A/N: I decided to change things up a little with this chapter so we'll be in Peeta's mind for a change. Okay, I'll admit it…I just really would rather hear what's going on in Peeta's head on their wedding day since he's the one that's been waiting for it FOREVER. Enjoy! And as always, reviews are appreciated…and sometimes placed on my refrigerator like good report cards.

Chapter 29

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true

There's nothing that I would not do

Go to the ends of the Earth for you

To make you feel my love

-Bob Dylan "Make You Feel My Love"

Katniss and I were surprised to find we weren't the first ones in our little party to reach the Justice Building on the gray winter morning we officially became husband and wife.

On the ride over, we both kept an eye out for Haymitch and Sae, having decided we would pick them up on our way if we spotted either of them trudging through the snow on their way to town.

Most people in the outlying districts like us in 12, the farmers in 11, even the ranchers in 10 had little need for vehicles aside from ones used for transporting goods to other districts. The sad truth of it was, those of us who had survived the war and returned home to these places were either with the broken remains of our families or had no one left. Leaving 10 or 11 or 12 wouldn't change that and so many of us returned to our former homes and stayed, happy just to be alive. Leaving would only draw more attention to our loneliness and if by some collective decision, we all decided we'd rather be lonely together. If anyone had cause to go to another district, they took the rail system which had been refurbished and in some cases, rebuilt, since the end of the war.

Katniss and I still had the same vehicle we'd driven to the Capitol for the first anniversary. Plutarch had told us to consider it a gift; thanks for having been so cooperative during that time.

It still ran well 10 years later, but of course it had only been used for short trips back and forth to the bakery, to the train station to pick up visitors when our friends and family from District 7 and District 4 came to stay with us from time to time.

I watched Katniss out of the corner of my eye as I drove us to town. She was quiet but that wasn't unusual.

There are days even now when Katniss can spend a day or two lost inside her mind, not speaking or sometimes even able to get out of bed for that matter. These days are almost more difficult to explain to our children than the days I am behind the door with the red X because the mother they see curled up, mute and seemingly uninterested in taking care of them is so different than the mother they know the rest of the time.

"How you doin' over there, sweetheart?" I asked reaching over at one point to take Katniss' hand where she had them both folded on her lap.

She turned to look at me with a coy but playful smile and placed her free hand on top of mine so that it was sandwiched between both of hers. She lifted the top hand briefly and held it out between us in the air, palm down.

"I'm fine. Steady as can be." She grinned and I looked down to see that in fact her hand was perfectly steady, Giving no indication that she was even the slightest bit nervous.

It went a long way to making me feel more confident myself. I reached for her hand again and brought it up to press my face against the smooth skin on the back lightly and then kissed her knuckles.

"I love you, Katniss. Thank you so much for agreeing to be my wife." I said still keeping one eye on the road as I continued to hold her hand to my face.

Katniss tugged her hand free of mine so that she could stroke my clean-shaven cheek with the knuckles I had just kissed and then smiled softly.

"I've already been yours for so long, Peet." She said and brought my hand back down to her lap where she placed it once again between both of hers.

"This just makes it officially official." She smirked and I chuckled as we pulled into the parking lot beside the Justice Building. I turned off the car and leaned over to kiss her softly.

"What a way with words you have, Miss Everdeen." I murmured against her lips and Katniss leaned in to deepen the kiss.

I knew exactly why Katniss was making sure to give me so many reassurances about the wedding and I have to say, I appreciated her efforts. Katniss knew well enough by that point that there would always be a part of me, and we'd never quite know when that part was going to show up, that would have doubts about her feelings for me. Living together for all those years and then her finally agreeing to have our relationship legally recognized went a long way toward keeping 'bad Peeta' at bay, but the simple truth of it was he would likely never completely disappear.

The fact that she was still willing to share her life, her heart and her body with me despite the emotional, and sometimes physical, toll it took on her and I to do so made me love her even more than I thought possible.

"Don't you mean Mrs. Mellark?" She whispered and pulled back briefly to smile into my eyes.

"In a few minutes it will be." I whispered back and leaned in to kiss her again.

