Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Day One: No Games AU 

#01 - Air

Around them, everything sizzled and snapped, all volatile and chaotic. Has been that way since the attempt on their lives. Coriolanus preferred when everything was soft and warm, orderly; but his bride was only that way when she didn’t feel that a target was on her back. 

#02 - Apples

“You’re never going to let me go, are you?” Lucy Gray asked with his arms around as they lay in the darkness.

He didn’t need to answer her, just asked, “Are you angry with me?”

Lucy Gray huffed and replied, “It would have been nice to have a warning, that’s all.” 

#03 - Beginning

All around him, his classmates kept saying how the District girl was pretty in a simple peasant way, nothing like the sophistication of the Capitol. 

And yet, they couldn’t keep their eyes off of her. 

Coriolanus didn’t say such dishonest gibberish, only watched the girl on the stage, singing about fields and snakes with venom, and wondered if he could get her name.

#04 - Bugs

“Mama! Look!” Betty Ivory (Beatrice Ivory Snow) held up her hand and a spider was resting on her palm.

“Careful,” Lucy Gray said, “You don’t want it scared.”

Lucy Gray picked up a stick and got the little critter, named Cozy Legs, to climb on and then they got the little fellow up a bush where it spun its web in peace. 

#05 - Coffee

Coriolanus did not particularly like coffee, but he got it anyway. 

Coffee, though bitter and stayed on his tongue, came with rich pastries and cream. 

It meant that the days of getting so hungry that he had to eat paste were gone like smoke blown off by wind and it will stay that way thanks to him. 

#06 - Dark

These people are so rich, they got gold on their walls, Lucy Gray thought, a finger tracing the shimmering borders. 

She kept up the air of nonchalance as she felt his stare on her, like ice surrounding her and trapping in heat. Is he planning to buy her as well?

#07 - Despair

Lucy Gray buried her husband on a sunny day, her children surrounded her like guard dogs. It was an apt comparison, since many disgruntled enemies felt that the elderly widow was now easy pickings. They were about to find out what she had ear

ned by sleeping with the most dangerous snake in town. 

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#08 - Doors

Lucy Gray was told about the land beyond the mountains when she was a cub- don’t go there, they warned, they’re vicious and unnatural, like the two legged ones before us.

She didn’t choose to be here, but dragged to it by the scruff of her neck.

She looked around at the wolves with their shiny coats and sharp fangs and started to plot, because this will not be the end for her.

#09 - Drink

Lucy Gray cautiously walked to the water and sniffed it.

She then started to drink.

“You really thought this was poisoned, didn't you?” Asked Coriolanus, he got a splash of water hitting his face.

#10 - Duty

Coriolanus understood that if he was to be mated to Lucy Gray, he would need a den for them and their cubs, and so he got to work. Skins of his kills must be gathered for bedding, wood for the cooking, and larder ready for storage. And he should get those shiny colorful stones that she admired so, maybe he can pile them up and she can choose where they went.

#11 - Earth

Something happened a long time ago, a blue glow and a million creatures disappearing with just a shadow left.

Coriolanus was told that after that, worthy animals such as their pack could do things their ancestors were unable to accomplish and the land was theirs for the taking.

No matter how much other lesser creatures tried to steal it from them, they were able to fight back by tooth, claw and mind.

#12 - End

Lucy Gray snuggled with her cubs, little wiggly plumb babies who hadn’t opened their eyes yet. The door of their den opened and in came Coryo with the day’s kill. He prepared it and then laid down next to her and their cubs.

#13 - Fall

Coriolanus watched as the little she-wolf pranced around the others and no one saw that she laid a trap for them, until it was too late.

Sure enough, there were howls and yelps of pain as the cocky canines fell into the traps. The little she-wolf then grabbed the game and ran off into the trees.

#14 - Fire

Lucy Gray knew what fire was, from when it came to her part of the country during the dry season and just one spark set everything ablaze. But she never saw someone actually making fire on their own, and having it trapped and unable to escape its containment. The great big golden wolf caught her look of awe and smirked.

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#15 - Flexible

“May the odds always be in your favor.”

And just like that, the future Coryo held onto evaporated like smoke- graduating, that job in the Mayor’s office, building that house for himself and Lucy Gray, it won’t happen because they’re going to be shipped off to die. 

He looked to Lucy Gray, standing next to him and next thing he knew, she started to sing. 

#16 - Flying

He doesn’t want to die but he can’t live in a world where she is not there, so he held up the snake with its venom still fresh on its fangs.

“Do you trust me?” Coryo asked.

“Not when you got that crazy look in your eyes,” Lucy Gray quipped, but she took that gamble he was placing and see if they get to win the pot or not. 

#17 - Food

Coryo didn’t even bother looking at the rainbow snake, letting it rattle and show off its fangs. But before the unnatural thing could strike, he blew its head clean off. Once it was done, he put the revolver back in its holster. 

#18 - Foot

Coriolanus gazed at his firstborn, his son, sleeping in his cradle and swore that he would never know of the trials that his father and his mother had to endure. 

