𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐄𝐃 ⎯⎯⎯⎯ CORIOLANUS SNOW

xii.

twelve !
*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ˊ-

CAROLINE REFUSED TO meet Coriolanus' eyes, and it was bothering him. Badly.

They sat in the back of the Peacekeeper's van, directly across from each other, on the way to Dr. Gaul's office to repair Coriolanus' stitches.

Even though they were across from one another, Caroline had yet to meet his eyes that she felt deeply piercing into her soul.

He couldn't figure out why she wouldn't just look at him. It wasn't like he had done anything wrong. Yeah, he might have killed Bobbin, but Bobbin tried to kill Caroline.

"Care," He spoke, frustrated at her silence.

She still continued to stare down into space, her disobedience irking him.

Coriolanus lifted her chin up with his two fingers, forcing her to look into his eyes. Once again, she flinched at his touch, immediately jumping out of it.

He pulled his fingers away and looked into her horror-filled eyes. She was scared. Almost as if she was scared of him. Was she scared of him?

"Are you scared of me? Why do you keep flinching away from me every time I touch you?"

"You.. You killed someone." She whispered softly, not meeting his eyes.

"I didn't kill anyone." He stated harshly.

Her brown eyes shot to his as her eyebrows furrowed, "He was on the ground, limp, already hurt enough and you looked him in the eye and hit him again. You wanted him dead."

"He would've killed you, Care." Coriolanus responded, his tone now soft and delicate.

"You didn't have to kill him, you could've just hit him!" She exclaimed.

"I tried to just hit him, I didn't want to hurt him. But, he kept coming after me and one of us would have had to kill the other, so I decided it would be me making it out alive." He explained.

"You took someone's life, Coriolanus. That's someone's son!" She cried.

"And I wouldn't have done it if he hadn't tried to kill you!" He shouted.

Her gaze reverted back to the ground due to a fear of his newfound anger at her as tears fell from her eyes, "That doesn't make it right."

He could feel her slipping out of his grasp, leaving his web, and that could not happen. Ever.

Coriolanus gently cupped her cheek, not missing the way she flinched. He wiped a falling tear as he lifted her head for her to look at him.

"Baby, I would never hurt someone without cause. I only did it because I care for you, and I can not live without you. If he had—"
Coriolanus let out a shaky breath, "If he had killed you.. I wouldn't know what to do."

Her eyes gently closed, her face melting in his touch. He was right, he did protect her and she was being ungrateful.

Coriolanus saved her from dying, and that is all that matters. One of them would've had to die, and Coriolanus made sure it wasn't one of them. Therefore, she was thankful.

"Okay." Caroline whispered.

"Okay?" He asked.

"Thank you." She spoke, looking into his ocean blue eyes.

"Anytime, baby. C'mere." He waved her over to him.

She shifted to his seat, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her, his other hand gently threading through her hair. Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I'll always love you, Caroline. I'll do anything for you. Anything." He mumbled.

"I'll always love you too." She smiled through her words.

They shared an unspoken agreement not to mention that night to anyone. She had decided not to accuse Coriolanus of Bobbin's death; she understood he was protecting her. In that moment, it was a matter of their lives or Bobbin's, and he had put up a fight.

Sure, he may have committed a morally questionable act, but his motivation stemmed from love. Love for her.

Caroline convinced herself that in some instances, people are compelled to make sacrifices, even resorting to violence, for the sake of those they care about.

Reaching success often demands sacrifices. For Coriolanus, this difficult choice was just one step on the path he believed he needed to take to make it to the top.

.ೃ࿐

— dee speaks !
manipulation 🤦‍♀️