a/n: this chapter is kinda short just wanted to get it out!
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"I didn't know Billy Taupe pushed you."
That was the first thing Sejanus said when they got back to the house that night.
"I didn't even see you on the ground," he continued, like he felt the need to defend himself. "I-I didn't see any of that. By the time I pushed through the crowd, I just saw Coriolanus on top of him."
Liville had barely registered that she was on the ground before Coriolanus was on top of him. He'd come out of nowhere. He was defending her before she even had time to process that she needed defending.
Liville only said, "It all happened so fast."
He spoke with the same wary tone. "I don't want you to think I wouldn't defend you."
He always did verbally, so she knew deep down that if she needed him, he'd defend her physically, just as Coriolanus had. "I know you would, Sejanus."
Her eyes stayed on the window, staring out of it, hoping for Coriolanus to appear.
It was so cold out there, so rowdy, she didn't want him to be out there on his own.
Sejanus stayed where he was, standing beside her in the living room. "Liv, about...about what Coriolanus said..."
Her attention snapped back to him.
"When he said something along the lines of...'your new boyfriend'..."
Her heart dropped. And she wondered if he was about to accuse her of something.
But he didn't. He wasn't angry. Apparently, he thought she was.
"I wasn't gossiping with him," he tried to say to her. "I just-I needed someone to talk to about it all."
She realized what was going on. He thought Coriolanus had exposed him for talking about their private conversation. He thought Liville was upset at him for mentioning this 'new boyfriend' at all.
"I didn't use that word," Sejanus tried to defend himself further. "I didn't say anything like that. I just-I admitted that you met someone-I'm sorry. It wasn't my place to say, but it was driving me crazy not to talk to anyone about it."
"...When did you talk to him about it?"
"Just the other night. I did not go into detail, I swear. I'm just so...used to talking to you about everything, I didn't know how to go through it by myself."
She felt another tug of heartache.
"I wouldn't have told him if I knew he'd throw it back at me like that," Sejanus spoke bitterly.
"He should not have done that," she agreed. "That was horribly cruel of him to say."
The next words Sejanus spoke surprised her. Because she thought he was angry at Coriolanus, but Sejanus went back to being a caring friend in an instant. "I know. It was. But even though it was cruel, could I ask you to please not...be too angry at Coriolanus for what he did tonight. I know he caused a scene and probably embarrassed you and Lucy Gray horribly, but please remember that Lucy Gray is really the only girl he's ever cared about. It must have been hard for him to come face to face with the man that sent her to die in the games."
Liville felt colder at how warmly he still spoke of Coriolanus, even after how he'd spoken to Sejanus, how he'd yelled at him.
"...You're still defending him?" she asked. Because she couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe Sejanus was still looking out for Coriolanus's reputation.
