Disclaimer: I don't own the 100 or the CW.
Extra long chapter for your enjoyment!
Raven concentrated on welding the pipe overhead as Wick held on to the ladder she was balanced on. He had one hand on the edge of it and another on her bad leg, making sure it didn't move from its spot on the rung. She had insisted on welding the water pipes herself, and while usually Wick would have insisted she do something else, he gave in due to the circumstances.
A hunting party had left the camp five days prior. Ten men and women had set out to bring back more meat for them to store for winter. The winter that, despite all the preparations of moving as many people as possible inside Mecha station, still caught them by surprise. When the hunting party had left the air had been freezing, and they didn't think it would get any colder.
But it did.
The day they left was also the day that they saw their first snowfall.
The few children in camp had ran around outside, dropping to the ground and rolling in the white powder. The adults had smiled somewhat alarmingly at each other, and closed their meager coats tighter around their bodies.
Clarke and Octavia had gone to the Grounders, and when they returned they carried with them baskets of wool. A few grounder women had come back with them to camp to help them carry baskets, and they also had sat in the common area for a couple hours and taught anybody who wanted to learn how to knit the wool into winter clothing. Lexa had sent them as an apology for the misunderstanding at the beginning of their truce, to which Raven had shaken her head silently and narrowed her eyes. Clarke had given her a warning look, and Raven had sat down with a sigh and learned to knit with the rest of them.
They hadn't been worried about the hunting party until the next morning, when people realized two things.
The first and most obvious was that their people hadn't come back from the routine hunt.
And second, that the small crystal snowflakes had fluttered into a blizzard overnight.
Raven and Octavia had burrowed themselves into the same cot that night, piling both of their fur blankets on top of each other and making sure their heater had enough wood to burn for the whole night. They had wrapped themselves in each other, conserving body heat.
The winter was going to be much harsher than they had expected.
The next morning, Raven and Octavia had had to kick their way out of their tent, which had been half buried during the night. It had been clumsy and Octavia cursed as snow piled inside. Together they had waded through the thigh high level of snow, their teeth chattering as they arrived at the med bay to speak to Abby.
Fourteen people had lost their lives that night.
That's when the preparations for moving everyone inside Mecha had shifted into high gear. Before the blizzard, only about forty-five percent of their people were living inside. In the course of those five days, that percentage had increased to seventy-five. They had had to clear out a lot of debris in the sections that had been blocked out, and those who did not have families were bunking four in a room.
Kicking out of her tent had been difficult, so Raven was within that thirty-percent that had been moved. She now shared a room with Octavia, and two girls she didn't know very well. One was Mel, the girl Bellamy rescued from the Factory station and the other was Caia, an orphan from Hydra.
As the day had progressed, everyone was getting antsier about the hunting party's return. The weather was harsh, so going out to look for them was a liability that Abby was not going to take. Clarke had screamed and yelled and threatened to go out herself to look for them, but Abby didn't budge. In the end, Clarke had crumpled on the table and rubbed her face.
Bellamy and Jasper were on that hunting party.
So was Murphy.
To say that Raven was worried would be an understatement. Clarke was bordering on hysterical, and Octavia was not helping her. They were freaking out together, and while Octavia turned to Lincoln to calm her, Clarke had resorted to frantic knitting. The girl probably had knit five whole scarves in the last few days. Between knitting and devoting herself to the med bay, Raven doubted Clarke had been sleeping.
To be fair, Raven hadn't been doing much of that either. She had thrown herself into her work, deciding that what they needed to survive the winter (besides central heating, which Sinclair was in charge of) was indoor plumbing. Mecha station of course was equipped for it, but the pipes had taken a beating in landing and they hadn't gotten around to fixing them yet. If you wanted a shower you took a bucket with you to the communal showers, but despite Abby and Clarke's insistence of hygiene, no one had felt like taking a lukewarm shower in the cold weather.
