Yeah so i was so excited to write this chapter bUT IT WAS SO FREAKING HARD TO WRITE

maybe i'm so used to writing angst that writing an actual happy chapter is too difficult for me, but this took like three tries to make it semi-decent

in this chapter i've named Peeta's older two brothers Ry and Emmer, just so yall aren't confused at all. They don't have names in the books, and don't exist in the movies so ya

It was a Friday, so Haymitch and Peeta already had plans to come over for dinner, as was our tradition. Sometimes Prim joined us, too, but she was living with our mother this month, as was her usual rotation.

Finnick and I walked over to the bakery to talk to my family. I brought money with me, because I knew I would probably get kicked out if I wasn't a paying customer. When we got there, Finnick opened the door for me and I walked up to the counter. My half brother, Ry, stood behind the counter. He was the oldest of the three Mellark boys, and was supposed to inherit the bakery and the house when his father died, but as of right now he lived with his wife in the Seam.

"Good morning, Ry," I said. I always liked Peeta's brothers.

"Good afternoon, Katniss." He said cheerfully. I glanced at the clock behind him and groaned. It was one o'clock already. Finnick and I had taken our sweet time getting up. I always hated it when time slipped away like that.

Finnick joined me at the counter.

"Is Prim around?" I asked Ry.

"It's Friday afternoon," Peeta's father said, entering the room. "She's at school."

"Oh," I said. "Right." I felt kind of foolish, but it was hard to keep track of the days when I had little to no schedule without Prim.

"Is there any bread you need?" He asked. "If not-"

"We're buying a cake," Finnick interrupted. "However, if your lovely wife is around, I think Katniss would like to speak with her family."

Ry sighed, hating the conflict his father was causing. "Dad, I can deal with my customers. Can you go find your lovely wife?"

Peeta's father went into the back room without another word, looking a touch indignant.

"Sorry about that," Ry apologized. "So you said you needed a cake?"

I blushed. "Yeah."

Ry glanced between the two of us. "Birthday?"

"Not quite," Finnick said. He glanced over at me.

"It's for a wedding," I said quietly, so only Ry could hear.

He made note of my red cheeks and Finnick's large grin and Ry smiled widely. "You're eloping, aren't you?"

"Don't tell anyone, Ry," I said. "After we heard the announcement last night, we decided to have a private ceremony. We're going to the Justice Building tomorrow night, and then going back to my house to eat cake. You can come if you want."

"Who else is invited?"

"Prim, Peeta, Emmer, Mom, and Haymitch." I said. "But I don't think Mom will go."

"What time?"

I glanced at Finnick. We hadn't gotten that far. "Maybe like..."

"Two?" Finnick asked me.

I shrugged. "Two sounds good."

Ry stared at us, then put down the notepad he had picked up to fill out our order. "Did you guys plan this at all, or is it a spur of the moment thing?"

"It was introduced at one this morning by Finnick, who was about as drunk as they come." I said, glancing at my fiance teasingly.

Finnick blushed. "I don't remember that," He said bashfully. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It slipped my mind."

"I re-introduced it to her about two hours ago. We haven't worked out the finer details yet."

Ry rolled his eyes. "As long as you know what you want your cake to look like. That's all that matters right now."

"White icing," I said.

"And what flavor cake?" Ry asked, taking notes.

"Chocolate," Finnick said, which didn't surprise me.

"Usually wedding cakes are vanilla," Ry pointed out.

Finnick and I looked at each other. "Chocolate," We said at the same time.

...

Prim joined us for dinner. It took quite a bit of convincing to get my mom to let her visit me, and I'm still not sure how I did it, but Prim was there with us.

I cleared my throat after listening to several minutes of awkward conversation over the meal. Peeta and Finnick always made things awkward together, and Haymitch had a talent for awkwardness by himself anyway. "So I have an announcement. Finnick and I are getting married."

No one said anything right away, but then I saw Peeta and Haymitch make concerned eye contact across the table. Great. The drunk thought I was drunk.

"Sweetheart," Haymitch began slowly, removing my wine glass from my hand. "Everyone already knew that."

"Finnick and I are getting married tomorrow," I amended.

Prim squealed.

"Tomorrow?" Peeta repeated.

"Snow's still making you go through with it? Even with the Quarter Quell on its way?" Haymitch asked.

Finnick shook his head. "Snow isn't forcing us to do anything. We want to get married. We're going to the Justice Building tomorrow, then we want to celebrate with you here after."

"Isn't this a little fast, Katniss?" Peeta asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "We've been dating since I was sixteen."

"Who else is going?" Prim asked.

Finnick made a face. "We invited all the Mellarks, except for Senior, but I doubt any of them will actually show."

"Not even Ry?" Peeta asked.

