Coriolanus slammed Lucy Gray against the wall of their room, the door to their unit barely banging shut behind them.
"You were brilliant," He groaned against her lips, fingers knotting in her inky black curls, tugging her upward, bringing her mouth to his.
He was desperate and needy.
Lucy Gray's fingers were tugging the buttons undone on his jumpsuit, pushing it down to fall against his hips, the coolness of her fingers making him gasp as she trailed them up his chest.
"Is this all I gotta do to get you like this?" She breathed with a grin, "Sing a few pretty verses, lover?"
Coriolanus ignored her tease, biting down on her lip, just a hair away from drawing blood. Enough to make her yelp in surprise, and shiver in his arms.
He took a moment to separate them, enough to yank off her jumpsuit, though he took gentle care not to crack or break the paintings on her attire, knowing she would be furious if he did.
Lucy Gray helped him peel off her clothes, kicking them onto their floor, and shoving his pants down too.
"Coriolanus…" She whispered, pressing her head against the wall, tilting it back as she showed her neck to him.
He took it as an invitation to bite down on her collarbone, leaving an imprint of his jaws against her unblemished skin. Satisfaction rose within him, and he imagined her full of his teeth marks, coloring her body like garish Capitol tattoos.
The thought made him want her even more.
Could he have unknowingly stumbled into the best of both worlds?
Could he get his power, that need for greatness, and the girl…all simultaneously?
Fuck; he would have left for District 13 much sooner if he'd known that he could have skipped all those tiresome months as a Peacekeeper, the lowest of the low, groveling for scraps.
He grasped underneath Lucy Gray's thighs, holding her legs apart as he pushed into her, reveling at the tiny gasp she made.
"I bet no one here fucks like we do," He said with a quiet laugh, "All too proper for it, huh? Well, let's give them a real show," He said, noticing how Lucy Gray bit her lip to keep from making noise.
That just wouldn't do.
He didn't mind the thought that everyone in their hall would know exactly what they were up to. In fact, he liked the idea of others seeing Lucy Gray as his, happily and fully satisfied.
When Lucy Gray shook her head, a gleam of challenge in her eyes, Coriolanus withdrew himself and spun her around, pressing her against the cold wall.
He grasped her hair in a fist, entering her again without warning.
Lucy Gray let out a sound, the air escaping her lips.
"You like it rough, don't you?" Coriolanus whispered in her ear, one of his hands grasping her hips to hold her exactly in the right position.
"Seems like you're projecting," Lucy Gray bit out, turning her head over her shoulder to look at him with heavy-lidded eyes.
"I'm not making an effort to hide that," Coriolanus chuckled, "I never have."
He watched Lucy Gray's eyes glaze over as he hit a particularly sensitive spot, far up inside of her, and quicked his pace.
"Do you want to come?" Coriolanus asked her, fingers snaking around to the crux of her legs. Lucy Gray didn't answer, but her legs quivered and he could hear the increase in her breaths as she tried to stay steady, "I asked you a question, wife." He continued with a low, dark chuckle, rubbing her clit with his forefinger, achingly, teasingly.
Lucy Gray gave one sharp, quick nod.
"Ask me, and I'll be merciful," He said, biting her ear lobe, and he could feel the shiver run up her spine.
"Please," Lucy Gray whispered, but Coriolanus cut her off.
"Awe, you can do better than that."
"Coriolanus, please get me off," Lucy Gray said, rolling her eyes, but Coriolanus could feel the need pulsing between her legs.
"Was that so hard?" He asked, increasing his pace until she was moaning into the wall.
Coriolanus finished not long after.
He stepped away, spying how his cum ran down her legs and licked his lips at the thought of that. Lucy Gray turned, fluffing her hair, and raised an eyebrow.
"That all?" She asked with a mild laugh.
Coriolanus blinked. "What?"
She pushed him back until he landed against their bed. Lucy Gray crawled over his body until she was hovering above him.
"I get that men are at a lesser advantage, having the ability to only come once and all, but you've started this. I expect you get me off at least two more times," Lucy Gray said.
"That might be a bit difficult, as you pointed out a moment ago," Coriolanus said with a raised eyebrow, a bit taken aback at her forwardness.
"Oh, darlin', there's no one to sweet-talk here, so you're silver tongue can find a better use, don't you think?" Lucy Gray asked. Coriolanus understood at once, snorting, but couldn't stop the grin from creeping onto his face.
