Commander Snow wants nothing more than to leave District 2. But why leave alone when he could take someone with him?
The Story
Morning comes quietly.
Too quietly.
Seraphina wakes slowly, her body still heavy with sleep, her mind drifting somewhere between warmth and something she can’t quite name yet.
The sheets are softer than anything she’s ever known, the air still warm, still safe.
Her eyes open. And for a moment, she doesn’t move.
The room is unfamiliar in the way it wasn’t last night, the details sharper now, clearer in the daylight filtering through the curtains.
Then it hits her. All at once.
This isn’t her apartment. This isn’t where she’s supposed to be.
Her body tenses under the blanket, her fingers curling into the fabric as the realization settles heavier and heavier in her chest.
The Commander’s bed.
She slept in the Commander’s bed.
Seraphina sits up too quickly, the blanket slipping slightly as panic flickers through her, her thoughts suddenly loud, sharp, overwhelming in a completely different way than before.
What was she thinking? Letting him touch her like that. Letting him take care of her. Letting herself stay.
She needs to leave, now, before he comes back, before anyone sees, before this turns into something she can’t undo.
Her feet hit the floor, cold against her skin, grounding in the worst way. Her clothes. Where are her clothes?
Her gaze flicks around the room, frantic now, her thoughts racing ahead of her.
She can’t stay.
A sharp knock on the door makes her freeze. Completely. Please don’t let it be him.
The door opens without waiting for an answer.
But it isn’t him. It’s Maris. And somehow that doesn’t make it better.
Maris steps inside like this is normal. Like there is nothing strange about this at all. Like girls wake up in the Commander’s bed every morning and no one questions it.
Her expression barely shifts as her eyes land on Seraphina standing beside the bed, disheveled, tense, clearly not where she’s supposed to be.
“Miss.”
Maris doesn’t hesitate. Doesn’t question. Doesn’t even look surprised.
Seraphina feels like she’s going to die out of embarrassment. What would her mother think if she saw her right now? Standing in the Commander’s bedroom.
“The Commander would like to see you in his office.”
Her tone is polite, composed, as if she’s delivering a routine message, as if this happens every day.
Seraphina just stares at her for a second, her thoughts stumbling, trying to catch up.
“He..”
Her voice falters slightly.
“He’s already-?”
“Working, yes.”
Of course he is.
“And he asked that you come as soon as you’re ready. I suggest you don’t keep him waiting”
“Yes. Of course.”
Seraphina answers, even though she doesn’t move from her spot.
It feels like her feet are glued to the ground, as if she’s physically not able to move even though she wants to run away.
Maris doesn’t sigh, she doesn’t even show any sign of irritation. Maris feels bad for the girl in front of her, the girl who’s got the Commander’s attention. Maris knows how he gets when he’s intrigued by something.
He never lets go of it.
His secretary knows how this will end, Seraphina will never leave his grasp.
All that she can do is help her in the best way she can. She can’t help her escape her fate, but she can help her by making sure she understands what to do and how to not make mistakes.
“You’ll need to get dressed.”
Maris moves toward a chair near the bed, where neatly folded clothes have been placed, untouched.
Seraphina’s stomach drops.
“He had those brought in earlier.”
Earlier. Before she even woke up. Before she even had the chance to leave.
Maris lifts the clothes from the chair with practiced ease, shaking them out slightly before stepping closer, her movements efficient, unhurried.
“Come.”
Maris says gently, not unkind, but not soft either.
“He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
Seraphina hesitates for half a second longer.
Then she moves.
Maris steps behind her, guiding her without touching at first, then lightly adjusting her position when she doesn’t move quickly enough, her hands brief, precise.
Seraphina swallows, giving a small nod as she starts to move, her hands clumsy as she tries to figure out where to even begin.
The dress.
It’s too neat. Too untouched. Like it belongs to someone else.
To a girl from the Capitol, not a girl from district 2.
Maris steps closer before she can struggle with it for too long, her movements efficient as she gently takes part of the fabric from Seraphina’s hands.
“Arms up.”
The instruction is soft, but practiced. Seraphina hesitates, only for a second but then she obeys.
The fabric slides over her skin, cool at first, then settling, Maris guiding it into place with careful, precise movements, smoothing it down like she’s done this a hundred times before.
“There.”
She murmurs, adjusting the seams at her shoulders, then stepping back just slightly to look at her properly.
Seraphina feels exposed. Not because of the dress. But because of the situation. Because this is being treated like something normal.
Like they didn’t meet just yesterday. Like he’s not the Commander who’s keeping her brother in jail.
“You should fix your hair as well.”
Maris adds after a moment, stepping toward the vanity, already reaching for a brush.
Seraphina stills briefly at that.
Last night flickers through her mind, his hands in her hair, the slow, careful movements, the way he took his time.
“I… it’s fine.”
She murmurs quickly, almost too quickly.
Maris doesn’t argue. But she doesn’t agree either. Instead, she holds the brush out.
Seraphina hesitates.
Then takes it.
Her fingers move through her hair, slower than they should, her thoughts elsewhere, her pulse still uneven.
Every second feels like it’s pulling her closer to something she isn’t ready for. Something she doesn’t understand.
When she finishes, Maris gives a small nod.
“Better.”
A pause.
“Listen to me.”
Maris says quietly, her voice dropping just enough that it feels more private now, more intentional.
Seraphina looks at her. Really looks this time.
“He’s in a… good mood today.”
There’s a pause. Like that alone should mean something.
Like it’s important.
“You’ll want to keep it that way.”
Seraphina’s fingers tighten slightly at her sides.
“I don’t.. I don’t know what that means.”
Maris studies her for a second, something almost sympathetic flickering behind her otherwise composed expression.
“It means you answer when he asks you something.”
Calm.
Measured.
“It means you don’t interrupt him.”
She steps closer again, reaching up to gently fix a stray strand of Seraphina’s hair, smoothing it back into place with careful precision.
“And it means you obey when he gives you an order.”
That lands. Seraphina’s breath catches slightly.
Maris notices.
“He’s not cruel.”
She adds after a moment, softer now, though there’s something careful in the way she says it.
“But he is… particular.”
Her hand lingers for just a second longer at Seraphina’s hair before dropping back to her side. Maris doesn’t look away. Not inappropriately. Just observant.
Making sure everything is correct.
“Come.”
Maris guides Seraphina out of the bedroom, through his apartment. When they pass the bathroom, Seraphina thinks about last night. How she sat there in his bathtub while he brushed through her hair.
God, the Commander has seen her naked and now she has to face him again?
The hallway outside is already alive. Footsteps echo. Voices carry. People notice.
A pair of guards glance up as she steps past them, their eyes lingering a moment too long, taking in the neatness of her clothes, the way she carries herself, the way her cheeks are still slightly flushed.
Workers and messengers move quickly past the command center slowly, curiosity flickering in their eyes, and Seraphina feels it all, the awareness of hundreds of small gazes weighing down on her.
Maris walks ahead, perfectly composed, leaving her in their line of sight just long enough to make her feel exposed without unkindness.
“This way,” Maris says, voice calm, instructive.
Seraphina nods.
Her steps echo against the polished floors, every footfall louder than it should be, carrying through the compound like an announcement: She is here.
“Commander Snow already had his morning meetings.”
Seraphina nods again.
Even more heads turn as she passes the common areas, whispering and staring, some curious, some cautious, some plainly intrigued.
She can feel their attention like a weight pressing at her back, and she stiffens, pulling her shoulders back, trying to make herself smaller, invisible, but she can’t.
Because she isn’t invisible. Because last night changed that.
Because Commander Snow doesn’t let anyone leave unnoticed once he’s chosen them.
They stop outside a door. Large. Closed. Important.
Maris turns slightly toward her, just enough for her voice to reach without carrying.
“Knock.”
A brief pause.
“And wait.”
Seraphina swallows hard, her throat dry.
For a second, she considers turning around, running, pretending none of this ever happened. Pretending she never stepped inside this place at all.
But then she knocks.
And waits.
It doesn’t take long for her knock to be answered.
“Come in.”
Maris opens the door. Coriolanus sits behind his desk, already composed, already in control, as if the night before never happened.
Uniform perfect. Posture perfect. Everything exactly as it should be. Except for the way his eyes lift immediately to her.
“Leave us.”
Maris doesn’t hesitate. The door closes. And just like that, they’re alone again.
Seraphina stops a few steps inside, unsure where to stand, what to do with her hands, her body, her breathing. She tries to remember everything that Maris told her, but she can’t think clearly now that she’s this close to him again.
He doesn’t make her wait long.
“Come here.”
Not a suggestion.
She moves slowly at first. Then faster when his gaze sharpens just slightly. By the time she reaches the desk, her heart is already racing again.
“Closer.”
She obeys.
And then before she can think, before she can react, his hand wraps around her wrist. Firm. And he pulls her forward.
Straight into his lap.
A soft gasp escapes her before she can stop it, her hands instinctively bracing against his shoulders as she’s forced to sit sideways across him.
“Sir-”
“Relax.”
His voice is low, right near her ear. Too close.
“Or you’ll make this more difficult for yourself.”
His arm settles around her waist. Secure. Unmoving. Not allowing distance. Not allowing escape.
Her body stiffens at first, she knows she can’t fight him. But after a few seconds, the position becomes comfortable and it all starts to feel natural, and Seraphina relaxes.
“That’s better.”
He adjusts her position like it’s nothing, like it’s natural, like she belongs there, on him.
Owned. Displayed. Used.
“Arms.”
He instructs softly, but firmly. Seraphina hesitates, breath catching.
“Up.”
He clarifies, one hand tilting her chin ever so slightly, the gesture gentle but insistent.
Her arms rise slowly, trembling slightly, and she rests them around his neck. Her fingers brush the nape of his collar, the sensation both grounding and unnerving.
His hands settle lightly on her waist, steadying her, keeping her rooted, and she realizes she doesn’t need to fight it.
His free hand reaches for a folder on the desk. He opens it slowly, deliberately, turning it so she can see.
Photographs. Rows of them. Faces. Peacekeepers. Each one neatly printed, labeled. Ordered.
Her breath catches.
“This is your job now.”
His fingers press lightly against her waist as he speaks, grounding her in place.
“You’re going to help me identify the peacekeepers you saw yesterday.”
Her eyes flick up to him, panic flickering.
“I..I don’t know if I can-”
“You can.”
He cuts her off gently.
Too gently.
His thumb brushes slowly against her side, a subtle reminder. A warning.
“You said they spoke to you.”
A pause.
“You remember that.”
Her throat tightens.
“Yes…”
“Good.”
He leans in slightly, his voice lowering further.
“Then you’ll remember their faces.”
His hand leaves her waist only long enough to guide hers forward. To the photos. His fingers wrap around her wrist again, not harsh, but unyielding.
“Point.”
She hesitates. Just for a second.
His grip tightens. Not enough to hurt. Enough to remind.
Seraphina swallows, her eyes scanning the faces, heart pounding louder with every second.
And then she sees him. The one who stepped forward. The one who spoke.
Her hand trembles as she lifts it.
“…him.”
Her finger hovers, then lands on the photograph.
Coriolanus goes still. A smile. Small. Dangerous.
“I see.”
His arm tightens around her waist again, pulling her slightly closer without thinking.
Or maybe thinking very clearly.
“And the others?”
His tone is calm again.
She forces herself to look again.
Another face.
Her breathing becomes uneven, but she points them out one by one.
Each time he watches. Not the photos. Her.
He watches how she reacts, what affects her, what breaks her. When she’s done, her hand drops back into her lap, trembling.
“Only these four..”
For a moment, there is silence. Heavy.
“I figured you’d be a good girl.”
The praise is quiet. But it lands hard.
His hand returns to her waist, slower this time.. Not urgent. Not demanding. Just there.
“These four.”
He repeats it quietly, almost to himself, as if weighing something unseen, something already being put into motion behind his composed expression.
Then his attention shifts back to her.
His grip softens just slightly, his thumb tracing an absentminded line along her side, slower now, less about control and more about awareness.
Awareness of her, of the way she’s sitting so carefully in his lap, of the tension still lingering in her body.
“You did well.”
The words are softer than before. Warmer. Different.
Seraphina swallows, her shoulders still tight, her gaze fixed somewhere near his collar instead of his eyes, as if looking at him directly would make everything too real again.
He notices that too.
“Are you comfortable?”
The question comes unexpectedly, his voice dipping just slightly, something almost amused threading through it.
Seraphina stills. Comfortable?
She’s sitting on the Commander’s lap. In his office. Surrounded by evidence of what she just confessed. Her face warms instantly.
“I-”
She falters, her fingers tightening slightly where they still rest near his collar.
He watches the reaction with quiet interest. That small shift. That hesitation. That blush.
“There it is.”
His voice lowers, softer, edged with something unmistakably teasing now.Her breath catches.
“I didn’t say anything.”
She murmurs quickly, almost defensively, her gaze dropping further.
“No.”
He agrees easily.His hand moves, not to force her to look at him, but to tilt her just slightly closer instead.
“You didn’t, but you don’t need to.”
His thumb brushes once along her side again, slow, deliberate, and her shoulders tense before betraying her, relaxing just a fraction into the touch.
Her face burns hotter. Without thinking, without meaning to, she shifts closer. Just slightly.
Just enough that her face turns into the space near his neck, hiding there instead of facing him.
The movement is small, but it’s everything.
Coriolanus stills for half a second. Then a quiet exhale. Amused.
“There. That's better.”
His hand slides up her back, slow and controlled, not pushing, not pulling, just settling there, keeping her where she chose to be.
“Hiding already?”
The words are murmured near her ear now, low, teasing, but not unkind. Seraphina doesn’t answer.
Her fingers curl slightly into the fabric at his shoulder, her breathing uneven again, but not from panic this time.
His hand stills briefly against her back, feeling the shift in her breathing, the way it changes when she presses closer instead of pulling away, and something about that seems to settle him in a way nothing else has this morning.
“How did you sleep?”
The question comes softer. Simpler. As if the moment before didn’t happen at all, as if he didn’t just pull every reaction out of her with quiet precision.
Seraphina blinks against his shoulder, the change catching her off guard, her thoughts stumbling as she tries to follow.
“I… slept.”
She answers after a second, her voice quieter now, still uneven at the edges. He exhales softly, something almost like a quiet laugh under his breath.
“I would hope so.”
His hand slides slightly lower along her back, then stills again, resting there, steady.
“Was it comfortable?”
He asks, and this time the question feels more deliberate, more pointed, like he already knows the answer and is simply waiting to hear her say it.
She hesitates, because it was the most comfortable she’s ever been. Because that’s the problem.
“Yes..”
Seraphina admits finally, barely above a whisper.
“Good.”
The word is simple, but there’s something satisfied in it, something that settles deeper than it should.
His fingers shift again, just slightly, brushing once along her side in a slow, absent motion.
“I don’t like the idea of you being uncomfortable here.”
a/n: don't mind me, just eating pomelo and writing smut. i daydream about this piece every and all work day i have rn, it's pretty unhinged bcs i'm working as a gift wrapper for the holiday season and just staring ahead thinking of.... things. i'm technically an atheist, but i would need forgiveness for those thoughts. ANYWAY JEEZ. this took me like four days, help. i'm so insecure abt my smut writing, tho so ooohhh god am i actually dreading posting this. i'll just publish and run away from tumblr for a week. happy reading
talk to me about coryo here
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word count: 7.2k (sawrry)
themes: smut
warnings / disclaimers: smut, unprotected p in v, brief mutual masturbation, cum eating (SCREAMING), fingering, crying, ENJOY jsdfjhsadsd
gif credit goes to owner <3
something strange was happening in the arena. something was being done to the camera feeds that were supposed to livestream every second of what was happening in it. only because something seemed to have gone wrong in the games y/n was stuck to the television screen in her living room slash lounge. her parents were called into urgent work in district three a few hours ago, so it was only her and some of the maids in the house. they kept to themselves, though, and were probably asleep in their quarters at the mansion’s far-end wing. except for the main housekeeper, who was adamantly guarding the entrance of the house, in case anyone came by.
her parents were counting on someone coming by - with the way she was recently behaving at school and with the rebel bombs, they were real worried about her well-being. she was always alone at home, because there was no one to bring home. except the dean, but he came by himself and only to serve his usual scolding and threats about y/n’s rebellious nature and behaviour at school. her parents hadn’t felt such worry for their daughter as they felt now since the war days.
what soothed her mother’s worried heart and mind was the presence of the maids and the housekeeper. y/n appreciated their staying around and liked hearing noises made by someone else in the mansion, even if it was only a far-away creak of floorboards or a door closing. but she didn’t need anything from them, ever, she’d been very independent since her early childhood, and maids seemed like such an excess right now, an even backwards concept for y/n. her family employing them, unable to live without them, made her feel like the rich princess everyone deemed her being.
y/n had felt fine being home alone until the feed from the arena turned strange. darker, blacker, and the audio seemed warped or otherwise manipulated. she’d caught sight of a familiar figure entering the arena – who was that? how did he get inside? who can tell... – and then the feed changed. there was nothing much she could see, but her eyes had been glued to the screen of her television for the past half hour, anyway. all the while she was straining her eyes to try to see who it was, and at some point that figure was joined by another by Sejanus’ tribute Marcus’ bruised and wounded body, and then the feed darkened nearly completely.
she sat in her sofa in an embryo pose, blanket over her stressed form, covering her back and the bare feet and legs that the knitted bedtime jumper couldn’t. she realized the gamemakers or the Capitol were trying to hide something, nothing else could explain the feed changing and audio going wobbly and earning static in the process.
the bell ringing at the front door startled her so bad that y/n gasped and jerked in her position on the sofa. her head whipped in its direction and she watched two figures entering her family’s mansion from the far end of the hallway. she could already tell who the two were, but she remained sat on the sofa, her legs unmoving out of anxiety. she shut off the television and just watched them walk towards her through the unlit hallway, arms wrapping around her knees underneath her beloved blanket.
“ms y/l/n, a mister Snow is here, for you,” the housekeeper announced as she and Coriolanus entered the living room, Coriolanus stumbling into the room more than walking into it. he looked like he was falling to pieces. his breath was heavy, hair and academy uniform in disarray, face just... bewildered. y/n nodded at her housekeeper, extended her arms towards Coryo like a child reaching for its favourite toy and sniffled quietly.
“thank you, Nora,” she told the housekeeper, “please leave us. you can go to bed, i won’t need anything else for the night.” she said in a hushed voice and the housekeeper nodded, knowing to listen to the child of her employers. y/n hated giving anyone orders, much less this spectacular lady, but she did want to be alone with Coryo. and by the look of him, she could tell he couldn’t be around anyone else but her. he was a man of privacy, after all.
as soon as Nora shut the door behind her and left for the maids’ quarters, Coryo accepted the plea in y/n’s extended arms and stumbled over to her on the sofa. “i—i’m sorry,” he said the first words out of breath, in a voice so broken and frail that y/n’s lips twitched downwards and she felt the need to cry, “i didn’t know where else to go, i couldn’t... i couldn’t f-face anyone else...” as he sat down before y/n’s bare feet peeking out from the blanket, she noticed in the poor lighting of the room that his clothes were dirty. there were cuts in his shirt, dirt, gravel, sand... blood.
“what happened?” her voice wouldn’t go any louder than a whisper, and her lips were turning into a pout as she looked Coryo over, her meek hands reaching out for him but unsure whether she should touch him or not. he could fall apart like the frailest glass, it seemed, if anything touched him right now. his face was bruised. there were small cuts on his cheek, blood on his chin. she noticed how they had already been taken care of.
Coryo still took heavy breaths, but finally he felt like his vision was real and not fooling him, and he took in his surroundings. the dim lighting in the posh room, y/n’s bare feet touching his red academy pant leg, her legs pulled up to her chest under a cute throw-blanket in the pastel colour of chocolate milk, her small hands reaching out to him, unsure, unsteady. he lifted his head to look at her, and the expression on her face made his heart lurch in his chest. her glassy eyes – no doubt matching his –, the pout on her lips, her rosy cheeks, eyebrows scrunched in worry and confusion. he could never decline that face. “dr Gaul sent me inside the arena to get Sejanus out,” he finally said, and he spoke in a whisper tone that could only be meant for secrets, “but the tributes heard us... i’m not sure i should even be telling you about this at all,” he admitted.
y/n shook her head. “your secret’s safe with me,” she assured with a gentle nod.
