Coriolanus could sense a change with Lucy Gray.
It wasn't something he could outwardly describe; she still smiled at him with doe eyes, still teased him without fear of his reaction, and still sang and hummed to her own songs as they walked.
But there was something in her eyes.
He'd see it, whenever she thought he wasn't looking. It would be a brief glance, a quick double-check, a shadow of something that passed beneath her gaze.
It wasn't fear. No; he'd seen fear in the eyes of those around him, he knew it well. He knew what fear looked like on Lucy Gray too…and this wasn't it.
It was something that plagued his mind, something that enterally bothered him as he tried to figure out exactly what it was.
All he knew was that whatever that look in her eyes was, it meant nothing good for him.
Lucy Gray was not dumb or docile. She was rebellious, daring, and most of all cunning.
They'd always been, roughly, on the same side.
Coriolanus almost shuddered to think of what may happen if they were enemies.
But he brushed that idea away as quickly as it appeared; it was absurd, right?
Right.
XXX
They walked for three days without much incident; Snow had never truly thought about how vast and wide the Districts were, as compared to the Capitol, which was a bit of a walk but could be traversed in just one day.
They walked without seeing a single soul in all that time.
Lucy Gray kept them fed by digging up roots of plants that were edible, peeling the bark of trees, picking berries in her palm, or making snares at night for rabbits or birds.
Coriolanus tried to listen as she explained it to him, but found it all dreadfully dull. He was smart enough to know that food did not just magically pop out of nowhere, but it was all so savage here.
He longed for the Capitol.
That was the worst of it; all this silence gave Coriolanus ample time to think.
To think about his rightful place in the Academy that had been stolen from him, to think about how his Grandmaam and Tigris were fairing, to think about his classmates that would whisper about him for a year or two before he slipped from their collective minds.
The once great name of Snow would now be a footnote in history, a laughing stock of future game makers, and a cautionary tale that Highbottom would gleefully pass along every chance he got.
If you go back, and someone has found that gun, you'll be dead.
This was his mantra.
He repeated it to himself, over, and over, and over.
And every night, he dreamed that he could go back, find the gun, and leave to be an Officer.
Upon waking, he was never sure if it was a nightmare or not.
At least Lucy Gray was still here.
The only thing worse than everything currently occurring would be here alone.
She'd seen him kill the mayor's daughter, and she still agreed to go with him.
In his mind, this had to mean something.
Love; that's what it was.
He knew of love in the academic sense. He'd witnessed it, or heard of it.
He knew of love from family. He loved Tigris and Grandmaam and the thought of them out of their apartment, stressing to make ends meet, made his heart constrict heavily.
He also remembered, vaguely, his parents. From long, long, before.
His father was a strict man, but he loved his wife.
Her death had broken him.
No, that's what Coriolanus remembered most about love. About how it had cut his father down from a proud man to a crying, weeping shell until he'd picked himself back up and gone to his death.
Coriolanus wasn't sure he liked the idea of being so open that something like that may ever befall him.
It was fine for Lucy Gray to love him. It was even expected.
But do you love her?
Coriolanus didn't see the logic in answering that question.
XXX
On the fifth day, Coriolanus figured out what that look in her eyes was.
It was the bitter taste of the truth.
She hadn't bought his lie about his third death. While he did genuinely feel like he'd been killed and reborn too many times to count, he wouldn't ever seriously add it to his grave number.
He hoped she would take his word as gospel, but she hadn't.
She was looking at him like she was already thinking three steps ahead of him, trying to figure out what to do next.
She hadn't poisoned him so far, nor smothered him in his sleep, left him alone in the middle of the night.
But that didn't mean that he was safe from her.
It was the same way she looked in the arena; hungry, desperate, and determined.
Coriolanus was her next great summit to survive and she was trying to figure out the perfect way to do so, and that might just spell his death.
Resentment began to fester deep in his chest.
After everything he'd done for her? Keeping her safe? Passing off his last spare change to get to twelve? Giving up his whole life and walking across these fucking never-ending woods?
The indignation flared like a fire as Coriolanus sat by their fire that night, furious and shaking with rage.
She could take almost everything from him, but she would not take his life.
He'd deal with her in the morning, he told himself.
She wouldn't see it coming.
XXX
Coriolanus woke with pressure holding him down and a knife against his throat, pressing enough to feel the slide of silver against his jugular.
Lucy Gray stared down at him, chin raised, and eyes burning.
"What are you doing?" He demanded, trying to struggle her off, but with a slight movement of her body slipped the knife. He felt it knick his skin.
"Who was the third person?" Lucy Gray demanded, harsh and unforgiving.
"That's what this is about?" He snarled, "Are you fucking insane?"
