Love comes in all shades | Coriolanus Snow x OC |

6. All or nothing

 The day has finally come. Today the Academy students were supposed to gather and listen to the announcement of the Plinth prize's winner. Coriolanus' hands were shaking as he was buttoning up the shirt that Tigris sewed and washed for him. It belonged to his father back in the day and was one of the few of his belongings that survived the war time. Although, the buttons seemed to be modified.

"Tigris?" He called for her and she quickly entered his room. She had a dish towel in her hands along with a pan that looked awfully used up. If one of his friends saw this kind of equipment they would most likely puke out of disgust. His living conditions were repulsive. But not for long, he told himself in an attempt to calm down his nerves. He was pretty sure that he was going to get the Plinth's stipend, but what would happen if he was wrong? Would he ever manage to climb the social ladder and restore Snow's old glory? Probably, but it would take him more time than with the prize and the prestige that came along with it. He liked challenges, but of a different type - he preferred to use his wit to charm people, win them over in a conversation or outshine them with his propositions. He'd much rather focus on that instead of survival.

"Yes, Coryo?" She said as she cleaned the pan. It was such a pity that they were forced to live like this. Her hands were going to be forever destroyed with the chemicals of the cheap cleaning products that she used. He hoped that the damage wasn't as noticeable as he feared it would be, because if it would then showing up with her in public would become problematic for him. She was his cousin after all. People of Panem were proud of their families, showing them off to friends and associates whenever they got a chance. They were flaunting them to everyone as if that was the biggest proof of their high status and immense success in life. And who would ever buy his story of a wealthy family that never faced any financial issues if his closest family member had hands like a common washerwoman working in a cheap laundry? One handshake would give it all away. Maybe he could buy her a hand cream as a gift after receiving the money from the prize?

"Did you change the buttons?" He asked as he touched one of them. They even felt unfamiliar to his fingers.

"Yes, some of the original ones fell off. I figured out that it would be better to change all of them," she shrugged, but looked down nonetheless, as if she expected him to be mad at her. He wasn't, at least not at her. He was mad that they didn't have enough money to buy something new, instead of sticking to repairing already worn out clothes to restore their old look even slightly. In essence, he was angry at their living conditions, not at Tigris. He actually appreciated her idea and skillset. She could become a famous tailor one day. He promised himself that he would help her achieve that. It would be good for her and fall into her area of interest. He could show his appreciation and gratitude towards her like this. Moreover, it would explain her coarse palms. Alas, that was only possible if he would get the money. What if he wasn't going to receive it? He feared that constantly, no matter how irrational and unlikely such a scenario seemed to be. "Are you alright?" She asked him and he nodded. It was too quick on his part and so she came closer to give him one more look of concern. "I can see that you're not. What's going on?" She asked after, a deep worry present in her eyes.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, not exactly comfortable with sharing his worries with her. It wasn't because he didn't trust her, not at all. It was because expressing his concerns out loud made them real. As long as they were just in his head he felt safe. Or at least safer than he would if he spoke about it. What was said and out in the open could expose him to damage, someone could use information about his fears against him. Maybe not Tigris personally, but she could give that information away by accident. What if someone would get close to her just to gain her trust, so she would reveal something about Coriolanus that he didn't want others to know? He would rather take no chances. Precaution was everything.