The fluorescent lights overhead flickered as Finnick and Taiya strolled through the hallway of District 13.

"So you really have the whole day free?" Taiya asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she toyed with his fingers that were entwined with hers.

"Sure do. I mean I have one meeting, but that's half an hour tops," Finnick replied with a grin, having begged Plutarch for the day off. They were shipping out to the Capitol tomorrow, a fact that Taiya was blissfully unaware of.

"Good," she nodded. "I've been getting jealous of your training group," she joked.

"I'm all yours," Finnick laughed, a subtle playfulness in his voice.

"Mm," Taiya purred, turning to face him with a flirtatious smile as she tugged him a bit closer. "Well, we already knew that," she teased, making Finnick's heart skip a beat.

Finnick chuckled, enjoying the flirtatious banter that effortlessly flowed between them. "True, true," he nodded. "But today, I really am all yours. No training," he pecked her lips. "No interruptions," he kissed her again.

"Well I like the sound of that," she bit her lip and ran a hand through his hair. "It's a good thing you're not going; they would have had to cut your hair," she twirled a finger through her favourite curl. "I wouldn't have liked that," she shook her head. "This little curl right here," she tugged it lightly. "Is the reason I married you."

"Not for my devilishly good looks and sparkling personality?" he winked.

"A happy benefit," she shrugged. "I'm here for the curl though. HEY!" she yelled, jerking forward.

"What?" Finnick frowned, not knowing what had made her yell.

Taiya's hand raised to the back of her head, and she slowly turned around to face Gloss. She looked down at the floor to see a muffin lying there.

"Did you throw a muffin at my head?"

"Yeah," Gloss nodded.

"Why?"

"Beetee wants you down in the weapons room."

Finnick's eyes widened. Gloss didn't know Finnick was leaving. He didn't care enough to ask, he'd only heard what Taiya had told him. But Beetee knew. And Beetee was very strongly against keeping it from Taiya.

"Tell Beetee it's a bad time," Finnick shook his head.

Taiya just shot him a smile, which made him feel even worse. "Yeah if you're heading back down tell him I'll catch up with him another time," she wrapped an arm around Finnick's waist. "We're spending the whole day together. Do you know what he wanted?"

"Meh," Gloss shrugged. "Apparently he has some wizz-bang fancy knives he designed for you. He was telling me about them but I wasn't really listening. I think one explodes or something."

"I have fancy knives!" Taiya gasped excitedly, but then she felt Finnick's fingers flex on her side. "Maybe another day, let him know for me would you?"

"I'm not a messenger," Gloss frowned.

"Yes. You are," she winked. "7-second warning before we kiss," she warned Gloss, slowly raising her head up to meet Finnick's.

"I hate you both," Gloss grumbled, quickly retreating before he had to witness that sight again.

As soon as he was out of sight, Taiya pulled away with a giggle.

"Hey, no teasing," Finnick pulled her back so he could kiss her.

"Oh my apologies," she immediately kissed him back.

"Do you want to check on Johanna first?" he asked, pulling away from her slowly.

"I can't," she shook her head, avoiding eye contact.

"Hey, it's ok, I'll be there with you."

"Oh no," she shook her head, raising her head to meet his eyes. She wasn't sad, she was suppressing a giant grin. "I actually can't. I'm on a 24-hour ban from the hospital," she filled him in.

"What did you do?" Finnick frowned.

Taiya smirked mischievously. "I just want to say for the record, Johanna dared me to do it."

"Of course she did," Finnick smiled. When was it not Johanna's fault?

"Well, I sort of gathered up a whole bunch of the metal trays they have."

"They let you get your hands on trays!" Finnick's eyes bugged out.

"Well, 'let' is not the word I'd use," she shook her head. "But it's fine. I didn't knock any of the doctors out with the trays this time. So… improvement," she gave him a thumbs up. "Anyway, she had me gather up some trays and some cutlery, and we made a band!"

"You made a… band?"

"Yeah! There's some quibble on the name. I was thinking 'Certified Legends', but she wants 'Rockstar and the Peasant', but I wasn't a fan of that."

"What kind of music do you play?" he smiled at her, utterly amused.

"Oh just Jo and Taiya. On repeat. Tyler definitely got sick of it though because he said he was going to personally throw me out of the hospital. So I stole his crutches."

"You stole Tyler's crutches?" Finnick had to hold himself back from facepalming.

