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For the first time, Sejanus was perfectly happy with his life going the way it was, and didn’t want anything to change.
As recent as last year, he had been ready to just end it all, and couldn’t think of any real reason he had for keeping on with the monotony of his life. That had all changed when he started dating Coriolanus.
He’d never thought he’d ever get into a relationship, given that pretty much everyone around him avoided him like he had some sort of highly contagious disease. He especially never thought he’d ever date someone that other people wanted to steal from him.
Coriolanus was well-known to be one of, if not the number one, most desirable guys in the Capitol. For years he’d been sought after by almost every girl at the academy, but had rejected anyone who asked him out. After a while people started to give up, assuming he was simply uninterested in relationships and solely focused on his education.
At least, that’s what everyone assumed until he asked out Sejanus. If everyone hated him before, now they actively wanted him dead. An alarming amount of people genuinely thought he’d used some kind of district magic to place a love spell on Coriolanus, or that he was blackmailing him into dating him. Nobody believed that someone like Coriolanus actually wanted to be with someone like Sejanus.
It was stupid, as Coriolanus often told the people who tried to ‘help’ him, given that he’d been the one to make the first move. Not that anyone listened to him. They still respected him, and a lot of girls still tried to ask him out despite him being very much taken, but there was now a general consensus that Coriolanus had somehow lost his mind.
Sejanus just tried to drown it all out. He was used to people glaring at him, and was happy with them hating him because he had a hot, loving boyfriend instead of being hated simply because he wasn’t born in the same hospital that they were.
Coriolanus was surprisingly incredibly sweet when it came to Sejanus. He felt mean saying it was surprising, but he hadn’t expected such a stoic, self-assured person to be so doting. Coriolanus lathered him in affection constantly, and came up with so many new, adorable pet names that Sejanus had just started responding to anything he said.
He was more than content with the way they were now. They spent most of their time together in quiet corners and largely deserted areas where they wouldn’t be bothered, and where people weren’t able to fake-gag whenever they saw them kiss. Sejanus was getting tired of hearing audible disgust whenever he so much as held his boyfriend’s hand.
Occasionally they hung out at Sejanus’ house, when his father wasn’t home and they could just go his room without anyone bothering them.
They’d been together for nearly half a year and had already reached a few of the stereotypical milestones. They’d kissed, a lot, they’d said ‘I love you’, and had gotten to second base on a few occasions. Coriolanus was careful to let Sejanus know he actually cared for him and wasn’t just using him as a warm mouth, which wasn’t even a thought that crossed Sejanus’ mind until Coriolanus had assured him it wasn’t true.
They both knew the next big milestone had to come somewhat soon, that they had to introduce each other to their families. It didn’t help that their families were being quite insistent that it happen, with Sejanus’ Ma especially asking constantly when she was finally going to get to meet the boy who was making her son so happy.
He’d heard from Coriolanus that his cousin Tigris was also very excited to meet him. The issue wasn’t with Ma or Tigris, they both knew neither would be judgey at all. Rather, their reluctance came from Sejanus’ father and Coriolanus’ grandmother.
It was no secret that Coriolanus’ grandmother despised people from the districts, and would probably fly off the handle when she found out that her only grandson was sweet on someone born outside the Capitol. On the other hand, Coriolanus wanted to put off meeting Strabo Plinth for as long as he possibly could. Sejanus’ father owned a munitions company, and Coriolanus was convinced he would be shot on sight if he showed up with his arm around his only son.
So they avoided the topic for a while, making excuses as to why they couldn’t meet, until they simply couldn’t anymore. Ma had been adamant that she simply needed to have Coriolanus over for dinner, and Tigris had started refusing to drink tea unless Sejanus joined them for it at least once.
Eventually, they were forced to acquiesce, and they made plans to finally meet each other’s families.
They’d set a couple rules before it actually happened. Sejanus made sure none of the guns in his house were loaded before Coriolanus could arrive, and Coriolanus had decided he wouldn’t use Sejanus’ surname at all and instructed Tigris to not mention anything regarding where his boyfriend was born.
