Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Every day of school for Sejanus was pure torture. Not because of the classes, which most of the time were tolerable. He aced almost each one of them, especially french and spanish, though he wouldn’t call himself a nerd. Most of his classmates seemed to disagree with him on the matter.

And that was exactly the problem.

After over five years of bullying Sejanus had learnt how to endure all of the snickers and jokes the others threw at him daily. He had gotten much better at hiding the pain, though by now it was mostly annoyance. He had tried hard to make new friends when he moved to Capitol City, when he was eight, but nothing worked. He had been known by everyone as the “new kid”, and when he started getting the highest grades in his classes it just got worse. Festus Creed called him a nerd and Livia Cardew a suck-up who only wanted to look good in the professors’ eyes. 

But among the general aura of sadness that surrounded him in school, the highlight of his days was chemistry class, because he shared it with Coriolanus Snow. Who also happened to be his “lab partner”, which he was always extremely grateful for. 

Coriolanus had been homeschooled his whole life, his family being one of the richest of all Capitol City, and only during senior year he had started frequenting public school. No one knew why, but Sejanus certainly wasn't complaining. 

Sejanus had developed his crush for Coriolanus probably since the moment he first laid eyes on him. Blonde curls, blue eyes… And his delicate facial features looked perfect. How could he not fall for him? And most importantly, he didn’t bully Sejanus. Never once had he participated in the mean pranks that got pulled on him, nor laughed along with the jokes. He didn’t do much to stop them either, but it still meant a lot to Sejanus. 

He just wished he could grow the guts to talk to him more. Maybe they could at least become friends and spend some time together, other than in the school context. 

He was currently closing his locker with the chemistry book in hand, after the short run to school to avoid being late again, when he felt someone grabbing his hair and slamming his head against the locker. He heard Festus laugh and ran away saying, “Look where you’re going, Plinth!”

Sejanus softly touched his head as he observed Festus disappearing behind a corner. “I wasn’t walking…” 

“You need to learn how to stand up for yourself, Sejanus.” He heard someone say. He turned around and saw Coriolanus, standing right in front of him. “Festus is just an insecure kid who gets an ego boost every time he makes someone else feel inferior to him. You can't just let him treat you like that.”

Sejanus gulped and shrugged. “I don’t. I just think it’s useless to talk back, it would get me in more trouble than I already am.”

Coriolanus scoffed. “No offense, but that makes you sound like a coward.” 

Sejanus was about to reply but Coriolanus didn’t give him the time to. “Anyway, we better get off to class. Last week Miss Click gave you a hard time because you were late, remember?” He said, starting to walk away with Sejanus following behind. 

“I was just ten minutes late.” He tried to justify himself. 

“Not my problem. I can’t really blame her either, it wasn’t the first time it happened. What is so important that keeps you busy enough to be late almost every morning?” 

“And how do you know? Tuesday is the only day we share the first class of the day. Do you just like to observe me?” Sejanus asked, avoiding the question, smirking. Where on earth did that come from? He was lucky if Coriolanus ever spoke to him again during lecture again.

But he just seemed at a loss of words, unsure on what to say before he hinted at a small smile, almost impressed by the Sejanus’ response. “I observe everyone in this school,” Coriolanus said in a low tone, leaning in close to his face, “so don't feel special, Plinth.” 

Sejanus felt himself go on fire at the other's words. He looked down trying to hide his blush, without even glancing at Coriolanus to see if he noticed. They arrived at the class, but Coriolanus blocked the door with his arm, stopping Sejanus from entering the room. 

“Seriously though. You can tell me, I know how to keep a secret.” He asked again, winking, and if he didn't have a decent amount of self control Sejanus probably would have gotten a boner right on the spot.

Fortunately he did, so he simply shrugged. “I just live far from the school, so it takes me longer to get here. Guess four years aren't enough to get my morning schedule right.” Lie.

Sejanus lived ten minutes away from the school building, he didn't even have to take the bus to get there since he could easily walk. But his other duties, which he considered much more important businesses than to get to school in time, always had the priority. 

Coriolanus didn't seem convinced but still nodded, licking his lips. “Uhm, fair enough.” He mumbled, before finally moving away and allowing Sejanus to get to class, entering right behind him. 

The other thing that helped Sejanus survive high school and got him through the day was that he was Spider-Man. Sejanus had always found it sadly ironic, how his alter-ego was much more loved and appreciated than he had ever been. The boy assumed that by revealing his secret identity the bullying, all the jokes and mean words thrown his way would stop. If not for admiration and respect, out of fear. Though Sejanus didn't like the thought of being feared, not even by Festus.

Either way he would have never known for sure, because he couldn't tell anyone. Not even, and especially, his ma’. He had been Spider-Man for two years now - he had been bitten by the radioactive spider when he was sixteen - and his list of personal enemies had seriously increased ever since. Now it not only counted Festus and Livia, but also almost every thief in town and Slingshot’s organization (which was obviously associated with the smaller crime organizations- who also hated Spider-Man). 

Telling someone his secret identity would have been like putting a red target on their back, and he couldn't have that. No matter how much it would have helped him. 

They sat at their usual desk, first row right in front of the teacher, and Sejanus started taking out his notebooks out of the bag when someone, Felix Ravenstill, brusted in the room holding a newspaper in his hands. “Spider-Man did it again! He caught two criminals who worked for Slingshot, two blocks away from here, last night!” 

Felix was known at school as the biggest Spider-Man fan. He technically had given himself said title, but he was the mayor's son which meant no one dared contradict him. 

He slammed the newspaper right on Sejanus and Coriolanus' desk, which made Coryo frown in a mixture of disgust and disappointment. Sejanus on the other hand couldn't help but smile a little, filled with pride at the photo that pictured him in the act of jumping around with his webs. An old one, but one of his favorites. 

Felix turned to look at Sejanus. “Did he visit you after that? Give you any details on the fight?” He asked excitedly. 

Sejanus hadn't meant to lie about being friends with Spider-Man, really. But after someone at school had seen him - as Spider-Man - enter his house from his bedroom's window and publicly exposed him at school, he had to come up with an excuse. The friend one seemed the most obvious.

Not everyone believed him, especially Clemensia Dovecote, given he had no way of proving his friendship other than by knowing things about his encounters that no one else knew about. But most people bought the lie, and Felix was one of them.

Before Sejanus could answer Miss Click appeared behind Felix, clearing her throat. “Although I'm sure we all share your excitement over this news, mr. Raventstill, I'd like for you to take your seat before I send you to detention.” Felix looked down and muttered something under his breath, walking to his seat, leaving the newspaper in front of Sejanus and Coriolanus.

“You know Spider-Man?” Coriolanus asked, opening his book.

Sejanus nodded. “It was just pure luck, really. He was pretty messed up after a fight and I found him hiding in a hallway. I helped him out and we've been friends ever since.” A bit lame for a backstory, but that was all Sejanus had managed to come up with at the time. Fortunately he had gotten better with the lying part over the years. Coriolanus squinted his eyes and nodded, dropping the subject. 

As Miss Click started her lecture, Sejanus noticed that Coriolanus’ eyes kept falling on the newspaper, clearly trying to read the article without being noticed. He hid his smile by biting on his pen. Was Coriolanus a fan of Spider-Man as well? If that was the case, that meant Coriolanus liked Sejanus. He didn’t know he was Sejanus, but he still liked him! 

Once Miss Click finally dismissed class Coriolanus was one of the first to get out of the room, as usual, followed almost immediately after by Sejanus. Coriolanus always seemed in a rush to get to the next period as if being one minute late would have caused him to fail the whole school year. Which is why Sejanus wasn't expecting to bump into him right out of class, waiting for him. 

“Festus is right, you do need to look where you're going.” Coriolanus chuckled, no mean intention behind his words. 

“Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I actually wanted to ask you if you'd like to have lunch with me later?” 

Sejanus smiled trying to contain his excitement. “Uh, sure. Why not.” 

“Cool. I'll meet you in the cafeteria, then?” Coriolanus asked and he nodded, watching as Coriolanus briefly smiled and walked away. Sejanus had to fight the urge to start jumping around punching the air and just walked off to his next class, acting natural. 

***

Sejanus checked his watch again, nervously shaking his leg underneath the table. Him and Coriolanus hadn't set up a time to meet up, so technically he wasn't late. Yet Sejanus couldn’t help but let his anxiety win him over, starting to picture every possible scenario as to why Coriolanus wasn't in the cafeteria yet.

What if he got kidnapped? Surely that was a bit extreme, but he assumed that wasn't the worst case scenario because at least then it wouldn't have been voluntary, and Sejanus could still hope he didn't hate him. Why would Coriolanus hate him anyway?

God, I need a therapist. Sejanus thought, right before Coriolanus sat down in front of him tiredly leaving his lunch train on the table, making all his doubts and worries disappear. “Hi.” He greeted, offering him a smile.

Coriolanus looked slightly annoyed, but smiled back. “Hi. Sorry I'm late, got pulled back in class.” He said, and Sejanus shook his head.

“Don't worry, it's not like it's a date or anything!” It was meant to be a joke, but Sejanus' voice came out more high pitched than he intended and he could see Coriolanus’ smile was awkward and probably out of pity.

“Right.” 

Sejanus cleared his throat, trying to think of something to say. “Ahem, do you-”

“So you know Spider-Man uh?” Coriolanus interrupted him. Sejanus bit the inside of his cheek, fighting a smile. The other boy looked down blushing, probably out of embarrassment of how quickly he had asked the question. He started playing with his food, acting nonchalantly. “Must be cool, having a famous friend.”

“I guess. It doesn't exactly stop the bullying, but it's nice to have someone to talk to.”

Coriolanus nodded, looking up at him. “Is he a nice guy? Under the mask.” He asked, taking a sip of his water. 

“Kind of? I don't know his secret identity.”

Coriolanus raised an eyebrow tilting his head to the side, “How so?” 

Sejanus shook his head. “Why would he tell me of all people?”

The other boy frowned. “Aren't you two best friends?” 

“Telling me his secret identity would be dangerous for me. Imagine if one of his enemies found out I knew: what if they kidnapped me to get information out of me? If they got it, then Spider-Man would be done for. Don't you think?” Sejanus explained best he could, trying not to sound too annoyed- which, given Coriolanus’ upset and confused frown, he failed at. 

After all the questions about Spider-Man and his secret identity Sejanus had gotten pretty good at lying over the years, but he still felt nervous most of the time. Especially now that he was talking to Coriolanus. And although filled with pride that he was a fan of his, Sejanus couldn’t help but feel hurt at the thought that Coriolanus seemed to not be interested in Sejanus himself. Just like everyone else.

They fell into an awkward silence, filled only by the sound of Coriolanus’ fork hitting the plate as he ate, Sejanus chewing his food and the chats and laughs of their classmates in the background. 

“Sejanus,” Coriolanus called him, seemingly nervous, fidgeting with the fork, "I need to ask you something.”

Sejanus nodded, motioning for him to go on. “Would you come over after school? I've been failing all the chemistry assignments lately… And you're like a mini Einstein.” Coriolanus commented with a - rather adorable - laugh. 

Sejanus’ cheeks grew red, eyes widening a bit. His first thought was that it was a lie: Coriolanus aced most of his classes, he was sure of it. It seemed weird that he had failed to notice the blonde’s academic issue in the one class they shared. 

Either way Sejanus didn't know anything about Coriolanus’ private life, who was he to judge whatever problem he might have had? Besides, he was flattered he came to him of all people for help. Part of him felt bad for immediately assuming he just wanted to talk about Spider-Man, he probably was just trying to make small talk.

“I'd be honored to.” He said with a smile. Coriolanus smiled back, looking down.

“Great. I'll wait for you at the entrance after you’re done with your classes then?” He offered with a somewhat shy smile, which certainly surprised Sejanus. He nodded, smiling back at him. 

The rest of the school day passed uneventfully for Sejanus, who for once was eager for it to end for a reason different from his usual superhero duties. 

He told himself not to run down the stairs to reach the black limousine Coriolanus was leaning against, checking his watch waiting for him. When he spotted Sejanus he waved at him and opened the car's door for him. “After you.” He murmured, as Sejanus got in the car.

The drive to Coriolanus’ house was silent. Sejanus kept staring out of the window, nervously fidgeting with his fingers. He texted his ma’ that he was going to study at a friend’s house, avoiding specifying who. Sejanus knew his father would disapprove of him hanging out with Crassus’ Snow son, so it was better to keep it hidden for now.

After ten minutes they arrived at their destination and the driver opened the door for him before Sejanus could even touch the handle. Once out of the car he followed Coriolanus up the stairs to the entrance of the Snow Mansion in awe. It already looked huge from the window of Sejanus’ bedroom which - if not for the few blocks of distance in between - faced the house, and it was even bigger standing so close to it. It stood on a hill, as if to look upon all of the city from above. 

Inside it was surprisingly pretty empty, lacking furniture which Sejanus assumed could be found in the room next to the entrance. From where he was standing, it looked like the living room. The floor and walls were tiled in white with black decorations, and a long marbled staircase led upstairs. Sejanus kept looking around, when Coriolanus cleared his throat.

“My room is upstairs.” He said, motioning to the stairs.

Sejanus nodded. “Shouldn’t we warn someone you're back? That I'm here?” But Coriolanus shook his head.

"My grandma’am is sleeping and my cousin always locks herself in her study to work on new designs. As for the maids, they won’t be bothering us, don't worry.”

Being bothered wasn’t the reason why Sejanus had suggested they announce their presence, if not at least to tell someone a stranger was in the house with Coriolanus, but not wanting to contradict him Sejanus simply nodded and followed him to his room.

Similar to the entrance, Coriolanus' bedroom didn’t have much furniture, but it was big nonetheless. He had a double sized bed right under the window, with a large desk resting on the wall in front of it where on top were Coriolanus’ notebooks. Sejanus’ eyes fell on the library next to it, with so many books to make Sejanus’ one look ridiculous in comparison. “You’ve read them all?” He asked, unable to stop himself.

Coriolanus was standing in front of the door with his hands folded behind his back, curiously observing Sejanus. “Most of them,” he finally said, “although some books are in latin. Not that I can’t read them- I’m just not really interested in those.”

“How come?” Sejanus wondered again, deciding to ignore that Coriolanus could apparently read Latin as if it was english.

Coriolanus frowned and moved to stand next to Sejanus. “They’re mostly about old myths. I’m not the biggest fan of fiction.”

Sejanus snorted. “I wouldn’t call myths fiction .”

Coriolanus turned to face Sejanus and squinted his eyes. “I can let you borrow one or two, if you’d like.” Sejanus’ eyes widened in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Coriolanus chuckled. “But only if you help me get an A on the next chemistry test.” He added with a grin, slightly leaning in. Sejanus’ heart skipped a bit and his eyes fell for a second on Coriolanus’ lips, before being brought to his eyes again. He cleared his throat and stepped back. 

“Let's get to work then.” 

The afternoon passed quickly, Coriolanus was a fast learner and seemed to understand all the exercises Sejanus gave him to train. He was starting to doubt how much Coriolanus actually needed his help, but at least it was an excuse to spend time with him, so he surely didn’t mind it- even if it was a lie. 

It was approximately six p.m. when someone entered the room. A girl, a very beautiful one, Sejanus thought, tall with blonde hair kept up in a ponytail. “Hey Coryo- oh! I didn’t know we had a guest.” She said upon noticing Sejanus sitting at Coriolanus’ desk. He turned to him with a questioning look, afraid he had done something wrong by being there, but Coriolanus rolled his eyes and spinned in his chair.

“Am I not allowed to have someone over?”

The girl shook her head, “No, no! It’s just the first time, that’s it. Hi! My name is Tigris. I’m Coryo’s cousin.” Tigris walked up to Sejanus and extended her hand, a wide smile on her face.

Sejanus shyly smiled back and shook her hand. “Hi. I’m Sejanus. Uhm, I’m here to help Coriolanus with his chemistry homeworks.” He clarified, afraid Coriolanus wouldn’t have been comfortable with being known as his friend, as much as the thought made him smile. 

Tigris nodded, still looking excited, and then turned to her cousin once again. “Sorry for the interruption then. I just wanted to let you know dinner for grandma'am is ready in the kitchen, so please bring it up to her bedroom when she calls you. I'm going out and I won't be back before midnight, so I made something for you too.” 

Coriolanus nodded, looking embarrassed, before gesturing for Tigris to leave the room. “Okay okay! I'm going. Bye, Sejanus!” She waved, before closing the door behind her.

Coriolanus sighed. “Sorry about that.”

“Don't apologize, she seems nice.” Sejanus smiled, deciding not to ask about his grandma's rather unique nickname, not wanting to sound rude or intrusive. Coriolanus stood up from his chair and walked to the desk, observing the books on it before closing them.

“I wanna show you something, follow me.” He stated and Sejanus, although reluctantly, did as told. 

He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous about following Coriolanus around his house, other than for his massive crush. Sejanus considered his behavior to be extremely paradoxical: he was used to fighting dangerous criminals on a daily basis, risking his life almost every night, and yet hanging out with the boy he liked for one afternoon seemed like his toughest battle yet.

As Coriolanus led him to the inner garden they walked in the living room, passing by a big portrait hanging on top of the chimney. Sejanus stopped walking to stare at it, almost magnetized by it. It represented two parents and their child together, the mother holding the kid in her arms with a gentle smile on her features while sitting on an armchair, as the father stood tall behind them with a serious expression on his face. By the blonde hair and blue eyes of the kid, it didn't take much for Sejanus to realize it was a portrait of Coriolanus and his parents.

