The Arrangement. Chapter Nine: …The More They Stay The Same.
It's night and Clarke is sitting at the table in the kitchen of the cabin, sketching the tree she can see through the window while Bellamy tends to the fire. It's cold, far below freezing, and they can't deny that they are deep into winter now. They'd been able to get two larger cabins built in Arkadia, and it'll have to be enough – Bellamy tells her that can't build with the ground frozen and it will be as such for months. Bellamy sits down next to her, glancing at her sketch book with interest – she understands, she hasn't done much sketching since she's been here. She's about to say something to that effect when something catches her eye outside.
She's out of her seat and outside before Bellamy understands what she saw and when he realizes he pulls a coat on and grabs a fur from the bed to follow her outside. She's standing next to the porch, just outside the reach of the roof's overhang and staring straight up. He leans against a post on the porch and watches her quietly until a snowflake hits her cheek and she flinches a little and he barks out an amused laugh.
She startles, not having known he followed her out and smiles when she turns around to face him. "I forgot you've never seen it" he gestures to the snow falling around them and walks off the porch, towards her.
"It's beautiful" she says quietly, smiling when he tugs the fur he brought with him around her shoulders.
"Yeah, it is" he mumbles, watching her. After a beat he shakes his head a little, "I'll be right back" he says even though she isn't paying him any attention, too entranced by the snowfall around her. When he comes back out, she's right where he left her, still staring at the sky and he smiles a little, setting the mugs he is carrying on the small table by the porch swing and tossing the extra furs he brought out on the swing itself. He walks down to where she is slowly, just watching her, until he reaches her and she turns and smiles brightly at him. He reaches out and grabs her wrist, giving it a light tug, "Come on" he says. She gives him a quizzical look but follows.
He leads her back to the porch swing and they sit. He drapes the furs over them and hands Clarke a mug of the tea he brought out. He's not sure how long they've been out there, just watching the snow coat his village, but eventually her head starts to fall onto his shoulder. He turns his head so he can see her and her eyes are mostly closed, lips parted and he smiles a little, his chin pressing lightly against the crown of her head before he whispers her name. She blinks sleepily at him and is pliable and compliant as he pulls her to her feet and leads her inside. She climbs into bed, falling asleep quickly. Bellamy prods the fire a little, making sure it stays burning, before sliding in next to her.
When they wake up in the morning, there is still snow blowing around in the air and everything is coated in a thick layer of white. Except for the trails left by a few early risers, it's an even blanket of snow as far as Clarke can see. She finds herself wondering what the reaction to it is like in Arkadia, an entire people experiencing something new together. Part of her wishes that she was there, experiencing this with them, but Bellamy comes up behind her, his hand on her back, while she leans on the post on the porch and she doesn't know now to say that without it sounding like a rejection, without it sounding like she wishes she was there because she doesn't want to be here. That may have been true at one point, but she's not so sure it is anymore, but she knows how it'd sound, so she says "It's so peaceful, so quiet" instead and Bellamy gives her a smile. He's about to answer her when two kids run by, one shrieking when the other throws a snowball and it lands on his neck.
Bellamy smirks, "Yeah – peaceful" he says sarcastically as he turns to go back inside. Clarke follows him and they have breakfast at the table in the kitchen. They talk about the snow and they make a plan to visit Arkadia in a few days, once some of the snow has melted away. They'd prepared Arkadia for the snow the best they could, they just had to trust now that they were listened to. Bellamy leaves first, for meetings with Anya, so once he's gone Clarke cleans up the kitchen and pulls on a coat before walking outside. She skims her hand across the railing on the porch, gathering up the snow there and holding it for a moment before dropping it with a smile.
There are six people in the clinic when she walks in. It's mostly people she'd noticed coughing into their arms for the past few days, but they look downright awful now. Nyko had warned her that when the flu hit, it would be fast, but she's not sure she understood. She hangs her coat by the door and finds Nyko talking to a patient. He smiles when he sees her, actually looks relieved, and Clarke smiles back. She finds a stack of dirty pots that she knows he uses for boiled water and grabs them, taking them over to be washed and refilled.
