"You're laughing at me," Buck accused.

"I'm not laughing at you," Taiya denied, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle a laugh.

"I can see your shoulders going like this," he imitated her shoulders moving up and down. "That means you're laughing at me."

"I'm sniggering. Sniggering isn't laughing."

"Sniggering is as good as laughing."

"I can't help it," Taiya snorted. "You tripped. Watching people trip is funny."

"Yeah, I know," he conceded, dropping his spoon into his oatmeal. He'd been walking over to their breakfast table when he tripped on the leg of the table. Of course, Taiya had to laugh. "Where's your shadow?" he changed the subject as he glanced around for Finnick.

"Getting breakfast for us both," Taiya replied, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"So you don't even have to stand in line to get your own breakfast," he scowled. "How's that fair?"

"It's the perks of having a fiancé," Taiya winked, a smirk playing on her lips.

Buck glanced away from Taiya as he watched Gale Hawthorne confidently navigate around the tables, two breakfast trays in hand. Gale kept looking back at Finnick, who was stuck in the breakfast queue, making sure he was watching.

He approached Taiya and carefully placed a tray before her.

"Morning," Gale greeted, as Taiya stared down at the tray in confusion. "Got breakfast for you."

He glanced back at Finnick briefly before he laid his hand against Taiya's back, with the sole intention of making Finnick jealous.

Finnick was more than happy to let him do that. Gale's antics and attempts to make him jealous had been keeping him and Taiya thoroughly amused over the past few days. With Katniss back in the District, Finnick had been sure to visit her at just the right time for Gale to see. He'd even pretend to sneak in as if he wanted to avoid being seen. That was Gloss' idea. And it only fuelled Gale's jealousy and made him more desperate to retaliate. Taiya and Finnick had some good laughs over Gale's attempts. And anything that kept Taiya entertained in District 13 was good in Finnick's book. She hated it there.

So despite the irritation Finnick felt by Gale getting breakfast for Taiya, he was more than happy to leave it for Taiya to handle herself.

Buck however was not.

"What do you think you're doing?" Buck asked in a quiet, yet threatening voice.

"Huh?" Gale looked over at him, redirecting his gaze from Taiya.

"What's your game?" he shrugged, a glare evident on his face.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Gale smiled.

"Well, why don't you start by getting your hand off her back."

Gale's smile fell. Buck's was scary on a good day, but that was usual. This was something else. So Gale carefully removed his hand from Taiya's back.

"You know she's engaged right," Buck scooped some oatmeal into his mouth, not breaking eye contact with Gale.

"I…"

"She's got a fiance. Which you know, because you were eyeing him across the room," he gestured at Finnick with his spoon.

Finnick quickly looked away before Gale looked back over, he had to hide the smirk on his face.

Gale couldn't see Taiya's face on the other hand, and she was smirking madly as she watched Buck interfere on her behalf.

"You think she'd ever be into you?" he snorted. "She's leagues above you, Hawthorne."

Gale shot a quick look down the table where Haymitch Abernathy sat with Boggs, hoping for the man to come to rescue him from his fellow victor.

"Don't look at him, look at me Hawthorne," Buck snapped, raising his voice. "Abernathy's not going to save you."

Taiya looked over at Haymitch. His amused expression was poorly hidden, he was thoroughly enjoying the show.

Gale decided to attempt to diffuse the situation and raised his hands.

"Easy there, Buck. No need to..."

"Don't tell me to calm down! You just stay away from her! I don't want to see you anywhere near her! Do you hear me?"

Gale just stared dumbfounded. He had no words. The entire cafeteria had fallen into a hush. All eyes were now on the unfolding drama.

Taiya grinned widely as she watched the chaos unfold.

"Do you hear me?" Buck repeated.

Haymitch snuck a glance at Taiya and shot her a knowing wink before he turned back away.

"Yeah. Yeah, I hear you," Gale responded swiftly.

"Then get out of here!" Buck yelled, and Gale made a quick exit.

As soon as Gale was out of the cafeteria, Taiya's giggles bubbled up. She was staring at Buck with a mix of amusement and bewilderment.

Finnick, quick on his feet, dashed over and slid into the seat beside her, grabbing the tray Gale had abandoned with a grin.