“Sejanus?” Coriolanus called, noticing he wasn't behind him anymore. “What are you… oh.” He seemed to frown upon noticing what Sejanus was staring at, folding his arms behind his back and standing next to him.

“These are your parents, right? Your mother was very beautiful.” Sejanus commented before he was able to stop himself, his eyes never leaving the painting. Everyone knew of Crassus and Alodia Snow because of the Snow Industries, but ever since Mr. Snow’s death barely any photos could be found, apparently a decision of Crassus’ mother. He kept staring at the painting, almost entranced. Alodia's face felt so familiar, as if he had already seen her a long time ago. 

He felt Coriolanus shift next to him, clearing his throat.

“She was. I wish I could remember more of her, she died when I was ten. In a car accident, both her and my, uhm, baby sister.” Coriolanus explained, and Sejanus immediately felt a sting of guilt in his chest for having brought the subject up.

“I'm sorry.” 

“Please don’t,” Coriolanus brushed it off, “that's in the past. Do you wanna see what I have to show you or what?” He asked, attempting a smile.

To get out of the awkward situation Sejanus smiled back and nodded, following Coriolanus outside giving the portrait one final glance. Soon enough they were outside, sitting on a wooden bench in front of a fountain. The sound of water dripping was calming and relaxing to Sejanus, who closed his eyes and enjoyed the silence.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” Coriolanus commented, and Sejanus nodded, keeping his eyes closed. “I come here, sometimes, when I need to clear my mind. It can get lonely, it's a big house.” 

“I'm sure.” Sejanus replied, knowing he couldn't possibly relate to it. His house wasn't small, but certainly not a mansion. 

“I know we don't really know each other, but you're a good person, Sejanus.” Coriolanus murmured, smiling at him before looking up at the already dark sky. 

Sejanus opened his eyes and blushed, offering a shy smile before turning his gaze towards the sky as well. He felt something brush his hand, making him jerk away out of instinct. He moved to look at Coriolanus, who was still staring ahead of him but with a faint blush on his cheeks. Sejanus’ eyes fell on his hands, so dangerously close to Coriolanus’. Had he attempted to join their hands? No, impossible. It must have been a leaf, and the blush on Coriolanus’ cheeks was just a trick of the darkness. 

A shiver ran down Sejanus’ spine, the air starting to get colder. Coriolanus noticed and stood up, offering to go back inside. For as short and, Sejanus admitted, odd as it was, their moment outside felt intimate and familiar, as if Coriolanus had wanted to share a piece of himself to Sejanus, in his own way. Sejanus wasn't sure why he had chosen to do so now, after so many weeks of sharing the same class, but he surely wasn't going to complain about it. 

Coriolanus walked Sejanus to the entrance. “You sure you don't want to stay for dinner?” He asked him, the feeling of familiarity back in Sejanus’ heart. Still, he shook his head no. His Ma’ hated not having him for dinner on such short notice.

“Yeah, I better get home.”

“Tell my driver your address, he'll take you home. Oh and, thanks for today. It was nice hanging with a… friend .” Coriolanus pronounced the word as if he was scared of it, which made Sejanus appreciate the gesture even more.

“Hey, what do you say you come by tomorrow as well? Same time, to help me out.” Coriolanus asked him right as he climbed in the car.

Sejanus thought about it - or at least pretended to, not to look desperate - and accepted. “I'll see you tomorrow then?” Coriolanus nodded and smiled, closing the door for Sejanus. As the car started to leave the property Sejanus leaned in his seat with a wide smile on his face: he had something to look forward to the day after, and for once it didn't involve him needing to wear a mask to hide himself. 

Chapter Text

Alexandria Plinth was many things: a loving mother, a strong woman, an excellent cook. And Sejanus loved her dearly for it. Ever since he was a child she supported him through everything, and she was the only family member to be aware of the bullying, though he made her promise not to do anything about it: Sejanus could handle it.

But he had to admit his mother could get quite annoying in the morning. “Ma’!” He groaned frustrated as she - once again - called for him to have a proper breakfast. 

“Don't you give me that look Sejanus Plinth! You barely drank a cup of coffee, do you want to pass out at school? Breakfast is the-”

“-most important meal of the day, I know.” Sejanus sighed defeated, sitting at the kitchen table while his ma’ smiled satisfied and served him a slice of her freshly baked apple pie. Strabo Plinth, in the meantime, was sitting on the couch watching the morning news. 

Sejanus as a kid would observe him often: he'd spend every morning sitting in the living room, watching the tv and commenting on whatever news or show was on. Strabo was a busy man, a loving husband and not a particularly affectionate father. Their relationship was complicated, but Sejanus didn't entirely mind it. His father had never come in the way of his secret identity, and to Sejanus that was more than enough. 

Sejanus knew the last few years had been particularly stressful for his father, and it was no great secret it had been caused by Crassus Snow. Snow had ruined Strabo, not only economically but mentally as well. By winning against him in court (the details of the case far too confidential for Sejanus to be told about), the Snow had driven the Plinth Industries to the ground, making them lose both existing and new buyers. Strabo had been forced to sell his business and their penthouse to pay his debts. He now owned a small gun shop down the road, which generated enough income to allow them to live decently, but it was a big step down from the wealth he used to have.

Obviously Strabo had no idea Coriolanus and Sejanus daily met up to work on their homeworks together. They had for a week now, and if his father was to find out that Sejanus was even just acknowledging Coriolanus, he surely would have disowned him - without mentioning never speaking to Sejanus again. 

A loud crash came from the tv, snapping Sejanus out of his thoughts. His mother rushed into the living room to check what was happening. “Oh my… All of this for a simple robbery?” Another crash and then a loading sound, and a gun going off. Sejanus recognized the sound and immediately knew what was being shown without needing to see it. He had been there after all. 

“Look at that.” His father commented, a hint of disgust in his tone. “What are those now, super weapons ? As if Spider-Man wasn't already enough, now criminals have powers as well!” Alexandria patted him on his shoulder to calm him down, though nodded in agreement. “If they keep going like this I'll have to shut down the shop, everyone will be looking for those… things !” 

“Right, because normal guns are better. Closing the shop wouldn't be so terrible.” Sejanus commented, whispering to himself, but his father heard anyway.

“What was that Sejanus?”

Sejanus’ eyes widened and he shook his head. “Nothing dad.”

Strabo hummed and went back to watch the news, but Sejanus could tell he had heard him.

Although he didn't agree (for obvious reason) on Spider-Man being a danger to the city, Sejanus had to admit the new weapons those robbers had with them caught him by surprise. They weren't normal guns, shooting bluish coloured rays instead of typical bullets- rays that almost got Sejanus more than once and, considering the conditions the bank was in, it was a miracle he was still alive. He had never seen anything like it.

Alexandria turned towards her son. “You need to be careful out there. You see something like that, run in the opposite direction, okay?” Sejanus gave one last glance to the tv, observing the scene apparently recorded by a civilian that was walking by. As another explosion went off on the screen, Sejanus nodded.

“Of course ma’.”

***

They really needed to rethink the terms of their agreement about meeting at Coryo's house because Sejanus didn't know how long he could keep himself from kissing Coriolanus while he was sitting there, on his bed, doing absolutely nothing but looking fine.

It felt so intimate and personal, having Coryo there in a large gray Harvard hoodie - his father's - and matching sweatpants. And sweet lord how good did he look with his undone hair. Even the nickname, Coryo, which Sejanus was now allowed to use as well, made him feel special.

He looked away before he could get caught staring and brought his attention back to the book on his legs, open on the oxidation-reduction's chapter. Coriolanus let out a long sigh, falling on his back on the bed. 

“Please have mercy. I cannot do more of this or my head will explode.”

Sejanus chuckled at the dramatics and leaned on his elbow. “It's not that hard, I promise. Besides, it's the most important part of the chemistry program, we can't just skip it.”

Coriolanus stood up and grinned. “True. But at least a break?” 

As tempting as it was, Sejanus truly wanted for Coriolanus to pass the class, so he shook his head. Besides he knew why he was asking for a break, and Sejanus wasn't sure he'd be able to resist his charm and tell Coriolanus no , just like he hadn’t been able to for the whole week. 

“We began an hour ago.”

Coriolanus scoffed. “Even more of a reason to stop. Just five minutes! I promise.” I wanna show you something . “I wanna show you something.” 

As usual. Only one week had passed yet Coriolanus always kept finding new spots of his house to show Sejanus. They weren't necessarily romantic: on Tuesday it had been the garage with his father's old cars and bikes, though on Wednesday he led Sejanus to his grandma'am's roses garden.

But no matter the location Coriolanus always seemed to be extremely at ease with Sejanus, slowly revealing bits of himself and showing interest in Sejanus himself. If he didn't know any better, he'd almost say he was flirting with him.

Even if he wasn't, it was nice for once for Sejanus to have someone interested in him without wanting to know about Spider-Man. 

“I promise you'll love this one!” Coriolanus added, moving close to Sejanus and pouting. 

Sejanus nodded defeated. “You say it as if I've hated the others.” Coriolanus smiled excitedly like a kid who had just been bought an ice cream and grabbed Sejanus’ hand, guiding him through his house. 

He stopped in front of his father's office, opening the door with a small key and stepping away allowing Sejanus to enter. It didn't look much different from his father's old office. There was a well furnished library, much similar to Coriolanus’, with the desk facing the door. Coriolanus sat behind it turning on the small lamp on it.

Sejanus nervously laughed, “If my father knew I was in Crassus Snow's office I don't think I'd have a home to go back to.” 

Coriolanus chuckled. “My bed's big enough to host both you and your broad shoulders, don't worry.” Sejanus blushed and looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Anyway, that's not what I wanted to show you.” He added, taking a remote from a drawer and pressing a button. 

Sejanus heard a click and then something shifting next to him. He looked around but noticed nothing different, until Coriolanus got up and went to stand next to the library. “Give me a hand here?” He asked, pointing to it. Sejanus moved next to him and, confused, began pushing with Coriolanus to… move the shelf?

Another click was heard and then the bookshelf opened like a door, making the wood creak, revealing a large dark room. Coriolanus switched the light on, revealing the room to be some sort of laboratory. There was a large table in the middle of it, and all around on the walls shelves, with test tubes - some empty while others contained weird-looking liquids - and a large fridge leaning against the left wall. 

Sejanus looked around in awe, his hand twitching from wanting to touch anything in there, but unable to without Coriolanus’ consent. “What… What is this place?” Realistically Sejanus knew it was a laboratory, though to do what, he didn't know. It wasn't the most impressive he'd ever seen, he remembered how large the ones at his dad's old industry were, and how furnished. But this one was different. 

The liquids and chemicals on the shelves didn't look like any Sejanus had seen before, definitely not from the Periodic Table. “My mom's lab.” Replied Coriolanus. “She was a chemist.”

Sejanus turned to look at Coriolanus, who was leaning against the door. “It wasn't really a secret lab per se, more like… hidden. My father knew about it, and he'd rather have her do her experiments under his eye rather than somewhere else.” He explained, gesturing around. Sejanus nodded, stopping to look at Coryo.

“You know Voluminia Gaul? The scientist that died in a fire five years ago?” Coriolanus continued. “She used to work for my father. Kind of. She'd come here and work with my mom, sometimes.” 

Sejanus’ raised his eyebrows in surprise. Dr. Gaul was infamously known for the - never proven - accusations of animal cruelty in her labs, and for her death caused by a fire during one of her very own experiments. He had no idea she was related in any way to the Snow. Coriolanus grimaced and went on with his explanation. “I wasn't allowed to come here as a kid so I have no idea what they were doing, and now I only visit when I'm missing my mom. Dr. Gaul always freaked me out anyway.” He added with a laugh. Then he looked up and nodded at Sejanus. “But you're a nerd , so I thought you might have enjoyed it.” Coriolanus said smiling. 

Sejanus blushed and rolled his eyes. “I'm not.” 

Coriolanus chuckled and walked up next to him. “You are, but I never said it was a bad thing.” Coryo said, now standing right in front of Sejanus. “It's cute.” His heart skipped a bit as he swore he saw Coriolanus’ eyes falling on his lips for a second, before reaching Sejanus’ eyes again.

“So are you enjoying it?” Coriolanus asked, his voice lower now. 

“I, uhm, what?” Sejanus mumbled, the proximity with Coryo making him extremely nervous.

“The lab. Are you enjoying it?” Was Coriolanus leaning in? Or was Sejanus imagining it?

“W-well, I've seen bigger ones.” He stammered out, as if trying to tease Coriolanus, or at least to show he wasn't as nervous as he felt. He felt Coryo's breath on his face- yeah, he was definitely leaning in.

Wait, what?! His spider-sense was going crazy, as it did when he was in danger, yet the only threat was the possibility of a kiss lingering in the air. As much as Sejanus wished it was true, he had never kissed anyone. What if Coriolanus hated him for being inexperienced? 

“Hm. Am I allowed to make your experience better, then?” Coriolanus asked, his lips leaving a ghostly touch on Sejanus’ parted ones. 

Sejanus was at a loss of words, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone a sentence. He felt frozen on the spot, not even managing to move a muscle. What was he supposed to say? Was he implying what Sejanus thought he was implying?

“I'm asking if I can kiss you, Sejanus Plinth.” Coriolanus whispered, answering Sejanus’ unspoken doubt. 

“Yes.” Sejanus breathed out, and then Coryo's lips were on his in an instant. 

It felt weird, at first, and sweet. Sejanus’ eyes fluttered closed, and Coriolanus’ hand temptingly stroked his cheek as if to calm him down. The delicate touch sent thrills down Sejanus’ spine, making him sigh in the kiss. Coriolanus took the chance to slip his tongue in his mouth, moving slowly not to rush anything. Suddenly feeling a burst of confidence growing inside of him, Sejanus moved his hands to grab Coryo's hips, pulling him closer to his body. 

He gasped at the sudden action, making Sejanus’ grin in response. Coriolanus brought both his hands to gently hold Sejanus’ cheeks, shifting so he was in a more comfortable angle and leaning away for a moment to catch his breath, only to join their lips once again an instant later. 

As much as Sejanus was sure that could have been classified as a make out session it didn't quite feel like one, it felt more innocent, and romantic. Or maybe that was how making out felt? Sejanus mentally brushed off his doubts, deciding that definitely wasn't the moment to overthink.

With every brush of Coriolanus’ hands on his face, or soft touch on the lips every time he'd move away to catch his breath and then lean in back to continue the kiss, Sejanus felt as happy as he'd never been. He remembered all those times when, as a kid, he'd watch the famous first kiss happen in movies, how he'd wonder when and if it ever was going to happen to him. Nothing could have ever prepared him for what he was feeling right now, especially with Coriolanus Snow.

It was like nothing he'd ever imagined- and Sejanus had, multiple times. Coriolanus’ lips were soft, a sharp contrast against Sejanus’ chapped ones, and his breath smelled of fresh mint. His hands felt delicate on Sejanus’ face, making the whole experience feel heaven-like, and he could only pray Coriolanus felt the same about him. 

Finally Coriolanus leaned away for good, tilting his forehead against Sejanus’. Even with the minimal breaks to catch their breath in between, the kiss left them both panting. After a few seconds Coriolanus chuckled, Sejanus following shortly after. “I was right. You're so cute.” Coriolanus mumbled, before leaving a peck on Sejanus’ lips.

Sejanus was pretty much speechless, still unsure on what to say. “I had, ahem, no idea you felt like this.” He finally said, clearing his throat and feeling breathless. What even is this? Is it just sexual? Does he want something more? 

Coriolanus laughed. “I spent the past week openly flirting with you, and you had no idea? I gave you my grandma's roses!” 

Sejanus blushed embarrassed, “I'm sorry! I never had someone flirt with me.” Coriolanus hushed him with a quick kiss, smiling at him.

Coriolanus walked them back up shortly after, especially because Sejanus insisted that, as lovely as their moment was, they had to go back to study. In the end - even with Coriolanus complaining they could just spend their time together making out, and Sejanus blushing at every one of those comments - they managed to study two full hours before Sejanus realized he had to be home for dinner.

On the way out Coriolanus stopped him at the door, giving him another short kiss before waving him goodbye with a strange lovesick smile on his face, similar to a smug grin. Sejanus smiled back and climbed on the car, his mind constantly going back to the kiss shared in the lab.

The same memory lingered in the back of his brain two nights later, during his usual guard tour. Capitol City seemed quiet that night, an odd peace and calm lingering on the city. It usually was, and in those cases Sejanus would find a tall building to sit on top of and observe the city from above. Tonight was no exception. He was quietly humming a song while checking for any possible criminal activity, when he saw her. 

Arachnis - or, as noted on the criminal records, Arachne Crane - had accidentally fallen victim to Dr. Gaul's experiments when she was sixteen, during a school trip to her labs. Ironically enough it had been the same one where Sejanus got his powers as well. There had been a leak in the security department, and some of the genetically modified animals had escaped and bit three students: Sejanus, Arachne and Clemensia Dovecote. 

A snake had attached itself to Clemensia's arm, and a scorpion crawled up Arachne's leg and stung her on her upper thigh. Sejanus had been lucky enough that the spider that bit him was a small one, letting the accident pass unnoticed. Truth be told, Sejanus didn't even realize it had been one of the modified ones until he found out about his powers. 