Our lips were just about to touch when someone pounded loudly on the driver's side window behind my head and I turned quickly to see Haymitch bending over looking in through the frosty glass at us.

"Save it for the cabin! Some of us are standing sober out in the freezing frickin' cold waiting to sign a damned piece of paper, so let's get on with it!" he bellowed and Katniss stared daggers at him which of course just made me laugh.

I nodded to Haymitch as I pushed the door open and he stepped back to let me climb out of the car.

"Good morning, Haymitch. Lovely day for a wedding don't you think?" I asked brightly and slapped him heartily on the back before moving around the car to open the door for Katniss.

I half listened to Haymitch continue going on about standing in the cold as I reached for Katniss' hand and helped her out of the car. She smiled at me, her cheeks rosy from the cold and her eyes bright with excitement. She looked so much like the brave little girl who stood up on a stool to sing The Valley Song on the first day of school that I couldn't help leaning in to kiss her once more, my right hand moving of its own accord up to stroke braid again lightly.

"Well there they are; the happy couple!" Sae said suddenly from beside us and Katniss and I pulled back from the kiss to regard her shyly.

She was dressed in her finest, her white hair swept back in a brilliant blue scarf that I assumed she knitted herself and wearing a pair of shiny black snow boots with white fur trim around the tops that almost reached her knees. She wore a midnight blue coat with 4 brass buttons that clasped it closed from about mid thigh all the way up to her neck.

Haymitch came up alongside her and they both smiled proudly at the two of us as we all started up the steps to the door of the Justice Building. Haymitch was the first to reach the door and he opened it for Sae to go in ahead of him.

I heard him starting to ask 'what the hell were we doing now?' but he stopped as soon as he saw me and my bride-to-be standing on the top step, in the very same place where we had first shaken hands at the first reaping. In the very same place where I had stood beside her after volunteering to take Haymitch's spot in the reaping before the quarter quell.

It was strange to think that if Katniss hadn't volunteered for Prim and I hadn't been reaped we might not be standing in that same place we first held each other's hand, getting ready to walk into that same building to marry. It was one of the first times I really understood the meaning of the word 'bittersweet' because Katniss and I probably wouldn't have been standing there had it not been for the Hunger Games.

Just one more way that the Games had changed our lives forever to add to the list.

Without a spoken word between us, I reached for Katniss' hand at the same time she reached for mine. Neither Haymitch nor Sae made any further remarks about the cold as they stood watching us silently looking out over the square in front of the steps.

When people began to take notice of us standing there, I tugged on Katniss' hand and led her back over to where Haymitch and Sae were standing by the door. Sae was holding onto Haymitch at his elbow, patting her eyes gently with the handkerchief he kept handy in the breast pocket of his suit coat.

"You ready to do this?" Haymitch asked as we all stepped inside the doors together and were relieved to find the main lobby empty aside from a security guard sitting at a desk who looked to be about mine and Katniss' age.

"Absolutely." I said holding up the little packet of paperwork and glancing over at Katniss lovingly.

She smiled back and my heart melted as I held her gaze for a long few seconds and tried to memorize everything about how she looked right then, balancing on the threshold between being my fiancée and becoming my wife. I knew for sure that I'd want to paint that image later and I was looking forward to doing so almost as much as I was looking forward to the wedding night we were going to spend at our cabin.

"Me too. Absolutely." She said softly and Sae couldn't contain her already teeming emotions any longer.

She stepped forward and grabbed first me and then Katniss, hugging us each tightly before stepping back and casting her eyes at the floor in embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She mumbled dabbing her eyes again with the hanky and fanning herself with the other hand. "Don't you mind this silly old woman." She laughed through her tears and Katniss and I both smiled at her affectionately.

Sae had become like a grandmother to the two of us, taking care of us those first few months back in 12 and keeping a rather obvious eye on us for Katniss' mother over the years. We pretended not to know that she was reporting back to Mrs. Everdeen a few times a month. It seemed to make them both happy and Mrs. Everdeen's calls sounded less worried since she'd been getting her little updates from Sae.

Haymitch shook his head and cleared his throat as he stepped forward next to Sae and then leaned over to whisper something to her that Katniss and I could barely hear.

