Just like Gale, Katniss was awake with the sunrise too. She yawned and turned herself over, so she was facing Peeta. She snuggled in against his body and draped her leg up over his hip.
"Good morning, baby." he murmured to her softly. "Did you get any sleep?"
"A little." she said.
"Mmmm, I hope these nightmares ease up soon. I hate seeing you so upset."
He pulled her a little closer, and rubbed his hand down her back and rested it on her hip.
He opened his eyes and looked at her, so close to his own face.
"You look tired." he told her.
"I am tired. I wish we could just stay in bed all day." she said longingly.
"That does sound tempting." Peeta admitted. "I wish we could too. But we have another busy day ahead with the prep teams, so we should probably get up and get going."
Katniss groaned and pulled the covers up over her head.
"No, just five more minutes!" she pleaded.
He smiled and then pulled the covers up over himself too, so that they were both hiding together.
"Okay, five more minutes of snuggle time." Peeta agreed, leaning into her and raining kisses all over her neck.
Five minutes stretched into ten, and then fifteen, as they cuddled together, just holding each other.
"Mmmm, I've missed this." Peeta finally said. "I can't wait to go home and get back to our normal lives."
"Is there any such thing as normal life anymore?" Katniss wondered. "Going home without Prim, it just doesn't feel right. How am I going to live without her?"
She felt the tears coming to her eyes again, and then spilling.
"You will, one day at a time." Peeta soothed her. "Right now it seems impossible because the hole in your heart is fresh, and your pain is deep. But one day, you will go to sleep realizing that you didn't cry for Prim that day. And then it will be a week since you cried, and then a month. You will heal, it just takes time."
Katniss sighed loudly. She couldn't wait to have a day without tears. Peeta gave her a few more minutes to cry for her sister, then dried her face with his hands.
"Come on," he said, taking her hand. "We really need to get up now, before Cinna comes looking for you."
She grudgingly dragged herself out of the warm bed and threw some clothes on. She didn't need to do much else to get ready because she knew that her prep team would be working on her hair and makeup all day anyway, so she just washed her face and ran a brush through her hair.
She dug through her suitcase and found her victor's crown. She was irritated enough that, as last year's victors, she and Peeta would have to wear them at Gale's crowning ceremony, but she really hated that they were being forced to wear them again at their wedding. She despised that stupid crown and everything it stood for.
On their way over to see Cinna and Portia, they stopped by the hospital once again and inquired about Gale, but still he wouldn't see them.
Katniss was just about at the end of her patience with waiting for Gale.
"That's it." she said to Peeta. "I'm done with this. Gale has made it clear that he doesn't want to see me, and maybe he never will. I'm not going to keep coming over here and begging for him to see me, when he obviously doesn't want to. I guess I'll just see him at the crowning... that is, if he even decides to speak to me then."
"Are you sure?" Peeta asked her. "Maybe he still just isn't ready."
"Well, when he's ready, he knows where to find me." she said bitterly. It was breaking her heart that Gale still wouldn't see her.
When they arrived at Cinna's studio, he immediately whisked her inside.
"Where have you been?" Cinna asked. "I thought you'd be here an hour ago!"
"Sorry, it's been a rough morning." she told him.
Cinna looked at her, and saw that her eyes were tired and bloodshot, and were also red rimmed and puffy from crying.
"Look at you!" he exclaimed. "You look awful! How am I supposed to make you look like a happy, blushing bride when you show up looking like this?"
"I'm sorry, Cinna." she said.
"Don't worry, I can fix it." he assured her. "Now, come on, I want you to have a look at your dress!"
He took her by the hand and led her around the corner to where he had a dressing area set up, with a three way mirror, and a small pedestal for her to step up onto in front of it. On a hook on the wall hung a garment bag with her dress in it.
"Are you ready?" he asked her excitedly.
"Yes!" she answered.
"Close your eyes." he instructed, and she did.
Cinna unzipped the garment bag and pulled it away.
"Okay, you can look now!" he announced.
She opened her eyes and looked at her wedding dress that Cinna had created.
It was breathtaking.
"Oh my gosh, Cinna, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
The dress was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline. It had soft ruching all the way down the front, and then at the hips it flared out into a soft, sweeping skirt that fluttered with just the slightest breeze or movement. He turned it around so she could see the back, and he showed her the corset lacing that went all the way down to her hips. The laces tied in a bow just where the curve of her bottom would start. Below that, the skirt fanned out into a fluttery short train that would be just long enough to gracefully sweep the floor behind her when she walked. The creamy organza fabric seemed to catch the light and looked ethereal.
Her eyes started tearing again, but this time it was with happy tears. Her dress was even better than she'd imagined in her dreams.
"No more crying!" Cinna said, laughing. "Your eyes are puffy enough already!"
"Sorry! Sorry!" she laughed. "It's just so pretty...I love it!"
"Are you ready to try it on?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed.
She undressed, and Cinna and one of his assistants got the dress all unlaced and ready to put on.
"Hold your hands up high over your head." he told her, and then they slid the dress down over her head and onto her body. He had Katniss hold up the front while he tightened up the corset laces one at a time, all the way down her back. Finally, he tied the bow at the bottom, and told her she could step up onto the pedestal and look in the three way mirror.
She gazed at herself in the mirror. It was like surreal, like she was looking at someone else. She couldn't believe she was really standing here in her wedding dress.
