Octavia thought the needle piercing her skin would hurt more. She thought the time it would take to fill in the design would at least cause her to feel an uncomfortable ache. And yet, when Lincoln put down the needle an hour after thoroughly cleaning the skin at the center of her back, all she felt was a warmth spreading from the new marking to her whole body, to the very air of the cave they were in.
Once Lincoln finished cleaning and bandaging his work, he helped Octavia redress, bringing his softest shirt over her head and pulling open the sleeves and head opening so she could maneuver herself into it without irritating her back.
Octavia turned around and stared into Lincoln's eyes, alternating between one and the other, not wanting to miss any of his expression. He looked back at her with solemn eyes, checking her own face for pain, or worse, regret. All he saw was a deep content.
Looking at her at this moment, no one could know of the despair that had been etched into her features since her mentor had taken back her words of welcome, since she had been left alone with the knowledge that her brother and friends were likely still trapped by the enemy, if not already dead.
"Did it come out like your original design?"
Without a mirror in the cave, there was no way to see Lincoln's work outside of the drawing in his notebook. She looked at the worn page again, taking in the simple beauty of the bold black letter, the now permanent sign to all that she had found a home.
Not a crawlspace under a metal floor or a tent made of parachute scraps. Not even a cave with knickknacks and charcoal drawings, though their current shelter was an improvement over the other places she's lived in.
No, the home she found was not a physical location but a partnership, a relationship with a man who wasn't anywhere near perfect but who wanted more for himself and the people he loved. Who wanted peace not war. Who still occasionally craved the oblivion of the red but who fought against it and strove for control over his mind and body instead. Who understood her bond with a brother that had his own faults, who was making strides to create his own bond with the younger man as well.
Yes, first from the sky to the ground and then from the dropship to Camp Jaha to Tondc and back, she had finally found something, someone, to help her keep her equilibrium, to stand beside her when taking on the world. Someone who needed and wanted her to do the same for him in return.
Lincoln moved his right hand under his shirt Octavia wore, stopping just below his newly inked initial positioned directly behind her heart. He pressed against her back lightly, pushing her closer to his seated body.
Octavia got up onto her kneels so she could more easily move over the furs beneath them, moving forward until she could lean down against his chest and look down into his eyes with a smile in her own. Her new positioned distracted him, causing him to pause for a brief moment before finally answering her question.
"Yes, but my imagination didn't come close to accurately portraying how I'd feel when seeing it prominently displayed on your skin. I'm honored that you chose this to be your first mark."
"There are other designs that I'll want you to add soon. Marks to remind me of where I came from. Of my family, both in blood and by choice. But first I want us to go to Nyko. I wish I had the skills needed to ink my own mark on you, but I'd rather he do it this time than have us wait until I've learned."
Lincoln smiled into Octavia's kiss of promise and she mimicked the action in return before deepening the kiss in response. Any remaining tension melted from them as they enjoyed the feeling of having the other safely enclosed in their arms. After a few minutes, Lincoln leaned back and looked into her eyes once again. With a smirk he asked,
"Which of us is going to tell Bellamy?"
Octavia's laughter echoed in the air around them as she pushed Lincoln back onto the furs beneath them and settled as his side to enjoy the quiet peace of the night. All their worries of the world outside their warm cave momentarily faded as they continued their tradition of sharing stories of their pasts long into the night.
A/N: Hello Everyone! This story will be a series of one-shots, connected by the same universe. Most will likely feature Linctavia, but some other couples and characters will appear as well. I thought we could use some fluff to help buffer us against all the angst and the wait for the show to return after tomorrow's episode. The chapter titles will let you know who the main couple/characters are for each one-shot. Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts or suggestions.