"Don't you think you should stop blubbering like a silly old romantic fool and give the girl that…" he paused and cast us a quick glance before leaning in a little closer to Sae where he whispered, "…thing?"

Katniss and I shared a puzzled look as Sae made a sound of excitement and then quickly began patting down her coat and searching through pockets. She smiled when she found what she was looking for and gently pulled a small cloth from her pocket and unfolded it to reveal a silky, light blue hair ribbon. Or at least I was pretty sure that was what it was, but then I lived in a house full of boys so I wasn't sure until Sae confirmed it.

"Your Mama gave this to me for safe-keeping one time when she came here to visit a few years ago." She explained and looked at Katniss who had taken a curious step forward.

"She assumed that when this day came it might be a bit…spurr-of-the-moment-like, so she asked me to make sure you had the ribbon she wore in her hair the day she married your Daddy." Sae said softly and smiled warmly at Katniss even as she leaned in and carefully weaved the ribbon through Katniss' braid.

She continued speaking as Katniss reached up to gently touch the ribbon whistfully and they both smiled at each other.

"She said he bought it for her himself just before their wedding and chose the color because it matched your mother's eyes." Sae said and then grinned the type of grin only a woman remembering her own long-gone love could.

"He told her to keep it for the little girl of their own he hoped they'd have one day." Sae nodded and Katniss lifed her chin, bravely blinking back tears.

I had come to realize in those years I lived with Katniss before we were married, just how much she deeply loved and missed her father. He had passed on his dark looks, his talent for singing and his deep pride for taking care of their family to his oldest daughter who I loved so much and so even though I'd never formally met the man, I had a deep and profound respect for him. I knew how much this small token from her mother, and in a strange but wonderful way, her father, meant to Katniss.

"Thank you, Sae." Katniss whispered and leaned forward to wrap the old woman in a fierce hug.

I stood back smiling at them but looked over at Haymitch when he cleared his throat quietly. I could tell by the way he was shifting from one foot to the other that he was nervous and a nervous Haymitch, made me nervous.

"What?" I blurted out suddenly and Katniss pulled back from hugging Sae who was smiling knowingly at Haymitch.

When he made eye contact with Sae she very subtly nodded her head towards me and Haymitch cleared his throat again.

"Yeah, right…so…here you go." He said gruffly and took one of my hands and turned it over so that my palm was facing up and then placed something round and smooth in the middle of it.

I looked at him for a moment, still sort of puzzled by his anxiety, and then opened my hand slowly to reveal the watch he always wore in the pocket of his vest. I held it up by the chain and then slid my eyes over to Haymitch.

He was still shifting uncomfortably and when I looked to him for further explanation he shrugged and continued to avoid my gaze even as he spoke.

"Right, well, I figured you deserved a wedding present too and it's not like I have much need for a watch." He shrugged. "You know I tell the time by how many bottles I've got piled up at the back door and…"

Before he could finish, I walked straight for Haymitch and wrapped my arms around his neck like a child, holding him tightly so that he couldn't pull away from me.

Suprisingly, he didn't even try to.

Slowly, as if coming out of a trance, Haymitch raised his arms and wrapped them strongly around my torso and held me too. I tried to keep my emotions in check, but knowing Haymitch had given me the watch for no other reason (despite his rather ridiculous excuse that he didn't need one) than that he loved me like a son and he was the closest thing I had left to a father, made tears burn behind my eyes.

"Thanks, Haymitch." I whispered and heard what I was pretty sure was both Sae and Katniss sniffling quietly behind me as I continued to hug Haymitch.

"You're welcome, boy." He mumbled and then pulled back and turned to the security guard to avoid any further sharing of his emotions.

I walked back over to stand beside Katniss and held the pocket watch up for her to look at. She smiled and leaned in to kiss me softly and then took the watch from me and carefully fixed it by the chain to the vest of the suit I was wearing and tucked the watch into the little pocket there.

I shrugged out of my winter coat and helped Katniss off with hers while Haymitch asked the security guard to point us towards the office of the register of marriage licenses.

