A Baird and the Snow

If

Coriolanus had been unable to contain his smile from the moment they arrived at their room.

This was what he wanted. He wanted this routine for the rest of his days. Kissing her to sleep in his arms without worry of anyone ripping her away from him, like so many others had been before. His Mom, his Dad, Sejanus. Even Arachne. Coryo certainly didn't consider her a friend, but she was still a constant factor in his life until Brandy killed her.

He shivered as the memory bounced back from the depths of his head. Then he shut it out, refusing to have this moment shirked.

"What do you think Coin's hiding?" Lucy Gray asked, her voice a soft disturbance in the dark and quiet room.

"I don't know," Coryo said back, pulling her tighter when she started to shift closer. "But it must have something to do with her plans for the Capitol, because what I do know is that she didn't tell us everything."

She was quiet for a long time before she spoke again. "If we weren't here now, what would you have been doing?"

Coryo thought for a long time. "I think... I would have been living miserably."

Lucy Gray sat up to look at him, questions in her eyes and he sighed, lifting himself to sit against the wall.

"My life before the hunger games— before you, wasn't what I might have made it to look like," Coriolanus began his story. "We were going to lose our home— and we did eventually from what Tigris told me— we didn't have any food and all that the Snow family used to be was only a whisper in the wind. Instead I became the son of a rebel and Tigris... her parents were dead before she could remember their faces and Grandma'am and I were the only ones left for her.

She was the one who took care of us. I remember going out with her to find food, running through the ruined streets that were being consumed by unrelenting fires. She protected us from the wolves and dogs that fought us for the food we found in dumpsters." When before he had been staring straight ahead, he was now looking into Lucy Gray's eyes. "If you hadn't happened to me, I would have won the Plinth Prize and gone to university, and maybe we would have been able to keep our home, but... it still would have been missing something."

Coryo could tell that Lucy Gray didn't know what to say and he smiled softly at her, kissing her forehead. "What would you be doing, Lucy Gray?"

Her face broke into a grin, a softness hidden beneath it. "I would be living by my charm and dancing for my dinner," she said with a laugh.

Coriolanus just looked at her. He didn't understand her half of the time, the way she joked and pretended things away. All he could seem to do was think about every little thing excessively.

Lucy Gray laid back down, Coryo going with her as she hummed her song.

When I was a babe I fell down in the holler

When I was a girl I fell into your arms

We fell on hard times and we lost our bright color

You went to the dogs and I lived by my charm

As she sang, Coriolanus listened, remembering when he heard this song for the first time after the arena was bombed.

He tried not to think about the fact that this was written for Billy Taupe, but instead focused on the melodious notes that flowed from Lucy Gray's lips like a cascading river.

•••

Lucy Gray never chose when to sing, it just happened. So when the lyrics of her song to Billy Taupe started spilling from her mouth, it surprised her.

This song was one she had the most pride in. Mostly because she could imagine Billy Taupe's face as she sang it the first time and he watched.

His hands were probably clenched into his fists with his curls brushing against his clenched jaw.

And oh, the joy that was brought to her soul as she thought about the steam coming out of Mayfair's ears.

Then she started truly thinking about what her life would have been like if her name hadn't been pulled in the reaping.

She had answered Coriolanus with her lyrics because she didn't really know. It wasn't a lie, living by her charm and dancing for her dinners, but what would the details of her life look like?

Would she have fought for Billy Taupe or let the leaves fall as they may? She was sad at first, but it quickly turned to anger for betraying her so and letting Mayfair rig the reaping.

When the song she was signing ended, she sighed into Coriolanus. "What ifs are no good," she whispered, her fingers reaching out to play with the small zipper that held together Coryo's jumpsuit. The sound of the metal against her hard fingernails resonated in the empty room. "All they do is make you think too much about what could have been, rather than what's right in front of you. And all I want is right in front of me," she said, brushing her lips against his cheek.

She felt his smile as he craned his neck to give her a gentle kiss. "You're right," Coryo said as he let out a content breath of air.

"I always I am," Lucy Gray responded with a grin and he let out a low chuckle that she could feel rumble in his chest.

—

The next morning, Lucy Gray stretched out on the bed to find Coriolanus wasn't there. She sat up quickly and looked around, only to see him sitting on the edge of the bed by her feet, fiddling with the cuffs of the long sleeves of his jumpsuit.

"What's the plan for today?" Lucy Gray asked him, knowing he must have some idea of what he wants to do.

"I need to get into that room again," he responded. "With or without Coin in there with me. If she's not there, great, I'll search the room. But if she is, I'll watch every single move she makes. A lingering gaze or a wandering hand. I'm not going to let anything escape my notice."

"What should I do?"

He looked at her and there was a glint in his eyes. "You've handled yourself pretty well since we arrived. I don't think I need to tell you what to do," he chuckled, giving her a quick kiss. "I trust you to do whatever feels right because so far it's saved me from a very upset general."

Then he helped her up and they opened the door to their room, revealing the working environment they'd seen yesterday.

***

Author's Note:

Im so excited that I got this out today! I thought I wouldn't have any time during Christmas break to update but it looks like I did haha. Hope you enjoyed! <3