A/N: Sooo I gave in and posted this earlier than I originally intended to... Thanks for all my new follows and reviews! I love hearing from you guys! I still don't own The 100
As per usual, for all their various forms of aid, special thanks goes to AvengerGirl17, strangeJenny, PenguinofProse and Cherrypinkrose.
Personally, I originally felt that this was an unexciting filler chapter with the main purpose of moving things along, but PenguinofProse told me some very nice things sooo...enjoy!
Italics for flashbacks again.
Chapter Six
It was harder than she'd thought it would be, keeping her eyes on Madi on the field and off Bellamy where he paced back and forth along the sideline tracking his players. Clarke was glad at least, that Madi had warned her ahead of time, and kicking herself for not figuring it all out at the start of the school year when her daughter had first started raving about the awesome history teacher and soccer coach named Mr. Blake.
"So how are you doing?" Octavia asked out of the blue when the umpires paused the game to discuss a foul.
Clarke glanced at her friend, wondering if she could pull off pretending she didn't know what the other woman was talking about.
Octavia's raised eyebrows told her decisively that she could not.
"It's going to take some adjusting," Clarke admitted with a heavy sigh, her stomach churning at the thought of having to adjust to having Bellamy back. Her hand reached up on its own to rub nervously at the bridge of her nose and she had to consciously force herself to move it back down, balling it into a fist so tight where she rested it on her thigh that her nails dug into her palm. "But I assumed it would happen sooner or later, so I'll get used to it." Play resumed and Clarke trained her eyes on the field. "I hadn't expected to see so much of him when this did happen though." She gestured to the older of the Blakes.
"Nothing really needs to change," Octavia encouraged. "Just treat him like any of Madi's other teachers."
"He's your brother O," Clarke frowned, she knew what Octavia meant to Bellamy and she couldn't be the reason Octavia kept distance between them. The two and a half years they had been estranged had to have been even more horrible for him than it had been for O, and that was saying something.
"So what?" Octavia shrugged with a pout that only Octavia Blake could make look both cute and menacing at the same time. "He did just fine without me for more than two years."
"You still need to make an effort with him," Clarke reprimanded lightly. "Spend time with him, especially on holidays."
"You and Lincoln and Madi are my family," Octavia's mouth took on a stubborn pout. "I like spending my holidays with you guys."
Clarke hesitated briefly, but she could afford to be uncomfortable for the sake of what was best for her chosen family. "Maybe you should start with family dinners then?" She thought she had pulled off sounding unaffected, though the grip she had on the bench she was sitting on would have proved otherwise. "He is your blood family after all."
Octavia's eyes swung sharply to read her expression. "Do you really mean that? Or will you just find an excuse to not come if Bell does come?"
"As if Madi would let me miss family dinner without a good excuse," Clarke chuckled dryly, both proud and exasperated by her daughter's actions. "You're clearly forgetting that one time four years ago when I had that awful virus and Madi still tried to get me to your apartment."
"Oh yeah," Octavia let out a laugh. "And the cabbie ended up driving you to the hospital instead. What did any of us do to deserve that girl?" she smiled fondly, her eyes tracking Madi.
"Funny how a fourteen year old has somehow saved both of us at some point," Clarke mused, shuddering a little at the thought of how not having Madi in her life would have impacted it.
"If I didn't love her so much I think I'd be terrified of her enthusiasm," Octavia was laughing again. "She's a force to be reckoned with."
They drifted into silence as they continued to watch the game for a while.
"Are you really okay with me inviting him?"
"O!" Clarke huffed, startled by the abruptness. "Seriously, I repeat, he is your brother. Just invite him." It came out harsher than she meant it to but her heart was in the process of trying to jolt out of her rib cage.
Octavia nodded.
A while later Clarke couldn't stop herself from asking. "That cuff your brother wears on his right wrist?"
"What about it?" Octavia's brows furrowed in confusion.
"Does he always wear it?"
Octavia had to think about it for a few moments. "I can't consciously remember him not wearing it, why?" she tilted her head at her friend. "Does it mean something?"
"Not particularly," Clarke brushed off the truth, her hand moving unbidden to the ribs along her left side, and was thankful when a goal was scored by their side, everyone in their section immediately standing to cheer.