"Yeah well he was all like, 'that's enough'," she mocked his voice. "And tried to get up, so I ran over and took his crutches and was like 'How can you get me? How can you get me? I have your crutches' and so they kicked me out. It was good fun though. He's getting out of hospital today anyway so it won't bother him next time."

"Only 24 hours? Not more?" Finnick scoffed, it seemed like an awful light punishment given the ruckus she would have caused.

"Well they said a week, but I said I have therapy in there every second day, so they cut it down to 24 hours."

"I'm not banned," Finnick winked, stepping away from her.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a glare.

"I can visit Johanna, and you can stay out here and serve out your sentence," he smirked before taking off running.

"Hey!" she laughed, immediately taking off after her. "Come back fish boy!"

"Fish boy!" Finnick repeated incredulously.

"Oh you heard me," she scoffed, racing forward and throwing herself on his back. He'd been waiting for this and immediately clasped his arms back around her, holding her to him.

Taiya laughed and tightened her grip around Finnick's neck as he spun them around. The stoic District 13 citizens passing by didn't seem overly enthused, their demeanour was in stark contrast to the vibrant energy of the District 4 couple. Not that Finnick or Taiya cared though.

"You trying to outrun me, seaweed brain?" Taiya teased.

"You? Never," he denied with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"That's what I thought," she said, lowering her face against the back of his neck to blow a playful raspberry.

"Oh!" he complained, lurching forward.

Taiya just laughed. "Serves you right."

"Right. Now you have it coming," he declared, tightening his grip on Taiya as he started spinning them around once more.

"No!" Taiya protested, burying her head into the back of his neck to shield her view from the spinning hallway. "You're going to make us fall." She had a point, not that Finnick would ever have dropped her, but he did stumble and veered right into Gale.

"Oh hey, Dale!" Taiya greeted him with a sarcastic, wide smile. Not even Dale could ruin her good mood today.

"People are walking here, you know," Gale scowled, stepping around them to continue on his way.

"Bowl me at him, babe," Taiya tapped Finnick's shoulder.

"Bowl you?"

"Yep," she nodded. "Get a strike."

"You're ridiculous," he rolled his eyes, gently lowering her to the floor.

As soon as she was on her own feet, she stumbled. Finnick immediately flung his arm out to steady her.

"This is your fault," she glared at him, though her gaze seemed to waver as dizziness lingered.

"Sorry about that," he smiled. "Let's rebalance you," he whispered before leaning down to kiss her.

Closing both of their eyes for their kiss hadn't helped with the dizziness though. They both crumpled to the floor together, laughter bubbling up between them.

"Are you two ok?" Katniss' voice interrupted them and they looked up to see the teenager standing over them. She must have followed Gale out of whatever meeting they were in.

"Yeah," Taiya nodded, holding out her hands so Katniss could help her up. "It's just that seaweed brain here is an idiot," she smiled down at Finnick, who was still struggling to beat the dizziness and stand up.

"Seaweed brain…" Katniss muttered to herself. She remembered the first time Finnick had told her about Taiya's little nickname. It was when he was ranting and raving about it being a message after watching her first interview.

At least now Katniss knew that Finnick had only been mostly delusional at the time, not fully. Because seaweed brain was, without a doubt, Taiya's term for loveable idiot.

"I'm up!" Finnick victoriously declared, having finally used the wall to help himself up. "Woah," he stumbled backwards slightly. "I'm all good," he held his thumb up, not that either girl had gone to help him; they were just watching.

"Oh, that reminds me," Katniss turned to Taiya. "Beetee was looking at you before. He…" she cut herself off when she saw Finnick's violently shaking head.

"Don't worry about it," Taiya smiled. "Gloss told me already. I'll catch up with him another time. Finnick here," Taiya skipped towards her husband and took his hand. "Has promised to spend the day with me. Haven't you?"

"Indeed I have," he kissed her cheek before turning his gaze to Katniss, desperation evident in his eyes.

Today was the last day they had to spend time with their loved ones before they left. Katniss didn't have the day off training like Finnick did, but she knew how important it was to him that he spent this day with his wife.

"What do people even do for fun here?" Taiya scowled. She still wasn't a fan of District 13.

Katniss smiled though. "I hear they scream about pudding in the hospital."

Taiya's eyes widened. "Did Tanbark tell you about that?"

"Prim," Katniss shook her head.