As she works throughout the day, she notices Nyko coughing with increasing frequency. At one point, she even thinks she sees him stumble over his own feet and have to catch himself on an empty bed. When she asks him about it, he says he's just tired – that he feels fine. She doesn't push it, but she tries to keep an eye on him a little as she moves around the clinic.
She doesn't leave the clinic until that night and when she does, she finds Bellamy entertaining three little kids with stories while they eat. The youngest one, a little girl who looks to be about three, is sitting in Bellamy's lap and calling him 'Belme' around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. When Bellamy sees her, he double-takes and she can see the skin on the back of his neck redden. She laughs a little, leaning against a post to keep watching – finding herself listening to the story he's telling about the stars.
After a few minutes, a woman comes by and collects the kids, eyeing Clarke suspiciously as she does. Clarke gives a tight smile in return, trying not to let it bother her. Bellamy stands, brushing dirt off his pants, and smiles sheepishly at her, "Their parents are all in the clinic, so I was just…" he says and she nods.
"That was nice of you" she says and he just shrugs a little. He's already eaten, but he walks with her through the food line and sits next to her at a fire while she eats. She's just finishing up when they hear a commotion around the clinic. They run towards it and when they get there they find Nyko doubled over in a coughing fit, his face buried in his elbow. He locks eyes with Clarke and she pushes through the crowd to get to him, putting her hand on his back.
A few of the Trikru step forward, trying to stop her, sure that she can't help Nyko. One whispers that Clarke probably poisoned him. Nyko tries to argue, but can't quite seem to catch his breath. Bellamy yells "Stop" as he moves to stand in front of her – between her and the crowd, and it's like someone pressed pause, everyone stops, all going quiet at once. It's easy for Clarke to forget Bellamy's position within the Trikru village – she hadn't lived here long or had much reason to witness the high rank he holds or respect he commands. But he stands in front of her and tells his people to back away, to give her and Nyko some space, to get used to her being in the Clinic, to understand that she is going to be treating people and that's just how it's going to be. It's not so much what he says though, as how he says it. He's quiet and even and matter-of-fact about things, like he just expects that his words will be heard and respected. Clarke looks around the gathering of people, at the way the shake their heads resignedly and understands that he expects that because the people must listen to him.
He sticks around the Clinic for a while after, to make sure that people are good to her. He helps her get Nyko into a bed and watches when she mixes medicine and hands it to a young man who has been in the Clinic for a day or so. The man's eyes flick between the medicine, Clarke, and Bellamy a few times before he grimaces and drinks the concoction – silent but sullen about it. Once everyone is settled, Clarke grabs Bellamy's wrist and pulls him outside, behind the Clinic.
"I'm sorry" he says and she drops his wrist and turns to face him, the backdoor to the Clinic swinging shut behind them. "I know that you wanted people to come around on their own, and you didn't want me to do…that" he swallows, "I just – it had to be done" he says and she laughs. He cocks an eyebrow at her.
"I wanted to say thank you" she says, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I wanted people to come around, but I was starting to doubt that was ever going to happen" she shakes her head a little. "So, thank you". He smiles, rubbing at the back of his neck a little.
She pulls in a deep breath, "I think we're going to have to quarantine" she says and he nods like he was expecting that. "I don't really know what it is, but it seems like it's pretty contagious."
"You have to be careful" he says quietly, shifting a half-step closer to her. He knows what her job is, knows that locking herself in with a bunch of sick people is how she helps, but the danger there is not lost on him. She nods, but he's not sure she's thought it through, "Really careful, Clarke" he says and waits for her to look up at him and nod again. "I'll come by in the morning with breakfast" he says. They'll come up with a system – he can leave it outside and back up before she comes out to get it or something, but he'll need updates on how everyone is doing inside and delivering meals is as good a way to make sure he gets them as any.
"Thanks, Bellamy" she whispers and they hold eye contact for a long moment before she pushed up on to her tip-toes and kissing his cheek quickly. It's a little off center, the kiss, and she send up catching the very corner of his lips. When she settles back down on the flats of her feel she shakes her head a little, like she's not sure what just happened, then turns and walks back in the Clinic. Bellamy stares at the closed door for a moment before he turns and walks towards home.
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