Against their best wishes, the time came, and Coriolanus got ready to join the Plinths for a family dinner. Sejanus wasn’t too worried about him, given how much of a charming, perfect gentleman he was. He couldn’t say the same for Coriolanus, who was surprisingly nervous about making a good impression on his parents, despite their district heritage.
Sejanus’ father didn’t seem too pleased at the prospect of meeting his son’s boyfriend, sulking around while his wife fretted preparing dinner. He was already on his third drink before Coriolanus even arrived, which wasn’t exactly the best way to start things.
When the doorbell finally rang, Sejanus himself was a little concerned that his father would actually kill his boyfriend. Nonetheless, he went to open the door.
Coriolanus was handsome as ever, dressed like he was attending some important event instead of a simple dinner. He’d clearly spent a lot of time painstakingly making himself look perfect, and looked genuinely terrified as he walked through the front door. He’d brought a small bouquet of purple roses for Sejanus’ Ma, but he was gripping the stems so tight Sejanus thought he might cut himself on thorns if they hadn’t been cut off.
“Hi darling.” Coriolanus muttered, pressing a quick kiss to his lips as Sejanus led him toward the dining room. Sejanus interlocked their fingers, and finally walked into the room where his parents were waiting.
His ma was practically bursting with excitement, poorly containing a wide smile. His father on the other hand, was completely expressionless, staring Coriolanus down like he was searching for something to criticise.
“Ma, Pa, this is Coriolanus.” Coriolanus smiled, the practiced expression Sejanus saw him use with professors at the academy. Coriolanus was historically very good at getting people to like him, and was pretty hopeful that would translate to his parents.
“Coriolanus. It’s so wonderful to meet you, my Janey never shuts up about you.” Ma rushed forward to wrap Coriolanus in a tight hug, almost crushing the roses if Sejanus hadn’t had the foresight to pull them out of the way. When she pulled back she beamed at him, holding him by the shoulders while Coriolanus just awkwardly smiled back.
“It’s lovely to meet you too, Mrs Plinth. I brought these for you.” He held the bouquet out toward her, which she took delightedly.
“They’re gorgeous. Aren’t they beautiful, Strabo?” She showed off the flowers to her husband, who just hummed uninterestedly.
“They’re from his grandmother’s rose garden.” Sejanus said, maybe a little too enthusiastically. His father rolled his eyes.
“Your grandmother grows roses? How delightful. I’ve never been able to cultivate flowers, especially not ones like these.” She admired the bouquet in her hands.
“I help her sometimes, perhaps I could give you some tips.” Coriolanus jumped in, finding something he could use to gain favour.
Ma looked appreciative, opening her mouth to reply before Strabo spoke first.
“We don’t need your help, boy.” He spat. Everyone was taken aback, especially Ma who quickly admonished her husband for his outburst. Strabo didn’t seem at all apologetic, and just huffed. So it wasn’t going amazingly so far, but they could maybe scrape it back. At least, Ma seemed pretty taken by Coriolanus.
They sat down for dinner, Strabo glaring at the couple’s linked hands on top of the table. Ma placed an excessive amount of dishes in the centre of the table, sitting back with pride as they all looked over her handiwork.
“It looks delicious, Mrs Plinth.” Coriolanus said, gazing over all the food with wide eyes. Sejanus was aware, now, that Coriolanus’ family often struggled for food, and had no doubt that the laden table looked like a gold mine to him.
“Thank you, and please, call me Ma.” She smiled sweetly and he just nodded. Strabo silently started eating, cutting the food so aggressively he could cut through the plate itself. Coriolanus followed Sejanus’ lead in taking food, clearly trying very hard to be polite.
“So, Coriolanus, tell me about yourself. I’d love to know more about the person who made my little boy smile again.” Ma asked, as Sejanus shrunk into his chair. He knew this would get embarrassing at some point, and only hoped the night wouldn’t end with Coriolanus being shown his baby pictures.
“Well,” Coriolanus paused to think. It was a pretty open ended question and even Sejanus wasn’t sure how he was meant to answer.
“You don’t know about yourself? It’s a simple question.” Strabo snapped, not even giving him a few seconds to formulate an answer.
“Strabo.” Ma warned, before turning back to Coriolanus with that excited smile.