“yes, but dr Gaul—” Coryo began, but she interrupted him in the voice of a faint whisper.
“i know how terrifying she is,” y/n persisted, “she won’t know that i know.” she said even quieter and looked, really looked, into Coryo’s eyes, and nodded gently again at him. he searched her eyes for a few seconds, weighing the risk of her knowing this, trying to decide if he should tell her more or just cut short here. but really. she’s a loose end and she knows it. it’s not like dr Gaul was in high thoughts of y/n or deemed her more valuable than any other student, and her nature played a big part in that opinion of the young girl. how would she know that y/n found out about this night in the arena? she wouldn’t. it would never come up in conversation. y/n wasn’t part of this.
“the tributes heard us,” Coryo started to say as he sat closer to y/n, his body turned to face her, and almost loomed over her. he’s always been much taller than her, and sometimes that played a part in their dynamic. he took her hands in his above her bent knees and the blanket. he licked his lips and y/n searched his eyes, his... stoic blue eyes. there was a change in them, “they came after us and i...” he shook his head, “i didn’t want to hurt him,” Coryo’s voice broke and his head dropped onto y/n’s covered knees.
she heard a sob from him, and it shook her entire form, making her gasp quietly. she’d never seen him cry before. the night on the rooftop, in the garden, she knew he was close to it, but she knew he’d never let his pride down so much that he’d let anyone see him cry. and Coryo didn’t feel so good about crying now, about opening himself up to her like this, he felt disgusted with himself. but he also couldn’t stop. and he couldn’t hide everything from her, after all.
y/n shuffled around until her legs were tucked under herself and she moved closer to Coryo, taking his scarred cheeks between her small hands and lifting his face up so he would see her. she knew she made him nervous usually, but she calculated that that effect flipped around on itself when he was in this state, or one similar to this. breaking apart. feeling vulnerable. beaten down. she looked into his eyes and he back into hers, not really having any other choice. she had this compelling power over him, even if he didn’t want to admit it, and he didn’t want to hide from her. not really.
his breathing slowed down as he just looked into her wondering beautiful orbs, full of so much determination, courage and kindness. she was almost smiling at him, even though she wanted to cry, too, and her eyes were glassy with produced tears, but she wanted to appear strong for him. because right now he really needed a strong anchor to hold onto, he was the one in need of support. y/n took that role mainly in their friendship-relationship, especially at school, when she got herself in trouble, or at home, when her parents were giving her an earful about her irresponsibility and all the jazz they usually gave her an earful about.
last time Coryo and y/n saw each other, she realized he had the ability to ground her. and now she realized she had the ability to ground him, because by looking into his eyes she could see his emotions and mood changing by the second. and all because she’s holding him, and he’s looking into her eyes. he didn’t need much more than that.
and yet maybe he did. he didn’t know which part of him had the urge, but all of him acted on it by ducking forward and kissing her on the lips. he could taste the sweat she had made on her lips out of stress, and the blueberry tartlet she must have had as a late snack not too long ago. and his hands couldn’t keep away anymore, either, they were taking hold of her face like hers was holding his cheeks between them. y/n would have gasped at his sudden action if she had any air to breathe, and she sighed heavily when he did give her a split second of air after fiery kisses to her delicious lips.
he kept his eyes on her as he pulled his academy blazer off and threw it to the ground beside the couch, then came back closer to her, one hand on her cheek and the other pulling the adorable blanket off her legs. y/n placed a palm on that hand of his, which made Coryo furrow his eyebrows and look at her with puzzled eyes. didn’t she want this, too? she gulped, eyes averted from his shyly. “i’d rather we talked about it, Coryo,” she admitted and looked back at him carefully, eyes so un-knowing and yet more clever than most people’s. Coryo tilted his head slightly at her words.
his hands took the bull by its horns, pulling the blanket fully away and welcoming the night air of the mansion upon y/n’s bare legs, making her gasp again. Coryo used the moment of surprise to his advantage and pushed her down on the sofa, sneaking in between her legs like the slippery mastermind he was, and he slid a hand under her knitted jumper, raising goose-bumps in his wake across her stomach and waist. y/n hated that she felt aroused, meaning she felt exactly how he wanted her to, was right where he wanted her, but she couldn’t exactly pull away. she hated being at someone’s mercy, but.... it was Coryo.
she surprised him when he found she wasn’t wearing a bra under her jumper, nothing was standing between his greedy hands and her naked breasts now, though her not wearing a bra at home wasn’t exactly a surprise. it’s just that his inexperienced self was shocked to find a part of her naked, and right there, at his disposal. watching her face, he placed his palm over one of her breasts and ran his thumb over her nipple, which hardened immediately under his touch. and her face, oh, the expression on it was to die for. eyes softly shut, eyebrows gently spasming as she was feeling something very new to her, her teeth biting her lower lip, cheeks turning more red and no doubt burning up. Coryo placed a kiss on her bare stomach, just above the elastic of her underwear, and watched her still as she whimpered for the first time. her thighs fidgeted around him, feet unsurely digging into the soft cushions of her couch—she really didn’t know what to do with herself and these sensations she was experiencing.
“i’d rather we didn’t,” he said to her finally, though his actions were more than enough of a response to what she said, but she hardly heard him now. there was a gentle static in her ears, and heat all over her writhing form. her pure, supple, untouched form. all for him to touch, to explore. Coryo took his shirt off in a hurry, as if y/n might disappear if he had his hands off her for a second longer, and returned to her half-naked body a hungrier man. hands raking the insides of her thighs, he kissed her again, hot lips making their conversation just moments ago seem like the far past, making her almost forget it happened. y/n could hardly feel her legs, though she knew this was just the beginning, and she wrapped her arms around Coryo’s frame and held onto him as he moved his slender torso against her chest. she could feel the bones of his hips jutting against her own, his growing crotch pressing against her panty-covered soaking cunt, teasing her, making her pant heavily and whimper like a kitten.
having her like this satiated the hunger that rose from the deep hole he’d created inside himself, gnawing at him like a big black hole with eager, starving claws. every stroke of his hips against hers beat the monster down but dangled the bait in front of it at the same time, leaving him in quite the paradox. this was more than enough, yet Coryo knew he could go further with y/n, further than enough, and that she’d let him. everything in him wanted to, and he couldn’t stop himself. adrenaline was pumping blood from his heart into his veins, she was available and the only one who could help with the hole growing inside him.
but y/n couldn’t go further without another word spoken. he was avoiding her question, he was avoiding the whole last hour of this night. “Coryo,” she whispered softly as his lips kissed at her neck, tongue sweeping over a particularly bruised-with-kisses spot on her sculpture-like skin, he was an animal let loose. and his affections almost made her forget what she wanted to ask, and she thought maybe she doesn’t really want to know. but y/n sighed, trying to clear her mind, “tell me what happened,” she plead in a quiet voice and it made Coryo raise his head and look into her eyes again.
he framed the side of her face with only a hand, his thumb on her chin and the rest of his palm splayed across her burning cheek. he loved seeing the look of lust and confusion on her face, in her eyes most of all. the pads of his fingertips softly pushed into her skin. “no,” he remained stubborn, and y/n would have been surprised to have him do otherwise. she gulped softly, hoping he wouldn’t feel it, but no, he felt every motion any part of her made now. his mind came up with a new idea as he slid a hand of his across her stomach, making a wave across her supple body, and then he reached her underwear. he knew, like everyone else did sort of matter-of-factly, that women were to be touched there. he knew it was the spot in her with which he could get her full attention. and he also knew he’d have to fabricate having experience in this field for y/n. he didn’t want her to think him inexperienced, which he was exactly, or least of all that he’s experimenting with her—which was also what he was doing. so he improvised by cupping her warmest place in the body, and he felt an immediate reaction. her thighs fidgeted around his waist again and her stomach lurched. her eyes shut, but he wanted to see them, “open your eyes,” Coryo urged her, and y/n had to force herself to comply, her beautiful eyes looking into his again. they held eye contact as he ran his middle finger in a straight line between her clothed folds, and he watched as her face contorted, caused by the new strange and pleasant feelings. she felt like warm honey on his fingers, “right now all i need is to feel you,” he told her and did the same motion with his finger again, only this time slower, making it pleasurably agonizing for her, coaxing quiet whimpers from her lips, “and this tells me you need it, too.”
god, she hated that he was right. at first it was want, she wanted him to stay over, to touch her, to feel her, to do things to her that no one else had ever before. now, she felt so desperate for it that she felt she could explode if she didn’t get what seemed to be promised to her. the want grew to need. she wanted to shake her head, wanted to push him off—that would really be characteristic to her. but instead she brought herself to really look into his eyes and nod in response. Coryo’s lips almost made a smile or a grin, almost, she caught the ghost of it in the corner of his lips before he kissed her again. “alright, Coryo,” she whispered against his lips, “but if you don’t touch me properly right now, i willkick you out of my home.” she said surely, admitting to her desperation without shame and in turn – with pride, and now Coryo grinned. her feistiness was one of the things he liked about her, and it coming out in this setting was more than he could have asked for. in a weird way it got him going.
y/n placed both of her hands on the sides of his face and kept him close to her as he reached his hand into her underwear, breaching into unexplored territory. she was all the warmer for him, and soaking wet. he hummed, their lips nearly touching, but not completely. it was torture for him. he wanted to devour her lips, her whole face, her whole existence. her lips were like the food of life for him, the sounds she made music to his ears and air in his lungs. “you’re just perfect for me,” he confessed to her in a shudder and y/n smiled lightly. his fingers ran through her naked warm folds, just testing the waters, until they found the opening between them, where the wetness and warmth were seeping from. Coryo would have dropped his head onto her shoulder if her hands weren’t holding it up right, but he just felt like he lost his damn mind at how incredible her walls felt around his fingers, and he could collapse right there on top of her.
“Coryo,” she sang his nickname in a beautiful moan when two fingers prodded inside her, beating any expectations she had about this beforehand. they were long and thick, touching every inch of her, it felt like, and reaching just far enough. she was barely holding onto him, and her body was reacting to his touches immediately. hips moving, back arching, thighs squeezing his body between them, breaths shuddering.
“no one’s done this to you before, have they?” Coryo asked, but he hardly needed an answer. by the way she was reacting, he could tell that she’d never felt like this before. y/n shaking her head at his question was merely the last dot on the confirmation, yet it still made him more aroused. knowing he was the first one to do this to her, with her. he grazed her upper wall with his finger pads, being careful not to let his nails scrape her, and it brought a moan from her that he’d never heard anyone make. guttural, coming from the very depths of her lungs, her vocal cords, from her very core. it made him shudder. he repeated the motion, slower one time, then faster the next, all the while watching her reaction. he loved seeing her eyes shut, her cheeks become redder, her lips parting, stretching, pushing breaths and whimpers out from between them. Coryo felt one of her hands sliding up into his hair, and he groaned. her hips bucked and she grabbed onto his perfect curls between her fingers when he reached farther inside her with his two fingers, and it made them both moan into each other’s mouths, y/n letting his lips rest over hers. he’d reached that great point inside her, feeling her hot and spongy against his digits. it’s almost like she was sucking him in. “you’re so good for me,” Coryo told her and y/n whimpered at the praise.
“more, please,” she begged with no shame and Coryo obliged, picking up the pace of his fingers and massaging over her folds with his thumb all the while. when he accidentally grazed over her clit, y/n made a high-pitched moan of the utmost sensitivity, and he knew he’d done the right thing. and by accident, no less. he was on the winning team, “Coryo,” she cried with her eyes shut and he noticed a tear on her cheek, kissing over it immediately. next his lips were on hers again, lapping at her tongue with his own like the starving man he was, knowing nothing of tomorrow or the next hour, just so engulfed in her that he knew nothing else. she was the perfect getaway.
he could feel her body behaving in a different way, thighs trembling around him, walls squeezing his hand in, hands nearly powerless, chest shuddering. she wasn’t far off her release, he guessed. with another press to the sensitive bundle of nerves that made her cry, Coryo once again watched her reaction in amazement. but he didn’t want to feel her release like this, he needed them both different. Coryo pulled his fingers away, once again making y/n cry out, this time in the most desperation she could manage, and she looked up at him with pleading, tearful eyes. he offered her a gentle smile and moved down her body, dragging her underwear with him. down her legs and away, the light pink garment went, and y/n bit her plump lip in anticipation as she watched him.
Coryo tucked her underwear into the trousers of his academy uniform that he was still wearing and returned to her body, laying kisses across her thighs on his way up to her. y/n squirmed under and around him, mewled, muttering his name in a mewl here and there, relishing in the feeling of his lips on her untouched skin and his hands roaming all over her body, under her jumper, over it, trying to cover every inch of her. she hated that he had stopped touching her right when she was closest to that one sacred edge she wanted so badly to reach, he was teasing her, taunting her, testing her waters. it was clear to her that he had never done this to another girl before. Coryo was just like her, and yet he’d put up a different façade.
he dug his fingers into the flesh of her naked hips, which made y/n throw her head back into the sofa cushions, baring her delicious-looking neck to Coryo. he used that to his advantage, licking and kissing at the skin of her neck which he had already bruised marked with his lips just moments ago, he was devouring her with a hunger only she could really satiate, and yet he couldn’t get enough of her. his growing crotch pressed against her bare cunt, and y/n gasped at the feeling. eyebrows scrunched, cheeks and lips red and puffy, she looked up at Coryo again, and he returned the gesture. he took one of her hands in his and guided it down to between them, where he was growing harder and in size, it seemed, watching her face all the while and taking notice of her biting down on her lower lip in anticipation. Coryo made her feel him through his trousers, and he couldn’t hide the effect her touch had on him - shuddering throughout his whole body, eyelids fluttering, he was barely able to utter the next words, but he did so in a quiet voice. “feel what you do to me?”
y/n nodded with lustful eyes, hungry like the wolf for the boy above her. her boldness came back and with it y/n unzipped Coryo’s custom-made trousers and reached into his boxers to really feel him. he had girth and he was solid, she could feel that all with her hand on him. she was making him a panting mess, giving his length a sure stroke, Coryo’s head falling into the crook of her neck and him moaning, though she knew the piece of his pride that died for him to do that. he hardly let anyone see his inner world, his true feelings, so for him to be this vulnerable with her took a great deal of courage. “do i make you... feel like this often?” y/n asked quietly, and Coryo nodded with a whimper as her finger flicked over his tip, pink and sensitive. y/n wrapped her fingers around his shaft and stroked up and down, slowly, looking at his face all the while, wishing she could see his beautiful eyes now, see the emotions swimming around in the blue of them.
Coryo fisted the pillow right beside her, heavy breaths leaving his parted lips, “yes, yes, yes, god, yes,” he chanted in her ear as the pace of her strokes grew faster, and y/n could feel each breaths in his lungs against her own, his chest rising and hitting against her so intensely. she’d made him crumble beneath her so quickly, it surprised her, “i need you, y/n, i need to feel you,” Coryo confessed and managed the strength to raise his head and look at her again. he was too afraid to utter the phrase i need to be inside you, feeling just too shy all of a sudden to say that. the look on his face was pure desperation, he looked like he could start crying the next moment, and y/n’s heart lurched in her chest at seeing that. seeing and recognising that she could make him as desperate as he’d made her. that she could make him small, “no one’s ever made me feel like this before,” he confessed more, breaking his own façade down, and y/n smiled at him sheepishly. she knew, of course, that what he said was true. she knew everything about him.
“you have me,” she assured him and brought him out of the confine of his boxers, making Coryo breathe in relief. he had felt so restricted in his own clothes, “but god, Coryo, will you fit? you feel too big in my hand,” y/n said shyly and bit down on her lip again, a habit that Coryo had noticed her having for quite a while now, and he looked down between them two. y/n knew her comment went straight to his growing ego, but she just couldn’t resist teasing him a little. and when he caught onto it, he looked at her again, with a smile on his lips this time. she grinned wide and giggled before she took his face in her hands and kissed his lips, as if it was her first time doing so. simple, loving, affectionate.
suddenly she fully took in the look of his naked torso, his amazingly sculpted shoulders and arms, his pearly chest... the sight of him was so breath-taking and delicious that she nearly forgot all her other surroundings. Coryo, though the look her eyes were giving him flattered him so, took the bull by its horns again and pushed the very tip of his hard length through her folds, where her warm opening welcomed him. y/n felt a strain while Coryo felt the beginning of a true release, but he noticed her awkward expression, felt her hold on his face falter, and he paused his movements to just check in.
“alright?” he asked quietly, as he couldn’t tell what to do next by her face, “too big for you?” he teased and it made them both smile, then erupt into mad giggles in unison. y/n would never have expected Coryo to have humour in a moment like this, but she was relieved that he did, and god did it make the whole thing easier. she wasn’t worried, wasn’t anxious anymore, wasn’t feeling insecure about any aspect of herself anymore. except the thing she’d heard that happened to most women on their first time – the bleeding, the pain, his reaction to it. those were the few things she wanted to avoid happening. but if Coryo was his sweetheart-self, then she had no bad reaction to worry about. she was glad he was the person she was doing it for the first time with, she’d really lucked out.
“just a little,” she finally answered after their giggle fit while holding each other in their arms, “try going deeper,” she urged in a hushed voice, and Coryo complied, adjusting his hips forward, slowly, not to accidentally hurt her more. he couldn’t deny how incredible this felt, how incredible she felt around him, her walls sucking him right in so tightly, “ohmygodohmygod,” y/n pushed the words out in a quick breath, feeling a burn and stretch inside of her at the size of him. she didn’t have anyone to compare Coryo to, and no one else had been inside her before, but he felt big enough.
Coryo appreciated her arm on his back, her nails digging half-moons into his pearly skin, and her other hand splayed across his cheek, thumb almost digging a hole in his cheek. “you feel so perfect around me,” Coryo praised against her parted lips, and y/n could only look at him with strain and tears in her eyes as he inched himself further and further inside, her face changing by every inch, it seemed, until he had bottomed out with a groan and she’d only felt a momentary sting of pain. and the worst part was over—what a miracle it was that it had been so quick for her, she’d expected otherwise. Coryo could see the immediate relaxation on her features, and he smiled.
he kissed away her fallen tears, but more kept falling from her eyes and y/n could only explain them as being happy tears, though she scolded herself for being so emotional in a meaningful moment like this. but maybe it was just right. Coryo smiled at her and she could see his orbs being glossy, too, and she was glad. it was no wonder, really, taking how shaken he was when he came into her home and sat down on her couch beside her. he was still in turmoil, but that didn’t matter now. he had her.
“can i try... moving? you feel alright?” he asked her in a whisper. this slow thrust inside her had already felt like heaven, he couldn’t wait to repeat it over and over and over.
y/n nodded, “yeah, go ahead,” she said and Coryo complied. she took in the feeling of him pulling out gently, slowly... teasingly. he was grinning, she saw, and she shook her head in disbelief as a beautiful smile adorned her features. and then he thrust inside her again, stuffing her walls with his great length, making her back arch and moans that she’s never made before escape her lips. he could hardly concentrate, but he didn’t want to miss all the different facial expressions she would make, the look in her eyes, while he made love to her now. he made himself keep his eyes open as he began to move rhythmically now.
y/n’s legs wrapped around his waist, engulfing him in her more and more, and each of his thrusts earned him a squeak from her from the movements. god, he just adored her beyond measure. she was everything he needed now, and later, and forever. Coryo kissed her neck, licked at it, as he had before, and it only made her moan more, each moan in its own unique high or low pitch, and dig her fingers into whichever part of his skin she was holding. Coryo adored her touches, they turned him on, and he wanted her hands on him always, they were a lifeline. his hands gripped her waist, her sweater bunched just above them, only covering her arms and her breasts, though barely even those from how much Coryo was moving her.
“you're doing so good for me,” he breathed into her ear, and the praise only spurred her on. she clenched around him, and it made Coryo break his focus completely, his head dropping onto y/n’s chest, where he breathed hot air onto her skin, “i’m sorry, i think i’m close,” he confessed, and y/n raised his face with her hands, looking at him with puzzlement across her face.
“me too, it’s okay,” she assured him and then took one of his hands in hers and lead it down to where their bodies met. she laid his palm over the bulge that had formed in her lower stomach from him. the sight and feel of it made Coryo groan, getting him all the more closer to his release.
“fuck, that’s amazing,” he said into her neck, and y/n nodded.
