This is Not a Love Song

by Frostfoot-Dreamleaf

Lucy Gray and Coriolanus never go to the cabin, so they never find the guns. They decide to travel together, but Lucy Gray isn't so easily fooled. Truth is; he needs her, and she needs him. Common ground has to be found somewhere. Speculation about if they traveled up to find District 13.

9. Chapter 9

Alma was waiting for him, having taken care of some smaller things while he was absent. She was with him so constantly that, even at fourteen, he trusted her much more than the rest of Thirteen's civil servants. Of course, he wasn't giving her the nuclear codes, granted, but he'd given her a test, just to see how she would take care of a few odds and ends.

She seemed relieved to see him.

"Anything of note?" He grouched.

"The usual," She said, sinking into one of his armchairs. He swallowed back a grin. He was glad to see her eagerness to take on the tasks he'd dolled out had dimmed. At fourteen, you felt like you were an adult, able to take on everything.

Reminding her of her place, as an accessory to his needs, felt appropriate.

Especially…

He thought of Gaul and scowled, swallowing back anger and regret and entitlement.

She was his to kill.

She'd snatched that from him.

He ought to have known better; all of it was a trap. She'd never just walk into death by his hand quietly. Gaul didn't know how not to scream over a quiet space.

"Did you do it?" Alma asked quietly. She had gleaned enough to put the pieces together of his past. It wasn't directly discussed, but Alma was smart. Coriolanus knew that she knew enough to be dangerous if he hadn't done such a good job of tying her to his success.

"Yes."

That was all he said. He didn't want to speak of how Gaul had killed herself instead. Let her believe he was that dangerous.

"What else happened?" She was able to read his expression.

"I ran into an old classmate of mine," Coriolanus said carefully, "Someone who was once…a friend."

"A…friend?" Alma's words held a question in itself.

"Well, in another life, she would have wished differently," Coriolanus said with a shrug.

"Were you happy to see her?"

Coriolanus sat back, contemplating. Finally, he shook his head, "That entire world is behind me," He said honestly, "There's nothing for me there right now."

"Was she happy to see you?"

Alma let the words linger in the air. Coriolanus didn't answer. Finally, Alma swallowed, drawing back her question.

"Sir, you look tired," She said cautiously.

"Are you trying to babysit me?" Coriolanus asked with something of a laugh. She shrugged but was blushing bright red.

"Thirteen is still running, President Rose," She said, "I think you, out of anyone, deserve a good long sleep."

Coriolanus raised his bones from his chair.

"Scram, Alma," He said, though it was semi-good-naturedly, "And take the day off tomorrow."

XXX

When Coriolanus returned home, he slipped as quietly as a shadow into his bathroom and scrubbed his skin until there wasn't even the ghost of Clemensia anywhere on him. He stayed until the water long ran cold, not caring that he'd used up four times the expected water allowance of a citizen, caught up in furious musings.

But when he dried himself off, staring at his face in the mirror, he told himself to leave it outside. Leave all those feelings between the roots of the trees, in the creek running between their ruins, and in the mist that lifted from the moss.

It wasn't worth taking it home with him.

As he lifted the covers, trying not to wake Lucy Gray, she rolled over.

"Oh, you're back."

It was as though he'd just run out to grab something from the store, not returned from an assassination plot.

"Yeah."

"Took you a bit longer."

"Yeah."

There was a long pause, "How was it?"

Coriolanus considered telling her about how Gaul had mischievously smiled as she fell back into the water, or how Clemenisa had kissed him, or how small and fragile her neck had felt underneath his gloved hands…but instead, Coriolanus rolled on his side.

"Uneventful."

Lucy Gray snorted, "Well, it's done now. Put it behind us."

XXX

It was easier said than done to put it behind Coriolanus.

By day, there was nary a crack in his facade, nothing to show he gave his little trip down to the Capitol a second thought. But by night, he rolled with insomnia, plagued by insecurities. Had he made the right move? Should he have killed Clemmie and left her somewhere or brought her body with him and buried it in the earth? Should she have been fertilizer for his poison, leeching from her body, never to be found again? Should he have done what she wanted to keep her quiet; he didn't think she held affection for him, not like Livia had. No, she just wanted to do it once. She was a Capitol wife, not bound to the usual things that would bother others, like infidelity. He was sure Reece was sleeping with half his staff too, that's just how it was. The whole of the Capitol lived for sin and vice, no matter how properly you may express yourself to be.

Should he have shown Gaul his face or kept his mask on, prodding her into the water with a detached coldness?

Should he have gone at all?

For days, Coriolanus was kept up by this damn trip, sure that he'd messed up somewhere and that it would all come crashing down…and when Arius sent him an urgent 'S.O.S' outside of their usual meeting time, Coriolanus was absolutely certain it was to warn him that Panem was coming for him.

He met Arius upside, on edge, and jittery. His fingers twitched at his sides, a gun shoved into his pocket. He wasn't going to go down easily if Arius and his rebellion goons had decided he was better dead than alive.

"What is this about?" Coriolanus snarled, nervous. The easiest way to make sure no one saw his terror was to posture, meaner than usual.

"Oh, man, Coryo-," Arius seemed stricken, "Something happened. We had to take someone out of the deep unexpectedly."

Relief sagged through Coriolanus's bones.

"That's it?" He gave a low chuckle, "An Ex-Panenite? Hardly worth an emergency ping," He scoffed. He wondered who it would be this time. There was a journalist who had been making some people side-eye his coverage recently. Or maybe a Peacekeeper who let some kind of things slip one too many times. Or perhaps one of the former Victors was running their mouth, young and dumb?

"No, you don't…" Arius pressed his lips together, "I'm sorry, Coryo, for not giving you a bigger head up but as it is-,"

"Hilarius, can't we come out now? It's so stuffy in there-,"

Coriolanus felt every inch of him freeze at once, his limbs as stiff as ice. His heart thudded fast in his chest, only increasing in speed as a stringy, long-limbed figure climbed out of the jet, pushing long blonde hair behind her ear as she took unsteady steps toward the earth, legs clenching from sitting awkwardly for hours.

Coriolanus wanted to speak, but the words wouldn't leave his lips.

Tigris?

"We're over here," Arius said, a weird half-smile on his face, something that Coriolanus took as an apology.

Coriolanus did feel like someone had just knocked the wind out of him. It had been fifteen years since he'd seen his cousin, his favorite person in the world. He'd dreamed so many times of finding her again, but it had always been on his terms when he could offer her so much more than shocked faces and half-baked plans. He wasn't ready for her, he needed more time, and all at once, he understood why this felt like an emergency.

But he didn't have time. He had five seconds, five agonizingly long seconds for Tigris to adjust to the moonlight that filtered through the trees and catch the two figures silhouetted in the dark.

Her palms grasped the side of the jet and for a second, Coriolanus wasn't sure that she saw him properly.

Then, her legs just collapsed out from under her and she slipped onto the grass, a long, wailing sob ripping from her throat.

But happy tears; she was grinning beneath it all, shaking and half-laughing between her hiccuping gasps of breath.

"Tigris-," The words spilled out like he'd been stalled, and right then Coriolanus was running towards her, grasping her shoulder and hugging her, like they were still toddlers and no time had ever passed.

"You…asshole!" She hit him with her fists, "I thought you were dead!"

"I…" Coriolanus swallowed, "I am, to Panem, at least. I couldn't contact you at first, and then when I could I just…" He couldn't meet her eyes, shame coloring his cheeks, "It just felt like it had been too long."

"And this is better?" She asked, wiping her eyes. Coriolanus' eyes flickered up to hers, unsure, and her face changed from anger to joy.

"Oh, get over here, you," She muttered, pulling Coriolanus with the crook of her arm, burying her nose into his hair, "You still smell the same, you know."

"You smell like Capitol," Coriolanus mumbled in her grasp.

She made a dismissive cough.

He pulled away, helping her stand. He wasn't ready to take her down yet. He wanted this moment to just be theirs. As soon as they were down there, he wasn't sure they could be cousins. But up here, they were together again, Tigris and Coriolanus against the world.

"So you found yourself in trouble with those that be?" He asked with a half-smile. He should have expected it. Tigris always had more issues with Panem than Coriolanus did.

"I did something dumb, but worth it," Tigris said, leaning on her elbows on her knees, staring at Coriolanus like she couldn't quite believe he was in front of her still.

"Oh?"

"Well, I've been a Capitol designer for the past ten years," She said, drawing little circles in the dirt with her shoe, "And it's been a dream, or it was. But it's so nasty there, and every year I just couldn't…stomach it." She admitted, breathing out a ragged sob.

Arius nodded in agreement behind her, a somber agreement.

"What did you do, Tig?" Coriolanus asked, a half-grin on his face. Whatever it was, she was born of the same dramatics he was.

"I find myself thinking of Lucy Gray a lot, you know?" Tigris said quietly, staring up at the stars. Coriolanus stiffened, shooting a look back to Arius, wondering if he'd hinted on the way over there… Of course, Arius shouldn't know with any certainty he was married to Lucy Gray either. He still kept her close to his heart, unseen in this world, in case…in case things went south. He didn't ever want her tied to his name, his rebellion, his downfall.

"Lucy Gray?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"I know everyone thinks you killed her, but I didn't believe it. I thought you both were killed. I should have known you made it out, but, well, I'm sure you think of her often too."

She looked at him, tilting her head and when Coriolanus answered, it was a long swallow, "You could say that."

"I just hope wherever she is…she's at peace," Tigris said, "She didn't deserve it. I'd had an issue with the Hunger Games before her, but Lucy Gray just opened my eyes to everything. And what thanks did she get?"

She thinks Lucy Gray died…

But why would she assume otherwise? Why would she think that Coriolanus, who had kept his feelings close to his chest, would have gone out of his way, done something absolutely out of character to stay with her, to keep her safe? He hadn't known how to explain his feelings to anyone then, certainly not Tigris. She assumed their romance to be manufactured or a waning fling. The idea that Coriolanus had given up everything he had for her must have never been a likely path.

It warmed Coriolanus, in some ways, that there had been so many that Lucy Gray had changed. That, maybe, on those days in Thirteen when Lucy Gray felt the most beaten down, she would get a strike of sunshine, and it would have been Tigris missing her, mourning her.