But Arachne and Clemensia? 

Arachne went down first and Clemensia’s yells had been heard following Arachen's shortly after. A crowd formed around the two agonizing girls, and everyone was too busy thinking about them to even pay minimum attention to Sejanus. 

They had been both hospitalized for two months, the effects of the mutation much more evident in their bodies. Clemensia's eyes had become yellow and her skin looked more raw, while Arachne had developed black pitch eyes and black spots all over her skin, venomous sharp nails and poisonous spit.

Clemensia had come back to school almost immediately after her dismissal from the hospital, wearing contact lenses and always long sleeves. Arachne on the other hand had been segregated in her house by her own parents, apparently too ashamed to let her out. But enclosure had turned out to be a terrible idea, and within only a month Arachne had escaped her “cage” and started living in streets, committing crimes mostly in small shops. 

Sejanus had caught her more than once, but she always managed to escape somehow, going missing until she showed up to steal again. Her mind had been corrupted by her mutation, in her head the only thing keeping her away from being able to join society again was beauty, that she was apparently going to gain back with jewelry. 

She had just forced a shop's dumper open, so Sejanus lowered the mask on his face and swung down, attaching himself to the building in front of the shop. The banner read, McNamara's: Engagement rings for every occasion.

“Every occasion?” He commented out loud. Arachne immediately turned around and searched for the source of the voice. Sejanus swung another web and landed right in front of her.  “What other occasion is there? ‘Oh you’re stabbing me? Have a ring!’” 

Arachne scowled and raised her head slightly, spitting acid towards Sejanus. He dodged it easily and jumped back, using his webs to launch himself towards Arachne who, now stuck under Sejanus’ weight, tried to scratch him with her nails.

He sighed and blocked her down with webs, stopping her from moving any further. “You're getting lazy. Usually you at least try to run away.”

“Let me go!”

“You also forget the silent alarm all of these fancy shops have.” Sejanus shook his head, “You disappoint me, Arachne. Where has all of your wise strategy gone? If you ever had it, that is.” He said, whispering the last part.

Sejanus felt bad for Arachne most of the time, she had never been nice to him back in school and clearly had struggles with her parents, but she didn't deserve that life.

She wasn't even that good of a criminal! The longest he'd fought her had been twenty minutes, and that was because Sejanus had felt so bad for her he'd given her five minutes of advantage as she ran away.

She was squirming and trying to get free on the ground, as Sejanus stood up and observed her. “Well- cops are probably on their way, so you won't stay here for long. Looking forward to the next time, but give me a heads up will you? I was ready to pack up and go home-”

“Fuck you!” She yelled, catching Sejanus by surprise. “Why do you get to go home, and I can't?! They promised me! They promised if I did this, I'd get my beauty back… I wouldn't need jewels anymore, I'd be perfect like I once was again… Forever…” 

Sejanus looked at her confused. It wasn't the first time Arachne mumbled nonsense, but this was different. “ This ? Someone told you to steal the rings?” Arachne knit her brows together and spit again, her acid landing on a tree behind Sejanus and partially ruining its bark. 

“Hey, what did that poor tree do to you? I'm just trying to help you, Arachne.” He added, noticing her menacing expression. 

“You can't! No one can, only they, yes they can… They'll save me… I just need the money!” Sejanus didn't even have the time to frown when he heard the police sirens blasting on the street, approaching the scene. The chief officer still wasn't a huge fan of his, it was best not to be found there. 

He gave one last glance at Arachne before blocking her mouth with more webs to stop her from spitting any further and then left, swinging between the tall buildings directed to his house.

Chapter Text

The morning after Sejanus felt like passing out in class. The second he had laid his head down on the pillow, the night before, his alarm had immediately gone off, reminding him he had to be up for another school day. 

“Plinth? Pouvez-vous traduire cette phrase pour la classe?” The teacher called for him. His eyes widened a bit in surprise, squinting them to read the sentence on the chalkboard. 

“Uhm…” The poet’s feelings were so strong they left him speechless. “Les sentiments du poète étaient si forts qu’ils le laissaient sans mots.”

The teacher huffed, seemingly annoyed, but nodded. "Très bien, Plinth.”

Sejanus went back to rest his head on the desk, boringly paying attention to the lesson. He kept thinking about what Arachne had said the night before, how she was stealing for someone. Someone who, apparently, had promised to cure her. 

That wasn't impossible, the animals that had attacked him, Clemensia and Arachne had all been put down (even if the spider had been an accident, when Sejanus had, out of instinct, smashed it on his hand). Maybe there was a way to reverse the process without the original modified dna?

Sejanus doubted it. He needed to do more research on the matter, but he didn't know how. He knew nothing about Arachne's potential saviors, nor their motives. The chances that they were doing it out of pure kindness of their heart were extremely low. 

During lunch he sat down and took out his notebook, listing down what he knew so far. First of all, whoever this was claimed to be able to reverse Arachne's condition. Which meant that, whatever the reason was, they possessed an advanced laboratory or technology that allowed them to study genetics. But he also knew Arachne was stealing for them: she mentioned they had her stealing the rings, and then said “I need the money” . So perhaps they didn't have the right technology yet, and needed more money to develop it?

A few theories started forming in Sejanus’ mind, each one less likely than the other. He couldn't hide that he was worried. One of the possible reasons this mysterious instigator could have had was to duplicate Arachne's DNA, and if that was the case Sejanus knew it could only mean bad news. Why else send Arachne to steal for them? He tried not to think about the worst case scenario, but it was hard. 

“What are you writing?” The female voice caught him by surprise, having him slamming the notebook closed and hiding it from view.

“Oh, hi Lyssie. Nothing, just calculus notes.” Lysistrata gave him a funny look but nodded, seeming to buy Sejanus’ excuse. He had always liked her, she had never once been mean to him and, while they didn't really hang out outside of school, she was a nice classmate. Sejanus gestured for her to sit down, so she placed her food trail and took a seat in front of him. 

“Thanks. Me and Persephone had a fight… Nothing big, just the usual on Festus. She could do so much better, if only she broke up with him.”

Sejanus shrugged, eating his fries. “Telling her won't solve anything, she has to figure out what massive douche Festus is by herself.” 

Lysistrata groaned and rolled her eyes. “I know, but it's frustrating constantly having him around. It's like I'm best friends with him as well! I'm reaching my tolerance limit- and I tolerate everyone .”

That was true. Lysistrata always saw the good in people, and did her best to make sure the others did as well. She disliked no one at school, and no one disliked her. She sighed and took a sip of her drink, looking away. “Anyway, you’re probably right, can’t do much about it. What about you?” Lysistrata asked, winking at him.

Sejanus blushed and looked down, shrugging his shoulders acting nonchalant. “Nothing new. It’s been a busy week.”

Lysystrata scoffed, “Oh, please. I’ve seen how close you and Coriolanus are during class. What happened? Finally decided to ask him out?” 

Sejanus had never told anyone about his crush for Coriolanus, but apparently, according to Lyssy, it was so obvious it was painful. “Obviously not. He just asked me to help him with chemistry, that’s it.” 

The girl frowned, tilting her head. “You help him?” 

“Yeah. I'm not actively doing his homeworks, if that's what you think.”

“No, I mean- isn't he like a super genius? His mother was a brilliant chemist too! I'm just surprised he'd be so bad at it, that's all.”

Sejanus gave Lysystrata a surprised look at the mention of Alodia Snow. “You know about his mother?” 

“Well, yes. Her photo was framed when we visited the labs, don't you remember?” Sejanus had a vague memory of the photo Lysistrata mentioned, though that would explain the feeling of recognition he had when he saw her painting.

“Barely. Either way, it's not unusual. His mom died when he was young, she probably didn't teach him much.” Sejanus commented, whispering, not wanting to be heard by the rest of the cafeteria. 

“Yeah. What happened to that family truly is a tragedy.” Sejanus was about to add something when he noticed Coriolanus approaching them. 

“Hey Sejanus. Lysistrata.” Coriolanus greeted them both, giving Lysistrata an awkward smile. He stood there with his food trail and Sejanus, sensing Coryo needed some sort of privacy, cleared his throat and subtly signaled Lysistrata to leave. 

Seeming to finally get the hint the girl slightly widened her eyes in realization before excusing herself and leaving the two boys alone, but not before winking at Sejanus.

“Hi.” Sejanus said, trying not to smile too widely. Him and Coriolanus hadn't spoken all weekend, Sejanus had realized too late he didn't have the other's phone number. He had been scared Coriolanus would have acted weird at school- what if he had regretted the whole thing? 

But he was in front of him now, although that automatically arose the question in Sejanus’ mind: what were they?

“Hey.” Coriolanus briefly smiled, before looking down. “How was your weekend?”

“Uh, good enough. I helped ma’ bake a cake for my dad's birthday, though he kept complaining that-”

“Yeah hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Coriolanus interrupted him, nervously looking around. 

Sejanus mimicked his movements but in confusion. “Isn't that what we're doing now?”

Coriolanus rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I meant in private. Follow me.” Sejanus was going to protest and mention the food that was still on Coriolanus’ (and, although he was mostly done with it, his own) trail, but the boy grabbed his arm and guided him outside of the cafeteria and inside an empty classroom. His palms were sweaty, and he nervously kept checking the door as if scared someone was going to burst inside.

“Coryo?” Called Sejanus, trying to calm him down. “What’s wrong?” 

Coriolanus seemed to flinch at the nickname, but didn't comment on it. “Did you tell her something?” He asked Sejanus, who gave him a confused look.

“What?”

“You were talking to Lysystrata. You didn't tell her anything right?” Sejanus couldn't have been more confused. He had genuinely no idea what Coriolanus was talking about, had he overheard them talk about his mother? Maybe he didn't want Sejanus to talk about her at school? 

“I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Coriolanus rolled his eyes annoyed, frustrated Sejanus wasn't understanding whatever he was saying. “The kiss. Did you tell Lysystrata we kissed?”

Oh.

Oh.

The fact Coriolanus could have been referring to their kiss didn't even graze Sejanus’ mind, and now he only felt dumb for it. Why hadn't he realized sooner? Coriolanus would never want to be seen with someone like him, definitely not romantically.

But Coriolanus had also said he had been flirting with Sejanus. He didn’t show him all the things he did and kiss him like that just out of lust, right? 

Sejanus was desperately trying not to panic, but it was hard with the harsh way Coriolanus was looking at him. It had been going so well all week, why was he suddenly so upset?

“I- I haven't.” Sejanus said honestly, looking down to avoid Coriolanus’ gaze. He heard him sigh in relief and mumble something that sounded like a thank God, before sitting at one of the desks.

Sejanus wanted the earth to open beneath his feet and swallow him whole. He didn't know what was worse, that Coriolanus saw him as a source of embarrassment or that Sejanus really thought he had a chance. 

Coriolanus stood up from the desk and walked up to Sejanus, trying to hold his hands, but Sejanus flinched away. “I'm sorry.” Coriolanus whispered, moving away from him to give him space. “I didn't mean to be so harsh with you. I’m just not out yet. I was scared.”

Sejanus suddenly felt guilt hitting all over him like a wave, embarrassed for having immediately thought the worse. In his defense, no one ever actually liked Sejanus. But Coriolanus was just scared he was going to accidentally out him - which he would have never done - and Sejanus knew the feeling all too well.

“I’m sorry Coryo.” Sejanus began apologizing, moving to join hands with Coriolanus and, much to his relief, he didn’t move. “I would have never said anything without you mentioning it first, and I won’t if you don’t want me to. I promise.”

Coriolanus looked down at their joint hands and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in. He rubbed his thumbs on Sejanus’ palms, soothing down his nerves. Coryo slowly lifted them up to his lips and kissed his knuckles, earning a shy smile from Sejanus. “Thank you.” He murmured, avoiding eye contact.

Sejanus parted his lips to say something, the question that had lingered in the back of his head all morning threatening to spill out - what are we? - but he immediately sealed them again. Now definitely wasn’t the time, worried he might just spook Coriolanus more than he already was. Sejanus had the sudden urge to bring him in for a hug, knowing that usually helped him feel better. He tried to open his arms to do so but Coriolanus immediately jerked away, swallowing. 

“Sorry.”

Sejanus shook his head and cleared his throat, “It’s fine.” They fell into an awkward silence for a few minutes, in which he debated leaving the room to give Coriolanus some space, but then Coryo spoke again.

“You’re still coming at mine’s this evening, right?”

Sejanus looked up at him surprised. “To study, obviously.” Coriolanus specified with a chuckle. 

“Sure.” Sejanus nodded, smiling at Coriolanus. “To study.”

***

Sejanus Plinth couldn't believe he was laying down in bed, in the Snow Mansion, making out with Coriolanus Snow. He had walked up to the bedroom with the best intentions, help him study for their upcoming chemistry test, but all rational thinking had been thrown out of the window when Coriolanus had slowly started kissing his neck while Sejanus read out loud from their textbook.

Sejanus had sighed and had, almost automatically, tilted his head to the side to allow Coryo more access to his neck. Coriolanus had moved his kisses up to his jawline and finally captured Sejanus’ lips in his, gently pushing him down on the covers.

Sejanus should have definitely caught on something when Coriolanus insisted on studying on his bed, but considering how things had ended, he didn't mind the unexpected break at all. 

“To study uh?” Sejanus murmured when Coriolanus parted from the kiss to catch his breath. He looked down at Sejanus and grinned.

“Why, do you mind?”

Sejanus shook his head. “Not at all.” He cupped Coriolanus’ cheeks and brought him in for another kiss, earning in a sigh from Coryo.

Coriolanus broke the kiss shortly after, leaning down next to Sejanus. He tried to snuggle close to Coryo, testing the waters to see if he would have rejected him or welcomed the action. It seemed quite ironic, how easy it was to kiss someone with such passion and intimacy yet the smallest act of affection like a simple hug towards that very same person seemed twice as hard. 

At the feeling of Sejanus temptingly moving into his arms Coriolanus tensed, and he was already starting to think the worse - and to get up and apologize for whatever unfixable crime he had just committed - when Coryo relaxed, lifting his right arm allowing Sejanus more access.

He smiled and laid his head on Coryo's chest, closing his eyes and letting his head to be filled with only the sound of his beating heart, gently getting lulled by the slow raising and falling of his chest.

Coriolanus moved his hand up to Sejanus’ hair, gently running his fingers through his curls, and cleared his throat. “Can I ask you a question?” He waited for Sejanus to nod before continuing. “Do you and Spider-Man ever talk about his fights?”

The question caught Sejanus by surprise, who didn't dare move not to break the comfortable and safe atmosphere they had created around them. Sejanus had never felt so happy and carefree in forever- or at least not without his mask on. He wanted to enjoy that moment without distractions of any kind, especially if they included his secret identity. Everyone always seemed to drop any interest they had in Sejanus the second he refused to talk about Spider-Man.

“Sometimes. When he needs a break.” He brushed it off, cuddling closer to Coriolanus. 

“Oh. Like what? Any particularly interesting ones?”

Sejanus fought the urge to groan and rolled his eyes. “Not that I remember of. Can we change the subject now?” He asked, perhaps too harshly than he had intended. 

Coriolanus frowned, “Relax Sejanus, I just asked you a question.”

“And I don't wanna answer! Can you drop it please?” Sejanus snapped, sitting up in bed and giving his back to Coriolanus. Sejanus felt him shift behind him, the mattress slightly raising signaling that Coriolanus had gotten up. 

Sejanus bit his lip and closed his eyes, fighting the tears that were threatening to spill out. Why did he always had to fuck things up?

“I'm sorry.” Sejanus mumbled, hoping Coriolanus would forgive him. “I didn't mean to raise my voice, it's just- it happens all the time. People show some interest in me, then all they do is ask about Spider-Man. I know he's cool and interesting, but isn't Sejanus as well?” He said, realizing the last part was more of a question to himself than Coriolanus. “Besides, people would be surprised to find out how fucking boring he actually is.” He added under his breath.

He expected Coriolanus to call him ridiculous and to be thrown out, instead he walked around the bed and sat down next to him. Sejanus laid his head against Coryo's shoulder and, to his relief, he didn't pull away.

“For what it matters,” Coryo said, whispering, “I think Sejanus is very interesting.” He kissed his head, making Sejanus smile widely. 

“I was genuinely curious.” Coriolanus justified himself, but Sejanus raised his head and shut him up with a kiss. 

“I know. I'm sorry I got upset.” Sejanus reassured him, keeping on kissing him. 

“Hm, what if I show you how interesting I find your lips and then you tell me how boring Spider-Man is?” 

Sejanus smiled against his lips and nodded. “Deal.” 

***

That night on patrol turned out to be just like the many ones before - except for the occasional ATM robber and Arachne the previous night - another boring, endless night.

“Really? No one?” Sejanus asked out loud in the night. “It's like you people don't appreciate the effort that it takes to go out.” 

The quiet of the night gave him time to think, his ma’ words still ringing clear and loud in his head.

“Ma’? When did you and dad start dating?”

The question seemed to shock Mrs. Plinth, who slightly widened her eyes before answering. “Oh, well, it was during Sophomore year. Why?” 