“you’re so big, Coryo,” she complimented him again and felt his dick twitch inside her at the words, “made a bump in me,” she put it into words and it made the boy nearly lose his mind. then she guided his hand just a little lower and pressed his hand onto her clit, where he recalled was her most vulnerable point, “come on, touch me. we’ll do it together,” she urged him on in the sweetest of angel voices and Coryo didn’t need to think twice before complying. he loved her ordering him around a little, it was much needed tonight especially.
he pressed his thumb against her clit as his hips had nearly reached their fastest pace, and watched as her face twisted in pleasure. eyes shutting, lips spasming, closing, opening, teeth biting, voice singing out to him. “oh, Coryo,” she called his name and he felt it go straight to his heart. there wasn’t much more that he needed in order to come now, and he prided in himself for lasting so long at all, all the while feeling a little ashamed about it. he wanted this to last longer. but since he could tell she was coming, too, his thumb drawing harsh circles on her clit to bring it on, he revelled in them both finishing at once.
“fuuuck, y/n, i love you,” he whimpered into her ear as he spilled himself inside her tightly-squeezing walls while y/n all but chanted his nickname like a mantra. her hands almost drew blood on his back from how tightly she held onto him, and she shuddered around him at the feeling of her own release coating his entire length. her thighs trembled and she panted heavy breaths against his neck. she’d almost missed his quiet confession, she’d actually heard it amidst their joined euphoria, but she had thought it a hallucination.
but that assumption dissipated as she came to and looked up at Coryo, whose eyes were worriedly, with tears streaming from them, looking down at her. she quickly moved her hands to his cheeks and tried to sit up in their awkward position. best she could do was position herself higher on her pillow against the sofa’s armrest, and she gulped. “you love me?” she echoed in the smallest of voices, searching his eyes. they were worried, fearful. what if he’d said the wrong thing? what if she felt different about him, different than what he felt about her? what if he’d said it too soon? what if he’d just ruined all this with her?
but he did love her. he was sure of it. so he nodded, his curls bouncing with the confirming movement. y/n ran her hand over them and smiled wide at him.
“you love me,” she said again, surely this time, in a happy tone of voice. as if she’d discovered the best, most well-wishing secret in the whole world. and perhaps that’s what it was. her favourite secret about Coryo was that she knew he loved her, “i love you, too,” y/n told him before he could assume otherwise, and kissed his trembling lips. Coryo felt on top of the world. he had said the right thing, he’d played his cards right, he’d told her how he felt. of course, his actions spoke volumes, but hearing him say it in words meant the world to y/n.
“thank god, you had me worried there for a bit,” Coryo half-joked between their kisses, and it made her laugh. she pulled back from his lips and admired the boy above her. forehead glistening from sweat in the dim lighting, curls messily falling over his beautiful face, his pearly chest rising and falling with each heavy breath he took.
“who would i be without a little suspense, huh?” she asked and smiled at him again. she could see complete love and devotion in his eyes, two things she’d seen on his face only partly or half-meant before, and only towards herself. Coryo used the moment of silence to pull out of her and stuff himself back into his trousers. sitting against the sofa cushions to do it, he glanced at her cunt and saw it leaking with his white substance. y/n looked at him with sultry eyes and her teeth biting her lower lip, arms crossed over her chest, and she spread her legs just a little further to tease him with a wider look, “like what you see?” she asked quietly.
he just gave her eyes of total surrender, he was waving the white flag for giving up and he took a deep breath. y/n giggled as Coryo shook his head in disbelief and lowered his face down to her center, once again giving her anticipation. “you look so pretty,” he complimented and ran a finger through her folds, making her shudder as more of the snow-white liquid pooled out and coated her cunt, “pretty with me dripping out of you,” Coryo sneaked a glance up at her and saw the clear-as-day lust in her eyes. feeling that animalistic urge take over him again, he brought out his tongue and lapped up each drop coming out of her. y/n felt sensitive, sore, and Coryo was giving her a mix of both pleasure and pain as he drank at her. she had him right where she wanted him. the question was – would he stay there?
his tongue prodded at her entrance just a tad, heightening her sensitivity, and he moaned against her folds at her shudder under him, giving her folds a kiss over once he was done. he wanted to leave most of his spill inside her, only having lapped up and gulped down what was excess. sitting up before her, between her legs, Coryo licked his lips and leaned over her form. y/n pulled him in for a kiss, and could taste something salty and something sweet all at once on his lips and tongue. it was both of them.
“will you please stay?” y/n asked her in her small voice again, looking into Coryo’s eyes. she hoped to not find any resistance or decline, and her hopes were fulfilled. “please,” she plead more as he teased her with his silence. he nodded, and it made her smile wider than ever. he would stay over, like he promised her he would someday. it meant he didn't view her only as a secret anymore. maybe they could even go to Heavensbee hall tomorrow together, maybe hand in hand... “why did you say sorry? about being close?” she reminded him of the few moments before their euphorias. Coryo bent his head low for a moment.
“just felt embarrassed,” he answered, “about not lasting long. i just... i just wanted this to last longer for you,” he told her and managed to look at her again. y/n made a comforting face and stroked the side of his face. she understood.
“yeah, but it’s okay,” she assured him, “there will be other times,” she pointed out and laid a kiss to his cheek, “it was your first time, so please don’t worry your beautiful head over it.” Coryo managed a ghost of a smile just for y/n to kiss him and make his smile more life-like. “you did good, Coryo.” those words of praise went straight to his dick again, and he blushed. she had made him blush. y/n giggled.
“you did great, too,” Coryo told her and kissed her hair, “thank you. i never would have wanted to do this with anyone else but you,” he confessed as they held tight eye contact. y/n’s heart surged at his words.
“me too. i’m glad it was you,” she said and it made Coryo smile with shut lips, “now, can i get my underwear back?” she’d made a joke again, and Coryo felt like playing along further.
“no, i’m keeping it,” he said in a hushed voice, shaking his head and y/n made a playful pout. she’d want to make him think he could keep it and that she’d steal it back later, but she couldn’t. Coryo having her underwear in the pocket of his academy trousers made her feel somehow proud. a piece of her with him wherever he goes. and if he went home and stashed them somewhere in his wardrobe cabinet, that would be fine, too. she loved knowing her underwear was a token for him.
she only said, “alright,” and took his hand in hers, “let’s go shower and then to bed. you’ve exhausted me.” she admitted and Coryo took it as a compliment. he wanted this treacherous-turned-great day to end, too, and she was the cherry on top of it all. he wouldn’t have gone home tonight for anything.
hii could you please write a young coriolanus x reader arranged marriage trope thank you
☼ plinth legacy pt1 (Coriolanus Snow) ☼
warnings; swearing, death mention, blood mention, some grief.
wc; 7.7k
notes; made the reader sejanus's sister for angst reasons :)
part two.
--
Coriolanus Snow.
A name, much less a person, you had never thought would constantly be on your mind. He wasn’t before. In fact, most days you wouldn’t glance his way twice, unless you had to. He was just another face at the Academy, a friend of your brother, Sejanus. Which, by association, made him a friend of yours. Or, at the very least, acquaintances.
It wasn’t that you didn’t like him, or that he was unbearable to have a conversation with. Actually, his presence was nice, on the occasions that you were around him for longer than a few minutes at a time. He was polite, and always seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say, even if he’d heard it all before from Sejanus.
You started to see more of Coriolanus when they became mentors for the tributes in the districts. You weren’t eligible to participate, and it wasn’t due to grades, but because you’re a year younger than your brother. This didn’t stop him from pulling you to see the tributes in the zoo when the opportunity first struck.
Ma had warned you two to be careful, after what she had seen happen with Coriolanus getting stuck inside. Still, she happily made the sandwiches when Sejanus requested it, and even made extra after he told her what his plan was. He wanted to give them to the tributes inside of the cage, he had a feeling they were hungry, and he was right.
Sejanus couldn’t get them to approach the bars, no matter what he said, or how hard he tried. A few times, you’d tried yourself, attention focused on one person in particular, who was on the far side of the cage, refusing to look your guys’ way.
Your fingers curled around the cold steel, leaning into it. “Marcus.” You breathed, a smile on your face. “Please, we want to help.” His eyes found you, standing above where Sejanus was crouched. “It’s just a sandwich.”
He didn’t budge, of course. Sejanus took a glance behind the two of you, getting to his feet. The sandwich lowering in one hand, as he waved someone over with the other. When you looked, you found Coriolanus coming through the crowd, blonde curls bouncing with each step.
When he caught your eye, he gave you a smile. “Trouble?”
“None of them trust us. And why should they?” Sejanus asked.
“Us?” Coriolanus echoed.
“I’ve been trying, too. But not as broadly.” You shook your head.
A girl had marched up next to the three of you to point to a sign on a pillar next to the enclosure. “It says, ‘Please don’t feed the animals.’”
“They’re not animals, though,” Sejanus told her. “They’re kids, like you and me.”
“They’re not like me! They’re district. That’s why they belong in a cage!” She shouted.
Sejanus sighed. “Once again, like me.” He then looked at Coriolanus. “Coriolanus, do you think you could get your tribute to come over? If she does, the others might. They have to be starving.”
He hesitated, looking through the bars to find his tribute. He took a moment to think, debate whether or not he should. All he needed was a little push to convince him, so you leaned forward, over Sejanus, to place a hand on his arm.
“Please?” The word was sweet, more than you had intended it to be. His eyes moved to you, instead. “Do you have any ideas?”
He took in a breath, “I can’t just treat her like it’s feeding time at the zoo,” He was shaking his head. “Not mine. But I could offer her dinner. Maybe they’ll join after that.”
Sejanus nodded, you removed your hand, giving him a smile. Your brother opened up the backpack for Coriolanus to see the amount of sandwiches and fresh plums that were inside, waiting. “Take whatever. Ma made extra. Please.”
Coriolanus took two sandwiches and two plums, and then moved away to a more private spot, where he sat down on a flat rock. His tribute went up to him to join, and they spoke briefly. She took a bite out of one of the sandwiches, a smile appearing on her face.
The other tributes had moved forward, seemingly gauging her reaction to make sure that it was good. When she swallowed her bite, she turned her head to them. “You all should get one. They’re real good!” She waved her district friend forward. “Go on, Jessup!”
Jessup took his time approaching the fence, black hair sticking to his forehead from the heat. Sejanus wordlessly handed him a sandwich, and a healthy plum. As soon as Jessup had returned to where he’d been before, the other tributes rushed forward.
You stole a sandwich and a plum, holding them to your chest, eyes on Marcus, as he refused to come forward. A dozen hands stuck themselves through the bars, and your brother struggled to fill them quickly. Within the minute, the food was gone, everyone had gotten one.
Except for Marcus.
He had his arms crossed over his chest, face hard. Sejanus pulled a sandwich out of the very bottom of the bag, unaware that the food you were holding was for Marcus, and not for yourself.
“Marcus, this is for you. Take it. Please.” Sejanus said, leaning out as far as he could. “Please, Marcus.” He pleaded. “You must be starving.”
You watched with a sinking heart as Marcus looked Sejanus up and down, and then turned his back to the both of you. One of the other, smaller, boy tributes took the opportunity and ran forward to claim the sandwich, snatching it from Sejanus’s hand.
The news crew showed up after that, pushing a camera into his face. Your brother wasn’t having it, slinging the empty backpack over his shoulder. He held his elbow out for you, so he could escort you through the crowd better.
“I’m going to talk to Marcus.” You told him. “I don’t want him to go hungry.”
“Ma will be upset that I left you here.” Sejanus said, “She told me to watch you.”
“You wouldn’t be leaving me. I have Coryo.” You motioned to Coriolanus, who was in his own world with his tribute. You cleared your throat, getting his attention. “Sejanus is going to leave, you wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on me, would you?”
Coriolanus nodded, smiling, “Of course not, why’d you even ask?”
Sejanus was satisfied, lowering his elbow. “I’ll see you at home.”
“Tell Ma I won’t be too late.” You said, watching him weave through the crowd to leave.
And then you turned back to the cage, eyes on Marcus in the corner. He was stiff, unmoving in the corner for another few long minutes. Which was probably done to ensure that you two had left.
When he decided that enough time had passed, he took his time turning around. The first place he looked was in your direction to confirm the coast was clear.
You were certain he was going to shut you out at the sight of you, but he didn’t. He stayed where he was, and so did you. You waited for him to relax, even if it was a little bit, before you bothered to hold up the sandwich and the plum you’d been holding to your chest. The food that you’d been protecting for him.
His face twisted, you stared, drawing in a breath. “Ma made it. I don’t want you to go hungry, Marcus.”
Marcus deliberated, eyes wandering from yours, and then he’d pushed himself off of the wall. You crouched, so that he wouldn’t have to come up the dry moat if he didn’t want to. He took his time, drawing attention to himself.
If he had any respect from the other tributes for abstaining, it had crumbled like his resolve.
Marcus stopped at the bottom of the moat, you held out the sandwich and the plum for him. “We’re so sorry you’re here, Marcus. We never could’ve imagined it’d come to this.” He didn’t move, watching you.
And then all of a sudden he did.
His hands closed around your wrists, yanking you forward. You barely turned your head in time to keep your nose from slamming into the bars, eyes wide, trying to pull back. He had a tight grip on you, squeezing hard enough for you to feel the blood beginning to build in your fingers.
“You aren’t.” He said, voice hard.
“Marcus…” You wiggled, “Marcus, you’re hurting me.”
He tried to pull you in closer, forcing you to press into the bars of the enclosure. “This is what you get, (Y/n). This is what happens when you treat people like animals.”
“But this isn’t my fault!” You shouted, panic settling in. “Let go of me!”
“You’re the one that moved to the Capitol. You didn’t stay in District Two. You’re just as bad as they are.”
“Let go!” You cried, tears in your eyes.
“Get off of her.” A hard voice demanded, a hand shot in front of you to make a grab at Marcus.
Coriolanus was angry, an emotion that you hadn’t seen him wear before. He was always so cool and collected, there wasn’t a lot that could get him riled up. If it did, he would excuse himself, to keep from tarnishing his perfect reputation.
A stern crease was between his eyebrows as he got his hand around one of Marcus’s forearms, bringing him forward with one solid pull.
“I said, get off of her.” His voice was low.
“Or what?” Marcus asked.
“Or I’ll make you wish you never met her.”
Marcus listened, never taking his eyes off of Coriolanus, as if he could jump through the narrow bars to strangle him. His hands released, and you let go of the sandwich and the plum in the process. You caught yourself on the bars before you could fall completely, standing up swiftly, brushing dust off your skirt.
Coriolanus reached for you, and you held onto the red sleeve of his Academy uniform, breathing heavily. You shook your head at Marcus, heart beating in your chest. “Just because we’re here now, doesn’t mean we’ve changed, unlike you.”
The evening was ruined, but the zoo was closing anyway. Coriolanus let you hang onto his elbow, as he began to lead you out while blocking the cameras from bombarding you. You didn’t make it very far before you saw Sejanus, sitting behind a boulder. And even though you could’ve let go of Coriolanus, you didn’t.
You were upset, for multiple reasons. Your intentions were completely different from what Marcus assumed. You weren’t there to save face with District Two, you were there to help him. And even worse, you were mad at Sejanus for dragging you along in the first place.
It was the last time you went to see Marcus with Sejanus, but it was the first time Coriolanus kept you up at night. It was the way he had stepped in, how he reached for you first, instead of waiting to see if you wanted his comfort. It stuck out in your mind, and then it didn’t.
When your mom saw the bruises on your wrists the following day, she told you that you were done. Sejanus would have to do the mentoring on his own. This doesn’t mean that you heard about it any less. You probably heard about it more, getting every detail without ever having to ask, because Sejanus offered it up.
You didn’t see Coriolanus for a few days after that, despite the fact that you wanted to thank him. You were too invested in schoolwork, while also trying to come up with ideas for Sejanus to use with Marcus, because he wanted to make things right between them.
When you did see him next, it was the day of Arachne Crane’s funeral. The whole school had gathered on the front steps of the Academy. The groups were divided neatly and alphabetically by class, but Coriolanus wasn’t. He was in the front row, sitting alongside important individuals, namely President Ravenstill.
You had no idea why, until the Academy clock struck nine, and the entire crowd fell silent. That’s when he rose from his seat and walked to the podium, where he sang the anthem. The president then gave a speech about Arachne, how her life didn’t deserve to be taken when all the Capitol is doing is striving for peace.
You bit your tongue, hard. If they wanted peace, they should treat those in the districts together. You’d heard about what happened to Arachne, what she did to her tribute. She was teasing a starving girl, and while you don’t agree that taking a life is the right form of payback, you can’t blame the tribute.
The funeral procession came around the corner, following the drumming. At first, it was all peacekeepers from the honor guard. The crane was next, attached to a flatbed. And dangling from the hook, with bullets in her dead body, was the district girl. Below, shackled to the truck bed, were the twenty-three other tributes, filthy with their heads down.
You were sick, struggling to breathe, as you imagined the amount of pain they had to be in. As you pictured yourself hanging from that hook, or chained to a truck that you couldn’t even stand on. The rest of the funeral was a blur, as the truck disappeared.
Still, you went to find Coriolanus, ignoring your own brother to do so. He was standing near the podium, talking to Dean Highbottom, but as soon as he left, you slid in.
“You sounded amazing.” You said, Coriolanus turned to you with raised eyebrows. When he saw your face, he gave you a smile. “I wish I sounded half as good.”
“I’m sure you do.” He said, hand on your shoulder. “I haven’t seen you in a couple of days, is everything okay?”
“Ma told me I’m not allowed to help anymore, she saw the bruises.” You said, “I’m fine, though.”
“He left bruises?” That crease between his eyebrows returned.
“He was mad. I would be too.” You muttered. “They got dumped into a zoo, literally. You were there. How did it feel?”
His face contorted, “Wrong, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior.”
“You’re right.” You sighed. “I never got to properly thank you for stepping in. I think he would’ve let go eventually, but—”
“You don’t need to thank me, (Y/n).” He interrupted, watching as you reached into your backpack.
“I do, actually.” You pulled out a neat plate of bread pudding that had been sitting flat on the bottom of your bag. When you looked up, you saw his parted lips. “You can’t ask how I know, but I heard that you really like bread pudding. I made enough for you and Tigris, or even if you wanted to share it with Lucy Gray.”
“You bake.” He said.
“On occasion. If you have any requests, I’ll be more than happy to make it for you.” You nodded.
He gave you a smile. “Thank you, (Y/n), but I don’t think I could ever ask that of you.”
“Please, don’t hesitate.” You told him. “I’ll see you around.”
You’d expected to see Coriolanus in the hallways next in passing, not the hospital later that evening. The mentors had gone to the arena with the tributes to do televised interviews, when rebels set off several bombs, killing multiple people. Both of the tributes from Six were killed, as well as the Ring twins—Diana and Apollo. While three mentors had been injured, that being Coriolanus, Androcles Anderson and Gauis Breen. The latter one lost both of his legs.
And of course, with the exit being wide open, four tributes went running for it. The tributes from One were dead before they stepped foot out the door, while the girl from Two had made it to the river. She made it over the wall, but died in the fall. While Marcus… he disappeared completely.
Sejanus was, thankfully, uninjured. The Academy canceled classes, so he came straight home. He didn’t really speak until the following day, when he suggested for the two of you to visit Coryo in the hospital. You’d agreed, because leaving your brother alone while he was that upset didn’t seem right.
Ma made more meat loaf sandwiches, because Coriolanus seemed to like them so much. When you visited him, he sat up in the hospital bed. Sejanus set Coryo’s book bag down on a table, while you took a seat. Together, the three of you enjoyed the sandwiches, while talking about anything but Marcus.
When you were done, you wished for him to get well soon. It would be the second time that he’d stay on your mind, this time lasting longer. You didn’t like that he was hurt, especially when he didn’t deserve to be. The war was between the districts and the government, not the people in-between that were being forced to help.
It didn’t seem to bother Coriolanus, though. He kept fighting for his tribute, and you tried to pry him from your mind. It was easier to do when the Games did finally come around, especially that first day. When the cameras started with a wide shot of the arena as a whole, and the fourteen tributes that stood in a circle around the center.
Then the camera changed, as it slowly zoomed in on twin steel poles, twenty feet high with a crossbeam. And at the center, Marcus hung from shackles at his wrists, beaten bloody, face swollen. When he moved his lips, it showed his broken teeth.
You raised to your feet the same time that Sejanus had. He was standing a few feet in front of you, next to Coriolanus, who was watching him carefully. The only reason why you were allowed to be in the hall was because you were there to support your brother, and you quickly understood why.
