With each day that passed, their training progressed. Nora grew even more confident with her strikes and her ability to be able to take someone down, and cause some damage too. She noticed a change in her body as well, muscles filling out her skin and toning her curves. The additional muscles helped her not look so starved.
Bellamy would often rip open a ration pack to share after training sometimes. Nora would later return the favour and steal a couple from the kitchens. He would shake his head disapprovingly, while pretending to never see her do it.
Bellamy had been quite secretive over the past couple of months, there was something happening at home and the nosy side of her wanted to know more. She had always just shrugged it off, everyone had their secrets. There was nothing wrong with that.
She hadn't seen Xavier since passing him in the hallway, which she was grateful for. She half wondered if he had stopped working in the kitchens. Gwen was still picking up the ration packs, while the redhead made the odd trip out to grab some additional "free" rations for the kids.
They were growing and hungry, Nora and Gwen both wanted them to have the best start in life. Which meant putting their life at risk for theirs. It was all worth it though, especially when she found out one of them had learnt a new word, or learnt to sing a new song. They were like proud sisters.
Kyra's reading was coming along brilliantly, and Jimmy was paying attention to stories now that Bellamy was reading in the centre more and more. She had never seen the younger boy so enraptured by someone before. He looked up to the cadet, and Bellamy treated the younger boy like a little brother.
Nora had always wanted a sibling, someone to share memories with and laugh and cry with. At the centre, she got exactly that; a family.
Bellamy was brilliant with them, so natural and at ease with the younger children. She had wondered if he saw himself having kids in the future then shook the silly idea out of her head before she had a chance to think harder.
Turning back to preparing their lunch rations, she pushed the idea of Bellamy and a family out of her head completely and then shut and locked the door on it.
He was happy to see the door of the cadet training facilities. Shumway had been extra hard on him today, pushed him to his limit. He was exhausted. In an ideal world, he would have pushed back against the guard.
But he couldn't do that.
His mom would be disappointed in him if he got let go from the guard. She had worked so hard on getting him onto the program that he couldn't just throw that all away now.
Bellamy thought back to what his mom had gone through just to get a letter of recommendation from Inspector Grus and his body shuddered. He never wanted to think of his mother and what she went through.
He remembered the chubby guard so well, when he came to the door under a "surprise inspection" when really, all he wanted was to cop a quick feel while on duty. His mind had been in a muddle in that moment, half of his mother being degraded and half on Octavia hidden under the floor and the toggle on her dress that was caught in the flooring. To save her, he had made a fool of himself and he'd do it again and again if it came down to it.
His sister, his responsibility. He would make sure that Octavia got to see a moon rise one day. His mother, well he was sure that she would keep O locked up forever, just to keep her a secret.
The cadet knew his mom would go out immediately after he got back. Even if she was messing around with one of the guards, she always made sure someone was with O.
Knocking him out of his thoughts, the cadet was shoved to the side by his shoulder. "Watch where you're going." he growled, rolling his shoulders before looking up. His dark brown eyes found a new guard, Devin, he was a cadet from the last program.
"You giving me orders, cadet?" Chuckling, Devin stepped towards him and levelled his stare. "Just 'cos you got a letter of recommendation from Grus, don't go thinking you're anything special and can go spoutin' orders around, Blake. You're just a cdet. You've got no authority over me."
"I never said-"
"Oh I know about the special little letter. Heard your mom put in a real good word in for you." His dirty chuckle rang through Bellamy's hears and he saw red. Clenching his jaw, his fingers curled into a fist immediately. "That get you mad, huh? And you can't even do a single thing." Devin took one step closer to him.
Closely his eyes briefly, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep his anger inside of him for too long. "Don't fucking tempt me." Devin had been another thorn in his side, pushing and prodding the cadet, like a lion in a cage. Slipping him stiff shots in training, if there was the opportunity, Devin would take it.
"Or what? You can't do shit, Blake. You touch me and you're off the program, just like that." Devin clicked his fingers before giving Bellamy a small shove as his back met the wall. "So give me the honour, Blake." He ground out through his teeth.
Bellamy could feel his fist growing tighter and tighter, his top lip curling as he stared into the guard. "Don't talk about my mother again, or I'll make you regret it."
Chuckling, Devin reached forward and grabbed the collar of Bellamy's shirt. Their eyes met in a cold glare, both of them with their lips pressed together in a tight line and their shoulder squared ready to attack. Before the guard could open his mouth to speak, a voice called out from the empty hallway.
"Hey!" They both turned to the voice, Bellamy saw Devin roll his eyes at the petite redhead. Strolling up to the pair, she pushed on Devin's shoulder and knocked him back a step."Watch where you put your hands, Devin. Someone could think you're assaulting another guard." Scoffing, the man took a step back from the cadet and one towards the girl. Bellamy watched on with a crumpled, confused brow. "Oh, you thought I'd forget about that? No chance."
"Nice try, Nora, but are you forgetting that I've got Shumway on my side?"
"Nope." At the mere mention of Shumway, Bellamy noticed how her eyes flinched. But she carried it off like nothing was wrong. "But I think you're forgetting that I've got Abby Griffin on mine, who, oh, just so happens to be a member of the council. Something Shumway wouldn't know anything about." Nora cocked a brow, her face impassive and her words dry and sarcastic. Devin curled his lip at her. "I wouldn't want that to be your third strike now."
Clenching his jaw tightly, the older guard turned to Bellamy, "you better watch yourself, cadet." Without another word or glance to the redhead, he stalked off, his face full of thunder and ready to unleash on the next unsuspecting person.
"You've got a few enemies, haven't you?"