She immediately noticed that between the boning in the bodice of the dress, and the tightly laced corset in the back, her bosom was pushed up and out, making her look much more voluptuous than she usually did. She looked down at her newly enhanced cleavage, and then looked up at Cinna with a smirk.
"Really?" she asked.
"Really." he answered, giving her a knowing smile. "Trust me, Peeta will love it!"
"I'm sure." she said dryly, unable to hide her grin.
She turned around to look at the back. She was really impressed with Cinna's work. Even her ass looked fabulous in the dress.
"Step down and walk around in it." Cinna instructed. "Tell me if everything feels comfortable, or if there is anything that needs adjusting."
Katniss stepped down and walked back and forth across the room, as Cinna watched her, stroking his chin as he studied the dress and then made little notes to himself on a pad of paper with details he wanted to work on.
He watched her twirl around in front of the mirror, making her fluttery skirt flare out, as she imagined herself dancing in Peeta's arms at the reception. Cinna couldn't help but smile at her... it was so good to see her this happy.
"Okay, Princess," he finally said, grinning. "Time to take the dress off, we have a lot more work to do today."
"Oh, I don't want to!" she said, laughing at him.
"I guess that means you like it?" he asked.
"I can't even tell you how much I love it! It's better than I ever could have imagined. Thank you!" she said, breathlessly.
"You're welcome." he said gently. "Now come on, we really do have work to do!"
He got her all unlaced and helped her out of the dress, and she put her clothes back on. Now it was time to figure out her hair.
She sat in the chair, and told Cinna, Flavius and Venia that she had always envisioned herself wearing her hair down and loose.
"I think we're going to have to do something a little more formal than that..." Flavius told her, as he ran his fingers through her hair, contemplating different ideas. "Plus, we're going to need a way to anchor your crown and veil into your hair. Maybe we could do a half updo... you know... have the front pulled back and curled, but leave the back down..."
He set to work brushing and curling her hair, sweeping it back off her face and up into a pile of curls on top of her head. He left the back of her hair down, and curled it into big, soft waves that cascaded down over her shoulders. Then he took the crown and placed it around the curls on top of her head, encircling her hair like a golden halo. Cinna brought over her veil, which was very long, and would be held in her hair by a single comb. Flavius placed the comb at the back of her hair, just behind the crown, so it almost looked like it was attached to the crown itself.
"There!" he said. "Perfect!"
She looked at it in the mirror, and she had to admit, it did look very pretty, even if she did hate the crown.
Once they had decided that this was the look they wanted, Flavius took out the veil and removed the crown and brushed her hair out, so Peeta wouldn't see what her hair would look like on the big day.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with Venia. First Katniss had to sit through being scrubbed and waxed all over, until her body was clean and shiny. Then they spent what felt like forever trying out makeup in all different colors, trying to find just the right look for her, in shades that would complement her skin and make her look like a glowing, blushing bride.
Just when she thought she was finished and would get to go home to Peeta, she was cornered by Cinna again for one last detail.
"We still have to pick out your shoes." he told her.
Katniss groaned.
"Oh, Cinna, I'm so tired!" she whined.
"Stop being a baby." he teased her affectionately. "This won't take long. There is a fabulous shoe store just down the street, so let's just go and get it overwith."
Cinna walked with her to the shoe store, and picked out several pairs for her to try on.
"Do I really have to wear heels?" she asked.
"Yes, you do. But they don't have to be too high, just something pretty and feminine, okay?"
"Fine." she said.
"How about these? I think these would be nice." Cinna said as he handed her the shoes. They were a summery sandal style with straps of creamy satin, a modest heel, and a little cluster of sparkly crystals at the front.
She tried them on, and thought that they did look pretty good, and they were comfortable for a high heel.
"Okay, I can handle these." she agreed.
They bought the shoes and walked back to Cinna's studio, where Peeta was waiting for her to walk her back to the hotel.
"There's my girl!" he said, reaching out to hug her. "Ready to go home?"
"Am I ever! This wedding prep is a lot of work!" she exclaimed.
Before they left, she hugged Cinna goodbye, and thanked him for everything.
"See you tomorrow for your final fitting!" Cinna reminded her.
"Yup, see you tomorrow!"
She took Peeta's hand, grateful to be finally returning to the hotel to relax.
"So, Peeta, how is your planning with Portia coming? Are you happy with your outfit?"
"Yeah, I have to say, I think it looks very good. I hope you'll like it!" he said excitedly.
"I'm sure I will, love. Whatever you're wearing, I'm sure you'll look very handsome! I can't wait to see it!"
"And I can't wait to see you, either!" he said, as he stopped walking for a moment and pulled her to him for a quick kiss.
As they continued their walk back to the hotel, Peeta asked, "Are you sure you don't want to stop by the hospital one more time and check in on Gale?"
She contemplated it for a minute, before finally answering, "No, I don't think so. I doubt anything has changed, and besides, I really just want to get home and take a hot shower, wash off all this makeup, get in my pajamas, and crawl into bed with you for an early night. I'm exhausted."
"That sounds good to me. Let's go." he told her, as they walked the rest of the way across the square to the hotel.
When they reached their suites, Katniss said, "Why don't we sleep in your room tonight? I haven't been sleeping very well in mine, maybe a change in scenery will help me sleep better."
"Okay, if you want to."
"I'm just going to shower and change and then I'll be over, okay?" she asked. "Then we can order some room service for dinner and just take it easy."
"Don't keep me waiting too long, or I'll have to come over and get you!" Peeta teased, then he kissed her before she headed into her own suite, winked at him, and shut the door.