"Answer me," She said, leaning in, pressing it farther against him, "Or I'll kill you."
"You won't," Snow said, "You said you were done with killing."
"I thought I was."
Coriolanus's throat was dry, "Why does it even matter?"
"Because we're in this together, and I need to trust you. I may not like you anymore, I may be very aware of who you really are, but despite it all, I need to trust you." She spoke each word very carefully, "So don't lie."
"And why shouldn't I just turn around and kill you after this?" Coriolanus sneered, "For being so bold to try to threaten me?"
"Out here, you're just a nobody lyin' in the dirt," Lucy Gray said with a hint of a smile. She dropped the knife, "But go ahead."
She stood, smoothing her dress, dropping the knife.
What a foolish move.
Coriolanus was standing immediately, pushing her to the ground, straddling her waist. His hands went for her neck, grasping it enough so that Lucy Gray coughed and sputtered.
"I will kill you," He said, entirely sure of it, "And no one will ever know what became of you."
"Go ahead," Lucy Gray managed to spit, her face blushing as he pressed more, and more, reveling in the feeling of the blood pumping underneath his fingers, and how it began to slow.
Wait…why wasn't she crying, or begging?
Coriolanus dropped his hands.
"That's right," Lucy Gray cooed, "You can't. Here's the thing, Coriolanus. We need each other."
Coriolanus huffed at the thought of it. He may need to be dependent on someone, and especially someone like her.
"It's true," She said, rubbing her neck, "I've been watching you, Coriolanus. I know that while you have a great many skills, survival isn't one of them. You kill me, I bet you starve out in three days."
Coriolanus paused, narrowing his eyes.
"But I don't have your silver tongue; you can make anyone believe anything. It's like magic. And it's dangerous for a girl to be travelin' alone. So it seems we're at an impasse. And we need each other. Alive." Lucy Gray finished, "So tell me…who is the third person you killed."
Coriolanus sat back on his haunches, staring at Lucy Gray with unmitigated hatred in his eyes.
"Oh, baby," She crooned, almost melodically, "Don't be angry you've met your match. Besides, love doesn't look natural on you anyway."
Coriolanus ran through every scenario as fast as he could; killing Lucy Gray, going home, going north still, staying on the same path…and all roads led to needing her survival skills. They could be weeks from any sort of civilization.
He thought about lying, but he figured Lucy Gray knew his number by now.
"Sejanus. I made sure that the people that matter know about his plans." He answered evenly, eyes narrowed.
"I thought as much. Stabbing your only friend in the back…" Lucy Gray shook her head, "Even I wouldn't have thought you had that in you."
"He wasn't my friend," Coriolanus insisted hotly.
"Sure seemed like it to me, but what do I know," She said with a faux, self-deprecating smile that made Coriolanus's blood boil. It was all an act.
But that's who she was; a show-person.
Why should he have ever thought any of it was something real?
"So what…" He asked, picking up her knife, and handing it back to her, "What now? Friends?"
Lucy Gray laughed, "We are the furthest thing from that, Snow," She said humorlessly.
"Thank God," Coriolanus let out something of a smile, "You think you'll manage it? Sleeping next to a monster like me?" He asked, his voice dark and threatening.
Lucy Gray examined him for a few moments, "I survived the Hunger Games. And I know I'll survive you."
And then, the smile she gave him, made his heart beat fast.
XXX
"Do you think there are any people out here at all?" Coriolanus asked another night, batting away mosquitoes and wishing with everything he had for a shower - it didn't even need to be hot. Just plumbing and water would do, "Or is it just you and me for the rest of our wretched lives?"
Lucy Gray smiled.
"That would be your worst nightmare, wouldn't it?" She asked sweetly, washing their dinner in the little river they'd stopped off at.
"No."
"You may be able to lie to everyone else, but you can't lie to me," Lucy Gray said, a hum to her voice, like she was composing another song in her head, "You need people. You need 'em. You need to control them, to be on top of them. You wouldn't know what to do with yourself without it."
"That's not true," Coriolanus snapped, but furiously, he knew that she spoke honestly.
And it bothered him.
Most people saw him for what he told them to; the heir-apparent to the Snow empire. In charge, wealthy, and in control. Casca had seen him as a villain but still hadn't seen the truth. Sejanus had seen him as a friend, of all the absurd things.
But Lucy Gray?
She, from the moment they met, had been able to fix her gaze right upon him and look deep into his soul.
And she wasn't afraid to speak about it either, lay bare all his ugliness, all the things about him that should make her run.
He wasn't in control when it came to her.
She always seemed to flaunt the fact that without her, he'd die out here. Or, at least, that's what it seemed to him.
"I think I don't need people," Lucy Gray continued to muse, "Give me a beautiful land, a guitar, and food enough to keep me alive, and I'd be happy."