"Anything for you, Mrs. Rose," He agreed, grasping her legs and pulling her up towards his face, "But you're going to regret it. I'll have you come so many times that you'll be sore for days."
Lucy Gray grasped the headboard, gasping at the first contact, "Now, Coriolanus, that sure as hell better be a promise."
XXX
Time crawled by.
Before he knew it, nine months had elapsed, and he felt like all he'd done was blink.
Coriolanus tried not to be frustrated at the passage of time, and he tried not to imagine how his life would be if he had gotten the Plinth Prize like he was so deserving of, and had done away with the entire Hunger Games hubbub to begin with.
He thought that he'd be just about finishing up his first year at the Academy by now.
Top of his class, no doubt.
He would have already charmed any professor that didn't know him.
Perhaps he would have been noticed by Gaul still, invited on for his cleverness.
He had, of course, made the games into the spectacle that made this past year so incredible.
He didn't think much about the Games itself until one day, Lucy Gray, out of nowhere said; "Bout time for another reaping."
At first, he was so far removed from talk of the Hunger Games, he was sure she was talking about crops and plant life and was very confused, because their meager plants weren't due for a bit now, here in 13.
And then, it hit him.
"The Hunger Games?" He asked, squinting.
"Yeah. Some other poor pair of kids are being carted off to their deaths today or so," Lucy Gray said thoughtfully, "Unless you think they were stopped."
"No, never," Coriolanus said automatically, a knee-jerk reaction. The Capitol would only stop if forced, but there was no reason to.
It was hard to read Lucy Gray's reaction.
"Shame."
He wondered if she was trying to think through all the District 12 kids, and trying to imagine which she could do without, but, she didn't really bring it up again.
Talking about Hunger Games again made Coriolanus think about someone he'd tried his best to jettison from his mind…Tigris.
It wasn't due to malice, instead, his chest felt funny to think too hard about his cousin, wondering how she was fairing.
Likely, not well.
In his more nostalgic moments where it seemed he lost his good sense, Coriolanus would pretend to write to her.
Inwardly, he thought it as a way to collect his thoughts.
He knew, realistically, these letters would never be sent. And, even if they were, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear her response on the other end.
Still, the idea that it could be sent, ignoring the embargo to the other Districts and the secrecy of 13, made him write with a sort of honesty that perhaps he wouldn't otherwise, like that it might one day be taken from his hands, flown all the way down to the Capitol, and Tigris may call him out on his lies otherwise.
He wrote things like:
Being married to Lucy Gray actually isn't so bad.
Or:
Sometimes I worry about what would have happened if I had stayed.
And maybe:
I think I miss you. Not for what you could do for me, but I miss you for who you were.
And finally, the most blasphemous of all:
Sometimes, I have dreams about living here, with Lucy Gray, forever. And in these dreams, I find I'm happy.
…I want to be happy.
His fingers wrote that last one before he knew what was happening, and he furiously scratched it out, as though the words would leap out and threaten everything he'd built.
And then he tore the letter, the first time, and hid the scraps in his dresser drawer, worried that the truth would haunt him if he let it live.
XXX
"What are you thinkin' about?"
Lucy Gray was sprawled on their white bed sheets, not a stitch of clothing on her, her own personal rebellion.
If she couldn't wear her colorful things, fine. She'd wear nothing at all.
Of course, in the safety of their own home, Coriolanus was sure that the people of District 13 would still find it blasphemous to even imagine.
Of course, Coriolanus was quite pleased with this view. She'd caught him staring; he focused his gaze on her, from the hazy way he'd been examining her, fingers rubbing against one another like he did when he was deep in thought.
"Nothing much," He said honestly. His thoughts were jumbled and cluttered and not easily navigable. It wasn't worth explaining that to Lucy Gray.
"Mhh," Lucy Gray rolled over, "Did you hear about Tawny?"
"The other cook you talk with?" Coriolanus asked, frowning, recalling the dark-haired girl in the edges of his memory. He committed names to memory, not people, exactly. He just needed the illusion that he was becoming one with District 13ers, not that he actually cared about their personal lives.
It was amazing what a little retention could do; a well-placed, 'Oh, how's Tommy getting on!' or 'Isn't your daughter just starting fifth grade?', and instantly, you had people eating out of the palm of your hand, blustering with pride, thinking that they were important to you.
It was all a facade.
But Coriolanus focused. He had a feeling that whatever Lucy Gray was about to tell him would be useful, and he'd update his mental list accordingly.