Sejanus looked down and played with his food, trying to look vague. “Just wondering. How did it happen, exactly?” He had never really been interested in how his parents had started their relationship, which is why he was hoping his mother wouldn't grow suspicious. 

But he had never been in a relationship before, and he needed to ask someone for advice. He had left the Snow Mansion that evening even more confused than he was that morning. Their - even if brief - intimate moment and shaken something up in Sejanus, leaving him wondering if they were in fact dating. Coriolanus hadn't said a thing, but neither had Sejanus. His head was a mess, and he was in desperate need of advice.

Alexandria chuckled. “It was quite sweet actually. Your father asked me out with flowers and a chocolate box, very old style. We went out on two dates, and then he officially asked me to be his girlfriend. After two weeks, if I'm not wrong.” Sejanus smiled at the way his mother's eyes seemed to shine remembering the moment. “We had our first kiss on our first date.” 

“And in between that?” 

Mrs. Plinth's cheeks flushed red at Sejanus’ question. “Nothing. We'd hang out at school like we did before. We wanted to get to really know each other before throwing ourselves into a relationship. Sejanus, where are these questions coming from?”

Sejanus cleared his throat and avoided eye contact. “Nowhere. I just want to get to know you more, that's all. I'll go to bed if you don't mind, I'm very tired and have a test tomorrow. Goodnight.” He rushed up to his bedroom, ignoring ma's complaints, and threw himself in bed, mentally preparing himself for his patrol. 

Strabo and Alexandria had shared their first kiss during their first date, and then officially started dating two weeks after. We wanted to get to really know each other before throwing ourselves into a relationship.

It hadn't occurred to him until that very moment that Sejanus didn't actually know Coriolanus Snow. He knew about his family, he knew where he lived. But he didn't truly know Coriolanus. Nothing had happened yet, other than the two make out sessions they had that day and their first kiss, but all of a sudden Sejanus felt like they were rushing things. 

Things had changed since his parents’ times, of course, but Sejanus didn't want to think of their relationship as casual. Not without at least giving it a real shot first. Suddenly feeling confident he lifted his mask and pulled out his phone, dialing Coriolanus’ phone number, hoping he was still awake.

“Hello?” He replied in a rusty voice.

“Coryo? It's Sejanus.”

Coriolanus cleared his throat. “Oh, hello Sejanus. I didn't think you'd call me so soon when I gave you my number.” He joked, and Sejanus could hear the smirk in his voice. 

“It's been four hours.” Sejanus tried to defend himself, blushing.

“It's okay. I'm glad you did.”

Sejanus hummed and shyly smiled, even if Coriolanus couldn't see him. “So, I was thinking… maybe one of these days we could hang out together?”

“But we already do at my house?” Coriolanus asked, and Sejanus nervously let out a laugh. 

“N-no, I know, I meant like a-” the word died in his mouth as he tried to pronounce it. He gulped down and took a deep breath before speaking again. “Like a date?” 

The line went silent. Anxiety was eating Sejanus alive as Coriolanus failed to respond to his question, making him regret the decision of calling him in the first place. Sejanus was already starting to think that maybe being casual wasn't so bad (at least he'd still get to kiss Coriolanus) when he finally replied.

“Sure, why not. Sorry for the late response, Tigris came in.”

Sejanus started jumping around the roof of whatever building he was on in happiness, whispering small yes of victory. 

“Sejanus?”

“Yeah, uhm, great.” Sejanus said, clearing his throat not to sound like he was panting. “I know a nice coffee shop near my house, I'll send you the address. Oh and, don't worry. No one from school ever goes there.”

Coriolanus seemed to be grateful because he sighed in relief. “Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow then?” 

“See you tomorrow, goodnight.” And then Coriolanus hung up. 

It would have been the perfect way to end the night, had it not been that he noticed a group of men that seemed to be dealing… drugs, probably, hiding in an alley.

Sejanus made his way on one of the two walls with his webs, sticking to the side trying to listen to their conversations. Now that he could take a closer look, a shiver ran down Sejanus’ spine. They were not dealing drugs, why would they need a truck to carry a few bags of coke?

No, this was something bigger. As two men got into the truck, closing the doors behind them, one man was left outside to hand a bag to another guy, but the difference between the two was plain clear. The first one was tall with broad shoulders, standing in an intimidatory position while wearing a suit. The other one looked like a typical thief, with ruined clothes and an overworn hat on his head.

The thief opened the bag and Sejanus tried to look inside, gulping when he recognized in it one of the modified weapons that had been used the week before to rob a shop. His first instinct was to attack the two criminals, but then he chose against it. If he managed to follow the truck maybe it would have led him not only to the creator of those weapons, but possibly to whoever had sent Arachne as well.

He slowly lowered himself not to draw any attention to himself, hiding behind the truck, observing the exchange. The thief was currently paying for the weapon, when Sejanus saw the man talking to someone else, on the other side of the truck. Sejanus didn’t even have the time to react that he felt something metallic hitting his head, and next thing he knew all he saw was black. 

Chapter Text

Sejanus woke up confused, with a pounding headache. He tried to move but he was tied up to a chair, fortunately with his mask still on. He opened his eyes and squinted them, trying to adjust his eyesight to the bright light.

He slowly started to remember the events that had brought him there - wherever that was - and started looking around trying to find something to free himself with. The knots of the rope seemed to be pretty easy to untie, but he waited before doing so. He needed to understand where he was, and most importantly how many people were outside. 

It was a small room, completely empty for the exception of a locker, a desk and the chair he was tied to. There was a small glass window on the door, but from his position Sejanus couldn't see much. Suddenly he heard two sets of footsteps approaching, and the shadow of a head appeared in front of the window.

“Are we done here?” A male asked in a thick irish accent.

“Yes. All the cargo has been loaded on the trucks and are ready to be dispatched.” Replied another one, this time he seemed to be a local, and Sejanus could swear he had already heard his voice somewhere. 

“Good. And the bug in there?” The first man asked, Sejanus could see his head tilting towards the door.

“Spiders aren't bugs.” Sejanus murmured annoyed under his breath, careful not to be heard.

“Oh, Spider-Man won't be a problem. I'll take care of him myself.”

“You better do so. He's messed up with our plans more than once, and it's starting to become a real problem. Our boss won't tolerate any more mistakes by your hand.”

The other man snarled. “I've already been against him, I can handle him.”

Slingshot . Sejanus finally associated the familiar voice to the man who ran one of the biggest criminal companies of all Capitol City. They weren't exactly tough to fight against, Sejanus had always found it relatively easy. But they were many, too many, like a cancer spreading out all over the city, and Sejanus had never managed to fully get rid of them.

Eric Slingshot, a buffed man that looked like a villain straight out of a comic book, led all the activities but he rarely got out in the streets. Sejanus had met him a few times, mostly when he was taking care of illegal freight traffic. 

It didn't take Sejanus long to do the math: whoever the mysterious society this irish man worked for was, they had hired Slingshot and his men to sell the weapons all around the city, probably allowing Slingshot himself to use them as well, and in exchange they asked for a part (probably a large one) of whatever they managed to get out of robberies and small crimes, like Arachne had been doing.

“Yet you never managed to kill him.” The irish man commented, and Sejanus had to bite back a laugh. “I'm leaving with the last truck. Take care of the bug and do not make me regret letting you handle it. Or you know the consequences you'll have to face.” He threatened. The irish man walked away, the shadow getting smaller until Sejanus couldn't see it anymore.

It was quickly replaced by Slingshot's, who whispered something Sejanus was unable to hear and then opened the door, closing it behind him once he entered the room. “Hello, Spider-Man. What a pleasure to see you again.” He said, leaning against the wall in front of Sejanus.

“Eric! Long time no see. How's Tobey?” At the mention of his son - who Sejanus had arrested the month before - Slingshot straightened up and crossed his arms.

“Cut the crap. I'm afraid you've shot your last web, spidey. I-”

“Did I? That means taking the bus to get home.” Sejanus interrupted him, groaning frustrated. “I don't even have my wallet with me. Can I borrow five dollars?”

Slingshot grimaced and walked up to Sejanus. “I'm glad you find this situation so amusing, because I'm not letting you go so easily this time.”

“That would imply you've caught me before, but sure, go on.” Sejanus kept interrupting him, trying to buy himself some time while he tried to untie the rope's knots.

Slingshot took a deep breath in, probably trying to keep his cool. “Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this? How long I've been waiting to take that stupid mask off of your face?”

“Can you wait a bit longer? I forgot to do my skincare this morning- it's not a pretty sight down there.”

“Shut the fuck up!” He snapped, punching Sejanus in the face. It took him a second to recover from the hard strike, and he was pretty sure he could taste blood. Great, now he had a busted lip to take care of. 

Sejanus shrugged. “Hey, I'm saying it for your own good. Do you know how much I sweat under this thing?”

Slingshot pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, calming down. After another few deep breaths he grinned, speaking again. “Let me help you out, then.”

“Oh I'm fine doing it myself, thank you.” Sejanus said before freeing himself of the rope and shooting webs on Slingshot's eyes. The man yelled and stumbled back against the wall, trying to take the webs off his face.

Sejanus took advantage of that moment to run out of the room, finding himself in a large storeroom, empty like the office he was being kept in. The gate was open, and Sejanus could hear waves crashing against the other side of the building. Waves . He was at the port. 

He didn't have much time to think about his next action. Sejanus didn't run away from a fight, never, but Slingshot probably had one of those super guns and Sejanus had barely survived it the first time.

He sighed and, listening to his mother's advice, fled the scene. The last thing he heard were the yells of Slingshot, cursing against him.

Sejanus sighed as he started swinging away. He just had to hope the punch didn't cause him a black eye.

***

Applying foundation was one of the hardest things Sejanus had ever done. How did women do that all the time? How did his mother?

He spent hours in the mirror trying to cover up the bruise under his eye - because of course the eye had to bruise - but he was struggling with it much more than he originally planned. He would have asked ma’ for help if he wasn't sure she would have a heart attack at seeing him with a black eye.

At least his busted bottom lip wasn't so prominent. 

Finally the makeup seemed to be merging with his skin well enough, even if the foundation was slightly lighter. He put everything where he had found it to make sure his mother didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and went down for breakfast. 

He was surprised to find his father in the kitchen instead of ma’, preparing scrambled eggs. Sejanus stepped in the room with a confused look on his face, not sure on what to do. His mother was nowhere to be seen, and his father was… happy?

“... Dad?” Sejanus called him, looking around confused. “What are you doing?” 

Strabo scoffed amused and kept on making his eggs. “Cooking, Sejanus. Come on, the eggs are almost ready.” 

“Where's ma’?” He asked, sitting down at the table. Strabo turned around and served him his eggs, completing the plate with two slices of bacon.

“In bed, sleeping.” His father answered, with a wide smile on his face. Sejanus grimaced scared. He hadn't seen him smile like that since the anniversary of his parents three years ago, when they gifted themselves a trip to Italy. “I told her to rest today, that I'd take care of everything.” 

“Why?” 

“Because today I'm bringing you to work with me!”

Strabo Plinth was clearly drunk, or high. There was no other explanation. “What? Dad, I have a chemistry quiz today, I can't miss it.” Where was that coming from?

Strabo sighed and sat down in front of him, crossing his arms. “You know Sejanus, I've been thinking lately and… you're a man now. You'll be graduating soon, and are turning 19 next year! It's time that you learn about the family business. So you can take on it once I'm gone.”

Sejanus’ heart dropped. He felt anxiety rush through him, hitting him full force like a wave. He desperately wanted to cry, to yell, but all his body allowed him to do was to sit there and listen to his father's rant. 

Strabo, since Sejanus was a kid, had always wanted for him to take over his job. Especially when they moved to Capitol City, Strabo was convinced it would have been the perfect occasion to teach him about the family's business. Sejanus had never been interested in it, he always saw the weaponry business as incredibly morally wrong, without mentioning it went against everything Sejanus believed in. Besides, having Spider-Man selling weapons in his free time seemed pretty controversial.

Sejanus thought that his father had given up on that idea when Snow ruined him. He kept insisting that one day Sejanus would have to learn about the job as Strabo was sure he was going to win the legal case he'd started against Crassus. But when he lost he had to put all of his energy into saving the Industries and, when that failed as well, into making sure he and his family didn't end up on the streets, drowned by the unpaid debts. 

Sejanus had been ten at the time, twelve when they moved in the house they were currently living in, and to his relief Strabo hadn't actively mentioned him taking over ever since then, if not over dinner now and then- but Sejanus had never taken him seriously.

At least until today.

“Oh my God, are you doing this because of the comment I made the other day?” 

“I won't be here forever son,” Strabo explained ignoring Sejanus’ complaint, “I want to make sure you know what to expect when it's your turn to-”

“To what dad? Make criminals’ life easier by freely selling everyone guns?”

Sejanus saw a hurt flash in Strabo's eyes for a second, before being replaced by anger. “That is not what we do, Sejanus. We protect people.”

“ You don't!” Sejanus replied upset, raising his tone of voice. “Don't say ‘we’ like I have anything to do with it. I'm not like you and I never will be.”

“Sejanus-”

“Don't even try! I thought you were done with this, that it was a fantasy you had for me when I was twelve. I wanted to have nothing to do with guns when you were building them, I don't want now that you sell them either. 

“Weapons hurt people, with no exception. What happens when the next gun you sell it's used against you? Against me, or ma'?”

Sejanus took a deep breath in to calm down, letting the anger flowing in him to cool down. He didn't realize he had been yelling until he saw his father's face, the hurt now evident in his gaze, mixed with disappointment. Sejanus felt the tears threatening to spill out, unsure if it was the stress or the disappointment Strabo felt for him, but closed his hands in a fist and stood up. 

“I don't know why you decided to bring it up again, but forget about it and don't mention it ever again.” He walked in the living room and grabbed his backpack. “Have a good day, dad.” Sejanus said, before walking out of the house and slamming the door behind him.

***

Had he been too harsh with his father? Surely he had deserved it, but then again his actions were genuine. Sejanus just wished he'd listen to him for once. It was the only thing he could think of during the quiz, his brain empty of all the notions he had memorized the past week. 

Coriolanus on the other hand seemed to be pretty confident of all his answers, crossing them and writing them down as easily as if he was two plus two. Sejanus smiled, although partially confused. Coriolanus had apparently paid more attention to their afternoon study sessions than Sejanus had noticed.

“Time's up, all the papers on my desk! You'll get them back with the grades by the end of the week.” Mrs. Click said, clapping her hands to catch the class’ attention.

Sejanus reluctantly stood up and handed the paper, waiting for Coriolanus outside the classroom. “So, how did it go?” He asked him once he saw him walking out the door. 

Coriolanus flinched before realizing it was just Sejanus, and offered him a small smile. “Good, I think. Hopefully all your lessons were useful.” He said, chuckling awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. “Yours?”

Sejanus shrugged, starting to walk to the cafeteria with Coriolanus. “It could have gone better.” He replied, evasive. He needed nothing more than to talk to someone about his father, but he wasn't sure he could let that out on Coriolanus. 

Sure, he had opened up to him about his parents. But he hadn't said anything explicitly about his feelings, and Sejanus didn't know if they were at that stage for their relationship. He didn't even know what their relationship was yet!

“Are you okay? You seem… off, today.” 

Sejanus looked down and nodded, “Yeah, I'm all good.” 

Coryo hummed and seemed to buy it, putting himself in line to get lunch. Sejanus stood behind him, tapping his fingers on the trail as he waited. The drumming of his fingers put on a background sound as he started thinking about his dad again. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to remove the hurt on his father's face from his memory. 

Sejanus looked up and saw Coryo staring at him in confusion and worry with a frown on his face. He smiled at him to not let him get any more worried, and Coryo's frown slowly disappeared, his worried expression gone, and instead he was looking at him with empathy. He didn't check on him again and just turned around, collecting his food and then starting to search for a table, signaling Sejanus to sit with him.

Sejanus gave him a more truthful smile and sat down next to him, letting his guilt for that morning be replaced with happiness and excitement for their upcoming date. 

Chapter Text

Sejanus checked the phone again while he waited for Coriolanus: he had ten missed calls from ma’, two from his dad and many unread messages from both. He knew why they were trying to contact him, ma’ probably wanted him to apologize to Strabo or at least for them to talk it out. His father on the other hand probably just wanted to scowl him again, like he always did after a fight.

He told ma’ he was out with a friend to not make her worry, locked his phone and put it away, staring out of the cafe window. Sejanus knew he wasn't in the wrong, technically. But maybe he should apologize anyway? At least they wouldn't bother him anymore. 

“Hey Sej.” Sejanus looked up, smiling at Coriolanus.

“Hey.” He frowned amused, “ ‘Sej’?” He added in a teasing tone.

Coryo blushed and sat down, looking away. “It's just a nickname I came up with.” He explained mumbling, making Sejanus chuckle. “Anyway, so what are we ordering?” He asked, awkwardly looking around.

He had to admit Coriolanus didn't look entirely comfortable. As they both ordered a hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream, Sejanus started questioning whether asking him out had truly been a good idea. He kept checking his surroundings as if someone were to come out and kidnap him all of a sudden, and he had ordered by saying “What he got, but no whipped cream.” 

Sejanus had tried to joke about the fact that not liking whipped cream had to be some sort of crime, but all he got from Coriolanus was a short laugh and awkward smile, before he went to look down again.

This had definitely been a terrible idea.