"More like dirt on a lot of people." Nora smiled up at him. "It comes in handy from time to time."
"I can see that and how does Abby feel about you using her name as a bargaining chip."
Shrugging, Nora took a step closer, mirroring him as he crossed his arms over his chest. "She's pretty cool about it. If I ever need someone to back me up, she knows she's that person for me."
Bellamy nodded before scratching the back of his neck. "Thanks... for that."
"Call it even. I mean, after what you did to Xavier, it's the least I can do."
His head snapped up, his jaw slack. "You-"
"I pieced it together. Xavier didn't look too good when I passed him and you have the knuckles to match."
The man before her was silent, blindly flexing his knuckles. "He deserved it."
"Yeah, he did."
"He stayed away from you since then?" Bellamy set a searing gaze on her and she nodded, a smile creeping its way onto her lips. "Good."
"Good." She agreed. "Now come on, I'm starving and we're gonna miss the moonrise." She groaned, leading the way to the kitchen. He followed behind her with a smirk, rolling up his sleeves to the elbow and falling into step beside her.
Queuing up, he watched as she bounced on her toes waiting. She pulled out a ration chip from her pocket and handed it over the counter. The kitchen server momentarily abandoned the smaller rations at the front, only to return seconds later with a packet from the side. She gave Nora a bored look, before the redhead bounced to the side with a quick 'thanks'.
Bellamy stepped into her place and furrowed his brow at her when Nora stepped closer to him, leaning into his side. Handing over his ration chip, the woman looked at it quickly before stepping away from the counter. Nora smiled at him, a twinkle in her eyes and in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, she had reached behind the counter for one of the smaller packets and slid it into her jacket. All the while not moving from her spot beside him.
The cadet watched her, speechless, eyes wide. He could feel her body as it pressed into his side, her bright smile as she looked up at him. He hated to admit how good it felt to have her body pressed into his, her slim figure melting into him.
Someone cleared their throat in front of them and Bellamy snapped back from his daze. He looked up to find the server with a less than patient look on her face. Snatching his ration pack with a 'thanks', Nora gave him a wink and wicked smile as she led the way out of the kitchens.
Shaking his head, he followed her out the door with a smile. "It's worrying how easy you made that look." Bellamy spoke once they were out of earshot.
"I got alotta practice under my belt."
He scoffed, "I'm sure you do." The cadet hooked an arm around her shoulder and steered her in the direction of the spot he always went to watch the moonrise. The bridge was desolate as always, the wide expanse of glass before them creating the ultimate sight to behold. Dropping down to the ground, Nora pulled out the ration pack stolen and placed it between them. The redhead settled back against the wall and stretched her legs out before her.
Bellamy watched her, so carefree and relaxed in her actions. She seemed so different to the girl he had bumped into all those months ago.
"Maybe I'll teach you one day."
"Teach me what?"
"How to steal and get away with it." The smirk she wore was devious and silly at the same time. A laugh bubbled in his throat. "It comes in handy."
"I'll bet. They still reducing rations?"
Her smile disappeared instantly and she turned back to her ration pack, tearing it open with a sour look. "Not as much right now. It's sort of evened out. It's not as much as it used to be though." The redhead picked at the ration before breaking a bit off and eating it. "How's training going? Shumway still in your face?"
She deflected the conversation perfectly. He had noticed her do it sometimes, not wanting to dwell on the kids; he knew it got her down as there wasn't much she could do to help.
Humouring her, Bellamy tore at his packet and answered. "Always. I don't know what it is about me that's got him kicking my ass."
"Maybe he wants to make you better." Her comment was met with silence. Turning to him, Nora caught his bemused look and laughed. "Yeah, okay, maybe that was a stretch. Maybe he just hates you."
"That's more like it." Taking a big bite, he chewed and tried to ignore the lacklustre taste. "Guards, they talk. He's probably heard about the letter of recommendation I got." He took in her quizzical look and briefly explained the process to her. "...and my mom got a guard to put one in specifically for me."
She frowned, with a mouth full. "But how did she manage that? Is she close-" His jaw clenched automatically, remembering the guard's face. "Oh." Nora mumbled, figuring it out for herself clearly. "Sorry."
Flexing his shoulders, he tried to rid the tension. Knots settled into his shoulders and his neck was tight, the image of his mother not fleeing from his mind like he wished it to. The things she had done for him, what she had been put through. He had never wanted her to do that. He had never wanted to be a guard, but she had wanted the best for him.
Maybe in the midst of it she wanted someone on the inside circle to help protect Octavia and herself too. But deep down, he knew his mother wanted him to have a good future.
She had paid the ultimate sacrifice for it.
A small hand settled on his shoulder, giving the muscle a squeeze and the visions drifted away. "We don't have to talk about that." The petite woman squeezed the muscle again, her thumb rubbing a patch on his t-shirt.
"Tell me about your week."
His request was soft, not intrusive and he received a smile from the woman instantly. Slowly, her hand drifted from his shoulder as she launched into telling him what had happened in the centre recently.
There was no talk of rations, or Shumway, or responsibilities. It was light and carefree. It was how a conversation was meant to be for two young adults, with no mentions of the stress from looking after those who depended on them, no worry or dread. It was just them.
Every time she sent a smile in his direction, a different thought or worry would melt away. Nora was excellent at the art of distraction. I suppose she had to be with the kids. But with him, it was just what he needed in that moment and she knew that.
A/N: I love reading what you guys think of this story, so thank you to all of you who have taken the time to review and put a big smile on my face. I'm enjoying building these two up slowly but I also really just can't wait til we get on the ground. Seriously. But I don't know how many more chapters it'll be until then. I promise not to make you wait too long! :)
