AN: Time for the Big Blake Sibling Reunion – I don't know about you guys, but I've been waiting for Octavia! I had some trouble with her character in my last fic, so it was a nice change to be able to write her without all the baggage from the actual show, and just some "normal" baggage ;)

As usual, I don't own anything relating to The 100

Oh, and I haven't watched the new episode yet, so no spoilers please!

Chapter title from "Hey Brother" by Avicii – rest in peace. I just feel like the lyrics fit so well with the Blake siblings, especially around the end of season 3, early season 4, after Lincoln's death… maybe not so much in this fic, though this particular line feels like it works great with this chapter of them getting to know each other again.

25

There's an Endless Road to Rediscover

The next morning, Clarke's about ninety-five percent sure that nobody heard what they were up to last night. She doesn't get any knowing or awkward looks during the improvised breakfast, anyway. Everyone's too busy talking about the Northern lights, showing the photos and videos they managed to capture on their phones. After they had sex, Bellamy actually went outside into the freezing night to take some pictures with Raven's old camera, so he has the best ones by far and everyone gather around to look at them.

On the ride back to Reykjavik, she's further assured that they must have managed to not raise suspicion, at least. She's fairly sure that the older American couple, who seem very conservative, would be unable to hide their discomfort if they had heard or seen anything, and the Swedes show no sign of it either. Despite her excitement at the possibility, she is kind of relieved that nobody actually caught them.

They're dropped off at their hotel again, making plans with the Swedish couple to meet up for dinner on Sunday, the last night before they leave for Dublin. After that, they spend the rest of the day in the hotel spa, trying out the hot tubs – one inside and one outside – and the sauna.

The second day tour on Saturday is just as amazing as the first one, with stops at two more waterfalls – one of which they get to walk behind, which is an interesting experience – and an almost otherworldly beach. There's hardly any snow here, possibly washed away by the water, so they can see the black sand clearly.

"Wow," Bellamy says quietly, dragging the toe of his boot through the sand. "I've never seen a black beach before."

"I've been to a couple," Clarke replies from a few feet away. "If you want to see one with slightly better conditions for swimming, I think there's one about an hour from Auckland, we should have time for a visit."

"Sure, that sounds good." He stops to reach out a hand for her. "Come on, let's walk along the beach down to those sea stacks the guide was talking about."

They set off at a safe distance from the edge of the wet sand, which indicates how high the roaring waves reach. At one end of the beach is a cliff top that the guide called Reynisfjall, part of which has been shaped by waves and erosion into almost square pillars, giving the entire cliff an odd, man-made look. When they round the cliff, they quickly spot the cave they were also told about and go inside for a moment, admiring the rock ceiling which is also shaped in the form of columns.

A bit further along, the sea stacks that locals call Reynisdrangar rise out of the sea – three huge basalt columns some ways from the beach, reaching for the sky. Clarke can kind of see where the myth of their origins came from – a battle between two trolls, who turned to stone as the sun rose, and a three-masted ship, which was trapped with them.

They round off the day with dinner before they reach another bubble hotel, where they're shown to a bubble more or less identical to the one they slept in two nights ago.

The sky is still clear, and they have an amazing starscape above them when they turn off the lights, but no colors dance across the sky tonight.

They find other things to do to make the most of their last night in a bubble, though. And with less distractions, this time.

They get back to the hotel around noon on Sunday and just drop off their things before grabbing a quick lunch and heading out again, mainly because Clarke realizes she hasn't picked up any souvenirs for Raven, which she knows from experience will not be appreciated. Whenever she goes somewhere that Raven hasn't been, she always brings something back for her.

They meet the Swedish couple, Emma and Simon, at a traditional Icelandic restaurant in the evening. The food isn't as out there as Clarke knows some local dishes can be, but Bellamy's eyes still widen at some of the options.

"Cod's head?" he questions quietly.

"Yeah, I'm not adventurous enough to try that," she agrees. "But at least there's no fermented shark."

His eyes snap to her at that. "Shark, seriously?"