"Anyway, I've been upsetting my superiors with my 'gloomy attitude' for a while now. Got booted to District 12, the punishment district. The girl that was reaped…oh, Coryo, she looked just like Lucy Gray. Same dark hair, same fury in her eyes, same sting. So I knew I'd get in trouble, but I couldn't help it."

"...And?" Coriolanus leaned in, anticipation and curiosity scuttling across his skin.

"And I remade the dress that Lucy Gray wore in her reaping for the girl to wear; the rainbow one. And people started talking about Lucy Gray again, and how unfair it was that she almost didn't win because Gaul couldn't help herself and people are opening their eyes again, Coryo!"

"So you nearly started a revolution?" Coriolanus couldn't help a laugh escape his lips.

"I didn't mean to. Or maybe I did…" She sighed, "I don't know. Arius found me and gave me a card in case things got…dicey. I didn't think I'd need it. I'd ruffled a few feathers, but well…" She licked her lips, "The girl from Tweleve was killed in the Hunger Games today. Arrow through the neck. And someone started following me and I think…I think I was meant to be a warning," Her voice dropped down to a horrified whisper.

"You did the right thing, Tigris, you're safe here now."

Tigris lifted her head, staring at the trees, "Where is 'here'?"

Coriolanus stood, offering his hand, a grin curling on his lips, "District Thirteen, of course," He said, "Also not dead."

Tigris covered her lips, laughing again, a full-bodied rumble that had her bending over in disbelief.

"Wait," Coriolanus turned to Arius, scowling, "She said 'we'...can 'we' get off…" He turned his expression to the jet, "Don't tell me you went and got married, Tig?"

"Oh, nothing of the sort," Tigris waved her hand, "But, well…" She pressed her lips, leading Coriolanus to the gangplank. Up in the cargo hold, with blankets thrown over their shoulders as they slept on potato sacks were two white-haired kids, older than Elly but younger than Alma.

"Yours?" Coriolanus startled back, "But you said…you didn't…Tigris?" He asked with an accusatory glare.

"Look, it didn't mean it to happen!" Tigris hissed quietly, "But after you were assumed dead and Grandma'am died I just…couldn't take it. I went to a party, got a little high on Morphling, and well…afterward…"

"Oh, no," Coriolanus groaned into his hand, "Seriously?"

"They've been what's kept me going, Coryo," Tigris said sharply, "They've saved my life hundreds of times. I didn't have anyone else, I was all alone!"

"Do you know who their father is?"

Tigris gave a casual shrug, "It doesn't matter. I'm their mother and that's all they've ever known."

"So…you do…"

"I have ideas, not confirmations. But as I said, it's all for naught. It doesn't matter now."

Coriolanus peered in again, "Suppose not."

But it kept him dreadfully curious.

Arius helped pick one of the children up and put them unceremoniously in Coriolanus's arms, and Tigris took the other. They were almost too old to hold, Coriolanus thought, but they seemed so young all at once. There was a pureness in them that he recognized in Nu, something scarcely seen. But of course, any children of Tigris were sure to be good.

"They're ten years old," Tigris answered the unspoken question, "Won't let me hold them like this much longer, you know," She added with a sad laugh. She must have had them right after Grandmaam's death, Coriolanus realized, counting back. They were a year older than Ant. How crazy for him to think that they were older than his offspring, and he'd never known they were out there.

This is your niece and nephew…cousins to your kids…

Coriolanus stared at their full cheeks, dead asleep.

"Some sleeping pills," Arius confirmed quietly, "Didn't want them waking up scared."

"Who do I have?" Coriolanus asked quietly, gingerly…kindly.

"That's Aurelia," Tigris whispered, "And this is Veturio."

Coriolanus shot her a heartfelt look, "Really?" He asked.

Tigris shrugged, "I just missed you."

That much was obvious. His middle name was 'Aurelius' and Grandma'ams real name (something no one had known until they were teenagers) had been Veturia.

"I should be going…" Arius broke in, "Now that we're…settled?"

"Same time as usual?" Coriolanus confirmed.

Then, he took his family through Thirteen. This late, it was all but deserted. He wasn't sure where he was going to put them, but for right now, his office would do.

"In here?" Tigris asked uncertainty, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Won't…" She eyed the title on the door cautiously, "Won't the President mind?"

Coriolanus grinned, turning to laugh as he eased Aurelia onto one of the sofas, "I don't."

He turned to see Tigris rolling her eyes, "God, Coryo, I ought to have known…President before thirty, I'm sure…"

"Just missed it, but almost," He agreed with a wink.

"Wow, President…guess you got what you always wanted, huh?" She asked, sitting next to Veturio, running her fingers through his curly hair, and watching her children sleep.

Coriolanus went around his desk to where a photo sat. Actual photos were hard to come by, but he'd splurged to have this one developed.

"Are you happy, though?" Tigris asked, worried, "I imagine it must be…well, lonely in that role…and you've never taken to people well…always kept them at arm's length."

Coriolanus picked up the photo, "Tigris, I'm glad you're going to be sitting down for this." He was grinning. If Tigris was pleased to see him alive, she would be over the moon to find out Lucy Gray had made it.

Tigris looked up at him, confused, and took the picture frame from him, studying it like it held the answers to the universe. It was recent, taken just last year. Though, of course, Elly was very changed by this point, and no longer a newborn in Lucy Gray's arms, but probably would have been dropping bugs for the photographer to stomp around.

"Wait that's…" Tigris held it closer to her face, "That's…you?"

"Yeah."

"And…oh my god…" The photograph almost slipped through her fingers, "Lucy Gray?" She asked, her voice creaking, tears gathering in her eyes.

"In the flesh."

"So these…that must mean…" She looked up at Coriolanus, wiping her eyes, "You're a father, Coryo?"

He waved his hands, "Surprise?"

She stared at the picture, "I never thought…well, I thought I'd see the day, but I never thought you'd be…happy in the photo."

"Me neither," Coriolanus agreed, shocked by his own honesty.

"You left with her," Tigris pieced it together, grasping her heart, "Oh my gosh, you left for her."

She set the photo on her lap, bringing her hands together in front of her lips, her fingertips brushing her nose as she tried to blink back tears, "Tell me everything."

So he did. He explained how he and Lucy Gray had found thirteen. How they were just Linnette Rose and Oleander here, a girl escaping the Hunger Games and a former peacekeeper who loved her. How they'd built their lives under these faces. He talked about his kids, about how she was Aunt Tigris, and told her everything he could about them. They talked all night, swapping years of missed time.

As dawn rose, not that they could tell underground, but alerted by a ping, Coriolanusscolwed.

"What's the matter?"

"We can't be cousins here," He sighed, "They'd know something was up if I had a cousin from the Capitol that suddenly appeared. And your kids might understand…"

"...But we don't want any slip-ups. Coriolanus Snow needs to stay dead."

"Yeah."

Tigris drew him in for a hug, "This is enough. We'll still be friends. We always will be." She suddenly shot up, "Oh! Wait, I have something you may want."

She went and dug in one of the bags she'd taken with her.

When she came up, she was holding…a single rose, carefully wrapped in a potted plant, as fresh and red as he remembered.

"From Grandma'am's garden?"

"Couldn't let them die out."

Gleeful, Coriolanus grabbed her hand, "Come with me!"

He pulled her through the halls, still mostly empty, all the way to the gardens. While Tigris 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the look of it, he pulled her all the way to the back.

There was a spot outside his greenhouse that he hadn't known what to do with…but it sort of felt like it was just waiting for this.

"A rose for a Rose," Tigris giggled as he placed it from the pot into the ground, "I think Grandma'am would be happy to know that one day they'll be everywhere. And in a sense, her legacy is still here."

"Yeah," Coriolanus agreed, standing back, the red stark against the dirt and the greens, "Feels complete now."

"The garden, right?" Tigris nudged him, winking, ever-knowing.

Coriolanus nudged her back, "Right. The garden."

XXX

It didn't take long for Tigris and the twins to settle in.

Of course, the first day after waking up was tough for the pair. They were used to the glamour of the Capitol, so yes, this all must seem like such a let-down in comparison.

"Well, why don't you get Ant to befriend them?" Tigris suggested, "She's about their age, isn't she?"

Coriolanus choked on his water.

"Ant? Oh, god no! She's, well, she'd be the opposite of what we want. The 'unwelcome wagon', not to mince words."

"So she's you," Tigris surmised with a grin.

"I know that Nu is younger, but I think he's probably a bit more…friendly…" Lucy Gray agreed, "Plus, everyone likes Nu, so he'll be able to find some friends, easily. And Oak's youngest, Cab, is their age."

"The Finchlys are Good People," Coriolanus agreed, trying not to make a face.

"Oh, how terrible that is," Tigris rolled her eyes.

"Don't let this grumpy gills fool you," Lucy Gray leaned in, "Oak's his best friend."

"Didn't think you had friends, Coryo," Tigris let out a loud laugh.

"I don't ." He saw Lucy Gray lean back and wink to Tigris, "I don't!"

But it worked. Between Nu and Cab who introduced them to others their age, soon, they were just grateful to have friends. And that their mom wasn't going to be killed. At age ten, they were far more perceptive than Tigris thought either to be.

There was only one moment when Coriolanus was afraid that intelligence would bite them in their asses.

A few weeks after Tigris' arrival, one day when Veturio and Cab stopped by to pick up Nu on their way to the gardens for a round of kicking a rubber ball around, he scrutinized Coriolanus with a very concerned look.

"...What?"

"You look like a picture that my mom had on her bedside table," He replied.

"Oh?" Coriolanus pretended to chuckle, as though the idea was absurd.

"Uh-huh. Our Uncle Coryo that died years, and years, and years ago, before we were born," Veturio nodded.

Coriolanus stiffened, trying to breathe normally. What if he said something? What if he connected the dots? Damn it!

"But not exactly like him," Veturio declared after a long moment of examining him.

Perhaps it was that the picture of him that Tigris must have would have been when he was very young. Perhaps it was his military photo, the one with his head shaved. Either way, he looked similar, he was sure, but not exactly the same.

"That so?" Coriolanus gave a chuckle.

"Yeah, Uncle Coryo in the picture is much better looking than you."

"That's our President!" Cab nearly choked, looking at Coriolanus like he was about to throw them both to the wilds upstairs, "You can't say that!"