"Oh. Well that I'll allow," Taiya nodded. "I like Prim."

"Everyone does," Finnick agreed.

"I'll be sure to tell her you said that," Katniss chuckled before she turned to follow after Gale.

Taiya stood in front of the bathroom mirror, methodically brushing her teeth. The sound of her brushing filled the room as she glanced over to the bed, where Finnick sat uncharacteristically quietly, which was what attracted her attention. Since when did Finnick sit quietly?

Observing him closely, a frown creased her forehead. His lips moved in a silent dialogue, rehearsing words that remained invisible to everyone but him. Taiya kept her eyes on him, noting the furrow in his brow and the subtle dance of his lips.

Spinning around, Taiya rinsed her mouth out at the sink before turning back and leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom, her gaze unwavering on Finnick. He would shake his head on occasion, seemingly restarting his private speech.

When he finally looked up and caught her watching, his expression transformed. Surprise flickered across his features before he instantly perked up, a smile playing on his lips.

Taiya walked towards the bed, settling down beside him, taking one of his hands in her lap. "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice gentle.

Finnick sighed, looking over at Taiya nervously. "Nothing's wrong," he denied. Taiya just tilted her head and looked at him with a smile, she didn't believe him at all.

"Oh come on," she said, leaning forward to rest her chin on his shoulder. "You can tell me."

"I need to tell you something," he shut his eyes. "But I'm worried you'll be mad."

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"I have to go away."

Taiya's blood ran cold. She immediately shot up and pulled away from him, fear evident in her eyes.

"What?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"I have to go-"

"You promised!" Taiya's eyes widened as she began shaking her head frantically. "You can't go!"

Desperately, Finnick tried to grab a hold of her hands, but she kept yanking them away. It took him a couple of attempts before he was able to grab them.

"Hey, hey. I'm going to District 12," he lied. "With Katniss. Plutarch wants to send us there to shoot propos. He wants to film victors to broadcast, but he doesn't want to put Katniss in any danger. Since 12 got bombed it looks like a war zone. He's going to make it seem like the Capitol."

"Katniss is going to the Capitol," Taiya shook her head. The girl had been so happy about that. All her training had paid off and she'd passed her exam.

"Plutarch just told us today that she's not. When I ducked out for the meeting. She's pretty upset about it."

"Well if Plutarch wants to film victors in 12, I can come with you guys."

"Plutarch wanted that," Finnick floundered, looking for ways to cover his lie. "But I said you'd want to stay here."

"Why would you not ask me? You don't get to make decisions for me."

"I know, I know," he nodded, moving his hands up to her hair and pulling her forehead down against his. "I should have asked. But I thought it would be a bad idea."

"But why?"

He knew what he was about to say would be a low blow. The lowest.

"It's January, Tay."

"So?"

"It's winter."

"I'm not getting your point."

"It's snowing in 12, Tay."

Taiya stiffened in his grasp.

"Snowing?" she breathed, her eyes wide.

The last time she'd seen snow was when she'd been in 12 on her victory tour. It'd been 9 years. But she was still so traumatised by the snow. She was irritated Finnick hadn't asked her, but if it was snowing, Plutarch wouldn't be able to get any good shots for his propo. All he'd be able to get was a breakdown, which Taiya didn't really want on camera.

Finnick couldn't even make eye contact with her. That technically wasn't a lie. It was snowing in 12. But he was lying about where he would be. Because he wouldn't be in 12.

"How long will you be gone?" she asked quietly.

Finnick didn't know how to answer this. "Maybe two weeks?" he muttered.

"Two weeks!" she jerked away again.

"As long as the war lasts so he can get lots of propos."

"That's insane Finnick," she snapped.

"Taiya…"

"No," she stood up in a huff. "We just got married," she pushed her hair back in a stress. "I…" her voice got quiet. "I can barely get to the end of a day without you or I get voices in my head. How am I meant to last two weeks? Why did you not at least consult me? Beng apart for two weeks!" she leant down to grab her jacket and threw it on. "We're married. You can't be making these decisions without me," she whispered before she stormed out of their compartment.

"Taiya!" he ran after her, but she wasn't stopping, she was storming down the hallway, wiping tears off her face. "Taiya, sweetheart. Please stop!"

She wasn't slowing down though. She was irate.