"Apparently it's a local delicacy," she explains with a shrug.

The food they do end up ordering is delicious, though.

All in all, when they board the plane on Monday morning, Clarke feels like they've really gotten the full Icelandic experience.

"Who is it that we're staying with in Dublin again?" Bellamy asks a little sleepily when they've settled into their seats – her little trick has worked again and they have the row to themselves.

Her brain's not working fully yet – they didn't get back to the hotel until almost midnight, and had to be a the airport at six, so neither of them have gotten much sleep – so she has to think for a moment before she can answer.

"Monroe," she finally remembers. "We were in San Francisco together back in the fifties, we're not as close as me and Raven or Wells, but she's a good friend."

A good friend who is currently in Los Angeles, not Dublin.

"Right, first name Zoe," he says before closing his eyes and leaning back in the seat. Clarke does the same – it's only a two and a half hour flight, but a couple more hours of sleep can't hurt.

Only she can't doze off. She can tell that Bellamy has, his deep, even breaths soothing in her ear, but she just can't relax enough herself.

She's getting nervous, she realizes. She knows, she's a hundred percent certain, that Bellamy will be ecstatic to see Octavia. But still, somewhere deep down, is a tiny voice insisting that maybe he won't. Maybe he'll be furious that she's intervened, that she went behind his back and lied to him…

By the time the plane touches down in Dublin and he stretches next to her, she's worked herself into some sort of half-frenzy and can't stop fidgeting as they leave the plane.

"What's wrong?" he finally asks when they're in the back of a cab, the driver armed with Octavia's address.

"Nothing," Clarke tells him, forcing a smile onto her face. She can tell by his expression that he's not buying it. "I'm just tired, I couldn't sleep on the plane."

He doesn't seem convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

Bellamy still shoots her the occasional questioning look during the rest of the drive, but fortunately – or unfortunately, she's really not sure yet – the drive into the city is only half an hour, and soon, they're getting out of the cab at an intersection.

Clarke's not all that familiar with Dublin, she hasn't been here in decades, but she studied the map before they left New York and knows that they're not far from the city center. Across the street is a fenced in playground, and brick buildings line the streets in all directions.

She checks the address on her phone while Bellamy pays the cab driver and points to a building a couple of doors down when he joins her.

"I think that's it," she says, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Well, come on then," he replies. "I'm dying for something more substantial than a breakfast croissant."

Octavia told her that she'd make sure the door from the street was open, and it is, so they don't have to ring the buzzer for the apartment. Clarke hurries into the building, hoping that Bellamy won't study the board with the residents' names too closely.

The elevator is waiting for them and soon they're getting out on the top floor, and her heart is seriously making a valiant attempt to beat out of her chest.

There aren't any names on the doors, but she knows which one is their goal. After she knocks on it, she sucks in a deep breath and holds it.

At first, there's no sound from inside the apartment, and for a split second, she thinks that Octavia has changed her mind.

Then she hears footsteps approaching, and a moment later the door opens.

If she met the woman she finds herself face to face with in the street, she probably wouldn't have seen the resemblance between her and Bellamy. But knowing their relationship, she picks up on the small similarities – something in the shape of the eyes, if not the color, their postures, and, if Octavia had been smiling and not looking like she might throw up at any moment, the way their mouths quirk up first on one side and then the other.

Clarke meets the younger Blake's eyes for a moment, a silent greeting, before the other woman's gaze flits to her brother.

"What… what's going on here?" Bellamy asks, voice incredulous. "Octavia?"

Possibly encouraged by the fact that her surprise appearance isn't met with anger, Octavia smiles tentatively. "Hi, big brother."

Clarke finally dares to look at Bellamy again, and is relieved to see that he looks confused and a little gob smacked, but not upset in any way.

"I don't understand…" he starts, meeting her eyes with a questioning look. "Clarke? I thought…"

"I'm sorry I lied," she apologizes quickly. "I, we, wanted it to be a surprise."

He lets out a disbelieving laugh. "Well, mission accomplished."