Coriolanus, relieved, only laughed, "I'm sure your late uncle was very handsome. Shame I never got to meet him."

Veturio scratched behind his ear, pouting, "Yeah, wish I had too."

And, that was simply that.

Sometimes, Coriolanus was glad that kids were so, so dumb.

XXX

Without having to worry about how Tigris was, time slipped by faster and faster. Perhaps it was because of how full he felt like his life was now, stretched out thin between his wife and children, between Tigris, between Oak, between the rebellion…time had always seemed to move so slowly, too slowly, like tree sap dripping from his hands. But sometimes now, Coriolanus felt like he blinked and another year had passed.

And then another.

And then just a little bit more.

When it came to Lucy Gray and Coriolanus' children, each was different and unique.

Ant was cunning and calculated and could charm anyone with a smile. Now that she was 11, Coriolanus was grappling with the realization that her terrible toddler years were hardly the worst to come. No, he was fully aware that her pre-teen years were just going to ramp up to her being a menace of a teen, something Tigris was eager to see.

"Serves you right," She would tease.

"I was perfect!" Coriolanus argued, "I never gave Grandma'am any stress!"

Tigris would always give him a look as though to ask if he was absolutely delusional.

Either way, Coriolanus and Lucy Gray were acutely aware of how challenging she was going to be for them. In class, perfect angel. At home…demon.

No inbetween.

And Nu was sweet and earnest and made friends with an ease that Cor knew Ant was jealous of, and never had a bad thing to say about anyone…and no one had a bad thing to say about him. He was nine and so gentle. Coriolanus would just stare at him sometimes and wonder if any of his DNA had made it into that child, and in the darkest parts of the night, he was almost sure that it truly was Sejanus reincarnated.

And then Elly? Well, Elly was…Elly.

At four, she was just as much a mystery as the day she'd been born. No, scratch that. Sometimes, Coriolanus felt like he was getting a grasp on his youngest daughter. She had a fascination with bugs, spiders, and snakes. She was still deathly quiet, only talking when she had something to say, and when she did, it was often nonsensical. She didn't seem to favor her mother or father but would sit by herself, her eyes wide and liquid and her eyebrows eternally furrowed in a deep state of musing that Coriolanus nor Lucy Gray could not break.

Her parents were not the only ones to notice. Everyone else was far too nice to say anything. Tigris, however? Well, they were basically siblings. She had no filter when it came to Coriolanus.

One day, when Coriolanus was eating lunch with Tigris, she turned to Coriolanus unexpectedly.

"Has it ever occurred to you that Elly-,"

"Is weird?" Coriolanus asked, not even giving a second glance up as he took a bite of his meal, "Yes."

Tigris leaned over and swatted his arm, "Coryo, that's terrible! Why would you say that about your own daughter?"

Coriolanus looked up, frowning. Since when did this become a 'pick on Coriolanus' session? Wasn't she about to say the same thing? Why was it bad when he said it. Wasn't he the only one allowed to?

Weird was, actually, the least offensive thing that he could say. He and Lucy Gray sometimes discussed all the things she was. He loved her all the same, but weird was hardly the worst of her qualities.

"It's not a bad thing, Tig," Coriolanus insisted, "Lucy Gray is weird too."

"Oh my god, you've made it worse."

Now unsure if he was going to get into a fight with his wife because Tigris was going to go and absolutely misrepresent it to her, Coriolanus locked his jaw, "I'm being serious. She's weird. Do you know what she said the did time we met on the platform? She ate the rose I gave her and said 'Tastes like bedtime.'"

Tigris' lip twitched with humor, "Yes, I've heard the story-,"

"Well, that's weird! Like mother, like daughter."

Tigris let a bubbling laugh escape, "You married her."

"Yes, I'm aware," Coriolanus said with a warm grin, "Weird is a compliment, to me. Wait…what were you going to say?"

"Just that…I dunno, she doesn't seem to favor either of you," Tigris mused, leaning on her palm, shrugging, "In looks, sure, she looks like both of you. A perfect mix. So you think she personally would be that. But Ant is you through and through-,"

"I know," Coriolanus couldn't help but smirk.

"-And Nu is his mother, right down to the way he plays music. Such a keen ear for melody, it's incredible. But Elly?" She wavered a hand, "I haven't figured out who she is. You might say Lucy Gray, but I just don't buy it. Lucy Gray isn't weird, she's just…unique. In a different way. Elly is…Elly."

"Well, I can confirm, she did come out of Lucy Gray. She's absolutely ours."

Tigris threw a wadded-up napkin at Coriolanus.

"I'm not saying that. I just…I wonder what she'll be like one day. Don't you?"

Coriolanus snorted, "Every damn day."

XXX

The first Victor Coriolanus brought in from the cold was also his last.

Not that, mind you, that meant the project was dead in the water.

Rather, more specifically, he was booted from having a hand in that.

"He's a psychopath, Coriolanus! A pyromaniac!"

"He's none of those things," Coriolanus huffed, "He's clever. He's determined. He's scrawny; exactly the type that we need here. He wants to survive…I want to help him," He said firmly, waving his drink around.

"He tried to gut a Peacekeeper. He's feral," Tigris sniffed, shaking her head.

"Easier for us to make him disappear," Coriolanus said, "It was handed to us on a silver platter. But he's not suicidal. Plus…" He thought of Lucy Gray, the wildness in her eyes, "A little feral in his blood is good for us."

"He hasn't talked."

"He's overwhelmed."

"You're too…" Tigris waved her hands around, struggling, staring at her cousin with frustration, "You enjoy the games too much."

"I don't," Coriolanus argued, as that was a bitter thing to say to anyone. It was a Capitol thing and Coriolanus was trying very much to be less of that, as much as he could.

"You do," Tigris said a sad smile on her face, "It's who you are. You see all these kids as just pieces on a chessboard. And you root for people, the Careers."

"The people that win. People that are worth our while."

Tigris leaned back on his chair in the office, biting her cheek. She'd become a part of the rebellion, naturally. Arius liked her. Better than Coriolanus, which he always made a point to talk about.

"Maybe, but you ignore those that are from lesser districts. The underdogs. This kid sets an entire arena on fire and, oh, you're just ticked pink."

Coriolanus gave her a tired sigh. Underdogs were exhausting.

"See! It's that face!" Tigris insisted.

"Oh, so you're going to pick 'em?" Coriolanus asked, rolling his eyes, "Not Arius. He doesn't live here. He doesn't decide."

"No," Tigris tapped her fingers on the armchair, "No, not me. I get far too emotional. I cry every time one of those kids dies. I'd want to save them all." Tigris raised her head, "What about Lucy Gray?"

"Absolutely not."

"Oh, Coryo, why not?" Tigris was up now, pacing, "She's gone through the games! She won; she's the first Thirteen Victor Transplant, you know? If she'd be able to clock a good choice, it would be her and-,"

"I'm not pulling her into this!"

Tigris paused, "Into…what?"

"This…" He waved between them, nervous now, "The rebellion. She has kids. Our kids. One of us has to…if things go south…"

"She's an adult. Shouldn't she decide?" Tigris argued, "Wouldn't she like to be a part of taking down the system that forced her into those terrible games?"

"Probably, but that's out of the question. We're not asking Lucy Gray-,"

"Asking me what?" Lucy Gray questioned with a humored chuckle, pushing open the door to the office, "Your son is causin' havoc on Nu's morality, Tigris," She said with a grin, "I think he's a bad influence."

Coriolanus choked on his water.

Tigris sighed, "Yes, probably." She leaned in, eager, "How is Emrys settling in?"

Emrys Avery, District 5, Fifteen. The newest winner of the Hunger Games and the most recently 'deceased'. Coriolanus's first pick.

As he said, a little stringy, growly thing. Won by making complicated fireballs and lit his opponents aflame. And even if he didn't talk, Coriolanus knew there was a brilliant mind, just waiting to be tapped. He'd been on the fence about bringing him in until he heard that when a Peacekeeper had tried to take his matches from him, he'd stabbed the bastard.

That seemed like the exact sort of person Coriolanus wanted under his wing.

He understood it; the claw, the desperation to do anything to survive. He'd been there, years ago.

He'd already been a bother to the Capitol. He probably had done the favor by bringing him underground. He'd do more good for them here in Thirteen than he ever would in Panem; if he hadn't been actually strung up for that stunt, Coriolanus could see a future of adrenaline-filled nightmares that pushed him over the edge before he was thirty.

But here…Coriolanus was sure they could get through to him, put him on a path to something greater.

He was lucky to be reaped.

"How do you figure?" Lucy Gray asked tiredly, "It's overwhelming as an adult. So much more so as a kid."

"You weren't that much older when we arrived," Coriolanus reminded her, filled with images of Lucy Gray in her youth, baby-faced and full of fire.

"Sure, but I had you, darlin'," Lucy Gray said, "And a will to live. Though I suppose if he's here, he does too. Now, ask me what?" She said, too smart to let that pass by her.

"You should pick the Victors," Tigris grasped her hands, "The other ones we bring in. Don't let your idiot husband do it anymore-,"

"Who's side are you on?" Coriolanus muttered furiously.

"-Hers, obviously," Tigris said with an impish grin, "Anyway, Lucy Gray, you know this game better than any of us. You know the good eggs when you see 'em, able to pick out which ones are good people that do bad things and the other way around."

Lucy Gray licked her lips, uncertain, "I don't enjoy watchin' those games…"

"Which is why it ought to be you," Tigris insisted, "You'd be doing it for the good of their lives, the good of Thirteen. Not who will pay you back in the future for such a boon." She glared over Lucy Gray to Corio. He threw up his hands.

"It's hard for me," Lucy Gray said stiffly, "To have to watch that."

"Goddamn, Tigris, could you be a bit more sensitive?" Coriolanus said, furious all of a sudden.

"It's not transactional for you. You see the kids." Tigris gave one last push, "Just…think on it, please?"

"I don't like this," Coriolanus shook his head solemnly. Lucy Gray's own games had been…early. From what he'd heard, by this point, it was much bigger. A machine of sorts. More gore, more spectacle. He had gotten away by word of mouth, not watching, but from the way Tigris was speaking…He didn't want to subject Lucy Gray to that anguish, all those nasty feelings she'd shoved down, ignored.

And the matter was dropped, for a time.