"Well," Coriolanus said bitterly, "It seems you'll get your wish. I think all we'll find out here are ghosts."
"No," Lucy Gray shook her head, disagreeing, "We wouldn't nearly be so lucky."
XXX
Time ran against each other, all in one big mushy mess, so when they did come across a person, Coriolanus couldn't exactly tell you how long they'd been traveling.
He felt the passage of time though; his shirt was no longer pristine white but carried an ugly yellowish tinge. Lucy's dress was muddied at the bottom with endless dirt, and it trailed behind her sadly. He could feel the scruff on his chin of a beard budding, a look he'd never quite preferred. His feet had blisters all over, from long days of just walking, and walking, and walking and it must have been quite some time since they were starting to harden over, a feeling that bothered him, but didn't seem to bother Lucy Gray one bit.
He was stringy; if he were in Panem (if they were at all anymore), Coriolanus would have taken him for a poor districter. He had a little house built shoddily but didn't seem bothered. He didn't even try to defend it as they came up the path, his shotgun leaning on his chair, untouched.
Coriolanus figured they must have made it out, because he asked, "You from those controlled parts down below?"
"Panem?" Coriolanus asked, annoyed, "Yes."
"Hmm. Didn't know they let folk out," The man said with a raise of his eyebrow.
"We've been traveling a long way, and we're very tired," Lucy Gray broke in, "Spare some food?"
"What's in it for me?" The man asked. When he smiled, his teeth were as greasy as his hair, and something about the way he looked at Lucy Gray put Coriolanus on edge.
"How about we don't kill you right now," Coriolanus responded hotly, expecting the usual fear he placed within people, but was surprised only to find humor.
"You got a spicy one here!" He shrieked, as though Coriolanus's threat was the funniest damn thing, "What's he to you, little lady?"
"Brother," Lucy Gray said, batting her eyes.
The man scratched his chin, "Don't look much like it."
"Half-siblings," Coriolanus replied tensely, "Now, are you of any use to us, or should we keep moving?"
"Hold your horses!" The man huffed, "Just making polite conversation," He said, but Coriolanus felt lit was anything but, "I suppose I can spare a meal or so…but it would be common courtesy to give me something in return."
"How about a song?" Lucy Gray asked, "I don't have my instruments, but I've been told I'm quite something."
Inside the cabin was, well, cozy.
And that was being generous.
It's what Tigris would have said about it, always having a kind thing to say. Coriolanus thought it was dirty, uncivilized, and no place he'd willingly be for more than a night, but the idea of sleeping with a roof (though it was riddled with holes) was too tempting to pass up.
There was a stew going on the stove. As soon as Coriolanus stepped in, the waft of something meaty met his nose, and swallowed back the saliva gathering in his mouth. Lucy Gray had kept them alive on foraged items, but neither were much good at hunting.
Coriolanus hadn't realized how much he needed this until right about now.
"Rabbit?" Lucy Gray guessed, peering into the stew.
"Squirrel."
Coriolanus truly considered how far he'd fallen to think that Squirrel sounded perfect right about now. Not even in his darkest days as a child had he stooped so low.
There was only one bed, and Lucy Gray was shuffled to it, Coriolanus left to his own. He uneasily sat against the foot of it, watching their provider bustle about.
"I still think we could kill him," He muttered quietly, for her ears only, "Take whatever he has worth taking."
Lucy Gray hit his shoulder, "Stop it."
"I'm serious."
"So am I." Lucy Gray's expression was murderous, "We are not going to…he's letting us stay here, basically free of charge!"
Coriolanus watched him. Mostly, he watched how this man's eyes always traveled back to Lucy Gray's face, and it made him furious, "I don't trust him."
"Neither do I," Lucy Gray replied with a forced smile, "But we need this, Coriolanus. Badly."
They were given a portion of soup. Nothing large, and hardly enough to stop his rumbling stomach, but it was something. They managed to eek a few answers out of this man, but he wasn't a wealth of knowledge.
The most promising piece of information? If they kept going north, about a day or two away, they'd hit a city.
People. Civilization. Rules. Opportunity…
Coriolanus could hardly wait.
"How about that song, little songbird?" The man asked as they finished their meal.
"I would be a bad guest to say no, wouldn't I?" Lucy Gray responded, and tapped her chin, "Which one? Hmm…" She pretended to think out loud.
Coriolanus rolled his eyes at her theatrics. She didn't need to ham it up for someone like him; he wasn't going to give her money, or supplies, or more food.
Sing the damn song and get on with their night, that was best.
The man was enamored with her throughout her performance. Why wouldn't he be? She did have an alluring voice, it was what had gotten her so popular in the games. Even Coriolanus would be a fool to dismiss that.