“Honestly I’m pretty boring. I just spend my time studying.” Coriolanus said, to which Strabo scoffed. He clearly thought Coriolanus was trying to impress them, though he wasn’t lying at all. Sejanus was actually pretty worried about his boyfriend’s lack of hobbies.
“Coryo’s top of the class.” Sejanus added. Maybe it would sound less pretentious coming from his mouth.
“Oh, that’s amazing. Your parents must be proud.” Ma grinned. Coriolanus poorly contained a wince.
“What? They’re not?” Strabo scowled. Coriolanus shook his head.
“No, I’m an orphan. I lost both of my parents during the dark days.” He explained, much to Ma’s shock and sympathy.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” She rested a hand over her chest.
“It’s alright. It was a long time ago.” Coriolanus assured her. He’d seemingly gotten over the loss of his parents, likely because he couldn’t have people see him actually grieve them for long.
“Bombings, I presume?” Strabo asked, sounding completely uninteresting and shoving food into his mouth.
“No actually. My father was a general, he died in battle, and my mother died in childbirth. I would have had a sister.” Coriolanus replied. Sejanus’ eyes flicked between his father and his boyfriend, who both seemed concerningly unaffected by the dark topic, just eating as if they were discussing the weather.
Strabo’s eyes narrowed, studying Coriolanus properly and actually paying attention to him for the first time all evening.
“A general?” He asked, as if that were the most important part of that sentence. Coriolanus nodded.
“Who was your father?” He sat up, finally engaging in the conversation without insulting him.
“Crassus Snow.” Coriolanus told him, and Strabo almost immediately perked up. It was like a switch had flipped, and he suddenly decided that Coriolanus was worth his time.
“I knew him. Well, I met him a handful of times. Brilliant man.” He broke out into a smile.
“I thought you looked familiar. You are his spitting image.” He continued.
“As I’m told.” Coriolanus nodded along, clearly taken aback by the complete change in Strabo’s demeanour.
“Sejanus, why didn’t you tell me you were dating Crassus Snow’s boy?” He turned on his son. Sejanus just shrugged.
“Didn’t think it mattered much.” His father scoffed.
“Of course it matters. I assumed he was some gold-digger from the outskirts, I mean, he’s dating you.”
Sejanus tried not to feel hurt by that, he had already known his father didn’t think that highly of him but didnt think he’d immediately assume that Sejanus could only pull someone with an ulterior motive.
Furthermore, he didn’t feel great about how much his father’ behaviour had shifted since finding out Coriolanus was of high class. Of course he knew how classist his father could be, but a small part of him had hoped he would put it aside for the sake of Sejanus’ happiness.
“So, Coriolanus, tell us how Sejanus managed to rope you in.” Strabo said, to which Sejanus just rolled his eyes.
“It’s a funny story, actually.” Coriolanus replied, reassuringly brushing his thumb across Sejanus’. He wanted to slam his head against the table. He’d hoped that his father would be at least a little less disparaging when they had company.
All things considered, the rest of the night went smoother than Sejanus could have hoped. Instead of his boyfriend getting shot, Strabo had completely warmed up to him once he learned who his father was. Sejanus and Ma had basically stayed silent the entire time while Coriolanus and Strabo talked about topics neither of them understood. They spent twenty minutes talking about stocks. Sejanus didn’t even know what stocks were.
After dinner they all moved to the lounge, where Strabo immediately cracked open a bottle of whiskey and decided to offer a glass to his son’s teenage boyfriend.
“Strabo, you can’t give alcohol to a minor.” Ma admonished him, earning only a wave of the hand.
“It’s fine. It’s only one glass and it’s in the house.” He’d never so much as let Sejanus have a sip of posca, but he supposed he didn’t really care as long as things were going well.
“It’s alright, sir.” Coriolanus declined the drink, much to Ma’s relief.
“If you say so, son. Good to get a taste for it early, I say.” Strabo took a large drink himself while an avox left to grab simple lemonade for everyone else. Sejanus wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about his own father referring to someone else as ‘son’, when he’d never done so for him. He didn’t want to make a fuss about it, and was just glad his father was taking a liking to his boyfriend.