Emrys acclimated slowly. He was in between Oak's kid in age but molded himself to their daughter Pinn. She didn't know it, but they all came from 5 too. Or maybe she remembered, Coriolanus wondered. Maybe they had images, hazy ideas of a past life. Cab was far too young to recall, but maybe Pinn and Berry did. Maybe talking to Emrys, who always kept that wild look in his eyes, reminded her of something she didn't know that she had left behind.

Coriolanus was not going to bring up the matter to Lucy Gray.

It had time to breathe; it would be a whole year until another Hunger Games was started up.

She always had a keen sense of something tying her to it. No matter when the Reaping occurred if they changed it to a different week or switched it up, Lucy Gray always seemed to know. Sensed it, in an eerie way. When Coriolanus asked once, she told him she heard the cries of the innocent in her dreams, and he was never sure if she was pulling his leg or actually serious.

The next year, on the eve of the Reaping, without Coriolanus speaking a whisper of it, Lucy Gray still knew.

She was distracted, so much so that she cut her hand on a knife, something she hadn't done in years. As Ant rushed to get her a towel to wrap her hand, Lucy Gray just stared at the blood dripping onto the countertop.

"Do we need to get the medic?" Nu asked, hovering nervously, eyes wide, "Mama?"

"No," She said, breaking from her trance, though her eyes didn't leave her palm, "No, it's just a little cut, baby. Hardly anything."

Ant grasped her mother's hand, carefully wrapping the bandage around it, unbothered completely by blood. Elly poked her head around, curious (far too much so), while Nu sniffled. At ten, he was still so tender.

Coriolanus knew something was eating at her, but Lucy Gray was spurred to speak in her own time. No matter of pushing it earlier than necessary.

And she did; that night, as she stared at herself in the mirror, her eyes trapped in a faraway haze.

"It happened tonight, didn't it?" She asked quietly, "The Reaping. Twenty-eight years of it." Her voice cracked as she spoke.

"Yes."

He didn't talk about the hopefuls that he had already started to focus on, about those he thought would be dead within moments, or those that had screamed and cried and fought on the stage. She didn't need to know any of that.

She brushed her fingers through her hair, giving a heavy sigh, "I want to."

The words, so out of place, confused Coriolanus.

"Want to…what?"

She turned on her vanity seat, examining Coriolanus cautiously, "I want to pick the kids."

Coriolanus swallowed, "You don't know what you're putting yourself through."

"Oh, I know it," Lucy Gray said humorlessly, "I've lived it. I know exactly what's going on in their heads."

"You can't save all of them," Coriolanus said firmly, worried that Tigirs had put ideas in her head that would topple the revolution, such as mysteriously making every Victor vanish.

"Oh, Tigris isn't like us," Lucy Gray chuckled, reading Coriolanus like an open book, "All Capitol. Good heart, but can't imagine the bigger picture. She worked to free her own guilt. We're working on something much bigger," She said, determined, "We want to cut 'em at their knees, take their best."

"Yes," Coriolanus said, feeling hesitantly better about possibly agreeing.

"I won't enjoy a second of it," Lucy Gray said angrily, shaking her head, "Every moment will be torture, but it will remind me what our goal is."

"I don't like it."

"You don't have to, but should I remind you of all the things you've done I don't?"

Coriolanus winced, "No, not necessary." He licked his lips, "I don't want Arius to be in contact. I'll send those you want to pull."

"Deal," Lucy Gray said, "Durin' it, I won't be disturbed, though. I can't bring that out here."

"No," Coriolanus had done a very precarious job of keeping the knowledge of the games from his children, "You can't."

By the time the 29th games rolled around, Lucy Gray had a shelter to hide in, complete with all the feeds from the games. Arius didn't know who had taken over Coriolanus's role, he just knew her as the Lady of the Underground.

It felt fitting. Coriolanus's Persephone reborn. A girl who came in, stringing together flower crowns for residents, painting her jumpsuit, so full of sunshine. A girl who now walked in death, each year, and watched the contestants with a careful, scrutinizing gaze. What was Thirteen if not a graveyard of people who were not meant to still be alive?

A woman much more capable, something Coriolanus sometimes forgot, but was always swiftly corrected.

Coriolanus expected her to cry. But she never did. He wasn't sure if she would cry within the safety of the locked door, or if she'd used up all her tears on the Hunger Games long ago.

XXX

Lucy Gray was discerning with it came to her choices.

Year after year, Coriolanus expected her to come out of that darkened room and announce that this one, this Victor, must be saved.

But she didn't.

Year, after year, after year.

Lucy Gray would exit, spend the afternoon with Tawny, and then come home and just shrug.

"Not the right ones."

Coriolanus, though he itched to be in motion, kept himself back.

His wife was brilliant. When she found someone worth their time, she'd speak of it.

When she finally did pick her first victor, she was so sure of it that she came out early.

"There's someone, a boy," She whispered, her excitement rippling like lightning, "I think... if he wins…Oh, I hope he does."

She told him no other information, nothing else to take to Arius to pry for more information, such as what District he came from or what he could have done already to have Lucy Gray so impressed.

All he could do was wait in anxious anticipation, sure that this boy would die and Lucy Gray would be devastated, and he'd have to pick up the pieces. She'd never gotten so attached before, not even to those from District 12.

But, as she often reminded him, she was Covey. Those people held little fondness in her heart, just the poor nameless souls no different from District 10 or 8.

But no District 12 contestant had ever made it close to winning, and all Coriolanus could glean from Arius was that the District 12 tributes had died early on, so it couldn't be either of them that had Lucy Gray so strangely eager.

When Lucy Gray exited again, she was nearly bursting at the seams in excitement.

"He won, Coryo, he won!" She grasped his face and kissed him hard, relief rattling her bones.

"Who, darling, who?"

"His name is Beetee; he's from three and he's the smartest son of a gun I've ever seen," She said, "We have to-,"

"He has to want to," Coriolanus reminded her. They weren't in the business of kidnapping. Well, at least not adults. A lot of the careers hadn't seemed like they were bothered by the sudden fame, and if anything, were enjoying it.

"I'm sure he's a good one," Lucy Gray said, determined, "Just watch him."

Pressing his lips together, anticipating disappointment, Coriolanus passed his name along to Arius, and then they waited. They waited for Beetee to sneer at Capitol ways, to make himself unpopular, to espouse displeasure in the system.

Lucy Gray was adamant he would.

"He's like me," She said, "He understands the way things are. He's not blinded by the money they throw at him, making him feel like he's important. He knows the truth of things…just wait. He may only be seventeen, but he's clever. That's how he won, of course."

Arius kept tabs on him, and for a while, he holed himself away and did not come out for a long time, and Coriolanus was sure that they wouldn't snag him. And perhaps they wouldn't have if the Capitol had only left him alone.

Six months later, at the start of his Victory Tour, he snapped on camera, furious that the Capitol had made him a killer and that Flickerman had the fucking gall to ask him which of his kills he remembered most fondly.

When Thirteen and the revolution offered him a different way, a path to bring down Panem at the mere price of his life, Beetee didn't hesitate.

According to the Capitol Register news, Beetee Latire committed suicide just seven months after winning the Hunger Games, unable to cope with the stress and expectations of victory.

No one ever batted an eye.

XXX

Beetee was a most peculiar youth.

He stood in Coriolanus's office, eyes glued to the floor, a nervous tick at his fingers. Clutched in his other hand was a raggedy old suitcase, something from before the Dark Days. When Coriolanus had questioned what was with him, Beetee had opened it to show him an assortment of wires, tools, and mechanical items that Coriolanus thought looked like trash. But Beetee seemed quite protective of it, holding it close to his body as though Coriolanus was seconds away from snatching it from his hand. The only time he'd been able to get through something other than mumbles was when he was trying to describe their importance. Something in his eyes lit up and he was suddenly speaking faster than could keep up, hands making elaborate motions and whole posture straightening.

Lucy Gray was beaming ear to ear.

"Wait until you see the labs we have, darlin', and you can use them any time you want."

Beetee swallowed, pursing his lips together.

"What's the matter?" Coriolanus asked, unsure why the sudden attitude change.

"To better Thirteen, isn't that right?"

"Well, everyone has a role to play here," Coriolanus said with a mild chuckle, though in reality, he felt uneasy by Beetee's expression.

"If I m..m…may," Beetee used his shirt to clean his glasses, "What makes here better than there? What makes you different?"

"We don't send kids to their deaths, for starters," Coriolanus said hotly, narrowing his eyes. Beetee nodded, soaking in his answer. This kid seemed stringy. It was hard to imagine he'd killed out all the other tributes, but yet, here he was. Coriolanus guessed it was never a show of brute strength…

"We want to end Panem," Lucy Gray said quietly, "And we'll take any help you can give us, sweetie."

"And then what?" Beetee asked, "Are you going to take over, President Rose, just as bad as what came before?" He scowled, "How do I know I'm not making a deal with the devil?"

Coriolanus laughed, despite it.

"You don't," He said honestly, "But here, you never have to mentor kids, watching them all die. You don't have to play by the Capitol rules. And you certainly don't have to be their puppet."

"Just yours?"

"No," Lucy Gray cut in before Coriolanus could say anything, "You are here for you. And whatever that may entail."

Beetee gave a hum, some noncommittal sort of a sound. Coriolanus wasn't sure if he believed Lucy Gray or not.

"Am I to assume…" He pushed up his glasses on his nose, "That a certain late victor - Mr. Avery - is here too?"

"Clever," Coriolanus raised an eyebrow. It wasn't the wildest of guesses to make, but so many children were incapable of looking beyond their own noses, "He's made quite a life for himself here." After a transition period, Emrys had settled in. He still didn't talk often, and sometimes Coriolanus found him with a little contained flame, just watching it carefully, but otherwise, he'd acclimated like anyone else.

"He's a cook," Lucy Gray said, "And just married last year."

Beetee fiddled with a wire from his pocket, "Oh."

He didn't seem to know what to do with that information.

Over his head, Coriolanus sent Lucy Gray a look. Sure, he may be smart, but he wasn't much of a conversationalist, was he? Awkward, actually. Coriolanus, who had always charmed, didn't know how to charm someone who was the antithesis of social norms.

