Coriolanus Snow X Reader (The Hunger Games)

Part 5

     Upon Coryo leaving, Aaron crawls over to Y/N; leaves and twigs crunching beneath his weight. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Aaron asks once aside his fellow tribute from District 12. Y/N's hand was still on the metal bar and she didn't bother turning her head to look at him when responding. "No. Did yours?" She asks, finally turning to him and resting her chin on her knee. Aaron shakes his head, "he was.. surprisingly nice. He gave me everything I wanted and needed. But mostly he gave me some hope. Not just hope for the games, but in the future of Panem. Y/N, Sejanus is different than the other mentors. He not only wants to help me survive, he wants everyone to survive. All the tributes, I mean. He's going to sabotage his own classmates and superiors up in the Capitol. I don't know how yet, but there's something you have to help me with in order for it to even be a possibility." He tells Y/N with great determination. Y/N nods slowly and waits for him to continue. "First of all, you can't trust anyone else but me and Sejanus. Not even your own mentor. I know our mentors seem like friends now, but Sejanus told me how everyone in the Capitol sees your mentor. He's a symbol of power and control. He's dangerous; and if we're not careful then even if our sabotage succeeds, if he somehow escapes, he'll find a way to keep the games going up until his death. The blood of so many more generations will be shed. But we, me, you, Sejanus, we can stop them for good." Aaron says quietly, making sure only Y/N could hear. Y/N had never seen such eagerness in Aaron before. He was normally an introvert who kept his opinions to himself. It was so odd to see him even wanting to take action towards something. He normally struggled to get even a sentence out to Y/N, but now he was hitting her with all of this? What exactly did Sejanus tell him? She almost believed he was brainwashed.

    "You want to kill him. All of them." Y/N says with a shaky voice. "Only if they're part of what keeps The Hunger Games going." Aaron assures her. "They're murderers, Y/N." He puts his hand on top of hers. "Aaron, those mentors, they're just kids. Like us. I wouldn't doubt most of them are only there because their families forced them to." She swallows. "What is it that I have to do besides not trust anyone else?" Y/N asks, her eyes gleaming in the light. "You.. we.. have to.. be together. Or at least, act like it." Aaron then mutters, "which won't be a problem for me." Y/N looks down, contemplating. "You can't fake love." But was it fake? She knew Aaron already loved her. Did she love him too? She couldn't tell. She'd never been in love before. "Besides, what does loving each other have to do with sabotaging the Capitol?" She questions, picking up a small twig from the ground and fidgeting around with it. "It's our weapon," Aaron starts, "we don't have bombs, but we have each other. I believe love is just as powerful as any weapon. We need people to like us, to side with us. They expect us to kill each other, not form relationships with each other. That's what will make this year's games different. Tributes fall in love with their fellow district member and together we turn on our mentors, which should no doubt get us attention from the public, who can then help us stop the people in the Capitol who create and maintain The Hunger Games." He stops to take a deep breath. "I love you, Y/N. And I can't do this without you. I understand if you don't actually love me back, but please think about all the future children you'll save by doing this." Aaron stops and nervously awaits a response. "Okay. I'll do it." Y/N replies after being silent for a few moments in order to think it over. She didn't know if she'd actually be able to kill any of the mentors when it came down to the moment, but she'd have to try in order to save the future, like Aaron said. Y/N plucks the white rose from her hair and stares at it, twirling it around in her fingers. Suddenly her attention is forced away from it and she feels warmth on her lips. She drops the rose in shock and immediately pulls back from Aaron's little smooch. "Hey, don't even think about him. He's not your friend. He's your enemy." Aaron tells her before placing his hand under her chin and going in for a real kiss. Y/N allows it, only because she keeps on thinking about the future generations of Panem.

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The Next Morning.