Octavia seems to snap into action suddenly, stepping aside and waving them into the apartment. "You can't stand out there all day, come on in."

Clarke lets Bellamy lead the way into the apartment, where Octavia goes into what is obviously a living room. The space is full of natural light streaming in through three large windows and sparsely furnished – a large couch, a coffee table and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall.

A man that Clarke immediately identifies as Lincoln is sitting on the couch, but he gets up when the three of them enter the room, reaching out to squeeze Octavia's hand when she stops next to him.

"This is my boyfriend, Lincoln," she introduces him. "And this is my brother, Bellamy, and his girlfriend, Clarke."

Lincoln holds out his hand and Clarke takes the lead. "It's nice to meet you, Lincoln. Thank you for letting us stay here."

"It's nice to meet you too," he replies with a warm smile, surprising her with his obviously American accent. "And of course we wouldn't have you stay in a hotel, family is family."

Bellamy is still looking a bit like he's not quite sure that he isn't actually dreaming, but when Lincoln turns to him, he accepts the other man's outstretched hand and shakes.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Lincoln says. "I've been hearing a lot of stories about you."

"I… it's nice to meet you too."

Octavia seems to realize that her brother's completely overwhelmed and doesn't know what to do, because she takes a step in the direction of the hallway.

"Why don't I show you the guest room, let you settle in a little?" she suggests. "Did you eat before the flight or on the plane? I thought we could take you out to lunch and then show you around the city a little bit? We're only about five minutes from the city center and the weather's nice…" She trails off as if she realizes that she's rambling, and Clarke gives her an encouraging smile.

"That sounds good, right?" She reaches out to interlace her fingers with Bellamy's and squeezes lightly, snapping him out of his slight daze.

"Yes, that sounds great," he agrees with a nod.

"OK, come on."

Octavia leads them back out past the front door to a room at one end of the hallway.

"Here we are," she says, stopping on one side of the bed. "It's not much, but the bed's really comfy, it was mine before Lincoln moved in. Just… unpack or whatever you want to do, the top two drawers in the dresser are empty and there's space in the cupboard. There are clean towels in the guest bathroom next door, if you want to take a shower or freshen up. We'll be in the living room, just come on out when you want to get going."

"We will," Clarke assures her. "Thank you."

Bellamy nods, eyes intent on his sister. "Yeah, thanks, O."

Clarke thinks she sees some emotions flash in Octavia's eyes at her old nickname, and her smile widens before she leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

The moment she's gone, Bellamy slumps down on the bed, falling backwards and letting out a breath.

"You OK?" Clarke asks tentatively, sitting down next to him.

"I'm… I'm good, I think," he replies, staring at the ceiling lamp above him.

"You're not mad at me?"

At her question, he pushes himself back into a sitting position and gives her an incredulous look. "Mad? Why on earth would I be mad at you?"

She shrugs. "Because I meddled. I went behind your back and looked up Octavia and contacted her. I lied to you when I said I wouldn't do that anymore."

"And I'm glad you did all that," he insists. "I mean… yeah, I would have been excited if you told me that we were meeting Octavia here before we left New York, but I think… maybe I would have worried and obsessed over it, thought about it all the time. I don't think I would have been able to let that go while we were in Iceland. So thank you." He takes both her hands in his. "Thank you for giving me my sister back."

"I wouldn't go that far… I mean, you were thinking about looking her up, right?"

"Yeah." Bellamy nods. "I was going to do that when we got back to New York, but I thought she was in the States, maybe still in Florida… I might not have had time to see her if I had waited until then, with her all the way over here."

"Maybe not," she agrees, squeezing his hands.

"So again, thank you."

Clarke leans forward to brush her lips over his in a brief kiss.

"I love you," she says quietly when she pulls away, the smile on his face radiant.

"I love you." He looks down at their joined hands for a moment before continuing. "So what have you told her?"

He doesn't need to spell it out for her to understand what he means.

"Nothing about that," she replies. "I just said that we were going to Europe and I knew you really wanted to make things right between the two of you."

Bellamy nods thoughtfully.