So that's why Raven was standing on a ladder, headgear in place as she welded the broken pipes together, the sound of the torch almost drowning out her thoughts about Murphy… Almost.
Every now and then an image of Murphy laying somewhere out in the woods, his lips blue from the cold and body unmoving would flash into her head. But she had gotten really good at denial, so she just told herself that they had found a really big herd of deer and they were taking their sweet time hauling it all back home. Or that they had found a hot spring along the way and those assholes were out there relaxing and not having a care in the world.
Those bastards.
Raven turned the torch off and flipped up her helmet.
"That looks good, right?" she asked Wick, who tightened his grip on her brace as she leaned back to look at him.
"Yeah, that should hold. Let's go to the source, Sinclair said that the crash made a mess of the central pipes."
"Great." Raven muttered as she started stepping down from the ladder, Wick guiding her bad leg.
They started walking towards where the pipes met in the far wall, and Wick cleared his throat.
"So,your friend—"
"He's fine." Raven interjected. "They'll be back soon."
She quickened her pace, leaning heavily on her right hip. The last few days' exertions had left her left leg sore, and even with the brace she limped more than usual.
Wick wisely let the subject drop, and he helped her remove the protective covering over the pipes.
"Shit." He whispered as they saw the mess.
The knobs that controlled hot and cold water had broken off, and various pipes had large chunks missing. If they turned on the system hot steam would most definitely escape, and water would never get to the shower room.
"We're going to have to melt some plates onto it." Raven said, measuring the gaps with her fingers.
"Scrap pile?" Wick offered.
"Yeah, let's head there now." She stumbled and Wick grabbed her by the waist.
"Maybe we should take a break, grease monkey."
"Breaks are for the weak. C'mon we have work to do." She limped ahead, hearing his sigh behind her.
Once they were in the tech room, she pulled up a stool and sat on it while she sifted through a pile of extra parts. Wick sat across from her, and whenever they found something that they could spare being melted down, they threw it into the center of the table.
Wick had tried easing the tension in the room with some wit, but Raven had snapped at him and demanded silence so she could concentrate. She was as high-strung as a badly tuned guitar at this point, and for her sake he hoped that boy walked through the gates sooner rather than never.
His prayers might have been answered as he saw her pretty roommate Octavia burst into the room, catching her breath.
"They're back!" She said, her breath visible in the air.
"Oh my God." Raven launched herself out the door, tightening the scarf around her neck.
They walked briskly towards the open gate, though the swirling snow made it barely visible. Raven squinted, trying to make out the five… no six… seven figures trudging in the snow. Octavia held her by the shoulder as they braved the heavy winds. There weren't a lot of people outside, and with good reason. Raven closed her wool cape closer about her.
The first figure she saw was Jasper, who looked as if he could fall at any second. Octavia ran over to him, and with the help of another soldier on patrol they carried him inside. Close behind was Miller's dad and another woman. Clarke ran to the gate, and stood next to Raven as more hunters were escorted to the med bay.
She felt as if a piece of shrapnel had been removed from her gut when she saw the shapes of Bellamy and Murphy making their way to the gate. They moved slowly, their arms around their shoulders to support each other. When they got close enough to see both her and Clarke standing there, they separated. Clarke ran to Bellamy, who unlike the last time she had run to him all those months ago, was prepared for her. She jumped into his arms and, though he staggered backwards, he made sure he didn't drop her.
Raven made eye contact with Murphy and he slowly walked up to her. He had his arms tucked underneath his armpits, his lips slightly blue and cheeks red with what she believed was frostbite. She was torn between wanting to hit him for taking so long in coming back and wrapping her arms around him because she was glad he was alive.
She did both, or tried to. She raised her hand to hit him and he caught her wrist in the air, using it to bring her closer to him. Her forehead touched his and his eyes, even more piercing blue in this weather, bore themselves into her brown irises. He drank her in with his eyes like a starving man.