I looked over at the security guard who, by the amount of sweat I could see coming through his uniform shirt, clearly knew who all of the people standing in the lobby in front of him were. His anxiety seemed to triple when Haymitch asked where we had to go to have a marriage license signed and he pieced together the implications of that question.

I felt for the poor guy, I really did. He tried so hard to hide his surprise at hearing the victors of the 74th Hunger Games and the poster children of the revolution were finally getting married, but anyone of the 4 of us could tell he was bursting at the seams to tell someone, anyone probably.

"Um, oh, it…it's on the second floor. Take a…a right off the elevator and you'll be right in front of it." He stammered after springing up from his seat at the desk like a fire had been lit beneath the chair when Haymitch spoke.

Haymitch smiled pleasantly enough but I noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. He took a step closer to the desk as he reached into his pocket. I could hear the quiet jingle of coins and gripped Katniss' hand harder as he removed a few gold coins and pressed them into the guard's sweaty hand as he reached out to shake it in thanks.

"Thanks, appreciate it." Haymitch said evenly and stared the guard straight in the eyes.

"I'd appreciate it even more," he said producing a few more coins and taking the man's hand again in what I could tell was a much firmer grip. "If you could find it in you to keep this to yourself."

I noticed the guard's back stiffen and his brow furrow briefly and knew that Haymitch was squeezing his hand very hard. Katniss snorted slightly and turned her face into my shoulder to keep from laughing as the guard nodded and told Haymitch to keep the extra coins.

"No, no…that's no problem, I wouldn't tell a soul." He assured us all as he looked down the line of skeptical faces in front of him. Haymitch smirked and dropped the coins back into his pocket before he started for the elevator.

But not before he tossed one more threat the guard's way.

"Terrific. We'll know who to see if word gets out then." He said dryly and I could almost hear the poor guy's balls ascending into his stomach as he dropped back into the chair behind his desk.

Sae followed Haymitch immediately but Katniss and I hung back a moment, stunned by what Haymitch had said to the guard. We turned our heads to look at one another at the same time and then burst out laughing as we hurried over to the elevator as well.

Haymitch grinned proudly as he held the doors open for us and we stumbled on to the elevator still chuckling. Sae was shaking her head disapprovingly but she was smiling too so I doubted she really was concerned about the fidgety guard's feelings either.

The ride up in the elevator was quiet as the full weight of the step we were about to take settled in on the two of us. Sae and Haymitch were just as quiet and I appreciated them allowing us these few moments of silence to think back on everything that had brought us to that day.

I thought of how if Katniss and I had been more convincing during the Victory Tour, this day would have come with a great deal of pomp and circumstance. It would have come with probably no less than 3 parties, dress rehearsals as if it was some staged show, musical selections, food upon food upon food, and it would have been broadcast in every corner of Panem.

Hell, if we had let Plutarch Heavensbee know even a few days before when Katniss suggested we go file the paperwork, he probably would have still been able to put together a party or two and sent a camera crew out to us.

But looking over at Katniss in a simple cream colored dress, her hair tied in a braid with her mother's wedding day ribbon threaded through it, the two people who had cared for us when no one else seemed qualified or willing enough to take the job standing behind us, I couldn't imagine a better wedding day after all we'd been through.

When the doors opened onto the second floor, I squeezed Katniss' hand and she turned her head, smiling at me as she stared straight back into my eyes steadily. I smiled back with her favorite thousand watt Peeta smile and leaned in to kiss her.

"Love you." I whispered against her lips and Katniss sighed softly and rested a hand on my chest right over my heart.

"I love you too, Peeta. Always." She whispered back, echoing the simple but meaningful word engraved on the silver wedding bands I had tucked into my pocket. Another one of the perks of being an artist was being able to engrave the wedding rings I had purchased years ago on my own without drawing a whole lot of unwanted attention.

Haymitch led the way to the marriage license office and we all filed through the door behind him.

It was all rather unremarkable, the ceremony itself, but neither Katniss or I could stop smiling all the way through to the end, even after looking over and signing 35 minutes worth of paperwork beforehand.