"Taiya," he finally ran in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. He was crying as well. He opened his mouth to say something and then seemed to change his mind, opting instead to simply pull her into his arms in a hug so tight it almost hurt. He kissed the top of her head repeatedly and whispered, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Taiya didn't sob. She didn't release any noise. But he could feel her body shaking as she silently cried.

"Please don't go," her voice was so quiet he barely heard it.

"I have to," his heart broke as he replied.

Taiya eventually let out a sob and returned his hug, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his shoulder, until she changed her mind and shoved him away.

"You're a terrible husband," she glared at him. A part of her wanted to hurt him. She wasn't proud of that.

Finnick's face showed her words had their desired effect. He looked crushed. "Taiya," he tried to move closer but she just held her hand up, making him freeze.

"You're hurting me."

"I don't want to hurt you," he shook his head.

"Well you are!" she yelled back, not caring who heard. "Don't leave me alone."

That was his chance to take it all back. Take it back and she'd forgive him.

"I love you so much," was all he could say, his voice thick with sorrow.

Taiya didn't stay after that, she stormed away, leaving him standing alone in the hallway.

She went straight to Tyler and Buck's room and burst in on the middle of their card game.

Seeing her tear-streaked face Tyler immediately stood up, but she was already flying at him. Clinging onto him with every bit of energy she had.

"He's leaving me," she cried. "He's going to 12 to film propos with Katniss. He's leaving for weeks. He leaves tomorrow!" she sobbed, fully aware that he probably already knew this.

"Hey, hey, I've got you," Tyler tried his best to comfort her.

"Weeks!"

"Tay…" she heard Finnick's voice murmur from the doorway.

She couldn't look at him right now. She already regretted calling him a terrible husband, if she was around him any longer, she'd say things she didn't mean.

So she pulled out of Tyler's arms and shoved past Finnick.

He hesitated in the doorway as he exchanged glances with Tyler and Buck. And that was the opportunity she needed.

She ripped open the door of Gloss' compartment and quickly shut it, pressing the lock button on the inside so he couldn't follow.

"Hey nut job," Gloss greeted, not looking up from his book. He hadn't been expecting her to show up and he'd nearly had a heart attack when she burst in. But he didn't want her to make fun of him for being startled. At least until he heard her sob.

He looked up to see her slide down the door, tears streaming down her face with no sign of stopping.

"Oh shit," he immediately leapt up from his bed and raced to crouch down in front of her. "What happened?"

"Finnick's leaving," she tried to look at her friend, but it was a struggle to see him through her teary eyes.

"He's going to the Capitol?" Gloss' eyes widened. Taiya had been so relieved he wasn't going, he hadn't expected the man to change his mind so late.

"No. I'd kill him if he was," Taiya wiped her eyes. She could hear Finnick on the other side entering codes in an attempt to unlock the door. He'd never guess the passcode. She'd set it when they first arrived in 13. 3466425. "He's going to 12 to film propos with Katniss," she snapped. "He's going to be gone for weeks. He leaves tomorrow. He's leaving me."

Gloss wasn't necessarily one for affection, but he grabbed the back of Taiya's head and pulled her into him, letting her freely cry on his shoulder without complaint.

"Finnick," Tyler called the man away from Gloss' door. He wasn't going to be able to get in there.

"I didn't even tell her the truth," Finnick grabbed at his hair. "She hates me."

"Don't be an idiot," Tyler shook his head. "She doesn't hate you."

"I'll call him an idiot," Buck raised his hand in the air. "What did you think was going to happen telling her at the last second like this? She was never going to take it well. You two have been connected at the hip since she got here. Of course you leaving is going to shock her. You should've told her earlier and eased her into it."

"You're right," Finnick had to concede. "Oh my god I've messed up so badly," he slumped down to the ground.

"Look," Tyler came forward on his crutches, he wished he could get down next to the man, but his knee wouldn't allow it. "You messed up, Finnick," he tapped his shoulder with a crutch. "No one's denying that. But I think no matter what you said, she was never going to take it well."

"What if she finds out where I really am though?" Finnick looked up at his friend. "She'll lose it."

This time it was Buck who was trying to give him some advice. "I know she's in a bad place mentally at the moment, and Snow really beat her down. But she's stronger than I think you're giving her credit for."

"I know she is," Finnick dropped his head back against the wall. "But I just don't want to do anything to make her worse."

