It was already past time for Lincoln to leave. Neither one wanted to say goodbye so they agreed they wouldn't. It was too final, too permanent. Lincoln climbed out of his cave first before lifting Octavia up and out. He set her down on her feet and she smiled up at him, her skin aglow and still in a daze in the aftermath of their lovemaking. His mouth curved into a smile and he couldn't resist kissing her again.
A twig snapped and both their heads jerked toward it as Lincoln shoved Octavia behind him, spinning with his dagger out, ready to fend off the attacker.
"Finn?!" Octavia clutched onto Lincoln's jacket from behind. "Lincoln, wait! Wait! He's my friend!"
Finn was crouched before them, a knife in his hand as he breathed heavily from his mouth. Lincoln didn't move, keeping his arm out for Octavia to stay back.
"I think you lost this," Finn said, proffering the blade Lincoln had misplaced in his side. He tossed it on the ground in front of Lincoln, waiting.
Octavia tugged on Lincoln's sleeve. She wanted him to give the boy a chance. Lincoln sighed and straightened up, putting his own dagger away before picking up the blade Finn had returned. The kid had allowed him to escape, after all.
Finn took that as a sign of welcome and strode past him and Octavia and straight into his cave, uninvited.
"So what the hell are you doing here?" Octavia asked Finn as she followed behind him into the cave. It still smelled of sex and Lincoln suddenly wondered just how long Finn had been outside, uncomfortable with the thought of him having overheard them.
"I could ask you the same thing," Finn said as he walked further in the cave, snooping around. "I could also ask how long you've known he speaks English." Finn pointed angrily at Lincoln as Octavia looked away. "But I won't." He started going through Lincoln's things, picking up his horn. "You blew this when your people were hunting us."
Lincoln nodded, still not willing to speak to this intrusive kid just yet…even if Octavia vouched for him.
"You saved our lives. I have to believe there's more like you." Finn thankfully put down Lincoln's horn.
Lincoln felt Octavia's eyes on him, burning into him. For her, dammit. "I stabbed you." He finally spoke as he stepped closer to Octavia to let her know he would cooperate. He still didn't take his eyes off the boy.
"And we tortured you," Finn replied. "If the two of us can get along, then maybe there's hope. Learn from history instead of repeating it, right?"
"How's that going to happen?" Octavia asked.
"For starters," Finn huffed out nervously, "no more killing."
"I don't have the power to call a truce." Lincoln wasn't even sure he wanted to call a truce.
"Then bring me to someone who does." Finn demanded.
Lincoln snorted at his audacity, looking away toward Octavia in disgust. Her eyes pleaded with him to listen.
"Hey, look," Finn continued on. "The rest of our people are coming down here. The first ship lands in two days."
"It's true," Octavia said.
"And because of the attacks, they're sending mostly soldiers, the people that enforce our laws," Finn said.
Lincoln straightened up, finally paying attention to the boy. This was information that just might spare his life with Anya.
"The Ark is about survival at any cost." Finn began speaking vehemently. "And they'll kill people who fall out of line. When those people get down here, if they feel threatened, they will start a war. And I don't want that. Neither do you. And I think that's why you blew that horn."
Lincoln looked down; no, he didn't want another war. But these people were invaders. They had burned a village to the ground, killing five people, and now they were bringing down their warriors as reinforcements.
"Once the soldiers get here, it will be too late and we'll have no power to stop them," Finn continued talking as Lincoln looked to Octavia, her expression serious enough for him to know the boy spoke true. "But if they see that we are at peace, then maybe we have a chance to stay that way." Finn looked eagerly back and forth between Octavia and Lincoln, waiting for one of them to say something about his impassioned speech. The kid had probably rehearsed it while he waited for them.
Lincoln decided to give the boy what he wanted. It was worth an attempt. "All right." He nodded. "You bring your leader, I'll bring mine."
"What? Bellamy? He'll never go for this," Octavia said.
"No," Lincoln replied. "Not your brother."
It took a moment for realization to dawn on Finn's face. "Clarke."
Lincoln nodded. He turned to Octavia, taking her hand in his, the only sign of affection he was willing to display in front of Finn. "Take him to the bridge so he knows how to get back there from your camp." Lincoln looked back at Finn. "Meet there at dawn. No guns."
Finn nodded. "No more bloodshed. We have to do better," he said emphatically as he continued to stand around expectantly when all Lincoln wanted him to do was leave.
"Can you give us a moment?" Lincoln asked.
Finn nodded and lifted his hands up to show he wasn't trying to intrude as he took a giant step back. "By all means."
While Lincoln tried to come up with a polite way to tell Finn that's not what he meant, Octavia held no such qualms. "Get the hell out, Finn."
Finn frowned at her like she was overreacting. "Okay, okay. I'll wait outside. But hurry up."
Lincoln watched him carefully as he left, still not wholly trusting the boy. Octavia grasped his face in her hands, bringing it back toward hers. "Do you think this will work?" she asked him with a tiny shred of optimism in her eyes that they might still see their way through this together.
He didn't want to disappoint her. "It might." He rubbed her arms through her jacket, not wanting to let her go just yet. "Can we trust him?"
She shrugged and glanced away. "Maybe he's right. Maybe there's hope."
"Hey." He tilted her face up toward him, seeing the tears in her eyes.
Her bottom lip trembled. "I can't lose you, too. Not today. Not ever."
He wasn't going to lie to her so he enveloped her in his arms instead, hugging her close and pressing her face into his chest so he wasn't able to see her tears. He didn't want to die either, mostly because he didn't want to cause her the grief. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and closed his eyes, inhaling her scent, feeling how perfectly she fit in his arms. "It's the only chance we got."
She leaned back in his arms, her eyes full of panic and distress. "Kiss me, Lincoln."
He nodded, bringing his head down to hers as he lifted her up to meet him. It started out chaste, meant to be comforting. She clung to the front of his jacket, dragging him closer as her tongue swept inside his mouth. Her fear, her worry for him, her sorrow; they were all intertwined in the passion of her kiss and he took that from her, plundering her until she was breathless and whimpering with desire again, her worries forgotten.
"Octavia!" Finn called into the cave as Lincoln heard pebbles tumbling at the entrance. "Hurry up!"
Lincoln growled in frustration, the only thing keeping him from going out there to punch the kid was Octavia's hand on his chest, soothing his irritation.
"Promise me you'll come back."
"Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim," he reminded her so he wouldn't make a promise he wasn't sure he could keep. "Now let's go before he barges back in."
As they exited the cave, Finn stood near the entrance twirling between his fingers one of the flowers Lincoln had picked earlier for Octavia. "Ready?" he asked Octavia, only sparing Lincoln a cursory glance.
Octavia snatched the flower out of Finn's hand. "Come on," she said, turning to leave.
Lincoln caught her hand in his, tugging her back to him. Finn be damned. He was going to kiss his angel uninterrupted one last time before meeting whatever fate Anya might have in store for him.
It was a desperate, hungry kiss as his tongue swept inside her mouth, ravishing her. He had taken from her earlier but now he gave back. He kissed her with all the yearning and passion he felt for her. He poured into her all the freedom and joy he had experienced with her over these last few days. He flooded her with his dreams and desires. He drowned her in his love. And then he finally kissed her with all the goodbyes left unspoken.
She gave a small whine of longing as he finally pulled away. He rested his head against her forehead gazing into her eyes, seeing her newfound determination and fortitude. "Okay?" he asked her.
She nodded. "Let's do this."