They had settled back down when Octavia sighed heavily beside her.
"What's wrong?"
"It just occurred to me that I'll have to invite Echo to family dinner too," Octavia was pouting again.
"You don't like Echo?" Clarke was surprised by this fact. She had assumed Octavia would appreciate another tough, loyal, independent woman.
"It isn't that I dislike her," Octavia was suddenly looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I just...there's some things..." she was clearly struggling for the right words. "As a person I admire her and her profession, I do. I have a great respect for her. I just don't think she's right for my brother."
"But they seem so calm and settled together," Clarke was confused.
Octavia's eyes narrowed slightly and she focused on watching her brother for a moment. "You've only seen them together once, so you wouldn't have noticed it yet," she finally stated. "He says he loves her, and they do seem to be those things, but I don't think Bell is completely himself with her. I'm worried that he's just gotten comfortable with the way things are."
Clarke wanted to ask for more detail, it was a clawing need actually, but she knew she had no right and so all she could do was loop her arm through Octavia's and offer her some comfort. "So long as they love each other and so long as he's happy," Clarke had to clear her throat a little. "That's all anyone can ask for."
Octavia let out a resigned sigh and nodded and they turned their attention back to the game.
Clarke had always loved Christmas time. There was always a hint of cinnamon or gingerbread on the frosty air. The smell of pine while decorating the tree - though her mother had always hired someone to have theirs appear just so. But her favourite part was being awake at just the right time of night, when it was dark and cars were basically non-existent. When the streetlamps were accompanied by the cheerily blinking Christmas lights people everywhere had trimming their houses and sometimes even the trees in their front yards.
There was no sentimental reason for her to love the way the lights twinkled in the dark, but it brought her such a sense of calm, of simple beauty, that on nights like tonight when dreams plagued her, being able to sit in the window with a hot beverage made all her problems fade away...for a little while at least.
She was dozing off again, wrapped in a fluffy blanket, her armchair pulled up to the window, her feet on the sill and steaming mug in hand, when a light tap on the glass startled her upright.
Seeing her blinking sleepily at him, Bellamy grinned lopsidedly and waved his fingers at her. A scarf hiding his chin, a beanie flattened his curls and his glasses framing his eyes seemed to highlight his youth. The duffel bag slung over one shoulder reminded Clarke that Octavia had been complaining about needing to pick him up from the airport "at an ungodly hour" - her words exactly.
Smiling back, Clarke shuffled to her feet and both of them headed for the front door.
Since the night she had gotten tipsy at a Christmas dinner and woken Bellamy, something had shifted in their relationship. They had suddenly seemed to become actual friends, calling each other regularly to talk about nothing. Sometimes he made her laugh, and other times he just listened when she needed someone to vent to. Having someone on an almost opposite sleep cycle had proven useful too, as she found she now had someone to distract her when she was awake in the middle of the night.
Clarke had actually been looking forward to seeing him again. And as she put down her mug to unbolt the door, all she could think was that she needed a hug, and Bellamy's arms had always looked so inviting.
He seemed stunned for a moment, when her arms closed around him, before he reacted with a little puff of air against her neck like a sigh, and then his arms were wrapping tightly around her. She had never felt anything quite like it. Bellamy was so warm and so solid she couldn't think of the right words to describe it.
"Now there's something I never thought I'd see," Octavia's voice held a warm smile and the pair finally pulled apart.
"Bad dreams again Princess?" Bellamy's eyes stayed focused on her, purposely ignoring his sister beside them. He hiked the strap of his duffel back up his shoulder.
Clarke just nodded. "Welcome home," she told him and a smile returned to his face.
"Come upstairs?" he invited, tilting his head towards said stairs.
"I'll meet you up there," she promised, turning to make the rounds to pull on her boots and pick up an envelope from her room. She retrieved her mug and the excess hot chocolate that still sat by the stove. Octavia could be heard asking questions before she even reached their door, but silence fell as soon as Clarke entered.
Octavia beamed at her. "I don't know how it happened, but I'm glad it did, I knew the two of you would get along. What's that?" her eyes zeroed in on the saucepan.
