresh meat to.

For example, there was Mrs. Custard. She had lost her husband in the same mining accident that my father had died in. Her eldest son had died in the Games a year before that incident. I had given her meat in exchange of blankets or woolen sweaters that she had obtained from her own squalid sheep. But her youngest daughter wasn't there. I assumed that she hadn't survived the destruction of 12 and that made me unable to meet her eyes even as she smiled and congratulated me. It surprised me to see her look so happy.

Peeta and I had to pose for various photos. Even though Peeta seemed to love it, I wasn't having such a great time. I wanted to go inside the house, toast the bread, and relax with my boy with the bread- my husband.

When we were finally able to enter the house, Peeta kissed me so sweetly that I thought I would lose consciousness from such tenderness. His tongue caressed my lips and my tongue gently. But I soon went for more. My kiss turned more demanding, warmer. Peeta, far from pulling away, responded to the intensity of my kiss, pressing me against the wall by the entrance. I moaned against his lips, and his hands, which had been resting on my hip, went down to my rear and squeezed it through the lace of my dress. I placed my hands on his hips and pressed him closer to me. I immediately noticed that he was as aroused as I was. I smiled against his lips, and my hand headed towards his crotch. I squeezed it, making my boy with the bread moan against my mouth.

But a cough behind us made us split apart rapidly, moaning and panting. Out of all of the people who were at the party, the least anticipated person was the one to catch us. My mother glared at Peeta. She then turned to me, and she didn't have to say anything for me to know what she was expressing: anger, disappointment, surprise… and a million other things.

"You should start the ritual now," she snapped, turning away from us.

Peeta and I nodded. He took my hand and kissed it. He then walked away and headed towards the kitchen. I followed my mother. The living room was decorated in candles and flowers. And it smelled wonderfully, like burning wood and coal. These two materials crackled in the chimney, making the living room seem like an authentic oven. We were at the end of August, and it was still hot outside. The heat was nearly unbearable.

Fortunately, my boy with the bread joined me instantly. He took my hand again, and we approached the scorching chimney. In front of this, he had laid out a white sheet with gold embroidery on it. Our names and today's date were sewn in one corner. Peeta helped me kneel down with one of his hands, since his other one was holding the rack to place the bread in, which was wrapped in a silk cloth.

He kneeled by my side and as soon as he placed the metal iron over the ember, my mother called in the main guests- the only people who I wanted in that moment: Haymitch, Johanna, Annie and her baby, Effie, and my mother herself. When we were all gathered around, they began to sing the wedding song.

Peeta smiled and began unwrapping the bread. As soon as he did, I was surprised to discover that the bread was in the shape of a heart. I grinned as I looked at it. Peeta was romantic like this. He held the bread on one side and I held on to the other side as we pulled it apart to break it in half. Each piece was no bigger than the palm of my hand. Peeta kissed the bread and placed it on the rack so that it would start toasting. I did the same thing as him and then I took his hand, and when everyone else finished singing, I started singing in his ear a song that was different than the ones I had sung before, a song that I had never sung until then. I had waited until the right moment. I had waited for this moment.

I will wake on the divan of your dreams

Fiery like a winter sunset

And laughing inside you, beside me beneath the covers

Uncovering the mask of your body

Kissing you is feeling the heat of hell

Gazes that are accomplices of our game

And sitting beside you and knowing that you're there

This song will make you feel…the desire…

You are the flame of my heart

The fury that rides in my interior

The star that illuminates my courage

Is your body

And sitting beside you and knowing that you're there

This song will make you feel…the desire.

You are the flame of my heart

The fury that rides in my interior

The star that illuminates my courage

Is your body

When I finished, Peeta looked at me smiling with glassy eyes, about to cry. I smiled, stroked his cheek, and kissed him sweetly. Soon our companions began singing the same love song that they had been singing before. I smiled, looking into his eyes again, getting lost in them and the flames that were reflected in them. I then looked at the bread. I carefully flipped it over and checked that it was ready.

"It's done."

"Well, take it…careful, Katniss."

I nodded and took one of the pieces with my hand, trying not to burn myself. I blew on it softly; the truth was that my fingers were burning. We left the bread over the sheet for a few seconds, but then put it near Peeta's mouth. He took his own piece and placed it near my mouth as we looked into each other's eyes, biting the bread at the same time.

My "family" began singing louder, and the happiness filled me completely. I became lost in the ocean blue of Peeta's eyes while I savored the piece of bread that he had given me. I smiled, finished chewing, and when Peeta was about to give me a new piece, a new voice joined the chorus.

I couldn't believe it; he had heard my pleas, now I could be completely happy. Gale, my friend- my best friend- was there by my side, singing at my wedding. When I smiled at him, he returned the gesture and I was able to take another bite of toast. When the song finished, Peeta and I hugged each other tightly.

"I love you, Katniss."

"I love you, Peeta."

We weren't able to enjoy much of our intimate hug, since Haymitch enveloped us both. We soon separated and Effie cried and hugged me. But I wanted other arms to hold me. I managed to let go and approached my friend.

"Gale."

"You look beautiful, Katniss."

"Thank you."

"I would look better." He pointed at Peeta with his chin.

"Gale," I scolded him, "stop."

"I was kidding…"

"I know."

He opened his arms and I pressed close to his chest, hugging him, flooding my nostrils with his intoxicating scent. I had missed him. I loved that he was here, by my side, sharing my happiness.

A/N- Well, they're finally married! Did you enjoy the toasting? I think it was one of the most enjoyable parts for me to write.

And well, since many of you have asked this, I will tell you that there's not much left to go, in fact there are another two chapters and the epilogue left. I'm sorry that this is ending; I will always have a very, very special love for this story.

T/N- I would just like to add a few notes here: the song is called "En Tu Cuerpo," (In Your Body) by Saratoga. I tried to translate it as best as I could. I'm sorry if it didn't make much sense :/ However, you're welcome to listen to it even if you don't understand it, just so you can kind of get the feel of it I guess. I listened to it a few times and I liked it. Also, I would like to thank Court81981, beta extraordinaire, for helping me with this. There are a lot of things that one has to take into consideration when translating, and she helped me make more sense of it. I just want to give this story the justice it deserves, and I hope I accomplished that. Thank you to all of the readers for sticking with us on this!

Teaser:

The musicians that were in one corner of the garden began playing almost at the same time that we entered the dance floor. People came closer to look and that made me even more nervous, I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of so many people, I didn't want to ruin the party for Peeta, this was important to him, and I wanted everything to be perfect for him.

"Ready?"

"No," I said sincerely with a smile.

"Everything will be fine, trust me, Katniss." He began to swing gently and I followed his rhythm slowly. Little by little his feet began to move from the floor and mine followed his clumsily.

Love you guys!
Fire kisses!