Years later, somehow they managed to grow old and brittle, but Lucy Gray still sang so sweet and he fancied himself still sharp and slick, they watched their grandchildren get ready to fight.

The Games were canceled, but they never fully went away and now they were coming back with a vengeance- the Capitol figured that it was the perfect time to sow dissent but they forgot the survivors were still around and still willing to make sure that it will end for good. 

#19 - Grave

His mentor- some Capitol kid no older than him- was asking about what he could do.

Coryo was not naturally talented with a gun- heck, his shot was terrible in the beginning, but they had to eat, so he practiced his aim until he could shoot a squirrel right in the eye. 

He didn’t say any of this, just flashed his pearly whites and said, “I’ve been told I got a nice smile.” 

#20 - Green

When he was eight years old, Coryo watched Peacekeepers kill his parents; he had no idea what happened to his aunt and uncle, Tigris wouldn’t say.

He just remembered Covey coming over, wrapping a blanket on him and putting him in the wheelbarrow, with strict instructions to keep quiet.

He didn’t see anything until they got him to the wagons- he never told them that he smelled the blood and gunpowder. 

#21 - Head

“Does anyone even watch these games anymore?” Coryo muttered, keeping an eye on the damn bats on the train.

“We didn’t last year,” Lucy Gray shrugged nonchalantly but Coryo could tell that she was already thinking- his girl always had a scheme, had to. 

He leaned against the wall, trying to steady himself as the train jerked and jostled, and waited for what she had planned. 

#0- Extra

Lucy Gray understood why Coryo didn’t like the mockingjays- the jabberjays were unnatural things in his eyes, made by the Capitol.

But they were able to free here, at the edge of nowhere and their chicks survived and thrived despite the Capitol and all their high and mighty ways.

Covey and maybe even the people willing to fight in District 12 can be like the mockingjays- they’ll take all those fancy weapons and tricks from the Capitol and throw it back at them. 

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#22 - Hollow

Coriolanus was told that District 13 was lost, along with all the Snow fortune and now he looked around and saw that the lab that was once theirs was up and running. 

#23 - Honor

They had to wear the simple functional jumpsuits that everyone had to wear underground, but Lucy Gray took some thread from her dress that was safely packed and hidden away, and braided it on her hair. 

#24 - Hope

Lucy Gray gathered her grandchildren, little chicks still learning to fly, and walked out the gate and into the woods. 

#25 - Light

“Marry me?” Coriolanus asked, and his answer was a songbird flinging herself to him and kissing him as if their lives depended on it. 

#26 - Lost

“Don’t make me your path to salvation Coriolanus Snow,” Lucy Gray, “That is not fair to anyone.” 

#27 - Metal

Coriolanus learned that District 13 was a miserable piece of dirt and metal, and its people kept going by one thing: Spite, which was fine by him. 

#28 - New

Coriolanus had decided this: you do the right thing because honestly, you just do and it's less of a cleanup later down the road; he lost a hand to learn that lesson but since when did anyone do anything the easy way? 

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#29 - Old

“I have one wish,” Coryo whispered in her ear.

“You should keep to yourself so it can come true,” Lucy Gray teased.

He laughed but then replied as if he was praying, “Fine, it's a promise then- we get to grow old together, an old man giving his wife a bouquet of roses.”

#30 - Peace

It happened after they snuck out and swam in the pool, and then had to run when the owners returned. In the dark, Lucy Gray approached Coriolanus and reached out to him with a soft touch and heated eyes and he welcomed them. He asked why she ultimately chose him, chose this, and her reply was a kiss. 

#31 - Poison

They say once you have your soulmate, you are aware of everything about them: their heart, their body, their soul. It sounds like the loveliest, prettiest fairytale, but for all the pleasure and warmth you get, you also feel the pain. Lucy Gray learned this when she felt rage coursing through her veins like venom ready to paralyze, and Coriolanus felt it when his back burn like a ghost whip lashing at him. 

#32 - Pretty

Lucy Gray looked around the penthouse, a broken down crumbling building not fit to house a dog, the old lady alone in her fantasies who sneered at her and the tired young woman desperately trying to turn coal into diamonds. 

She then went up the stairs to the top and saw the garden, filled with roses, a haven of green and life in a city of sharp glass and cold hard stone. 

“We can change this,” said the boy who she is bound to now, “I have a plan,” and she listened to him. 

#33 - Rain

Lucy Gray never thought about meeting your other half, until she met Coryo- a boy who had a knife for a soul and had a mask on at all times, wanting to be good but also wanting to be in control. She can’t help but wonder what it said about her and then he moves heaven and earth to keep them safe just because. The world needs the seasons of ice and winds as well as the seasons of warmth and sun. 

#34 - Regret

Lucy Gray was alive, but the bruises and lacerations couldn’t be hidden and they stung as Tigris cleaned her up with a sponge and prepared the bandages.

She saw Coriolanus watching it all, he had tears in his eyes but there was something else- his eyes were now like blue ice, that kind that stings and stays a long time. 

