Part Three

Chapter Nine

"Katniss," he whispers.

"Peeta," I whisper back.

"Did you just propose?" I twist in Peeta's lap but then stand, rearranging my legs on either side of his so that I'm facing him and sit back down. I put my hands on his hips and look at him expectantly.

"Are you saying 'yes'?" He starts laughing, not quite believing what I'm saying. "I know that technically we are already engaged, but I want to do this. Today. With you."

He pulls me to his chest, holding me tight and shaking with laughs that are ultimately big enough to squeeze out tears. I turn my head to snuggle into his neck and kiss him there, reveling in his happiness. My happiness.

Our happiness. Cue the freaking choir of angels!

Eventually he leans back and I know that I look about as ridiculous as he does, but I don't care. Peeta frames my face with his hands and kisses me fully, not really paying attention to squished noses or hurriedly bumped teeth. I melt into him and try to commit this moment to memory: his lips, his smile, how full my heart feels, how letting happiness in is a gift in of itself.

But hold the phone…

I pull back, taking in his heavily-lidded eyes and open mouth and say, "Hey! I need an answer!"

Peeta smiles and takes my left hand in his, bringing my ring to his lips. His eyes never leave mine as he places a kiss on the little diamond and says, "Well, as long as you don't forget who asked first. My answer is yes."

I smile and trace his lips with my fingertips. "I kind of want to get on with loving you for the rest of my life, if that's okay."

"I'll never get tired of you saying that, you know." He leans in and kisses me again before murmuring, "I love you."

We sit there until I'm sure Peeta's lost feeling in his legs, holding on tight and breathing deeply. Eventually he says, "So what now?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked that." I try to sit up but he won't let me budge. I laugh. "Okay, I'll explain from here then. We need to go The Office of the Town Clerk and take some oath—" he cocks his eyebrow "—I'm serious, the website said we had to 'sign under oath an Intention of Marriage' and then wait three days before we get an actual license. Forty dollars, a Justice of the Peace and that's it."

"No witnesses?"

"Nope. Not unless we want someone there." I twirl one of his curls around my finger. "I was thinking—."

"Haymitch?"

"How'd you know?"

"Because it makes perfect sense. He did 'fix us' as he so eloquently put it and he'd absolutely bitch about it the entire time. I mean, deep down he'll be crying like a baby but he'll hate every minute of it. It's genius."

I smile. "Exactly!"

"Here's the thing though: I think Haymitch should be it." I tilt to my head to the side but Peeta says, "No, hear me out. I'd like some Henion folks there and then there's the Esselon crew. But if we can't have Prim or Annie or even Rye there, I think we should stick with just Haymitch."

I agree. "What if we kind of keep the whole plan quiet until it's signed and official? Then sometime this summer we can invite everyone here—Henion, Esselon, Madison—for a big celebration? Shorts, grilling out, an iPod, nothing stuffy."

Peeta kisses my neck and teases, "Maybe we can say a few things in front of everyone?"

"Like vows?" These kisses will be the death of me.

"It might be a nice compromise for the people who won't be here for the actual 'oath' thing. You can even write yours down…"

He can't hide his smirk when he says that and I playfully shove his shoulder. "You love my letters."

"That I do."

"Vows would actually be kind of perfect." I kiss him again and say, "So let's go get this party started." I stand and offer him my hands to help him up. We start walking toward the stairs but he quickly scoops me up, slings me over his shoulder and smacks my butt. I squeal, "Peeta! What the hell?!"

He tosses me on the couch and wastes no time taking off his shirt and settling above me.

"First things first."

…

It's almost one o'clock by the time we make it out of the house and into town so we decide to stop for lunch at Judie's8, further breaking our stay-cation rules. I order the gumbo popover and Peeta decides on the sirloin tip popover, splitting them up between us. Peeta of course talks about the chemistry of the hollow bread muffin-thing and what steps will ensure success or certain doom. We casually eat and jot down a few plans for the summer: a new project for one of Peeta's clients, his ideas for wedding announcements, how I want to FedEx brats in from Wisconsin, my trip to Seattle and plans to check out Tanglewood9. We take our sweet time, talking about anything and everything while eating, paying the bill and walking the few blocks to the Town Hall.