"That was brilliant!" he laughed. "Well done Buck. Well done."

Buck, still trying to calm himself down, looked at the couple with a frown. Neither seemed bothered by the blatant play Gale had just made at Taiya.

"You knew he was flirting with her?" he asked incredulously.

Taiya, her laughter subsiding, nodded mischievously. "Oh yeah, Finnick and I have been having some fun," she smirked at her partner as he threw an arm around her shoulder.

Finnick chuckled. "We spent the past two days making Gale more and more paranoid about my 'relationship' with Katniss. Her's and Gloss' idea," he pointed at Taiya.

Buck's mouth fell open as he looked at Taiya.

"I don't like him and he's our number one target," she shrugged. She was only sad that Gloss had missed the spectacle.

Buck shook his head in disappointment. "Why do I even bother?"

"Oh come on," Taiya smiled. "Don't tell me it wasn't fun watching him squirm."

"I don't know what you see in her Odair," Buck grumbled. "She's a nightmare on legs."

"But I thought I was out of Hawthorne's league?" Taiya repeated his earlier words.

"You need psychiatric help," Buck glared. "Both of you."

"Fair," Finnick nodded, digging into Gale's untouched breakfast.

The corridors of District 13 were busy as everyone headed off to their morning activities. Finnick and Taiya were on their way to a meeting in command, albeit at different paces. Finnick, ever the punctual one, walked ahead of her with purpose, while Taiya, who did not want to go to this meeting, was dragging her feet and delaying their progress.

Glancing over his shoulder, Finnick couldn't help but smirk at Taiya's pace.

"Come on, Tay, we're cutting it close. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave."

Taiya shrugged nonchalantly, taking her time as she replied, "I don't see the urgency. It'll just be mockingjay this, mockingjay that. Boring, boring, boring."

"Well Katniss will be there today," he smiled widely. This was her first meeting since her return to 13.

"You're not exactly selling it," Taiya glared.

"I swear you two would get along if you stopped glaring at each other for five minutes," he walked up to her and grabbed her hand in an attempt to get her to increase her walking pace.

"I have enough friends. I don't need more."

"All your friends are unhinged."

"They are not!"

"Name one that's not?" Finnick challenged.

"Kenna."

"Kenna's unhinged, what are you talking about?" Finnick frowned.

"Ok fine," she relented. "They just all have a lot of personality."

"Is that what we're calling it now," he smirked. "I tell you what," he stopped and grabbed her waist, pushing her back against a wall. "If you don't complain, after the meeting I'll give you a treat."

"Hot chocolate?" she beamed.

"Not the kind of treat I was thinking of," he frowned offended.

"Ohhhh," she smiled as she caught his drift, a playful spark dancing in her eyes. "You have my attention."

"I thought I might," he traced his nose along her jawline. "If you come along and are nice, I promise to make it worth your while."

"Hmmm."

"Seriously would you two knock it off!" Buck complained. "I can't keep walking around corners and seeing this. No one needs to see this."

"I swear this time there was a point," Finnick pulled away.

"Just get to the meeting," he waved his arm, urging them to get moving. "You two are a real concern, you know that."

"Yes Buck," they both grumbled.

"Good of you three to join us," President Coin greeted in her usual composed tone as the trio entered the meeting room.

Finnick responded with a respectful nod, but his attention was already shifting. He spotted Katniss across the room and motioned for Taiya to follow.

Plutarch made eye contact with Taiya and shot her a smile and a small wave. He so desperately wanted to be on her good side, all she could do was awkwardly smile back at him.

Her expression quickly turned into one of irritation though as she realised Finnick was heading to take the seats beside Katniss.

Finnick leaned into her and whispered in a hushed tone. "Be nice, we're sitting here. Trust me, you'll like her."

Taiya let out a sigh but allowed him to grab her hand and lead her to the seats.

"Hey," Katniss greeted Taiya uncomfortably.

"Hi," she nodded back, sitting down in the seat beside Finnick.

As soon as she sat down, Finnick grabbed the arm of her chair and pulled it toward him, so that their chairs were touching. She had to hide her smile. 8 years together and he could still make her blush.

President Coin began the meeting, quietening everyone down.

