Chapter Text
The sky was a murky gray, rain lashing down at the large windows of the Academy Library. Small drops trickled through gaps in the roof and fell with a resounding 'plop' on the cracked marble floor. The whole building was decrepit, the once grand bookshelves now rotting, the windows grimy and walls mouldy. There were also very little books, the knowledge of centuries that the capital people had once held now nonexistent.
Many of them had been used as fuel for fire during the Dark Days so that people didn't freeze to death. Little were left, and even the long tables that had once stretched from wall to wall had been damaged or destroyed. Only one remained, a solitary sign of the desperation of the Dark Days. At this, a boy was sitting, his red uniform a bloodstain on the dingy room. He was bent over a book, his blonde curls falling in front of his face as he read. The silence was occasionally punctuated with a flip of a page or a drip of water. It was calming. Nobody seemed to come in the library any more, and Coriolanus was happy to be there alone. Just reading. It was a grateful break from his double life he plays in and outside the Academy. Unlike many of the other students who were schooled there, his family was not rich. Holding up this appearance that he was well off, and didn't need the Plinth Prize to survive, was tough.
He places the book on the table and leans backwards into the chair, sighing. There's something bothering him. An itch. He hasn't been able to concentrate on much in class recently, and it's showing. He must get his performance up or he will never get the Plinth Prize, the scholarship that he needs, that he requires to live. He wishes he could talk to someone about it, but nobody would understand. Anyone in the Academy could afford it three times over, and they didn't know what it was like to rely on other people. Of all the things that he had to do, this is the one that he was most bitter about. Sejanus Plinth. Relying on Sejanus Plinth's father for his future, for his life. Relying on someone who was district. It made anger flare up inside him at the knowledge that they could just buy their way into the capital. The Snow family had lived here for generations, built themselves up from nothing. The Plinth's did not deserve this privilege.
Coriolanus balled his hands into fists. It wasn't fair. Life isn't fair, the voice inside him said, but he ignored it. How he would like to give Sejanus a piece of his mind... He shut the book with a loud snap and stood up. Walking over to one of the rotting shelves, he placed it carefully and swiftly made his way to the door. The rain was still falling heavily outside, and he didn't have an umbrella. Walking out in the rain and ruining his uniform would not do. He had nothing else on today, and perhaps he could wait until it stopped.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the high-ceilinged room. Coriolanus spun around. When he spotted the source of the sound, his eyes narrowed. Sejanus. The boy was stood amidst the wreckage of a small lamp that he had seemingly knocked off one of the tables, his expression mortified. His face was slowly turning red, his ears glowing like hot coals, but attempting to regain his composure. He awkwardly raised his arm in a kind of greeting.
'Hello.'
Coriolanus stayed still, the shock of seeing Sejanus, of all people, washing over him. He quickly rearranged his face into a cool smile, walking towards Sejanus.
'Sejanus! Fancy seeing you here. Didn't think anyone else but me used the library.'
Sejanus smiled, glad that it was Coriolanus. If it had been anyone else, they most likely would've just given him a look of disgust and left, but Coriolanus... he was different.
This was perfect! Coriolanus thought. Sejanus might have an umbrella, and even though it would be rather embarrassing to be seen with him, it would mean I don't have to get my clothes ruined.
'Yes, I don't normally see anyone in here,' Sejanus said, stepping out of the danger of the broken glass. 'In fact, I did think that I was alone, but when I heard someone I was relieved. Do you have an umbrella?'
Coriolanus' heart sank. Of course I don't have an umbrella, he thought angrily, if I did I wouldn't still be here.
'No, I forgot mine this morning, I was in such a hurry to get here.'
Sejanus seemed disappointed at this, his face falling.
'Oh well,' he said dejectedly, 'at least we're in this together hey?'
The use of 'hey' made Coriolanus even angrier. He can't even speak properly. All that money wasted on speech lessons...
'Yes I suppose.'
Coriolanus walked over to a bookshelf to pick a new one out. He couldn't bare to look at Sejanus' face. He didn't even see the titles written on the bindings in front of him, pure anger overtaking him. Sejanus stood, lost for a second, and then reached down to pick up the shards of the broken lamp. Coriolanus kept his eyes on the books, the sound of glass scraping along the floor bothering him. Everything about Sejanus seemed to irk him.
A sharp intake of breath behind him told him Sejanus had probably cut himself on the glass. It took him a lot to turn around, to keep up their one sided friendship. He was glad he did, however, because the sight of Sejanus, his hand bleeding and in pain, made something rise up inside him. A cruel, unexplainable pleasure. He rushed to crouch by his side though, and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.
'Sejanus, you really need to look out for yourself...'
Coriolanus said, wrapping the handkerchief around the other's hand gently. Sejanus winced slightly as he pushed a little two hard and Coriolanus bit back a smirk. Sejanus was flushed red again, his eyes staring at anything but Coriolanus.
'Thank you... that's really embarrassing...' He said, still avoiding the others eyes. His hair was messy, dark eyes shining. He looked like a child, so sweet and innocent. Needing to be protected. Something else seemed to rise up in Coriolanus' chest, something warm and soothing, something far different from the previous feeling. It was odd. He reserved those feelings for people like Tigris and his Grandma'am, but not anyone else. The feeling was quite unfamiliar though, seemingly burning through his chest and making him smile. Not a smirk, not a taughting snide grin but a smile. Had he gone mad?
He quickly took his hand away and began cleaning up the glass himself, not wanting Sejanus to see him in this state. Why was he suddenly enjoying the company of this boy? They weren't even friends, barely class mates but for some reason...
'Just- just make sure to clean it when you get home?' He said, brushing small crystals into his hand. I'm not being kind to him, he told himself angrily as he gathered glass, I'm just telling him what to do that's all.
Sejanus watched his rushed movements and heard the occasional mutters when a sharp piece pricked him. He would offer to help, but Coriolanus would probably decline and just hurry more. 'He's always on a pedestal' was a common phrase used about Snow, and indeed, it seemed as if he was. He always carried himself with the upmost grace, was so well spoken, and had impeccable manners. The man was constantly putting on a face. How exhausting...
Not before long, the shattered remains of the lamp had been cleared, and both boys sat at the remaining long table, reading dusty volumes as the rain continued to pound at the windows. Sejanus' eyes occasionally flitted over to glance at Coriolanus, whose nose was so close to his book that it was almost touching. Sejanus studied him; his fine chiseled jaw, his luxurious blonde curls, his sparkling blue eyes... he would make a fine president.
It was lucky that Sejanus had a watch, or otherwise they would have stayed in the library far after hours. Coriolanus would pour over every book, every page, every prologue and footnote. Sejanus just sat, his own book unopened, gazing out of the large windows at the slowly darkening sky. The rain seemed to be letting up, but he was happy with just being here.
Even though they didn't speak, even though the only sound was the slowing drips and the swish of a page, they were content in just sitting. There was no longer this itch, this thing that had been bothering him. Existing was far more peaceful.
Coriolanus didn't think about what what happen if he was seen like this. He didn't worry for a second about his rumpled hair, undone buttons and bad posture. He had also strangely forgotten about the Plinth Prize. Even when the rain stopped, and they were able to walk outside, he didn't care that he might be spotted with Sejanus. Let them talk, he thought.
Let them talk.