Before it became more awkward, the Rose children burst through the office door. He'd really only invited Nu, since they were the same age. It was so strange to think that Nu was also seventeen and blissfully innocent. They were at the age, he and Ant, where hiding the Hunger Games was fairly impossible, as people loved to gossip. But they didn't think much of it, as it didn't matter to them at all. It was just a sort of 'oh, well, that sucks' response before they moved on.

When Ant turned nineteen two years ago, Lucy Gray had broken down crying on her birthday, bothering her to bits by kissing her head while Ant struggled away, rolling her eyes.

The Hunger Games was nothing more than a boogyman to her, a faux scare tactic made to wet the sheets of little boys and girls. She didn't understand why her mother (and Coriolanus, secretly) were in near hysterics that she was safe .

Though, she was still hard-edged and ruthless. Coriolanus was sure if fates were reversed and they stayed in District 12, and if by some unlucky star looking down upon them, Ant was reaped, she wouldn't be an easy target. If anything, she'd probably rip the other tributes' throats out and use their blood for lipstick.

A gorey image, but quite apt.

Which is why he'd tried to dissuade Ant from arriving here as much as he could. It wasn't that Ant was unfriendly. She'd hidden herself well, just like her father. It was that her friendliness always came with strings. Beetee seemed smart enough to be able to see right through that.

And of course, Elly came two steps behind them, now gangly at twelve, desperate to be as cool and adult as her older siblings. Her birthday this year came with lots of mixed feelings…at twelve, Coriolanus couldn't imagine her going into the games. It was barbaric.

"Hey, you must be the new guy, I'm Nu!" Nu said, first in the office, "Have my parents been treating you well?" He was effortlessly friendly. He was able to get the guard down of anyone, and Coriolanus could see Beetee start to loosen his tensed shoulders, faced with the equivalent of a puppy dog so pleased to see him.

"Uhm-,"

"Hey, do you play any instruments? Sing?" Nu asked, scratching his chin, "I'm trying to get a band together to play for the Open Mic nights."

Beetee looked over Nu's head, almost stricken. Coriolanus remembered how staunch the Districts were about fun or merriment, music included. It must feel like such a shock to come here, to walk through the painted walls bright with murals, be shown the garden where families ate lunch and played ball games when it was warm, and to be invited to something so useless, but moral-boosting.

"I…uhm…I…" He stuttered, eyes widening.

"Don't scare him!" Elly said, shoving her brother away, "If you don't, that's okay too."

"I…" Beetee finally found his voice, warbling and nervous, "I can play the harmonica."

"Fantastic!" Nu punched the air, "The guys are all really great, you'll fit right in!"

He swallowed, "...You sure?"

"I mean, we're all seventeen-year-olds, so," Nu shrugged. Beetee looked down, frowning. Coriolanus knew what he was thinking. He wasn't really a seventeen-year-old, not after what he'd done.

"It'll be good to feel normal again," Lucy Gray said quietly, reading his expression, patting his shoulder, "Nu, why don't you take him to his room?" She suggested, "Let him settle in. He must be exhausted."

Beetee gave a long sigh, "Yes I am, ma'am." And both Coriolanus and Lucy Gray knew he wasn't just talking about the journey. It must be so weird to finally settle yourself, and remind yourself that you were safe.

If Coriolanus thought back to Lucy Gray, it was years before she stopped looking over one shoulder, expecting a monster to be lurking in corners, waiting to pounce.

As he was moving through the door, his suitcase came unlatched. Like a waterfall, wires, bits, and bobs spilled onto the floor. It was like a tsunami taking over his entire office.

"Oh, no!" Nu said, going to grab things, but hesitating, not wanting to break anything, "Uh-,"

Beetee was blushed brightly, shaking more than ever. He began using his arms to push as much as he could into his suitcase, but the latch was done for, having given up after years of use.

"Uhm…I…hmm…" Nu looked around, "Too bad I don't have my guitar case with me."

"Here," Ant rolled her eyes, dumping her purse onto one of Coriolanus's couches, handing a canvas bag to Beetee, "Just bring it back, okay?"

Beetee clutched it uncertainty, jaw pulled into a frown, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Nu said, looking up from the ground, "You okay there, Ant?" He teased. Ant had never quite learned what 'sharing' was.

"Dad told me to make a good first impression about the types of folks in Thirteen," Ant said, "I'm not giving it to him. It's just a loan."

"Thank you, thank you," Beetee muttered, sheepishly holding out the bag for Nu to scoop his bits and bobs into.

Ant glanced at the grease stains left on the ground and scrunched her nose, "Wash it out before you hand it back, will you?" She said as she made a wide step over the pile for the door, "Mom, are we still meeting for lunch tomorrow?"

"Of course, darling," Lucy Gray said. Now that Ant was above the age of maturity, she'd moved into a dorm with Jane. Coriolanus was pretty sure Nick Leeg was going to propose to Jane, so he wasn't sure where his daughter would go next. She was well-liked but didn't seem to hold a close friendship with anyone else, unfortunately, they were just too spread thin on rooms to allow someone to have it alone. Even the fact that Jane and Ant were only two people was extremely unusual, but being the firstborn of the president had to come with some perks.

"Sejanus, don't be late to work - your boss knows where we live," Lucy Gray said sternly as she left, after giving Coriolanus a kiss on the cheek. Things like that felt instinctual at this point, a carefully crafted facade of their relationship perfected by this long together.

"Aww, Momma," Nu whined, wincing, "It's so boring ."

Nu was internshipping with the military with plans to start a step above the regular enlistments. Coin had thought perhaps Nu would be as strategic as his father, but Coriolanus knew that wasn't the case. Too bad the only thing Nu wanted to do was play music with his band…not exactly a worthy career. He'd burned through the rest of his job options. Secretly, Coriolanus helped a bit of a strong hand from Coin may set him straight. In some ways, Nu was still so much a child, but in so many other ways, it was obvious he was on the cusp of adulthood.

"Not another word," Lucy Gray shook her finger at him, "If you are late one more time, you can kiss your guitar goodbye!" She made an 'I'm watching you' motion with her fingers as she dipped out of the room backward, to which Nu pouted pathetically in her direction.

"C'mon, Nu! Let's show Beetee his room!" Elly said, tugging on Nu's shirt. When Beetee glanced over at her, her eyes went wide and she stared straight at the ground.

Oh great.

No, Coriolanus wasn't ready for this yet.

Ant hadn't dated much, finding herself disinterested in the same way Coriolanus had been, until Lucy Gray. She was older than he was when he'd met his wife, but the pool of possibilities was far smaller, of course. It was perfectly fine with Coriolanus that she preferred her loneliness.

Nu was a bit of a ladies man, suave and friendly. Lucy Gray claimed he got it from her. No serious girlfriends, or boyfriends (Coriolanus had seen him kiss a boy once. He surely didn't care, as long as Nu wasn't an idiot about any of it, boy or girl) yet.

But Elly? No, she was twelve, far too young to have any crushes on anyone.

Luckily, Beetee winced. He was five years her junior, unlikely to reciprocate, and if anything, see her as Nu's annoying little sister.

Good.

And not wrong; Elly was really annoying sometimes.

After Nu and Elly left, Elly blabbering all about the greatness of District 13, Coriolanus settled into his desk. He buzzed for Alma.

Alma, now twenty-four, is very much a clever young adult. As Elly was right about the age where she could watch herself (not that either of her parents trusted her to), she was needed as a babysitter. Naturally, Coriolanus had hired her as his secretary, wanting to keep her close. In reality, she was so much more.

She was straddling bigger jobs of late, most recently helping coordinate Beetee's arrival. She was a good middle-person for Lucy Gray concerning the rebellion since she was almost aggressively against Coriolanus having a part in it. She also tended to Lucy Gray during the weeks she'd watch the Hunger Games, making sure that Coriolanus could focus on his district, and assured that his wife was also taken care of.

Alma arrived within minutes. She'd been given a preferential dormitory close to the President's office, though if anyone called him out on it, Coriolanus would deny it.

"He seems…" Alma furrowed her brow, "Smart." It wasn't an overwhelming seal of approval. She'd been just as mystified at Lucy Gray's choice but was too clever to say anything bad.

"We'll see if he turns into a good investment," Coriolanus snorted, "On that topic, you're his person now, alright?"

"Sir?"

"Whatever he needs, you provide it. But push him, kindle his intelligence. See what we can really do for us."

If Alma was frustrated by her minding job, similar to babysitting, she didn't show it, "Of course, sir."

"He's settling in. Why don't you invite him to eat dinner with you tonight?" Coriolanus suggested lightly, "Give him some friends other than Nu."

"Is there something wrong with Nu and his friends?"

"No, of course not. It's just good if he feels fully accepted."

"Right," Alma nodded, drinking in Coriolanus's instructions, "And should I tell him tonight that I'm…" She tilted her head, "His…his?"

"No," Coriolanus rubbed his chin, "Let him ease in a few days. We wouldn't want the dinner invite to feel inauthentic." He snapped his fingers, "Invite Emrys too. It might do him good to see a well-acclimated former Victor."

"He's our only one," Alma reminded with a wry smile.

"Well, sure, but let's not get into semantics," Coriolanus said, frustrated by her tiny smirk.

Alma gave a long sigh, "Alright, sir. Is there anything else?"

"Are my flowers watered?"

"As of this morning."

"In that case, you're free to go," Coriolanus said, "We'll meet tomorrow and discuss next year's Hunger Games."

"Sure," Alma said.

"And report back how it goes with Beetee for dinner!" Coriolanus called after her as she left.

Alma was at the age where it would be only natural for her to find someone and start settling down. Most District 13 citizens had met their future spouse by the age of 22 and were married by the age of 26. If they were lucky enough to get pregnant, most children came soon after.

Whoever Alma married, Coriolanus would need them to be useful to him. Alma was indespiensbie. He couldn't have a husband who didn't believe in the revolution or would be frustrated by her long hours scheming with Coriolanus, or worse, have wavering morals about poison and the like. He'd never brought it up directly, but Coriolanus was even more invested in who Alma chose, perhaps more than his own children.

He'd held out a hope that Alma might find a connection with Emrys, but Emrys was very seriously dating Oak's daughter Pinn. If it were anyone else, Coriolanus would have no qualms about breaking up that relationship in favor of Alma, but perhaps he had grown soft here. Oak was just over the moon, prattling on about how he expected a wedding soon whenever they hung out socially. Coriolanus figured that Oak had done enough good for Coriolanus that he could let him have this, just as a one-time courtesy.