You never started a conversation with 'Did you hear about xy and z' when you were regaling something utterly pedestrian, like that they'd eaten pork over chicken for lunch unless it was something like they had a vendetta against chicken in particular.
Anyway, he was getting off track, and he caught only the end of Lucy Gray's news.
"-gant."
Coriolanus blinked twice, not wanting to ask her to repeat herself because she'd be upset. He knew that he had a tendency to let his mind wander, and honestly, he was trying not to ignore her lately. He found Lucy Gray more survivable than most, which was convenient since they were tied together until the foreseeable future.
Still, he wasn't perfect, and he knew that.
Slowly, he stitched together the best guess he had and ventured, "She's pregnant?"
"Yep, I guess she's been trying for a while," Lucy Gray said, nodding, none the wiser he'd taken a shot in the dark. Well, not a shot in the dark. An educated guess.
Pregnancy was always newsworthy.
Especially around here.
"Korbin come by to congratulate her personally yet?" He asked with a sarcastic snort.
"Now, I don't know why you're like that," Lucy Gray said, furrowing her eyebrows in frustration. Coriolanus blinked.
"Like what?"
"A child is always a blessing."
"Sure, but especially to Korbin. It couldn't be more obvious that the way to be irreplaceable is to prove you're fertile and willing," He said distastefully, ignoring the fact he'd been thinking about having children himself more and more frequently.
His children would be held to different standards, of course.
"You say it like it's some big secret, some big conspiracy."
"Well," Coriolanus said, leaning forward, "If he really wanted to be clever, he'd be less obvious about it. It's a terrible tell."
Lucy Gray sat up, pulling the sheets around her, "God, Coriolanus, you gotta be the smartest person in the room at all times, don't you?" She asked, her words laced with venom.
Coriolanus blinked, uncomprehendingly, "I usually am."
"Oh, fuck off!" She stood, grasping her clothing, "I'm dead serious, Coriolanus."
"What have I said to upset you?" Coriolanus asked, still confused.
"You're so desperate for some scheme, some…grand plan!" Lucy Gray waved her hands around, "Do you think that perhaps people just have wills and wants and they aren't carefully navigated at every turn?"
"Sure, I believe that of Korbin. He's a right idiot." Coriolanus said, "Any good politician is thinking of these things though." Coriolanus stood to stop her, "The population will die out soon, without help. Too few genetics, too many infertility issues. He basically could hold a neon sign saying that you could have six kids and commit murder and probably get away with it." He snorted.
Lucy Gray held her jaw taut, "Only you would think of the worst thing like that," She muttered, "Why can't you just say you're happy for Tawny like everyone else would?"
"Because I'm not like them," Coriolanus said, lifting her chin to kiss her, "And I think you'd be bored of a quiet, average husband," He said, "Good for her," He added as an afterthought.
It would be interesting to see how her quality of life changed with such a predicament, and he'd use the data for his thoughts.
"Oh, no, what are you thinkin' now?" Lucy Gray huffed.
Coriolanus bit the inside of his cheek. He figured that Lucy Gray would not take kindly to the idea of her, possibly, favorite friend being used as a data set.
Instead, Coriolanus went with something that could be considered more dangerous, but still something he'd been mulling over nonetheless.
"I'm surprised you're not pregnant yet," He said, pulling her against him, "You must have some luck on your side with how ravenous I am for you," He said, inhaling the scent wafting from her hair.
Lucy Gray laughed out loud, "Luck has nothing to do with it, darlin'."
Coriolanus tilted his head, "You're that good at tracking your cycle?" He knew of that method, but usually, it wasn't very predictable, especially for the lower districts, and with all their upheaval it seemed like quite a hard thing to keep track of.
"No, silly. I'm sure Tigris would know exactly what I'm talking about."
Coriolanus visibly shuddered, "I don't want to imagine her having sex."
Lucy Gray rolled her eyes and went over to her dresser drawer and took out a tin. Of course, Coriolanus had noticed it, but had never given it much thought beyond that it existed in his space.
She shook it lightly, before opening the lid, "Helps to make sure nothing takes root," She said, and she let him take a deep whiff of the dried plant matter, something that he recognized, but not that he'd ever drunk, "A little goes a long way, and it's effective enough."
"Is that safe?" Coriolanus asked, and Lucy Gray just threw her head back.