As Coin delved into the agenda, Taiya could feel eyes on her. She glanced over to see Tyler watching her. Seeing that he caught her eye, he shot her a pointed look - a warning to behave herself during the meeting. Taiya responded with a wink, and he had to stop himself audibly sighing.

That was not the response he was wanting.

"Now onto the issue of Peeta Mellark," Coin's voice interrupted Taiya's daydream. She'd been paying no attention to the meeting. She figured Finnick would give her the dot points. "I think now is as good a time as any to reintroduce him to Katniss," she looked over at Plutarch. "Assess how he reacts."

This did not sit well with Taiya. It was too soon. Peeta was still vulnerable. He'd made such good progress since she'd been allowed to visit him, she didn't want that all to be undone by Coin and her stupid idea.

Plus Katniss had only just been discharged from hospital that day. Taiya glanced over at the girl on fire and noticed her immediate shift in body language. Taiya wished she would be a little more active in Peeta's recovery, but Taiya was not on board with putting the girl in a position she was absolutely not comfortable with.

This was a reckless decision by Coin.

The weight of her concern pushed Taiya to speak up on behalf of the girl on fire, unable to suppress her disagreement.

"That's a stupid idea," Taiya interjected, her voice firm.

"Oh no," Tyler hung his head.

Coin and Plutarch exchanged glances, both surprised by Taiya's interruption, both had noticed how she was not paying an ounce of attention, and they'd both thought this would slip past.

The atmosphere in the room immediately shifted.

Attempting to diffuse it, Finnick reached out and gently took Taiya's hand in an attempt to calm her down. "Tay," he whispered. He did not want her to get in trouble. By some miracle, she'd managed to avoid it so far, but if she kept pushing the limit, it wasn't going to be long until she was punished.

But Taiya ignored him.

"It's reckless as well," she pushed further.

"Miss Ambersnow," Coin warned.

"You really want to put Katniss in front of Peeta? After all the good work he's done. He's still petrified of the idea of her! You put her in front of him you're going to undo all the work we've done."

"What would you suggest?" Plutarch asked, trying to be diplomatic.

"Just show him the video of her being shot," Taiya put forward. "Maybe if he sees her get hurt it'll trigger something in him. But you're not going to torture him further by putting her in a room with him," Taiya glanced over at Katniss and studied her face. "And you're not putting Katniss through that either," she surprised even herself by defending the younger girl. "Katniss just got released from the hospital today. She hasn't even been out one day and already you're putting her to work? No."

"She's the mockingjay. It's part of the deal she struck," Coin shook her head. "The situation demands…"

This made Taiya see red. She'd had enough of people seeing victors as just commodities to use for their own gain.

She pulled her hand out of Finnick's and leaned forward, clenching her hands in front of her on the table and interrupted the President of 13.

"She is not just the mockingjay. She's a 17-year-old child! She's a child! Not a machine that can be switched on and off at your convenience. Start treating her like a person and not an object. She doesn't deserve that after all she's done for you."

"Perhaps a couple of days…" Plutarch started to whisper in Coin's ear, but she held her hand up to silence him.

"We'll revisit this at our next meeting after the weekend," Coin looked around the room.

The issue with surrounding herself with victors in her mission to overthrow the Capitol meant that they'd all stick together, even if it meant going against her. And she could see the atmosphere in the room was leaning towards giving Katniss and Peeta more time. Even Gale and Boggs down the other end of the room were nodding their heads in agreement.

"But keep in mind, individuals don't make demands in 13," Coin looked at Taiya with steely eyes. "Moving on."

As soon as the meeting concluded, Finnick grabbed Taiya's hand and they both raced to get out of the command centre, both wanting to avoid Tyler. They knew she was in for a lecture.

They had no luck though. Despite their attempt to avoid him, Tyler swiftly caught up with them and pulled them around a corner no one was walking through.

"I'm at a loss for words," he shook his head, his hands on his hips.

"Brilliant," Taiya smiled. There was a first time for everything.

"Are you crazy?" Tyler's voice was hushed, but filled with urgency. Well, it looked like he had some words after all. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get into for disagreeing with Coin like that? In a meeting? In front of everyone?" he stressed. "Negotiating with Plutarch is one thing, openly going against Coin is another entirely. Taiya, I asked you to keep your head down."

"Well someone needed to say it," Taiya sulked.