Haymitch stood to my right and Sae to Katniss' left as the middle-aged official instructed us to recite our vows to remain honest and faithful to each other until the end of our days on earth. We made other more personal promises as well, to be there for each other in times of need and to not be there when it wasn't safe, even if it tore at our hearts to keep away from each other until it was.

We vowed to continue to protect each other to the best of our ability because that's what we did. It was what we had been doing since those first games when I tried to protect Katniss from the careers by joining them, and then she spent the rest of the time in the arena protecting me from, well…everything else. It was what I did when I told the world I loved her and it was what I was trying to do when I made up the lie about the baby.

It was what we both did when we chose to share a bed to keep the nightmares at bay on the Victory Tour and in our apartment in the training center before the Quarter Quell.

It was what Katniss did, dragging me through the Capitol, handcuffed and half-crazed because she couldn't bear to let me go even then.

It was what I did when I brought the red X into our lives.

It was why we had come back together in District 12 and decided that a life together would be more physically, emotionally and psychologically beneficial than a life apart. Protecting each other was what had led to that moment standing in the JusticeBuilding exchange our wedding vows, and so it seemed worth mentioning as we held hands and looked into the eyes of the person we loved most and said those vows.

And just like that, we were husband and wife.

I kissed Katniss soundly without a whole lot of regard for the others in the room and when I released her, she turned into Haymitch's waiting embrace and I stooped slightly to hug Sae.

The official told us that our marriage certificate would be delivered to our home within the week and we thanked him and headed out the door that led back to the elevator. Katniss and I held hands all the way down as Haymitch and Sae beamed at us as openly happy as either of us had ever seen them.

"Thanks for coming with us and signing as witnesses and all that…" I said patting Haymitch on the shoulder and hugging Sae again gently as we rode down to the lobby.

"You're welcome, you wonderful boy." Sae said and I knew my cheeks reddened at her calling me a boy when I was nearing 30-years-old. Katniss chuckled at my embarrassment and I nudged her with my hip as we moved to lean back against the wall just as the elevator reached the lobby and the doors open.

Katniss and I stepped off first followed by Haymitch and Sae and the doors had barely closed behind all of us when the jumpy guard from earlier came around the corner and almost ran right into me.

"Woah! Hey…what's wrong?" I asked holding a hand up to stop him from crashing into me or Katniss.

Haymitch and Sae started to take a defensive position in front of us but I held up my hand to them indicating that I was fine. Sae immediately stepped back but Haymitch hovered nearby, always watchful of mine and Katniss' safety.

"I…I'm sorry….they just started showing up! I…I…swear I didn't call anyone. Th…they must have seen you when you walked in!" The guard stammered and waved a nervous hand towards the front doors as he glanced back and forth between me and Haymitch who was glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

I noticed he was sweating again and I glanced towards the door myself before nodding slowly and placing a hand on his shoulder to settle him.

"Hey…slow down, man. I have no idea what you're talking about." I said calmly and unconsciously pulled Katniss in closer to my side in case something bad was about to go down. The guard took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

"Well just look!" he said waving a hand towards the door anxiously.

Haymitch and I shared a worried look which we both tried to tone down for Katniss and Sae's sake as we all walked cautiously over to the main doors and listened to what sounded like the murmur of insects outside.

"What is that?" Sae asked in a whisper and we all turned our eyes toward her slowly. Katniss shrugged and moved a little closer to me, gripping my hand a little harder. As the resident outdoors expert of the 4 of us, I looked to her to see if she had any idea what the sound was.

"Beats me." She shrugged and looked at each of us. "I've never heard anything in the woods that made that noise." She whispered and I nodded to Haymitch who reached for the handle of the door and opened it slowly.

What we saw when the door was open all the way made Katniss gasp and a lump of emotion rise in my throat. Lining the path from the steps of the JusticeBuilding all the way down the main road of the town as far as we could see, were what looked like every resident of District 12.

They were bundled in warm clothes and jackets, their rosy cheeks and bright smiles peeking out from under hats and scarves as they talked quietly, obviously waiting for something. I realized with a start that what they were waiting for was us. It was the most moving display of affection we'd ever seen.

