Week 1

A fresh start was what Bellamy had agreed to. First, they'd work on their friendship so that they'd have a solid foundation to build a romantic relationship. They wouldn't act on fickle emotions and would allow abundant time and space so that their relationship could blossom into a beautifully groomed flower. It was a smart plan but was it realistic? Certainly, not in Bellamy's mind. And it only took one restless night and an aching desire for him to renege on that agreement.

Bellamy knocked on Merit's door in the dead of night, expecting to crawl in bed with her. They'd make love, sleep in each other's arms, and then greet the morning light with a kiss. She'd tell him how much she loved him and he'd tell her that he couldn't live without her. They'd be happy, they'd be together. It'd be like old times but so much better.

Instead, Bellamy's late night escapade was met with rejection and he knew that Merit was serious in her side of the pact. This night set the standard for their future interactions and laid the groundwork for a new set of rules.

Rule number one, after hour visits were strictly prohibited. Rule number two, all one on one time had to be spent in the open. Solo visits behind closed doors weren't allowed, especially after dark. Rule number three, there would be no romantic interaction of any kind – no holding hands, no kissing, cuddling, caressing, and no bedroom eyes.

As if the rules weren't already torturous enough, there was one thing that Bellamy was terrible at controlling and it was his expressive eyes. Those deep pools of brown always revealed the true story that his physical actions tried to hide. If he wanted Merit, it would certainly show and he wanted her more than anything.

While this pact would require a lot of self-control on his part, Bellamy knew that it was for the best. He would work hard to secure a successful future for him and Merit. She was the only motivation that he needed.

Month 1

A month passed by painfully slow and both parties were able to keep up with the rules. Although, Bellamy couldn't lie and say that it wasn't killing him. The pangs always hit him the worst at night when he had to sleep in a cold bed by his lonesome, knowing that his heart was sleeping just down the hall. He never slept well without her but he told himself the sleepless nights were worth it.

Bellamy held onto the positive things, like the fact that he was getting to know Merit on such a different level. It was truthful to say that they were getting so much closer and even deeper on a personal level when they just had time to talk. He knew that he had to become her best friend, so that one day, he could be her everything.

Each day was a new opportunity for Bellamy to prove his love to Merit and he never missed a chance. Their biggest bonding opportunity came with a surgical procedure.

With the help of medical technology acquired from Mount Weather, Merit was able to get the proper surgery needed to fully repair her ankle.

Merit told Bellamy that she wasn't nervous about going under the knife, but he knew that was a lie from the way her eyes pleaded with fear for him to be her courage. He told her that she was strong and that she would be fine. He promised her that he would be the first face she saw upon waking and that he'd be there through each step of recovery.

Merit let him break a rule and hold her trembling hand as they prepped her for the procedure.

Month 2

In the second month, another rule had been broken. Not only did Merit allow Bellamy into her room, but she let him lie on her bed while they talked late into the night. She even shared a secret with him that she had been holding onto, one she finally felt comfortable enough to confess.

Bellamy was stretched out across the foot of Merit's bed as she rested upright against the headboard. He had just finished checking her bandages and propping her ankle up on a stack of pillows.

He was gazing up at her and her down at him. She had no idea that he was daydreaming about his head resting in her lap as her fingers delicately combed through his hair. He wanted so badly to be intimate and affectionate with her again but he was thankful to even spend time alone together again.

Bellamy had been so caught up in his musings that he hadn't even realized that the conversation stopped and the room had gone quiet.

Merit broke the silence. "I had a dream-"

"Here we go, again," Bellamy thought to himself.

He groaned and rolled onto his back, knowing that Merit was going to sneakily maneuver him into another deep conversation where he would end up sharing more than he had ever intended.

"Bellamy, I'm being serious here," Merit howled, nudging Bellamy with her foot. "It happened when I was nearly blown to bits saving your sister."

Bellamy rubbed his eyes. "I'm listening."

"You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes right before you die?"

Bellamy nodded.

"Well, I saw my future—our future," Merit continued.

Bellamy's eyebrows raised and he propped himself up on his elbows. Now, she had his full attention.

"We were obviously much older in this dream but we had a kid. And we were happy." An optimistic grin tugged at the corners of Merit's mouth and a dreamy sparkle glistened in her eyes.

Bellamy laughed trying to mask the fact that he was not nearly as calm as he pretended to be. "A kid?"