All Sejanus wanted was to get to know Coriolanus better, thinking he'd want the same, but he'd been wrong. Maybe he didn't like to step out of his comfort zone, and Sejanus had accidentally forced him to do so. Or maybe he just didn't like him like that, and what he wanted out of their relationship was merely sexual. 

Sejanus gulped at the thought, was he even ready to do sex? He shook his head, trying to not get ahead of himself. Try and fix this mess for now, we'll think about sex later , he told himself. 

“I'm sorry.” He said, as Coriolanus was slowly sipping on his beverage. He frowned.

“About what?”

“This, I guess.” Sejanus explained, gesturing between them. “I should have asked before asking you out, should have thought you might have not been comfortable with it-”

“Sejanus.” Coryo interrupted him, reaching for his hand on the table. He started rubbing his thumb on Sejanus’ hand's back, soothing down his nerves. “I'm okay. We're okay. I've just never been on a date with a guy, that's it. This is all so… new to me.” 

Coriolanus smiled embarrassed and retracted his hand. “I'm glad you asked me out. I want to get to know you, Sej.” 

Sejanus blushed at the use of the nickname and nodded. “Me too.”

“Okay, ask away then. But I'm not exactly the most open person in the world.” Coriolanus joked.

Sejanus hummed and thought of what to ask, relieved his worry had been proven wrong. “Hmm, what's your favourite colour?”

Coryo chuckled, smiling widely. He had such a beautiful smile, Sejanus couldn't believe he had gone so long without seeing it. “Red. Yours?”

“Blue.” Sejanus gestured for him to talk, “Your turn now.”

“Let's see… Favorite author and book?”

“Jane Austen, but my favorite book is The Secret History.” 

Coryo hummed in approval, even adding an additional handclap to his reaction. “I'm impressed, though not entirely surprised. It does seem like the kind of thing you'd like.”

Sejanus raised his eyebrows surprised and gasped, exaggerating his shock. “Coriolanus Snow has read The Secret History?”

Coryo rolled his eyes and sipped on his hot chocolate again, Sejanus doing the same. “I have. Let me guess, your favorite movie is Dead Poets Society?”

Sejanus groaned and tried to hide his blush. “Am I that predictable?” Coryo chuckled again and was about to answer, when his eyes fell on Sejanus’ lips making him start laughing.

Sejanus frowned confused, “What?” 

In between laughs, Coryo gestured to his own lips. “You have, uh, you have something here.” 

Sejanus furrowed his eyebrows before realizing what he meant. He took his napkin and cleaned himself, acting annoyed. “I'm glad you find my accidental mustache so amusing.”

Coryo hummed and nodded, trying to catch his breath and steady his laugh. “And that is exactly why I never order whipped cream.” He commented, finishing his hot chocolate. 

“Thank you, I hadn't laughed like that since forever.” Coryo said once he finally stopped laughing, looking down at his now empty mug.

There was something in the way he had said it, in the truthful tone he had used, that made Sejanus’ heart melt. Over the week he had known Coriolanus Snow, he had often felt safe and happy with him. This was the first time he felt like Coriolanus shared the same feeling as his.

True, he'd shown him places of his house, of his history. But never of himself. Sejanus smiled at the thought that maybe he was finally breaking through the mask Coriolanus always kept on, slowly making his way to his heart. Or at least to his true self.

Coriolanus got up and moved around the table, sitting next to Sejanus, who scooted away to give him space. He leaned in slowly, and Sejanus nervously looked around checking no one was watching. “Thank you.” Coriolanus murmured again, before kissing him. 

Sejanus smiled in the kiss, enjoying the moment, until Coriolanus accidentally ran his tongue on his bottom lip and over the cut, making him wince in pain. 

Coriolanus pulled away immediately. “Is everything okay?”

Sejanus touched his lip to check if it was bleeding, shrugging. “Yeah, just a busted lip.” Coriolanus nodded, still looking worried, but still managed to smirk and crack a joke.

“Well I think it makes you look gorgeous.” 

“Yeah?”

“Trust me, that lip's working for you, Sej.” 

Sejanus felt himself go on fire, his cheeks probably turning a dark shade of red, and he had the sudden urge to slam Coriolanus on the table and make out with him until his lungs begged for air. 

So much for not being ready for sex.

As Sejanus once again used his napkin to clean his lip Coriolanus' smile slowly faded, his fingers tapping on the mug. “Can I ask you something?”

Sejanus nervously chuckled. “Are you about to ask about Spider-Man again? I thought my answers yesterday were pretty exhaustive.” And he wasn't lying. Sejanus had answered every question Coriolanus had, some about the encounters he had (he seemed to be particularly interested in Arachne), some others about how the webs worked as well. Sejanus had tried to keep himself vague on that subject, not wanting to sound like he knew too much.

Which he did, but he couldn't let Coriolanus know that. What if he suspected anything? 

“No, it's not that.”

“Go on then.”

Coriolanus cleared his throat before speaking. “What happened this morning?”

Sejanus’ smile dropped,  looking down to avoid Coriolanus’ eyes, giving all his attention to the dark liquid in his mug. “What do you mean?”

Coriolanus rolled his eyes at Sejanus’ fake nativity and insisted. “Oh c’mon Sejanus. No offense but you looked like shit. Did something happen to ma'? Does it have to do with your lip?”

Sejanus suddenly felt overwhelmed by all the attention and worry he was receiving, a part of him also pleasantly surprised at the fact Coriolanus’ first thought had been ma’. “No, I- I'm fine. I promise. I just didn't sleep well.” 

Coriolanus didn't look convinced at all, and Sejanus wished he would just let go of the subject already, but Coriolanus was stubborn. “Sejanus, you can talk to me.” He insisted. 

Sejanus brought his hands on his lap and looked down, gulping. He could feel the panic raising faster and faster inside of him by the second, as he mentally tried to calm himself down. Sejanus took a few deep breaths - during which, to his relief, Coriolanus didn't say anything - and then spoke up. 

“Coryo, please just drop it. I swear I'm okay.” 

Coriolanus scoffed and looked away. Sejanus felt guilty for lying to him like that, but at least he had stopped asking questions. They both fell into an awkward silence, Sejanus wishing he could just disappear from existence and Coriolanus probably doing the same. The only sound was Sejanus still drinking his hot chocolate, taking extremely short sips to fill the void of their conversation.

“I'm sorry.” Coriolanus suddenly said, the words sounding wrong out of his mouth, as if he was forcing himself to say them. And, from the way his jaw tightened, he probably did. Sejanus still appreciated the effort and, after a moment of hesitation, he kissed his cheek.

Coryo looked surprised but didn't move. His facial features softened at Sejanus’ touch, far more innocent yet intimate than their usual kisses, a feeling similar to what Sejanus felt the day before when they were cuddling.

“I just-” He began, trying to find the words to explain what he was feeling enough to not make Coriolanus worry, “I had a fight with my dad. I don't want to talk about it, but I just feel so bad. I don't think I'm in the wrong, but it's still my dad you know?”

Coriolanus frowned and shook his head. “Honestly Sejanus, I don't. I never really had this beautiful relationship with my father, it was pretty one sided. He told me what to do, and I did everything I could to make him proud, to carry on his legacy. I still am.” He explained, mumbling the last part.

“It's all I've ever known. With my mother it was different. She was always nice and kind to me…” Coryo trailed off, looking ahead of him, probably lost in the memories of his mom. Sejanus noticed a single tear slipping down his cheek, but Coryo wiped it away immediately and Sejanus didn't comment on it, knowing he needed to just let him talk.

“The point is, if I had a fight with her I'd want to make sure she knew I don't hate her. If I was right I wouldn't exactly apologize, but at least tell her I still love her.” Coriolanus looked surprised by his own words, and he shook his head. “Sorry, I'm not making any sense.”

“No, you are. It does make sense.” Sejanus reassured him, putting his arm around him to comfort him. “Thanks, Coryo.” He said, leaning his head on his shoulder.  

Coryo tensed but quickly relaxed in his arms, kissing his head. “Anytime.” 

***

“Pa’?” Sejanus called as soon as he stepped in his house. “Pa’! Can we talk?” No answers. 

Sejanus frowned, letting his bag down and searching in the living room for his parents. It was five p.m., his father was usually already back from work by now. Maybe he'd left for a walk? Or ma’ was talking to him upstairs.

The kitchen was also empty, the dishes from breakfast still dirty in the sink. Frown never leaving his face, Sejanus walked over it and started washing them, assuming his parents must have left to go buy something for dinner. Suddenly he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He immediately turned and found ma’ standing on the last step, as if frozen, staring at him.

“Ma’! I was wondering where you and dad were.” He said, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. But worry grew back in him when he noticed Junia’s puffy red eyes, the dark look on her face and smeared makeup, her hair looking like she had just gotten out of bed. “Are you okay? What happened?” Sejanus asked, immediately going to his mother’s side.

The woman just stared at him in disbelief, unable to speak, as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. Sejanus was about to ask for explanations when his mother completely broke down and started sobbing, unable to even steady herself on the stairs. Sejanus caught her and gently sat down with her and she kept crying, giving no sign of stopping any time soon.

Sejanus couldn’t do anything but hold her as she cried, caressing her arm trying to comfort her. The absence of his father and his mother’s reaction had him drowning in worry, silently begging for ma’ to give him an explanation- to tell him that, somehow, everything was fine. But when she eventually calmed down - or, better said, stopped crying for long enough she could speak - her words cut through Sejanus like a knife.

“Your f-father,” She mumbled, sniffing, “Your father has been shot, Sejanus.”

Chapter Text

When Sejanus was five, he made what he thought was an excellent portrait of his family: Junia and Strabo standing tall under a tree, next to Sejanus who was holding a flower.

Their bodies were sticks and their heads a (rather badly drawn) circle, but to young Sejanus it was a masterpiece nonetheless. He couldn't help but stare at the framed drawing in his parents’ bedroom, hanging over the bed, as his mother waited for him downstairs. 

Junia had told Sejanus she'd been trying to contact him all day to talk to him, and eventually gave up when he told her he was out with a friend. “I didn't want to ruin your evening,” she explained. 

It's not like his evening was going much better now. 

Ma' had been nice enough to give him space, but not before explaining exactly what had happened. 

“He was going to work,” she had said, “looking very distressed. I decided to go with him to make sure he was alright.” Ma’ had taken a deep breath there before continuing. 

“On our way to the shop a criminal attacked us, pushed us in an alley with one of those new weapons.” She sniffed. “He demanded our money, your father agreed. But then we heard a noise, and the criminal must have assumed it was the police or something similar because he fired a shot at your father and ran away! Oh Sejanus, what will we do now?” And then she started sobbing again, unable to talk any further.

Sejanus had then - reluctantly - called the hospital where his father had been taken to check on him, to see if they were able to tell him something more. They couldn't, apparently, not over phone call. 

Sejanus didn't know why he was still staring at the drawing instead of going to the hospital. Maybe to find the courage to do so, or maybe because he was terrified of what he was going to see.

It's your fault .

Sejanus had never hated himself more than he did at that moment. It wasn't directly his fault his father got injured, but he could have been there to help him, to do something- anything to stop the criminal.

Sejanus had figured out he didn't like his father when he'd been old enough to understand what he did for a living, their morals too different for them to really get along. But he was his father, and Sejanus loved him nonetheless. If only he hadn't been so stubborn in telling him no that morning, maybe now Sejanus would be having dinner with his parents as they usually did instead of worrying ma’ wouldn't choke on her own tears, drowned by the pain.

The worst thing though was that, other than the guilt quickly spreading itself all over his soul, Sejanus didn't feel anything else. Shouldn't he feel rage? Shouldn't he feel sad? Why couldn't he? Sejanus couldn't even manage to spill a few tears for his dying father. 

The sense of guilt was basically ripping him apart and it had only been a couple of hours, what would it do to him in a few days? Sejanus had to get out of the house, get his mind off that situation. Except he couldn't, could he? 

Sejanus ran downstairs. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table holding a steaming hot mug, probably full of her favorite camomile tea which she drank when she was stressed. She immediately looked up when she heard Sejanus entering the room, standing up worried. “Are you okay mi vida?” 

Sejanus shrugged and bit his lip. “I'm… not sure. I need some time alone, will you be okay at home?” 

Junia nodded. “Of course. I'll go to the hospital in a few minutes, will you meet me there?” Sejanus nodded and kissed her head, before rushing out of the house.

After promptly finding an alley where to change into his costume he swung to the crime scene, already marked with the yellow tape. 

Only one officer was guarding the scene, hands folded behind his back as he fidgeted with his fingers. Sejanus landed in front of him, making him jolt in surprise. The officer recoiled pretty quickly, and cleared his throat before speaking. “Spider-Man.” 

“Evening, officer… Fortentia.” Sejanus read off the name tag the other was wearing. “What happened here?” 

The officer looked around and mumbled something under his breath. “Just another mugging, which unfortunately ended up in tragedy. Or not, from what I’ve heard the victim is alive at the hospital.” Sejanus nodded and tried to act neutral, glad that his mask was hiding the sorrow on his face.

“Can I take a look at the scene?”

The officer frowned confused, “Since when do you take care of muggings? Especially ones that have already happened.”

Sejanus shrugged. “You didn’t get the guy, I just wanna prevent him from attacking again.” Fortentia nodded but looked reluctant about revealing the information, as if it was classified. “I just wanna help.” Added Sejanus in a pleading voice, hoping that would convince him.

The officer hummed and looked around before lifting up the tape, allowing Sejanus to inspect the hallway. Nothing was out of the ordinary if it wasn’t for a dark shadow on the wall, seemingly in the shape of a human. His father. It couldn’t be the same weapon that had been used on him the week before, that would have completely pulverized him. But Strabo was alive in the hospital. What had been used to attack him then?

Sejanus searched on the ground looking for any kind of bullet that might have been left there, in vain, finding nothing but dust and flying papers. He was starting to lose any hope of finding any clues, when he noticed a small object shining next to the shadow on the wall. He knelt down and grabbed it, inspecting the… valve?

It sure looked like it, but Sejanus had no idea what its use for any kind of weapon could have been. He looked at Fortentia and decided to keep the discovery for himself. If the cops had been so neglective in searching the scene to miss that, it would have probably been of better use in Sejanus’ hands.

“Yeah, there’s nothing much here.” Sejanus said dismissively, walking back to the officer. “Thanks for letting me in. I’ll, uh, I’ll go now.” He said awkwardly, pointing to the street. Without waiting for an answer he shot a web to the nearby building and swinged away, gulping. He knew where he had to go next and, as much as he wanted to avoid it, Sejanus knew he had to. 

***

The hospital was cold when Sejanus stepped in, even colder than it was outside. “The heating is broken, it has been for a month.” Explained the nurse at the front desk when she saw him shivering. Sejanus looked around, seeing people handing out blankets and fuming mugs. 

“What are they doing?”

“They're volunteers, this week has been particularly cold and they're helping warm the patients best they can. How can I help you sweetheart?” 

Sejanus cleared his throat. “I’m here to see Strabo Plinth. I’m his son.” The nurse nodded and checked on her computer, clicking fast on her keyboard. 

“Let’s see… Ah, yes. Strabo Plinth, room 81E.” The nurse showed him where the room was located and Sejanus thanked her, walking away. 

“Sejanus?” He turned around and found himself facing Tigris, Coriolanus’ cousin. “Hi! I thought I recognized you, but wasn't sure. How are you?”

Sejanus offered her a smile, trying not to look too distraught. “I'm good. You?” He lied, knowing it definitely wasn’t the time to let out all of his personal issues on Tigris. 

Tigris smiled in a much more sincere way than Sejanus had, which he took as a good sign that she wasn't there for anything related to herself or Coriolanus. “I’m doing good, I'm here to help.” She explained, showing Sejanus the blankets she had in her hands.

“Oh, the nurse was telling me about it.” 

“It's terrible. You'd think a hospital would get more funds, but apparently the Mayor doesn't share that idea. Most of the money goes to the Snow Industries,” Tigris gulped, looking embarrassed, “which I'm well aware it's my family's business. But I'm not the one taking care of all of that now that Crassus is gone, there's nothing I can do about it.” She kept going, trying to justify herself.

Sejanus nodded, feeling bad for Tigris. It was obvious she was a kind and generous person, and he perfectly understood what it was like to live in a family that didn't share your view on such important matters. 

“Anyway, less funds means less money to fix broken machines- or to buy new ones. Some people brush it off as a minor issue, but what happens if the pipes froze because it's too cold, and they can't pay the repairs? They'll just wait until it's summer so the water can run again?” It was obvious Tigris cared about that cause, which warmed Sejanus’ heart. 

The Capitol City Hospital had survived off the city's taxes for almost two years now, since it had been rebuilt after TickTock had made the whole building accidentally explode.

TickTock, nickname used to call Wiress Ticker. A poor woman, a mutant, whose mutation allowed her to turn anything she touched into ticking bombs. Literally. 

The mutation had developed three years before when she'd been hospitalized by her daughter for a high fever. During her stay, she had seemingly gone insane, causing her to wander in the hospital's hallways. On one unfortunate day her assigned nurse had lost sight of her, and found her when it was too late, gripping herself on a gas tank in the boiler room. The explosion had caused a chain reaction that had brought down the whole building.

A real tragedy, Sejanus remembered, that the news had blamed on “A tragic case of bad luck.” Strabo had also blamed the nurse who was supposed to check on her, but how was she supposed to know Wiress would have developed her mutation at that exact moment? 