"I made hot chocolate," Clarke passed it over to O who went straight for the kitchen to pull out two extra mugs for her and her brother.
"Trying to poison me when I've just returned home Princess?" Bellamy teased, unwinding the scarf and throwing it back into his room with his beanie. His hands carding through his hair put the messy curls back in place. "I thought we were past that."
Clarke rolled her eyes at him. "This is literally the only thing I can make."
Bellamy led her to the couch where Octavia met them with the two extra mugs and for a few quiet moments the three just sat and inhaled the warmth.
"Can I taste cinnamon? This is really good princess," Bellamy blinked at her in surprise. "What's that other spice? I can't quite place it."
"Griffin family secret," Clarke grinned and winked, causing Bellamy to huff and roll his eyes at her.
The three sat sipping their hot chocolate in silence for a while before Octavia announced she was getting a refill and disappeared into the kitchen.
"I've been wondering this whole time," Bellamy motioned to the manilla envelope she had dropped onto the coffee table. "What have you got there?"
"Ah," Clarke's cheeks burned. "Consider it a Christmas present, I guess," he took it with open curiosity when she held it out to him.
A small pile of forms and information brochures fell onto the table.
Seeing the confusion in his frown, Clarke rushed to explain.
"Octavia was telling me about how you were her brother, father and best friend while she was growing up and I finally really understood why you said college was only an option for one of you. I suspected that you basically raised her and that meant you probably raised you too, so no one would have shown much interest in whether or not you did further studies," he wasn't saying anything, still frowning at the papers, so she hurried on. "So I thought perhaps, now that your sister is in college and you don't have to worry about that as much, you might be interested in your own options. You probably don't want to play soccer forever, since it keeps you away from her and home, so I made some inquiries around Trikru and got you some information. It isn't a college town for nothing after all," she was definitely rambling now, but his lack of response had sent her anxiety levels into the stratosphere. "If you're interested, and you think you can manage your time, there are a few options that allow you to study via correspondence or online," she shuffled through the papers to point out the options. "This one even said it was possible to work in partnership with a university in Barcelona. You would just need to attend an actual class a few hours a week. There are even some scholarship options that have to do with working overseas, having a dependent and playing sports that you could be eligible for..."
She trailed off when she finally realised Bellamy wasn't paying any attention to the information, but rather was staring at her face with blank eyes and mouth agape. "Did I overstep?" Clarke wondered, her stomach clenching with worry and anxiety.
"No, I..." he swallowed and looked down at the papers. "This..." He leaned forward heavily, elbows on his knees and one fist pressed to his lips.
"What's wrong with Bellamy?" Octavia rejoined them, frowning in confusion.
"I don't know," Clarke was starting to panic.
"Bell?" Octavia waved her hand in front of her brother's face. "I think you broke him," she cackled. "I never thought I'd see the day. What did you do?"
"I gathered some information about teaching courses. He told me he'd always liked the idea of being a teacher."
"Bell wanted to teach?"
"You didn't know?" Clarke's stomach dropped, maybe it was supposed to be a secret.
"Princess," Clarke's eyes swung to Bellamy's. They seemed a little misty and his voice had a suspicious rasp to it. "Thank you," Bellamy wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her as close as their awkward seated positions allowed.
"Why didn't I know about this?" Octavia demanded after a moment.
"You didn't need to," Bellamy let one of his arms fall away so he could look at his sister, while the other stayed firmly around the back of Clarke's shoulders. "Someone had to be responsible for you and I wanted you to have as many options as you possibly could."
"How is it you never seemed to resent me?" Octavia's expression and voice showed a rare moment of vulnerability.
"When I was being childish and selfish I did," Bellamy admitted to her. "But then I'd get home and see you, you'd smile at me or demand we do something, and I hated myself because you were all the family I had. You were my responsibility and all I ever wanted was to protect you and for you to be happy."
"Bell," Octavia dived into him, hugging him tightly.
Clarke was struggling next to them, biting her lip so hard she was surprised she didn't taste blood, but the tears still filled her eyes.
"Oh man," Bellamy whined, seeing her tears and pulling her in close so she could wrap her arms around both of the Blakes. "And here I thought you two weren't criers."