Ma tried to take the moment to interrogate Coriolanus herself, but only got one question in before Strabo was back to chatting with him like he was one of his business associates. At that point Ma just gave up trying to join in. Sejanus was pretty sure she would have liked Coriolanus no matter how the evening went, so wasn’t worried about it. He was, however, slightly bitter that they were just sat there watching a conversation they couldn’t partake in.
It got to half ten before Strabo finally let Coriolanus leave, after about an hour of Ma and Sejanus dropping hints that it was getting late, and that they still had to go to the academy in the morning and Coriolanus needed to sleep at some point. Strabo had actually suggested that Coriolanus spend the night there, much to everyone’s surprise.
“We can’t trouble the avoxes with preparing a room right now, Cariño.” Ma said, trying to get everyone to stand up before her husband could go any further with his idea.
“Nonsense. He could just stay with Sejanus. I don’t think he’ll have any complaints.”
Sejanus couldn’t say it wasn’t inticing, especially if his father was endorsing it, but he also didn’t particularly want to spend any longer sitting there awkwardly watching them talk.
“He doesn’t have clothes, or a toothbrush.” Ma reasoned, and Strabo just sighed.
“Fine, fine, lo entiendo. Another time, then.” Strabo let his wife usher them all to the front door. Finally. It had only been five hours.
“It was wonderful to meet you, Coriolanus. And thank you again for the beautiful flowers.” Ma hugged him again, though less bone-crushingly tight than last time.
“Yes, you should know you’re welcome any time.” Strabo grinned, grasping Coriolanus’ hand and shaking it vigorously.
“Thank you. I’ve loved meeting you both.” Coriolanus put on that courteous smile, while both of Sejanus’ parents stood there beaming. He turned to his boyfriend, who was pleased with how it went, if a little uneasy after sitting there twiddling his thumbs for so long.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He pulled him in for a pretty awkward side hug, understandably uncomfortable with kissing him in front of his parents.
“Bye.” Sejanus let go of his hand, and they all waved Coriolanus goodbye as he walked back over the corso toward his own house. When the door was closed, his father was practically jumping out of skin with excitement.
“I’ve got to say, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d manage to get someone like him.” He patted Sejanus on the shoulder, which Sejanus shrugged off.
“That was backhanded.” He said coldly. Strabo sighed.
“Please don’t argue with me Sejanus. I’m complimenting him. All I’m saying is that I’m proud that my son has a boy like that on his arm.”
It was the first time Strabo had ever told Sejanus he was proud of him. And he wasn’t even actually proud of him, he was proud of his boyfriend. Sejanus didn’t react, just nodded and retired to his bedroom. After all, he needed rest if he was meant to meet Coriolanus’ family the next day.
They’d agreed that Sejanus would join them for tea right after school ended, so maybe it would be over faster than dinner the night before. Coriolanus had been very pleased with how the night had went, boasting to Sejanus about how much his father loved him.
He was also very pleased with having received permission to spend the night at Sejanus’ whenever he wanted, and Sejanus got the feeling his bed was about to be invaded very regularly.
On the way to Coriolanus’ house he was coached on how to interact with his grandmother, who Coriolanus referred to as ‘the grandma’am’ for some reason that Sejanus didn’t want to question. He was told to only speak when spoken to, and to not speak too much. Apparently the grandma’am was borderline senile and expected everyone to treat her like royalty out of deference to her family name. It probably didn’t help that her grandchildren did as she requested.
It was probably not Coriolanus’ intention, but by the time they reached his house Sejanus was thoroughly terrified. He was certain he was going to get something thrown at his head the minute he walked through the door.
Coriolanus keeping a tight grip on his hand definitely helped, but Sejanus was struggling to slow his heart beat as Coriolanus pushed the door open and brought him inside.
He already knew that Coriolanus’ family had been forced to sell a lot of their things to get by following the war, and had been told to significantly lower his expectations of how the penthouse would look. But somehow he hadn’t expected it to be just as empty as it was. They had the bare essentials, which made the place look empty due to the sheer size of it. The few things they had looked expensive, but the only thing making the place look homely were the many bouquets on top of every surface possible.
“I’m home, and I brought a guest!” Coriolanus called out, which echoed through the vacancy of the penthouse. Sejanus heard scuttling from within, before a young woman practically ran toward the door to greet them.