"I don't know if I… should I tell her?"

"That's completely up to you."

"But if I wanted to tell her, I could?" he asks. "I mean, about the whole Soul Keeper thing. It might be hard to explain how I know otherwise."

"That's true." She supposes they could come up with something, some disease, but she can see why he wouldn't want to do that. "And yes, you can tell her everything, if you want."

"OK." He takes a deep breath. "I honestly don't know if I want to tell her or not. On the one hand, it feels like it would taint the time we do have together, if that makes sense? But on the other hand…"

He trails off and Clarke takes a deep breath before speaking, trying to keep it together. "Do you want her there? I mean… when…"

He shakes his head immediately, understanding what she means without her finishing the sentence, which is a relief since she doesn't really want to. "No. Just you. Unless it would be easier for you if…"

"Don't think about me," she interrupts him. "That's completely up to you, OK? You don't have to worry about anything but what you want."

Bellamy gives her a long, scrutinizing look but eventually nods. "OK. Then I don't think I'll tell her. But I might change my mind."

"Of course." She desperately needs to change the topic, and it seems like he's done discussing it for now, so she gets up from the bed. "I think I'll take a quick shower before we head out, OK?"

"Sure, go ahead. Just… one more thing."

"Yeah?"

He hesitates for a moment. "Octavia, did you get a look at her Number?"

Ah. Clarke knew this question was coming. "I did, and she is going to have a long life."

"Really?" he asks with a half-smile.

"Yup. She's twenty-five, right?" At his nod, she continues. "Then she is going to see her ninetieth birthday, she has 23,812 days left to live."

"Twenty-three thousand… wow." Bellamy pauses for a moment. "And you're not just saying that?"

She shakes her head. "Of course not, I wouldn't do that."

"No, I know, I don't even know why I asked that. And Lincoln?"

"19,875."

He sighs. "So if they end up staying together, she'll be alone for about ten years after he's gone."

She just nods, having to swallow down a lump in her throat. Sure, to a Norm, ten years is a long time, but to her… it's nothing compared to the time she'll be alone.

"I don't know why I haven't asked about this before," he continues. "I guess it took my brain a while to catch up to everything. What about Miller and Jackson?"

Clarke doesn't go around memorizing people's Numbers, not even the people she knows, it just wouldn't be possible considering the amounts of Numbers she sees on a daily basis. In this case, though, she has a pretty good idea.

"I don't remember the exact Number, but it was somewhere around twenty thousand," she says. "And they have the same Number."

His eyebrows shoot up at that. "The same?"

"Yeah. It's not very common, even among couples, that's partly why I remember it, actually. Normally, I would assume it means an accident of some sort, but considering they'll both be pretty old, that's not necessarily the case."

"Twenty thousand, that's…"

"About 55 years," she finishes for him, having mastered the calculation over the years.

"So Miller will be around 85 and Jackson 88."

"Long – and hopefully happy – lives."

Bellamy nods thoughtfully at that. "Good." He looks up at her with a sort of smile. "Go take your shower so we can get out of here!"

She leans down for a chaste but long kiss before obliging.

Forty-five minutes later, they're back out in the weak January sunshine, Octavia and Lincoln leading the way into the city center.

"So what are you guys in the mood for, lunch wise?" Octavia asks over her shoulder.

Bellamy gives Clarke a questioning look and she shrugs to indicate that she's good with whatever.

"You're the locals," he says. "We're happy to go with whatever you recommend."

They end up at a burger place on O'Connell Street that Octavia swears has amazing burgers and the best milkshakes in the city.

Once they've ordered, the silence turns a little tense, and Lincoln immediately takes the lead on the conversation.

"So Iceland?" he starts. "That must have been quite an experience."

Clarke shoots him an appreciative smile. "It really was. Just the nature, once you get out of the city, it's so completely different from anything I've seen."

She delves into a description of everything they saw and did, Bellamy jumping in when he thinks she forgets something. Once they get to the night in the first bubble hotel, he pulls out his phone to show some of the photos – the best ones are on the camera, of course, which is back at the apartment, but he got a couple of amazing shots on his phone as well.