First those closest to the steps spotted us and they turned to the people next to them and they turned to the people next to them, so on and so forth until their heads turned and their cheers rose to our ears like domnioes falling down in a line.

Without even bothering to check and see how my companions were responding to the astounding sight in front of us, I let a face splitting grin spread from ear to ear. I stepped outside onto the top step and looked behind me at a stunned Katniss before I gently tugged her out to join me.

"Look at them all Kat…" I whispered to her as she stepped up beside me and leaned into my side shyly.

I kissed the top of her head and raised the arm not around Katniss to wave and everyone cheered and waved back up and down the line until the sound became deafening when Katniss raised her free arm as well and waved.

In a brave moment, Katniss turned as we reached the middle of the steps and pulled my face down to hers by the lapels of my jacket that I had pulled on when we reached the lobby. The crowd roared with applause and shouts of congratulations as we kissed for everyone to see. The difference between us kissing like that in front of all the people that remained in our district, and if we were doing so in front of cameras broadcasting to every corner of the country, was that we were choosing to do it on our own terms.

It didn't matter anymore who had alerted our friends and neighbors to our 'secret' wedding, the only thing that mattered was the overwhelming love we could feel from those people, braving the weather to wish us well. Haymitch patted my shoulder twice affectionately to break us up and Katniss and I both laughed as we descended the last half of the stairs and walked down the street heading for our bakery that was just a short walk from there.

"I can't believe this, Peeta!" Katniss hollered over the din of the crowd as she leaned in close to me.

I laughed and shrugged as we both waved to the eager well-wishers on either side of the road. "Me either!" I called back to her and glanced behind me quickly to see Haymitch and Sae following proudly a few steps behind us.

By the time we reached the door of the bakery, we were not only waving but shaking hands and stopping in short bursts to accept congratulations from some of the merchants whose stores were neighbors to the bakery. Calen was waiting on the front stoop, arms folded in feighned seriousness as we climbed the steps to the door.

"Just letting me make up some hours, huh?" He chuckled and then hugged first Katniss and then me, slapping my back warmly before ushering us both inside.

"Sorry Calen, didn't want to spoil the surprise." I said with a wink and nodded towards the back room. "You have that loaf of bread I asked you to put aside this morning?" I asked nervously, unsure of how Katniss would react to this next surprise.

"Sure! Let me go grab it for ya." Calen said excitedly and trotted off for the back room as Katniss and I stood in the middle of our quaint little bakery.

"Haymitch!" Katniss scolded when she caught sight of Haymitch leaning around the back of the display case and snagging himself a pastry.

"What?" Haymitch scowled around a mouthful of flaky danish. "I woke up and stayed sober this morning! That took all of my concentration." He smirked. "Food didn't fit into the equation until just now." He argued and held another large danish out to Sae who politely refused.

Haymitch just shrugged and stuffed the second danish in his mouth before Calen appeared from the back with a loaf of bread wrapped in a large cloth napkin.

"Great! Thanks." I said smiling at him as he handed it to me.

I turned around to face the others in the room as Calen stepped aside and watched me step over in front of Katniss. I held the wrapped loaf out to her and Katniss smiled a little bit warily at me as she took the loaf and gently started to open the cloth.

"Our toasting loaf, Mr. Mellark?" She asked with the strain of emotion in her voice as she realized it was the same type of bread I had burned and thrown to her in the rain all those years ago.

I tried to shrug casually but I was just as emotional. "For sure, Mrs. Mellark." I said using her new surname for the first time. It felt wonderful to be able to officially call her mine and some primal, chest-thumping male part of me rang out with pride.

"I just figured…the first time we kind of met it was because of this bread so…" I shrugged shyly and Katniss refolded the napkin around the hot bread so that it would keep for the ride back to our house.

"It's…perfect, Peeta. As usual." Katniss smiled and took my hand before she turned back for the door. I smiled at her eagerness to get home and toast the bread by our fire.

"Uhh…" Calen's voice stopped us in the doorway and I turned to face him with a smile I couldn't hide. "So…should I open tomorrow still or were you going to come in then now that the cat's out of the bag so to speak?" he asked innocently and I cut my eyes at Katniss whose cheeks immediately reddened and I heard Haymitch guffaw behind me.