He assumed this was Tigris, Coriolanus’ cousin. Based on her white hair and intense blue eyes, it was obvious she was related to his boyfriend, but somehow she looked a lot sweeter.
“Sejanus! It’s so exciting to finally meet you!” She spoke like she was saying hello to an old friend and hugged him like he was already part of the family.
“Honestly, you are the only thing Coryo talks about.” She said, ignoring the glare her cousin was shooting at her in favour of dragging Sejanus through their home to where she’d set tea up. Coriolanus followed them, clearly immediately regretting agreeing to this.
“Grandma’am! Sejanus is here!” Tigris ushered him into the room where Coriolanus’ grandmother was waiting. As expected, she was terrifying. Even though she was sat, docile, at the table beside a porcelain tea set, she seemed as unsettlingly stoic as her grandson, dialled up to eleven.
“Hello, ma’am.” Sejanus tried to smile politely, but thought it probably read as petrified as he felt.
“Who’s that?” The grandma’am stared at Sejanus, studying him, clearly looking for imperfections. He was just glad he did his hair.
“Remember? Coriolanus’ boyfriend? He’s coming over for tea.” Tigris sat him down on a chair at the table, and Coriolanus just silently sat beside him.
“Oh yes. Coriolanus said he was sweeter than sugar.” The grandma’am mused, looking less scary and more like a stereotypically pleasant old lady.
“I didn’t say that.” Coriolanus muttered from beside him, to which Tigris only raised an eyebrow.
“He also said you were probably the kindest person alive.” Tigris sat down herself, shit-eating grin on her face.
“Tigris.” Coriolanus warned, face going red.
“What?” She feigned innocence, “I’m just telling Sejanus about how you said his eyes put the stars to shame.” She was cut off by Coriolanus lobbing a pen at her head, which she narrowly dodged, cackling all the while.
“I’m messing! You never get embarrassed.” Coriolanus picked up the teacup in response, threateningly pointing it toward her. Tigris grabbed it out of his hand, filling it with tea and putting it down in front of her. She stuck her tongue out at him, and took a sip.
Tigris served everyone else, taking special care with the grandma’am’s cup and handing it directly to her after it was full. She didn’t receive a ‘thank you’ from her grandmother, but Sejanus figured that was normal based on everyone’s lack of reaction.
Sejanus wasn’t the biggest fan of unsweetened tea, but doubted they even had sugar and certainly wasn’t about to ask. He just hoped his face didn’t screw up obviously when he took a small sip.
“What do you like to do, Sejanus?” Tigris asked.
“I like crosswords, and baking.” He replied, suddenly feeling bad for not bringing cakes or something to go with the tea.
“Baking? As a hobby? Why would you ever choose to do such a thing?” The grandma’am asked, looking truly perplexed by the idea. Sejanus supposed it had been a long time since they had the luxury of choosing to make something themselves.
“I like the precision, I guess. Everything measured out in a specific way. And I like being able to give them to people, I wish I’d brought something with me today.” He explained, struggling to look back at her intimidatingly sharp blue eyes. On Coriolanus those eyes made his knees weak, but on his grandmother they made him want to run away as quickly as his legs would take him.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had freshly-baked treats like that.” She said, and Sejanus made a mental note to bring over the next thing he baked.
“I’ll bring some over, the only people who ever really try the things I make are Coryo and my Ma-ther.” He quickly corrected himself, thankfully without the grandma’am noticing his slip-up. His referring to her as ‘Ma’ would have been a dead giveaway that he wasn’t raised in the Capitol. Here, nobody spoke to their parents like they actually liked them.
“So that’s why he’s been gaining weight.” She said it casually, completely oblivious to the way her grandson stiffened at the comment. Sejanus had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. He’d seen his boyfriend without a shirt enough times to die happy, and he’d always thought Coriolanus was built like a marble statue.
“Coriolanus has never actually told me how you two started dating.” Tigris quickly changed the topic, and Coriolanus was clearly relieved. Sejanus had to wonder how often his grandmother made little comments like that.