     Coriolanus Snow awakens just as the sun arouses once again. He hadn't gotten much sleep; he was worrying about Y/N and trying to think of helpful strategies to keep the girl alive as long as possible. It wasn't just his job as her mentor, but as her friend too. He had made a promise to her, after all. He had to keep her trust, it was vital to her survival. Tributes go nowhere without their mentor. They knew the games better than anyone else would. Especially Coriolanus, he was practically raised on learning and watching everything The Hunger Games contained, thanks to his father. Coryo rushes out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready for the day, putting on his apparent "red jacket" uniform that Y/N seemed to love so much. He makes sure to grab the red dress Tigris made the other day, folding it and stuffing it in the handbag, along with three bottles of water and plenty of snacks. "You hungry or something?" Tigris laughs, watching him stuff what seemed like the entire pantry into that small bag. "It's for Y/N and her friend from home." Coryo replies. "I thought you weren't allowed to do that." Tigris raises an eyebrow; Coryo just shrugs. "Well, what about you? Are you going to eat today?" She asks, her eyebrow still raised. "Not hungry, see ya later Tigris!" Coryo smirks before shutting the door behind him and heading to the tribute's cage. He was to go over the plan Sejanus came up with. His friend had talked about it a bit last night, but didn't go into too much detail. Basically just get the tributes to act like they're some sort of couple before and during the games and hope that'll bring in more views. Coryo himself wasn't too fond of the idea, he'd rather have gone with his own where the mentor and tribute had a relationship formed from trust, and not from sappy moments caught on camera to drag in views, but sadly Dr. Gaul had already agreed to Sejanus's idea. Then again, he did originally say he wouldn't form a real relationship with his tribute, just that he'd make sure she wouldn't die without being noticed. Now, though, he felt competitive. He believes with the right amount of trust and training, he could do more for Y/N than just keep her alive. But, for now he'd have to stick with Sejanus's plan until he could find a way to get closer to his tribute himself.

Coryo arrives at the cage and crouches down in front of the thick bars. He swings the bag from his shoulder and sets it in front of him, looking inside through the trees for Y/N. "Y/N!" He calls out, his eyes searching through the brush for his tribute. Just seconds later, she comes running up to him. Coryo smiles, "morning, did you sleep well? ..that's a dumb question, sorry." He grits his teeth and reaches into the bottom of the bag to pull out the red dress, handing it to Y/N. "My cousin made it, it's for you to wear today when you're introduced to Panem." Y/N takes the dress, staring at it silently. It was a beautiful dress. One she didn't deserve. She wanted to repay her mentor for it, but she had to remember the goal of the plan. "Thanks." She says quietly, just as Aaron comes out from behind a bush like an animal stalking its prey. "Hi, Aaron. I got some stuff for you too. Sejanus has been telling me a lot of good things about you." Coryo tells him while handing out the bottles of water and snacks to Y/N and Aaron. "I heard you're quite a romantic. That comes in handy for our plan. You both know your role, right?" Coryo asks while they ate. Y/N nods while finishing her last few bites and sips of water, then leans her head on Aaron's shoulder, who in turn gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "Perfect." Coryo smiles at their act, the plan would turn out perfectly. Y/N would get enough attention to get her out of that arena alive.

    "I was thinking you two should hold hands during interviews, maybe even kiss at the end of them. That alone should get you donations. And as for the games, stick together. Fight for each other, not against each other. Act like your life depends on it, because it does." Coryo tells the two tributes. "Now-" he's interrupted when he notices Aaron grab Y/N by the waist, pulling her in tightly and pressing his lips firmly on hers. Noticing Y/N looking uncomfortable, Coryo reaches between the bars to put a firm hand on Aaron's arm. "You don't need to do it right now. Don't make her uncomfortable for no reason. Only when you're being watched by the public." He explains. But, Aaron simply laughs before grabbing Coryo by the collar and banging his head against the metal bars of the cage. "What makes you think she's uncomfortable? I've known her longer than you ever will. You're just jealous, pretty boy. I saw the way you looked at her yesterday." He shouts. Y/N has never seen him get so angry before; her eyes grow wide and she immediately pulls Aaron off of her mentor. "Not yet! You'll ruin the plan if you do something now!" She whispers into Aaron's ear and rubs his shoulder until he calms down and lets Coryo go.

     Coriolanus takes a moment to recover from the bang to his head, already feeling a headache brewing as he takes a deep breath and whispers, "I just want to help you two. It's not my job to get into your personal business, I don't care about that. I can't care about that. If you guys believe you're really in love, great! Works better for the plan, but again, it's not my business. I'm just here trying to keep you alive." Coryo explains, mainly to Aaron. He was starting not to be too fond of the male from 12, not because he had just smashed his head against a metal bar, but because he seemed to be a bit.. controlling. He gets angry if things don't go to his immediate plan. Which worries Coryo, because he knows there can only be one victor in the end, so if Aaron uses that rage against Y/N at anytime, it would be game over for her. He had to find a way to protect her from her friend, even if it meant the plan failing. Not like he cared much for it anyway, he just wanted to make Sejanus feel good about something. He looks at Y/N. "I'll see you later for your first interview." Coryo says before slowly standing up, using the bars to support his weight as he felt a little unsteady.