- Visit Twenty-Five -
When their Rover parks in the line-up, he's almost embarrassed by the relief he feels pool in his stomach. Monty gets out first, and immediately crosses the parking lot to Miller outside of the trading post, who pulls him in to a hug and kisses him soundly, the sound of Monty's surprised laugh carrying over to him as he watches Clarke step out of the car. Her eyes flit around until they land on his and she smiles shakily, and he returns it as best he can. Wells gets out of the driver's side and pulls a box out of the back, they talk by the car and his eyes drift to Monty and Miller again.
He wonders, almost idly, if they consider themselves dating, if you can possibly date someone when you don't know where they live and can't communicate when the need arises. The sound of Wells setting his box of stuff on the table in front of him pulls him out of his thoughts. He's about to make a joke about the time away, but when he looks up he can see bruises and cuts crisscrossing Clarke's face and what he can see of her arms and he swallows thickly. "I remembered my book" she says, her voice aiming for light but catching anyway and he shakes his head a little, his voice breaking over her name.
Wells clears his throat and sets his gun on the table with a light thump, tilts the box towards Bellamy who nods and waves him in. Clarke walks around to his side of the table while he stows Wells' stuff and when he turns around she is right in front of him, his shoes bumping hers lightly as he turns. She doesn't say anything, just wraps her around his stomach lightly and presses her cheek into his chest. He pulls in a surprised breath, but recovers quickly, pulling her closer with his arms around her shoulders, his face in her hair, breathing her in.
She laughs a little when she steps back, tucking her hair behind her ear, clearly self-conscious. She's quiet for a moment before she gestures at the table, "May I?" she asks quietly and he rolls his eyes good naturedly when he nods. She smiles as she slides on to the table. He slides up next to her and watches her from the corner of his eye quietly as she fiddles with her sleeves and picks at her nails. She's uncomfortable, and he doesn't want to push her, so he bumps her shoulder with his lightly and points out Monty and Miller across the field, heads bent together and laughing lightly and she turns to look at him with a smile.
They talk about little things, things that have nothing to do with why she is covered in little cuts and bruises or where she's been. They break easily when someone comes up to check their stuff, Clarke helping him stow the items while Bellamy checks them over and lets them in. After a while, when things have calmed down and the air is starting to change with the evening approaching, Clarke pulls in a deep breath and says, "I got a little bit kidnapped" all in one long breath. He's careful not to react, he can see how tense she's gotten next to him, so he lets his fingers play at the small of her back and feels relived when she leans back into that feeling.
She half shrugs, trying to convey an indifference that she clearly doesn't feel as she turns to face him a little better. "Maybe kidnapped is the wrong word?" she amends, tilting her head a little, "I was at a creek, a few miles out of town and these people, Wanderers, just grabbed me." She says, talking about people who don't live in a town, but constantly travel instead – most are harmless, just people who couldn't stay where they were from, mostly because of harsh weather or the radiation cutting too close to town…but sometimes it's more nefarious than that. He'd heard of Wanderers trying to take over towns, or waiting right on the outskirts and taking people, or worse. "They took me…I was in and out but we traveled a while" she swallows, "I think they wanted to keep me a while then offer to trade me back to Arkadia for stuff". He nods a little. She's not supposed to tell him where she lives, but he thinks that they're probably past that now – he thinks that when he gets home that night he'll pull out an old map and see how far Arkadia is from Walden…just out of curiosity.
She's quiet for a moment, looking out at the woods around them while he watches her face. She pulls in a deep breath, "I wasn't with them that long, in the end, they were pretty disorganized, and I was scared. One night one of the guys tried to…" she trails off, looking up at the sky, "and I was able to get away and just…run" she glances over at him and half-smiles, like she's trying to comfort him and he thumbs a little at her elbow, rubbing her skin there lightly. "I got lost in the woods" she breathes out a little laugh, and he forces a smile, hoping that it makes her feel better. "When Wells and everyone couldn't find me, he set off fireworks and I followed them home. I just knew it had to be him." she laughs half-heartedly again and he sighs and puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls her into his side, "because who sets off fireworks, when people knowing where you live can get you killed?" she adds quietly, trying to change the subject.
He forces out a laugh, "Wells does" he wants it to come out as a joke, but he knows it mostly comes out worried and nervous. He knows how scared Wells must have been to resort to that, how hard they must have looked for her before doing something so dangerous. When he glances at the Trading Post, he sees Wells watching them and he lets out a long breath, tuning his head to nose at her hair a little. He wants to ask her a million questions, but he understands what she's been through and doesn't want to make it worse. They don't talk much the rest of the day, just sit on the table with her leaning against his side.
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