"Shut up Bellamy," Clarke muttered. "It's your own fault for thinking with your heart."
"Thinking with my heart?" Bellamy made a noise of disbelief.
"She's right," Octavia moved back but stayed closely attached to his side. "You act like an arrogant jerk but one layer down you're all heart."
"Is that some kind of Shrek reference," Bellamy tried to lighten the mood, clearly uncomfortable with all the heartfelt attention he was getting.
"Only if you want to be an onion," Octavia stuck her tongue out at him, but then her face turned hopeful. "Are you going to look into this stuff Clarke got for you?" she pointed to the papers strewn across their coffee table.
"Of course, I can't play soccer forever, but I'd never really thought about my future beyond putting you through college," Bellamy smiled shyly at Clarke. "Thank you Princess."
A genuine smile spread across her face, her heart skipping a few beats. "You're very welcome."
He pulled her close again and just sat for a time, Bellamy holding Clarke close, his head rested against Octavia's on his shoulder.
Four days.
He had managed to go all of four days without seeing her, but now, as Bellamy saw Madi turn and wave excitedly into the bleachers after helping her team score another goal it wasn't a stretch to figure out who she was greeting. His eyes still moved up to check anyway. And there, halfway up, was Clarke, sitting beside Octavia, Lincoln and Murphy, all of them decked out in green and black to support the Polis High's under 16 girls soccer team.
Octavia spotted him looking their way, raised her eyebrows at him and waved.
Bellamy was raising his hand to reciprocate when Clarke's eyes met his, causing him to freeze like some kind of idiot for a second before following through with a tentative wave. He was rewarded with a small answering smile that made his stomach leap.
She hadn't strayed far from his thoughts all week, especially after seeing her again. The warnings given by Murphy and Octavia - surprisingly subtly for two not very subtle people - had been received, and kept him in a constant mix of curious and fearfully agitated...he was no closer now to deciding what he wanted to do with her than he had been when he had first heard that she was in town.
The more pressing matter of getting his girls through their first game of the season pulled his attention back to the field, and Bellamy took a fortifying breath, knowing he would need it to stay focused now.
"Hey big brother," Octavia's voice interrupted his thoughts just after halftime.
"O," they shared a one armed hug. "I'm surprised to see you here."
"We all come to support Madi," Octavia thumbed over her shoulder to indicate the trio still sitting up in the bleachers. "You didn't mention you were coaching her."
"With everything else it just kept slipping my mind," Bellamy's gaze lingered on Clarke before he realised what he was doing and tore his eyes away.
"You can just try talking to her Bell," his sister rolled her eyes at him. "She won't avoid you and it's probably healthier."
"We'll see," he muttered noncommittally.
"If you're interested, family dinner is at ours on Saturday nights," Octavia told him. "Anyone who's free comes by around seven."
A dagger found its way between his ribs.
"Also Lincoln and Murphy are going out for drinks after this if you want to join them," she went on unphased, not noticing his metaphorical internal bleeding.
"I'm supposed to meet Miller," Bellamy forced the words through a throat that didn't want to work.
"Just have him meet you," his sister pulled a face at him.
"What about you and Clarke?" he really struggled over her name this time.
"We're doing a girls night since Madi is staying at a friend's house after the game."
"How come you never invite Echo to those kinds of things?" Bellamy was sure he had a right to be offended that his sister didn't seem to want to bond with his girlfriend.
"For starters it's pretty weird already since it involves Clarke's sort of ex, as well as a former army buddy turned new-age-y 'humans-are-the-problem' type, though sometimes Emori makes it," Octavia rolled her eyes because somehow Emori always seemed to bring the sanity and normality to a group. "It's also just a night where we drink alcohol, paint our nails and watch things we shouldn't really watch when Madi is awake. Besides, it's at Clarke's. I can't really just invite your girlfriend along."
"They know each other, though."
"A passing acquaintance through the person she's sleeping with doesn't really count as knowing someone," Octavia accompanied her rolling her eyes with an annoyed huff. "She's welcome at family dinner though, in case that wasn't obvious."