Sejanus rushed forward, grabbed an empty chair, and hurled it at the screen, where Marcus’s mangled face was. “Monsters!” He screamed. “You’re all monsters here!”
You watched in silence as he left the hall, leaving you there. No one had moved after him, and you were too stunned for a minute to chase after him. Coriolanus turned in his chair, where he saw you grabbing at your wrists, where the bruises were just healing.
“(Y/n)--” He was worried, shaking his head.
“He’s right.” You breathed, backing up toward the door. “What have we done?”
“Miss Plinth,” A hand had grabbed you.
You jerked away, eyes wild, lips parted. It was Dean Highbottom, and there was a warning on his face, telling you not to cause a scene. You didn’t want to be like your brother. Except, it was too late for him to step in, because the two of you were already too similar. Born from the same tree branch that split into two.
“Get away from me.” The words were harsh, “Don’t touch me.”
He let you go, as you followed after Sejanus. He wasn’t too far, just down the hall, where he was heaving heavy breaths, hands in fists at his sides. The look he gave you could’ve killed anyone, but his expression softened when he realized it was you.
You hugged him, standing there for what felt like forever. Marcus ended up dying later that afternoon by another tribute, presumably a mercy killing. Sejanus encouraged you to go home, telling you that he’d be right behind you in a few hours. You listened, told Ma that Sejanus was upset and that was it.
Well, that’s what you thought, at least. He didn’t come home that night, and as it got later, Ma was getting more worried. She asked you if you had any ideas where he could’ve gone, and you told her no. All you could do was suggest Coriolanus, because they were close, and Coryo seemed to care.
Ma took you to the Snow penthouse, where Tigris opened the door, dressed in a nice lavender dress. With Ma in hysterics, you explained the situation, and she invited you inside to sit in the living room. Tigris made tea, while her grandmother took a seat in a chair nearby. On the television was the arena, but it was too dark to see anything, even with the moonlight.
Tigris poured jasmine tea into cups on the table, while your mom tried to clean herself up with the handkerchief. “You’re such nice people. I’m so sorry to have dropped in on you like this.”
“Any friend of Coriolanus is a friend of us all.” His grandmother said. “Plinch, did you say?”
Your eyebrows twitched, Ma didn’t skip a beat. “Plinth. It’s Plinth.”
“You know, Grandm’am, she sent the lovely casserole when Coriolanus was injured.” Tigris said to remind her.
“I’m sorry. It’s too late.” Ma sniffed.
“Please don’t apologize. You did exactly the right thing.” Tigris patted her shoulder, looking up. Her eyebrows raised suddenly. “Oh, here’s my cousin now! Perhaps he knows something.”
You turned, finding Coriolanus gently shutting the door behind him. He gave you a gentle smile, but when you didn’t reciprocate, it dropped slightly. “Mrs. Plinth, (Y/n), what an unexpected pleasure. Is everything all right?” He asked, coming closer.
“Oh, Coriolanus. It isn’t. Not at all. Sejanus hasn’t come home. (Y/n) said he left the Academy this morning, and I haven’t seen him since. I’m so worried." She said. “Where can he be? I know Marcus being like that hit him—” She placed a hand on your knee, hand squeezing. “Them hard. Do you know? Do you know where he could be?”
“He was upset, ma’am. BUt I don’t know that it’s any cause for worry. He probably just needed to blow off some steam. Took a long walk or something. I’d do the same thing myself.” He tried to ease her.
“But it’s so late. It isn’t like him to up and disappear, not without letting his ma know.”
“Is there anywhere you can think of he might go? Or somebody he might visit?” Tigris asked.
Ma shook her head. “No. No. Your cousin’s his only friend.”
Coriolanus looked at you, where you hand your palms on your lap. “You know, if he’d wanted company, I think he’d have come to me first. You can see how he might have needed some time alone to… to make sense of all this. I’m sure he’s all right. Otherwise you’d have heard of it.”
“Did you check with the Peacekeepers?” Tigris asked.
Ma nodded. “No sign of him.”
“You see?” Coriolanus asked. “There’s been no trouble. Maybe he’s even home by now.”
“Perhaps you should go and check.” Their grandmother suggested.
Tigris gave her a look. “Or you could just call.”
Ma shook her head. “No. Your grandma’s right. Home is the place we should be. And I should let you all get to bed.”
“Coriolanus will walk you.” Tigris said.
“Of course.” Coriolanus nodded, you got to your feet.
“My car’s waiting down the block.” Ma told them, getting up as well. She smoothed down her hair. “Thank you. You’ve all been so kind. Thank you.” She reached back to grab her handbag, you looked away from Coriolanus to the television, where you stopped.
There, on the screen, a shadowy figure came out the barricade. The moonlight catering the side of his face, the features eerily familiar. He was carrying something in his hands, as he crossed the arena to Marcus’s corpse, where he stopped. Above laid a sleeping girl, the tribute that had killed your friend to keep him from suffering.
“Shall I walk you to your car?” Coriolanus asked, Ma had begun toward him. “I bet you’ll find Sejanus in bed.”
“No.” The word was a whisper out of your mouth. “No, Coryo.” He’d turned his attention to you, mouth opening to speak, when you did it first. “Sejanus is in there.”
Coriolanus came closer, passing Ma. You reached out to grab him, hand on his shoulder. Sejanus knelt down, and tried his best to arrange Marcus in an appropriate manner. He rolled Marcus on his back, straightened his legs and tried to fold his arms over his chest. And then he stood up and held his hand out over Marcus’s body.
You couldn’t help the tears that sprung into your eyes.
“That’s your son in there? What’s he doing?” Asked their grandmother.
“He’s putting bread crumbs on the body.” You murmured, lips trembling. “So Marcus has food on his journey.”
“His journey where? He’s dead!”
“Back to wherever he came from.” Ma told them. “It’s what we do, back home. When someone dies.”
You swallowed thickly, a tear running down your face. A handkerchief materialized out of Coriolanus’s pocket, he passed it to you. “Thank you, Coryo.”
The phone rang a moment later. “Is the whole city up?” Their grandmother sighed.
“Excuse me.” Coriolanus said, holding your gaze for a moment, as he walked away. He turned his body away to speak.
You wiped your eyes with the handkerchief, and then folded it neatly to place back on the coffee table. You needed to leave, to go to Sejanus. Why hadn’t he mentioned this to you? Was it because he knew it was a stupid idea?
When Coriolanus came away from the phone, he sighed. “That was the Head Gamemaker. She’d like you to meet her at the arena to collect Sejanus, and I’m to accompany the both of you.”
“Is he in trouble?” Ma asked, eyes wide. “With the Capitol?”
“Oh, no. They’re just concerned with his well-being. Shouldn’t be long, but don’t wait up.” He told his family.
The three of you shuffled out of the apartment after that, going down the elevator and through the lobby. Your parents’ car rolled up silently, and the three of you got inside, with Coriolanus requesting the arena. The Avox nodded, nad began to drive down the streets in a hurry.
“First time we saw the Capitol, it was night, like this.” Ma spoke quietly.
“Oh, yes?” Coriolanus asked, looking at you.
“Sejanus sat right where you are, saying, ‘It’ll be all right, Ma. It’ll be okay.’ Trying to calm me down. When we all knew it was a disaster,” Ma looked out the window. “But he was so brave. So good. Only thinking of his ma.”
“Hm. Must have been a big change.” Coriolanus said.
“Family and friends cut us off.” You told him, adjusting in your seat.
“No new ones to be made here. Strabo—their pa, that is—still thinks it was the right thing to do. No kind of future in Two. His way of protecting us. His way of keeping Sejanus and (Y/n) from the Games.”
“Ironic, really. Given the circumstances.” Coriolanus said. “Now, I don’t know what Dr. Gaul has in mind, but I imagine she wants your help getting him out of there.”
“I don’t know if I can. Him so upset and all. I can try, but he’ll have to think it’s the right thing to do.” She said, glancing at you. “I can’t let you go inside. You two have always been close, but I don’t want you in there.”
“I don’t want her to go inside, either.” Coriolanus chimed in. “Maybe there will be a different way.”
When you got to the arena, there were people already waiting outside of the doors. A dozen Peacekeepers, a good handful of Gamemakers, including Dr. Gaul. You approached tentatively, unsure about her presence. She didn’t always come off stable, that’s why you tried to keep your distance.
Coriolanus noticed this, choosing to stand between you two.
“At least you’re punctual.” Dr. Gaul said. “Mrs. Plinth, I presume? And little (Y/n).”
You pressed your lips together. Ma nodded, “Yes, yes. I’m sorry if Sejanus has caused any inconvenience. He’s a good boy, really, It’s just he takes things so to heart.”
“No one could accuse him of being indifferent.” She agreed, looking at Coriolanus. “Any idea how we might rescue your best friend, Mr. Snow?”
“What’s he doing?” Coriolanus asked, ignoring the comment.
“Just kneeling there, looks like.” Dean Highbottom said, eyeing you. “Possibly in some kind of shock.”
“He appears calm. Perhaps you could send the Peacekeepers in now without startling him?” Coriolanus suggested.
“Too risky.” Dr. Gaul shot it down.
“What about putting his mother on a speaker, or a bullhorn?” He asked. “If you can darken the screen, surely you can manipulate the audio as well.”
“On the broadcast. But in the arena, we’d alert every tribute to the fact that there’s an unarmed Capitol boy in their midst.” Dean Highbottom said.
Coriolanus didn’t speak for a second. “What do you propose?”
“We think someone he knows needs to slip in as unobtrusively as possible and coax him out.” Dr. Gaul looked directly at you. “Namely, her.”
“No.” Coriolanus said immediately, shaking his head so hard that his blonde curls started to bounce. “She can’t go in there. I will.”
“Oh, no!” Ma cried. “It can’t be Coriolanus. The last thing we need is to put another child in danger. I’ll do it.”
“What we need is someone who can make a run for it, if necessary. If your daughter won’t, then Mr. Snow is the man for the job.” Dr. Gaul motioned to the Peacekeepers, who came over at her motion to dress him in body armor. “This vest should protect your vital organs. Here’s your pepper spray and a flash unit that will temporarily blind your enemies, should you make any.”
Coriolanus looked down at the bottle of pepper spray. “What about a gun? Or at least a knife?”
“Since you’re not trained, this seems safer. Remember, you’re not in there to do damage; you’re in there to bring your friend out as quickly and quietly as possible.” Dr. Gaul told him.
You started to shake your head, “Coryo, I can’t ask you to do this.”
“You aren’t asking.” He looked at you. “I’m volunteering.”
“He’s just a boy. Let me call my husband.” Ma begged.
Dean Highbottom gave Coriolanus a small smile. “He’ll be all right. It takes a lot to kill a Snow.”
You watched as Coriolanus’s face dropped, he sighed. And then he looked at you. “I’ll bring Sejanus out. Don’t worry.”
“Be careful.” You told him.
The Peacekeepers took him to the arena, where he disappeared inside. Your attention shifted to the news truck with the live feed of the tributes. It was dark though, too dark. You could barely make out anything, meaning you might as well had not been looking at all.
You were able to make out their figures, as Coriolanus slowly approached Sejanus to not scare him. They stood there, the minutes dragging on for what felt like forever, until they finally made the movement to leave, but not without Marcus’s body. They picked it up, made it a good deal across the arena before the other tributes came up to them. Less than a minute later, they came out.
And you were there in an instant, because you refused to leave without seeing either of the boys, while Ma went home. You had to push past the Peacekeepers to see Coriolanus and Sejanus, sitting on the tile. You crouched in front of them, hands on your knees.
“That was stupid of you, Sejanus.” You told your brother, looking at the blood pooling on the ground. “But you did what I couldn’t do.”
And then you looked at Coriolanus, who had his eyes on you already. You could see the scrapes on his face, his chin mostly, and the blood on his forehead. You reached out, he winced, but let you touch the area around the wounds.
“Thank you, Coryo.” You whispered.
His eyebrows furrowed. “Of course, (Y/n).”
From then on, seeing Coriolanus for longer than a few minutes at a time was rare. You looked forward to it each time. You saw him when Sejanus announced the Plinth prize, the sparkle in his eye at the mention of it.
He stopped by a couple days later, after Sejanus had gone to bed and Ma was cooking in the kitchen. You think he wanted to talk to Sejanus, possibly about the whole ordeal in the arena, but he had taken his sleeping medication. With the dosage he was on, there was no waking him.
You were sitting at the kitchen counter, swiveling side to side on the stool, talking to Ma as she baked her pies. You were about to go to bed, dressed in your pajamas, the only reason why you hadn’t was because you were waiting for her to put the peach pie in the oven first. At the sight of Coriolanus, the cuts on his face, and the smile on his lips, you’d clammed up.
“I was just heading off to bed.” You said to him, sliding from the chair.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for a piece of pie, (Y/n)?” Ma asked you, worry on her face.
“I’ll have a piece tomorrow.” You told her. “Besides, I think Coryo will have a piece big enough for the both of us, isn’t that right?” You smiled.
He nodded. “Sure.”
“Goodnight.” You murmured, pausing long enough to let Ma kiss your forehead. You waved to Coriolanus, and then disappeared around the corner, where curiosity stopped you.
Except, what they talked about while he enjoyed the blackberry pie wasn’t important, just about Sejanus and how the university would be better when he graduated. The real talk came after, when Pa wanted to see him. And Coriolanus went inside, closing the door behind him, which you then pressed your ear to.
“You look just like your father.”
“I hear that a lot,” Coriolanus said. “Did you know him?”
“Our business overlapped at times.” Pa said. “It’s striking, the resemblance. But you’re nothing like him, really.” He paused for a moment. “Nothing at all. Or you’d never have gone into that arena after my son. Impossible to imagine Crassus Snow risking his life for me. I keep asking myself why you did it.”
“I couldn’t let (Y/n) go inside. And he’s my friend.”
“No matter how many times I hear that, it’s difficult to believe. But even from the beginning, Sejanus singled you out. Maybe you take after your mother, huh? She was always gracious to me when I came here on business before the war. Despite my background. The very definition of a lady. Never forget it.” Pa said, there was another pause. “Are you like your mother?”
Coriolanus didn’t speak right away. “I’d like to think I am, in some respects.”
“In what respects?”
“Well, we shared a fondness for music.”
“Music, huh?”
“And I do think we both believed that good fortune was… something to be repaid… on a daily basis. Not taken for granted.” Coriolanus said.
“I’d agree with that.”
“Oh, good. Yes, well, so… Sejanus.”
“Sejanus. Thank you, by the way, for saving his life.”
“No thanks necessary. As I said, he’s my friend.”
“And (Y/n), is she your friend too?” Pa asked.
“Yes, she is.”
“She tells me that you’ve done a lot for her lately.” Pa said slowly. “You helped her at the zoo?”
“That was nothing.”
“I wouldn’t consider it so. She could’ve gotten seriously hurt if you hadn’t stepped in. You saw the bruises.” He said. “You’ve checked up with her since. And volunteered to keep her safe when Dr. Gaul suggested that she should go inside of the arena.”
“Well—”
“Coriolanus, in District Two, there are traditions we have for families like ours.” Pa said, your eyebrows drew together. “Wealthy families, I mean. I’m not sure if the Capitol has the same beliefs.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not following.” Coriolanus said.
“Arranged marriage.”
You felt your blood run cold, but at the same time, the heat flamed in your face, licking your cheeks. You pulled your ear away for a second, thinking that you shouldn’t be listening in on this conversation.
“I’ve heard of families coming together in the Capitol, but it’s not very common.”
“It’s for more than just wealth, it’s to combine names as well.” Pa told him. “Snow is a grand name, don’t you think?”
“As is Plinth.” Coriolanus agreed.
“So, you understand what I’m implying then? What would your grandmother think?”
“I think that she wouldn’t agree to doing it so soon.”
“Of course not, it would happen after graduation, before university.” Pa said, “Will you give me your home phone? I’d like to discuss this with your grandmother.”
After that point, seeing Coriolanus would be painful… except, you didn’t see him the following day. In fact, you didn’t see him again at all. The next time his name was brought up in your house was with Sejanus’s, which was tied in with the words District Twelve and Peacekeepers.
“What?” You asked, coming around the hallway corner. Ma’s eyes widened. “Sejanus is where?”
“Oh, darling, you weren’t supposed to hear that. We wanted to tell you tonight.”
You shook your head. “Sejanus and Coryo went to District Twelve? Why?”
“I believe Coriolanus Snow signed himself up.” Pa told you. “As for Sejanus, it was the best we could do. He won’t be there long.”
“And what about Coriolanus?”
Pa made a face, tilted his head, “Twenty years, is what I was hearing.”
Your mouth dropped open, a reaction that you couldn’t stop in time. “Is that the same for Sejanus?”
“Yes.”
The only option you were given to keep in touch was letters. You could write to either of them whenever you wanted. Ma even told you that she was going to pack them food to send, stuff that they’d never be able to get in the districts, let alone Twelve.
With it being summer, you had plenty of time on your hands to write, but every time you picked up the pencil, the words escaped you. Everything that you’d been bottling to save for Sejanus seemed meaningless. So, you mostly replied to what Sejanus said, which could be a lot. He carried the conversations mostly, and you told him that you missed him. And you’d continue to miss him until he finally came back.
Which would never happen, not that you knew that at the time. It was a quiet day when the news reached your parents about what happened. That your brother had got caught up in rebel activities, which was treason. He was hanged without a trial, without a single letter sent home. For once, your family’s money couldn’t buy his way out of this one.
A black hole appeared in your chest, sucking in everyone’s words, their emotions. Ma couldn’t help you, even though she tried. She spent more time with you, trying to get you to speak, but all you wanted was to forget. Or to go back in time and tell Sejanus he needed to stop, that his actions would cost him his life.
Sejanus.
The boy you grew up with, the one you trusted with every secret, the one that kept you safe. Who you’d play with as a child when no one else would, who would help you with your homework when you fell behind. His sweetness, his hopefulness, his personality. He’s gone. He’s gone and you never got to say goodbye.
All you gave him was half-assed letters. If you’d known that it would be the last time you talked to him, you would’ve done more. You would’ve said so much more.
It was like almost every piece of him was gone, until the next wave of news came. While Sejanus would never get to leave District Twelve, Coriolanus had been honorably discharged. He was coming home to the Capitol. And with it being weeks after Sejanus’s death, it opened up a conversation that you thought was done for good.
The Snow’s were falling. You’d heard the news about Tigris and their grandmother almost immediately after Coriolanus had left. They had to sell their apartment, the nice penthouse you went to visit once. They couldn’t afford to keep it, so they downgraded, but the apartment lay empty.
Pa had decided that it was time to revisit the topic of an arranged marriage when he heard that Coriolanus was coming back. Ma really liked Coryo, because he was such a good friend to Sejanus. With your brother being gone, their attention had shifted a little, split between you and Coryo. Why keep it that way when there was a solution?
His grandmother agreed to it. It took a little bit of convincing, but at the mention of Pa buying the penthouse back as a gift, it made her cave. A letter was promptly sent to Coriolanus, who wasn’t to leave Twelve for another few days while they settled his paperwork.
And his reply? ‘It would be my pleasure.’
As you straighten out the dress again, you look at the time on the clock that the train station has on display. Coriolanus should be arriving at any minute. It was requested that he were to be picked up by a Peacekeeper truck to take him to the Citadel, but Pa pulled strings, as he always does. He wanted your face to be the first thing that Coriolanus saw when he stepped off.
You didn’t agree to this. You wanted to put this off for as long as possible. Sejanus chose to go to District Twelve to follow Coriolanus. They were close. He was the last one to have a conversation with your brother when he was alive. Besides, you’re set to marry him in a few short weeks. His suit measurements take place in two days.
A horn sounds, you look up from your polished shoes, the one scuf you managed to get this morning on the walk here. It was too late to turn around and change the shoes. Besides, they’re the only pair that matches this dress. A whole new outfit bought for Coriolanus, and he won’t even realize it.
The train pulls in the station, blowing cool air into your face. You take in a deep breath, trying to correct your posture. This will be the first time you’ve seen Coriolanus in months. Does he even know that you’re here to greet him?
It doesn’t matter. Once the doors open, you take a few steps toward them, trying to be casual. It’s hard to, with the hammering in your chest. You press your lips together, regripping the handbag, coming to a stop in front of the doors. The first few people that file out look like regular Capitol workers.