Either way, the hospital had yet to fully recover. They had managed to partially rebuild it in one year, but the works had soon stopped (funds had been cut, like Tigris had said) and most of it was still in construction. 

Tigris slightly widened her eyes and chuckled. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let it all out on you.” Her smile slowly faded, though, as she seemed to realize where they were. “How come you're here? Is everything okay?” 

“Oh, uh, yeah. Just a check up.” Sejanus lied, not wanting to make her worry.

Tigris didn't seem convinced but nodded. “Okay. I need to go now, but I'll see you soon at my house I'm assuming?” She asked before winking, making Sejanus blush in embarrassment. “Bye Sejanus!” She waved, walking away.

Sejanus did the same, still rather embarrassed, and walked to his father's room. 

He froze when he found himself in front of the door, staring at the plaque with the number on it, his hand shaking in the air reaching for the handle. Sejanus was terrified of what he was going to find. He knew his father was alive, but in what conditions? The shadow on the wall definitely hadn’t been a good sign, but then again his mother would have told him if it was bad. Right?

Sejanus took a deep breath in and twisted the handle, stepping in the room. His father was on the bed, attached to three different beeping machines. He looked asleep - induced coma, Sejanus assumed - with a few cuts on his face and a broken arm. But other than that Strabo looked as he did on a typical Monday morning, ready to go to work. 

“Dad?” Sejanus didn’t know why he called for him, he definitely wasn’t expecting an answer. But when the other man (as expected) stayed silent, Sejanus couldn’t help but burst into tears, unable to stop himself. He walked to the bed and sat on the chair next to it, sobbing. He reached for his father’s hand, squeezing it in his own. It was cold, lacking the usual warmth which Sejanus used to find comfort in as a kid.

Another loud sob left his lips, and he forced himself to look away from his father’s figure. He was drowning in guilt, every other feeling being shut down at the sight of his dad. “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry.” He kept repeating between cries, uselessly trying to wipe away his tears.

He felt his breath hitch and a wave of nausea hit him all of a sudden. Sejanus stood up and rushed to the room's bathroom, kneeling in front of the toilet before throwing up. His date with Coriolanus seemed so long ago, and Sejanus only wished he could go back to that moment and forget about the rest of the world. But that thought only made him throw up again, feeling even more guilty over the mere idea that he was once again choosing to leave his father alone. 

It was his fault. He should have gone with his father, should have done what Strabo wanted him to. Why was it so hard for him to be the son his dad so badly wanted? 

After another retch - due to the smell of the vomit hitting his nostrils - and all the crying Sejanus felt like he barely had any liquids left in his body, if not for the blood he felt pumping in his veins. For a split second he wished for it to leave his body as well, but quickly washed that thought away by walking to the sink and splashing water in his face.

He rinsed his mouth twice, trying to erase the vomit's taste, and then stared at himself in the mirror. He was filled by a sense of disgust towards himself as he dried his tears stained cheeks. The last words he had said to his father had been full of hatred, and now those might have been the last things Strabo will ever hear from his son. How could Sejanus live with that? 

“You should have been there with him.” He murmured with gritted teeth. “He's on that bed because of you.” He tightened his grip around the glass he'd used to wash his mouth, so much he thought he was going to break it, then took two deep breaths.

Getting upset at himself was of no use, especially to help his father. The only way to know what happened to him was to find whatever weapon had been used to hurt him, study it and find a cure for Strabo.

He walked out of the bathroom and stood in front of the bed. “I swear pa’, I'll find whoever did this to you. I promise.” Sejanus said, before getting up and leaving the room, keeping the promise in his heart like an oath to God himself.

Chapter Text

Sejanus woke up the morning after with a pounding headache. He checked his phone, it was eight a.m. He groaned, throwing it on the other side of the bed and closing his eyes. He had planned on skipping school that day to take some time for himself and sleep more - and possibly work on his father's case - but ma’ seemed to have other plans for him downstairs. 

It wasn't really the clanging of pans that woke him up, but the uninterrupted vacuuming. Ma’ had been cleaning the house all morning, it was the third time Sejanus woke up to the vacuum's noise. It was pointless to try and fall asleep just for him to be awoken again probably shortly later, 

“Ma'?” He called in a sleepy voice while walking downstairs. “What are you doing?” He asked, rubbing his eyes. 

“Just some cleaning, Sejanus.” She replied, offering him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Trying to keep myself busy. Sorry, did I wake you?”

“Uh, no, don’t worry. My alarm went off.” He lied. Considering the mental state she was in, Sejanus was pretty sure she might have a breakdown feeling guilty for accidentally waking up her son.

“Good. I’m going out soon to buy something for lunch, you want to come with?” Sejanus sighed and shook his head. Every time his mom was stressed about something she couldn’t control, she always did house chores, even when they were unnecessary. Unless all the food had disappeared since the day before, Sejanus was pretty sure Strabo had gone to the supermarket two days ago. 

“No, thanks. I’d rather stay at home today- if that’s okay with you.” 

Junia smiled and nodded. She looked at her son and sighed, putting down the vacuum before walking up to Sejanus to hug him. “We’ll be alright mi hijo, I promise.” She murmured against his chest trying to comfort her son and. most likely, to convince herself of her own words.

***

Sejanus had been sleeping on the couch for what seemed an eternity when ma’ woke him up- on purpose, this time. “Sejanus?” 

Sejanus jolted awake, looking around in confusion for a few seconds before realizing where he was. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, checking the time. Six p.m. Well, there went his plan on working on his father’s case. Had he really been asleep for so long? He barely remembered closing his eyes on the couch after lunch…

“Sejanus, your… uhm… friend , is here.” Sejanus frowned. Junia pronounced the word in a weird tone, seemingly unsure. He got up from the couch and walked to the entrance, finding Coriolanus standing on the porch while his mother glared at him.

“Coryo? What are you doing here?” He asked confused.

Coriolanus’ gaze nervously shifted from Sejanus to his mother, and then back to Sejanus, as he cleared his throat before speaking. 

“You weren’t at school. I brought you today’s homework.” Coriolanus said, putting his hands in his pockets, clearly feeling nervous under Junia’s eyes. 

“Thank you, Coriolanus. You can leave now then?” 

“Ma’!” Sejanus called out, surprised by how cold she was currently being towards Coryo. She was usually much more open whenever someone visited them - it was shocking she hadn’t even offered to prepare him some tea - yet she kept glaring at Coriolanus like he was there to rob them. 

“Thanks Coryo, would you like to come in?” He asked, trying to get him out of that situation. Coriolanus shifted nervously and gulped, nodding, looking down. Sejanus stepped aside to let him in, glaring at his mom confused. Why was she acting like that?

“We'll be upstairs.” He said, dragging Coriolanus to his bedroom without waiting for an answer. He closed the door behind him and turned to Coryo, watching amused the attentive way he was observing Sejanus’ bedroom, much similar to how Sejanus had done the week before in Coriolanus’ room.

“I'm sorry for ma’, I don't know why she was acting like that.” Sejanus apologized, sitting on the bed. 

Coriolanus shrugged and sat next to him. “I do.” Sejanus tilted his head confused, silently asking for an explanation. “I assumed you did too, actually. Or did you forget my family ruined yours?” 

Oh. Right. That.

Sejanus didn't exactly forget about that detail, he just didn't blame Coriolanus for it. His father had been the one to - indirectly - end Strabo's business, not Coryo. He knew Junia felt resentment for the Snow, who had been the reason why Strabo was always so stressed. Sejanus had always thought he should have seen a therapist, or at least talk to someone. But when ma’ had tried to suggest the idea to him he had snapped and yelled, “I'm not crazy!” 

Sejanus knew Strabo hated Coriolanus as much as he did with Crassus. He just didn't think Junia shared the same feeling.

“But it's not your fault. You were just a toddler.” 

“I don't think your mother agrees.”

“Even if she doesn't, I don't blame you Coriolanus. I could never. You know that, right?”

Coryo chuckled sadly and looked at Sejanus, giving him a peck. “You're too sweet for me.” He whispered on his lips, making Sejanus faintly blush. 

“Quoting Hozier now, are we? Keep going like this and I'll soon be on my knees to pop the question.” Sejanus joked.

Coriolanus looked extremely confused, smiling awkwardly as if to humor Sejanus without truly understanding what he was smiling for. 

“It's- it's a joke. I'm not actually going to propose.” 

“I figured that. I just have no idea who Hozier is.” 

Sejanus’ eyes widened as he dramatically gasped, moving away from Coriolanus. “What?” The blonde asked, even more confused than before.

“For the sake of our relationship I'm going to pretend you didn't say that.”

Coriolanus raised his eyebrows but didn't respond. They fell into a comfortable silence, Coriolanus looking around the bedroom and Sejanus looking at him. He suddenly felt dizzy, like his soul had left his body and was staring at the scene from a tv. It all felt surreal, that moment, his life. At the start of the school year Sejanus had it bad for his classmate who he barely spoke to, coming back home after school to his mother making dinner while his father complained about the news. 

And now there he was, hanging out with that same classmate who he was in a yet to be labeled relationship with, and his father in the hospital fighting for his life. 

His life had managed to change so drastically in the span of two weeks, and the thought brought so much anxiety to Sejanus he felt like throwing up all over the bed.

“Why did you skip school today?” Coriolanus suddenly asked, snapping Sejanus out of his train of thoughts.

“I wasn't feeling well.” Which wasn't exactly a lie.

“Sejanus,” Coryo said, his tone more serious, leaning forward on the bed to hold his hand, “I'm worried about you, I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me.”

Sejanus looked down, squeezing Coryo's hand and biting down his lip trying to stop himself from crying. “They shot my dad.” He let out, his voice sounding empty. “With one of those super guns they're using now.”

Coriolanus’ face dropped. Sejanus thought he saw panic in his eyes, realizing it was probably just worry for him. “When did this happen?” 

“Yesterday, when we were out. He's alive, but in critical conditions at the hospital.” He explained, not wanting Coriolanus to worry any further. But his comment seemed to have the opposite reaction on the blonde, who went pale.

“I’m- I’m sorry.” He murmured, lowering his head.

Sejanus shook his head, rubbing his thumb against Coriolanus’ palm. “You’re apologizing like it’s your fault.” Sejanus cracked a joke, trying to ease the tension that seemed to grow in him. Coriolanus frowned and grimaced, looking uncomfortable.

“I know it's not, but you were away because of me.”

“Coriolanus, I was the one to ask you out.”

“I know, but still-” Sejanus shut him up with a kiss, making Coriolanus sigh against his mouth. Sejanus leaned away and joined their foreheads, stroking Coryo’s cheeks. 

“Stop blaming yourself. I’m already stressed as it is, I don’t need my boyfriend to panic as well.” He chuckled. Sejanus realized too late what he had said. The panic immediately overwhelmed him as he moved away to put distance between him and Coriolanus, trying not to let his emotions be too obvious. Maybe he didn’t hear him and he could play it cool!

But Coryo’s eyes were wide in shock. He looked frozen, unable to move, slightly lent forward as if still waiting for Sejanus’ kiss.

“Boyfriend.” Coriolanus finally murmured, sitting up straight. “Did you just call me your boyfriend?”

Sejanus gulped and felt his cheeks grow red. His palms were starting to get steady and his heart was beating so loud in his ears he was pretty sure everyone in their neighborhood could hear it. “Are you- are you upset?” He nervously asked, picking on his nails.

“I’m just conflicted.” Coriolanus admitted, sounding genuinely confused. “I really like you Sejanus, and I love kissing you.” The comment made Sejanus shyly smile and look up at Coriolanus. “But I’ve never liked someone like that. It’s all so new to me.”

Sejanus wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t even once stop thinking that he could have been Coriolanus’ first boy crush- if not first crush at all. Once again he felt selfish for not thinking about Coriolanus’ feelings about their relationship. 

"I'm sorry. It just slipped out, we don’t have to put labels on our relationship if you don't want to.”

“I do.” 

Sejanus looked at him surprised, not expecting Coriolanus to give in so soon. “R-really? I don't want you to feel pressured. It was a genuine mistake, I'd never-”

This time it was Coriolanus who leaned in to shut him up with a kiss, holding his face in his hands so gently Sejanus felt like he could have happily died there. “I really do. I'd love to be your boyfriend, Sejanus.”

Sejanus smiled widely and leaned down on the bed, bringing Coriolanus with him. . “You’re my first boyfriend as well, by the way.” Sejanus chuckled, kissing his nose. “Isn’t it sweet? We’re each other’s firsts!”

Coriolanus wrinkled his nose and awkwardly smiled. “Yeah. So sweet.” 

Sejanus laughed and stared at Coriolanus lovingly, as if to study every small detail on his face to never forget it. His eyes, his nose, his mouth. “Thank you,” he murmured after giving him a peck on the lips, “for being here. I really needed a distraction today.” 

Coriolanus smiled at him, almost grinning, “Of course. Isn’t that what boyfriends do?” 

Chapter Text

Sejanus was utterly exhausted.

With Coriolanus’ help he had spent all afternoon catching up on the classes he had missed on that day, which took more effort than Sejanus thought. He didn’t know if it was because of how emotionally confused he felt - his father was still in the hospital, his conditions stable but giving no signs of getting better, but he also now had his first boyfriend, which brought an unexplainable happiness to his state of mind. Saying his life was a mess was an understatement.

And on top of it, he couldn’t forget about his duties as Spider-Man, could he? But Sejanus had to admit swinging around the city in his costume was a relief, like breathing clean air after inhaling smoke for so long. He thought it would have been a reminder of his dad, instead his head finally felt empty of any negative thoughts he had had the past few days.

Craving answers and justice for his father, he found himself back at the port, searching the same storage room where he had been locked in by Slingshot. It was as empty as he’d left it, no one in sight. He didn’t find any evidence of the weapons - or that anyone had been there at all - but he wasn’t surprised. Whoever was running the arms trafficking was no rookie, and clearly knew how to disappear without leaving a trace. 

Sejanus was about to leave the storage defeated when he felt a tingle spread through his body. His spider-sense had him turn towards the office’s door, from where someone was just about to come out. He immediately jumped on the ceiling and crawled towards one of the dark corners, hiding from sight. A girl came out of the office while carrying a body, a passed out boy around his age - Sejanus was too far to understand if he was still alive - with bruises all over his shirtless chest.

Sejanus doubted the girl had been the one to cause him harm: she looked far too worried, whispering to him and checking his injuries. She looked harmless, and clearly in need of help. Or at least her friend was. Sejanus sighed and swung towards them, making the girl jump back startled. “Stay away.” She said, trying to sound threatening. But Sejanus could see how she was shaking, so he immediately raised his arms doing his best to not appear as a danger in the girl’s eyes. 

“I don’t want to hurt you, I saw you and your friend and wanted to help.”

“Stay away.” The girl repeated, her voice sounding weaker this time.

“I’m Spider-Man.” Sejanus introduced himself, not moving from where he was standing. It was better to indulge her, so as to avoid scaring her any further. “May I know your name?”

The girl didn’t respond but looked at her friend, worried. Then she brought her eyes back to Sejanus. The next ten seconds felt like a blur. The girl sighed, took a deep breath in and suddenly her hand was glowing, some sort of dagger forming on her palm that she threw towards Sejanus with no hesitation. 

Sejanus’ eyes widened and managed to dodge the dagger jumping back, but he didn’t even have the time to land on his feet that the girl was already throwing another burst of light daggers his way, most of which went crashing against the wall behind him, leaving dark burnt spots on it. One of the daggers grazed Sejanus’ left arm, burning part of his costume. He mentally cursed.

“Oh c’mon, do you have any idea how long it takes me to patch this suit up? Hey, hey stop! Stop that! It hurts!” Sejanus yelled, pointing his finger at the girl who had her arms raised, ready to shoot again. He raised his hands in surrender, “Look, I-”

“I know who you are,” The girl spoke, “but you can’t help me. No one can.” 

Sejanus slowly lowered his hands, “Why don’t you start by telling me your names? We’ll see about the help part later.” He offered. The girl looked at her friend and thought about it, before eventually lowering her hands as well.

“Alright.”

“Can I get closer?” She nodded and sat down, leaning against the wall, holding her friend’s hand.

“I’m Lucy Gray. This is Jessup.”

Sejanus nodded and observed the girl, only now taking in her fragile-looking form. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.” She replied, still looking wary of Sejanus. A wave of sadness overwhelmed him at hearing the young girl’s age, her eyes full of fear and worry for her friend as she tried to keep a brave mask so as to not be perceived weak. What had they been through?

Sejanus sighed and knelt down observing Jessup’s injuries. “Okay Lucy, now I’m-” 

“It’s Lucy Gray. Not Lucy, Lucy Gray .” She said, sounding quite annoyed, as if this wasn’t the first time she had to correct someone on her name. 

“Sorry, Lucy Gray. Now I’m gonna check his chest, is that okay? I’ve tended to my own injuries multiple times and I have experience as a nurse,” only as a volunteer at the school’s infirmary, but it wasn’t necessary for Lucy Gray to know that, “I know what I’m doing.”