"Oh, Coriolanus, ladies part of generations far up your family tree have used this, and quite well might I add. It'll do its job and nothing more." She shook it, "It's fine."
"What happens when it dries up your stash?" Coriolanus asked, calculating that she had another year, maybe two before it was gone. It was a relief, he considered, not to worry that she might be pregnant, month to month. It gave him time to enjoy her fully, without the constant nagging of children, even if he did want them later.
"I don't know," Lucy Gray said, biting her lip, "We both know that if I went to the medical wing and asked for contraceptives, they wouldn't give it. I will give you that one…they are desperate for kids."
"I'm sure they're wondering why we haven't added to their little cult yet, huh?"
"I'm sure, but it's not one's business, so," Lucy Gray said snappishly, and Coriolanus knew she'd nearly bite the head off anyone who even tried asking, and make a point of it right away that it wasn't something she was answering.
"Do you…" The question hung on Coriolanus's lips, "Want…kids?"
"Oh, Coriolanus, I'm far too young and far too weary for a question like that today," She said honestly, "I'd rather just enjoy this for what it is, wouldn't you?"
Coriolanus took the tin, carefully wedging it back in her drawer, "Of course," He said, without reservation, "I still think Korbin has a bigger plan, though. We should watch out."
Lucy Gray brushed the hair away from his forehead, "Sure, lover," She said, a bit unbelieving, "We should really think of a baby gift for Tawny."
Coriolanus dipped his head, "If you insist."
XXX
There was a commotion in the training hall.
Coriolanus was sitting, eating lunch with the rest of his squad, when suddenly, everyone was running.
"Shit, we'd better get up there!" One of his fellow army men said, eyes wild, grasping Coriolanus's arm and pulling him through the gathered, frantic people.
Coriolanus broke through to see two army members going at it, rolling on the ground in a full-out brawl, throwing sloppy punches and screaming bloody murder at each other.
Coriolanus quickly took in that they were the first few on the scene.
"Get the civilians back!" Coriolanus barked, taking control, "And someone go grab the Colonel!" He snarled.
Ripples waved and people followed his command, most just grateful someone was doing something.
"Grab him with me!" Coriolanus said, pulling the man into the fray that had pulled him into this, away from his lunch.
He waited for a break and leaped in, trying to get between the two adult men.
A kick to his gut knocked the wind out of him, and he coughed up stale air as he stumbled back.
"Robinson! Nolen!" Coriolanus spat furiously, trying to grasp the two men's arms to throw them apart. Robinson managed to claw at Nolen's belt, breaking it off and sending it across the cold, hard floor. Coriolanus tried to grab it and gripped the end before it went far underneath a low table, unlikely to be seen for quite a while.
"I'll kill you!" Robinson was screaming, "I'll tear your insides out, I'll rip you limb from limb!"
"She came to me! Because you're not man enough for her!"
"You're dead! You're so dead!"
"Oh, no," Lee groaned from beside Coriolanus, but he didn't understand, not immediately. When he turned, confused, holding Nolen's utility belt in his hand, Lee winced, "He slept with his wife, man."
Understanding dawned on Coriolanus.
God, what idiots.
Still, he needed to separate this too. Luckily, most of the other military workers had pushed everyone else away, leaving just a few trying to figure out how to subdue these two.
"Let's go for Nolen," Coriolanus said. Easiest solution? Take the object away from the child throwing a tantrum.
"Let's go! And try to keep your dick in your pants. Think you can handle that?" Coriolanus sneered as he pulled Nolen out of the fight, helping him up. Nolen was bleeding from his face, and it would bruise terribly- he'd be puffy beyond hell tomorrow, and he'd be lucky if he wasn't thrown out for something like this. Both of them, "Hell, I hope she was worth it." He muttered under his breath.
Lee was pulling Robinson away. The cuckolded man was rubbing his split knuckles, a furious, dark look on his face.
"You know what? Fine; take my whore of a wife. Two terrible people deserve each other. She's a cunt anyway." Robinson said, throwing up his middle finger, and spinning sharply on his heels.
Nolen started to break away, too quick for Coriolanus to realize what was happening.
He turned around a moment too late, arm reaching out to grasp for Nolen. All he managed was a choked warning to Lee, but they were caught by surprise too.
Robinson went down hard.
The sound of his head hitting the concrete was sickening.
Even worse was the sound of Nolen picking his skull back up and slamming it down again.
"Fuck!"