You’re too busy looking for Coriolanus’s blonde curls, that you almost miss him stepping out of the doors. His eyes flicker up for a moment, likely to collect his bearings, glancing over you.
You must register in his mind the next second, because he looks directly at you again, stepping off the train. You swallow, eyes stuck on his hair. Or rather, the lack of it. His head’s been shaved.
“(Y/n).” He smiles, “I wish I would’ve known you’d be here, I would’ve had something for you.”
“Your curls…” You murmur, face beginning to contort. If they got rid of his hair when he was enlisted, was the same done to Sejanus?
Coriolanus closes the distance between the two of you, pulling you into a tight hug. You press your forehead to his chest, hands gripping the clothes he’s wearing as you fight off the tears that threaten you. You don’t want to cry, you’ve spent so much of your time doing exactly that. For once, you want to be in control.
“I’m so sorry, (Y/n).” He says, “I can’t imagine how difficult it’s been.”
“I miss him.” The words are strained, you pull your head back, looking at Coriolanus. “I wish he would’ve told me what he was planning.”
“He’d never put you in danger.”
“I know.” You back away from the hug. Coriolanus holds out his elbow for you to take, you begin to lead him to the car. “I trust you’ve learned a lot these past few months. Did you get to see Lucy Gray, at least?”
His face smooths out, this was not the right question to ask. He lets out a sigh, shaking his head. “I did, but her lifestyle is much different from mine.”
You nod. “You’re not district.”
“I’m not covey.” He corrects, a smile hinting at the corners of his lips.
“Oh, so she had you singing?”
“I wouldn’t say that.” He looks away, at someone passing by.
It’s quiet between the two of you for a moment. There was so much you wanted to say to him, but much like the letters to your brother, the words have left you. You chew on the inside of your cheek.
“You have something on your mind.” Coriolanus says, it’s not a question.
You sniff. “It’s um… It’s about Sejanus, just one thing I have to know before I can stop thinking about him.”
“He wouldn’t want you to do that.”
“It’s to put my mind at ease.” You stop outside of the car. “I know it’s not your tradition, Coriolanus, but were you able to…”
He nods. “I was.”
You meet his eyes. “The bread crumbs? They let you see his body?”
“He has food on his journey.” He tells you.
You breathe out a sigh. “Oh, good. Ma will be happy to hear that.”
Neither of you move for the car door, standing there, staring at each other. He eventually starts to shake his head. “(Y/n), I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”
“It’s too late for that.” You tell him. “We can talk about it more later on, in a few days.”
Coriolanus reaches for the car door, motioning for you to go inside first. “I’ll be here when you’re ready.”
You don’t move to get inside. “Thank you for being such a good friend to my brother.”
He tilts his head. “You don’t have to thank me.”
“You’re the only piece of him I have left.” You shift on your feet, “I have to thank you.”
warnings 🎀 nsfw 18+ skip if uncomfortable !! make sure to send in requests so i can get them done by tonight
Professor!Snow x Fem Student!Reader
Coriolanus Snow, a renowned professor in the Capitols university. He was respected and feared by his students, not only for his intelligence but also for his stern demeanor.
Among these students was a young, ambitious woman, you. You were intelligent, hardworking, and always managed to catch Professor Snow's eye. Despite the significant age gap, you found yourself irresistibly drawn to him—not just academically but also personally.
One fateful evening, after an especially long day at the library, you found yourself alone in your dorm room. Your thoughts drifted towards Professor Snow, his piercing gaze, and the way he'd lecture passionately about subjects that left you breathless.
" I wish he'd notice me more " you sighed wistfully, running a hand through your hair. Just then, there was a light knock on your door. Your heart raced as you wondered who it could be—especially at this hour.
Opening the door, you found yourself face-to-face with Professor Snow. His eyes were intense, boring into yours, and for a moment, you thought you might melt under his gaze. He whispered your name, his voice rough and demanding. " I need you. "
Swallowing hard, you nodded, your heart pounding in your chest. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him, and before you could even process what was happening, he pulled you roughly against his body. His lips crashed down on yours, his possession claiming you as his own.
You groaned into the kiss, your body melting against his as he consumed you with his passion and desire. Your kisses deepened, your tongues dancing wildly as he slowly began to lead you towards the bed.
You felt a surge of emotions coursing through your veins—excitement, fear, anticipation. You clung to him, your fingers digging into his shoulders, desperate for more. As you reached the edge of the bed, he broke the kiss, gasping for air.
His eyes were heavy-lidded and filled with lust, his breathing labored. He let out a whisper of your name, his voice hoarse from your intense encounter. " I've wanted this for so long. "
" Please, Professor " you murmured, your voice shaking with need. Without another word, he pushed you down onto the bed, following you with his body. His rough hands roamed over your skin, possessively claiming every inch of you.
You whimpered as he slid his hands under your shirt, tearing it away. His rough fingers trailed over your sensitive skin, leaving goosebumps in your wake.
" Please " you moaned, arching your back towards him. His lips found your neck, teeth grazing softly as he nipped at your flesh. His other hand slipped between your legs, finding you already wet and eager for him.
" Oh god " you gasped as he touched you, his fingers expertly teasing your sensitive spot. You writhed beneath him, your body aching for release.
With one swift motion, he pushed his pants down and freed his hard length. It stood tall against his belly, throbbing with need. He positioned himself at your entrance, nudging against your tight folds.
" God, you're so tight " he groaned, burying his head in your neck. And then, with a force that surprised even him, he pushed inside you, filling you completely. Your tightness gripped him like a vice, sending waves of pleasure coursing through his entire body.
You cried out, arching your back again. It felt so good—painful but in a way that made you crave more. He started to move inside you, his powerful strokes driving you both closer to the edge.
The room was a blur of heat and lust as you moved together, your bodies perfectly in sync. Your moans filled the air as you bucked against him, meeting each of his thrusts with a grind of your hips.
His hands found your breasts again, pinching and pulling on your nipples as he grew more forceful. You could feel him getting closer, the head of his cock brushing against your sensitive entrance with each powerful thrust.
" I'm close " you whispered, your voice shaky with anticipation.
" Come for me, Doll " he growled, his voice low and demanding. And then, with one final, powerful thrust, he emptied himself inside you, your moans filling the room as you both climaxed.
You collapsed against him, panting heavily. You lay there, entwined, your hearts racing in perfect unison. This was what you’d been longing for, it was more than just a professor and a student; it was a connection that went beyond the classroom.
AUTHORS NOTE 📝 : yall im so proud of this one i think its my best one yet would you want a part two bc i would be interested please comment and o worked Really really hard on this one especially a little longer than normal got a little carried away.
WARNINGS: pining, my post concussion writing, suggestive but no lemon, hardcore making out, fluff and slight angst w/ coryo family, tried my best for snow to be in character, were basically Lucy gray
My hands wrapped around the cold metal bars of the monkey house where I was enclosed in. I couldn’t sleep no, not a wink so I decided to watch over my district parter. It was cold at night, they didn’t give us any blankets. It’s barbaric the way they treat us, just because we’re district doesn’t mean we’re not human. And just since most of us are going to our death you’d think that we’d be entitled to a least a little dignity.
you’d think….
Suddenly I hear footsteps and peer out the bars of the monkey cage into the empty zoo. Well…..not empty anymore. There approaching me is the one person who has treated me fairly since coming here. He handles me like I was a true lady of the capital.
Coriolanus snow walked up to the bars where I was.
“hello y/n….I’ve brought you something” he hands me an intricate compact “it was my mothers I thought it would remind you of me in the arena and…….” He pauses and looks around though no one is there “there’s poison in it. I know, but only in self defense in that arena your going to things you’re not proud of”
I nod “I understand” I say knowing I’ll have to use it at some point “it’s beautiful…thank you” I run my fingers over the delicate and fancy design.
he smiles. That smile that stupid smirk. When I first met Coriolanus I had to admit I was struck by how attractive he was. Paired with holding out a rose for me to take from his hand and saying that he would take care of me….well it’s enough to have any girl blushing like a fool. I tried my best to keep it together but I knew some of the blush was showing on my face when he held out the rose. Whenever I look at him I get butterflies in my stomach. Little did I know at the time he felt almost the exact same way about me and my appearance when he first saw me. But it was my spirit at the reaping and going foreward that truly made him fall for her. In fact the was one of the things that prompted him to arrive with the rose at the train station. When I was reaped I didn’t cry or scream or anything but….well I sung. I’ve always been a performer at heart and though my song was very short it showed that they couldn’t break my spirit.
now he leans down and brings his face close to mine. Closer than ever before.
“Coryo, I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again…but I wanted to thank you, you’ve treated me well like an equal and that’s rare. If I die in that arena it won’t be your fault-“
“I’m going you out of there y/n. You’re not just a tribute to me. You’re going to survive”he shocks even himself by saying it. He had never spoken about his feelings to y/n. Not even to Tigris. But with the games tomorrow there was no chance other than now. He was enchanted by her beauty and her charm when they first met, her realness. And though it was hard to admit her survival in that arena now meant much more to him than just getting the plinthe prize. He cared about her. Love was a feeling that was all too foreign to the young Coriolanus snow. He had only ever possibly experimented with a girl or two and that was nothing special just a fling. He was an orphan he never knew love from his parents all he had was Tigris, the grandma’m and now y/n.
I let my fingers slip in between the the bars that separated us and caress the side of his soft cheek. Letting myself give in to the temptation that has plagued me ever since we met. His eyes lock onto mine and me gaze at each other for a while lost in our own thoughts. as I stroke his cheek he leans into my touch so heavily as though he has never felt real love in his life. My other hand goes to cup his other cheek from the side so I’m holding his head in my hands now. He looks up at me and I slide one of my hands down to his neck. He was so clearly touch starved, I could see the desperation and hunger in his eyes.
and we’re both wondering the same thing.
is this it? Is this the last time l’ll ever see them?
“Y/n l/n” he breathed like it was a desperate plea.
“coryo…”
and then he leans in close and we are in between the bars. He kisses me at first gently, soft and pure like driven snow. I can smell the roses on him a sweet scent that fills my lungs and takes me away. And we both forget about everything. The arena, the tributes, the fact I might be facing my death tomorrow. Because all I can feel is his lips upon mine. His lips are warm and soft, unlike the cold crisp air around us. We’re almost gasping for air. The kiss turns hot and heavy. More rough as it goes on. Like he was holding back before, now he had given up the fight with control. I gasp as I feel his hand snake around to the back off my head and pulling impossibly closer to him in the kiss. When I gasp he takes advantage of that and and deepens the kiss even further if possible. It was never a fight for dominance he took control. A small groan of pleasure escapes Coriolanus’s lips. I hum in response showing that I’m enjoying it as much as he is. Eventually we break and put our foreheads together.
And there stands Coriolanus snow one of the finest men in the capital, panting uniform messed up, and face as red as a beet. All because of the tribute y/n l/n from district 12. She had more than just affect on him. That was an understatement
not that she was any better…
Our foreheads touching both of us panting for our lives, tomato faced. I gaze once again into those beautiful blue irises that remind me of crystals
“Coryo…I won’t let you down in that arena I’ll survive for us…you’ve given me something to fight for” I breathe out
”and you’ve given me someone to root for. I’ll be waiting for you y/n” he almost whispers the last sentence
he's never been able to. his position in life has never given him the room to throw his hands up and say, "i give up." his world would crumble if he did that, dragging his entire family with him. he can't let that happen.
maybe that's why he finds it impossible to give up on you.
so many people have told him that you're not worth it, and not necessarily in a rude way. nobody is under any illusion that you are anything short of phoenomenal, the type of person to drop everything for those you love. all these people tell coriolanus you're not worth it, because he's broken you before, and nobody believes he can come back from that. the attempts would just be pointless.
once, coriolanus may have agreed. in fact, there's been multiple times where he has agreed, days when you won't even look in his direction during classes, when you scurry past him in the hallways like he has some sort of horrendous, contagious disease. despite this, he can't put his feelings to rest. he can't give up. his world would crumble if he did that.
he sits in the canteen of the academy, and so do you. he's starving, and he's stacked his plate full of all the foods the chefs have provided, but he can't focus on his plate long enough to start eating, not when you're say only feet away, trying everything in your power to avoid his piercing gaze. oh, how easy it would be to just walk over to you - you'd be cornered. coriolanus knows you well enough to know you would never make a scene amongst your peers, not in the way you did during that final argument.
yes, it would be easy, but that's not the way coriolanus does things. he's eager, maybe a little desperate, but he loves you enough that he wouldn't put you through that humiliation.
so instead he watches from the sidelines as you laugh at something jener has said, all massive smiles and thrown back heads, all fake. everyone in the academy is fake, and you know that. it's a topic you and coriolanus have discussed in plenty, cuddled under a blanket, you calling him 'cor' because everyone calls him 'coryo' and you never wanted to be just like everyone else.
oh, he misses you so much.
the memory breaks him enough that he looks away; he'll try again tomorrow.
"all alone again, coryo?"
sejanus appears out of nowhere, but coriolanus doesn't make his irritation clear. though he would much rather be alone, he nods to the empty chair in front of him and says, "i was waiting for you. where's your food?"
sejanus sits. "i haven't got time to eat. professor crildum only let us go two minutes ago, says we need to use all our free time making sure we know the codex off by heart." he rolls his eyes. "i swear, i haven't properly slept in weeks."
coriolanus has to bite into a cold hashbrown to keep from saying anything that would ruin their friendship. it usually never bothers him when his rich capital friends mention their surface level struggles, but he's been irritable lately, less mentally equipped to deal with it. there's been multiple times this week where he's just wanted to tell them all to shut up, that he doesn't even remember the last time he slept on an actual mattress, let alone had a good nights sleep. coriolanus hasn't properly slept in weeks because another resident in his apartment complex is dying of pneumonia, and the sound of his cousins stomach growling keeps waking him up. he would love for his biggest issue to be the looming doom of school work.
he sips his water. "i slept like a baby. it's good for the mind."
sejanus rolls his eyes, pinching a sausage off coriolanus's plate. coriolanus isn't bothered; he finds himself looking back over at you like you're some kind of magnet, laughing away with your friends, friends who have probably told you countless times to stay away from him.
he banishes the thought as soon as it appears; your friends aren't the issue, and he knows that. he's come to terms with the fact he messed up, but that doesn't mean he can ignore the hatred he feels for anyone who tarnishes his name even more to you.
sejanus pops into his field of vision. "hello. still with us?"
coriolanus snaps his gaze back to his plate.
sejanus sighs, leaning back to get a good look at the warmth crawling up coriolanus's face. "do i even need to ask?"
"no," coriolanus snaps. "you do not."
sejanus looks over his shoulder; you're standing up, dragging your coat with you. he looks back at coriolanus and smiles. "have you spoken to them yet?"
"we're not on speaking terms."
"and how badly is that tormenting you?"
coriolanus closes his eyes, exhaling slowly. "you told me to leave it alone."
"i didn't think you'd actually listen to me, though. it's not like coriolanus snow to take the advice of others, especially when it comes to. . . well, feelings."
coriolanus clenches his jaw, watching you leave the canteen without so much as a glance in his direction. "i don't waste time chasing things i have no chance of catching."
"sounds an awful lot like giving up."
coriolanus scowls. "could you mind your business, sejanus? we both have far more important things to be focusing on."
"ah yes," sejanus muses. "not a moment to be normal teenagers. i forgot the policy for a second."
---
coriolanus remembers the first time he laid eyes on you. it was his first day taking on 'group therapy', a remedy tigris recommended to him and would not shut up about. he agreed to give it a go purely so his cousin would give him some peace. he was also reaching a point of desperation, though he loathe to admit it; the nightmares of the way - the flashbacks - were returning full force, and his already grim sleeping schedule was becoming non-existent. he would go days without a wink of sleep, too afraid to close his eyes lest the tormenting images attacked him again.
he had little hope therapy would do him any good, but he dragged himself to the youth centre anyway. he wore only a loose pair of cargo trousers and a hooded shirt; ditching his rich capitol attire seemed like the best way to remain unnoticed if he were to accidentally run into any of his school mates, none of whom seemed even a tiny bit tormented by the war they too lived through.
the group coriolanus introduced himself to upon arrival was made up of ones from the poorer side of the capitol. of course, no one from the districts would be granted the privilege of therapy, so everyone around him was still neatly dressed and civil, shaking his hand and asking him all sorts of domestic questions in an attempt to ignore the circumstances in which they were meeting. everyone had horrors behind their eyes, which coriolanus found particularly difficult to ignore; did he look like that? haunted, scared of something that happened so long ago?
he reminded himself he was there to figure that out, and so took a seat in the small circle of patients. the professional, dr langmead, sat at the head and started the session by introducing two of the three new-comers.
"coriolanus snow, callistra stray, and. . ." she looked around, eyes squinted behind her spectacles. "uh, y/n-"
the doors burst open.
corionalus span just as you entered the room, hair a mess and eyes wild. his first instinct was to cringe away from how dishevelled you are, but his manners kicked in when you looked at him, as if your eyes were somehow drawn to his the minute you walked in the room.
"ah," dr landmead drawled. "you must be our final newcomer, y/n l/n. please, take a seat."
"we use first names in here?" you asked, dashing to the seat across from coriolanus. "pretty sure i opted out of that in the sign-up agreement."
"yes, we use first names, because we understand there is nothing shameful about being here," dr langmead replied.
"i'll be the judge of that." you smiled awkwardly. "sorry. nerves make me say stupid stuff."
dr langmead merely blinked before continuing with the session. already, however, coriolanus was distracted by you, the start of something he will not be able to shake. he spent that session staring, examining the way you hold yourself, how you would always look so bored and uninterested, yet always gave the most detailed, thought-out answers when called upon. when it was your turn to speak, coriolanus was shocked to discover you were born district - district thirteen, as a matter of fact. you and your family had travelled to district ten for business when the annihilation happened, leaving you with nothing, taking away everything you held dear. it was only by luck your father managed to secure a job in district ten as entertainment manager, a job that eventually gave you and your family access to capital life. it explained how coriolanus had never seen you before.
"i haven't taken the move well, clearly," you said. "that's why i'm here. mum and-"
"what was district thirteen like?"
your eyes snapped to rubeus helm, owner of the voice. "excuse me?"
"i mean, we all know the basics," rubeus said. "radioactive animals, poison in the soil, basically unlivable unless you have that, like, genetic mutation-"
"excuse me?"
"enough now." coriolanus spoke before he could stop himself, eyes pinned on rubeus. "don't be such an idiot. if you truly believe those rumours, you don't deserve the title of capitol citizen."
the circle went quiet. even dr langmead seemes stunned, mouth open but no words coming out to diffuse the situation. coriolanus turned to you, fully prepared to apologise on rubeus's behalf, but you didn't give him a chance; you stood, chair scraping the floor, and stormed out.
coriolanus followed you, because no one else did. he found you outside the youth building, doubled over with a hand covering your mouth, silent tears pouring down your face. so many people bustled past, not giving you the time of day, and not for the first time, coriolanus wondered if the districts worked like this, if they ignored each other all the time, if they lacked compassion in the same way the capitol did.
he approached slowly. "y/n. that's your name, right?"
you closed your eyes, tightening the hold on your lips. and then, as if only comfortable acknowledging him once you gathered your bearings, you opened your eyes and nodded. "that's right."
"coriolanus snow," he said.
"i know. you're one of the big shits at the academy." at his startled expression, you chuckled and said, "i'm starting there next week. you showed up on the records. multiple times, actually."
coriolanus blushed, though he wasn't entirely sure why; he was usually so proud of his academic achievements considering they were the only truthful things he could brag about. for some reason, however, that side of him being your first impression made him cringe a little.
"do you think they'll let me back up?" you asked.
"i don't think so," coriolanus answered truthfully. "not a bad thing, though; the whole thing is a scam."
"spoken exactly like someone who can't admit he has emotional baggage. what was it for you? war trauma?"
coriolanus pursed his lips. "a little bit. just a few night terrors i can't wash away; my cousin wanted me to try talking it out, so here i am."
"here you are." you pulled yourself onto the railing behind you. "here we both are; two capitol schmucks with issues."
coriolanus tilted his head. "you'd consider yourself capitol?"
you shrugged. "i'll consider myself whatever keeps my family and i safe, and saying i'm from district thirteen certainly isn't the way to do that."
coriolanus was struck by how easily you said it, how matter-of-fact you could sound whilst talking about the cruelties of the capitol, because you weren't exaggerating. coriolanus loathed to admit it, but the rumours rubeus detailed weren't pulled from his own desire to wind up someone from the districts - those were real rumours, real beliefs that even some of the most educated panem citizens believed.
coriolanus looked down, suddenly awkward, suddenly left wondering why he followed you in the first place. He's Capitol through and through, and looking at you from afar made him think you were, too, but now he's heard you speak, heard the tiniest glimpse of your story, and he realises you could very much be the farthest thing from it.
