See How Snow Falls (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Reimagined)

Chapter 4: Peace(Keepers) & Love

"This place is beautiful."
Sejanus looked out over the lake with wide eyes, before turning to stare down at Crow who was eagerly watching his reaction.
"You like it?"
They smiled shyly, and reached for his hand.
"I love it."
Sejanus took their hand in his and the two walked closer to the lake, passing by Lucy Gray and Coriolanus.
"Now you play nice with my little sibling!"
Lucy Gray called out, resting her head in Coriolanus's lap. There was humor in her voice but the serious undertone let Sejanus know that she was far from joking.
"I will! I promise!"
Sejanus called back to her as Crow continued dragging him towards the lake. After a moment Crow stopped and turned around, a small smirk on their face.
"Hey Cori!"
"Hm?"
"You better play nice with my big sister! If you hurt her I'll castrate you!"
Crow grinned, before bursting into laughter at the perturbed look on Coriolanus's face.
"Crow!"
Lucy gasped, clearly trying not to laugh.
"You can't just say that!"
Any and all attempts at keeping her laughter in failed and Lucy Gray started cackling. Soon everyone, even the previously shocked Coriolanus, was laughing at Crow's rather graphic comment.
"C'mon!"
Crow giggled, pulling Sejanus along behind them.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Sejanus chuckled along with them, marveling at the way their eyes lit up in the sunlight. Crow truly was a wild beauty and for a moment Sejanus found himself thinking that he could get lost in their eyes forever. After a few more moments of Crow dragging him along, the two were out on the dock. They sat down together, feet hanging off the edge of the wood, slowly being splashed by the cool water.
"So, tell me about yourself, Capitol boy."
Crow smiled at Sejanus, their hand still intertwined in his.
"Don't call me that."
Sejanus muttered, his face darkening with emotion.
"Why not, Capitol boy?"
Crow teased, face glowing.
"You're from the Capitol, aren't you?"
Sejanus removed his hand from Crow's quickly, staring down at the water angrily.
"Being from the Capitol doesn't make me a Capitol boy. And just because I lived there doesn't mean it's where I'm from."
Crow's smile fell from their face, chased away by a troubled but curious expression.
"I'm sorry if I offended you. But.. if you're not from the Capitol, then where are you from?"
Sejanus's face softened.
"I'm from District 2. My father bought his way into the Capitol."
Crow's eyes lit up with understanding, and they once again reached for his hand.
"Well then, I guess the only Capitol boy here is him."
Crow glanced behind them at Coriolanus, who was engaged in conversation with Lucy Gray. The sun illuminated his face, and as he laughed at something Lucy had said, for a fleeting moment Crow was distracted. But the feeling of Sejanus squeezing their hand quickly brought them back to reality.
"Coryo's the only person in the Capitol who ever treated me nicely. He's my best friend."
Sejanus told them, his voice betraying his fondness for Coriolanus.
"Really? He seems so-"
"Strict?"
Sejanus interrupted Crow, with a laugh.
"I was gonna say he seems like he has a stick up his ass, but yeah, strict works too."
Crow rolled their eyes and giggled at their own remark.
"It's all an act. When you really get to know him he's a good person. He's a good friend. He was just raised to be... strong. Emotionless even."
Sejanus chuckled softly, despite the slight defensiveness in his tone.
"Well, you seem awfully nice so, I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it."
Crow said, squeezing Sejanus's hand tightly. He glanced down at their hands for a moment, smiling widely, before looking back up at Crow's face.
      "Well you seem nice too, Crow Calamine. You seem very nice."
For a moment Crow and Sejanus stared into each other's eyes, entirely lost in each other. It was as if they were the only two people on the planet. When they looked at each other, the whole world fell away. The moment was broken by Lucy Gray and Coriolanus coming down to the docks, clearly ready to go swimming.
      "We're going swimming. Care to join us?"
Lucy Gray offered a hand to Crow, helping them up and separating Crow's hand from Sejanus's in the process.
      "Sure!"
Crow started stripping down to their swimsuit, their previous moment with Sejanus all but forgotten. Sejanus glanced at Coriolanus who looked more at ease than he had ever seen him.
      "Are you going to join us?"
Coriolanus asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
      "Sure."
Sejanus joined Crow in stripping down. After a moment Crow once again sat down on the edge of the dock, gently slipping into the water off the side of it.
      "The water's a little chilly!"
They exclaimed. Sejanus's reply was drowned out by a loud splash as Lucy Gray jumped into the water, pulling Coriolanus along with her. Sejanus stifled a giggle as Coriolanus yelped, shocked by the cold water.
      "You doing alright there, Cori?"
Crow smirked at Coriolanus, who rolled his eyes at them, clearly annoyed.
      "I'm just fine, thank you very much."
      "You sure? 'Cause you screamed like a girl!"
Crow giggled, splashing Coriolanus, who let out a sound of shock.
      "You, Crow Calamine, are quite a pain in the ass."
Coriolanus remarked, wiping the water from his eyes.
      "And you, Sejanus, ought to actually get into the water. That is the point of swimming."
Sejanus rolled his eyes at Coriolanus's comment before jumping into the water without a second thought. Crow swam over to Sejanus, circling around him in the water.
      "You're a strong swimmer."
Sejanus said, treading water.
      "Well I have good old Lucy Gray to thank for that. She taught me to swim in this very lake!"
Crow proclaimed proudly. Lucy Gray swam over to them, face beaming.
      "I sure did! And our Ma and Pa taught me to swim here before that."