So his next best idea was Beetee. Yes, there was some age difference between them, but Beetee was hardly a child. He was a Hunger Games victor, and it seemed he'd been very mature even before that.

In his head, Beetee - if he proved useful - would be the perfect husband for Alma.

It would benefit Beetee too. There was no greater motivator to do well for your district than to have a wife from there, and possibly one day children. It had done exactly that for Coriolanus, what with the good of thirteen also coinciding with the good of his wife and children.

Kill two birds with one stone, Coriolanus nodded to himself.

His match-making daydreaming was interrupted by Elly barging in, going straight for Ant's purse contents.

"Why can't she come go get it herself?" Coriolanus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She said she'd let me have her dessert for a week if I did," Elly shrugged, pushing it into a little box.

"Is Beetee doing well?"

"Yeah," Elly said, "Nu's showing him the band. He's really excited. I made sure he felt welcome. I gave him a gift."

Coriolanus winced, "It wasn't a snake, was it?"

It's like Elly was a goddamn snake charmer. Any snake that slithered down to Thirteen was drawn to her, and she was able to curl them around her arms like they were little toys. It was absolutely unnerving.

Not everyone was as in love with snakes as Elly was. In fact, most were downright hateful of them, and Coriolanus couldn't blame them. Elly was not…particularly popular. Not like Ant was, even if it was all an act. Not like Nu was, who was genuinely friendly. Elly was perfectly fine in her little bubble of self, though.

"No," Elly said, and Coriolanus relaxed a bit. He wasn't sure how Beetee would respond to a snake as a gift, "It was a scorpion."

Coriolanus gave a very long sigh.

"And where'd you find that?"

"A few weeks ago," Elly said, coming to interrupt her father, sitting on his desk, her legs swinging. She was grinning ear to ear, thrilled to pieces, "I've been keeping it under my bed. I didn't think I was going to give him up, but Beetee deserves a friend."

Coriolanus didn't think he had the heart to tell Elly that it was likely the scorpion would be killed by Beetee's roommates or released back into the woods.

"That's very kind of you."

It was the thought that counted, right?

"He seemed surprised. Didn't know what to say," Elly said, frowning, almost making that connection, but shrugging it off right before it clicked, "Whatcha doing?"

"Boring work," Coriolanus said, cracking a smile. Ant kept everyone at arm's length. It had been years since she'd curled up in her father's arms. Nu was a Momma's boy, everyone knew that. But Elly? She adored her father, following him around like a puppy. Perhaps she liked that Coriolanus always treated her as normal. He just shrugged off her oddities. Secretly, he was dreading the day she'd consider herself too grown up to hug her father or come talk about all the snakes and bugs she'd discovered this week.

He had such a soft spot for her. He loved all his children in different ways for different things. He loved that Ant had the sharpness of his mind. He loved that Nu was a miniature Lucy Gray and - though Nu would say he was lying - he loved hearing him play music. He loved Elly for her strangeness, for the unabashed way she lived life, never caring what others thought. Perhaps he liked she was a mystery, both he and Lucy Gray still trying to riddle out which of them exactly she favored more. Every time he was sure that she was growing up just like Lucy Gray, she'd do something very Snow-like, or something that would confound both of them.

Life with Elly was never, ever boring.

But Coriolanus had decided a long time ago that boring was, well, boring.

Living this way was so much better.

"You know what?" Coriolanus said, pushing his paper aside, "I think we should go upstairs," He said, grinning.

Elly gasped, "Really?"

"Yep," Coriolanus said, "Just us."

"How many bugs can I bring back? How many rocks? What about dirt?" Elly said, re-dumping Ant's things on the couch to fill her own sack with items from the woods.

"No bugs, three rocks, and one jar of dirt if it's in a container…" He anticipated Elly's next question, "And two sticks."

Elly nodded seriously, "And three plants?"

"Sure, kiddo, three plants." He winced, "But nothing deadly!"

Elly pouted.

Up in the woods above Thirteen, Coriolanus leaned against a tree, watching run through the bushes, hands dirting as she dug around in the ground, calling her dad over with explosive excitement for every little fly, beetle, or centipede she found.

And, unsurprisingly, she found three snakes, which Coriolanus made her put back at once.

He never wanted this feeling, this idea of being so beloved by Elly, to end.

That night, he insisted the family go to the Canteen for dinner, mostly to checkup on Beetee. Lucy Gray sighed at Elly's dirt-smeared state, as Elly carefully arranged her spoils on her desk, re-ordering them obsessively until it was just right and seated amongst her other strange finds, but behind her daughter's back, she grinned.

At the Canteen, Beetee was smiling. He looked much less nervous.

And Alma, dutiful to a tee, was sitting right next to him. But she didn't seem absolutely annoyed to be doing so. She was telling a joke to him, enjoying herself.

"What are you grinning about?" Lucy Gray asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," Coriolanus lied.

He could move the wills of entire nations. Being a matchmaker ought to be laughably easy.

Coriolanus anticipated the completion of his plot within three years with a marvelous wedding to match.

XXX

Coriolanus did turn out to be right.

Mostly.

Sort of.

He just, well, didn't get the bride correct.

Three years later, after Beetee had very much carved himself into District 13's tapestry, already providing his worth with technological marvels far beyond the expected ability of a young man, he came to Coriolanus's office, just as nervous as that first day.

"Mr. President Rose, I, uhm…" He still had a piece of wire in his fingers, twirling it. It twisted in his sweaty hands, and Coriolanus watched as he turned it this way and then that way in between his stuttered words, "I would like to inform you that I've proposed to someone."

Coriolanus let out a wide, elated smile.

He assumed, at this point, that his scheming had been fruitful. He was surprised Alma hadn't given him a heads-up…she spoke with Coriolanus about many things, almost like they were friends. And, as the years passed, she sort of was. She was the only one, apart from Lucy Gray and Tigirs (and neither truly counted) that he could be utterly candid with. As they both grew older, the distance in age between them mattered less and less as Alma went through the same life experiences, no longer a too-eager teenager.

Maybe Alma wanted to surprise him, he mused.

"Of course, Beetee. I'm so pleased to see you settling in here, putting down roots."

He grinned, half-way embarrassed. Underneath it was a confidence Coriolanus rarely saw. He'd seen that look on Beetee a few times; whenever he introduced Coriolanus to a new invention. He was very sure of his skills, and rightfully so. He never stuttered when he was showing Coriolanus how something worked or pushing its usefulness, and was almost forceful.

Well, good for Alma, Coriolanus decided. He wanted Beetee invested in her. She deserved that. Even if this match was manufactured, he did want a happy life for her.

"Thank you, sir," Beetee said, "We're over the moon."

"Well, let me just grab a marriage certificate-,"

"Oh, there's no need. Alma's already done so."

Coriolanus paused, his lip twitching with humor. Technically, Alma could also sign off on marriages. He wasn't saying 'no' to most. He'd started this rule so he could be the first to know when his plans with Beetee happened, actually, but he figured a system of tracking was good either way.

Still, Alma ought to know that she couldn't sign off on her own license. That would seem like a misuse of power!

"I've come, I guess, as a standard courtesy." He said, holding his head high. Just as Coriolanus was about to point out that he would need to sign off on Alma's certificate, Beetee waved someone in from the hallway, someone waiting.

Ant came in, and at first, Coriolanus was sure there was a mistake, or she was here coincidentally for some other reason. But when Beetee grasped her fingers, placing a kiss on her cheek and Ant blushed , Coriolanus realized he was sorely mistaken.

His entire mind shut down.

"You're asking to marry…my daughter?"

"Well, not so much asking," Ant said firmly, "Mom's already given us your permission."

He stared at Ant, uncomprehendingly, "What?"

Ant sighed, rolling her eyes, "Mom was sure you'd blow a gasket. I mean, you're taking this much better than I expected-,"

"Beetee, please excuse us," Coriolanus said sharply, cutting his daughter off, "Chantilly and I need to have a family talk."

"He's family, Dad," Ant responded snottily.

"Yet to be seen."

"Oh, for the love of-," Ant threw her hands up, "At least I didn't come up here asking to marry Nick Leeg!" She crossed her arms, making a face. She would never say it in front of her best friend, Coriolanus knew, but Ant thought Nick was still an idiot. Something Coriolanus very much agreed with.

Small miracles, he supposed, but still, Coriolanus was…he was…he didn't even know what he was, frankly!

"It's alright," Beetee laughed, "I'll find you tonight. Talk with your dad."

Ant leaned in as he pulled away, pouting, "Love you, Bee."

Beetee grinned, "You too, Ant."

Coriolanus felt like barfing.

He stomped back to his house, slamming the door open to find Lucy Gray painting a dress with careful brushstrokes. Ant was behind him, talking fast about a lot of things Coriolanus did not want to know about.

Lucy Gray looked up, eyebrows raising as she saw the two of them.

"Went well, I take it?" She asked.

Coriolanus caught sight of of what she was painting on the dress; bees and ants . He'd seen her working on it, but he hadn't…connected the dots.

Nu was nervously in the kitchen, lingering.

"Why is he here?" Coriolanus asked, "Don't you have a job?"

"Moral support," Nu said with an uneasy smile, "Took the day off."

"You did say it was a family discussion, Dad." Ant parrotated back, annoyingly.

"How long have you known?" Coriolanus asked Lucy Gray, feeling betrayed.

She shrugged, getting up to hug Ant. He'd always thought that Ant went to him when she needed something. Since when was she leaning on her mother instead? Was he being replaced?

"Shrugging isn't an answer…" Coriolanus sputtered, "Where…where has this even come from?"

Nu came, setting tea on the table, sending his father a strange look, "It's been like… so obvious , Dad. Ant's been almost nice lately with Beetee around."

Ant hit his shoulder, "You're supposed to be backing me up, Sejanus!"

"I am," Nu threw up his hands, "I mean, didn't you notice when you were at the band concerts that Ant was just hovering around, making stupid lovey-dovey eyes at Beetee?"

Coriolanus locked his jaw. No, of course, he hadn't. He'd been trying to push Alma onto Beetee.

"I did not, that's dramatic," Ant said, stiffening, "He fell for me first."

Nu sickered, "Alright."

"How long has this been going on?" Coriolanus asked again, sourly.

