Below The Surface

Summary: Follows Nightmares and Memories. Lucy Gray asks Coriolanus to spank her
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; AU; references to violence
Pairing: Coriolanus Snow/Lucy Gray Baird/Sejanus Plinth
Author's Note: On one of the Discord communities I'm part of, there's a prompt challenge that consists of two parts: Pranks/April Fool's and to include the phrase, "Would you give me a spanking," in the first third of the story. So this idea was born.
Hope you enjoy!

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"Would you give me a spanking?"

Coriolanus glanced up from his position at the lake, sat on a makeshift stool with a fishing rod dangling into the water, waiting for a bite. He frowned as he focused on Lucy Gray, tilting his head to one side to study her. "Do you mean for sex?"

"No." She sat down on the grass next to him and gave him a sweet, far too innocent looking smile. "I want you to spank me as an actual punishment."

He frowned, glancing away briefly, towards the calm and still surface of the water. "Why?" he asked finally. "You've seen what it's like when I punish Sejanus. I can't believe you really want to go through it for yourself unless there's a specific reason behind it." He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to explain what her reasoning was.

Lucy Gray didn't respond with words. She didn't try to explain. Instead, she reached out and closed her fingers around his fishing rod. She gave him a mischievous smile, and then tugged the fishing rod free of his grip.

"Lucy Gray...." Coriolanus stood up and reached for the rod.

"If you want it, you'll have to come and get it." She turned on her heel and ran.

He stood there for a few moments, staring after her, disconcerted. Was she trying to push him into giving her a spanking? He couldn't understand what her end goal was, or why she wouldn't just stay and actually talk to him.

But she was right about one thing. If he wanted to catch any fish for their dinner, he was going to have to after her and get the fishing rod back.

Holding back a sigh, Coriolanus started back in the direction Lucy Gray had gone, towards the rest of the village. By the time he got to their hut, though, there was no sign of her...but Sejanus was outside, with a barrel of water and their clothing.

Coriolanus paused by Sejanus, looking at the other man washing their clothes. "I thought that was done already."

"It was." Sejanus held up the shirt he'd been washing. It was bright blue in colour...and also not a shirt either of them owned. "She's dyed our clothes all different colours."

Coriolanus didn't need to ask who 'she' was. Clearly, Lucy Gray's quest for a spanking had begun with her doing other bits of mischief. Dyeing their clothes and taking Coriolanus' fishing rod weren't 'bad' things, but they were definitely irritating enough to warrant a response of some kind.

"What are you thinking about?" Sejanus asked.

"Lucy Gray wants me to give her a spanking," Coriolanus admitted. "I don't know why."

"Maybe she feels guilty?" Sejanus suggested. "About the arena. About the people who died back in District 12. We've both had a kind of catharsis after being spanked. I guess I can understand why she thinks the same thing might help her."

"Why can't she just say that?" Coriolanus sighed.

Sejanus shrugged. "Maybe she can't ask for it using the actual words? Maybe this is the only way she can tell you why she needs you to spank her." He looked down at the barrel of water and shook his head. "I think you should give her what she wants, if only because she might end up doing something much worse than mild mischief to get what she wants."

"I suppose." Coriolanus shook his head, then reached out to place a hand on Sejanus' wrist, gently squeezing it. "Don't worry about trying to get the dye out. After I've spoken to her, Lucy Gray will be doing exactly that." If it was even possible to get the dye out, of course.

Sejanus hesitated, eyes flicking towards the barrel before focusing on Coriolanus' face again. "Do you want me to stay here? Or find something to do while you help Lucy Gray?"

"You can stay." Coriolanus reached out and clasped Sejanus' chin, tilting it up and kissing his lips tenderly. "Of course, if you want to try and catch some fish for dinner, as Lucy Gray took my fishing rod, I wouldn't say no."

Sejanus blinked a few times when Coriolanus pulled back from the kiss, looking a little dazed. When his face cleared, he took a deep breath and nodded. "I can do that." He carefully placed the shirt he was still holding back into the barrel, then picked up his own fishing rod and headed in the direction of the lake.

Coriolanus watched the other man leave, then glanced around, thinking. Eventually, he began walking towards the other side of the circle of huts.

Finding Lucy Gray wasn't hard; not that Coriolanus had expected it to be. If she was really trying to hide from him, she would have done a far better job than just sitting on the grass at the edge of the District's border, with one of her snakes curled around her wrist. It was a deep green in colour and had its head raised, eyes looking into hers, as if she was hypnotising it.

Coriolanus slowly sat down in the grass next to her. "Did you make a new friend?" He nodded to the snake.

"It's just a harmless grass snake. Not poisonous." She lowered her hand to the ground and watched as the snake uncurled from her and slithered away. Then, she looked at Coriolanus. "I hid the fishing rod."

"You can get it for me." He paused for a second or two before he said, "After I deal with your behaviour."

"Are you going to spank me?" She looked into his eyes.