"Wow," Octavia mumbles as she hands the phone back to her brother. "That must have been amazing."

Bellamy's mouth turns up in a half smile. "It really was."

"Remember how Mom used to talk about seeing the Northern lights?" she continues, a matching smile on her face. "Because she was convinced she was named after them."

He laughs at that, but Clarke can see the hint of sadness in his eyes and reaches under the table to squeeze his hand. "I doubt her parents had any idea what the Northern lights even were."

"But Mom was so sure," Octavia adds. "I'm glad you got to see them, even if she never did."

It occurs to Clarke that maybe that's why he wanted to in the first place, and her heart aches a little.

"Me too, O," he says with a sigh. "You should really check them out, if you can. It's out of this world, really, definitely worth the trip."

"Yeah." Octavia glances at Lincoln, who offers a smile. "Maybe someday."

This time, it's Clarke who breaks the silence that falls over them.

"So how did the two of you meet?" she asks curiously.

At her question, Lincoln ducks his head and Octavia laughs. "That's a funny story, actually," she says. "It was, what, around two years ago? I had just moved here because the gym I worked at in London opened a new branch and wanted me to sort of oversee that, and I knew absolutely nobody in the city. Then, like, two weeks or something after we had gotten the new place up and running, I started noticing this guy in almost all my classes. He always sort of lingered after class was over, but there were always people asking questions and stuff, and by the time everyone left, he was gone too."

"I was trying to work up the courage to actually talk to her," Lincoln pipes in. "Octavia might not be aware of it herself, but she can be a little… intimidating before you get to know her."

Bellamy snorts at that. "She can be pretty intimidating when you do know her too." He jumps a little in his seat. "Ow. Did you just kick me, O?"

She just gives him an innocent smile. "Anyway, so after a month or so, I had finally had it, so I marched right up to him after a class and asked what he was doing."

"Which of course had me tongue tied," Lincoln says with a laugh.

Octavia joins in before continuing. "And, OK, I might have overreacted a little, I started going on about how he was being creepy, that it's not OK to stalk people and that I was working and stuff, and then he just sort of blurted out 'will you go out with me?'."

"I think it's the only time I've ever rendered her speechless."

Bellamy pauses, his half-eaten burger in midair. "Wow. That's impressive, man. I don't think I managed to do that more than a handful of times in eighteen years."

Octavia elbows Lincoln in the side and sends her brother an annoyed look. "I wanted you two to get along but I didn't think you'd gang up on me."

"We're just messing with you," Lincoln assures her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She lets out an exaggerated sigh, but doesn't seem too bothered. "Right, that was our story, what about you two? How'd you meet?"

Clarke glances at Bellamy, trying to tell him that it's up to him what exactly he wants to tell his sister.

"I think we have you beat, actually," he starts. "The first time we met, I actually saved Clarke's life."

Both Octavia's and Lincoln's eyes widen. "Really?" Octavia asks.

"Really," Clarke confirms. "Someone bumped into me on the sidewalk and pushed me into the street. If it weren't for your brother, I probably would have been run over by a cab, but he pulled me out of the way."

"Wow, that's like, super romantic," Octavia notes with a slightly dreamy expression that surprises Clarke. "So was it love at first sight?"

A couple of months ago, Clarke would have denied that automatically, but now… "It was definitely something at first sight," she settles on, getting a snort from Bellamy.

"Did I dazzle you with my charm during the, what, thirty word conversation we had, Princess?" he asks drily.

"I was sort of pre-dazzled by the whole almost getting hit by a car thing," she replies with a smirk.

Their eyes meet and for a moment, it's like everything around them melts away and they're back on that street, cars whizzing past them and people bustling around, but none of that breaking through their little bubble of peace.

Octavia's voice brings them both back to the present, if the way Bellamy shakes his head slightly is any indication. "OK, so what's with the princess thing?"

"That's from the second time we met, also completely by accident," Clarke tells her.

