Written In The Stars (snowbaird - Coriolanus Snow)

(𝕀) 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕠

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
Take me to the valley, then lay the sod o'er me.
I'm a young cowboy, and know I've done wrong.

└── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘

A/N: this is a mix of both Suzanne's writing and my own (only for this chapter) to make it flow better. Everything in bold is SUZANNE COLLINS' writing not mine I'm not trying to pass it off as mine.
Also listen to the song, it has the same melody as the ballad of Lucy gray baird!! :))
Enjoy!!

"I think there's a natural goodness built into human beings. You know when you've stepped across the line into evil, and it's your life's challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line."
"Sometimes there are tough decisions." He'd been making them all summer.
"I know that. Of course, I do. I'm a victor," she said ruefully. "It'd be nice, in my new life, not to have to kill anyone else."
"I'm with you there. Three seems enough for one lifetime. And certainly, enough for one summer." A feral cry came from nearby, reminding him of his lack of a weapon.
"I'm going to make a walking stick. Do you want one?" She pulled up.
"Sure. That could come in handy in more ways than one." They found a couple of stout branches, and she steadied them while he snapped off their limbs.
"Who's the third?"
"What?" She was giving him a funny look. His hand slipped, driving a piece of bark under his nail.
"Ow." She ignored his injury.
"Person you killed. You said you killed three people this summer." Coriolanus bit at the end of the splinter to pull it out with his teeth, buying a moment of time. Who, indeed? The answer was Sejanus, of course, but he couldn't admit to that.
"Can you get this out?" He held out his hand, wiggling the compromised fingernail, hoping to distract her.
"Let me see." She examined his splinter.
"So, Bobbin, Mayfair . . . who's the third?" His mind raced for a plausible explanation. Could he have been involved in a freak accident? A training death? He was cleaning a weapon, and it went off by mistake?

