Chapter Ten: Flaws

"All of your flaws and all of my flaws, they lie there hand in hand
Ones we've inherited, ones that we learn
They pass from man to man

There's a hole in my soul
I can't fill it, I can't fill it
There's a hole in my soul
Can you fill it? Can you fill it?"

-Bastille

xxXxx

The storm continued throughout the week. Lightning crackled across the sky, thunder rumbled, and the camp inhabitants were on edge and restless.

When the rain was light, Roxanne went out into the woods to hunt with a couple others. They managed to take down a deer and a few mutated squirrels.

Things at the camp had settled down as everyone fell into their own routine. Roxanne didn't miss how often Bradley snuck away with Murphy, or the look in her friend's eyes when she would look at him.

Roxanne didn't want to feel bitter when she saw how happy Bradley was. But she was and the little voice in her head told her it was because she was lonely. She wanted to scoff at that, even though it was right.

There had been someone a few years ago. She had just turned fifteen when she had first met her. It had been at a meeting where Jaha had gathered the young teens to lecture them on the jobs they would take on when they became adults and what they could do to prepare for them.

Roxanne's thoughts slipped back to that day.

Bradley had come with her since she wanted to learn more about becoming a doctor. With her mom always falling ill, Bradley seemed determined to find a way to make sure she stayed well.

Roxanne had stayed near the back of the room, bored and disinterested with the lecture. Jaha seemed to ramble on for hours, so she positioned herself by the Ark's window, gazing out towards the stars. Her eyes found the largest star, Sirius, and she began wondering what it'd be like to walk on a star or a different planet.

"Pretty."

The soft, raspy voice had pulled Roxanne out of her thoughts. Next to her stood a tall, slender girl with dusky skin and dark brown eyes. Roxanne studied her and the long tangle of curls that spiraled around her shoulders, which were streaked with blonde and red.

"Yeah, pretty," Roxanne said with a twitch of her lips. "Better to imagine being there than being stuck here."

The girl laughed quietly. "I'm Mia," she told Roxanne.

"I'm Roxanne."

"Nice to meet you, Roxy," Mia said with a smile.

Over the next few weeks, Mia and Roxanne quickly became inseparable. Bradley and Mia got along great, much to Roxanne's relief. Her friend seemed to understand, since she always had a smirk and twinkle in her eye when she saw Roxanne rushing off to see Mia.

Roxanne remembered the first time she had gathered the courage to kiss Mia. It had been a spontaneous thing, after they had gotten out of the classes that were taught to them by Marcus Kane. Mia had been laughing at something Finn had said in class and Roxanne couldn't resist. She had kissed Mia right then and there, surprising them both.

"Wow," Mia had breathed.

"Yeah. Wow," Roxanne had repeated.

Thing had progressed naturally from there. They found time throughout the next year to sneak off to be alone, often with Bradley standing guard. Roxanne's friend seemed to fully support the relationship, saying how happy she was for Roxanne.

But all things must come to an end. Roxanne understood that now better than anyone.

It had happened too fast. Just a few weeks before her seventeenth birthday, Mia got sick. It was the same illness that often plagued Bradley's mother, so Roxanne felt assured that Mia would heal in time. But she hadn't.

Later, Abby had explained to Roxanne that the disease had mutated inside Mia, causing her internal organs to shut down within a matter of hours. Mia had passed away two days after becoming sick.

And like always, Bradley had been there for Roxanne every step of the way. She had stayed with Roxanne through the long, lonely nights were she had cried herself to sleep. Bradley tended to her as best as she could.

So when Bradley's mother had gotten sick once more, Roxanne didn't even think. She had leapt into action, dragging Bradley with her as they tried to steal from the medical ward. Abby had caught them of course and they suffered the consequences.

Roxanne still didn't regret her actions. That was the illness that had taken someone special from her. She cursed herself for being so arrogant, so self-assured that Mia would be fine…

But that was nearly two years ago. Roxanne had pulled herself out of the hole she had fallen into, with her friend's help, and had tried to do her best when the hundred had been sent to the ground. The past had left her with some scars, most of them unseen, and she knew she would never be the same person she had been back then.

Roxanne studied the camp in front of her and all the people milling around it. Her heart ached slightly at the memories she had once again experienced, and she couldn't help wondering what it would be like if Mia was here.

Then she nearly smiled, because she knew what Mia would have said.

One step closer to the stars, Roxy. We got here, we'll get there.

She closed her eyes briefly, gathering herself.

"Hey, Roxanne!" Bradley's voice rang out.

Roxanne looked and saw her friend waving her over to the main hub where Clarke often was. She walked over and saw that Bellamy was there, along with Murphy. She wanted to roll her eyes at the former, but she settled with nodding at Murphy.

Bradley gestured for Roxanne to follow her inside. When she did, she saw that the Commander was there with Indra, as well as Lincoln and Nyko.

Roxanne's brow furrowed. "What's going on?"