"Gee thanks," he wasn't sure he had meant to be so sarcastic, but he was hurt damnit! His own sister was prioritising Clarke over him!
Octavia just rolled her eyes at him. "It's a start, okay? You never know what will happen next. Maybe Clarke and Echo will hit it off and all the issues will just stay with you."
Bellamy's eyes narrowed and he wanted to bite back, he really did, but it was not the time. He was supposed to be coaching.
"Do you want me to invite Miller and his boyfriend to family dinner? Will that make you more comfortable?" There was a frustrated snark in his sister's words and he knew he should back down at this point if he wanted to keep any peace. "If so ask him when you see him and just let me know if I need more chairs."
"When did making Clarke comfortable take priority over our sibling relationship?" Bellamy couldn't help but question.
"When it became necessary to make sure Clarke left her apartment," Octavia shot back, clearly fed up as she turned to storm away.
Bellamy just barely managed to catch her elbow. "What the hell does that mean?" He demanded.
"Nothing, I shouldn't have said anything," Octavia bit out through clenched teeth.
"Didn't sound like nothing." It sounded more like he was begging than he was entirely comfortable with.
"Look," his sister jerked out of his grasp. "We've already warned you that Clarke has been to hell and back. Since you're the smarter sibling you should be able to connect some dots when I tell you that at one time the only reasons she would go out was because of work or Madi. That is all."
She stormed off and Bellamy was left feeling a corner of his heart fracturing. He could no longer resist glancing at Clarke, relieved to see her attention seemed to be focused on the players running the field. He couldn't help but wonder, did he even have the right anymore to ask her about the last six years? He let out a long exhale, setting the matter aside to stew, and turned back to his players.
Bellamy came awake acutely aware of the stiffness in his neck.
The three of them had fallen asleep on the couch. Octavia had barely moved, still curled into his side though the side of her face was resting against his biceps now instead of his shoulder and reminded him very much of how she had looked sleeping against him as a child, her cheek smooshed and lips parted, a tiny crinkle of a frown between her brows. Even asleep Octavia had always appeared ready and willing to take on the world.
Cringing as he shifted his neck to look to his other side, it took physical effort not to burst into uproarious laughter when he got a good look at Clarke sprawled beside him. Her upper back was resting against the armrest, the underside of her chin visible where her head was tipped back over the armrest so she would be viewing the world upside-down if she were awake. One of her legs was somehow hooked around his and the other crossed Octavia's thighs as well as his own.
"What?" Octavia jerked awake. "Why are you wriggling around when I'm comfortable?" she pouted.
Bellamy started chortling and pointed at Clarke, his sister immediately dissolving into laughter with him.
Clarke's head lifted and a killing glare was angled at them, rendered moot by the yawn and sleepy eyes that followed seconds later. "Shut up," she ground out, her voice rusty from sleep. "I'm a light sleeper and murderous without my morning coffee."
"Then get up and I'll treat you both to breakfast," Bellamy tapped on the leg she still had slung across them. "You both like the diner, right?"
Octavia bounced up and made for the bathroom, calling dibs as she went, with the promise of coffee and breakfast food. Clarke on the other hand started mumbling under her breath about having to go back downstairs to change.
"Just borrow something," Bellamy encouraged. "O probably isn't going to change. I'm sure you've noticed my sister has no shame," he chuckled. "She showed up at the airport in her PJs and moccasins just last night."
"Yeah but unlike me your sister looks like someone fresh out of a magazine ad no matter what she's wearing," Clarke rolled her eyes, clearly determined to be in a mood. "Also, not sure if you've noticed, but I have a bit more happening up here," she indicated her chest as she disentangled herself and stretched widely, groaning when things audibly creaked with the effort. Bellamy raised a flirtatious eyebrow at her - how many straight guys wouldn't have noticed? - to which she slapped his arm in playful warning."With your sister's penchant for tight clothes there's no way I can borrow anything."
"That's beside the point. Borrow one of my jackets instead then," he offered. "Would you feel better if I changed into my PJs too?"
Clarke just rolled her eyes at him again, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "no better than your sister". But she was on her feet stretching again before he could see her expression. "C'mon then," she huffed at him when he didn't move and disappeared into the bathroom as his sister cleared it.