"Um…" I scratched the back of my head and laughed softly too. "No, kid…I won't be in tomorrow. Katniss and I are going to the cabin for at least the night. I'll call you tomorrow sometime to let you know if we'll be back or if you'll be opening Wednesday as well." I explained and Calen obviously got the hint because I noticed his cheeks reddned as well.

"Oh. Ohhh…s…sure. That's no problem." He mumbled clearing his throat nervously. "Congratulations, boss." He smiled and held out a hand to me. "I'm really, really happy for you guys."

I smiled and took Calen's hand and pulled him in for a quick hug before Katniss stepped up and hugged him as well. I couldn't help chuckling at the way Calen's cheeks reddened about 4 shades darker than they already were when Katniss pecked him on the cheek and thanked him for the bread.

As we stepped back out the door together the crowd cheered once more and I began to hear something like a chant…no, a song…coming from somewhere far down the road. As we continued back up the street to where our car was parked, we could hear more and more people joining in until we could hear pretty clearly a tune that was familiar but not immediately known to me.

"That'll be the District 12 wedding song." Sae explained when she noticed Katniss and I looking at each other puzzled.

I remember being touched and surprised all over again as every person up and down that road began singing the song we usually sing for a couple as they pass over the threshold of their home for the first time as husband and wife.

Katniss and I smiled at each other as we reached the back of the car and kissed once more for the crowd before we climbed inside. Haymitch and Sae climbed in back and even as I turned on the car and drove, we put our windows down despite the cold and listened to the singing all the way back to our home in Victor's Village.

"There's so many of them." Katniss whispered as we drove, each of us waving to as many people as we could. What could be seen as a simple observation, I knew to be more after so many years living with her. Of course, Katniss was stating the obvious, there were thousands of people lining the street all the way to the Victor's Village as we realized once we reached the small road to our home, but she was also noting how many people had returned and thrived since the war.

They had rebuilt their homes, their businesses, their relationships. They had begun to thrive again, marrying and starting families with children I saw coming in and out of the bakery and who I taught baking to once a month on Sundays.

What Katniss really meant was that our once poor little coal mining district had truly risen from the ashes and survived.

"There sure are." I said casually enough and Katniss grinned at me as we pulled up in front of our house and climbed out. The singing continued as we walked up the path to our door, shaking the hands of our closest friends and neighbors and those who knew Katniss best from the Seam who were crowded onto our porch and front steps.

I ushered Sae and Haymitch in ahead of us and Katniss and I turned once we entered the front door and waved one last time to the startling mass of people.

"Thank you all so much! Thank you! Thank you!" I called out as we both waved and Katniss held the toasting loaf securely against her chest with one arm. Katniss pushed the door shut behind us and we both hung up our coats. Sae and Haymitch were already standing off to the side, not wanting to intrude on this special ritual but also obviously not wanting to miss it for the world.

Without a word, Katniss headed for the kitchen to get a knife and I went to the fire place where I quickly set to work building up a fire.

I assumed that everyone outside knew we were doing the toasting because the singing continued outside, almost as loud as it would have been if they were all standing right inside the house with us.

I only made a small fire so that we wouldn't hurt ourselves holding the toasting rod with the bread slices inside of it over the flames. Katniss returned just as I was feeding another small log into the hearth and I sat back on my knees on one side of the fire place while Katniss kneeled on the other side and handed me the toasting rod which was a long handled contraption with a flat wire box attached to one side. I noticed the two slices of bread were already inside and I held them out just above the flames toasting one side of the bread first and then turning the rod in my hands slowly to toast the other side.

It was nice to have Sae and Haymitch there, but for all the glances Katniss and I shared back and forth while we waited for the bread to toast, we might as well have been alone.

"Ready?" Katniss asked leaning forward to check the bread and I nodded and pulled it back from the fire and set the wire box down on the floor between us. I used the cloth napkin to flip open the wire box and gently removed my slice of bread and held it out for Katniss to take a bite.