“I liked him for the longest time, then one day he just came up to me and asked me to go on a date with him.” He smiled a little, it still felt a little surreal. It probably didn’t help that it had pretty much come out of the blue, and he’d spent the first week wondering if it was all part of some particularly cruel prank.
“That’s unlike him.” Tigris raised an eyebrow.
“I’m allowed to be impulsive sometimes.” Coriolanus rebutted, to which both Tigris and Sejanus snickered. Coriolanus was the least impulsive person anyone knew, he literally planned when he was going to plan something.
“I mean, I remember him coming home smiling for once in his life and saying he’d had a date, but I’d had no idea about it. I swear, he never tells me anything.” Tigris huffed, though smiling cheekily at her clearly unimpressed cousin.
“Who are your parents?” The grandma’am suddenly asked, looking genuinely interested. Sejanus shared a glance with his boyfriend. They’d been hoping they could avoid that topic entirely, at least for the first meeting.
“Sejanus’ father owns munitions factories. He supplied the Capitol with the weapons that helped us win the war.” Coriolanus answered smoothly while Sejanus was still trying to come up with an answer. The grandma’am looked pleased, clasping her hands together and making an expression that looked like smiling.
“Wonderful. My son, Coriolanus’ father, was in the same industry.” She sounded incredibly proud.
“I’ve heard. My father was very inspired by him. He’s very proud, that I’m with his son.” Sejanus thought the grandma’am liked his answer, and the way that Coriolanus confidently put an arm around him made him think this was maybe going well.
Surprisingly, the grandma’am seemed to really warm to him, and seemed really pleased with everything he said. It probably helped his case that he had no friends to distract him from studying, and his boyfriend planned more study dates than he did anything else.
She even invited him to see the Snow’s rose garden, which, based on Coriolanus’ and Tigris’ reaction, was a pretty huge honour. It was as lovely as he’d expected, given the sheer amount of flowers he’d received that had been grown in it, and the grandma’am was clearly ecstatic to show off her handiwork.
She had roses in colours Sejanus hadn’t even known existed, and she clearly took a lot of pride in him. He hated to think of how she would react when she eventually found out that her precious roses had been given to someone district-born.
It had gone better than anyone could have hoped, as he was led to their door by the grandma’am herself when he had to leave.
“Coriolanus should bring you here more often, I don’t know why he hasn’t before now.” She shot her grandson a harsh look, which made him close in on himself a little.
She even hugged him, much to everyone’s shock, and Sejanus left not sure how to feel. He hadn’t prepared himself for actually being liked, especially by a woman who honestly seemed pretty mean. He supposed it was a good thing, if it meant there would be no pushback from either of their families, and just went home with high hopes.
Those hopes lasted a laughably short time, as the grandma’am found out about who he really was only a few weeks later. His father’s picture had been published in the newspaper, and for whatever reason he’d decided to mention his son by name in the interview.
Coriolanus had come into the academy the next day looking absolutely exhausted, suggesting they just hang out at Sejanus’ place from now on, and for Sejanus to stop bringing treats directly to his house.
Apparently the grandma’am had screamed at him for hours, demanding they break up immediately, and harshly admonishing him for daring to bring district scum into their home. Coriolanus had argued back, only making it worse, and he didn’t think it was a good idea to go back to his own house for a little while.
Strabo was more than happy, thrilled even, when Sejanus asked if Coriolanus could stay with them for a few days so his grandmother had a chance to calm down. He wasn’t sure how long it would be, given the torrent of abuse he was subjected to when he went home for ten minutes to pack a bag, but nobody had any problems with him staying as long as he needed.
Tigris was incredibly apologetic, and said she would try to talk to her grandmother, but something in Sejanus doubted he’d ever be welcome in the Snow’s penthouse again.
Coriolanus assured him that it changed nothing for him, and that he hadn’t expected his grandmother to like Sejanus in the first place. That had seemed more than a little backhanded, but Sejanus couldn’t complain when he was spending every night with his boyfriend’s arms around him.
They’d gotten comfortable in sharing a room very quickly, and Sejanus found he really enjoyed having someone share his space. He didn’t bring it up just yet, still thinking it too soon, but he was getting very excited for when he and Coriolanus would move in together for years. At least then, he wouldn’t have to hide his childhood teddy in the dark corners of his closet.