Their lips were a whisper away and she parted hers in anticipation.
"I'm fucking freezing." Murphy stuttered, his lips so close to hers she felt them move as he talked.
His eyes began to droop closed and Raven grabbed him by his thin jacket. He lazily put an arm around her and she struggled to get him into the med bay. Luckily, a guard came and lifted him off of her, and she just trailed behind them.
Inside the med bay, Abby was telling the guards were to put them. She directed the guard that was helping Murphy into one of the rooms in the back.
"Get his clothes off, Raven. Here are some spare clothes." Abby handed her a stack of clothing, and moved on to receive the next person.
Raven shut the door behind her.
"You heard her, clothes off." She said to Murphy. She unzipped his jacket, the inner lining almost frozen stiff.
"Goddamn…" She whispered as she felt the wet fabric of his shirt.
She tossed the jacket aside and a shivering Murphy lifted his arms to help her take his shirt off. He looked down at his chest as breathed a sigh of relief.
"What?" she asked.
"I honestly thought my nipples had frozen and fallen off." He rubbed his arms for heat.
Raven snorted a humorless laugh before reaching to unzip his pants.
"This is not how I pictured this." He muttered, teeth chattering.
"I'm sure it wasn't." She tugged his jeans down his legs, Murphy lifting himself a little from the bed to make it easier for her. He stopped her hands when they grabbed the waistband of his boxers.
"I think I can do this part."
"Okay, then do it." She backed away.
"Turn around Raven, I'm not going to give you a free show." He blew into his hands.
She rolled her eyes, but did as he asked. Murphy slipped his boxers off, hyperaware of the girl in the room, and while in other circumstances that would have… Excited him, right now he was just glad that his junk hadn't frozen and fallen off. Definitely not the first look he wanted Raven to get of him, and goddamn it what the hell were these little shorts?
"What the fuck is this? Underwear for twelve year olds?" He said under his breath, and Raven peeked at him from her shoulder.
"Hey!" He covered himself with the boxer briefs, and while he might have sounded intimidating had he not been so cold, his voice hitched at the end and she tried to mask her laugh.
"Next time you change, I'll make sure to watch you do it too." He stuttered angrily and put the boxer briefs on.
"Can you pass me the pants?" He looked over his shoulder at her.
She handed him the pair of sweatpants and he hopped into them. As he was tying them at the waist, she closed the distance between them.
She laid her head against his bare chest, and Murphy shivered at her warmth. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, his chin on the crown of her head.
"Don't ever do that to me again." She mumbled against his chest.
"Not planning on it." He sighed in pleasure as she rubbed his back. She tilted her face to look up at him.
"Your lips are still blue." She touched them with tentative fingers.
"I'm not a doctor, but I might have a remedy for that." He said slowly. He swallowed, nervous as he brought his face closer to hers.
Abby opened the door slightly peering in, and they jumped, separating.
"Raven, he's frostbitten. That's not the kind of warming up he needs." She scolded and walked away, leaving the door open.
"She's right." Raven reached over for the sweatshirt on the bed and handed it to him. He pulled it over his head. She could see he was annoyed, but Dr. Griffin was right.
Murphy said nothing as he put the thick wool socks on his feet. Raven left the room and asked Abby what she needed to do next.
"His feet should be fine, the boots seemed to have protected most of them. Check his hands, and I think I saw some burns on his cheeks." She handed her a small bucket with steaming water. "Careful, it's pretty hot. Just dab at towel in here and literally thaw his face."
Raven walked back to see Murphy laying down on the bed. She closed the door behind her and pulled up a chair next to him. She dipped a hand cloth into the hot water and dabbed at his cheeks. He winced at the feel of the hot water but she held his face down gently, smoothing back his hair.
"What the heck happened out there anyways? You were gone for five days."
"We wandered a bit farther than intended. There wasn't much to hunt in our regular areas. Now I know it's because the animals knew the blizzard was coming. Then we got lost in the cold. Everything looks the same out there."