He decided it was best to be honest, at least mostly honest...
"Sejanus. I mean, I blame myself for his death anyway, I could have done so much more." He grimaced as he spoke, the words ricocheting in his head like a bullet. It made him feel sick to lie to Lucy Gray which he had now realised is exactly what he was doing, but he rationalised it. He had to. He had to lie to her, if he didn't. If he told her he pressed record on those Jabberjays, she would not trust him, and he knew just how important trust was to her. "More important than love" those words repeated over and over consuming his thoughts, replacing his deception with her steadfast moral perspective. He mulled over the irony of their differing psyches for a moment before turning his attention back to Lucy Gray awaiting a response. But the moment passed, it. . .no, he had killed the conversation. Neither of them spoke again until the halfway point, where they stopped for a breather. Lucy Gray unscrewed the plastic jug and offered it to him.
"Will they miss you yet?"
"Probably not until dinner. You?" He took a deep drink of water.
"Only one up when I left was Tam Amber. I told him I was going to find out about a goat. We've been talking about building a herd. Sell the milk as a sideline," she said. "I've probably got a few more hours before they start looking. Might be night before they think about the hanging tree and find the wagon. They'll put it together." He handed her the jug.
"Will they try to follow you?"
"Maybe. But we'll be too far gone." She took a swig and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Will they hunt you?" He doubted the Peacekeepers would be concerned anytime soon. Why would he desert with elite officers' school waiting? If anyone even noticed he was missing, they'd probably think he'd gone into town with another Peacekeeper. Unless they found the gun, of course. He didn't want to go into all the school stuff now while the wound was still fresh.
"I don't know. Even when they realise I've run, they won't know where to look." He glanced over to her expectantly, again awaiting a response that never came. Her lips were pursed tightly and her gaze fixed in front of her. He had never seen her this reserved in all the time they had spent by one another, even in the zoo, starved partway to death she uttered more words than she had since his slip up and it scared him. A lot. He desperately wanted to be inside her mind, to understand exactly what she was thinking, how she felt about him. Why couldn't he have just thought before he spoke? 3 people. How thoughtless, how unintelligent. The chatter of the Mockinjays were the only sound that graced his ears, much to his dismay he wanted to listen to his Lucy Gray. Not those belligerent birds. He began to ponder as the couple drew closer and closer to the lake, how was he expected to survive let alone live a satisfactory life. How would they eat? Where would they live? And what on earth would they do with themselves, when the challenges of obtaining food and shelter had been met? Her with no music. Him with no school, or military, or anything. Have a family? He supposed he wouldn't be unhappy with the notion. A family with Lucy Gray? That was something he felt obliged to if they really did make it in the North. His mind began to wander to the Plinths, and more notably the Plinth prize he would acquire were he to go back to the Capitol and he would be lying through his teeth if he said he wasn't already beginning to second guess his decision. What about Tigress? Grandma'am? Even regrettably what about his classmates, the other mentors, those he had grown surprisingly close to during the hunger games. The eerie silence of the meadow they were now traversing left him alone with his thoughts for the first Time since arriving in 12. Preoccupied as he was with these questions, the second leg of the journey to the lake passed quickly. They set down their loads on the shore, and Lucy Gray went directly to find branches for fishing poles.
"We don't know what lies ahead, so we better fill up here," she said. She showed him how to attach the heavy thread and hooks to their poles. Clawing through the soft mud for worms disgusted him, and he wondered if this would be a daily activity. It would, if they were hungry enough. They baited the hooks and sat silently on the bank, waiting for a strike as the birds chattered around them. She caught two. He caught nothing. Heavy, dark clouds rolled in, providing some relief from the beating sun but adding to his oppression. This was his life now. Digging for worms and being at the mercy of the weather. Elemental. Like an animal. He knew this would be easier if he wasn't such an exceptional person. The best and the brightest humanity had to offer. The youngest to pass the officer candidate test. If he'd been useless and stupid, the loss of civilization would not have hollowed out his insides in this manner. He'd have taken it in stride. Thick, cold raindrops began to plop down on him, leaving wet marks on his fatigues. "Never be able to cook in this," Lucy Gray said.
"Better go inside. There's a fireplace in there we can use." She could only mean the one lake house that still had a roof. Probably his last roof, until he built one himself. How did you build a roof anyway? It had not been a question on the officer candidate test. After she'd quickly cleaned the fish and wrapped them in leaves, they gathered up their bundles and hurried to the house as the rain pelted them. It might've been fun, if it hadn't been his real life. Just an adventure for a few hours, with a charming girl and a fulfilling future elsewhere. The door was jammed, but Lucy Gray bumped it with her hip and it swung open. They scrambled in out of the wet and dropped their belongings. It was only one room, with concrete walls, ceiling, and floor. There was no sign of electricity, but light came through the windows on four sides and the single door. His eyes lit on the fireplace, full of old ashes, with a neat pile of dried wood stacked beside it. At least they wouldn't have to forage for that. Lucy Gray crossed to the fireplace, laid the fish down on the little concrete hearth, and began to arrange layers of wood and twigs on an old metal grate.
"We keep some wood in here so there's always some dry." Coriolanus considered the possibility of just staying in the sturdy little house, with plenty of wood around and the lake to fish in. But no, it would be too dangerous to put down roots this close to District 12. If the Covey knew of this spot, surely other people did, too. He had to deny himself even this last shred of protection. Would he end up in a cave after all? He thought of the beautiful Snow penthouse, with its marble floors and crystal chandeliers. His home. His rightful home.
"Hey" Lucy gray uttered softly, he cocked his head to listen to her more clearly "Thank you for coming with me. I'm sorry about your friend Sejanus." His stomach lurched, bile from his stomach making it part way up his oesophagus. Was she playing him for a fool? Was she really sorry about Sejanus? Or did she see right through him as if he were nothing more than a window pane? A soft and genuine smile embellished her face and as if her smile contained morphling all of the build up tension and paranoia that had been gradually turning him crazy since the rebels demise simply vanished. For the first time since he had landed in the district, he felt at peace. He embraced her slowly, the gentle enveloping of their bodies together finally washing out any doubt about leaving with his girl. She would be his, only his, always and forever. And he would be hers. There were no more Billy Taupes in the wilderness. Well, there were no more Billy Taupes in the district, either. He landed a forbearing kiss upon the top of her head.
"No, thank you, Lucy Gray. Thank you for everything."
The couple finished cooking and consumed the fish Lucy Gray had caught. They planned on venturing further out into the wilderness after eating. But much to Lucy Gray's dismay and Coriolanus' satisfaction, the cabin was deluged by the rain that seemed to get heavier by the hour. The couple sat, almost laying down, Propping themselves up by their elbows on the hardwood floor beneath them. Carefully watching the crimson fire that roared in front of them.
"Tomorrow. We will have to leave tomorrow, at the first peek of sunlight" Lucy Gray said resolutely. He nodded in agreement, turning his head towards her.
"Just because the Covey will look here first, I'd love to stay in the warmth with you" she inched closer to him, their lips edging closer and closer
"I wish the covey wouldn't find us here. It's perfect." He replied
"It's unfortunate, I suppose we'll have to make the most of it while we can, darlin'" The hint of flirtation in her remark sent a shiver running down his spine. Despite having just eaten, he was hungry. But not for food. For her. Being alone with someone like Lucy Gray, with someone who ignites passion and longing in him like she did, would do that. He leant in, quickly losing the gap in between them. As their lips meshed together intensely, he grabbed her hips and flipped her whole body weight with ease so that she sat on top of him as they continued their endeavour into each other's mouths. Either he was strong. Or she was frail. Or both, perhaps. It was one of the first times Lucy Gray and Coriolanus had been able to revel in each other privately. Without Sejanus tagging along like a little lost dog , or the overbearing Covey. Though he was slightly disappointed, he never got to show off his Lucy Gray like this with him to Billy Taupe. To show him that she was his now.
As Coriolanus' lust began to devour him, he started to move his hands rhythmically around her hips. Pulling her closer. It was electric. Their kiss seemed to go on for minutes before they both simultaneously pulled away to catch a breath, a slight pant evident in their breathing. After regaining an adequate amount of oxygen, the couple returned to their previous state. He felt himself start longing for more than just a kiss. For them to consummate their unspoken agreement that they were joined as one. Truly devoted to one another. As Lucy Gray said, it was written in the stars, after all. Is this what it felt like to submit yourself to someone? He always imagined being with someone for convenience and status. Someone like Livia Cardew. Someone he hated. Just like he hated how love made him feel weak. Or so he thought, he had to admit that she did, in fact, make him feel weak. Feeble. Out of control. But there was something about Lucy Gray. His heart opened up for her, by its own volition. Her ramblings about the stars, as unhinged as they may be, at least cemented that she felt the same way. They were meant to be. Well, they must be. He left behind his chance to go back to the Capitol. His home. For her. Yes, it was also a self-serving act, but that wasn't the main reason.

He loved her.