"He succumbed to peer pressure," Finnick rolled his eyes. "I can't blame him though, your stepmother is a frightening woman."

I choked on the water I was sipping. Finnick placed his hand on my knee under the table, trying to control his own laughter.

Haymitch handed me my wine glass, which Finnick took his turn to remove. "We don't want you hungover tomorrow."

"That was my first glass," I pointed out.

Finnick squeezed my knee gently, but said nothing. I knew what he was thinking. Ever since I told him I was a recovering alcoholic, he had been very wary about my drinking, even if I rarely drank much in front of him. On occasion, he would pass me a drink, but only every now and then.

...

The next morning, I woke up and Finnick was gone. We had agreed not to follow the tradition that we wouldn't be able to see each other until the wedding, but I wasn't sure if he would actually listen. Finnick was all about tradition.

I got dressed in sweatpants and a tank top, since I still had plenty of time before we had to leave, then went downstairs. Finnick was standing in the kitchen.

I moaned as I entered the room, the smell of bacon and coffee piercing my nose. "I missed your cooking so much. That was the one good thing about living in the Capitol, if I'm being honest."

He reached out and pulled me into a side hug, kissing the top of my head. "I can't say the same about your cooking, lover."

"I can cook meat." I protested.

"It's not easy to find deer in the Capitol when most of the citizens are pescetarian."

I grinned. He plated the bacon and waffles, and poured two mugs of coffee, pouring an unholy amount of sugar and cream in his own, and slightly in mine.

"I must say," He began as we sat down at the table. "That is quite the attire for a bride."

I smiled. "I have a white dress upstairs. But we still have plenty of time."

"So tell me about this District 12 toasting?" Finnick asked, taking a bite.

"It's this tradition... When a married couple moves into their first home, they toast bread together over a fire. Sometimes it happens on the wedding day, sometimes it doesn't happen for months, but I've heard people don't actually feel like they're married until they do it."

"So is it a private thing, or something we want to do with everyone?" He asked. "Because I was thinking, we might want to go get our license right now, and have time to do the toasting before they get here."

"What about District 4's tradition?" I asked him.

Finnick shrugged. "I don't think we can do it today."

I stared at him. We had agreed to do both traditions, from both districts. "You said you wanted to."

"It's more part of the ceremony itself... and we don't have the resources here to do it." He explained. "I would love to do it today, but I don't think that will work."

"Oh," I said. "Well then let's go to District 4."

Finnick laughed. "Sure, let's just hop on a train and travel across the country."

"Finnick, you can't expect me to believe you don't want to talk to your family after getting married."

"Of course I do, but it's not that easy."

"Yes it is. You got on a train and came here the other day on super short notice." I argued.

Finnick sighed. "Fine. Even if we can get there, we still won't be able to do the traditions. It's supposed to take place during the ceremony."

"Just tell me what they are. I'm sure we can find some way to fit them in."

"During the ceremony," He emphasized, still convinced we wouldn't be able to do it, "The bride and groom are covered in a net woven from grass, and they touch each other's lips with salt water, which isn't really something we can do while signing documents."

"Well too bad, because we're doing it, you idiot."

He smiled. "That's not how it works."

"Well then I guess we'll have a ceremony when we get to District 4."

Finnick said nothing, but stared at me and smiled.

When we finished eating and washing the dishes, we went to get ready. Finnick took one of the guest rooms, and I went to my room.

Prim rang the doorbell not long after we went our separate ways. I wasn't expecting her, but I was glad she came. I let her in, as I was only halfway up the steps

"Prim..." I said, my voice cracking a bit. It was then that I realized just how nervous I was... Happy, excited, but very nervous. Prim hugged me tightly. "Prim, I'm getting married," I gasped out, tears in my eyes.

"You're going to be an amazing wife, Katniss. And a stunning bride," She told me, pulling away to look at me. "We need to get you ready."

"How did you even know what time to come?" I asked her, tears still fogging my vision.

"I just showed up," She said with a smile. "I couldn't even guess what time to come to help you get ready, but I needed to get out of that crazy house."

I frowned as we ascended the stairs. "You don't have to live there if you don't want to. You can just stay here with me."

"I know," Prim said. "But I still want to see Mom."

Prim had always been much closer to Mom than I was. It didn't matter that it had been almost five years since she had married the baker and abandoned us once more, Prim was still trying over and over again to fix her mother.

Finnick poked his head out the door and saw us, waved at Prim, then disappeared back inside his room. Prim and I laughed.

"What are you wearing?" Prim asked.

I opened my closet and pulled out an old, simple white dress with a boat neckline. The a-line skirt went just past my knees, and the sleeves went just past my elbows.

"Where did you get that one?" She asked me.

