Summary: Non-canon, Drama/Romance, hopefully with some Action/Adventure thrown in. Bellarke, Linctavia and probably more once I get going. :D
Rated M – for adult themes.
Disclaimer: Just borrowing The 100, not for profit!
This chapter is pure Linctavia and sibling fluff! Enjoy!
The Homestead
Chapter 10 – Octavia
The main dining hall in the homestead was a commotion of voices and bodies and food. It was the first day of rotation and everyone was excited. Octavia and Lincoln liked to stay and eat, and sometimes even stay and sleep on these nights, rather than return home to their hut.
Tonight they were doing just that, and Octavia was oddly relieved. She usually loved their trips to and from the homestead, it was a time to share stories and talk about their day. Recently though, they had been silent and strained. She hoped that would change now that Abby had confirmed that Lincoln, Octavia and the baby were all healthy and normal.
As normal as they could be, anyway.
Octavia was starving. She hadn't worked excessively hard, but her mind had been busy and her body active enough. She longed to try some of the cheese that the preserving detail had recently matured, but Jackson had warned her off it, along with a few other foods – "just in case."
She was so consumed by her hunger that Octavia hadn't even noticed her brother and Lincoln were missing from the crowd, until they entered through the big double doors from the veranda, both of them almost demanding attention with their unparalleled physical presence.
Only Octavia, however, could read between the lines of their body language and she immediately noticed some sort of deeper understanding connecting them. It was in the discerning eye contact and mutual nod, and it was in the way they came together and gripped each other's forearms in solidarity, before going their separate ways.
Octavia almost snorted. Two badass men bonding over a baby. How cute.
"Have you got something to eat?" Lincoln asked as he sidled up to her. "Let me get you a plate."
"I have a plate," she said in annoyance. He had been fussing over her ever since Nyko confirmed the pregnancy, and it was driving her mad.
"Good, then let's get some food and sit down."
He was acting strange, she realised. If she didn't know him better she would say he was almost… nervous? She giggled quietly to herself at the notion as they filled their plates with food and sat down at the long table with their friends.
Once everyone was seated with their meal in front of them, the noise reached a crescendo, until the dinging sound of a crude bell cut into the conversation. The room fell silent and all eyes turned to Bellamy.
It was customary to welcome the new workers and to give thanks to all those responsible for the fulfilling fare in front of them, but Octavia's hunger was insatiable and she couldn't wait for words.
She could do nothing but stare at the food on her plate, which is why she didn't hear her brother clear his throat and struggle to say, "before we eat, Lincoln wants to share something with us all."
As soon as she realised Bellamy had stopped talking, Octavia grabbed her utensils from the table. She was about to start eating when she heard gasps and felt all eyes on her. She immediately looked up and her wide eyes met Jasper's, who sat directly in front of her. He had a funny expression on his face which made her furrow her eyebrows quizzically before being drawn to Lincoln's voice beside her.
"Octavia," he said and waited like he did when he commanded her full attention.
She turned and looked at him, inhaling sharply when she saw that he had pushed his chair away and was kneeling on the ground beside her, so close that he could have rested his head on her chest.
"What are you doing?" Octavia whispered pointedly, her eyes flicking from Lincoln back to the people surrounding them. "Get up off your knees."
But Lincoln didn't respond the way she had envisioned. Instead he took her hands in his, looked directly into her eyes and spoke.
"Octavia Blake," his voice was solid but his expression was soft.
The entire hall fell silent, captivated by Lincoln's calm gaze.
Octavia opened her mouth but no words came out.
At the end of the long table Bellamy grinned. He could count on one hand the number of times his sister had been rendered speechless.
"You're my weakness and my strength…" Lincoln continued, all within a few seconds "...my sky and my earth. I wish to be beside you even when our bones are in the ground, and our souls are in the stars."
A single tear rolled down Octavia's cheek.
She let it roll.
She let it roll because she wanted everyone to see – this was love. But it hadn't been easy – and it had come at a cost.
"Will you accept my pledge of love and loyalty?"
There was a small silence.
"Yes," Octavia finally breathed – her face a mass of pure joy and wonder. "Hell yes!" She exclaimed throwing her arms around Lincoln's neck as he lifted her up, the celebratory sound of cheering and clapping enveloping them.
Later, after many congratulations and endless toasts, she found Bellamy amid a small group talking about the winter plantings. Octavia hung back until the others gradually wandered off, moving over to other conversations.
The two siblings looked at each other intently for a moment before Octavia punched her brother's arm playfully.
"You knew about this," she said.
Bellamy smiled thinly and nodded.
"I'm happy for you O," he said a little more ragged than he'd intended.
"Really? So why do you look like somebody died?"
"I guess somebody did," he smirked and looked at her like he used to on the Ark when he'd told her something a thousand times before, and he knew she didn't need him to repeat it.
He looked at her like she should have known him better.
"I'm still your baby sister, Bell." She sniffed. "I know you think I don't need you anymore." Another tear rolled down her face. "But I do." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "I love you big brother."
He returned the hug,
"I love you too."
And then, she dragged him out into the middle of the room to dance with all the other revellers, despite his defiant protests.
A/N – Aww… hope you liked this. Please review - I adore hearing from you guys. Sorry about the slow update, I got distracted by a short Bellarke fic that popped into my head. Check it out if you like – it's called Dissent and it's complete. Thanks for the reads/follows/faves/reviews! :D