Reluctantly Lucy Gray nodded, allowing Sejanus to get closer to Jessup. He had two gunshot wounds, which were surprisingly clean of any blood, and a series of purple bruises, clearly due to some sort of fight. Many cuts covered his chest, but they looked like old scars and not an emergency. The gunshot wounds on the other hand… Sejanus hypothesized they had to be a result of the super weapons, because how else was he supposed to explain those perfectly clean holes? Unless Lucy Gray had cleaned him beforehand, but even then, he couldn’t have just suddenly stopped bleeding. 

“Do you know how he got hurt?” 

She nodded, but didn’t add anything further. Sejanus understood the need of keeping whatever happened to them a secret, but how was he supposed to help them if Lucy Gray didn’t tell him anything? “I’m just trying to help.” Sejanus said, but Lucy Gray kept quiet.

Sejanus sighed and stood up, looking around. He could carry Jessup to the hospital, but he doubted Lucy Gray was going to allow him to. But what else was he supposed to do? He could study Jessup’s wounds if he had the correct equipment, but where to find it? The school had a pretty advanced chemistry lab, but this wasn’t a chemistry matter. Or was it? Sejanus groaned, completely lost on what to do.

“How long has it been since he passed out?” 

“An hour I think.”

Sejanus knelt down again and checked his pulse, then neck and finally put a hand under his nose for further confirmation. “He’s still alive, barely breathing but somehow he’s still holding up.” Lucy Gray nodded, looking slightly more relieved.

“I’m assuming hospital is a strong no, right?” She nodded, confirming his doubt. 

An idea crept onto Sejanus’ mind, which he quickly pushed away. But the idea kept coming back, stronger, and every time it kept making more sense than it did the first time. Bringing them to Coriolanus’ mom’s lab seemed like an obvious option, but it meant putting him in possible danger. Whoever had hurt Jessup was no one to be messed with, and wasn’t against the use of super weapons. But then again the advanced lab would have been perfect to check on Jessup. 

Besides, he wasn’t even sure if Coriolanus would have allowed them in. But what other choices did Sejanus have? He had to convince Lucy Gray first anyway. 

“Can I ask you how did you get those powers?”

“I’m a mutant.” 

Sejanus had to stop himself from loudly gasping. He had never met a mutant. Seen plenty on tv, sure, but face to face? Never. He had been lucky enough that most of them weren’t criminals. “And Jessup…?”

“Him too. Can you help us or not?” 

Sejanus sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “I know someone who might.”

“ Might ?” Lucy Gray repeated annoyed, which had Sejanus contain a scoff before responding. 

“Can you at least tell me what caused his injuries?” 

Lucy Gray rubbed Jessup’s hand and Sejanus saw her eyes water, probably remembering the event. “Those new weapons everyone’s using now.” She murmured, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. 

“Okay then. This… friend of mine has a lab I can use to study Jessup’s injuries, and hopefully I can find a way to wake him up. Would that be good for you?” Lucy Gray looked extremely unsure, and Sejanus thought she was gonna refuse until he saw her head nod.

“Fine.” She finally agreed. “But please, don’t let anything happen to Jessup.” 

“I promise.”

Chapter Text

Sejanus crawled on the Snow Mansion, up to Coriolanus’ bedroom's window. He took a look inside and saw his boyfriend sitting at his desk, surrounded by darkness if not for the small lamp he was using to lighten the book he was writing on. Sejanus smiled a little at the image, once again reminding himself that this was his boyfriend . Someone so beautifully perfect, that had chosen him of all people to show his romantic, intimate side to. 

A cough from Lucy Gray, who was still waiting on the ground, brought him back to reality. He shook his head and lightly knocked on the window. Coriolanus’ head perked up, his attention caught by the noise. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise as he made eye contact with Sejanus, who in return waved at him. 

Coriolanus immediately rushed to open the window, looking speechless. “I… I… Oh my God. Spider-Man?” He asked, as if in need of confirmation he wasn't dreaming.

“That's me. This is going to sound weird and probably random, but can I get in?” He asked, doing his best to let out a deeper voice than usual, trying to mask his real identity. 

“Y-yeah of course.” Coriolanus replied confused, moving out of the way to allow Sejanus in. 

“Yes, me, and also my two friends down there.” He added. Coriolanus frowned and looked down to where Sejanus was pointing at Lucy Gray and Jessup. Looking as confused as ever Coriolanus nodded and let them all in, sitting on the bed waiting as Sejanus carried the two mutants up the blonde's bedroom.

“Thank you.” Lucy Gray mumbled once inside. Sejanus laid out Jessup on Coriolanus’ bed, under the boy's confused look. 

“As much as I love helping a superhero, may I know what's going on here?” 

That's what I'd also love to know , Sejanus thought to himself. 

He sighed and gestured to Lucy Gray. “This is Lucy Gray, and Jessup. I found her in an abandoned storage at the port, she was carrying him inside to tend his wounds, I think.” Sejanus explained. “I'm not sure what gun would cause this kind of wound, that's why I need help.” Lucy Gray gave him a weird look upon hearing the deeper voice, but fortunately didn't comment on it.

Coriolanus crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in suspicion, “And why bring them here?”

“Well, I know you have your mom's lab-”

“And how do you know that exactly?” 

Right. The laboratory was something Coriolanus had shown Sejanus Plinth. Not Spider-Man. He mentally cursed at himself for not thinking of such important detail and cleared his throat, thinking fast. “Sejanus. My friend. I asked him for help first and he sent me here. Before you get mad at him, he was highly reluctant to tell me about your secret lab.”

Lucy Gray squinted her eyes, clearly catching Sejanus in his lie. She has been with him the whole time, she would have noticed if he had called someone else. Without mentioning he himself had told her his friend owned the lab. Lucy Gray didn't know Sejanus, so his secret identity was technically still safe. But he knew he was still risking a lot by exposing himself like this. Then again, what other options did he have? Leave Jessup to die and Lucy Gray in her misery to mourn her friend?

Coriolanus hummed and looked at Lucy Gray and Jessup. “What exactly is that you need from me?” 

“I need to study Jessup's wounds. I have no idea what caused them, and I need advanced technology to do so. Which, from what Sejanus told me, you have.” Sejanus did his best to express the desperate state he was in through his tone, even if Coriolanus ended up helping them out of pity. 

Coriolanus reluctantly agreed, never taking his eyes off Lucy Gray. “Okay. But I’m studying him and she’s staying up here with you. I don’t want anyone else scooping around my parents’ stuff.” Sejanus nodded and thanked him, promising they wouldn’t have moved from his bedroom. He got nothing more than a single hum of agreement from Lucy Gray, who looked like she didn’t even know what they were talking about, too busy staring at Sejanus.

After helping out Coriolanus carrying Jessup down in the lab, Sejanus got back in the bedroom where Lucy Gray was waiting for him sitting on the bed. He closed the door behind him, preparing himself for the questions that she was ready to throw at him. 

“Sejanus.” She simply said, as if trying the taste of his name in her mouth. She thought a few seconds before continuing. “It’s a nice name.” 

“I’ll make sure to tell him next time I see him.” Sejanus responded in one last, useless, effort to hide his identity. 

“Please, I’m sixteen. Not stupid.” She looked offended Sejanus was still lying, for which he couldn’t blame her. He hadn’t exactly done a great job at keeping the secret with her so far.

“Don’t tell him,” Sejanus asked her, ready to get on his knees to beg if necessary, “no one knows my real identity except for you, and no one else can know about it. Especially Coriolanus. Please.” 

Lucy Gray chuckled amused, shaking her head. “I barely know your name. I won’t tell a soul.” She suddenly got serious, a dark shade falling on her face. “You should have told him who your friend was though.”

Sejanus, as much as he appreciated her discretion, sighed and shook his head confused (and partially annoyed). “Lucy Gray, I understand you struggle to trust people, but Coriolanus was our only option to save Jessup.”

Lucy Gray shook her head. “It’s not that. I don’t trust him specifically. Coriolanus Snow. Never trust a Snow.” Now Sejanus was even more confused than before.

“You know him?”

“I know his family. I don’t think there’s a mutant that doesn’t, actually, I’m surprised you don’t.”

“Lucy Gray, I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Now it was her turn to be confused, tilting her head to the side frowning at Sejanus. “You’re a mutant, right?”

“Ah, not exactly. Got bitten by a radioactive spider.”

“Where?”

“The Snow industries.” The moment Sejanus said that outloud, he started realizing what Lucy Gray was hinting at. Part of him didn’t want to believe it, it was probably just his imagination mixing with worry and overthinking. Right?

“Ever wondered why they kept all those genetically modified creatures in there? Ever wondered how they figured out how to mutate their genes ?”

Sejanus had to admit he never had. He had always just assumed they had done lots of research and studying, he took it for granted so much that he didn’t even think about it. That was how science worked, after all. Although he realized Dr. Gaul and her team had to start somewhere, obviously. And since they were talking about mutations…

“They used to do experiments on mutants. Human mutants.” She explained, confirming Sejanus’ fear. “That’s how my parents… That’s why me and Jessup are on our own.” There were a lot of questions Sejanus had for her, were her parents kidnapped? How did she meet Jessup? How old was she when it happened?

But he knew he wasn’t going to get anything more from her than what Lucy Gray decided to share. And, considering the seriousness of the situation, he knew better than to insist and possibly trigger any kind of trauma response in her. Sejanus sat down on the bed with her, in silence, waiting to see if she was going to continue.

“You have no idea how many mutants died under Dr. Gaul’s and Crassus Snow’s watch. They’d request ‘volunteers’ for their research, promising profit and help for the most unfortunate, and then they’d do the most awful and de-humanizing experiments on them. Monsters. They are all a bunch of monsters and liars.” Lucy Gray’s words were filled with pure disgust and hatred, so much Sejanus was starting to feel surprised she hadn’t spat at Coriolanus’s feet the second she realized who he was.

“What happened to all of them is terrible.” Sejanus commented, unsure on what to say. “But Coriolanus isn’t like that. He’s my age, I’m sure he didn’t even know about what was going on. His father was known to be a very secretive man, I don’t doubt he was with his son as well.” Sejanus wasn’t sure if his words were meant to reassure Lucy Gray or him, a reminder Coriolanus was a good man. Not like his father, or Dr. Gaul. He knew Coriolanus, he could have never done something like that, Sejanus refused to believe it. 

“If you say so. But I still don’t trust him, I’m only here because you do, and for some crazy reason I have faith in you.”

“Mutants’ sixth sense, maybe.” Sejanus tried to crack a joke, which managed to get the hint of a smile from Lucy Gray. 

“Sorry if it’s too personal, but why didn’t anyone ever try to stand against it?” Lucy Gray glared at him, as if he had just insulted her intelligence. 

“You think they didn’t? Every single attempt of insurrection never made it past the front doors, and the legal option was out of the way. Who was going to believe a bunch of homeless mutants, when to the eyes of the world the Snow were doing nothing other than giving them shelter?” 

Sejanus nodded and looked down ashamed, embarrassed of his own naivety. “Sorry. I can’t even imagine what you went through.” 

“No one can.” Lucy Gray replied, and those were her last words before Coriolanus got in the room with an excited grin on his face. He was wearing an apron, a clean one, which partially reassured Sejanus of the doubt that Coriolanus hadn’t hurt Jessup. He felt bad for even thinking he had, but after Lucy Gray’s words the thought had crept in his head on its own.

“I have news.”

“Does one of them explain why you’re wearing a kitchen apron?” Lucy Gray asked.

Coriolanus looked at her offended, “I unfortunately left my lab equipment back at the Industries, this is all I had. Care to follow me downstairs now?” And soon enough they were downstairs in Alodia’s laboratory, the three of them in circle around the table where Jessup was laying on.

“Is he okay?” Lucy Gray asked, worry filing her tone. 

“He’s going to be. Look.” Coriolanus put on a pair of gloves and turned on a switch behind him, making the room go dark with the exception of a purple light on the ceiling right over the table. He gently applied pressure on Jessup’s chest, near one of the bullet wounds. Immediately a fluorescent liquid came out of it, earning a disgusted sound from Lucy Gray. 

“Is that blood?” Sejanus asked, but Coriolanus shook his head.

“I technically have no idea what it is, but his wounds are full of this stuff. I removed some of it and his vitals are already starting to improve.” He explained, pointing to the machine Jessup was connected to through a wire that ended with a needle in his arm. “I’m assuming whatever they shot him with was an explosive bullet of some sort, that went under his skin and released- whatever this is.” Coriolanus gestured to Jessup’s chest, and Sejanus couldn’t help but stare in awe at the way his boyfriend was explaining his theory. He sounded so smart and intelligent, if the situation had been any different he would have probably been turned on by his attire. Great, now I have a thing for nerds.

“How long is this going to take?” Lucy Gray’s question snapped him out of his fantasy. Coriolanus shrugged.

“To remove the liquid? An hour probably. I have to make sure I don’t harm him in the process.” Lucy Gray nodded, looking just a bit more relaxed than she was before.

“And the liquid’s origin?” Sejanus asked, suddenly aware the same weapon might have been used on his father. If that was the case, studying the liquid meant not only possibly trace the attacker, but also save his dad’s life. 

“I can’t study it here. I neither have the knowledge nor the right equipment. I can send them to the Industries’ labs though, have them analyse it there.” Sejanus’s spider-sense immediately went off at the mention of the labs, and as he turned to Lucy Gray he could see she seemed to be in similar distress. 

“Not that I don’t trust you, but I’d rather not have the news of this thing out in the public just yet.”

“It wouldn’t, you have my word. I’ll follow the process myself and only have one person study on it, someone I personally trust.”

Sejanus was still very reluctant on letting the liquid inside the Industries, but what other options did he have? “Fine.” He agreed, under Lucy Gray’s judging eyes. “But please be careful.”

Coriolanus nodded. “Of course. If you want to wait in my room, one hour and I’ll have your friend all cleaned up and ready to go.”

And Coriolanus kept his word. One hour and he called them back down in the lab, where Lucy Gray rushed to Jessup’s side. Coriolanus looked extremely proud of himself, and Sejanus couldn’t help but smile at it.

“Jessup?” Lucy Gray whispered. Jessup replied with a murmur of her name, not yet opening his eyes. She gave Coriolanus a confused look.

“Why isn’t he awake yet?”

“He’s recovering. Give him a few minutes and he’ll completely wake up.” Coriolanus explained. He then cleared his throat, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and nervously picking at his nails. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but do you guys have anywhere to stay?”

Lucy Gray shook her head, eyes still glued on Jessup. “It’d be important to keep him under observation for a couple of days. It’s not my intention to impose, but you can stay here if you want. I can offer you both the help you need and a safe shelter for a bit.” 

At Coriolanus’s words Lucy Gray’s head snapped up, a mix of rage and fear in her eyes. Sejanus had already seen that look, back at the port, before she started shooting daggers at him. “What did you just say?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You can stay here if you want.” Coriolanus repeated, giving confused glances at Sejanus.

“Lucy Gray, he just wants to help you.”

“I’m sure he does. Just like your dad, right? Helping those in need.” Lucy Gray scoffed, slowly walking away from the table. At his father’s mention Coriolanus suddenly went serious, his eyes almost matching the rage in Lucy Gray’s ones. Sejanus could see her hands starting to glow under the table, and he could just hope she wasn’t going to start shooting at them like she had earlier that night. 

“Lucy Gray, please, calm down.” Sejanus tried again, raising his hand towards her to try and approach her.

“Me? I’m not the one who wants to keep Jessup locked out down here to study him!”

Coriolanus, as mad as he still was, frowned. “What are you talking about? I never-”

“Coming here was a mistake, I can’t trust you!” Lucy Gray yelled, tears pricking at her eyes, and with Coriolanhs standing straight glaring at her as if she was the biggest threat on earth, Sejanus swore he could have cut the tension in the room with a knife. Another yell or bad response from Coriolanus and Lucy Gray was going to lose it, and how could he blame her?

Her parents had been tortured and killed by Crassus, it wasn't odd she didn't trust his son. Had she been forced to go through the same torture? Had Jessup?

“Lucy Gray?” The girl immediately moved her tearful eyes to Jessup, who was looking at the scene with confusion written all over his face.

“We need to go.” Lucy Gray said, her voice hoarse as she sniffed, “Now.” Jessup, still looking confused and with a lot of effort, got off the table and stood behind Lucy Gray. Coriolanus took a step forward - probably to try and stop them - but Lucy Gray raised her palm and shot a warning dagger to the side of his head. Sejanus immediately pulled Coriolanus away and stepped in front of him to protect him.

“Don't.” Lucy Gray stated. Then she looked at Jessup and urged him to do something, to which he nodded and, with a movement of his hand, opened a black hole behind them. A portal.

Without any more words Jessup held Lucy Gray from her waist and together they fell in the portal. The last thing Sejanus saw were Lucy Gray's scared eyes looking at him, then the portal closed and Sejanus was left to stare at an empty shelf. 

Chapter Text

It felt like waking up after a nightmare. 

Sejanus couldn’t stop staring at the spot where Lucy Gray and Jessup had been just a few seconds ago. He clearly had fucked up, there was no denyign that. Yet he couldn’t think of another way things could have gone. He kept replaying the scene in his head - finding Lucy Gray, bringing her to Coryo, the suggestion of staying there and eventually Lucy Gray snapping - and Sejanus couldn’t think of any choice he could have taken differently.

After all, his plan was technically working. Jessup was going to be fine, and he could have studied whatever that liquid was. But Lucy Gray had lost control, and how could have Sejanus predicted it? He couldn’t even blame Coriolanus, he had no idea about his father’s experiments. He was just a child when it happened.