"Whatever I say is going to make you upset," Ant said, wincing, "If I saw a low number, you'd be furious at me, saying that I can't possibly know what I want - no matter that you and Mom got married way younger-,"

He and Lucy Gray exchanged looks. It had never been discussed as a family the real reason they were married. He was sure his children had some semblance, at this point, that he was not actually Oleander Rose and she was not Lin, but the exactness of what they knew was…fuzzy.

"-And if I say basically forever, you'll be angry at yourself that you didn't see it."

"I'd still like to know," Coriolanus said, trying to let his anger slither away. This was his daughter, his first-born. For all the times he stewed about how much he'd hated his father, was this not starting down the exact same path?

"Since that first day," Ant said quietly, "In some form. I suppose it took us a good seven months of dancing around each other for something to happen." Ant leaned back to look at her mother, "Mom says when you know, you just…know. Same she felt about you. And I do 'just know'."

Coriolanus inhaled, "Does he treat you well?"

"Of course," Ant said, leaning across and pulling her dad into a hug. But Coriolanus already knew that. Beetee was respectful, clever, empathetic, and everything a father should want for his daughter. He just wished he wasn't the last one to know.

He wasn't…on board, but, well, he was starting to think he could come around to the idea of it, with a bit of time. Hopefully, Ant would be agreeable to a long engagement.

Also, he'd have to have a firm talk with Alma…and Lucy Gray…and Nu…

Coriolanus didn't like not knowing things. Especially things about his family.

Their front door unlocked, Elly returned from school. At fifteen she still looked so much like a child instead of an adult, and especially with this revelation, Coriolanus wanted her to stay young forever. Her hair, growing darker and darker each year to look more like Lucy Gray, was pulled in an intangible mess of curls hastily thrown into a ponytail. She looked at her siblings, blinking, "Did I forget we had family dinner?"

"Ant's engaged!" Nu said, unable to keep a good thing a secret, "To Beetee!"

Just as Coriolanus was about to argue that, no, she wasn't, not until he agreed (and, he just needed a few days, that's all), Elly's bookbag dropped to the floor with an echoing clatter. Lucy Gray was standing, sensing something was off, but no one was quick enough as Elly threw herself at her older sister with a feral scream.

"You bitch! How could you!" She cried, clawing and screaming.

"Oh my god, what are you doing?" Ant said, battering away her nails from her face, "Stop it, El!"

"I. Liked. Him. First!" Elly wailed, a whirlwind of limbs thrashing.

"Elysia Indigo!" Lucy Gray thundered, but it took both Nu and Coriolanus grasping Elly and yanking her back. Ant stared at her younger sister with unbridled fury, a long gash down her cheek.

"Oh, be for real!" Ant spat, "You're my baby sister. Of course, he'd never go for you ."

"Chantilly-," Coriolanus groaned, trying to settle Elly.

"What?" Ant turned, her face pinched, "I'm the one who was…assaulted, Dad!"

"She…takes…everything," Elly was crying so hard that she was gasping her words out through tears, "Just because she can! I can't have anything in this house!"

"Oh, honey," Lucy Gray said, extracting Elly from their grips, pulling her underneath her chin, "Shh…darlin', heartbreak sure stings…"

"She actually loves him, El," Nu said quietly, "I know, shocking right?" Even though he was trying to keep the peace with a joke, as always, Elly looked at him with such a look of betrayal, something deeper than how Coriolanus felt. Apparently, he wasn't the only one shocked by this news. It didn't make him feel better, though, that Elly was just as blindsided. He didn't ever want her to feel such pain, such heartache. Not just of not knowing that your sister was marrying your first crush, but that she was left out…that no one thought to tell her.

"You knew?" Elly asked, looking at Nu. There was no anger in her voice, just…hurt, "I thought…" She swallowed, still half-hiccuping, unable to keep herself steady, "I thought you were on my side."

"It's not about sides," Nu said, wincing hard.

Elly wiped her cheeks, detaching herself from her mother's embrace. She didn't even look at Ant or Nu as she dragged herself into her bedroom. There was silence for a moment, until Ant went to the mirror in the living room, pulling Lucy Gray to her side, worrying that this would leave a scar. Nu wrapped his arms around himself, staring at the ground.

Coriolanus was spurred to movement. He quickly took two steps to Elly's room. She was curled up on her bed, staring at the wall.

"Can I-,"

"I'd rather be alone, Dad," Elly whispered, all tears dried from her face.

Coriolanus lingered.

He wasn't sure if he should let her be or insist on sitting with her.

In the end, quietly, he left her.

Later, that night, as she and Lucy Gray got ready for bed, Lucy Gray leaned across their mattress, "What's on your mind, lover?"

"I can't have a married daughter," Coriolanus muttered, shaking his head, "I'm only 47."

"Only?" Lucy Gray raised an eyebrow, "That seems quite an appropriate age."

"I'm young at heart," Coriolanus replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, at least you're not also becoming a grandfather right now. Maybe at 50."

Coriolanus stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening, "Grandfather?" He choked.

"Well, what do you think married couples do?" Lucy Gray asked with a laugh, "I know you're not on board, but well…I'm ready for a little baby to dote on again."

Coriolanus shook his head frantically. Lucy Gray smirked at his expression.

"If it does happen, you'll have nine months to get ready."

"I just…" Coriolanus swallowed, "I don't get it."

Lucy Gray pulled back the covers, "I know you know how this works."

"No," He rubbed his eyes, "Not… that ." He winced hard, "What is her ploy?"

Lucy Gray blinked at him, her eyes owlish in her confusion, "Ploy?"

"Is it to get a better room, because married couples get premier picks? I know she hates her dorm-,"

"She loves him, Coryo," Lucy Gray said slowly, staring at Coriolanus like she couldn't quite believe him.

"Does she even know how to love?"

Lucy Gray hissed in, "How could you ask that?"

"I'm not…" Coriolanus swallowed hard, "I'm not being mean, I'm being serious. Ant is…" He stared at Lucy Gray, " Me . Like someone copied me exactly, just into a girl. So I just want to know if she…"

He trailed off, feeling angry.

"As much as she's you, she is me too…" Lucy Gray tilted her head, "But between you and me, I think you're a bigger romantic than you want to admit. You're quite good at big gestures, you know."

Because I don't know how to tell you with words that I love you.

Coriolanus drew in a breath, forcing a grin that felt…fake. "Can't have Thirteen thinking that their president doesn't dote upon his wife."

He couldn't even say it, in a joke.

That he doesn't love his wife…that he doesn't worship the ground she walks on…that he wouldn't do anything for her.

Lucy Gray kissed his cheek, "I know this is sudden for you, but I would never let our daughter marry someone unworthy. Beetee will treat her well."

"I know," Coriolanus said, feeling his fight drain away, "Did you know about how Elly felt?"

"No," Lucy Gray shook her head, "That girl keeps things tight to her chest. I'm worried about it."

Coriolanus swallowed.

"Me too."

However, when Elly came out of her room two days later, she had nothing but a smile on her face. She apologized to Ant.

"I was just being a little dramatic. You're right, I don't want to date him anyway."

"Are you sure?" Ant asked, hesitantly, like she was sure Elly was going to leap at her again, "You seemed really upset."

"It was just a stupid puppy-dog crush. He's just always been so nice to me," Elly said, "I'm really happy for you."

In the corner, Coriolanus knit his eyebrows, "Do we believe this?" He asked Lucy Gray.

"If she's lyin…" Lucy Gray shrugged, "We'll never know. We'll just have to keep an especially close eye on her."

So they did. Lucy Gray and Coriolanus and Tigris and even Alma, who Coriolanus encouraged to draw Elly into the things she could do, just to keep his youngest daughter busy and with the hopes if she was upset still, she may confide in her old babysitter.

But, Elly would never show another hint of jealousy or anger as it led up to the wedding.

And everyone let their guard down.

XXX

Beetee and Ant immediately announced the news.

After that, they were downright insufferable.

One such day, when they were at a Jam Session, Coriolanus spotted them with their fingers intertwined underneath the table.

He scowled, slumping.

He was still coming to terms with it all. It just seemed a little fast to be so publically together, in his opinion.

"What's that face for?" Lucy Gray leaned in, "You look like you just ate a lemon, darlin'."

"Oh, look at that," He nodded toward Beetee and Ant's table, "They're holding hands."

"And?"

"I want him dead," Coriolanus said dryly.

Lucy Gray swatted him.

"Big baby, no you don't."

"Sure I do," He shot back, just to be contrary.

But secretly, of course not. Just was just glad someone was going to take care of Ant in the same way Lucy Gray had looked after him for all these years.

XXX

Two weeks before the wedding, Coriolanus got an emergency ping from Arius.

Unsure what could be such a concern, what with Tigris being here now and Gaul dead, Coriolanus tracked upstairs, frustrated. He had a lot on his plate! Of course, the first daughter of the president was owed the most fantastical wedding Thirteen had ever seen; he had so much to do it was insane!

As he came upon the clearing he'd spent so many cold nights, waiting for Arius, waiting for children or supplies or passing off poisons, there was someone standing there that he didn't recognize.

"Who are you?" Coriolanus asked sharply, fingers tensing on his weapon, ready to shoot.

"I know it's been said I favor my mother more, but c'mon, you don't see the family resemblance?" The figure was tall, but a little stout, with red eyebrows but dyed blond hair.

Coriolanus kept his fingers on the gun, but hazarded a guess, "Plutarch?"

He'd never thought to ask who Arius had married (didn't see the point) but did remember a red-headed girl two years their senior, someone, he could see the same features in this man. But he was still Arius; it was in his eyes.

"President Snow."

"It's Rose," Coriolanus said, instinctively.

"Right," Plutarch nodded. He seemed almost nervous, "I, uhm, just wanted to introduce myself…"

"I know who you are."

Arius never shut up about him.

"Sure, but, professionally…" He exhaled hard, tears gathering in his eyes. Coriolanus watched him blink fast, "My dad, he's-,"

"Dead."

Coriolanus guessed it before Plutarch could say it.

Plutarch gave a long, tired, nod. It couldn't have been that long ago; he had seen Arius alive and well a month ago. Plus, the agony still clung to his son, cloaked in sorrow.

Coriolanus sat down, motioning for Plutarch to sit, "How did he go?"