By the time we get to the correct office, we're an odd combination of determined and chill. This feels so impossibly right. I had the idea of each of us contributing a $20 bill to pay for the license, an equal offering to a mutual decision. Filling out a one-page document hardly seems romantic, but Peeta stands behind me with his arms around my waist as I fill in my personal information, and when I'm done he reaches around me to do the same. The clerk smiles at us and tells us to return any time after Thursday for the actual license.

"That's it?"

"Yes, dear. That's it."

I turn in Peeta's arms and laugh, hugging him close.

…

The rest of our stay-cation and the remainder of the week is pretty fucking crazy, if I do say so myself. There's a lot of paperwork to deal with once the license is filed and the name change alone looks to be a huge hassle, so we try to think of everything that will eventually have to be updated. While we're forgoing a huge production, the local Justice of the Peace has agreed to meet us for a brief ceremony on Friday afternoon. Then we plan how to corral Haymitch, tell select family members and get on with life. Peeta and I swear to keep our mouths shut until everything is settled on Friday afternoon, then we'll call my mom, Prim, Annie and Rye. I'll tell the people at Esselon and Peeta will spill the beans at Henion. Done and done.

Peeta designs an announcement that perfectly fits us: a flat card with some basic graphic elements and fancy fonts simply saying "we thought you'd like to know that we ran off and got hitched" along with our names, the date and location10; plus a little note that they should save the date for a celebration in August. We'll slip in a photo of the two of us and mail them out next week.

Then there are the rings. There's a local artist11 who has bands we're both happy with. Peeta doesn't want to wear a ring while working in a kitchen so we go ahead and buy a chain that he can string through the band and wear around his neck. His only request was that it a) not look like something Flavor Flav or Mr. T would wear and b) be a chain and not a necklace. Apparently girls wear necklaces. Okay, then.

"This is all so surreal. Surreal but nice12." Peeta tries his ring on and I look down at his hand. "How long did it take for you to get used to your ring?"

"It felt normal after only a couple of days, I think. But I still looked at it a lot." I smile at him and he holds my left hand with his own. "How does it feel?"

"It feels good, like it's supposed to be there. I like it a lot." Peeta holds his palm against the side of my face. "It feels like my hand was meant to hold yours. I can't tell you how happy I am to be doing this with you, Katniss."

"I know the feeling." I lean in and kiss him, eventually curling into his neck and holding him, whispering, "I love you. Thank you for loving me back."

I'm learning to actually crave these moments when we don't say anything but hold each other close enough and tight enough to leave no room for doubt. Peeta's arms are crossed behind me and his hands press against my shoulder blades. Mine wind around his neck and nestle in his hair, our cheeks rest against each other.

He chuckles and breaks the silence. "Can I call you 'the little missus'?"

I pretend to entertain the thought but say, "As your soon-to-be-wife, I advise against it."

"I can't wait to call you my wife."

"Or better half?" I playfully touch his nose with my own and smile.

…

Friday is torture. I'm at Esselon and Peeta's at Henion, but at 2 o'clock we're meeting at the house before kidnapping Haymitch. Thresh has been in Chicago and I have plenty of work to do. We've arranged for a shipment of green coffee beans from a new contact in Columbia and then there's the roasting that was done just yesterday, but I can't seem to concentrate. I keep looking at my phone for texts from Peeta.

Peeta: This is the longest shift I've ever had.

I know! I keep looking at the clock. Get me out of here!

Peeta: I almost used self-rising flour for god's sake.

Is that a bakery joke?

Peeta: No, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

I smile and Finnick walks in, offering me a cappuccino. He takes a seat and shows me photos on his phone of a concert he went to last weekend, so I do the same, showing him pictures of Prim in her cap and gown. Just then, Johanna flies in, yelling at Finn to get back out there so I'm left alone again.

Peeta: I can't wait to see you.

Can you believe that we'll be married in a few hours?

Peeta: No. I can't believe you finally wore me down and convinced me to marry you :)

Smartass.