He couldn't help but be drawn in too. She hadn't sung, not properly, since they'd left. Just little whispers of melodies under her breath.
It was low and throaty and intoxicating, and Coriolanus found himself drawn into her orbit, needing to be near her, recalling what had been so… enigmatic about her the first time they'd met.
He wasn't the only one to think so.
"Damn, girl! What a voice you have. Care to bless an old man with another?" He asked.
"Oh, I don't know…" Lucy Gray laughed, tensing on the edge of the bed, as though just realizing how he was examining her now. Almost instinctively, she shifted so that Coriolanus was in front of her, between the man and herself.
"You know, a voice like yours is like an angel's. You ever think of settling down?" He asked, a forlorn look in his eyes, "Man, if I had a wife with a voice like that-,"
"Don't even think about it," Coriolanus snarled, his protectiveness springing up unexpectedly.
The man broke off, startled, staring at Coriolanus with shock.
"What's his deal?"
"He's my big brother. He's just real protective of me," Lucy Gray quickly supplied, the surprise from his words also easing off her shoulders as she tried to gain some semblance of control.
"I won't hurt the pretty lady," The man said to Coriolanus, talking to him as though he was stupid, "I swear it." He reached out, intending to tug on one of Lucy Gray's curls, but Coriolanus pushed him away.
"Lay a finger on her and you'll lose that hand," He said with a low sneer.
"Right, sure," The man said, retreating, taking two steps back, rethinking his advances.
"Well, seems about time to tuck in, hmm?" Lucy Gray laughed nervously, trying to ease the tension. Coriolanus didn't take his eyes off the man for a single second, not wanting him to think he was ever distracted.
"I only got one bed sweetheart, and sorry, but I'm not willin' to give it up. But you're more than welcome to share it." He said with an easygoing, too-casual smile.
"I'd rather not," Lucy Gray replied hotly, "If it's all the same to you."
The man pouted, "Suit yourself, doll."
They were given one scant blanket between them, and Lucy Gray shook, unable to sleep.
It would have been well within his personality to say that she deserved it for being so trusting, and to go to sleep himself and not give a second thought, but Coriolanus found himself wanting to protect, to comfort her.
He reached to bring her closer, "Go to sleep," He whispered in her ear, feeling her shiver against his body.
"But-," Lucy Gray began to protest.
"I won't let him do anything," Coriolanus replied, "You have no reason to trust me, but believe me when I tell you this." He said.
"Why?" She demanded. It was a fair question.
He replied with a shrug, "We're in this together, aren't we?"
"Gathering goodwill so I don't leave you in the cold?" Lucy Gray asked shortly.
"Perhaps."
"Hmm," She hummed, but some part of her must have believed him, because she pulled herself into his personal space, and within the hour, she had drifted asleep.
Coriolanus hardly slept a wink.
In the morning, as Lucy Gray thanked the man for his generosity, Coriolanus pulled out some rat poison from his pack, something he'd kept carefully wrapped up, just in case.
He sprinkled it carefully into the man's soup, still simmering on the fire.
For all he knew, the man was smart enough to scour the bowl after they left, but Coriolanus doubted it.
But he wouldn't really know if that was his fifth kill or not ever.
They never came back through this way.
Still, Lucy Gray caught his eye in the window as he came out, stuffing the poison back into his bag.
One day, he caught her rifling through it.
He wondered if she knew.
He figured she must.
But, she never said anything.
XXX
They walked a day, their moods swinging between high points for being given some food for their stomachs, to low points recalling the crawling feeling that the man had given them.
"I hope the other people here are different," Coriolanus said, making light conversation with Lucy Gray, his first attempt since they'd set off.
Now that it seemed he certainly wasn't about to kill her, and in fact, would go great lengths to keep her safe, it seemed silly to ignore her.
"You mean less wild?" Lucy Gray snorted.
"You're telling me you want to run into fifty others that leer at your breasts and try to grope you in the night?"
Lucy Gray had no good answer for that.
When they stopped for the night, both anxious with the idea they may meet others as soon as tomorrow, Coriolanus couldn't help but ask.
"Why did you say I was your brother?"
Lucy Gray shrugged, "Just came out, I suppose. Didn't have no rhyme or reason."
"Hmm."
Coriolanus ate his berries in silence, but finally Lucy Gray huffed.
"Say what you really want to say, Coriolanus," She commanded.
"I think that's a poor choice," He said honestly, without hesitation, "It opens you up to further badgering, and it seems odd for us to be traveling together."
"Why, family in your city don't stay together? What about you, and Tigris?" Lucy Gray asked.
"It's different," Coriolanus tried to explain, something in the back of his mind that bothered him about being introduced as her brother, "For one, he was right. We don't look alike at all."