“What the fuck was that about?” Coriolanus’s cursing was enough to snap Sejanus back to reality, as he turned to take his boyfriend in.

Coriolanus looked rather shocked, though more out of fear than surprise. He met Sejanus’s eyes - well, his masked eyes - and looked at him expecting answers, as if the whole situation had been his fault. Which, to be fair, wasn’t so far off from the truth.

“Why did she know my father?”

“N-not personally.” Sejanus hurried to specify, as if that was going to somehow make everything better. “At least I don’t think so.”

“What then? Because she seemed to hold more grudges with him than I do.”

Sejanus bit his lip, unsure on how much he could reveal. Lucy Gray was gone now, yet he still felt like he couldn’t betray her trust. He doubted she would have wanted Coriolanus to know anything about her personal life, though she seemed convinced Coryo knew all about it. 

“Your father used to conduct experiments on mutants, he was despised by most of them, including Lucy Gray and Jessup.” Sejanus tried to explain, keeping it vague. Coriolanus frowned, looking even more upset than he was before.

“So what, me offering help triggered her or something?” It wasn’t a real question. Coriolanus was mad, though Sejanus wasn’t sure if he was more enraged by Lucy Gray snapping or the mention of his father. Even when Sejanus had mentioned him, back to the first evening he spent in the mansion, Coriolanus had been stiff about him. Was it possible he knew the whole truth, but was so disgusted by it that he refused to acknowledge the existence of the experiments?

“Coriolanus-” 

“Even if my father did all of that, of what use is getting upset at me? Why am I to be blamed for the fucks up of a dead man?!” He yelled. Sejanus backed away, startled by Coriolanus’s behaviour. He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t wrong, of course, but Lucy Gray was just a scared girl. What was she supposed to do?

Coriolanus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath in. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” Sejanus simply nodded, deciding silence was the better option in this case. He was pretty sure saying anything might have only upset Coriolanus more.

Coryo gulped and looked around. “So uh… What now?”

Sejanus shook his head and sighed. Involving Coriolanus had obviously been a mistake, but what could he do about it now? “First of all, nothing that has happened here gets out of this house. Your cousin, your grandma’am- no one has to know about this.” Coriolanus seemed to frown for a second before nodding, assuring he wasn’t going to tell anyone.

“Good. Second point, we do need to study that thing at the Snow Labs-”

“And probably find another name, too.” Coriolanus commented, to which Sejanus couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

“Yeah. When do you think we can work on it?"

“Even tonight, if you want.” Coriolanus said, checking his watch. “It’s five a.m. so most of the employees are there already. It wouldn’t be wise to go now. We meet there at the entrance at, say, midnight? We close half an hour before that so the labs should be empty by then.”

Sejanus nodded. Coriolanus now seemed much calmer and collected than he was just a few minutes before, as if nothing had happened. He observed as he put the thing - they definitely needed a new name for it - in a test tube with the accuracy of someone who had been a chemist their whole life. The action made Sejanus smile a little, thinking of a small Coriolanus watching his mother doing the same so many years ago.

“You like chemistry then?” Sejanus asked, as he was handed the tube. 

“You could say that.” Coriolanus replied monotonously, walking over the sink to wash his hands. “As Sejanus probably told you, my mom was a scientist. I guess she passed it on to me.” He explained, leaning against the sink. 

Sejanus nodded, looking down at the tube in his hands. “I should probably go now. Thanks for this, I’ll see you tonight then?”

Coriolanus squinted his eyes as if caught in thought and nodded, raising his hand in goodbye as Sejanus rushed out of the house. He pulled out his phone and groaned, suddenly aware of the time as if Coriolanus hadn’t had been clear about it. Great. Another sleepless night. They’re becoming a habit. He thought, swinging back home.

Sejanus felt like a zombie. Probably looked like one too, if Lysistrata’s worried eyes on him were a hint. “Are you okay?” She finally asked, taking a bite of her sandwich while Sejanus rested his face between his hands on the cantine’s table. 

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Because you look like you just got back from a rave party.”

“Yes. I mean, no. But yes I’m fine.” Sejanus replied, rubbing his eyes and doing his best not to fall asleep right there and then. “Just struggling to sleep.” He vaguely explained, to which Lysistrata nodded. 

“Yeah… I heard about your father. From my mom.” Lysistrata's mother worked as chief of surgery at the hospital. He hadn’t bothered telling anyone what had happened, he doubted his classmates would have shown them much sympathy. But Lysistrata was different, and he didn’t really mind her knowing about his father. “So, I’m asking again. Are you okay?” Her voice was filled not with pity but genuine concern.

“Uhm, kind of.” He said, fixing his posture on the chair. “It feels… weird. Did your mom tell you anything about his conditions?” His ma’ had told him they would have performed a CAT on him that morning, to see if they could find something that hadn't showed up on the first results. But he was yet to hear news from her, and maybe Lysistrata knew something more. But she shook her head, giving him a sorry look. 

She took his hands in hers, squeezing them softly. “I'm here if you need anything, even just a shoulder to cry on.” She told him, offering a sympathetic smile and gently rubbing his palms. The gesture sent a sense of peace all through Sejanus's body, her presence installing the familiar motherly comfort, momentarily making him feel at ease. Sejanus tiredly twitched his lips, doing his best to mirror her smile- though it didn't quite reach his eyes. 

Out of nowhere a trail was slammed on the table, making both of them jump on their seat startled, breaking their intertwined hands. Coriolanus cleared his throat and smiled - in a way that was so painfully obviously fake - and sat down next to Sejanus. “Saw a bug on the table. They should really close those windows, uh?” 

Lysistrata didn't even try to hide her angry frown, but didn't comment on Coriolanus's behaviour. She simply swallowed and looked down, standing up. “Well, I'm done here. I'll see you in class, Sejanus.” And then she left without waiting for a reply.

Sejanus frowned and turned to Coriolanus, “That was rude.” 

“What?” He asked back, eating his lunch as if nothing had happened. 

“You slamming the trail down like that,” Sejanus told him, as if he was educating a child, “it was rude. Lyssie is my friend.” 

Coriolanus scoffed and looked down. “No idea what you're talking about.”

“I'm gay, by the way, in case you forgot. No need to be jealous of a woman.” Sejanus commented, annoyed, admittedly surprised by Coriolanus's action.

“I'm not jealous.” Coriolanus replied, looking upset as if wounded his pride. 

“Okay then how do you explain what just happened?”

“A bug.” He repeated stubbornly. Sejanus's eyes widened in surprise as he scoffed, unable to believe the way Coriolanus was behaving. 

“Are you serious? Just apologize-” 

“I have nothing to apologize for. Just drop it, will you? God you're so dramatic.” Coriolanus snapped, looking at Sejanus as if he was to blame for what had happened. Sejanus felt his heart skip a beat, Coriolanus’s words hitting him harder than intended. He hadn’t really insulted him, yet his tone felt poisonous, and suddenly Sejanus was that 8 years old kid again, bullied by the rest of his classmates just because he was the new kid. 

Sejanus shook his head in disbelief and stood up, taking his trail with him. “I’m eating in the library. Thanks for the chat, Coryo.” He commented, leaving a confused looking Coriolanus at the table.

Sejanus thought his afternoon couldn’t get worse. It was mathematically impossible. First Lucy Gray and Jessup going missing, then his father’s condition getting more critical - they had received a call from the hospital a few hours before about it, and Junia had immediately rushed there, though she had insisted Sejanus was to stay home and focus on his studies - and of course the ‘fight’ with Coriolanus. 

Yet, when he turned on the tv to get his mind off his father’s situation, his day got visibly worse. 

“The unfamous head of organized crime known as Slingshot, has been found dead this morning on the shore at the port. While some might find joy and relief in the news, the police department finds itself concerned, for the cause of death still remains unsure. They didn’t release further statements, but we can easily assume that the cops are worried about a possible gangs’ fight, in which the whole city could be at risk."

Sejanus turned off the news immediately, not needing to hear more. Even without inspecting the body, he was sure he would have found the same sludge they had found inside of Jessup. 

“Take care of the bug and do not make me regret letting you handle it. Or you know the consequences you'll have to face.” Those had been the Irish man's words, back when they had kidnapped Sejanus a few days before. It didn’t take a long investigation to figure out who had killed Slingshot, probably shortly after Sejanus had escaped. But why release the body for the public view? Whoever was at the head of the organisation clearly knew better than to let a body float out of their sight, so Sejanus assumed they must have done it on purpose. 

He rushed to his bedroom and opened his closet, taking out his homemade crime board. He started filling with what he knew, leaving blank spaces for what he still needed to find and wrote down the unanswered questions, leaving a space for the liquid he was going to analyse with Coriolanus that night. When he was done he stood up, looking at the big, still not full, picture. “Someone started producing high tech guns that are sold to Slingshot’s men- and minor criminals, like Arachne. I became a problem so they tried to get rid of me, Slingshot couldn’t take me out so they took him out instead.” Sejanus recapped out loud, thinking if he said it with his own words it might have made some sense. “They need money, if what Arachne told me it’s true. But how are they building these weapons if they need money? It’s like if they’re…” funding themselves. 

It suddenly clicked in Sejanus’s head, and frankly he felt quite stupid he hadn’t realized it before. This Society - as Sejanus as called them on the board - was selling weapons so they could earn fast money out of the robberies, without getting their hands dirty because they hired someone else for the job. So they needed a bigger quantity of money than what they already had, which was still unknown data. But the question still stood: to do what?

Sejanus’s eyes fell on his bed stand, where a photo of him and his parents at his 5th birthday was framed. A sudden rage grew inside of him, so his father had merely been an unfortunate casualty? He frowned and closed his hands in fists, tightening them so hard he felt his nails scratch at his palms. He took multiple deep breaths in, reminding himself it was useless to get mad at that moment, especially when he hadn’t a specific someone to blame. 

Then, his phone rang. A text from Coriolanus, saying he was outside the door but wasn’t sure about knocking since he didn’t want to upset his mother. What about upsetting me? Sejanus sighed, loudly groaned and then finally went downstairs, opening the door but without inviting Coriolanus in. He tried to keep a neutral face, though the anger already bubbling up in him plus the current annoyance he felt at him surely didn’t help.

“Hi.”

“Hey, can I come in?” Sejanus stared at him in silence, biting at his lip not to welcome him inside. He wasn’t going to let himself fall for his charms so easily, not before he apologized. “Please?” He asked again, but Sejanus stood straight against the door, not saying anything.

Coriolanus’s smile slowly dropped, seeing it wasn’t working. He cleared his throat using his left hand, as if to announce something, and only then did Sejanus notice he was keeping his right arm behind his back, hiding something. He furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for Coriolanus to talk. 

“I’m sorry I called you dramatic. I’ve never been in a relationship, I’m still not used to being romantically involved with someone. Which is why I’m sincerely apologizing for my behaviour. And for being rude to Lysistrata, too. I don’t know why I acted that way, it was irrational of me.”

If Sejanus hadn’t been trying to keep his face serious he probably would have bursted out laughing. “Jesus, did you rehearse that in the mirror? The middle age called, they want their vocabulary back.” 

Coryo frowned confused before allowing himself to chuckle, letting out a sigh of relief. “I… did rehearse that. I asked Tigris for help. I really am sorry, Sejanus.”

As much as he appreciated the apologies, Sejanus knew it wasn’t enough for them to be okay yet. “And I thank you for saying that. But Coriolanus, I’ve never been in a relationship either. And I’d never dream of calling you dramatic just because I did something rude and don’t want to accept that I’m wrong.” 

Coriolanus tightened his jaw and swallowed hard, biting his lip. “You’re right.” He murmured. “I need to work on that. I promise I will. Can I come in now?”

Sejanus sighed. “Coriolanus, I’m serious. You can’t keep using ‘I’m new to this’ as a justification for everything you do.”

Coriolanus frowned. “I’m not justifying myself. I’m truly sorry, I’m not making it up.” He sighed and looked around, as if to check no one was there to hear him. “Look, I’m going to be honest here. I have no idea why what I said upset you so much. But I don’t like that it did. For some reason even I can’t understand, I don’t like to see that cute face of yours frowning- especially not at me.”

Sejanus had to bite back a smile at that, letting him continue before saying anything. “So I’m here to apologize for making you feel that way. And since from what I understand it’s important to you, also to get what I did wrong and work on it. I promise.” He repeated again, and this time it felt more truthful than it had before. Sejanus raised the corner of his lips, nodding. It wasn’t the best apologies he had ever received, but they were sincere. And he sure could work with that.

Not without having a little bit of fun at first, at least. “Hm. Nice speech, but I feel like you need to pay some kind of apology tax for me to move out of the way.”

Coriolanus hummed and cracked a smile, “I thought you may say that. Which is why I brought you this.” Sejanus was about to say he wasn’t being serious about it, when Coriolanus brought his right arm in front of him, finally revealing what he was hiding. A book, with a navy blue cover and the title and author written in golden letters. Beneath was a stylized drawing of a boat crashing against the waves. 

“The Odyssey.” Read Sejanus out loud. He flipped between the pages, and noticed it was written in latin. The pages were yellow and crusty, so old Sejanus was worried they were gonna disintegrate just by breathing on them.

“For making me pass chemistry.” Coryo smiled, taking out of his backpack his now graded chemistry quiz, a big circled red A+ stood on the top right corner, taking its spot as star of the paper. Sejanus couldn’t help but smile at him, rolling his eyes jokingly.

“Fine, I guess you can come in then.”

Once Coriolanus was inside the house Sejanus immediately went to prepare him some tea, telling him to make himself comfortable in the living room. Once the tea was ready he joined him on the couch, both of them opting to just relax and watch a movie to let time pass. In the end they ended up watching little of the movie though, as the blonde mostly let Sejanus talk to him about the situation with his dad. 

He found a sense of relief at letting it all out, how he felt after the fight with his dad, his possible death - even if he refused to believe it, despite what the doctors said - how ma’ was taking it. Coryo was silent most of the time, nodding and sometimes murmuring words of agreement to let him know he was listening. And then, a few hours later, when they were focusing on the movie again, Sejanus realized after what had probably been the busiest and most stressful week of his life, this was the first time his shoulders felt free of any burden he had been carrying so far. As if he had been lifting the sky on his own for so long, and now as a candid angel Coriolanus had arrived to help and lift it with him.

“Thank you.” He said suddenly, looking at him.

Coryo took his eyes off the screen and frowned. “For what?”

“Being with me and listening to me. Thank you for staying. A lot of people would have given up on me already, most wouldn’t have tried in the first place. I just unloaded so much on you, but you’re still here.”

“I mean, we’re dating, aren’t we?” He asked, confused.

“We are. What I’m trying to say is that you get my mind off my problems. After the week I had, trust me, I needed it. I know I’m being cheesy right now, but just… I want you to know I’m glad I have you. Here with me now, and in my life.”

Coriolanus seemed taken back by Sejanus, his lips parted as if he was at a loss of words. “And with my dad being in the hospital,” Sejanus kept going, “I’m glad we’ve made up. I felt like I had no one I could talk to, but you sat here and listened to all I had to say. Thank you.” He chuckled sadly. But seeing as Coriolanus wasn’t responding and just kept staring at him like he had just grown two heads, nervousness started flooding inside of him, worried he had said the wrong thing.

“Sorry, was that weird? I didn’t mean anything by it, just that you’re important to me. Like, that your presence means a lot, that I care about you.” Sejanus groaned, rubbing his eyes. “Sorry, I’m just making it worse am I?”

Instead of answering Coryo leaned in and kissed him. It wasn’t like their other kisses. This was sweet, short and… real. It felt real. Not that the other ones hadn’t, but at that moment Coriolanus’s lips felt gentle and tender, like he had let his tough mask fall off to reveal his true self to Sejanus. Coryo’s hands went to his cheeks, holding his face gently and stroking his cheeks. He leaned away to catch his breath but immediately rejoined their lips. It was passionate, and somehow felt more intimate than their first kiss. Their lips were sealed, yet Sejanus felt as if Coriolanus was telling him all of his deepest secrets. He was smiling in the kiss, Sejanus could feel it, which automatically made the smile on his own lips grow. 

Coriolanus finally leaned away for good only a few seconds later, the ghost of the smile still on his lips, as if ashamed of Sejanus to see it. “S-sorry. I don’t know what took over me.” Sejanus shook his head, far away from hiding the joy the kiss had provoked in him. 

“Are you kidding me? Probably the best kiss we’ve had so far.” Sejanus laughed, and Coriolanus dramatically gasped.

“Am I to understand you did not enjoy our previous intimate intercourses then?”

Sejanus looked at him unimpressed, though still smiling, “The middle age called again.”

Coriolanus smirked and bit his lip. “Yeah? Well tell them I’m too busy kissing my boyfriend to give them anything back at the moment.” He said, before leaning him to kiss him again, this time with so much excitement it earned a gasp out of Sejanus, who fell back on the couch. Calling it a kiss was an euphemism, he realized, considering from the way they both kept laughing their lips were barely touching. Sejanus hadn’t felt that carefree in ages, and even if he knew he would have to soon worry about the Society again, here in the moment, with his Coryo, he felt like he could delay his duties forever. Or, realistically, at least for another hour. 

It’s not like the sludge was going to grow legs and walk away before analysing it, anyway.