Peeta: Actually, yes. I've been waiting for this day for years.

I sip my coffee—Finnick is God's gift to espresso—and look down at my phone when I hear the telltale chime of a new text message. Only my screen is black and I turn to see where the sound came from. In his hurry to leave, Finnick left his phone on the desk and I literally choke on my coffee when I see what's on the screen: Annie's face.

I grab his phone to be sure that who I'm seeing is, in fact, my friend. There's no mistaking that the woman is Annie. I put his phone back down and grab my own, texting furiously.

Peeta! PEETA! Finnick just got a text from Annie. She sent him a pic of herself!

Peeta: Wait, what? How do you know? Did you steal his phone or something?

No, no! I'm not a total stalker. He left it on my desk and it just flashed on the screen. OMG!

Peeta: I guess he left quite the impression and vice versa. Are you going to say something?

How can I not?

Finnick comes back with a slightly panicked look on his face and grabs for his phone. "I thought I left this back here," he mutters.

"Hey, you didn't get to see all of the graduation pics. It'll just take a second." He agrees and I take my time swiping through them, pointing out my mom, Gale, some landmarks in Madison and finally the pièce de résistance: Annie. "Of course you remember Annie."

"Sure I do." Finnick's a little red.

"I mean, she's kind of hard to forget." I'm laying it on real thick.

He shrugs, "I suppose."

"So you should probably take the pic she just sent you and save it to your contacts. That way her face will show up when she calls." I cover my mouth and try hard not to laugh. Finnick's breath hitches but then he laughs, too.

"Um, surprise?" He looks sheepish and runs his hands through his hair. "I guess we're busted?"

"You guess?! Have you guys been in touch this whole time?"

"Well, sort of." Finnick takes a seat, propping his legs up on my desk. "Pretty much every day since we met. I guess you can say we hit it off." He throws his hands up, exasperated. "We didn't exactly know what to say to anyone! I was about this close to asking you if I could be your carry-on when you went out there."

I roll my eyes and exclaim, "Geez, Finn! How about 'Katniss, I like Annie'?"

He shakes his head. "I think I love her."

That shuts me up. I look at Finnick squarely in the eyes and realize that he's absolutely serious. I obviously don't know either side of this little (big!) secret, so I can't pass judgment. "Well, you know that I love Annie like a sister. And you, well, you've grown on me." He raises his eyebrows. "What? You were kind of weird at first!" I tap his shin with a pencil and say, "I could get used to it, especially if it makes you both happy."

He smiles and simply says, "Thanks. I know that will mean a lot to her, too."

"Oh, I intend on calling my dear friend this evening, so you might want to give her the heads up. As a matter of fact, here—." I take his phone and navigate to the photo she just sent, handing it back to him. Then I scoot close to Finnick and tell him to hold his phone out and look guilty. A few seconds later, I've snapped a selfie of the two of us (plus the busted Annie) and send it to his phone.

"Send this to Annie. It should adequately prepare her for my call tonight."

I quickly turn off my computer and pack up my things. "I have an appointment, so I need to get going." I quickly hug Finnick and call back to him, "Oh, and ask Annie if she's found what she's looking for13. She'll know what it means."

Chapter Nine Notes:
8. Judie's. Cute little restaurant in downtown Amherst that specializes in…popovers. I'm not kidding. Freaking massive popovers that can be filled with all sorts of amazingness.
9. Tanglewood. Outdoor music venue that brings in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, musical theatre and some popular/modern musicians.
10. There's a shop on etsy called inoroutmedia that carries a card similar to this.
11. Tobi Sznajderman. Jewelry artist is Amherst. Seriously in love with her designs. She has some crazy stuff, but I prefer the understated designs and pictured something very simple and brushed.
12. Surreal but nice. Quote from the movie "Notting Hill." Therefore it isn't mine, but it is still awesome.
13. In the first chapter of Part Three, Annie is asked how work is. "Alright. Things are busy, but a little bit predictable, you know? I figured it would be a little more exciting, but there's a lot of paperwork." Annie pauses and then blurts out, "I'm actually looking for something else."