"Fine, Mr. 'I Know So Much Better'," She was fueled with fury now, "What would you say we introduce ourselves as? A Capitol Mentor and a Hunger Games winner?"
"No, that wouldn't do any good. Likely they have no idea what that means," He said, deciding to take her clear sarcasm at face value, just to annoy her, "I think…" He trailed off, the idea popping into his head before he really considered it fully, the final words silencing him.
He pondered it for a moment before gathering his courage again, "I think we should be married."
Lucy Gray was silent for a long moment, then let out a single bark of laughter, "Well, Coriolanus Snow, take me out to dinner before, don't you?" She snarked.
"I'm serious!"
"So am I! As far as I know, a kiss doesn't tumble into a marriage; at least, not unless we went really wrong."
"It's just pretend, obviously," Coriolanus snapped, hating how she mocked him, "But I think it would keep you safer."
"Oh," Lucy Gray got up, putting her hands on her hips, staring him down, "It's all for my benefit, hmm?"
"Isn't it?" Coriolanus stood too, throwing out his arms, "If we say we're married, no one'll look at you. If you're mine, they wouldn't even consider trying to make a pass at you."
"If I'm yours?" Lucy Gray raised an eyebrow, "Ah, it's just about control. Can't be your girlfriend, no, I gotta be your wife."
"That's not it," Coriolanus said, his face turning red, "A girlfriend is…it's…" He struggled, "Wives are forever, you know?" Divorce was as foreign of a word as any. He knew of its origins, but no one he'd ever met had gotten a divorce. It had just fallen out of use. A marriage felt final and serious.
"I can't think of a worse fate," Lucy Gray spat, "Than being married to you. Lucy Gray Snow."
Coriolanus bit back a reply, trying to ease his fast racing heart to hear her say that. It curled something inside of him, a desire deeper than anything he'd felt. A need for her to be his; in name, in meaning, in truth.
It felt right.
Lucy Gray stormed off, throwing her arms up and muttering about all his stupidest ideas, this one being the worst yet; no matter that those stupid ideas had kept her alive during the Games.
Coriolanus knew she'd be back, but what he wasn't expecting was Lucy Gray to come stomping back around, kicking him awake.
"Propose to me, proper."
"What?" Coriolanus asked blearily, staring up at her. It was nearly dawn.
Lucy Gray's face was contorted into a sense of finality, "If you're serious, get on one knee and propose."
"Lucy-,"
"You can't even do that?" She snorted, "It's hardly anything."
"I don't want you getting the wrong ideas about this."
Lucy Gray crossed her arms, "That you may love me? No worries, I am under zero delusions. It's pragmatic. And temporary."
"Right."
"So propose…and you'd better muster up a ring; real or fake, I'd expect one."
Coriolanus and Lucy Gray walked slowly this day, taking their time, as though thinking about what they'd stumbled into with each other, even if Coriolanus hadn't asked and she hadn't said yes, the intent was still there.
He knew he'd never be able to find something worthy of actually asking, even for fake, and felt like a common pauper as he braided hearty grass together to create a plaited design, at least something that could look presentable and pass for a poor man's ring.
When they paused mid-day, he gritted his teeth, got down on one knee, and raised the ring of grass up.
"Lucy Gray Barid, will you fake-marry me?"
Lucy Gray seemed to enjoy looking down at him, having the high ground. She took her dear sweet time, and he wondered if all this was just to make him feel foolish, to laugh at him for even considering she may say yes.
But, finally, "Sure, Coriolanus Snow. I got nothing better to do."
That certainly was to annoy him.
Before, marrying into the Snow family was an honor. Now, Lucy Gray was treating it like something to pass the time.
She let him slip the ring on, and no sooner was it on her finger than she was leaning up, twirling her arms around his neck. At first, Coriolanus thought she was trying to kill him, strangle him right here until she met her lips to his.
No; she was kissing him.
Coriolanus fell into the familiar feeling of her lips against his, grasping at her waist, pulling her deeper into him.
When she pulled back, he felt a bit stunned. The sounds of cicadas ringing in the meadows came into focus first, and then the feeling of the sun against his bare arms, and then the smell of wildflowers among them.
"There."
"There?" Coriolanus raised an eyebrow in question.
"That should do it."
"That's…it?" He laughed, "But don't we need witnesses or-,"
"Sure, honey, we had witnesses. The creek talks, but it can't tell nobody it's not true. And the wind whispers but it won't break our secret," She said with a little smile, "Besides, who's gunna say we're not? Who says we can't just declare it?"
"Because it doesn't work that way."
"Does for us."
"Fine," Coriolanus licked his lips, "How does it feel to be Lucy Gray Snow?"
