Coriolanus Snow X Reader (The Hunger Games)

Part 8

     Coriolanus Snow jolts awake, sitting up and panting. He had fallen asleep in his red jacket uniform, which was now drenched in sweat. Somehow though, the rose was still attached to the jacket. A little bent, but still hanging on nonetheless. Coryo turns to look at the clock on the wall, it was 3:45 am. Training for the tributes start at 6:30, so he didn't have much time, but there was something he had to do. Coryo had woken up so suddenly because of a nightmare he just had. In the nightmare, Y/N had been brutally beaten by Peacekeepers and Coryo had tried to intervene, but it ended with him being held back as she was shot. Just as the gun went off, he woke up. It felt so real. Maybe because part of it had actually happened, and the last part was still a mystery. Had Y/N been killed? Coryo was going to find out sooner rather than later.

    Throwing the blankets off of his body, Coryo stands from his bed and quickly glances in the mirror. His hair was an absolute mess, some of it was sticking up and another part of it was in his face, but he didn't have time to fix it. One good thing, however, was that his bruise was almost completely faded, and felt a lot better too. He figured he just needed some sleep, because before tonight it had been a good while since he had gotten even a few good hours of sleep. Normally he would stay up either strategizing or worrying; or both. Coryo tiptoes through the house, being cautious as to not wake up Tigris or Grandma'am as he knew they wouldn't approve of this little late night excursion. Stepping out the door and into the cold, moist night air, Coriolanus looks up at the dark sky and sighs as a star glimmers in his eyes. The first place he would check is the medical ward, as that would be the ideal whereabouts of Y/N, but he wasn't too hopeful on the idea of a tribute being properly taken care of.

     It must've rained earlier in the night, because the trail leading to the Capitol was filled with thick mud. Coryo's black shoes kept sinking as he walked and eventually he could feel the dampness of the mud on his feet, even inside the shoe. He didn't care, he kept going. It would've been too risky to take a vehicle, so that's why he walked instead. The trail to the Capitol was about a mile long, and that one mile felt like a million. He felt so close to Y/N, yet so far. When he reaches the Capitol about an hour or so later, he wipes off his shoes so he wouldn't leave a trail inside and sneaks into a back door. It didn't matter much if he were caught, he wouldn't get in trouble since he was a mentor, but he would be redirected to the room with his fellow classmates, so he wanted to stay hidden anyway. Coryo rushes down the white tiled halls until meeting his destination. Firstly, he peeks through the medical ward's window to make sure no Peacekeepers were guarding the door. Once clear, he slips on inside. He searches room after room for his tribute, but there's no sign of her. All he gets is grumpy groans and complaints from the sick and injured who had unconventionally been disturbed by him. "Sorry," Coryo mutters, losing hope and making his way back to the main door. Just as he was about to exit, he notices a glare from the wall. Inching closer, he makes out with it was. It was an assortment of keys hanging from a hook attached to the wall. Peacekeeper keys? Wait. That means.. Peacekeepers have access to the tribute's cage. Coryo could get in there and get Y/N out, if she was even there. She had to be, where else would they have put her if not the medical ward? He had to hurry, it wouldn't be long before that Peacekeeper realizes he left his keys behind. Also, he didn't really feel like beating up another Peacekeeper. Before leaving, he snatches one more thing: a first aid kit, just in case.

     Exposing himself back to the night, Coriolanus now follows the trail to the cage. The sun was beginning to rise, meaning he had to get there fast if he wanted any possible time with Y/N before Peacekeepers throw him away. Once he sees those metal bars up ahead, he holds his breath. Please, please let Y/N be here. He pleads to himself. Coryo grabs a bar with each of his hands, looking desperately inside the imprisonment for his tribute. He sees the pair from 3, 8, 11.. she had to be here somewhere. He'd have to get closer. Coryo pulls the keys from his pocket, his hands shaking as he fiddles with them, trying to find the correct one for the gate. Trying one after the other, he has no luck. Come on.. he places the second to last key into the lock, and click. The gate opens. Coryo starts to breathe normally again, but he was still on edge and would be until he saw Y/N alive with his own two eyes. All the tributes were asleep, and he knew waking even one of them would be a death sentence for him, so he couldn't make even the slightest sound. He creeps inside the cage, avoiding twigs and crunchy leaves. Again he sees tributes from the other districts, and he starts getting really worried. He rests his chin on his hand for a second, thinking about the worst scenario possible and hoping that it wouldn't be the case. Just when he was about to lose hope, he makes a quick glance behind a tree in the corner and locates Aaron. That was a good sign, if he got a little closer he should be able to make out if Y/N was here with him or not. Rounding the tree, Coryo finally sees what he has dreamed of seeing for the past few hours. He lets out a big sigh of relief, it was Y/N. She was alive.

