Chapter Text
The boarding school that Sejanus went to was fairly fancy, which was inevitable for him considering he comes from a very rich family. It’s usually only available to the rich or incredibly smart and hardworking. Truthfully if Sejanus wanted, he didn’t have to have a roommate, but ever since his first year his roommate has been the same. Coriolanus Snow.
Croyo didn’t have the pleasure of growing up rich, for the years he hardly remembered his family was immensely wealthy, however the world went into war and his family lost their money. Ever since then he has had to work incredibly hard to fulfill his self-imposed goal of returning the wealth to his family. Sejanus has never seen anyone work harder than he’s seen Coriolanus work.
Classes were done for the day, but Croyo was not. When he walked into their shared room he immediately announced that he had tons of studying to do and boarded up on his desk with papers and notebooks strewn across it. He was even using the laptop that Sejanus bought for him for his birthday (despite his displeasure of such an expensive gift).
Sejanus respected the other enough to not bother him, instead working on his own homework until he got bored, then he grabbed a book to read. Sejanus didn’t exactly read it, instead ending up dozing off against the comfortable sheets.
It had been gloomy and drizzling all day, and that seemed to be the worst of it, but slowly, after a few hours, it began to pour. The wind would pick up and it all seemed well.
It didn’t take long after the pour for lightning to flash, the sudden light caught Coriolanus’ attention but it wasn’t until the loud boom following that he realized the weather outside.
It’s a well known fact, between Coriolanus and Sejanus, that Coriolanus is afraid of thunder. Many nights spent in the same twin size bed proved that fact. However, Coriolanus would rather die before anyone outside of this room (minus his cousin and grandmother) learnt about his fear. While most people his age likely have a similar aversion, they also likely have worked through it with somebody, however Coriolanus’ ego would never repair if he had to seek out help from a professional for something so childish, in his eyes.
The blonde was hopeful that the thunder would be one and done, hopeful that he could continue studying for his test in the morning, but that seemed to not be the case when another loud boom felt like it made the walls shake.
It had to have been his imagination that saw dust fall down from the roof from the blast. It wasn’t a bomb after all, it couldn’t have cracked the roof.
Another loud boom and he felt his heartbeat begin to accelerate. He did his best to steady his breathing, knowing if he allowed himself to fall into the pit it would be ten times harder to drag himself out. Another boom. Coriolanus’ eyes began to fill with tears he found embarrassing, he could swear that the wall’s were going to give out with the next blast. He couldn’t control his breathing anymore and he felt nothing but like he was his kid self again, ducking under a table in fear that the cracked roof may collapse.
Coryo shakily stands, his breath hitching harshly when another flash of light bursts throughout the room. He can't help but think that maybe they're looking for survivors before he shakes his head. It’s not real. He just needs to get over to Sejanus and it’ll prove it's not real.
A closer boom shook the thin walls and Coriolanus fell to his knees with a soft yelp. His curls fall into his eyes as he attempts to push himself against the nearest wall. If he makes himself a smaller target then maybe he can survive this wave of bombings. The boy vaguely remembers his cousin telling him to cover his head, maybe if the roof falls he can be safe. He places his hands atop his head and presses his forehead to his kneecaps, curled up to himself the best he can be.
Another blast of thunder, Coryo can feel himself sobbing. He knows he has to be quiet, in case a rebel hears his crying and tries to find him, but he can’t help it.
It feels like an eternity before he feels hands grab his shoulders, someone calling his name. Maybe it's someone telling him this wave of bombs is over? Another blast and he knows it's not true, it must be a ruse. He pushes away the hands but they grab and hold on tight to his palms. He can’t breathe and doesn’t dare open his eyes, he’s too afraid. The hands pull him against something warm and solid, and he doesn’t have it in him to fight against it, warmth is a rarity with the power being shut off more and more often, and lighting a fire deems itself too dangerous incase rebels see it.
The warmth wraps around his torso, almost feeling like a long snake that is working to suffocate him. But it's just his own breathing that's suffocating him, he hears some words of guidance, not entirely sure what they are saying but it seems to help. Slowly but surely his breathing begins to even out, his heartbeat slows and he even begins to feel like it wouldn’t be impossible to open his eyes.
Sejanus whispers soft affirmations that Coryo didn’t hear before, has he always been here? A warm hand brushes against his forehead and gently brushes his curls away from his eyes. Coryo feels a shiver go through his body, suddenly feeling chilly.
It takes longer than Coriolanus can determine before he begins feeling himself again, the thunder felt quieter until he realized a pair of headphones had been placed against his ears, soft classical music is playing, blocking out most sound.
He eventually moves on his own, going to wipe his face free of the tears with his sleeve before he opens his eyes. Coriolanus is sat on the floor of their shared room, he had uncomfortably pressed himself up against his bed frame. Next to him sat Sejanus, his arms wrapped around the others shoulders to keep him up against his chest. The boy watched Coryo with a concerned expression and it took all Coriolanus had to not burst out sobbing again, instead he laid his head down against the other's chest for a while.
It may have been many hours until the blonde began to move again, his muscles sore from sitting in the same position for so long and he can only imagine Sejanus was in the same sort of pain. He hadn’t heard any kind of noise outside of the music for a while so he deemed it safe to remove the headphones, setting them on the plush carpet. He carefully pulled himself out of Sejanus’ grip before turning himself so he could face the other boy, who also moved to a more comfortable position in the time being.
Coryo had his mouth opened to thank the other but the words didn’t even get a chance to be spoken before he was interrupted.
“Don’t say thank you,” Sejanus began, speaking fairly softly in case the other was still slightly panicked, “Are you okay?” He asked, gently moving his hands towards the other’s face to wipe at the dried tears and the tear scars on the corners of the other’s eyes.
“I’m… better.” Coriolanus spoke, his voice strained more than he anticipated, he felt his face warm at Sejanus’ gentle hands.
“Good.” Sejanus says simply, carefully pulling Coryo down to press a nice kiss to his forehead, then placing his forehead against the others. They breathed there for a minute, just taking in each other’s warmth until Coryo suddenly sat up straight.
“Shit, I have to study.” He mumbles, already exhausted from the night’s events. However, he is quickly shushed.
“If you fail I’ll just get the dean to let you retake it.” Sejanus spoke, carefully carding his fingers through the blonde hair, “You need to get good rest for a test anyways, can’t have you failing because you’re tired.”
Coriolanus couldn’t fight that, allowing the other to pull him into the nearest twin sized bed. Another night they spend together under one blanket, no matter how thin, because they have each other’s warmth to keep them warm.