"How do you know we didn't take my name and you didn't become Coriolanus Baird?"
Coriolanus shuddered at the thought.
"I'm just winding you up. Besides, where we're going, I doubt we'll use our real names anyway," She said with a shrug, "So I guess I'm neither."
Secretly, Coriolanus thought she'd be a Snow to him from here on out, real or not.
"Aren't we going to keep going?" Coriolanus asked, itching to move. For something.
Lucy Gray set down her bag, knocking some things around, "I took this before I left, thinking it might be good to celebrate something. Seems as good as any a time." She said, coming back with a bottle of clear liquid. Coriolanus took one sniff and recoiled at the acrid smell.
Moonshine.
"It is our wedding day, after all," She added, "Isn't this what people do?"
"Get drunk?" Coriolanus rolled his nose.
"Maybe Capitol weddings are different…"
"Not by much," Coriolanus muttered, taking it from her hands, "To us." He added dryly, and the first gulp burned all the way down his throat and to his stomach, and lingered long after.
It tasted like gasoline.
"That's horrid."
"Cheers," Lucy Gray said with a mischievous grin, taking it from him. She pulled a face too at the taste, but seemed to swallow it with much less fuss, "We should get our stories straight. Who we are, why we're running, all that." She said, "And, it'll be much more bearable with alcohol."
"That's true," Coriolanus agreed, taking the bottle back from her. He swirled the clear liquid in the bottle, staring into it, "I've heard the best way to lie is to stick to the truth. So."
"We ran away because they wouldn't approve our of marriage?" Lucy Gray offered up.
"I'm a Snow. I could have married you," Coriolanus said, raising his chin, "And no one could have said anything."
He'd imagined it; during the Games. Taking her home. Parading her around. Throwing the wedding of the century; all the articles would write about it. Tigris would design her dress. They'd be unstoppable at the Capitol. He'd whisper in people's ears, and she'd sing them into submission.
His chest panged for the life that was far behind them, buried in the ground with Mayfair and Billy, with no chance of going back.
"We're running from the law," He said, "But it wasn't our fault. We can't look like bad folk to take in."
"If they know anything, saying that we didn't want to be part of the Hunger Games would do it," Lucy Gray snorted, taking the bottle back.
Coriolanus held his tongue.
She just didn't understand.
He focused on Lucy Gray, lying in the grass, sun dappling her face. He was pulled to her like some primal instinct, as he maneuvered himself so they were lying nose to nose. He could feel the alcohol burning into his brain, making him foggy, and more likely to say something he couldn't think all the way through properly.
He pursed his lips together, trying to keep his thoughts inside, but something about Lucy Gray at this moment seemed irresistible to him.
"What?" Her voice hitched as she tilted her head.
"Does being fake-married come with its perks?" He asked, fingers itching to reach out for her, but he kept them stubbornly at his side.
"What do you mean, Coriolanus Snow?" Lucy Gray asked him, but there was a humor to her voice, something that made him think she wasn't as dumb as she was pretending to be.
Coriolanus leaned in, his lip tracing up her jawline, until he reached her ears.
"I want to feel myself inside of you, wife ," He whispered and was very aware of the whimper she made in response. He grasped her arm, not hard enough to bruise, but enough to hold her steady, "Please."
He wasn't begging, he wasn't.
Snows took what they wanted, but Coriolanus wasn't the sort of person to force himself upon anyone.
It would be so much sweeter if she agreed.
Lucy Gray nodded hard, fingers locking in the belt loops of his pants, "Yes." She agreed, a breathless affirmation that had Coriolanus weak in the knees.
He grasped her neck, pulling her against him for a bruising kiss, savoring how she tasted against him. Needing him. Wanting him.
He felt her brush against his body and Coriolanus exhaled loudly, surprised about how electrifying it felt when she did that.
She pulled him up to a half-kneeling position, her fingers deftly untying her braided corset top, freeing her top half for his enjoyment.
As she hurried her top over her head, Coriolanus took a moment to really look at her, stunned and unsure.
Lucy Gray blinked at him, a slight frown on her face, as she took his trembling hands and pressed them against her breasts. Coriolanus let out a noisy breath, trying to keep his thoughts in focus, as they were spilling everywhere, threatening to have this all over far too quickly.
"It's your first time, isn't it?" Lucy Gray read him immediately.
Coriolanus snapped his head up, scowling, "Of course not," He snarled, hating the idea that she thought him fumbling or inadequate.
"My mistake," She purred, "I guess I'm just that stunning, then, huh?" She asked, "Gotcha speechless?"
Coriolanus ground his jaw, caught between the lie and her ego.
"It's okay, darlin'," She assured, maneuvering him to the ground, and straddling his legs. He didn't like this. He was meant to be on top, but having a half-naked girl over top of him made his brain feel as liquid as the soup they'd eaten last.