"Officially, morpling overdose. Accidental."

Coriolanus raised an eyebrow, getting a bitterness from Plutarch, "And unofficially?"

Plutarch, though by Coriolanus's math was twenty-three and very much a man, seemed so much like a young lost child.

Twenty-three was still very young to lose a parent.

"I knew he used morphling…everyone in the Capitol does," Plutarch whispered, "But I'm not sure I buy it. I don't have evidence. Just a revolution beneath his hands."

"He made many enemies," Coriolanus said, his best effort for comfort, "And that's something commendable."

Plutarch rubbed his eyes, "Sure, right."

"I assume you're here because you were on his side," Coriolanus said evenly, but kept his eyes flickering to the tree line, "And not to arrest me."

Plutarch gave a heavy laugh, "My parents both believe in it. And I've been raised on stories of all of this. Of course, I'm taking over his work."

"Good." Coriolanus gave a mischievous smile, "Now, what have you been told about me, son?"

Plutarch looked at Coriolanus, biting the inside of his cheeks, "That you don't really morals that anyone ought to aspire to," He said dryly, "We give you kids and supplies and victors, you give us poison and - one day - nuclear help to end Panem."

"Well, no beating around the bush, I suppose," Coriolanus muttered, though Plutarch wasn't wrong .

"Actually, that's what I've gleaned from your files. What I was told by my dad," Plutarch corrected, staring at Coriolanus with mild surprise, as though he was still trying to riddle him out, "Is that I should believe you, but never trust anything you say."

Coriolanus gave a laugh, something genuine and surprised and somewhere deep down a bit pained because he'd come to like Arius sometimes, and it was shitty to have to say goodbye to someone that could have been a friend.

And laughing hurt, but he couldn't stop.

"Well, your dear old dad is right," Coriolanus finally managed to say, grinning.

Arius knew him far too well.

"I also was told that my dad believed that you married that Victor that vanished all those years ago, Lucy Gray Baird. But you never told him who you married." Plutarch added, looking at Coriolanus with such curiosity.

And, because Coriolanus knew that it would annoy Arius beyond the grave, he grinned, "Yes, I did marry her. And we're very happy together."

Plutarch narrowed his eyes, "Is that a lie that I shouldn't believe? Is this a test? Are you going to tell me that I just confirmed you always lie?"

Coriolanus clapped his shoulder, "You'll get one absolute truth from me, on the house. Sorry to hear about Arius."

And though he wasn't sure if Plutarch would believe him, he was being honest about that too.

XXX

Time marched on.

Chantilly married Beetee eight months after their engagement announcement, and by the time it came around, Coriolanus was fully on board.

Lucy Gray continued to watch the Hunger Games, and the next year - year 39 - she saved Wonder Spicer from blowing his brains out, after having to kill his district partner.

Beetee thrived in Thirteen, especially with a wife to come home to. From a force field to resistance tech to a way to wonders that Coriolanus couldn't even have dreamed of, he was by far their best smuggled asset.

Alma, almost to add insult to injury, came to ask Coriolanus to sign off on her own engagement just months after Ant and Beetee's wedding.

It was to, basically, a nobody. Just some random, unimportant citizen that Coriolanus didn't even acknowledge as existing prior to this.

This aggravated Coriolanus to no end, enough to almost say no.

But he had no good reason, other than it didn't fit his needs. So, though he didn't think it was the right move at all, he agreed.

"I'm not sure I want to change my last name," Alma said to him as he scribbled a signature, "I've achieved so much as 'Coin', and it holds a legacy with my father."

Absolutely true. She was the one with the last name that held far more weight. Her future husband's last name was something stupid anyway.

"Then don't," Coriolanus shrugged.

"It's not…" She pressed her lips, "People don't do that."

"Well," Coriolanus gave a chuckle, "Be the first. Start a trend. I don't care either way."

But, secretly, he was glad that some things about her weren't going to change.

And her husband was such a pushover he didn't even argue it.

Alma Coin stayed Alma Coin.

Time marched on.

XXX

When Ant announced her pregnancy, Elly hugged her so hard that she had to be detached once again, crying tears of joy.

Ant promised her she'd be the godmother, of course . She would be the best Auntie El ever.

Their relationship was mended.

She was eighteen and Alma had hired her out as her secretary. She'd moved into a dorm, though Lucy Gray had tried to keep her here.

But that's what they wanted of their children, right? That they all became productive, independent members of society?

There were days Coriolanus didn't see Elly at all these days, so busy with Alma keeping everything running. He'd always imagined Ant would be the one in his image, but now, Coriolanus could see a future where maybe he gave up his presidency for Elly.

President Elysia Rose.

That was a future Coriolanus thought he could live with.

She wasn't as suave as Coriolanus was, but she had his peculiarities, the ones that made him a ruthless yet effective leader. Plus, she was already tending to his deadly garden, almost better at recognizing a deadly plant than Coriolanus was.

She was the perfect mix of both he and Lucy Gray. He now recognized that she wasn't the absence of either of them but the proof that they strangely did work as a couple, proven in their best and worst parts of each other reflected in her.

Time rolled around to the 41st Hunger Games. Lucy Gray never watched the reapings. Folks didn't show well at that moment; always shocked, always horrified. It was better to view them for the first time at the chariots, when they'd gotten time to let it sink in. By then, the strong contenders showed themselves. Not the ones who would win, but those that were worth watching for their needs.

The ones that weren't crying, but the ones that were angry.

Coriolanus knew that this time, though, was always difficult for her, so he was sitting with her in his office, her head burrowed into his shoulder.

"It has to end soon, Coryo." She was tired. Not just in age, Coriolanus could see how each year of this dragged her down more and more.

He wanted to console her, but to say it would was a lie. He and Plutarch had been deep in the discussion of it, and it simply wasn't time. Not for some overarching asshole reason, such as that he was benefiting from how things were (he was) but Panem had to be ready for a revolution.

The truth of it was they just… weren't .

And Thirteen wasn't either, their nuclear storages not nearly what it was before their bombing, still decades behind being able to protect not only themselves but get into a war with the Capitol.

He couldn't say much of anything, just let her exist with him.

The door slammed open.

"Oleander, I really need to talk to you-,"

"Alma, haven't you ever heard of knocking?" He asked snappishly, "And for that matter, what does a locked door mean to you?"

Alma was shoving her key into her pocket.

"I wouldn't be bursting in here if it wasn't really important, you know that, but I-,"

Before she could finish her frazzled sentence, someone else squealed through the door.

"Plutarch?" Coriolanus was up now, furious, pacing around, "Get the hell out of here, son."

This was their agreement. He stayed up there, Coriolanus stayed down here. Plutarch was not to be seen in Thirteen. It would break the universe, or something like that.

"Oh, I found you," Plutarch was clutching his chest, eyes wild and panicked.

"Your doing?" Coriolanus asked, spinning on Alma, spitting mad, "You're a bit late to warn me, Coin."

"No! I don't know why he's down here-," Alma stuttered, and she seemed genuinely just as surprised to see him as well, "No, it's a matter I need to talk to you about, of greatest importance-,"

"Me first," Plutarch said, going as far as to come and grasp Coriolanus's hand, meeting Lucy Gray's eyes, "You too, ma'am."

Something about the way he spoke sent a shiver down Coriolanus's spine.

Ant, heavily pregant, was sitting outside. Coriolanus gave her a look, but she was biting her lip, eyes focused on Plutarch.

"So you two know each other?"

"Not well, no," Plutarch said, "But she brought me here. And before you ask, she has no idea what's going on."

"But if he's here, it's not good…right?" Ant's blue eyes, as stunning as sapphires, were wide and concerned.

Terrors flashed through Coriolanus's mind. That Panem had snapped, killing all of its citizens in one blow. That the revolution had begun without them. That the Capitol was marching for Thirteen and they were hours away from destruction. That a virus so deadly was swimming through the world outside that Plutarch was here to beg for safety.

All sorts of frightening things.

Plutarch began running, still tugging Coriolanus and Lucy Gray behind him like they were dolls tied to string. Alma paced with them, "Sir, I really think-,"

"In a moment, Alma," Coriolanus growled. When it rained, it poured.

Plutarch brought them to the remote viewing room for the Hunger Games. Coriolanus and Lucy Gray shared confused looks at the insistence of Plutarch shoving them inside.

Alma, Ant, Nu, and Beetee swarmed inside, though Coriolanus would have preferred they didn't. But he was too torn between worry and trying to fix the issue he didn't know he was having and it was too much and -

Plutarch was frantically turning on the TV, flipping and pressing fast-forward through the reapings.

"Sir, please , I can't find Elly!"

Coriolanus turned to Alma, who was staring and breathing hard at her outburst. The buzz of the video in the background grew dimmer.

"What?" Lucy Gray asked, shaking her head, confused.

"She was on assignment for me, but she said she was taking time off to be with you. She knew how difficult this time of year was for you," Alma said, nodding to Lucy Gray, "But Ant and Nu and none of her friends have seen her."

"She told us she was on an assignment where we may not see her for a while, what with the Reapings," Ant interjected, "Lying, though to what end?"

"She was supposed to come over for breakfast today. We were going to tell her the baby's name," Beetee sat in the corner, frowning deeply, "I can't imagine what has happened, but I have a bad feeling."

"Something's not adding up," Nu was picking at his fingers so much that they were bleeding.

"She's just gone! I don't know for how long, at least two days but I can't find her." Alma exhaled hard, shaking.

At eighteen Elly was not quite a child, but surely not really an adult. Much too young to be unaccounted for. Thirteen wasn't even that big, how could anyone possibly lose the daughter of the president?

Just as Coriolanus was starting to formulate a truly terrifying chasticing of Alma for misplacing his youngest daughter when she was meant to be under her care, Plutarch stopped the video feed.

"That's just it…I found her." Plutarch's voice was hoarse, terrified.

Coriolanus spun around just in time to see some mindless Capitol drone pull a name from that big glass bowl, unmistakably in the background of District 12.

"-and our female tribute…" There was absolute silence as she unfurled the page, "Elysia Baird!"

And then, Coriolanus's daughter - her dark hair ratty and tangled, confusion and tears wet on her face - was shoved up onto the stage.

The silence felt like death, pressing down on his chest, so hard that he was sure his ribs would crack, and then…

…Lucy Gray howled.