"It's Mount Weather," Clarke began. "There's been some trouble."

xxXxx

Bradley stayed close to Murphy's side as she listened to Clarke explain to Roxanne what had been going on while they had been here building their camp.

Clarke told them that the Grounders had discovered that the people from Mount Weather not only knew about the Reapers, but were using them to keep the lands clear by the base of the mountain. On top of that, Reapers had begun to kidnap Grounders from different camps, taking them back to the mountain.

When Roxanne had asked why, Lincoln stepped forward to explain. He said that most Reapers had once been Grounders, but they had chosen to live their life in a more vicious kind of way. The concern now was that if Reapers were taking Grounders, those Grounders were then being changed into Reapers.

"What do you mean changed?" Murphy asked when Roxanne and Clarke had stared at Lincoln in stunned silence.

Nyko spoke up. "We captured a Reaper, a few months back. Inside his pack we found a vial of a strange red substance. They appear to crave it but it isn't something you make out of plants or roots."

"What, someone is drugging the Reapers?"

Nyko shook his head at Murphy. "No. Someone is drugging Grounders, making them addicted to this substance, which makes them turn into Reapers. More bloodthirsty, more ruthless."

"Why did you come to us?" Clarke asked, looking at Lexa.

The Commander exhaled. "We need your help. You know the inside of the mountain. We need you to find where they have taken our people and what they are doing to them."

Bradley stepped forward. "But why? Why would the people from Mount Weather be doing this?"

"To create an army."

She turned to stare at Bellamy.

He shrugged. "Seemed to me that those people wanted more than to live inside a mountain for the next hundred years."

"Will you help us, Clarke Griffin?" Lexa inquired. "Will you help us bring our people home?"

Clarke was silent for a moment. "I need to tell the others. I'll see how many people I can gather to come with me."

Lexa nodded. "Thank you, Clarke."

Bradley sidled closer to Murphy, linking their fingers. She gave his hand a squeeze, giving him a nervous look.

Murphy, calm and cool as always, simply kissed her temple and squeezed her hand in turn, silently reassuring her.

Clarke led the Grounders out of the hub, asking Bellamy and Roxanne to gather the others at the center of the camp.

Bradley kissed Murphy briefly before she went off to gather the guards on duty. Raven, Wick, and Wells seemed disgruntled due to the continuous rain, but didn't argue as they followed Bradley inside the camp.

Once everyone had gathered together, Clarke relayed the news to them, explaining the situation, before she asked for volunteers to join her and Lexa. Roxanne had been the first to step forward, quickly followed by Bellamy and his sister, Finn and Fox, Jasper and Monty, then a handful of others.

Clarke then turned to Bradley and Murphy. "I want you to stay behind," she told Bradley. "I need someone here to look out after everyone else. But Murphy, I want you to come with us. We could use the extra manpower."

Murphy lifted a brow. "I think the others would beg to differ."

Clarke ignored him. "I need someone who can track like you do," she said. "Plus you know how to handle a weapon better than most."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Princess."

Clarke then gathered the volunteers, walking off with them so they could talk more with the Grounders.

Murphy didn't join them right away. He glanced down at Bradley and saw the worried look in her eyes. He reached out, tugging her hair. "Don't worry about me, blondie," he said. "I can handle myself."

Bradley tried to smile. "I know you can. I'll still worry though."

Murphy was the one who smiled. "I know," he murmured, leaning down to press his lips to her temple. "I know."

Bradley leaned against him, turning her body into his. Her hand clenched his shirt tightly as she tried to calm her racing heart and nerves. But she let him go so he could go with Clarke and the others, knowing they had a little time before they would depart for Mount Weather.

She slipped out of camp, going down to the spot in the forest her and Murphy had gone before, sitting herself amongst the gray flowers. She picked another, twirling it between her fingers. This one had streaks of yellow instead of red, and its antlers were orange instead of blue.

Sighing, she leaned against the nearest tree.

Murphy found her there a little while later, still lost in her thoughts. He sat down next to her and let her curl into him once more. His hands traced the length of her back while she traced patterns on his arms with the flower.

"When do you leave?" she finally asked softly.

"In two days."

She wanted to close her eyes, to scream, to demand to go with him. But she knew she needed to stay behind, since Clarke was counting on her. So she settled for burrowing her face into the crook of Murphy's neck, trying not to think about all of this. She focused instead on the feeling of his hands touching her, soothing her in that quiet way of his.

"I'll miss you," she whispered.

Murphy shifted. His dark gray eyes studied her before he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll be back before you know it," he told her.

Bradley reached out, touching the thin white scar on his cheek. "Promise?"

He nodded. "Promise."

Bradley leaned in and kissed him, praying with all of her might that he would return to her in one piece.

xxXxx

Disclaimer: I do not own the 100.

Author's Note: If you're wondering, the mutated flowers I keep picturing are discolored asphodels.

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