"Is it yours?" He asked in a throaty, raw tone. He wasn't sure he wanted the answer.
Lucy Gray began to thrust against him, "Does it matter?" She asked.
Yes, he thought, because whoever was your first, I'll rip their spine out.
It mustn't be, he figured, as she seemed to be able to push him around like malleable clay, so easily unwinding him in her palms.
"You don't like that idea, do you?" She asked, fingers unbuckling his pants, "Of me with someone else?"
"No," Coriolanus replied through gritted teeth, hating how the truth seemed to spill from his lips. It was like she'd poisoned him.
He looked up, wild and furious, and Lucy Gray just laughed.
"There ain't nothing in that bottle but alcohol, dear," She said, "You're just drunk, Coriolanus."
Coriolanus struggled for a response but found the best way to shut her up was to pull her down, biting her enough to feel the pinprick of pain, but not enough to draw blood. He expected her to shove him away, but she gasped, tilting her hips against him harder.
Interesting.
She managed to shove his pants down, and immediately her palms were on him, and Coriolanus groaned, digging his head against the grass beneath him.
He didn't know it was going to feel like this. Something about her hand, so tiny compared to his own whenever he got himself off, drove him insane.
Lucy Gray lifted her hips enough to pull her underwear off, before lining them up and slowly sinking down onto Coriolanus.
Coriolanus cursed, fingers gripping her waist, fingernails making little half-moons in her skin.
She paused, and moved her hips, once.
"Yeah, it feels good, huh?" She said, "Here's the thing, Coriolanus," She began, pulling herself up and raising her hips above him, teasingly, "I thought a lot about this when you brought up the idea, and I can't say I liked it to begin with."
"Lucy Gray-," He growled, going to pull her back down, but she swatted his hand away.
"Listen! If we're going to do this, we're going to do this my way, you hear?" She demanded.
"Perhaps I'll listen," Coriolanus said, rolling his eyes.
"Fine." Lucy Gray said, beginning to dismount, "Have a nice life, Coriolanus."
"Wait-," Coriolanus knew if she left him like this, so close, he'd go out of his mind trying to get the feeling exactly right, "Perhaps I can…hear you out."
Lucy Gray was almost bursting with triumph at his words and came to settle back down on him. She sank low and Coriolanus swore he saw stars the next time her thighs hit his hip bones.
"You don't like the idea of me with anyone else? The same goes for you. I won't be waiting up for you while you go off with anyone else. I'm not some dumb wife, blind to what her husband is doing with other people."
"And you'll do the same?" Coriolanus asked, looking up at her, trying to catch his breath and not shiver as she shifted her weight.
"Of course. I don't have double standards. So this will become a regular thing. You know, I had hoped you'd fuck as well as you kissed," She said, flexing a bit, "And it seems I'm right. Don't let that go to your head now."
Coriolanus smirked, "Too late. What else."
"You will not disrespect me. You will tell me the truth at all times; I've seen all your ugly, and I don't care, as long as you don't lie. You will treat me as an equal to you; I think we've proven that we're about that. You need me, and I need you. So act like it. You'll protect me with everything you have; it's your damn fault we're in this mess."
"Fine," Coriolanus snapped, though it all sounded reasonable, "This almost sounds like a real marriage." He said with a snort.
"Real or not real, it doesn't matter much," Lucy Gray said, "Because we need to sell it to everyone else we meet, so we may as well act like it."
"What do I get from this arrangement?"
"This, as often as you want," Lucy Gray teased, slowly rising up on him, and slowly lowering herself back down, "And I'll be in your corner too."
"If I ask you to cook and clean for me, will you?" Coriolanus asked, remembering what his mother did for his father, though it was so long ago he scarcely recalled.
"I'm not the most domestic, but I'll sing you sweet ballads as you fall asleep each night," She said, "And I'll teach you what I like." She took his thumb, licking it before taking it beneath her skirt, pressing it up against a nub, "Like this," She breathed brokenly, "Circles." She whispered.
Coriolanus got the hang of it at once, and soon enough, she was riding him, pressing against his hand, making little breathless moans. She felt so good around him, and it took all of his energy not to finish early, and to take her right to the edge of an orgasm.
"How badly do you want it?" He asked, taking his fingers away.
"Please, please," Lucy Gray nodded, frantically, "Please-."
"Please, what?" He asked, finding his footing to gain some control back.
"I need to finish, I'm so close," She pleaded. Coriolanus grinned widely, returning his fingers, and within moments he had her trembling around him, biting her lip as she tried not to cry out.
In the moments between, when her body went gooey and soft, Coriolanus flipped them, reveling in what it felt like to actually move within her for the first time, now in utter control of the situation.