     She didn't look good, though. No one must've bothered tending to her cheek wound. It looked like the bleeding had stopped for the most part, but there was dried blood covering her cheek and down her chin and neck. Coriolanus kneels down beside her, considering his options. While Y/N wasn't completely in Aaron's hold, his arm was wrapped around her and Coryo wanted to move her without waking him. Gently grabbing Aaron's arm, Coryo redirects it off of Y/N and sets it slowly on the ground. Aaron makes a weird snorting sound, but luckily stays asleep. Now, he decided his best option would be to carry Y/N out of the cage and find a safe place in the woods to hide so he could tend to her without disruption. Putting the handle of the first aid kit in his mouth so he had enough arms to carry her, Coryo slides his hands under Y/N and lifts her from the hard ground and into his warm arms. She twitches a bit, but stays asleep; he didn't want to wake her until he knew they were in a safe spot. He carefully holds her in a bridal style, making sure he had a firm grip to support her head and body comfortably as he takes her out of the cage and into the woods.

     Coriolanus carries Y/N for a few minutes, and each of those minutes she starts to become more aware. Her eyes were fluttering and she would mumble something inaudible every few moments. He picks up the pace, until finally reaching a long log under a tree far away enough from the cage for anyone to hear them. The log was just long enough for Y/N to lay on, so he sets her gently down onto it. Taking the first aid kit out of his mouth, Coryo sets it down by the log and opens it. Perfect, it had everything he needed: needles, thread, sanitation wipes, and bandaids. He prepares the needle and thread, and while he's doing that, Y/N reaches her full awareness. She abruptly sits up, her eyes wide as she takes in the unfamiliar surroundings. "Wha-" She starts but Coryo gently shushes her. "Stay still." He tells her and lifts the needle and thread to her cheek. "Woah, woah, woah," Y/N leans back, "what are you doing? Where are we? What happened?" She was so confused. Then, she realizes who it was in front of her and immediately calms down. "Well, hi there pretty boy.." She smiles slightly. "Why are you here with me and not at home getting rest?" She studies his forehead. "Your bruise looks better." Y/N was in a lot of pain but she still cared more about her mentor's own well being. She wasn't sure why. Maybe because.. "Wait. I'm starting to remember. I-" She gets cut off by Coryo. "You were attacked by a Peacekeeper." He finishes. "Yeah, but, he would've killed me. I remember seeing someone before I went out, the color.. was red. Coriolanus, did you save me?" She asks, looking into his icy blue eyes. "Well, I wasn't going to just stand there and watch my tribute get killed by a Peacekeeper of all people. I simply did the right thing. Now, stop moving so I can stitch you up." He tries to start the stitching again, but Y/N keeps going. "But- you, you could've got in huge trouble, or worse. They haven't found out it was you, right? They're not going to hurt you? I could never forgive-" He stops her, "No, I'm okay. They think it was you and technically they can't kill a tribute over attacking a Peacekeeper since the tributes are more important to the Capitol. Don't worry." He tells her, hoping it would ease her a bit. "T-Thank you, Coryo.." She says, her teeth chattering and body shivering from the cold; it had started raining again.

     Coriolanus is quick to remove his red jacket and wrap it around Y/N. "No, no you need that." She tries to give it back but Coryo refuses. "Y/N, all you've got on is a dress. I don't want you to be cold. Besides, I still have this shirt that I was going to show you eventually, my cousin Tigris made it for me. It's warmer than you'd think." He chuckles slightly, fighting the urge to shiver himself. "Okay, but now I really have to stitch that up, it looks like it's getting infected." He explains after noticing puss on the wound. Y/N nods and cooperates as Coryo stitches up the cheek wound, flinching a little each time the needle went in. Coryo really wished they had anesthetic in the kit, but he was being as careful as possible as to make it less painful for her. A few stitches later as well as wiping the wound down with sanitation wipes, he finishes his new medic job off with patting down a bandaid onto the wound. He also made sure to remove all of the dried blood from Y/N's skin. "Feel better?" He asks once completely finished. Y/N simply nods, her eyes locked on his as she scoots closer to him. "You should go back, the Peacekeepers will be here soon. I'll see you at training?" She gently removes a piece of stray, damp hair from her mentor's face. Coryo takes a breath and their foreheads touch for a second. A wonderful second. "Here's your jacket back," Y/N hands her mentor's red jacket back and stands up with him once he had put it back on. "I'll walk you back." Coryo says and reaches out a hand, Y/N quick to take it and walk with him back to the cage, their hands tied. Coriolanus opens the gate for his tribute, but Y/N doesn't go in straight away. Instead, she jumps at Coryo, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and whispering, "thank you. For everything." Coryo, shocked, but at the same time, comfortable in her arms, hugs back. He rests his chin on her shoulder as they embrace; the embrace lasting for what felt like forever before they finally let go of each other and Y/N heads back into the cage, waving goodbye to Coriolanus.