"We're going to be with her the whole time you're away," Tyler reassured. "I already gave you my word. Between Buck, Haymitch, Peeta and I, she'll be so preoccupied she won't even have a chance to miss you."

It was hours later when Taiya finally left Gloss' compartment. Everyone would have gone to bed by this stage. When she opened the door, her eyes immediately fell on Finnick. He was on the ground, his head had immediately whipped up from its resting position on his knees when he heard her step out.

She didn't say anything, she just walked. He followed behind in silence as they both made their way to their compartment.

They weren't a couple that really fought. They'd bicker and argue like children about stupid things. Like how to make tea. Whether the best way to clean the sink was to wipe it clockwise or anticlockwise. Whether it was good luck or bad luck to touch the bottom of the cake when cutting the first slice on your birthday. But they were usually always open to discussion when it came to serious topics.

When Finnick and her discussed joining the alliance in the Quarter Quell, that had been more of a discussion than an argument. Taiya had been terrified. But she'd listened to him and taken on board what he had to say.

She didn't want to listen to him now. Because she knew there was no room for discussion. He was resolved to go.

Taiya opened the door to their compartment and immediately flung it closed, being petty and making Finnick have to jerk out his hand to catch it. But he didn't complain. He didn't crowd her when she stormed over to the bed and sat down. He just grabbed the desk chair and pulled it out so it was opposite her, about 6 feet away.

"I'm furious," she broke the silence. "I'm not often mad at you Finnick. But I am so, so mad right now."

"I know," his voice croaked. "You have a right to be."

"I know you don't like going to bed mad. But we're not going to be able to get over this tonight," she bluntly told him. "I'm too mad. I need you. You know I need you. But you're leaving."

"I need to do my part. Whatever that is. I just… I need to. I'm so sorry."

"I don't forgive you!" Taiya let out a sob, before holding her breath. She didn't want to cry again. "I need you to swear to me. Swear it. You won't be in any danger."

"I won't be in danger," he swore. And he meant it. He had been told in his meeting earlier just how useless Squad 451 really was. They were just there for the propos. Only they'd be filming it in the Capitol, not 12. They weren't going to be anywhere near the frontline. He thought originally they'd have some role to play in the fight, but they were just there to look pretty and garner support. He, Katniss and Gale were furious about being sidelined. But at least he didn't have to lie about what he'd be doing.

"Because if you get hurt I'll kill you."

"I'm sorry I'm a terrible husband," he apologised, his face looking as though he'd been kicked in the soul.

Taiya gritted her teeth. She was still furious. But her desire to spit hateful words at him had subsided somewhat.

"You're not a terrible husband," she whispered, her bottom lip shaking.

"Do you hate me?"

"Don't say that!" Taiya yelled, her hands shaking on the bed.

Finnick jerked at her outburst. He knew she was angry, but he hadn't expected her to yell. So he didn't keep his distance anymore and jumped up and moved to crouch in front of her and took her shaking hands. "Sweetheart?"

"Theo said those words to me," her voice cracked. "Before we went into the arena, he said those exact words. And he died. So don't ever say that. Please."

"I'm sorry," he kissed her hand. "I'm sorry."

He didn't know Theo and Taiya had had that conversation.

"I could never hate you," she shook her head in denial. "Even if I wanted to. I just couldn't. I love you."

"You know they have a device that lets you video call?" Finnick suggested. "We can do that every night."

"You promise?" Taiya finally made eye contact with him.

"I promise."

Finnick couldn't handle the small amount of contact they had anymore, he jumped up to sit next to her on the bed and pulled her into his side.

"If I need you, you have to come back."

Finnick nodded. "I will." He didn't even think he was lying. He knew that if she got that bad, he'd come home. He'd have to. He'd always find his way back to her.

"I was going to stay in Gloss' tonight," she sniffled. "But he pointed out that I won't get to see you for a couple of weeks," she sat up. "So he said I should be with you tonight. But I can stay with him when you're away so I'm not alone."

"He can help you with the nightmares," Finnick brushed some hair back.

"It's not the same," she shook her head.

"I know," he lay down, holding his arm up so she could crawl into his side. "I know."

"Gloss also said you were a stupid idiot."

"Did he really?"

"No," Taiya shook her head. "I'm paraphrasing. He said something much worse."

"Of course he did," Finnick chuckled, kissing the back of Taiya's head as he pulled her in even closer to his chest. "Trust me, my love, I'll be back before you know it."