"Look," Tyler sighed, glancing up. "I'm not saying I disagree with you. I do agree. But you need to think of yourself and the danger you could be in. That's the priority here. Keeping us all safe. District 4 is the priority for us. I know we're friends with the others, but at the end of the line, us, Buck, Mags and Annie. That's what matters most. We need to do everything we can to stay in favour so we all make it out the other side of this."

"I know," Taiya sighed. His priority always had been their little gang of victors from home. It was entirely reasonable.

Before he could say anything else, heavy footsteps stomped around the corner and they all stopped speaking, worried about being caught. But it was just Buck, who had trailed behind them all.

He huffed when he saw them gathered around and placed his hands on his hips. Taiya could only watch him nervously. It wasn't often she was subjected to a Buck lecture.

But he just smiled. "Badass," he held his hand up for a high-five.

Taiya had no hesitation in obliging him, immediately high-fiving his outstretched hand.

"Buck," Tyler pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm trying to tell her the opposite. Make her realise how dangerous that was."

"Damn right, it was," Buck laughed. "And badass!"

"No," Tyler tried to shut down.

"Thanks!" Taiya beamed at him.

"Finnick, help me out here," Tyler asked the boy, who just looked between his friend and his fiancee, not quite sure what to say. In the end, he just shrugged. "Gah!" Tyler groaned, not sure what else he could say to stress the seriousness of the potential fallout Taiya might face.

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by a throat clearing behind them.

All four of them turned in sync to find Katniss standing there, her expression nervous.

"Taiya, could I talk to you for a minute?" Katniss asked, her voice sounding unsure.

Taiya exchanged a glance with Finnick. He placed his hand on the small of her back in reassurance. He wanted her to go.

"Ok," Taiya tucked her hair behind her ears nervously as she stepped away from her friends.

Katniss' unexpected request to talk had caught Taiya off guard.

They silently walked together, no destination in mind. It was about five minutes until Katniss broke the stalemate.

"Thank you," she said stiffly. "For speaking up in the meeting."

Taiya gave a small shrug, wanting to downplay the actions Tyler was so concerned about. "Don't worry about it."

Katniss pressed on though. "Well, thanks anyway." They continued to walk before Katniss sighed. She had a list of things she wanted to say to the aquatic girl and she was chickening out. She promised Finnick she'd make an effort to get along with Taiya. She owed Finnick. And she definitely owed Taiya.

"I really mean it," she stopped walking. "Thank you. And I wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for Peeta. You protected him when I couldn't. In the Games, in the Capitol and even here. You didn't have to."

Taiya shrugged awkwardly. "I like Peeta. It was nothing."

"How is he?" Katniss swallowed her pride.

Taiya had been sceptical, she thought Katniss had written Peeta off, thought he was fully gone. Finnick had tried to tell her Katniss still cared, but Taiya just shut him down. But she could see in Katniss' eyes. She cared.

"He's struggling. He's trying to sort through all his memories and work out what is real and not real," Taiya sighed. "I can keep him distracted long enough most of the time that he's back to his real self. Playing pirates helps."

"Huh?" Katniss tilted her head.

"Don't worry about it," Taiya dismissed.

"Oh my god," Katniss couldn't help the smile that came over her face. "Pirate hats."

"Yeah," Taiya nodded sheepishly. "I say good things about you when I get the chance, but he is just scared still. That's all. It's just conditioning. He knows deep down who you are. Who you are to him. He's just struggling to accept that."

Katniss looked down. She did feel guilty. She wanted to see Peeta, she really did. But she couldn't see him like that. He was tortured because of her. Because she couldn't stay silent. Because she didn't obey. It was her fault.

Taiya seemed to know what direction her thoughts had taken.

"I blamed you," she admitted. "A part of me still does," Taiya stepped closer to her. "But I know that's not right." Now it was Taiya's time to swallow her own pride. "I meant what I said in that meeting, you know. You're just a 17-year-old girl. It's not your fault that Snow killed Seneca. It's not your fault you were able to manipulate the system to save Peeta in your Games when I had to lose Theo. It's not your fault the victors were reaped. It's not your fault we got taken to the Capitol. It's not your fault we were tortured. It's not your fault Finnick and I had to hide our relationship for years. It's not your fault. None of it's your fault. No matter what I used to think. I know that now. Finnick's spent weeks lecturing me on it," she smiled lightly. "Remember who the real enemy is," she mocked his voice, making Katniss chuckle. "He's right as per usual, which is very annoying," she smiled. "It's Snow's fault. All of this is because of Snow. Because of the system that keeps the Districts oppressed. It's not the fault of you, a 17-year-old girl," Taiya sighed. "I may have some resentment, but that's my flaw, that doesn't have anything to do with you."