She replied. While Lucy Gray was speaking Crow had swum up behind Coriolanus. Sejanus watched, amused as they splashed him again.
      "Hey!"
Coriolanus flailed in the water, startled by the sudden splash.
      "Awe did I startle you?"
Crow pouted exaggeratedly before rolling their eyes and splashing Coriolanus again.
      "Why you little-!"
Sejanus couldn't quite tell if Coriolanus was pissed off or amused as he dunked Crow under the water.
      "Hey-"
Crow tried to speak when they were let up for air only for a laughing Coriolanus to dunk them again.
      "Hey-"
They started again when he let them up, before looking at Coriolanus's amused smirk and dissolving into laughter.
      "I guess you've got some rebellion in you after all, Cori! And to think just a moment ago I thought you were Mr. Prim and Proper!"
Coriolanus snorted and rolled his eyes.
      "Nobody's perfect, Crow Calamine. And I can certainly be rebellious."
With a chuckle he splashed them, and they quickly retaliated. Sejanus laughed quietly watching the two of them engage in a splash fight, doing his best to ignore the pang of jealousy he felt watching Crow laugh with someone else. He had only met them a few days ago, he shouldn't be jealous. Especially not of Coriolanus, who was clearly only interested in Lucy Gray.
      "You like them, right?"
Lucy Gray asked him, having swum over to him while Crow and Coriolanus were splashing each other. Sejanus smiled softly, watching Crow laugh before getting knocked underwater once again by Coriolanus.
      "I do, yeah. They're just.. captivating."
He turned to Lucy Gray, who was smiling at him softly.
      "You seem nice, Sejanus. Just take care with Crow, would you? They've been a little fragile ever since our Ma and Pa passed."
As Sejanus watched Crow's actions in the water, he hardly would've called them fragile. They were brimming with life. And doing a damn good job fighting Coriolanus off in the water, despite their difference in size and strength. Nonetheless Sejanus nodded his head.
      "Don't worry, I'll be careful."
      "Good. And remember, if you do hurt them, the threat they made at Coriolanus goes for you too!"
Lucy Gray grinned and swam off towards Coriolanus, distracting him long enough for Crow to swim back to Sejanus. Their hair was wet and wild, and their face was flushed, even in the cool water.
      "Hiii"
They giggled, swimming close to him, resting their hands on his shoulder.
      "Hi there"
He smiled, looking them up and down. With Crow clinging onto him he found that he had to try harder to stay afloat.
      "I'm tired."
They yawned.
      "That water battle with Cori was exhausting!"
      "It sure looked like it. I'm surprised he didn't drown you!"
Sejanus chuckled.
      "Awe, come on! You wouldn't let him drown me, would you Sejanus?"
Crow looked up at him, eyelashes fluttering up and down over their big blue eyes.
      "I- uhm-"
He felt his face flush as they continued to stare at him.
      "Of course not."
He spoke softly, lifting one hand out of the water to hold the side of their face.
      "I would never let anyone hurt you in any way, Crow."
Now it was Crow's turn to become flushed and embarrassed.
      "I- Uhm- well-"
They became even redder, taking off toward the dock. Sejanus swam after them, leaving Coriolanus and Lucy Gray alone to have their own interaction in the water. Unfortunately Crow was much faster than Sejanus and by the time he had gotten up onto the docks again he wasn't sure where they had gone. He felt stupid. Why would he say something so intense to someone he didn't know all that well? Why? As he dried himself off and redressed, Sejanus found himself deep in thought. Thoughts about Crow. Thoughts about Coriolanus. Thoughts about Lucy Gray's odd comments about Crow's mental state. He didn't have too long to be lost in thought though, Crow soon reappeared with a bouquet of dandelions. They sat down beneath the tree Coriolanus and Lucy Gray had been sitting under previously, and waved to Sejanus, motioning for him to come over.
      "I'm sorry I ran off earlier."
They told him as he got closer to the tree.
      "For all my big talk, I get embarrassed and shy sometimes."
Crow continued as Sejanus set himself down next to them.
      "It's alright."
He told them, leaning against the tree.
      "I understand."
For a few blissful moments the two sat in silence, then Sejanus got curious.
      "What are you doing with those?"
He asked curiously, watching Crow thread the dandelions together slowly.
      "I'm making a dandelion chain. If it gets long enough I can turn it into a little crown."
They leaned over, their side pressing into his as they showed him the way they strung together dandelions. Slowly, silently, he put an arm around them, holding them as they continued to thread the dandelions together.
      "Hmm... let me see..."
They muttered quietly, holding the chain up to his head.
      "Just a few more..."
Crow continued adding dandelions to the chain, before finally closing it up, creating a crown. They reached over, setting the dandelion crown down on his head. It fit perfectly.
      "How do I look?"
He smirked at them, striking a pose."
      "Like a very poor prince who can't afford a real crown."
Crow snorted, eyes lighting up at their own joke.
      "...You look nice."
They mumbled after another moment, once again blushing. They settled back into Sejanus's side, working on a second dandelion chain which quickly became a crown for them as well. As the sun started to set and Crow snuggled up into Sejanus's side they thought to themself that today really had been a perfect day.
      "Crow?"
Lucy Gray called over to them, standing hand in hand with Coriolanus.
      "We ought to head home, it's getting dark!"
With a sigh Crow got up, extending a hand to Sejanus, who graciously accepted it as he got up as well.
      "Alright, let's go."
Crow and Sejanus joined Lucy Gray and Coriolanus on the trail, and started heading back to District 12. It had been a long day but a good one, and all four of them went back to the District with smiles on their faces and fullness in their hearts.