as the snow falls - coriolanus snow

bread

you stuff a stale piece of hearty bread in your mouth as you push your coat on and tiptoe to the door

you try and close the door softly so as to not awaken your sleeping mother before sprinting into the snowy street

you squint your eyes as the cold morning air blows in your face from the speed at which you are running

you're late. you're so so late.

you can just picture Mr. Highbottom's face as he chews you out in front of the entire class

as you enter the doors of the university you remember you still have the bread in your mouth, so you grab it and fix your hair. you're too stressed to eat.

you see your class in the distance and run, you push yourself against the door and open it.

you feel frozen as the whole class stares at you. Mr. Highbottom turns before sternly walking toward you

"you think you can just storm in here after being 15 minutes late, L/n?" he yells, you hear girls snickering and whispering around you

"n-no sir I-"
"tell me, L/n, what was so important you had to be late to my class?" 

You stop. You were up late last night revising the first draft of your essay, but your tongue is at your feet and you cannot help but stand in fear

"Bread!" everyone looks as Coriolanus stands

"I asked her to get me bread because I missed breakfast," He said walking towards you, taking the bread from your grip

Mr. Highbottom looks between you both, examining your story before answering,

"Hm. Well, I hope you're late for something better than stale bread next time, L/n." He squints at you, not completely buying it until Coryo bites into the bread, the same place where your lips were not a moment before. you look away, flustered.

"Take your seats. Both of you."

.

you chase Snow down after school, the courtyard filled with students as he walks toward his neighborhood

"Coryo! Coryo!" you yell and he turns, smiling when he sees you. once you catch up with him you can't help but throw your hands around him

"thank you for today," you mumble in his uniform, he chuckles.

"it wasn't an issue, sorry for eating your bread, though" you feel your cheeks grow hot thinking about the bread, but you hope he'll think it's from the snow and not from you.

"no, no, it's alright I can make more" you smile and he looks surprised 

"you bake?" he asks

"oh, barely-" 

"that bread was delicious, Y/n. you're an amazing baker" He moves a loose strand from your hair and you suck a cold breath in

"A-anyway, that essay, we need to finish it." you start the walk to both of your houses and he follows a long

"right, about that. I don't think my house would be the best for that. all I could think yesterday is if Tigris found her scissors" 

you giggle remembering what a dire situation that was for Tigris

"well, where will we work then?" you ask

"your house." he says simply and you feel your veins grow cold

"W-we can't work there, it's- It's-" you struggle to find the words to describe your house, It's the last thing you want Coryo to see.

"Is it loud?" 

loud is the last thing it is. with your mother working all day and almost all night the only thing you can hear is your breath

"no" you answer, dipping your nose into your scarf

"then it's perfect." he says, you notice you both just passed his house and now yours is just a block ahead, and all you can think is

What will he think of me then?