Katniss studied her face. She was sincere. Finnick had said when he visited her in the hospital he'd been trying to help Taiya understand, but Katniss didn't think it'd work. With Taiya always seemingly tagging alongside Gloss or Johanna, she didn't think Finnick had a hope of convincing her.

"Thank you." Finnick was Katniss' closest confidant in 13, and she wanted to get along with Taiya for his sake. Taiya was his person. She owed it to him to try and get along with her. So this conversation was taking them in leaps and bounds.

Taiya opened her mouth and then hesitated. "Can I ask you something and you swear to be fully honest with me?"

Katniss frowned, not wanting to be sucked into a trip. "Why not," she agreed reluctantly.

Taiya looked up at Katniss with a vulnerability she didn't let many people see. "How was he? When I was away?"

Katniss froze. She wanted to know about Finnick. And there wasn't anything good to tell her.

"Tyler and Buck keep brushing me off when I ask. Finnick won't go into too much detail. Please."

"He struggled. A lot," Katniss admitted. "He couldn't stop crying for weeks after we got here. You couldn't talk to him because he'd just cry…." she trailed off as she watched Taiya's eyes immediately tear up. "I mean I knew you guys were… Haymitch told us… I just didn't realise how much until he lost you," she struggled to find the right words.

"Johanna always does say we have co-dependency issues," Taiya tried to joke.

"He stripped down to his underwear in front of Boggs and me. He seemed back to his old self a little bit then," Katniss smiled. "Boggs was so uncomfortable."

Taiya couldn't help but giggle a bit. Yep, Boggs being uncomfortable would have made Finnick happy.

"He was just so desperate for a rescue mission. He was down in the weapons room every day he was allowed to, practising, hoping he'd be allowed to go on the mission to get you back."

"I'm glad he wasn't," Taiya breathed. He wouldn't have coped.

"He's back to himself now that you're here," Katniss noted. "I didn't think I'd see him smile again. And that rope…"

"I swear to god that guy is a kleptomaniac," Taiya followed the more light-hearted path Katniss had opened up. "Do you know how many times I buy new rope? And the guy just always steals it. We'll be sitting on the dock fishing and he'll hand me the rod so I don't have a free hand and he'll just take it. Like seriously, I think he needs to mention it in therapy because he has a problem," Taiya laughed.

"I'm glad you're back," Katniss looked at Taiya.

"Me too," Taiya nodded, her eyes getting pulled elsewhere as she noticed Finnick lurking at the end of the corridor.

"I'll leave you two," Katniss nodded at Finnick.

"I'll see you later," Taiya smiled at her. She felt like a weight had lifted. The needless hate for a 17-year-old child was taxing, and she was glad to be free of it. "Sit with us at lunch."

"Ok," Katniss nodded, appreciating the invitation before she continued down the corridor.

Finnick was immediately at Taiya's side.

"How'd it go?" he asked, praying that neither girl had made their tension worse.

"I think I like her," Taiya smiled at him.

His eyes widened. He had not been expecting that. "You're kidding me!"

But Taiya didn't want to talk about Katniss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you so, so much," she whispered in his ear.

"Hey," he rubbed her back. "I love you too. Are you ok?"

"Promise never to leave me?"

"I promise."

ShiaraS46: Yeah there's definitely an implication that Aila's death wasn't entirely accidental. Why fire two shots? Definitely a parallel though! It's part of the reason why he's so protective over the both of them, because their stories are so similar and he doesn't want either to suffer like he did and lose the other in the crossfire. It's why early on in the story he ran out to protect Taiya from Snow after their parents died and he involved himself so much in her life. Baby Taiya is so cute though! And I was so excited to bring back her relationship with her dad for a bit, and maybe garner a bit of sympathy for her mother, since she wasn't too nice when we saw her.