Lee vomited, having never seen true savagery in his life. Sure, District 13 was prepared for anything, but running through war scenarios and seeing the worst of mankind were two very different things.
Luckily, Coriolanus was unbothered and desensitized from it all.
The things he'd seen during the Dark Days would never be as bad as literally anything else in this world. Even when he came close enough for flecks of Robinson's gray matter to speckle his cheek and neck, Coriolanus felt nothing.
He wondered, idly, if Lucy Gray felt the same, due to the Hunger Games.
"Alright, you're done," Coriolanus snarled coldly, hauling Nolen up, the man's hand bright red and dripping.
Even if he had a questionable moral compass, killing in this way was so…inhumane. So messy.
Coriolanus knew that Lucy Gray would surely make a joke about how he didn't like getting his hands dirty.
Not that he'd gotten his hands 'dirtied' with anyone since he got here.
Maybe she'd be pleased that this death wasn't at his hand.
Though, somewhere deep down- that part that thought of Sejanus- he felt a bit responsible for not realizing what was happening quickly.
Things happened quickly after that.
District 13 had no room for such violent, such disrespect among its members.
Mrs. Robinson lost both her husband and her lover that day; her husband dead on the scene and Nolen sent out with only two matches, a loaf of bread, and a single egg, cast out into the inky darkness that gave no comforts.
Most of Nolen's gear was found, but his gun was unaccounted for. Of course, they scoured the whole place, especially where Coriolanus had kept the kit from going under the shelving units, but so such luck.
"It'll turn up," Korbin said tiredly, "It has to."
That, yes, Coriolanus knew to be wholly true.
Coriolanus worked a double shift without complaint, knowing that the entire district was shaken up. Murder was practically unheard of. Most citizens were allowed to be released from work and go hide back in their rooms. Coriolanus felt a sliver of pride to see Lucy Gray still working, refusing to leave.
"People still need to be fed," She said when Coriolanus asked if she wanted to go home.
They shared a look; both had lived too much life to be spooked by something like this.
Finally, Colonel Peard called Coriolanus into his office.
"I'm told you took charge, Rose, at the start."
Coriolanus took off his hat. In the dingy mirror, he caught his reflection. Dried blood painted his skin like freckles since he hadn't a chance to wash off yet.
Peard noticed his thinking, and must have mistaken it for disgust or that he was bothered because he was handed a wet towel.
Coriolanus went through the motions of wiping the blood from his skin, but all he could think about was the way that Billy Taupe bled out in front of him what felt like eons ago, or how Bobbin's head had cracked, not dissimilar to Robinson's.
He thought of the blood. Not in a horrified sort of manner, but just of its quality; the color, the smell, the way it soaked into the ground there, but wouldn't here. The way it just…pooled.
"Someone had to," Coriolanus finally answered the unasked question, "It was mayhem."
"Yes, someone did. I'm glad that you were able to jump into action so quickly. I imagine perhaps there's some experience from before."
Coriolanus tilted his head. He was unsure if Korbin had told anyone of his true identity, but it seemed that Peard was genuine, just making a general guess.
So he nodded, not offering more than needed. He could play the shell-shocked kid trying to forget about his past well enough.
"Go home, Rose. You must be exhausted," Peard finally said, "And just know that your efforts will not be forgotten."
Excitement beat fast in Coriolanus's chest, though he tried not to get ahead of himself, "Thank you, sir."
Lucy Gray had been released by the time he got home. She wasn't shivering or crying, just sitting at the kitchen table, mindlessly chopping some vegetables, staring out blankly ahead.
"You alright?"
Lucy Gray was startled, turning to see Coriolanus enter.
"What a waste of life," She said, shaking her head, angrily, "How stupid of them both."
Coriolanus snorted. They were very much in agreement.
"You know?" Lucy Gray continued, tilting her head, "I think killing someone is such a cowardly way out."
Coriolanus frowned, "What do you mean?"
"I'm just saying," Lucy Gray continued chopping their dinner up, almost conversationally, like they were discussing the uptick in temperature lately inside the caves, "It's so boring too. I just can't help but think less of 'em." She met Coriolanus's gaze, almost knowingly, a glimmer in her eyes that he couldn't quite place, "There are many more ways to torture someone than killing them and getting it over with. Just seems so…easy."
Coriolanus tried to hold back a snort, having a hard time thinking of Lucy Gray in this way.
Still, her words rolled around the back of his head, as he thought of the meaning behind her words. He sat, finding himself lost in it, in the ideas, so much more satisfying than merely ending a life.