"it's nice here."
your voice brings him back. he looks up to see you staring out at the view, hands gripping the metal railing. your tears have dried, replaced by this look of fascination directed towards the towering sky scrapers and the perfectly clean streets of the capitol before you.
"not what i'm used you," you continue.
"was thirteen bad?" it's a stupid question, almost condescending; everyone in the capitol knows about the state of district thirteen, the horror stories that came out of it even before it's annihilation.
you lift your head, shoulders rising on an inhale. "i loved it. it was home." you turn to him fully. "do you not love your home?"
coriolanus blinks. "i - i like it here. it's all i've ever known."
you scoff. "that must be nice. i can't wait to live here so long that i get numb to it all."
"hey, i'm not numb. i'm thankful-"
you raise a hand, silencing him immediately, though he doesn't know why. that kind of rudeness would usually set him on a rant unlike any other, but the words immediately die in his throat when it's you.
"i don't want you to explain yourself. you're capitol. that's all there is to it."
coriolanus blinks, unsure how to respond. you stare at him a little while longer, as if giving him the opportunity to - what? apologise? he has nothing to apologise for. the annihilation of your home had nothing to do with him, and everything to do with the districts grace overstep during the war.
when the silence continues to drag on, you look away and say, "i should probably start walking home."
coriolanus can only nod, but that is enough for you. you tip your head in a silent goodbye before ducking under the railing and crossing the road, not giving coriolanus a second glance.
---
after the first encounter, coriolanus sees you all the time.
you're a good worker. excellent, even. certainly excelling the expectations of someone district born. you are in most of coriolanus's classes, though if you realise that, you don't show it. coriolanus is almost impressed by how well you ignore him, how well you ignore everyone. you keep your head down, a smart decision on your part. though coriolanus has no problem with your district heritage, he knows not everyone is of the same opinion. even now, three weeks into the school year, he catches his fellow capitol classmates staring at you like you're some kind of spectacle, an animal at a zoo. it makes him angrier than he cares to admit.
it's during your fourth week at the academy that you finally grace coriolanus with a bit of acknowledgement. at least he thinks it's your fourth week; in all honesty, the days have become mere blurs to him recently, too plagued by his ptsd for him to really pay attention to how much time is passing. all he knows is that he has seen you almost everyday for a time long enough to grow his intrigue tenfold. he has quickly become part of your group of spectators, but for a completely different reason.
he sits in the library on his own, because that's what he does all the time. it is also what you do all the time, though neither of you have ever come together during these conveniently timed study sessions. not until this particular day. coriolanus is so absorbed in his business studies textbook that he doesn't even notice you standing over him until you reach over and pluck one of his pastel highlighters off the table. his head snaps up.
"excuse - oh!" he slams his textbook closed, though he doesn't really know why. "y/n. hello."
"hello," you reply. "are you doing business studies right now?"
"um, yes."
"great." you slump into the seat next to him, shoulder crashing against his. "it's the one class i can't get a grasp on; they explain things so weirdly here, it's genuinely like you're all speaking in code." you pull his textbook across the table and open it to a page coriolanus surpassed days ago. "help?"
coriolanus stares, waiting for the punchline, or perhaps your own realisation to kick in. he can tell you feel the tension judging by the way you tap your foot and bite your lip, the way you refuse to look at him, probably expecting him to say something first.
after a few excruciating moments, you inhale and say, "so no help?"
"god forbid you cut to the chase."
you sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat. "i was hoping you'd let me off lightly."
"you haven't spoken to me in a month, y/n; i didn't think there was anything for me to let off in the first place."
you wince, crossing your arms over your chest. now that he has you all to himself, he can see the signs of exhaustion on your face, the bags under your eyes, the slump of your shoulders. your uniform looks too big, hanging off your frame like a mish-mash of blankets rather than a respectable, expensive uniform.
coriolanus leans forward, an eyebrow raised. "what's the matter?"
"how do you do it?" the question is so abrupt, like it's been ripped from your mouth by force.
"do what?" coriolanus asks.
you wave a hand. "this. all of it. the people, the attitudes. it's just so . . . different. backwards, almost." you pause to examine his face, and he has to fight off the blush threatening to make an appearance. "does it offend you when i say that?"
"no," he replies. "i just don't understand why you're saying it to me. i'm capitol, y/n, born and raised."
"i know," you say. "you're different, though."
"am i?"
you shrug. "you came after me that night, came to make sure i was okay. nobody else has even come close to making a gesture like that; i've just been ignored this entire time. like i have an illness or something."
coriolanus's first thought is that perhaps you do have an illness, most likely contracted by the heavily toxic fumes of district thirteen; he's heard all the evidence, that anything to escape thirteen after it's annihilation is likely bunged with all sorts of diseases.
he doesn't say that, though. instead he says, "so you're lonely?"
you wince. "it's embarrassing to say it out loud."
"but that's what it is, right? you miss your friends."
you shoot him a flat look. "my friends are dead, cor. complete annihilation, remember?"
coriolanus's attention should probably go straight to the blatant call-out of your comment, but instead his mind spirals to the nickname you slotted oh-so casually into the dig. his heart stutters hearing it, and he feels ridiculous for the reaction, but he'll be damned if he can help it.
"cor?" he pushes.
you frown. "are we not on a nickname basis?"
"i'm not even on a nickname basis with my own family."
"great. cor it is then." you grin, the first coriolanus has seen you properly do so since you got here. it's a transformative expression, one that brightens your haunted eyes and makes coriolanus's heart skip a single beat.
he rolls his eyes. "whatever. tell you what - there's a grade party taking place in board room three tomorrow night; i'm inviting you if you haven't already. it'll give me a plus one, and you'll get the chance to make more friends."
as soon as he says it, coriolanus knows making capitol friends isn't your goal. not at all. when you expressed being lonely, it was because every friend you had was killed; a school party isn't going to take away that kind of loneliness, the kind rooted in trauma.
your expression flickers for only a second before you wrestle it back into a smile. "oh. i didn't know you did parties."
"a few every year. splits up the work." he nudges your elbow. "what do you say?"
you purse your lips, eyes flicking to the table. after a moment, however, you meet his gaze again and say, "fine. i'm in. but you're picking me up, and i'm not dressing fancy."
----
coriolanus does exactly as you asked, because he wants this.
he truly didn't think you would actually agree to his invitation; all evidence he has observed the past few weeks points to the fact that you do not like the capitol, nor the people in it. why you would ever want to surround yourself with the very people who have tormented you throughout your entire stay is beyond him, but he can't deny he's happy you're joining him. he hates these parties just as much as you do, but he has an obligation to show his face; it's what is expected of a snow.
coriolanus knocks on your door shortly after seven. he has dressed down for the occasion, a dark blue suit with a white tie, one of grandma'am's roses pinned to the lapel. he fiddles with the stem, biting his lower lip as he waits for you to answer the door. he can hear movement behind the wood, your frustrated curses before finally the door flings open, and there you are.
you give him a grin that takes the attention off the oh-so-casual outfit you have decided to wear. coriolanus isn't very familiar with the fashions once presented in district thirteen, but he can think of no other place you got your inspiration from. you're wearing a pair of grey overalls over a plain white shirt, hair pinned back with a feather that runs down the left side of your face. unlike coriolanus, there is not a touch of make up to be seen on your face, not a touch of make up even needed.
"you're early," is the first thing you say.
coriolanus blinks. "is that not a good thing?"
"not necessarily," you reply. "what if i was still in the nude?"
coriolanus is certain he didn't hear you correctly. "excuse me?"
you wave a dismissive hand, banishing that particular conversation for another day. "never mind. let's just go."
coriolanus hasn't done anything grand, just a brisk walk through the more pleasant areas of the capitol. he had half a mind to borrow his fathers' old car, but he's glad he decided against it. you seem to enjoy the walk, happily looking at the flowers lining the sidewalk, the skyscrapers adorned with flags and happy colours. he wonders if you ever had views like this in thirteen, if your joyous reaction is a result of nostalgia or awe.
you arrive at the party, and coriolanus takes your hand. it's a bold move, but he doesn't know if he'll get the opportunity again. he doesn't care that all his classmates are oggling you both as you walk through the crowd, doesn't care that some of those classmates are even scowling, like coriolanus has suddenly become the scum of the earth for being associated with you. he tightens his grip on your hand, guiding you towards the refreshments table.
"want a drink?" he asks, and even as he says it, he can hear how short he is being.
you raise a brow before glancing at your joined hands; coriolanus only then notices his white knuckles, and quickly pulls his hand away.
"sorry," he says. "i just-"
"they've got an issue with me, cor," you interject. "not you. you don't need to get all riled up."
"they're being. . . i don't even know the word."
"assholes?"
coriolanus grins, tries to hide it behind a glass of red punch he doesn't even like the flavour of. "my grandma'am wouldn't like me saying that word."
you pluck the glass out of his hands and take a swig. "that's why i said it for you. now relax, okay? you didn't bring me here to watch you glare at your friends. at least i hope not."
coriolanus chuckles. "no. no, i didn't."
and so you join the party. as always, coriolanus thinks the whole thing is pointless and over the top, but for the first time since he started attending these parties, he isn't eager to go home at the earliest convenience. he finds himself actually having fun when you're by his side, watching you sway and jump around to the music everyone else is ignoring in favour of idle chat. coriolanus never realised just how boring his peers were until you came in as a contrast, someone who comes to a party to breathe life into it, someone who clearly knows what the meaning of 'letting go' is.
you encourage him to dance, and against his better judgement, he does just that. he dances until sweat rolls down his face, until his legs are sore, until he no longer pays attention to anything but you, not even his whispering peers sending scandalised glares your way. he accepts the food from the refreshments table and eats it like a man starved, laughing when you reach forward to wipe some sauce from the corner of his mouth.
he has fun, a new experience in itself. for so long he has been stuck in the business mindset, doing everything just to propel himself that one step forward. it's been so long since he did anything just for the sake of it, just because he can, just because he is human and he's allowed to be relaxed sometimes.
so lost in his own enjoyment, he doesn't notice the moment you duck away from him. it's only when he makes to grab for your hand and grasps nothing that he realises you are gone, and then a panic sets in. he doesn't know where it comes from, but it doesn't feel irrational considering the people surrounding you - these people don't like district born, and that's exactly what you are, all you are to people like them.
he spins, searching the room frantically for any sign of your bizarre outfit. he spots you too late, however, because by the time he finds you in the crowd, moreli has already sidled up beside you. coriolanus watches her grab your arm, that sneer on her face he so desperately wants to rip apart right now. your own expression dulls, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, but how can you be confused right now? why did you think it was a good idea to run away from him? how could you be so dull?
he rushes forward, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. he snatches your arm the moment he can, placing himself between you and moreli.
moreli stumbles back, eyes widening. "excuse me."
"you're excused," coriolanus growls. "let's go, y/n. the nights over."
"wait, but i haven't-"
"y/n and i were just about to catch up," moreli says. "i don't know why you're freaking out, coryo."
coriolanus clenches his jaw and starts dragging you towards the door. he ignores the concerned glances being sent his way - to hell with all of them. he was having a good night, and it had to be spoiled by brats like moreli.
you tug on his hand, but he's too angry to even notice. it's only when you're outside in the lashing rain do you finally manage to pull your hand free, startling coriolanus back to reality.
he turns, slipping his jacket off to place over your shoulders. you step out of his way, however, frowning.
"what the hell, cor?"
"what? i saved you."
"saved me from what? moreli was asking if i'd had enough to drink!"
coriolanus rolls his eyes; sweet, innocent little you, thinking moreli meant anything kind by her actions. "so you were falling for her act."
your eyes widen, jaw dropping open. "act? coriolanus, you took me out tonight to make friends! how am i supposed to make friends if you just assume everyone is being rude to me?"
"because chances are, that's how it's going to be!"
you flinch back like coriolanus has just slapped you.
"oh, let's be real, y/n," he continues, because he's still so angry, so filled with adrenaline. "you're district. there aren't many people around here who have forgiven you for what happened."
you open and close your mouth, fighting to find the right words.
"i'm protecting you," he continues. "this party was a mistake."
"you're right," you spit. "it was. remind me to never step foot anywhere else with you, ever again." with that, you shove past him and into the rain, not even looking both ways before jogging across the street towards your home.
for a second, coriolanus is genuinely confused. he blinks, watching you go, not quite comprehending what has just happened; he was just trying to help. he was being honest at the end of the day, and what more did you want from him? he knows these people better than you do. he knows what he's talking about.
he sniffs, wiping a droplet of rain from the tip of his nose. he debates going after you, but you've already disappeared into the distance, and he's getting the vague impression you don't want to talk to him.
someone knocking into his shoulder brings him back. he looks over just as sejanus grabs him, probably a little tipsy if the alcohol on his breath is anything to go by.
"hey," he pants in coriolanus's ear. "where'd y/n go?"
coriolanus looks down, watching the raindrops crash against his dress shoes. "home." he inhales, giving sejanus his best fake smile. "i think i'll do the same, actually."
-----
you go back to ignoring him.
coriolanus can't believe the childishness. after a chat with tigris, and a little bit of thought on his part, he can understand why you were angry; as tigris said, you are your own person, a grown up who can make decisions no matter what part of the world you were born in. coriolanus should have let you make your own mistakes.
however, he still can't believe that your choice of punishment for him is the silent treatment.
you fail your business studies assignment because you refuse to let him help. he's offered about five times since the party, but every time you just turn around and pretend he hasn't even spoken. he's sat beside you at lunch, but you simply stand up and sit somewhere else.
it's like you want to have no friends.
coriolanus hates thinking it, but it's the truth; you're district. district people don't make friends in the capitol. they keep their distance, playing it smart. all coriolanus wants is to be a confidant to you, a protector.
until he sees you chatting to moreli again.
it's different this time. moreli is sitting beside you, rubbing elbows, a tray of food placed between you. there's a smile on her face, and at one point, she even laughs at something you say. coriolanus can only stare at the spectacle, an odd twist of jealousy darting around his stomach. he's got an exam to study for, this shouldn't be the thing keeping his attention, but he can't look away. if his eyes aren't deceiving him, then it looks as if moreli is actually being friendly to you.
sejanus slams his tray down in front of coriolanus, as he does every lunch. coriolanus doesn't even flinch, doesn't even bother hiding the direction his eyes are pointed. sejanus tilts his head, moving into coriolanus's view.
"hello."
coriolanus swats him away. "move."
sejanus raises a brow, looking over his shoulder. of course, it doesn't take him very long to pinpoint what has coriolanus so intrigued; despite his best efforts, you are the only thing coriolanus can talk about. he's always asking sejanus and his friends how you have been, if you've asked about him, if you're ready to talk yet. none of them know the answers, of course, because you avoid sejanus just as much as you avoid coriolanus, but he likes to try.
sejanus sighs. "this again?"
"since when were they friends?"
"moreli and y/n?" sejanus shrugs. "for a while. since the party, i think. they hang out in class all the time."
coriolanus digs his nails into his palms. "oh. good. i'm glad."
"has y/n spoken to you yet?"
"no. why?"
sejanus shrugs again. "just wondering. i think maybe you should try having a civil conversation-"
"they won't let me have any type of conversation."
"when has that ever stopped you from trying?" sejanus sighs, leaning forward. "look coryo, don't give up. whatever happened between you two at the party can be solved, but you can't give up. it's not in you."
coriolanus closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. sejanus doesn't know how hard he's been trying, how embarrassing it is to be shot down every time he so much as looks in your direction. he isn't used to this kind of treatment, but maybe that's why sejanus is right; this is a challenge, a task set before him to test if he's really got the commitment he says he does.
and so, after school that day, coriolanus catches up to you on the walk home.
it's snowing a little bit today, frost coating the ground, a hint of deep snowfall in the night. you're bundled up in a large waterproof coat that goes right to your knees, and you walk like a penguin on the ice. like coriolanus, your shoes aren't made for the ice, and yet coriolanus still manages to catch up to you.
you yelp when he taps your elbow, spinning around and very nearly slipping. he grips you a little tighter, keeping you upright, and for a minute, you look like you're not about to yell at him. however, the moment your eyes focus and the shock wears off, your expression slips into a scowl and you spin, storming off.
coriolanus groans. "y/n! stop this nonsense!"
"go away, coriolanus!"
"not until you talk to me."
much to his surprise, you stop. he takes the opportunity to walk in front and meet your eyes.
"not until you talk to me," he repeats, softer this time.
you inhale shakily. "i don't want to do this."
"i just want to explain myself," he replies. "if you want nothing to do with me after, then that's okay. i'll leave you be."
you fold your arms over your chest, looking more vulnerable than coriolanus has ever seen you before. he's so used to the tough, bulletproof version of yourself you show to the world, but now you look genuinely nervous, glancing at the ground, rubbing your foot in the frost.
but you don't run away, so coriolanus takes his chance.
"i'm sorry i assumed moreli was being rude to you," he begins. "i took you there to make friends, so i should have let you make friends. i was just worried. capitol folk. . . y/n, they aren't all clean cut and polished. they can be cruel. especially some we go to school with."
you scoff. "you think i don't know that?"
"i realise now that you probably know better than anyone," coriolanus admits. "but you understand where i'm coming from, right? i wanted to help. i wanted to protect you."
as soon as the sentence is out of his mouth, he realises how vulnerable it sounds. your eyes flick up, lips pursed, but again, you aren't running away.
he tilts his head. "do you believe me?"
you pause. "i believe you. i just don't understand why you'd go through the hassle."
"you're not a hassle."
your shoulders slump like that's the sentence that knocks the wind out of you. you drop your arms to your side and shake your head at the sky, though coriolanus catches a hint of a tiny smile playing at your lips. it makes his heart sing, a chuckle escaping him.
"what?" he asks.
you shake your head again, finally meeting his eyes. "you're a surprise and a half, coriolanus snow."
he blushes, shrugs. "i've been told that before."
you loop your arm through his. "walk me home."
----
the next few weeks are strange, but glorious.
the shift in coriolanus's personality is noticeable to everyone. he gets asked about it multiple times, but the answer is always the same: a sly smile. in reality, he doesn't need to tell anyone why he is suddenly so over the moon; they all know. they see him walking to your house every morning, laughing with you in the hallways, walking you home after a long day.
tigris has asked about you multiple times, but coriolanus never gives her a proper answer. you are like a secret, something special he wants to keep close to his heart. he truly doesn't care that you're district, and he doesn't care if everyone else knows - to him, you are a reason to get up every morning.
he has yet to actually ask you out, because he isn't sure if that's something people do these days. he's read about it in the romance novels, and heard about it amongst elderly couples who grew up in a time where asking someone for their hand was a lot simpler. coriolanus doesn't know what the protocol is these days, and he's very afraid of messing it up. nonetheless, the urge to kiss you grows stronger each day, and he knows you're expecting it, too. sometimes there are these lapses in conversation where you just stare at each other, and more often than not, your eyes end up drifting to his lips. his do the same, though he likes to think he's a bit more subtle at it than you are.
by the time coriolanus finishes up his last class of the day, it's already dark outside. the winter months will do that, but it doesn't make it any more bearable. the moment he steps out of the academy, he is greeted by biting cold winds, flurried raindrops sprinkling his skin. he grunts, pulling his hood over his head so that his curls get pushed into his eyes, and he's going to lose his temper, because that class went so poorly, and now he has to walk home, and he just can't-
"awk, you look like a little puppy dog!"
he spins, very nearly slipping in the process.
you grin, giving him the smallest wave with just the tips of your fingers, the rest of your hand hidden beneath the sleeves of your coat. the minute he sees you, his face lights up, an expression he can't help. you just bring it out of him, this delight.
"what are you doing here?" he asks. "it's freezing!"
you loop your arm through his, guiding the way to the empty street. "i had nothing else to do, so i thought i'd walk you home."
"you're not walking me home. i'm walking you home."
you frown. "not fair."