"We got buried in the snow that night, that's when we lost Grayson."
"His wife died that first night here too." Raven said, eyeing the blisters on his fingertips.
"Then maybe it was for the best. May they meet again." He said, turning his face slightly so that she could better reach the other half of his face.
"How are you feeling?" She tugged a blanket up his body with her free hand.
"Getting warmer. My lips are still cold though." He smirked.
Raven rolled her eyes. "Now I know you'll live through this." She put down the hand cloth when the redness in his cheek died down a little. She touched his cheekbones.
"Does that hurt?"
"Feels like pins and needles— My hands too." He flexed his hands underneath the blanket.
"That's good." She grabbed his hands, rubbing some warmth into them.
"You know, there are other ways to get warm." He offered.
"You almost died from hypothermia."
"Then help me get my temperature back up." He reached for her, but she moved out of the way.
"How is he doing?" Abby popped her head back in the room, a mug in her hands.
"I'm pretty sure he'll live." Raven said putting the bucket of hot water on a nearby table.
"Here's some tea." Abby handed the mug to Murphy. "It'll help warm you up."
"I'd prefer some body heat." He grumbled to Raven's chagrin.
Abby smiled amusedly. "Yeah, he'll be okay."
As soon as she left the room, Murphy took a sip from the mug, ignoring the scolding looks from Raven.
"God, this is disgusting." He made a face as he laid the mug on the table.
"John…" She warned.
He dangled his legs off the side of the bed, sitting upright to face her as she stood across from him his arms crossed.
"What? Was it something I said?" He shrugged.
"You can't just say stuff like that!"
"Why? I was being honest."
"What goes on between us is private."
"Nothing has gone on." He retorted.
"Not yet!" She blurted out, and he smirked. She made to turn away, but he reached over and grabbed her by the wrist pulling her to him. She stood between his legs, looking up at him.
"Now is not the time for this." She sighed.
"It's bound to happen eventually. Let's just get it over with."
Raven scoffed. "Because that's what every girl wants to hear. Let's just get it over with."
"Shut up and kiss me." He said, fisting his hand in her hair and pulling her to him.
He pressed his chapped lips against hers, and the feel of them was so Murphy – firm, insistent, and at the same time so vulnerable—and she opened her lips slightly to have more of him. He claimed her lower lip, his hand intertwining itself in her long hair as he pulled her closer.
It was a foreign feeling for so many reasons. She was the one that always took control, always the initiator. Yet here she was, melting in his arms and the only thing he had done was kiss her.
And keep kissing her.
She gasped for breath as they separated momentarily before he hungrily dove back in for more. She ran her hands up his sweatshirt, his body contracting underneath her fingers. Wanting to have a little control, she slipped her tongue into his mouth, satisfied when she heard him groan. Unexpectedly, he held on to her waist as he laid on the bed, taking her with him.
His lips began to draw a path down her neck, taking the scarf off of her neck and flinging it onto the floor. He stopped at her collarbone, sucking on her skin.
"John." She said breathily.
He made a noncommittal sound at the back of his throat, and she angled her neck a little to give him better access. He bit down softly and she moaned quietly. She knew that he had just marked her, but she couldn't care less at the moment. She wanted his mouth back on hers. This time she made sure to take charge, sucking on his bottom lip. His breathing hitched as she moved to his neck, and she smiled against his skin.
"We're going to be doing this a lot more now." He said, his voice slightly strained as she sucked on his neck, giving him the same mark he gave her.
She laughed, the vibrations of it coursing through his body.
"I'm so serious, though." He groaned.
"Are you warm enough, now?" She sat up, legs on either side of him.
"I'm scalding." He said leaning up to grab her chin in his hands and crash his lips to hers again.
It happened! Hopefully it was worth the wait!
Let me know how you felt about it! :)
.xoxo