"Yes." He pushed aside his feelings of uncertainty and the thought that perhaps he was making the wrong decision here. At the back of his mind, he couldn't help thinking of what Sejanus had said; that Lucy Gray had seen the cathartic effects of spanking on both him and Sejanus, and that was why she'd outright asked for a spanking...and then attempted to push him into it through her behaviour.

He could try to explore the root cause behind her actions, but her immediate need was that he give her a spanking. And even if it wasn't about her actions now, but was her wanting some form of punishment for her actions in District 12, that didn't change how vocal she was being about her needs.

Standing up, Coriolanus held his hand out to her. "Let's continue this in our hut."

She looked up into his eyes, her own wide and trusting, and then willingly put her hand into his.

He helped her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist. He leaned in and brushed a gentle kiss against her cheek, then began leading her back towards their hut.

Lucy Gray was quiet as he led her towards their hut. She leaned into his touch, letting her head rest against his shoulder, and he inhaled her sweet, slightly spicy scent as it wafted over his nose.

Coriolanus didn't speak as he guided her into their hut, closing the door behind them. He glanced around, noticing there was no sign of Sejanus. He didn't know if his other lover had chosen to stay away to give him and Lucy Gray privacy, or if Sejanus was still getting fish for their dinner, but it didn't really make much of a difference.

There was no point in putting this off any longer. Coriolanus gently squeezed Lucy Gray's waist and led her through to the bedroom. Once there, he took a seat on the bed and guided her into position across his lap.

She took a deep breath and shifted position slightly, as if trying to get comfortable, before she placed her hands behind her back.

He took both her hands in one of his, squeezing gently, and moved them towards the small of her back, holding them there. He then lifted her skirts, folding them over on her back, and then proceeded to tug her underwear down to just below her knees, exposing her backside fully.

A tiny sound, almost a whimper, escaped her lips and he paused, waiting to see if she'd ask him to stop. When she didn't make another sound, though, he squeezed her hands gently and then lifted his other hand, bringing it down smartly on the centre of her backside.

A tiny yelp escaped her lips and a pink handprint immediately bloomed on her skin. He resisted the urge to trace the mark with a finger and instead delivered a matching swat just below the first.

Lucy Gray shifted slightly, letting out another tiny sound that might have been a whimper. She continued to squirm slightly and let out tiny whimpers and cries as Coriolanus continued to swat firmly, working his way over every inch of her backside, from the crest to mid-thigh, before he began again from the top.

As he began to swat skin that had already received attention, she began to sob quietly, the sound of her tears reaching his ears. He paused and began to rub the slightly warmed skin, soothing the sting a little. "I understand what happened in the arena and in District 12 has affected you badly. You didn't need to play pranks and cause mischief. You could have just told me what you needed and why."

"I...asked you to spank me." Her voice hitched as her sobs increased in force.

He didn't respond directly to that, as he didn't want to tell her he hadn't realised she was serious. Instead, he said, "The next time you ask me to spank you, you won't need to push me into it. I love you, Lucy Gray. I will do anything to help you and take care of you. I want you to be happy." He rubbed her bottom for a few more moments, then began to swat again, smacking a bit harder and faster than he had been previously.

She squirmed across his lap for a few more moments, then finally slumped, her whole body relaxing into submission. Her sobs weren't really loud, but they were audible.

Coriolanus rubbed her back and over her now pink bottom for a few moments, letting her calm down a bit before he replaced her clothing. Then, he helped her off his lap and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

Lucy Gray wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, letting her head rest against his shoulder. She took in several deep breaths and then nuzzled against his neck, kissing him there. "Thank you." She whispered the words into his neck, her breath tickling his skin.

He kissed her hair and closed his eyes, just holding onto her. "I love you."

"I love you too." Lucy Gray nestled into his arms, then glanced towards the door.

A split second later, Coriolanus heard the sound of the hut door opening. A few seconds later, Sejanus was walking into the bedroom. He caught Coriolanus' eye and smiled, then moved over to sit next to him, reaching out and squeezing Lucy Gray's shoulder. "How are you feeling?" he asked her softly.

"Better." She shifted slightly and sniffled, before saying wryly, "Sore, though." She leaned her cheek against Sejanus' hand, then kissed it. "I'm sorry I dyed your clothes."

Sejanus shrugged and let his own head rest against Coriolanus' shoulder. "As far as problems go, that's quite far down the list. But you're going to be washing them until the dye comes out."

"That's fair." She kissed Sejanus, then leaned in to kiss Coriolanus, pressing in deep and lingering before she pulled back. "I am sorry," she repeated.

"I forgive you." Coriolanus reached out to cup her cheek, drawing her in for another deep kiss. "But if you do something like that again, I won't hesitate to spank you," he warned.

"I know." She smiled. "Somehow, that's a comforting thought."

Coriolanus took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around both of his mates, holding them close and tight. He felt his body relax, tension seeping out of him as he held onto the two people he loved the most in the world.

The End