"that's how this works, i'm afraid. get used to it."
you roll your eyes, letting coriolanus guide you in the direction of your home. it's a route he has unwillingly memorized, a route he has come to enjoy over any other. upon it, there are beautiful green trees slotted between the glass skyscrapers, statues erected tall, the smell of baked goods wafting from the countless bakeries dotted along the path. above all, however, is the you-ness of it. the view and the vibe is all well and good, but what coriolanus enjoys most is the smile it brings to your face, the way you have to halt every now and then to truly appreciate your surroundings.
this evening is no different, and coriolanus is enamored. he doesn't even realise he's staring, smiling until you pause and say, "what's that face for?"
coriolanus doesn't hide his smile, merely shakes his head and replies, "nothing. absolutely nothing."
you raise a brow, but let the subject drop. "you're strange, you know."
"am i?"
"yeah. you're too. . . mysterious, but not really."
coriolanus huffs out a laugh. "i'm going to need an explanation."
"well, let's put it this way." you loop your arm through his, as if to really get your point across. "as cheesy as it may sound, i feel like i know you pretty well. i know you're an absolute fiend for a nice bar of chocolate, that you have some strange obsession with roses-"
"it's not an obsession-"
you slap his arm. "i know you're a high achiever, whether you want to admit it or not. i also know you have a protective streak, which makes you very, very sweet in my eyes."
despite himself, coriolanus blishes; he's been called many things throughout his life, but hardly ever 'sweet.' it's possible that is a purposeful thing, him always playing the tough guy act, the legendary scholar in any attempt to protect the secrets he has held for so long.
"but," you continue, and coriolanus raises a brow. "i know all that stuff, yet i don't even know how many people are in your family. are you close? what was your childhood like?"
coriolanus's heart thuds. that smile he seems to permanently adorn when in your presence slips as the panic starts to set in. "the answers to those questions don't mean anything."
you frown. "you don't think so?"
"i just don't believe they add anything to our relationship. it's all pointless information."
your frows furrow, and coriolanus knows he's digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole. he doesn't understand the fight or flight response flooding his system, but it's there, is always there when anyone starts prodding into his personal life.
he's never felt guilty about his secrets before, but you're different.
"look," he says, "let's not get caught up in all that. we need to get you home before it gets too dark, and then i'll be forced to sleep on your front porch."
to his relief, you smile, eyes crinkling at the edges in that way he loves so much. "there it is. that protective streak."
"i believe it's called being a gentleman."
"oh, whatever."
and so, coriolanus walks you home, treading carefully around anything that could trigger a conversation about his home life. it's easy enough to avoid as you get lost in talking about the plant life surrounding you, so all coriolanus has to do is listen. he loves when you get like this - animated, human in a way the capitol doesn't recognise. it's a breath of fresh air. you're a breath of fresh air.
and maybe it's this realisation that convinces cirolanus to hover at your door for a little while longer. you turn to say goodbye, hands clasped in front of you, that tentative yet somehow confident smile playing at your lips.
you glance at his face, and immediately your entire demeanour shifts. his intentions - his desires - must be written all across his expression, but he doesn't even care right now. his heart is beating a hundred miles a minute, which can mean only one thing for him.
"cor. . ." you croak, sounding almost uncertain, but you don't move when he takes a step towards you. instead you let him take your hand and draw you close, so cose that the tips of your shoes touch his.
"cor," you repeat, clearer this time. "i don't want you to do anything you'll regret."
he nearly laughs. "i'll only regret it if you want me to stop."
a huff of air escapes you. "no."
"no?"
"no, i won't ask you to stop."
those words send a shiver down his spine, and before the nerves can get the better of him, he draws you closer and presses his lips to yours.
it is like fire, andd melting, and gasping for air all at the same time. he questions what he's doing even as he can't bring himself to stop, hands trailing down your sides to grab and pull your hips against his. you gasp into his mouth, and he swallows the noise, lets it drive him.
"cor," you gasp. "are you sure?"
"i'm certain," he replies, trailing his lips down your neck, a move he has never done before, but it feels right in this moment.
you cling to his shoulders. "i'm - i'm district."
he pauses, wondering if he even heard you right, because why would you say that? "i know."
you slowly straighten up, increasing the distance between you and him. "just think about this. you're a very big-shot name in the capitol. my name is barely scraping by without being buried in the dirt. most people think i'm radioactive or something."
"that's not-"
"you don't have to lie, cor. i'm not oblivious. sure, it got better when you took me under your wing, but i don't think that protection stretches as far as. . . this." you gesture between the two of you, a sheepish expression on your face that makes coriolanus angrier than he cares to admit. here he is, opening himself up to you, and you're shooting him down because of the rancid opinions of other people.
he runs a hand down the side of his face, tucking his tongue into his cheek. "okay. i didn't think that mattered."
"of course it matters. this is your name on the line, your legacy."
"there is no legacy."
you scoff, infuriating coriolanus even more.
"what?" he demands, and he doesn't mean to raise his voice, but he can't help it.
"everyone knows the snow name," you say. "as pure as snow is white, capitol through and through. that's what makes you so respected around here."
coriolanus nearly laughs; if only you knew. and maybe that's why the conversation irritates him so much - you don't know. just like everyone else, you hear his surname and assume he has no problems, that he's always had everything he's always wanted. it would never occur to you that maybe coriolanus has no food in the tiny fridge at home, that his cousin is working two insufferable jobs so he can go to school and give their family a chance. you don't know, so you assume, and that makes you just like everyone else.
coriolanus swallows and looks to the floor. "so because i'm a snow, i can't kiss who i want?"
you pause, as if the weight of your comments have finally dawned on you. "no. it's just. . . for your sake, i want you to think-"
"i have been thinking," he bursts, the anger and frustration bubbling over before he can stop it. "i've been thinking a lot, and you're right. my legacy will be ripped to shreds if i'm caught interacting with district scum like you."
the words are a bomb. for a moment, all coriolanus can hear is whistling, the rest of the world silent, as if waiting with bated breath. you stare at him, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide. sometimes soriolanus forgets that you've never seen this side to him, that you're one of the only people he lets himself be calm around.
but the damage has been done, and coriolanus recognises that the second the words are out.
you open your mouth to say something, but the silence stretches on. all you can manage is a miniscule nod, a dismissive hand wave before you turn on your heel and walk away.
desperately coriolanus wants to go after you, but he's frozen. he's shocked, shocked that he slipped so badly, that he even had the ability to hurt you at all. so he swipes a hand over his face, turns and starts the shameful trek home.
----
he tries getting you to speak to him, but nothing works.
he doesn't deserve your attention. he understands that, and he usually isn't one to chase a lost cause, but this is different. it's like he can't help himself. everytime he sees you walking through the halls, he tries to meet your eyes, tries to get you to notice him, but it doesn't work. you duck your head down and scurry away, like he's radioactive.
"what's wrong with you?"
tigris flicks his ear, startling him from whatever thoughts have sucked him into a daze this time.
he twists, slapping her hand away with a scowl. "nothing. go away."
"go away," she mimics in a high pitched, ridiculous voice. "honestly coryo, what age are we?" she sits down, folding one knee over the other and leaning close so their grandma'am can't hear. "you can talk to me. you know that."
"i've got nothing to talk about."
"that's a lie. you've been moping around this house for the past two weeks; sejanus rang and asked if you were alright because you haven't been coming down to the after school club. nothing keeps you away from the after school club."
coriolanus rolls his eyes, because that's all he can do when his cousin is making fairly good points against his argument. all of it is true, of course - he has just been moping around, because he doesn't want to do anything besides talk to you, and if he can't do that, then he's going to spend his time moping around.
he messes with the frayed fabric of his dressing gown sleeve. "i don't want you worrying about me, tigris. things are tough enough on you as it is."
tigris's chocolate eyes soften. "don't be ridiculous." she grabs his hands, tugs them into her lap. "you're my family, corio. some of the only family i have left. if i don't have you, i don't have anything, so i need you to be okay. i need you to talk to me."
he closes his eyes; those are the exact words he said to her when she was struggling only a few months before, words that once felt so true it seemed ridiculous he had to remind her of them.
he inhales shakily. "am i a bad person?"
tigris reels back. "what? no. of course not. what makes you think that?"
"just. . . my behaviour. the things i do sometimes to make myself seem. . . in control, i guess."
"like what?"
coriolanus purses his lips and doesn't reply. tigris stares at his side profile, calculating whatever it is she feels the need to calculate before she slowly leans back on her stool and says, "oh."
coriolanus closes his eyes. "don't."
"this is about y/n, isn't it?"
"how did you-"
"what happened?"
coriolanus tips his head back. "why do women always have to have the details of relationship gossip?"
tigris nearly leaps from her chair. "relationship? oh, coryo!" she grabs his hands again, pulling him close to her. "when did this happen?"
"nothing happened," coriolanus confirms. "well, nothing. . . nothing that matters anyway. we kissed."
tigris squeals, all intentions of not notifying the grandma'am forgotten to her excitement. "coryo! and you didn't think to tell me?"
"why would i tell you? i just said it doesn't matter."
"of course it matters. you haven't kissed anyone in years!"
"i've been busy-"
"you're eighteen! these are the kinds of conversations you should be having with me, not updating me on how your portfolio is coming along, or what grade you got in your last class." she leans back again, smirking. "what happened then? give me all the details."
"what happened was i lost my temper and they ran off. that's what happened."
tigris's face falls; in her excitement, she must have forgotten that coriolanus isn't quite as excited about this entire situation as she is. he tilts his head to the floor, unable to look her in the eyes right now; he wants to be alone, and yes, he has been alone the past two weeks, but he needs more time to mope, more time to figure out how in the hell he can make this right again, because not having you here is killing him, and he can't-
"oh, corio."
tigris tugs him into a hug that he does not fight against. his head falls against her shoulder, hands limp by his sides, but she doesn't let go. she strokes her fingers through his blonde hair, slowly swaying back and forth in the same way she used to do when they were kids and his nightmares would get too bad.
"what did you say to them?" she asks, voice barely above a whisper, like she's afraid of startling him if she talks too loudly.
"i called them district scum."
tigris's chest pauses for a moment as she processes the words. "why would you do that?"
he pulls away, squeezes his eyes shut. "i don't know, tigris, that's what i'm trying to figure out. that's why i'm asking if i'm a bad person or not. there was no reason for it! i just. . . got so annoyed."
"why?"
and so coriolanus tells her the whole story from start to finish, letting it push through those barriers of shame and embarrassment, because that's where he's had them kept the past two weeks. even as he recalls the details, his face heats up with self-hatred, remembering how angry he got over nothing, remembering the way your face dropped, the way your lower lip wobbled just the tiniest bit before you walked away. it's these little details that have kept him up at night, these little details that have broken his heart so much he can't even face his friends.
tigris listens with a deadpan expression. when coriolanus finishes talking, she stares as if waiting for more, but there is no more to give, not unless she wants him to spontaneously combust right in front of her.
"so there you go," he mumbles. "i'm a dick."
"well, that goes without saying," tigris replies. "and y/n hasn't spoken to you since then?"
"y/n has barely looked at me since then."
tigris is silent for a moment. and then, "you were raised better than that, coriolanus."
he closes his eyes, bites his lower lip. "i know."
"and you're smarter than this." tigris leans forward, taps his knee to get his attention. "you know what the right thing to do now is, don't you?"
he looks at her, tilts his head.
tigris rolls her eyes. "you need to apologise. you need to go over there and tell them exactly what you just told me. if i can see how guilty you feel, they definitely will." tigris takes a hold of his hands. "do you trust me?"
coriolanus nods immediately, because of course he does.
"then trust that i'm not setting you up for failure right now. you need to go over to y/n's house and make sure they listen to you. if they accept your apology, great. if not, that's completely understandable - you walk away and leave them alone. but until you've explained your side of things, this story isn't over."
----
coriolanus can't think straight.
he's arrived at your door with no plan in mind, which really isn't like him. he prides himself on organisation, on knowing exactly what points he wants to make before he's even stepped foot in the room.
but this time, he has no clue what he's actually doing.
his head hurts, but he continues to replay the words tigris said to him on a loop. she's right, of course. he needs to get his point across, needs to explain himself so you understand why he did what he did, why he is the way he is, why you'd probably be better off with someone other than him, but please don't be better off-
"coriolanus, go home."
your voice comes from the speaker drilled into the pillar he's leaning against. he flinches back, nearly stumbling over his feet in the process.
he glances around warily, narrowing his eyes at nothing.
"go home, coriolanus," you repeat. "i don't want to talk to you."
"y/n," he says, because your name has been the only thing he's been able to think about lately. "y/n, please. this is ridiculous. we're two adults."
"what does that have to do with anything?"
"we should communicate. work stuff out."
you scoff, and it's that noise that boils coriolanus's blood, the noise that set him off the last time. even now he has to bite his bottom lip to stop some snarky remark from rising to the surface, something that will only make this entire situation worse.
"there's nothing to work out. i don't want to see you. in fact, i don't want to hear from you ever again; that's all."
he curls his fingers, nipping nails into his palms. "i want to explain my side of things."
a moment of silence. finally, the buzzer goes off and the golden gates swing open.
"you have five minutes."
coriolanus doesn't waste a second. he makes the trek up to your front door, delighted to see you already standing in the doorway dressed in a fluffy green dressing gown, arms folded over your chest. you scowl at him, but coriolanus can't hold back his smile, his pure pleasure at just seeing you in the flesh, your eyes meeting his after so many weeks of you avoiding him completely. he tries to ignore the red rims around those eyes, too scared to admit he may be the reason behind them.
"y/n," he says again.
"coriolanus."
"thank you for meeting with me."
you roll your eyes. "this isn't a meeting, cor. you're going to say what you have to say, and then you're going to leave me alone." you glance down at your bare wrist. "did i mention you have five minutes?"
he hollows out his cheeks, trying to think of the best place to start. he has so much to say, so much to explain that it's nearly impossible to organise it into one coherent speech, but he has to try. he has to get this right.
"okay," he begins, voice already shaky. "first of all, i think it's important that you understand how terribly sorry i am for what i said. i just. . . i lost my temper. i felt rejected and embarrassed, and i took it out on you. it was wrong. it was childish. it was uncalled for, and i'm sorry."
okay, apology out of the way.
"i've never felt this way about anyone," he continues. "i wanted so badly for it to work between us, but then you said all that stuff about my legacy and the snow name and i just. . . i don't know, y/n. i just panicked and let my temper get the better of me. i've never known how to handle my emotions any differently."
you stare at him, but he doesn't know what else to say. he's given you his truth, far more than anyone else in his life has ever received. all he can do now is hope you accept it, hope you can see just how genuine he is being.
after a moment, you look away, swipe your tongue across your lower lip, and coriolanus doesn't know if this is a good thing or not. he's never seen you look so. . . unbothered, almost, and that's what gets to him. you've always been so full of emotion, so ready for anything, yet right now you're staring at him like there's nothing left for you to give, like you've given up.
he swallows thickly. "please say something."
"i don't know what you want me to say, cor," you croak. "you called me district scum. do you know how hard that is to hear? my home - my district - was destroyed. my family and friends were wiped out in seconds. i would take being district scum over that any day, but here i am, trying to make ends meet, and trying to fit in with your. . . your type, and you just throw it back in my face like that."
he closes his eyes. "y/n. . ."
"because it's so easy for you," you continue, voice rising. "you can hurt other people's feelings as much as you want and face no consequences, because you're a snow."
his eyes snap open, that fury he struggles to control rising to the surface. "i've just told you-"
"it doesn't matter what you tell me. you've showed me how that surname protects you. you looked me in the eye, called me district scum, and now you're here, expecting me to forgive you just because."
"that's not how i wanted it to come across."
"but that's how it is."
"why are you just assuming? is it not possible for you to believe that my apology is sincere?"
you shrug, crossing your arms over your chest. "whether it is or it isn't, i don't accept it." you glance at your bare wrist again, the action making coriolanus's heart shatter. "your five minutes is up."
and with that, you step back into your house and shut the door, leaving coriolanus alone on your doorstep.
----
"how could they just do that to you?" sejanus asks, shaking his head as if in disgust. "you apologised!"
coriolanus shrugs, taking a sip of the too-strong coffee sejanus was kind enough to buy him, no questions asked. "it was humiliating."
"and you two had already kissed before this?"
"yep."
sejanus inhales sharply, tries hiding it by sipping from his own coffee mug. "that's tough."
"it is tough," morales says, sitting on sejanus's left with three plates worth of food stacked beside him. "but it just comes to show that the districts don't know what they're missing. in my opinion, y/n's made a big mistake not accepting your apology; it just means they're going to have to grapple for some respect for even longer, if they can even gain respect on their own."
coriolanus's stomach twists, but he says nothing. these are the kinds of comments he's been quietly listening to for the past two weeks, unable to respond lest his friends think he's let you won.
after the rejection, coriolanus knew he needed to get back to the way things were. he continued trying to get your attention, but in a much more subtle way, never letting his capitol friends see his eagerness, his excitement whenever you walked in a room. however, the hardest part of it all is trying not to show his anger when they make comments like this, comments they expect him to agree with because he is just like them, has always been just like them.
sejanus does the arguing for him, which he appreciates.
"don't be so small minded," sejanus snaps. "you forget i'm district, too."
"hardly," morales scoffs. "your family has always had the capitols back. y/n on the other hand. . ."
coriolanus curls his fingers beneath the table. "can we talk about something else? this really is a pointless conversation."
"i agree," sejanus quips. "i find talking to ignorant people quite unproductive."
"oh for-"
"did you just call me ignorant?"
morales stands, chair scraping against the tiled floor. coriolanus sighs, dipping his head into his hands as sejanus rises to meet morales face-to-face. around them, the dining room grows quiet, all heads turning in their direction; coriolanus scans the area for a quick, subtle get away, but comes up short.
he's going to have to step in.
slowly he stands, places a hand on sejanus's chest. "calm down, boys."
"no way; this little bastard thinks he can say whatever he wants just because he's different. well, i've had enough, and i'm not putting up with it any more!" morales exclaims.
coriolanus nearly laughs, but manages to hold it in. morales was born to very, very rich and protected parents, very high up in the capitol. his family spent their time in a bunker during the war, probably don't know the extents of what happened above ground to this day. imagining morales trying to fight a man like sejanus is almost impossible.
"yes, i'm sure you'll put him right in his place," coriolanus drawls. "but time and place, men, time and place. let's leave this little tiff for later, alright?"
morales meets his eyes, fury still building behind his dark irises. coriolanus merely raises a brow, and a moment later, morales has grumbled some obscenities beneath his breath, swatted a cup off the table, and stormed out.
the dining room erupts back into it's usual chatter, and coriolanus sits down to finish his coffee.
sejanus sighs, sitting next to him. "there it is. the coriolanus we all know and love."
"that entire argument was pointless," coriolanus grumbles. "i wish you two would have a bit more common sense than to start a scene in the middle of the dining room."
"i wasn't going to do anything," sejanus replies. "i knew you would step in eventually."
coriolanus rolls his eyes, but can't help the tiny smile that arises. at least that was a moment of normalcy, a moment where he could present his best self without feeling like a fraud.
sejanus nudges him. "i think you impressed some people, too."
he turns towards where sejanus is motioning, and his heart flips at the sight of you staring right at him. you don't even look away when your eyes meet his, though you make no move towards him, either. coriolanus offers the tiniest smile, a test of the waters, but you simply purse your lips and go back to the conversation taking place at your table.
still, it's something. a taste of interaction coriolanus hasn't been granted in weeks.
"be honest with me, coryo."
coriolanus forces himself to look at sejanus, to take his eyes off you for a moment. "hm?"
"are you still trying to make things work with y/n?"
coriolanus freezes. if anyone else had asked him that question, he would immediately put on the mask, laugh, call them ridiculous for thinking he would waste his time with something such as romance. but this is sejanus, the man who is a little bit smarter than the rest of his friends, a little bit more grounded, a little bit more present. chances are, he's been watching coriolanus closely, picking up on all the subtle marks coriolanus has been trying desperately to hide the past few weeks. would lying even be worth it?
it doesn't matter. sejanus takes his momentary silence as answer enough, tilts his head with a tiny smile.
"i thought so."
coriolanus folds his arms upon the table, deflating. "you think it's ridiculous."
"i think it's romantic," sejanus corrects. "it's been a long time since i've seen you pursue something. . . worthwhile."
coriolanus scoffs. "my education hardly isn't worthwhile. i have a future to still work towards."
"and do you want that future to include y/n?"