He will demand blood for this. 

#35 - Roses

The Ceremony of Names is not an annual event, because a soulmate’s name is not revealed every year, but there is a big to do when it does, and today Lucy Gray Baird sees a name as clear as a thunderstorm with lightning. 

“So the one for you is a Capitol boy, god help you,” Barb Azure murmured to her, and Lucy Gray couldn’t respond with a quip because she was already being scooped up and put on the train.

When she got off the train, there was a boy dressed in blood red, fluffy blond curls and holding a white rose. 

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#36 - Secret

“We need to go now,” Marcus said once they got the weapons, and they all knew the window to freedom was closing fast. 

“Wait,” Lucy Gray reached over and closed his eyes, so her boy could finally get some rest, “Okay, let’s get out of here.” 

She joined the rest of the survivors, holding onto the hope that they make it to the rendezvous and see if they can help her get her family out. 

#37 - Snakes

“I cannot decide if Plinth is an idiot or read too much of those hero stories,” Coryo said to Lucy Gray, as they both wondered about the new Peacekeeper, “But he’s going to get himself killed if he doesn’t wise up.” 

Lucy Gray had to agree with him- that boy was walking around with a death wish flashing nice and bright as the Capitol nighttime lights. But what if someone made sure that he lived long enough to be useful? 

#38 - Snow

“You’re so pure,” Lucy Gray whispered to him.

“I’m not really, but I can be for you,” Coriolanus told her. 

This turned out to be a lie, but neither of them knew that yet. 

#39 - Solid

Lucy Gray laid her head on his chest and Coriolanus felt like all was right in the world. She loved him and he loved her. The rest would work itself out, or he would make it so. 

#40 - Spring

Their first kiss occurred when they were in a little alcove as the raindrops came falling down, they giggled and he could taste the caramel on her tongue from the candies he swiped for her. 

Their last kiss happened in the mud and grime near the dank tunnels that flushed the refuse out of the city, and he was determined to keep her with him and burn the ones who were trying to take her from him. 

And the last thing Officer Coriolanus Snow had heard was ‘I love you,’ and then he died. 

#41 - Stable

He held out his hand to her, and she took it because what else could she do. Everyone else wanted to kill her, and he promised her protection. She hoped that the price he would ask her was something she could live with.  

#42 - Strange

How odd she was, the girl in the rainbow dress and sung to little serpents. She twirled around like she was a storm bringing in life and colors. Coriolanus wondered if she would bring that to him. 

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#43 - Summer

Lady Lucy Gray of House Snow, screamed as if she wanted to be heard beyond the heavens and pushed with all her might. 

And then another scream joined hers, from a tiny one covered in blood and slime. 

“A girl my lady,” said the midwife and Lucy Gray laughed because her daughter was perfect and Coriolanus kissed her forehead and declared himself the happiest man in all of Panem. 

#44 - Taboo

Coriolanus looked at the ugly iron throne with sharp edges everywhere, and remembered the ballads about how the first king made it so because the ones who rule should be reminded of the dangers. No matter how powerful you are, you can always be brought down, just those before you. 

‘Maybe that’s why we had so many mad kings to begin with,’ he thought, ‘always having a knife at my back would get me like that.’ 

#45 - Ugly

“How could you?!” Lucy Gray accused her husband, angrily throwing a pot at his head as if that could stop the match between their little girl and the Ravinstill boy.

Coriolanus ducked and it hit the wall, “It’s a good match!”

“She is four years old!” Lucy Gray yelled. 

#46 - War

“Don’t you die out there,” Lucy Gray adjusted the straps on Coriolanus’ leathers, “Neither you nor Sejanus are allowed to die. And if he gets some fool notion of playing hero, you drag him away.” 

Coriolanus cupped his wife's face and leaned his head to hers, and said, “I will fight everyday to return to you,” and return the embrace she gave him.

#47 - Water

Coriolanus looked at the lake and remembered when he and Lucy Gray took the children out to swim when it was a warm day. He hoped that she got out in time with their daughter and sons, the etchings on their tree signaled this to him. He had no faith in the gods, but all faith in her. 

#48 - Welcome

“If you don’t like it, then take it off yourself,” challenged Lucy Gray, watching her husband grow very still. 

Resolute, she turned and gathered her hair out of the way of the clasp of her dress and tried not to shiver when he accepted her dare.

 As he unfastened it, and the gown fell to her feet, she turned to face him, her own eyes never left his and then lunged to kiss him. 

#49 - Winter

Everyone knew that summer would end and a long winter would follow, but no one knew that along with the cold there would be monsters.

Creatures that many believe to only exist in children's stories, or the songs Lucy Gray sang to Cordelia Orchid and the boys. 

Coriolanus wondered if the stories revealed a way to destroy them. 

#50 - Wood

Sejanus looked at his new hand, polished oak with a hook that he can manipulate. He had a metal one that could maneuver a bit m

ore. 

He waved with it at his little nieces and nephews.