"Yeah, I didn't have the presence of mind to ask for her number the first time," Bellamy picks up the narrative. "But then Miller dragged me along to a Halloween party at one of his co-workers' place, and there she was – dressed as Cinderella or something."

Octavia raises her eyebrows. "Seriously? I honestly have a hard time picturing that."

"It's true," Clarke confirms. "It wasn't by choice, but I was wearing a huge princess ball gown and a tiara. And he will not let it go."

Bellamy laughs. "Oh please, you know you love it. And then I did dazzle you with my amazing knowledge of the constellations."

She just shakes her head at that, a smile on her lips, and watches an incredulous look spread on Octavia's face.

"You picked up a girl using star gazing?" she asks. "Only you, Bell. I guess you two really are perfect for each other if that worked."

Clarke already knew that, but hearing someone else, someone who, despite the years they haven't had any contact, knows Bellamy better than most, is still a little overwhelming.

She feels Bellamy's hand search hers out under the table, his thumb brushing against her palm before he interlaces their fingers.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

After they finish their lunch, they stroll around Dublin, Octavia and Lincoln showing them different sights. They cross the Liffey and head right, weaving through the streets and passing the Molly Malone statue, the castle and Christ Church cathedral before reaching the Guinness brewery, where they turn around and head back towards the center of the city along the river. In the heart of Temple Bar, Lincoln stops outside what looks like an art gallery.

"Octavia's told me you paint," he says, directed at Clarke. "A friend of mine is showing some pieces here at the moment, I thought we might check it out?"

She realizes what he's trying to do without him having to say anything.

"I'd like that," she replies, turning to Bellamy. "You two will be OK on your own for a while, right?"

He looks a little terrified at the thought, but nods all the same. "Of course."

Lincoln and Octavia seem to be having some sort of silent conversation that ends with Lincoln raising his eyebrows and Octavia sighing.

"Come on, big brother, let's leave these two to their cultural education," she says. "We'll grab some coffee and then I can maybe show you Trinity College campus? It's really nice, I think you'd like it."

Clarke knows that Bellamy has already been checking it out online, and they're planning on visiting the Book of Kells exhibition on Friday.

"That sounds great, O," he happily agrees.

"I'll give you a call when we're done here," Lincoln says. "Depending on where you are, we can meet up for dinner somewhere, or one of us can pick up food on the way home."

"Good plan."

They say their goodbyes and Lincoln and Clarke wait until Bellamy and Octavia have turned a corner before entering the gallery.

"So I don't think I was very subtle just now," he says when they're in the main exhibition hall. "I mean, my friend Nyko is showing here, but I mainly wanted to give Octavia and Bellamy some time alone."

Clarke chuckles. "I picked up on that, yeah. I was hoping to come up with a way to give them some alone time myself, actually, I think it'll be good for them to really talk things through."

He lets out a breath. "That was my thinking, yes."

They move around the gallery slowly, perusing the artwork on display. Still, by the time they've seen everything, it's only been an hour since they parted ways with the Blake siblings.

"Do you want to grab a cup of coffee before we meet up with the others?" Clarke suggests when they're back on the street, and Lincoln readily agrees, leading the way to a little café a couple of streets over.

"Listen," he says once they're seated at a table in a corner, huge mugs of coffee in front of both of them. "I wanted to thank you."

She frowns. "For what?"

"Well, I've been trying to get Octavia to reach out to her brother ever since she told me about what happened between them," he elaborates. "So about a year now. Without success, obviously. So I'm really glad you contacted her and made this happen."

Clarke can feel her cheeks heat up a little. "I don't know if I made it happen… I just hope they can make up and move past this, you know?"

He nods. "I do. And I think they will. I know Octavia has been blaming herself for their falling out, and I can guess that Bellamy has too?"

"Yeah. And both of them have been hoping the other will make the first move."

"Exactly." Lincoln chuckles. "So thank you. I know Octavia will be happier with her brother back in her life."

Clarke feels a pinch of guilt at that, because, really, she won't have him back for long. But hopefully she'll be grateful that they at least got to make up before it was too late.