She did and I could see the memory of sharing that burnt loaf of bread reflecting in her eyes as she chewed and then leaned in to kiss me softly after she swallowed. "Love you." She murmured before we pulled back and she removed the second slice of bread and held it out for me to take a bite.

I held her gaze steadily as I bit into the bread and chewed but I couldn't wait to lean in and kiss her and I did so with a mouthful of bread. Katniss chuckled softly against my lips as I tried to swallow in the midst of our kiss and choked slightly.

"Ooops." I laughed and patted my chest as it worked its way down finally and I leaned in to kiss her again. "Let's try that again." I said reaching for her hands as she set the bread aside and scooted forward so that our knees were touching.

We kissed again and I slid my hands up to hold her arms at the elbow as I kissed Katniss good and deep for the first time as my wife in our home and the singing continued outside making me feel like the whole thing was happening inside of a dream. A magnificent dream that I never wanted to wake up from.

"I love you, Kat." I whispered when we pulled back and rested our foreheads to one anothers. We pulled back suddenly, both started by the sudden sound of metal clanking together beside us and found Buttercup picking at the slices of bread we had each eaten from that we had placed back on top of the wire box.

He looked up at us briefly and meowed before going back to eating what he'd obviously claimed as his leftovers and Katniss and I laughed softly.

"I love you, Peet." She whispered with a chuckle and we both stood slowly and turned to face Haymitch and Sae who were smiling tenderly at us.

"Mr. and Mrs. Mellark." Haymitch said proudly and slapped Peeta on the back and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for letting us be here for the toasting." He said as Sae hugged us and thanked us as well.

"There's no one we'd have rather had with us today." I answered honestly and wrapped my arms around Katniss from behind and she gripped my forearms gently.

Sae was back to wiping her eyes with Haymitch's hanky and he raised his eyebrows when she blew her nose loudly into it next.

"On that note…" Haymitch said sticking a finger into his ear and wiggling it around briefly. "I think we'll be on our way…." He said and made sure to wag his eyebrows suggestively as he headed for the door with Sae right behind him. "…I don't think I need to tell you to enjoy yourselves at the cabin, I'll just say I appreciate that I won't have to listen to how much you enjoy yourselves and we'll see you in a few days." He teased and opened the door for Sae.

"Behave you two." Sae said with a grin and pointed between the two of us. "And be careful trudging out to that cabin in the snow." She warned and we both nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." We said in unison and heard the crowd cheering again as Haymitch and Sae's exit indicated to them that the toasting had been done.

We stood in the middle of the living room just staring at the door together as the footsteps heading down our porch told us the crowd was beginning to disperse.

"I can't believe everyone showed up like that." Katniss whispered as I rocked her in my arms with her back to my front gently.

I nodded and bent my head down to kiss the side of her neck the braid wasn't resting on and kissed my way up to her ear and nipped at the lobe which elicited a gasp from Katniss.

"I think what that just showed us is that District 12 is alive and well, wife." I whispered and tightened my arms around my wife tenderly.

"I think you're right, husband." Katniss said back and I could hear the smile in her voice as she turned in my arms and looked up at me.

"Do you know how happy you just made me today?" I whispered and reached up with one hand to stroke the braid in her hair lightly as Katniss placed her palms flat on my chest.

Katniss shifted so that she was pressed against me more firmly and slid her hands up my chest until her arms were looped around my neck and she reached up to kiss me again.

"If it's even close to as happy as you've made me the last 10 years, then I have a pretty good idea, yeah." She said softly and moaned into my mouth as our tongues tangled and our breaths came in short gasps.

"You want some lunch?" I murmured and Katniss nodded but didn't stop kissing me.

"Sure, but can we please change out of these clothes first? My feet are killing me and the dress is kinda scratchy." She groaned and I laughed and scooped her up in my arms.

"Sure," I chuckled as I carried her up the stairs. "But I need to change in the bathroom or else I'm going to try and have sex with you right now and I really would rather wait until we're at the cabin tonight." I said playfully.

"Aw, how romantic." Katniss teased back as I carried her into the bedroom.

"You know it baby." I grinned and kicked the door shut behind me as we both continued to laugh.