"Why are you laughing?" Merit asked, her posture growing rigid as she crossed her arms.

"I just never thought about that possibility before," Bellamy fell silent for a second, a grin stretching from ear to ear, "but you did."

The fact that Merit had thought about having children with him simply tickled Bellamy with delight. This notion only reinforced Bellamy's trust in her convictions and also made him surer of the love that she had for him.

"I didn't think of it. I dreamt it. There's a difference," Merit argued, a pink blush tingeing her cheeks. "Don't let it go to your head."

"I wanna hear more," Bellamy said ecstatically.

As Bellamy shifted his body up to the top of the bed, he noticed Merit fidgeting with her fingers and knew that she was getting antsy. The natural thing to do would've been to grab one of her hands and hold it still. He knew that the gesture would immediately calm her growing nerves but he wasn't sure if he should break another rule quite yet.

"Was it a boy or a girl?" Bellamy continued.

Merit rolled her eyes and started hesitantly, "…A girl. Her name was Justice."

"I like it. It's a bit reminiscent of your name." Bellamy tapped his index finger against his chin, hoping that Merit would be open to his game of what if. "What if it was a boy? What do you think his name would be?"

"I don't know," Merit answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"I have one."

Merit turned to Bellamy with a pointed finger. "Don't you dare say, Augustus."

Bellamy wanted to grab her finger and pretend to nibble at it. He wanted to take her by the hand and plant kisses on each of her knuckles. In every moment, he saw an opportunity for a romantic gesture and not being able to act them out was driving him absolutely insane.

"I wasn't. Give me some credit. I did name Octavia after all," Bellamy said. He rubbed his chin in a moment of thought. "How about Achilles?"

"You mean the one who got killed by getting shot in the heel? No thanks."

"You know about Achilles?" Bellamy asked.

"I'm not a complete lame brain," Merit replied. "His was the only story that didn't bore me."

Bellamy laughed, surprised and satisfied with Merit's response. It showed him that she had actually been listening all of those times that he had blathered aimlessly about The Iliad and Greek mythology.

"Since the girl got a name like yours then maybe the boy should have one like mine," Bellamy suggested. "Rebel with two L's!"

"And I was trusting you to come up with something cute and French!" Merit said as she grabbed the pillow from behind her back and whacked Bellamy with it.

"Ok, ok," Bellamy said, trying to block each pillow swing. "What about Ares?"

Merit responded with another whack.

"Apollo?"

Merit reared the pillow back once again but didn't swing. "That actually doesn't sound too bad but still, no."

"Why not?"

"Because we're not naming all of our children after Greek characters."

Bellamy had never even imagined the possibility of himself becoming a dad. He had never even known his own father. And though, he was a strong male figure in Octavia's life, he never thought he'd be fit to fill a fatherly role. Somehow, during this conversation with Merit, he could clearly envision a future in that position. She made him believe it.

"How many children are we having exactly?" Bellamy asked with a cheeky smirk.

"None," Merit said quickly. "We're not having any so we should just stop talking about it."

Merit continued her playful pillow assault on Bellamy until he caught the pillow and held her hands at bay. He pushed her over until she was lying down. Then, he crossed his hips over hers to hold her in place while he unleashed his own attack, tickling being his weapon of choice.

"Bellamy, stop!" Merit yelped between giggles. "You're not supposed to tickle an injured person."

"Ah, you're right," Bellamy said. His hands stopped tickling but they remained gently placed on Merit's ribs. His eyes fell on the crook of her neck and he wanted to nuzzle into it to make her laugh again. "You got lucky this time."

A bit of tension filled the air as the pair realized the position they were in. Here Bellamy was, hovering just inches above Merit's mouth. He could feel her soft breath as she parted her lips and he leaned in to accept the invitation.

Merit tilted her head down to avoid the kiss. "It's getting late," she said.

"I could stay over," Bellamy offered in a low voice, his fingertips creeping down Merit's ribs and to the hem of her shirt. He gently rested his forehead against hers.

Merit was breathing heavy, her chest rapidly rising and collapsing, as her hands traveled down Bellamy's forearms and stopped at his wrists. She looked up at him, her eyes darting back and forth between his eyes and mouth. Slowly, she finally decided to push his hands away from her abdomen.

"I think you should go," Merit murmured.

Bellamy bit his bottom lip, nodded, and let Merit up from her spot. "I just thought we were having a good time," he said.