"Also," Lucy Gray said, turning, the knife loose in her fingers, "If you ever cheat on me, I'll chop your dick off in your sleep, and no one will ever know if was me."
Coriolanus was almost charmed by her threat, "Noted, wife."
Late that night, after curfew, when Lucy Gray was fast asleep, Coriolanus went back to the room where it happened.
He stood, staring at the place where the blood hadn't been fully cleaned away, trying to trace back the fight.
He looked under the shelf again, just to be sure, but didn't think he'd find the gun there.
He went to stand in the middle again.
He thought about the limbs, and how they all flailed and fought, and about how Robinson had been kicking.
Then, on a careful whim, he went in the opposite direction.
Yes, this shelf unit had also been checked, but Coriolanus dug his hand so far underneath that he was worried it would crush his palm.
And then, he felt it; the metal curve of something solid and cold.
Carefully, knowing it could go off at any moment, he eeked it out and into his palm.
Nolen's missing firearm sat in his hand, loaded.
He weighed his options.
Take this to Korbin or Peard now, and he may push along his promotion. Prove himself as part of District 13.
A smile curled on Coriolanus's lips.
He wasn't kidding anyone, and certainly not himself.
He put the gun in the back of his belt loop, arranged his shirt over it, and crept back home.
Then, he buried the gun in his drawer.
One could never be too careful.
XXX
At their two-year mark in District 13, Coriolanus and Lucy Gray were allowed time outside.
It was all too brief, and quite the luxury, but nothing either would say 'no' to all the same.
Coriolanus was smart enough to know that it was a test; would they run away at the first sign of getting out of there, or would they stay?
"God, I missed this," Lucy Gray moaned, flopping in the soft grass and mosses, "It's far too cold down there, for me, so lifeless."
"I know, dear."
"You think a little tree would kill them," She continued, "I don't get how I can be properly inspired down there.
"Want to run away?" Coriolanus asked teasingly. She opened one eye.
"Haven't we already?"
After they both enjoyed the feeling of sun on their cheeks for a brief moment, they went off, foraging.
Lucy Gray sent him a list of herbs to find, dedicated to making their own meals they were allotted at home slightly more flavorful.
She wasn't sure how it would grow without real sun, but they did have simulated sun, so it was worth a try.
In his foraging, Coriolanus came across a plant that was not on her list, but he was drawn to all the same.
Hemlock.
Coriolanus ran his fingers over the delicate white budding flowers, staring at it carefully, before digging it up, roots and all.
He put it in his pocket, far from Lucy Gray's plants, and continued on.
When they returned to their room, having passed the test (at least, Coriolanus assumed so) and Lucy Gray began potting, she paused at the interloper that had returned with them.
"It's mine."
"Why?"
Coriolanus shrugged, curious if she knew, "It's pretty."
Lucy Gray wouldn't be dumb enough to put an unknown plant in their dinner. He was sure of that.
"Or is it insurance?" Lucy Gray asked with a quirked eyebrow, "I grew up in the words, darlin'. You don't think I was warned about pretty little things like that?"
"I just want to see if it grows down here," Coriolanus said with an easy-going smile, "Just curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat," Lucy Gray rolled her eyes, reciting an ancient saying.
"Maybe I want to take up horticulture," Coriolanus said, carefully arranging it in a pot, "Take up a meaningful hobby. You know my Grandma'am grew roses. Didn't see any up there."
Lucy Gray was looking at him the way she did sometimes; like he was still a riddle she was trying to unravel.
"Okay," She finally said, "But keep it far away from my cooking herbs."
"I have no intention of staging a murder-suicide," Coriolanus said, "I like you far too much."
Lucy Gray laughed, before covering her mouth with her hand, "Out of all the bald-faced lies I've heard, that's the worst."
"It's true." He said, his dignity slightly bruised at the accusation.
Lucy Gray paused entirely, eyes wide, surprised, "Well…I'll be damned," She rubbed her arms, "Just when I think you can't surprise me anymore, you go ahead and say something like that."
"It's not that big of a deal," Coriolanus said, ducking his head, feeling like he'd said entirely too much. All he wanted to do was be proven right, not wrong.
Lucy Gray came over, kissing his temple, "Careful, darling or someone like me might mistake you for a man capable of real human emotions."
Coriolanus grinned and then laughed.
Being seen wasn't so terrible, sometimes.