I Don't Wanna See You Smile (Snowjanus)

"You look nice."

Coriolanus froze, unprepared to see Tigris on his way out of their apartment door. "Oh," he awkwardly smoothed out his shirt. "Thank you."

"Where are you off to?" She stood, making her way over to her cousin.

"Just to see a friend." He hoped Tigris would leave it at that. Just wish him well and he could be off. Unfortunately, she cared too much.

Her eyes lit up upon hearing that he had a friend. "The one you go see after school sometimes?"

"Yes. He invited me over today and his mother always makes a nice meal." He honestly wasn't even sure his parents would be home. He remembered Sejanus mentioning once that they often took Saturday's for themselves.

Tigris smiled at the mention of food. Her and grandma'am had eaten Mrs. Plinth's food just as much as he had. "It's nice that you're spending time with someone from school. What's his name?"

Coriolanus hesitated. Tigris knew of the Plinth's. Their grandma'am talked often of how they damaged the Capital's reputation. Part of him was still ashamed to admit how much he enjoyed their company. Another part was ashamed of himself for feeling that way. He hated both of those parts equally.

"Sejanus. Plinth." He should have known that Tigris would be ecstatic to hear that. She had a heart of gold and always had a soft spot for people like him.

"Oh wow," she smiled. "I didn't realize the two of you were so close."

Coryo almost said that they weren't. "Yeah, it's...he's nice." He willed his face not to heat up.

Tigris reached out and fixed some of his curls. "Have fun. Tell him I said hello. I'd love to properly meet him sometime."

"Right," Coriolanus cleared his throat. "I'll tell him. See you later."

He was surprised to see that Sejanus was still in his night clothes when he opened the door to let Coriolanus in. "Am I early?" He asked, trying hard to avoid looking at his friend.

"No!" Sejanus said quickly, then laughed. "Well, maybe a bit. But that's okay. Ma is out, but she left a pot of oatmeal on the stove if you'd like some. Did you eat breakfast?"

Coryo followed Sejanus into the kitchen. He was so used to being fed over here that he didn't really feel the need to put on a show of waving away the offers anymore. "Well if there's extra," he mumbled.

Sejanus fixed him a bowl. "I was just finishing my own breakfast when you rang the doorbell. Give me a minute and I'll go put some real clothes on."

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Coryo's cheeks felt hot and he silently prayed that the color did not reflect that. Sejanus looked at him quizzically. "I mean, we're just hanging out here, right? You don't have to do something special on my account."

Sejanus smiled, but he tried to hide it. He pulled out a chair across from Coriolanus and sat down. Coryo ate his breakfast silently, awkwardly.

Sejanus cleared his throat. "So, what would you like to do today?"

"Aren't you the one that invited me over?"

He looked flustered. "Well, yes. I thought maybe we could study or something, or–"

"I didn't bring my books." He'd considered it this morning, but decided against it, hoping that the two could do something like real friends might.

The thought of kissing Sejanus plagued his mind. He suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore.

"Oh that's fine!" Sejanus assured, smiling. "I didn't really have a plan, honestly. I just..." he laughed, quietly, messing with the table cloth and avoiding eye contact. "I just wanted to see you again." he glanced up. "Was there anything you had in mind?"