I smiled. "It was your grandmother's. She wore this when she got married."

"Mom let you keep it?" Prim scrunched her nose. The idea of me inheriting anything from my mom was an odd one. Everything my mother owned would be passed down to Prim. Mom tried with me for a little bit, but apparently I just wasn't worth the effort.

"It was your paternal grandmother's. Mom didn't have much say. He gave it to me, and it fits me so well, but I haven't had the opportunity to wear it yet."

Prim helped me do some simple makeup, since I rarely did it myself, then did my hair for me in a simple half-up. "Do you have a witness?" She asked me. "You need a witness in order to sign the documents."

I thought for a moment. We had forgotten to get a witness. "Do you want to do it?"

She laughed. "Katniss, did you plan this out at all?"

"We got a cake," I said defensively. "Peeta said he would pick it up for us and bring it over."

Prim rolled her eyes. "Finnick clearly has his priorities in order."

She opened the door for me dramatically, and beckoned me out. Finnick was leaning against the wall in the hallway waiting for me, dressed in dark pants and a white button-up.

He smiled when he saw me, and pulled me into a tight hug, picking me up off the floor. He kissed me gently. "Are you ready?" He asked me, our faces inches apart. I nodded, biting my cheeks to try to stop smiling. Finnick put me down, and I turned around to look for Prim, but she was already gone. "She's meeting us there, I think," Finnick said. "Did you ask her to be the witness?"

I nodded. "I can't believe we forgot that part."

"We've forgotten a lot of things, love. Maybe we should have planned this out with a bit more detail."

I took his hand in mine and we started our walk to the Justice Building. Very few words were spoken on the walk there, except Finnick at one point complimented my choice of shoes. I had worn my hunting boots. They looked fine with my dress, and they were comfortable to walk in, which was their main purpose anyway.

We got there, and I was surprised that it was so empty on a Saturday. The Justice Building is where all official business was taken care of, and it was unusual that there were so few people there.

We were taken into a back room where Prim was waiting for us. A clerk showed us where to sign and we followed the directions, then gave it back to him.

"Congratulations," He said as he took our marriage license and official documents and filled out his portion. I could not imagine how often this clerk had to got through the same process, and he looked extremely tired and bored. Finnick looked at me and opened his mouth to say something, but the clerk continued to speak. "If you would like to kiss the lovely bride please wait until you get outside."

I thought it was odd that he didn't seem to recognize either of us, but I have been told I look different on TV. And besides, he probably did not expect to see Katniss Everdeen and Finnick Odair getting married in the District 12 Justice Building, not when we were in the process of planning a large ceremony in the Capitol.

We left the building, and Prim went back to the bakery, since it was just about noon, and she still had a few hours before our small reception. Finnick and I were left unattended outside the Justice Building and, as directed by the clerk, his lips were immediately on mine, his hands tangled in my hair.

When we made it back to Victor's Village, without warning, Finnick picked me up. I yelped, but he only laughed. "Welcome to our first home as a married couple," He said with a cheeky smile.

"Finnick, what are you doing?" I asked, my arms wrapped around his neck tightly. I was not at all prepared for this.

"You know that old tradition?" He asked me, opening the door without letting go of me. I sighed. And there was his old fashioned romantic streak.

"I guess I should have expected this." I said. He crossed the threshold with me in his arms, and closed the door with his foot. He sat down on the couch, placing me in his lap.

I leaned forward and rested my chin on his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him.

"Mrs. Odair," He whispered in my ear.

A smile spread across my face. I kissed him on the cheek. "Does your family know you ran away and got married?"

He laughed, sounding a bit delirious. "I forgot to tell them."

I laughed too. "Will they be okay with it?"

"I don't see why not," He told me. "All my brothers seem to like you. My mom might cause problems, but she always causes problems, so I wouldn't worry about it."

I pulled off my boots and threw them a few feet away. "Where will we live for our five total months together as a married couple?"

"We could split it," Finnick offered. "Go to District 4 for two months, then come back here for the rest of the time."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you sure? Don't your brothers want you home?"

"I guess," He said. "But doesn't Prim want you home, too?"

I sat up, releasing him from my hug. "Finnick, Prim is the only person I have left. I love Peeta and Haymitch, but Prim is the only one who needs me. You have an entire family of people who are dependent on you. Worst case scenario, we take Prim with us, but I honestly think it would be better if you went back to District 4."

He stared at me. I could tell he was torn. He clearly wanted to agree with me, but he was too good for that. "Are you sure?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Oh." Finnick said, smiling back. "Okay. If you ever want to come back here, please tell me. We can go wherever you want."

I nodded again. "I'll be fine, Finnick, I promise."

"I love you so much," He told me.

"I know," I responded, climbing off of his lap and curling up next to him