"Which is exactly why you have to go because if you stay any longer, we'll have a great time," Merit said, stroking Bellamy's cheek apologetically.

Bedroom eyes – Bellamy knew that he had them and there was nothing he could do to stop it so he let them tell her exactly what he wanted. He let his eyes beg her to let his hands wander up her shirt and lift it over her head. His irises told the story of how he longed to trail kisses from her lips to the tips of her fingers, across the tender peaks of her hips, and down the backs of her knees. His pupils expressed his desire to breathe her in with a deep sigh, to be connected physically to every ounce of her, and to never let her go.

His eyes said everything, but his mouth said this, "What's wrong with that?"

"I'm not looking for a great time with you; I'm looking for the right time," Merit insisted. "Let's not rush into anything."

"You're right," Bellamy agreed, shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. He exhaled and popped his eyes back open. He nodded and pressed his lips together. "We should take our time."

Merit gave Bellamy a kiss on the cheek and they bid each other goodnight.

The first night that Merit had rejected Bellamy dealt him a great blow but tonight was different. Tonight represented progress and tonight's rejection left Bellamy with hope – a surety that they were on the right track and that they would get back together soon.

Month 3

Death.

That's all that was left of Mount Weather. It reeked of death. It looked like death. That's all anyone ever saw or felt when they went there. The grounders wouldn't even come anywhere near it anymore because of its now cursed disposition. And though, Skaikru had cleared it out – they had carried the bodies and incinerated them, they had sprayed away the blood and scrubbed away the stains – the mark of death still tarnished this place.

Bellamy tried to forget about the things that he had done while in this fortress but the visions plagued him each time he returned. Yet, he couldn't stop coming back, not because of his work as security detail or cleaning crew, but because he was on a personal mission.

"Jackpot!"

Bellamy heard a young woman call out who had been rummaging through a wardrobe in the corner of the bedroom. Her name was Gina Martin. She had become a fast friend and Bellamy was often in her company during Mount Weather runs.

"I found an old jewelry box," Gina said. She held out the opened box toward Bellamy. "You did say you were looking for jewelry, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks," Bellamy said. He took the dark mahogany box from Gina's hands. Digging past tangled necklaces and tarnished metals, his eyes lit up. He found something shiny, antique but still in great condition. His lips curled in satisfaction at the sight of such a treasure.

"It's cute but doesn't look like your size," Gina chimed in, leaning over Bellamy's shoulder.

"Oh, it's not for me," Bellamy said, jumping in surprise. He pocketed the newfound trinket. "It's uh – it's a gift."

"For Octavia?"

"Hey," Miller chirped as he popped his head into the room and knocked on the doorframe. "If you two are done playing dress up, it's time to pack it up. Roll out in ten."

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Miller."

"I should get this trunk down to the loading bay. We could always use more layers for winter. Although, I'm not completely sure how this would help," Gina said holding up a softly faded, lace embellished dress. The smoky amber coloring matched her eyes.

Bellamy shrugged and thoughtlessly said, "I don't know but you'd probably look good in it."

Bellamy laughed to himself, wondering if Merit had ever worn a dress in her life. Although there was no need for such fashion now, he figured she'd probably look stunning if she ever decided to get all decked out. And maybe, one day, she would have a reason to.

When Bellamy looked up, he noticed Gina staring back at him – her brows raised and her head tilted to the side. It made him wonder how long had he been daydreaming.

"Oh, uh, let me help you with that," Bellamy said, scrambling to help Gina lift the trunk and carry it to the loading bay.

Bellamy was smiling, ring in his pocket and wind in his hair, as the truck departed from Mount Weather because all he could think about was life. Life was what Arkadia had given them. Life was what Merit meant to him and what he wanted to live with her. And life is what he would promise her.

A/N: I've been incredibly busy and I really struggled to find time to complete these last three parts. I want to apologize for the delay and the rushed writing. I just knew that this might be my last chance to post for awhile. As always, feel free to leave a review, let me know your reactions and predictions. What do you think Bellamy is up to? How do you think Mount Weather has affected him and how will that impact the way he interacts with Merit? Also, I've increased the time jump from 3 to 5 months.

I also never clarified this but I don't follow the canon character ages. I've raised the delinquent cut off age to 21 so that some of them are a bit older because it just felt more appropriate for some of the themes. I think I wrote more about this on my Tumblr under character inspiration for those who are curious. But feel free to make your own interpretation of ages and images, etc.