"yes. of course."
he says it so quickly, because of course. from the day he met you, no part of him ever wanted to be away from you, even on the worst days. it was a comfortable feeling, like slipping under warm covers after a long day in the cold. it wasn't a question, never something to be debated. from day one, you slotted into his idea of a future so perfectly, it was as if he knew you from birth.
and it's that realisation that makes him look over at you again. you've still got your head down, scribbling furiously in that little notebook that is always bulging out of your blazer pocket. he never asked what you write in it, but now he wonders if it's your thoughts and feelings, how many times his name appears, if you'll ever let him have a look.
but he'll never know, not if he doesn't put the effort in now, not if he continues letting everything else get in the way.
he looks to sejanus and receives only the tiniest smile, but it's all the encouragement coriolanus needs. without another word, he stands up and heads in your direction.
the minute you look up and see him walking towards you, your face drops. it breaks coriolanus's heart, but he keeps advancing, this new-found desperation driving him. you stand and make for the exit, prompting him to shout your name before making haste to catch up to you.
with the two of you in the near empty corridors, coriolanus has a chance to get your attention properly. he quickens just enough to grab your wrist and whirl you around to look at him, and it's then that he spots the tears trailing down your cheeks, then that his whole world seems to crumble around him. are those tears because of him? has he upset you even more, or do you miss him in the same treacherous way he misses you?
there is a brief moment of silence where he can do nothing but stare at you. you stare right back, which he supposes is a good sign, even if your eyes are filled with tears, and your hands are trembling, and you are yet to say a word. you're not running away. you're not cursing his name and leaving him to wallow in rejection again.
finally, he breaks the silence. "y/n."
your name. always just your name, like his brain can't come up with anything else to start a conversation.
your lower lip trembles. "what do you want, coriolanus?"
"you know what i want." he steps forward, fingertips brushing yours. "i miss you."
you close your eyes, releasing a shaky breath. "please don't say that."
"but i mean it," he presses. "i miss you, y/n l/n, district or not. i don't give a shit about my name, or what you will do to my legacy. i want you to understand me how i want to understand you."
"there's nothing to understand-"
"that's where you're wrong. that's where you've been wrong this entire time." he runs a hand through his blonde curls, trying to stay as calm as possible. he doesn't want to get ahead of himself, doesn't want to ruin yet another opportunity to make this right.
"it's partly my fault," he continues. "i never told you the truth about where i'm from, how my life has panned out since my father passed away. i kept the mask up with you like how i've done with everyone else, but i want that to change. i want to. . . i want you to understand me, y/n."
again, your lower lip trembles, and coriolanus can't help but reach out and brush a fingertip across your chin. your breath falters at the touch, making him realise this is the first time he's touched you like this in . . . forever. he's kissed your lips and held your hand, but not once has he ever allowed himself to be so careful, so meaningful with his touches.
not until now. not until you showed you're capable of breaking, that you need a delicate touch every now and then, too.
"i don't want to be stupid here, cor," you whisper. "all i have here is my dignity. i can't throw that away by forgiving the person who hurt me so badly."
coriolanus shakes his head, eyes drifting closed against his will. "i know i hurt you. i thought about it every day, beat myself up about it, asked myself why i am the way that i am." he inhales. "the way that i was, because this whole ordeal. . . nearly losing you . . . it's changed me, y/n. it's made me realise what's important, and it isn't my reputation, or my legacy, or impressing the right people." he opens his eyes, meets your own. "it's you. you're what's important."
your tears well up yet again, a fresh wave to accompany the ones that haven't even dried on your cheeks yet. coriolanus's chest squeezes, and it takes every fiber of his being not to draw you close to him, to hold you in the way he always so desperately craves. he doesn't know if that is allowed yet, if his words weigh enough for you to trust him like that again.
so he waits for the signal. he lets you take the reigns, watching your every move as you ponder on what he has just said, your own position in this situation. he listens to the hustle and bustle of the students now rushing from their classrooms as the bell for lunch sounds overhead, but coriolanus can barely hear it over the sound of his own heartbeat.
and then you take a step closer to him, a tentative one, prey approaching predator. slowly, you lift your hands and readjust the wonky top button on his dress shirt, and for a second, coriolanus panics that you may recognise it isn't made of one hundred percent silk, that it isn't brand new and freshly pressed by the best designers to grace the capitol.
but then you tug him closer, and he forgets everything.
your lips meet his, so different to the kiss from before. this one is slow, uncertain almost, but a promise that there will be a next time. he wraps his arms around your waist, tugging you closer and closer, if that is even possible. your own hands wind around his neck, as if afraid he's going to leave again.
never. never again. he promises that much to any higher being who will listen. this right here is all he needs to feel alive and normal, and when alive and normal is all he's ever wanted, why would he throw it away?
you pull away when it becomes clear that coriolanus has no intention of being the one to do so. a small smile graces your perfect lips, forehead dipped against his own. when you speak, your voice is breathless, tired, a whisper that sends a shiver down his spine.
"let's try this again."
he laughs, pecking your lips one last time. "take two."
summary; in the weeks leading up to your wedding, Coriolanus hasn’t been himself. ma is chalking it up to nerves, but you know a guilty conscious when you see one.
warnings; swearing, betrayal, death mention, grief, still an arranged marriage.
wc; 3.4k
part one
--
“(Y/n), my dear,” Ma begins, brushing imaginary dust from her long burgundy skirt. “Would you like to start your plan from the beginning?”
You watch her gingerly take a seat in the lounge chair next to Pa, neatly folding her hands in her lap, waiting for you to begin. Your eyes flicker around the room, going from face to face to see the expressions of those who are watching you.
Your family is calm, patient and eager to hear what you have planned for the wedding. Most of them are curious on what the next Plinth wedding will look like, especially since it’s taking place in the Capitol, with a boy from a different background than your own.
His family is a little more unnerving. Grandma’am—as Coriolanus calls her—has been complaining since she stepped foot inside of your home. Whether it be the temperature of the house, the way it’s furnished or what she’s been served by the avoxes.
This was expected from her, Coriolanus warned you she would be cranky leaving the penthouse. And you remember from your brief counter last year that she wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around. You would’ve rather spent time with that Dr. Gaul Coriolanus has told you so much about.
As for Tigris, she’s been pretty absent. You’ve tried your best extending invitations to her with every appointment you’ve made. She’s responded to a few of the letters, but she doesn’t come to most of the venues. From what you’ve noticed, she usually feels more comfortable tagging along if Coriolanus isn’t involved.
It may be because she feels like she’s overstepping.
Coriolanus has been distant, too. You thought he’d had more of an opinion during the planning process of the wedding, but he’s more than happy to go along with what you want. Which is out of the ordinary for him.
Your eyes fall to the book in front of you, fingers carefully pulling up the brightly colored cover. As you go to flip it open, your eyes snap to Coriolanus, who's sitting on your right. You hope he’s been paying enough attention these past couple of months, because Pa’s going to have a lot of questions that he’ll be expecting Coriolanus to answer.
You swallow dryly, skipping past the first couple of blank pages at the beginning. You hate giving presentations at the Academy, and this is no different. In fact, it’s worse because Pa is the one analyzing every decision you’ve made thus far.
“Well, starting with a date, we were thinking late spring.” You murmur, playing with your nails. “The flowers will be in bloom, making it the perfect time to create specialty bouquets for table arrangements and bridesmaids. It’ll be the perfect opportunity for an outdoor wedding.”
“What if it rains?” Pa asks, raising his eyebrows.
“I’d like to have the wedding in a greenhouse.” You tell him.
“Where?” Grandma’am asks, “Certainly not in the Snow penthouse. I won’t have you ruining my roses.”
Coriolanus shakes his head. “No, we’re planning to have it at the botanical garden in the heart of the Capitol. We weren’t sure if that idea would work out at first, but I made a trip to talk to the floral coordinator early yesterday, and she said that they don’t normally hold weddings but they’d make an exception.”
A smile fights its way to your lips. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise.” Coriolanus says, reaching over to hold your hand.
He squeezes your fingers, when you look at Pa, he gives you an approving nod, telling you to continue. “I was thinking May, Coriolanus suggested as early as April but I would like it to be warm out.” You flip to the next page in the book. “When it comes to invitation cards, we’ve gone back and forth on what they should look like.”
You pull out the most recent example card that the vendor gave you to show Pa. You flip it around, holding it out to allow everyone to see.
The truth is that you can’t decide what the cards should look like. You’ve changed the color of the square of paper about a dozen times now. You wanted to try white, but it seemed too pristine and made the black lettering bolden. You tried a gentle pink, trying to call for springtime colors, but it seemed to feminine.
So far, all you’ve seemed to like is the yellowy-beige color, which was suggested by Coriolanus, thankfully. He was watching you drive yourself crazy trying to decide something so simple, which is why you shouldn’t be given the entire workload, but it’s too late to change that now.
There’s a black stamp on the invitation of a rose with a stem and thorns, a move you made because you were hoping it would make Grandma’am happy. The look on her face right now is hopeful, she doesn’t seem to have any prominent emotion from what you can see.
It has yours and Coriolanus’s full names in a nice cursive that reminds you of Ma’s handwriting, and below it is the boring details of when the wedding will be taking place. There’s a large gap on the paper where you’re supposed to fill in where the venue will be, which you will fill out fully later tonight, after you’ve received the feedback from your guests.
“This looks nice.” Ma carefully plucks the card from your hand, holding it out in front of her to get a better look. “Are you planning on writing the invitations yourself or having them printed?”
You hesitate, “Well, as much as I’d like to handwrite these, I don’t have the time.” You start, shaking your head a little. “Coriolanus is at University, so he’s focusing on his studies right now. So I’ve already taken a lot of the responsibility of planning on my plate. And with how many people are on the guest list…”
“Oh, I could write them for you.” Ma waves her hand, the relief goes through your body instantly.
“Thank you.”
“What will the thank you notes look like?” Ma asks.
“I haven’t gotten there yet.” You tell her, “I’m working from start to beginning, so I’ll be there soon.”
“We should meet together next week to figure it out.” Ma nods, “I’m going to keep this.” She places the card on a side table, and then returns her attention back to you.
“The next part we have figured out is the attire.” You tell them, flipping the page in the book to show the concept drawings you had for Tigris regarding the bridesmaids outfits.
And, of course, your wedding dress.
This is the part where Tigris really came to life to help you. As soon as you mentioned getting her opinion on what you’d drawn up, she started to make a plan to come and see you the same day.
When you sat down with the bridesmaids, all you told them was to give you an idea on what style they like, and you’d figure out a way to put it into a concept. The only rule you had was that it needed to be a long dress, but it wouldn’t fall below their ankles.
When Tigris saw that you’d done most of the work for her, she perked up. She liked the fact that you wanted to go for simple dresses with pastel colors, something that would compliment the dress you had in mind. And even though you weren’t planning on asking Tigris to make the dresses, she told you she’d get them started immediately.
You stopped her, trying to tell her she didn’t have to, and you weren’t trying to make her do that. You had a seamstress in mind, you’d done a lot of research and window shopping downtown, trying to find one that you liked. But Tigris told you that she wanted to do this for you. And while she was at it, she’d make her own dress.
She ruined your plan a little, because you wanted to ask her to be your Maid of Honor at a dinner you were planning. You had no choice but to ask her then, you didn’t want her to start on a dress she wouldn’t be wearing. You know her, she’d make something better for herself for such a title.
She accepted, of course.
“Tigris has done most of the work when it comes to putting the dresses together.” You tell them. “I don’t have pictures, just concepts of the bridesmaid dresses. As for the tuxes for the groomsmen, I’ve scheduled an appointment for them to get fitted downtown. Coriolanus will be leading that.”
He nods. “It’s two weeks from now, sir. I would like for you to come if you had the time.”
Pa looks at the calendar on the wall for a moment. “I’ll have to look in on what I have planned that day.” He turns his attention to Tigris. “How long will it take for you to complete the dresses?”
“I should be done by March.” Tigris tells him with a smile. “If I had more time, I would do the tuxedo’s, but I’m starting at a boutique later that month. It’ll consume most of my time.”
“I see.”
You give Pa a moment to think before you keep going. “The only part I haven’t planned out fully is the actual wedding. We were waiting on a venue to respond to us.”
“She was also hoping for the botanical garden.” Coriolanus says. “Since it’s confirmed now, I’m sure we’ll be able to tour where we’ll be set up and choose tables, chairs and arrangements soon.”
Pa stares at your book, “Well, it appears as though you’ve figured most of it out.”
“We’re still working on catering and the flavor of the cake.” You tell him.
“Which we will have an answer for soon.” Coriolanus chimes in.
At this, Pa gets to his feet, watching Coryo. He slowly rises as well, the grip on your hand loosening until he has to let go altogether. Pa extends a hand for Coriolanus to shake, and the two of them hold on for a long moment.
“If either of you need anything, you’ll contact me immediately.”
“We will.” Coriolanus tells him.
Pa lets go, “I’ll arrange a car to take your grandmother and cousin home.”
“Thank you.” Tigris says. “You really don’t have to.”
“It would be impolite not to.” Ma tells her. “Can I ask you a few questions about the dresses you’re making?”
“Of course.” Tigris gets up from where she’s sitting to follow Ma off to the side. Tigris originally offered to make her a dress as well, but Ma is set in her ways. You warned Ma that if she changed her mind then she needed to let Tigris know as soon as possible so she could prepare to arrange her timeline.
Grandma’am doesn’t move from where she sits, so Pa goes to talk to her. She’s in charge of the Snow household, despite the fact that her memory is going. He does it out of respect for Coriolanus, because he knows how much she means to him. Mostly because you’ve warned Pa.
Speaking of Coryo, he stands beside you for a second or two, before slightly bending down to speak to you. “I’m going to grab myself a drink in the kitchen, would you like anything?”
“I’ll just come with you.” You tell him, rising to your feet.
You let him lead the way, following him quietly. He knows he can help himself to what’s in your parent’s fridge, but he still waits for you to open the doors and hand him a soda. You don’t grab anything for yourself, you basically had a whole pot of tea to yourself earlier because Ma and Grandma’am were too engrossed in conversation. And Tigris doesn’t like tea, she just took a cup to be polite.
“I think that went well.” Coriolanus murmurs, popping the can open.
You hum, crossing your arms over your chest. “Pa seemed happy. I wish you would’ve told me about the garden, we could’ve stopped by again this afternoon so we could take a look around.”
“They closed early today.” He makes a face. “I thought about it—I even asked, but she said that we would have to come back on Monday.”
Three days away.
“It shouldn’t set us back too bad.” Coriolanus says, as if he’s reading your mind.
You shrug, you have months until the wedding. The only factor you have to be worried about is receiving the furniture in time. Since the Hunger Games aired, the districts have been tense and rebellious, unwilling to fall in line. You can’t blame them, of course. If you were still in Two, you’d be giving the Capitol hell.
Except, you’re on the other end now, and Pa won’t stand for the wedding being delayed any further than spring. You were going to see how long you could push it back for, hoping that he’d change his mind and let you make the decision on your own, but he’s got bigger plans.
Pa said that if you’re not married by the summer, then he’d figure something else out for you, and you wouldn’t have an input on it. So, you folded and chose the spring. You’d much rather be married to Coriolanus, and not some nobody you’ll meet for the first time when he lifts your veil.
“I’m not worried about it setting us back. We have plenty of time, I made sure of it.” You tell him.
Coriolanus’s eyebrows twitch, confused. “You made sure of it?”
“Well, I did it for my own sake, because an arranged marriage so soon after my brother’s funeral is a little sickening. And you seem to be on the fence about the idea, too.”
He shakes his head. “I’m sure that I want to marry you, (Y/n).”
A rush of heat spreads through your stomach, you ignore it. “Are you sure? You haven’t been acting like yourself recently, at all. Normally, you’re more… dominant when it comes to making decisions, and yet you haven’t had a single opinion on what I’ve done so far with the wedding—our wedding.”
“That’s because I’m happy with what you want.” Coriolanus says. “If I had an opinion, the wedding would be too traditional and boring for your taste.” He reaches to move a hair out of your face.
“You’re not entirely telling the truth.” You tilt your head to the side. “You haven’t been the same since you came back from District Twelve. I saw it in your face but I thought I was wrong.” You stare at each other for a long second, and then you begin to speak softly. “I know how hard Sejanus’s death was, but it seems to be affecting you the most.”
Coriolanus shakes his head again, looking off to the side.
“Is it because he would’ve been your best man?” You ask, reaching for him.
“It’s not that.” Coriolanus says, a little too harshly.
You open your mouth, and then close it, hand dropping back to your side. You watch his face, the way the anger slowly dissipates. When he sighs, he reaches for his blonde curls, pushing them away from his forehead. “I’m sorry.”
You cross your arms over your chest. “I see.”
“See what?” Coriolanus asks.
“You’re guilty of something.”
He pales slightly, “What would I have to be guilty about?”
“You aren’t the same person as you were before.” You squint at him, beginning to problem solve out loud. “I’d say it would have something to do with Lucy Gray, but that doesn’t seem right. It has to be Sejanus.”
Coriolanus shakes his head. “I haven’t changed.”
“It’s strange you were discharged so soon and honorably.” You pause, watching as he begins to resemble a blank sheet of paper. “How my driver had to drop you off at Dr. Gaul’s lab under special instruction.”
“(Y/n), we should not have this conversation here.”
“No, you’re going to tell me what you’ve done, or I’m going to tell Pa to call off the arrangement.” You threaten. “Grandma’am can kiss her penthouse apartment goodbye.”
Coriolanus stares at you in shock, his eyes flicker to the doorway behind you, checking to make sure no one is there. He lowers his voice, “You have to understand, District Twelve was not as simple as it sounds. Sejanus and I found that out after the first few times we went to the Hob. It’s a warehouse in the Seam—the poor part of Twelve.”
“Okay…?”
“Sejanus got himself wrapped up in rebels. We got caught in a situation regarding Lucy Gray and the people she knows, and a couple people ended up dead.” Coriolanus hesitates. “A couple days later, Sejanus and I were caging jabberjays and I accidentally recorded him talking about a rebel plan. He wanted to break a prisoner out of Capitol custody and live in the woods between the districts.”
“It wasn’t an accident.” You say. “You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I was about to be moved to officer training in District Two.” Coriolanus tells you. “I didn’t want to be wrapped into what he was doing. I sent the bird to the Capitol knowing that Dr. Gaul would play the recording attached to it and hear what Sejanus said.”
You can feel yourself grow distant, soul leaving body.
Coriolanus did this. He killed your brother. He’s the reason why you’ll never be able to see him again. Your brother, the only person in this world that knew you from the inside out, that could make you smile on the worst day. The only person that knows what it was like to grow up in a district.
All because Coriolanus didn’t want to discourage his behavior.
You suck in a breath of air, hands balling into fists at your sides, contemplating giving him a black eye.
“He was a traitor.”
“He was your friend.” You tell him, body feeling as if you’ve set it aflame. “He was my brother. Did you ever consider talking him down instead? Remind him he had a family back home?”
“I tried, (Y/n). He was on the right track for a little. He thought that he’d be able to keep his head down to get through training so he could become a Peacekeeper, but he couldn’t let it go.”
“I’ve cried to you about his death.” Your face twists. “I grieved with you. Or at least, I thought I did.”
“You did.” Coriolanus reaches to grab you.
You slap his hands away, holding a finger up. “Do not touch me.”
“He was a brother to me.”
“Clearly not if you got him killed.” Tears well up in your eyes. “Did you even sprinkle the bread on his body?”
Coriolanus shakes his head, eyes falling to the ground.
You begin to breathe heavily, holding back the urge to wrap your hands around his neck to strangle him. You know you have to think of the consequences. If you were to kill him now, you’d be sent away, yourself. Unless Dr. Gaul intervenes and kills you for getting rid of her best student.
You can’t believe he’s studying under her.
“Is everything okay in here?” Ma’s voice comes through behind you.
Coriolanus’s eyes snap up, watching your face, seeing the murderous rage. You press your lips together, taking in a deep breath as you turn around to look at Ma, a tear rolling down your cheek.
Her face drops. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“(Y/n).” Coriolanus whispers under his breath. “Please.”
You force a smile to your face. “Coriolanus just told me he’s giving me his mother’s ring.” You lie. “Isn’t that great?”
Ma places her hands over her mouth in disbelief, eyes lighting up. “Oh!”
When you turn to look back at him, he seems relieved, but his body is still tense, as if he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. He’s right to be expectant, because you mouth, “You owe me for the rest of your life.”
