Pure as Snow: A Do-Over of Corio and Lucy Gray's love story

Chapter One: TRUST

"Lucy Gray? Lucy Gray!" Corio shouted as he anxiously ran through the woods. They were so quiet, not a stick out of place. Had she run off and left him. Had the one person..the love of his life...no the love of a life time. Had she tricked him into believing she was the only one he could trust. Had he done everything wrong and risked his life for her...for no reason. Had Sejanus died in vain...had the life he dreamed been destroyed for nothing. This angered Coriolanus to no return.

"Lucy Gray..please..I just want to talk." He recanted his words over and over again. "I just want to talk." His voice called out in desperation one final time before the anger and darkness he'd been pushing down for so long won. "Lucy Gray....you said you loved me." Coriolanus called out damning her before he formed his next plan of action.

"Coriolanus...quit your hollerin' I told you I was look for Katniss. Sometimes...it grows a little early if there's just enough rain." Lucy Gray's smile calmed him down as she stepped out of the sunlight and into his view. "See?" She smiled holding up a few potato leaks in her hand. "Not much but for tonight it will do." She said as she grabbed his hand. "Now what was all this saying you wanted to talk? You know I understand how hard what you had to do was. Even if you choose not to tell me the real story." Lucy Gray squeezed his hand. She knew, she knew the third person he killed was not his old self...the third person who had gotten killed was Sejanus. And whether it was for his own selfish gain at first, the outcome protected the only person he truly cared about...Lucy Gray.

"If I choose not to?" Corio looked into her eyes confused that she had seen right through him. Frankly it scared him to his core that Lucy Gray saw all sides of him and decided to stay. When she so easily could've disappeared into the forest and ran off never to be seen again. But she didn't..she saw good in Coriolanus at the core..when he did not see it himself.

"You don't have to say it...sometimes the right thing...is the hardest thing to do. Whether the plan had started off to protect me or not...Coriolanus...you don't have to say. Because despite all of that, I'm here in front of you, ain't I?" Lucy Gray said cheerfully as she looked for a pot in the cabin to cook the potatoes in.

"You know I got rid of...I found it...when you were out looking for Katniss. I got this crazy idea maybe you had seen it and decided against being with me. That you were even considering going back to District 12 to tell on me. I...I..know now that seems crazy but you have to understand I've never known unwavering trust like yours before Lucy Gray. It's a terrifying unnerving feeling to put faith into someone you barely know." Coriolanus' vulnerability spoke volumes to Lucy Gray. To the point where if there had been any doubt before...there would never be again. She made a decision in that moment that she was going to choose Coriolanus over everything and everyone every single time. Because he had done that for her in the Hunger Games when he absolutely didn't have to. He had protected her and helped her win, because the thought of seeing her in any sort of pain or discomfort was unthinkable to him. And that Lucy Gray told herself, though she'd never experienced it before...that was love. And it was time for the favor to be returned.

"Coriolanus Snow...I told you if there's one person you can trust it's me. And when I said I valued trust more than love. I meant that too. I didn't know you had found it. But it doesn't bother me much that you did, You got rid of it, now let's forget the whole mess happened. It was our last loose end to tie up." Lucy Gray's words were so carefully chosen and and curated to give Coriolanus the exactly clarity he wanted and needed to move forward.

"You truly mean that? You'll move forward with me? As a couple together?" Coriolanus stared at Lucy Gray enamored by her intellect.

"Why yes, I do...you're my boyfriend Coriolanus Snow, we are a couple. Now whatever you decide next, I will agree with that decision. Now that doesn't mean in the future we won't butt heads on opinions. It just means that when we do...I'm not leaving. Our trust is our unbreakable bond Corio...I know that is love. And when you told me you loved me...you meant it then. And as I look in those ocean blue eyes, I mean it as I say it now. I love you...for all the parts of you..even the darkest. And I hope for as long as time allows us..I'll continue to lead you to the light." Lucy Gray said as she placed her hand on his cheek. He smiled as he leaned into kiss her. "Coriolanus...remember what I say..because I will only say it once. It will be up to you to believe..the blood on your hands...is on mine as well. Your burdens, our now our burdens to carry. I will protect you with my last breath, as you have protected and will continue to protect me in the future." Lucy Gray said.

That vow was a good as marriage proposal to Coriolanus, no doubts were left to be concocted in his head as he looked into Lucy Gray's eyes. He said something that sparked an incredible surprised reaction from Lucy Gray. "The decision of what we do next...is ours Lucy Gray." A small smile appearing on Coriolanus' usually extremely serious face. With one simple sentence of reassurance to Coriolanus, Lucy Gray had all at once changed the tides of the history that was yet to come. Love is a powerful thing, but it can bought in time or years. Trust cannot, it has to be earned.

As they spent the night listening to the rain fall upon the cabin roof, Coriolanus found himself falling more in love with Lucy Gray by the minute. Right as she was just about to fall asleep on his bare chest he whispered to her. "What should we do next?" His breath against her skin made the hairs along her neck stand. With her eyes still closed and a smile pressed against her lips she spoke.

"I'd like to go home with you, if that's alright." She said already knowing his answer was going to be complete elation. Lucy Gray knew Coriolanus inside and out. She knew sides of him he had even come to terms with yet. And that was his future. Where did he want to live, what career would he take on. His father was the president of Panem, Lucy Gray could tell Corio wouldn't be far behind in his footsteps. But with her by his side, she could help fix things, not destroy the districts even more. Maybe with Coriolanus by her side they could stop the Hunger Games once and for all. And he could be a beloved president instead of a benevolent one. Rebels would be rewarded for their bravely not tortured for their difference in opinions. And Panem would open their city to the districts so everyone could thrive as one. Okay the last request...was going to be a long shot but Lucy Gray saw a bright future in her Corio. And she could wait to stand by his side through it all.

"That would be wonderful Lucy Gray, my cousin Tigris would be thrilled to meet you." Corio said as he kissed Lucy Gray's forehead.

"I also would love to meet your grand'mam...to tell her she raised one truly exceptional man." Lucy Gray couldn't help but blush as she spoke.

"I know she would be delighted to meet you as well." Coriolanus said as he fell asleep for the first time so soundly in years. He had earned Lucy Gray's trust and in turn had fallen in love with a girl who was going to help him get everything he deserved and more...not just for him this time but for them.