Lucy Gray surged up, kissing him, and he tasted blood on his tongue, from her lips.
"Do you swear it?" She asked, "Do you promise?"
"I do, I do," Coriolanus agreed, nodding as he shoved her skirt up around her waist. Lucy Gray bit on his tongue, enough to draw blood from him too, and it mingled in their mouths.
"A blood pact. Stronger than any promise I've ever known," She said, staring up at him. Coriolanus was almost charmed by it, such a bold move. He swiped his finger across his own lips, before wiping hers, dragging blood down her chin and to her throat, where he experimentally pressed enough pressure against it to make her tense, but not stop him.
"Mine," He groaned into her ear as he grasped one of her legs, finding the angle that helped him press deep inside of her, "You're mine now, Lucy Gray," He mumbled, repeating, almost deliriously high.
"Yours," Lucy Gray agreed, clinging to his back.
That put him over the edge, and no amount of meditation could keep him from finishing as Lucy Gray whispered what he wanted to hear most.
He had the thought to stumble back, finishing in his palm instead of inside of her, haunted by horror stories from Grandmaam of bastard children.
Though, if they were married, was it really?
Still, Coriolanus let himself float down from his high, and he was pleased to see Lucy Gray laying where he left her, also gulping in air, face red and hot and bones relaxed and spent.
She rose up on her elbows, staring at him with half-lidded eyes.
"I think you're teachable, Coriolanus Snow." She teased, grinning widely, "I can work with that."
"If I remember, I had you begging for release," Coriolanus said, tugging her to him for a bruising kiss, "Or do I need to remind you again?"
His fingers found the crux of her legs, and he was surprised to still find her wet. She tried to protest, but Coriolanus managed to coax another time out of her, wanting to prove his mastery.
He intended to treat her right, and that included helping her finish until she was sore and tender.
Plus, he doubted he'd ever grow tired of the way she sounded when she came on his fingers or on his cock.
It was a better song than anything she sang for the crowds, especially because it was all for him.
They napped in the sun, curled against each other. For the first time since leaving, Coriolanus let his guard down, just a bit.
Just enough to ease into this moment with her, as though it may be actually real.
When they woke, Lucy Gray suggested a dip in the river with the tiny sliver of soap they had.
"I'm sticky," She said, so matter of factly, "And that seems to be your fault."
However, they left the river perhaps dirtier than when they entered.
But wasn't that what you were meant to do after getting hitched? And, they were young and hotblooded; it was like the universe had given them permission now, and both were eager to claim it.
By dusk, they were back on the trail again.
It wasn't long until they reached…ruins.
"District 13…" Coriolanus whispered, something pulling deep inside of him. It was because of the devastation here that his family lost all their money, everything poured into their nuclear program.
"Didn't think it existed anymore."
Coriolanus surveyed it, "Doesn't look like it does."
They turned, but in their stupor, a group of people had stealthily come behind. Coriolanus put Lucy Gray behind him, and her hand grasped for his, holding tightly.
"Who are you?" He demanded, "Tell me!"
"We could be your saviors or your worst nightmare," One of the men said, "But a better question is…who are you?"
Coriolanus inhaled once, trying to summon every ounce of him that had charmed and amazed before. He smiled, non-threateningly, putting his hands up as though letting down easy.
"Just two newlyweds seeking asylum," Coriolanus said, "My wife and I are just looking for a place to go. We mean no trouble."
"I don't like repeating myself," The man with the biggest gun said, "Who are you?"
"Ah, so sorry, I guess a gun in my face just has me a bit on edge," Coriolanus said, a round-sounding laugh, enough that you would never think him dangerous, "My name is Oleander and this is my wife, Linnet Rose. Why don't you bring us in, and we'll explain everything, and you'll see we're just two kids, looking for salvation?"
"They do look young," One of the other men whispered. Slowly, guns were lowered.
Why would two travelers hardly past the age of twenty be a threat to anyone?
"Check them for weapons," The first one said, but all they found was Lucy's gathering knife, confiscated quickly. And that seemed to be enough for them.
"You're both right. Officially, we don't exist. But officially…" The first man put a blindfold on their eyes, "Can't be too careful."
"Naturally." Coriolanus agreed.
Lucy Gray squeezed his hand.
He squeezed back.
He imagined himself shaking off his former life, becoming Oleander as he took each step forward. He tried to picture himself running away to marry the love of his life, desperate, and willing to do whatever was needed. Someone docile, someone careful, and someone who wouldn't make a fuss.
With each step, he felt like he was finding this character within him.
Beside him, Lucy Gray kept a firm grasp on his palm, never letting go.
They walked into the darkness together.
It was showtime.