Bellamy made quick work of changing his top, which still smelled like aeroplane, and joined her at the sink where she was brushing her teeth with toothpaste and her finger.
Octavia hurried them to the front door, and Bellamy barely had time to hand Clarke his threadbare leather jacket and wrap one of his scarves around her neck before his sister had them out the door.
And so he found himself traipsing to the diner at the end of their street with two stunning, pyjama-clad young women. One excitedly recapping recent happenings he may not have heard about yet, and the other doing a very convincing zombie impression, sluggishly wandering along beside him.
When Clarke veered slightly in her dazed state, Bellamy pulled her closer and kept his hand on her elbow until he had guided her safely into a booth where a festively-clad waitress supplied them with coffee and took their orders, and Bellamy watched - half in awe, half horror - while he witnessed Clarke practically inhale her first cup of coffee as though her life depended on it.
Task complete she sat back with a contented sigh and directed a smile at the siblings sitting side by side across from her. "I can be coherent now," she stated, causing the Blakes to burst into laughter.
They chatted good naturedly about nothing until their food arrived and the time it took them to eat their first few bites was silent. Then Octavia finally gave in and demanded they tell her how they had finally gone about becoming friends.
"We started chatting while I was here for Thanksgiving," Bellamy shrugged, trying to downplay it so his sister didn't become aware of just how deep some of the topics they had shared actually were for both of them. "Next thing you know," he waved his fork around in a manner that told one thing had just led to another.
"The fact your brother is all heart and doesn't mind keeping me company when I can't sleep didn't hurt," Clarke joked, sharing a private smile with Bellamy.
"Your problem is you think too much," Bellamy berated amiably. "How many times have you fallen asleep during a conversation now?"
"Sounds like you put her to sleep," Octavia baited him.
"I distract her so she can switch her brain off," Bellamy defended himself with a mildly offended huff. "She falls asleep halfway through her own sentences sometimes."
Clarke was clearly amused by his insulted act. "It's handy having you in a different timezone," she teased.
Bellamy made a face at her. "You say that as if I wouldn't keep you company if you couldn't sleep while I was in the same timezone."
"You would?" Clarke raised her eyebrows, clearly a little more surprised than he would have thought.
"Of course I would," even aware that he was pouting, he couldn't seem to stop himself.
"You honestly wouldn't care if I woke you in the middle of the night?" Clarke clarified.
"I know why you're doing it, so even if I cared, I'd still help you out," Bellamy turned serious. "Besides, it isn't anything I haven't done for this one many times over," he motioned at his sister, but was he imagining that her expression seemed to drop for a moment before she smiled gently at him?
"All heart," she shook her head at him.
"There's a joke in there somewhere," Octavia's eyes had been ping-ponging between them. "Clarke thinks too much and Bellamy's all heart."
"One's the heart and the other the brain?" Clarke chuckled. "Make us sound like two thirds of Dorothy's entourage in Oz why don't you."
"The head and the heart," Bellamy mused, his mind drifting a little. "Shouldn't that mean we compliment each other and work better together?"
Clarke's expression lit with wonder. "Why does it sound better when you say it like that?"
"It's reasonable," Bellamy teased her. "You like reason."
Clarke just rolled her eyes and was clearly about to respond when they were loudly interrupted by the sudden arrival of Murphy and Raven.
"Octavia said that we'd witness a miracle if we joined her for breakfast," Raven joked, sliding in beside Octavia when Murphy cut her off by stealing the spot beside Clarke while pulling a childish face at her. "But I think she undervalued what I'm seeing here. Pigs must be flying if Clarke and Bellamy are really sitting here having a civil conversation."
"How come you're suddenly getting along?" Murphy narrowed suspicious eyes at them. "Your arguments were such a great source of entertainment."
"They're more than getting along," Octavia gave them a mock-alarmed look. "It's sweet and touching and so very weird."
Clarke flung some whipped cream at her while Bellamy shot her a dry look. "You didn't seem to think it was weird a few minutes ago," he retorted.
Octavia gave him a wide grin and wrapped her arms around him tightly for a quick hug. "I'm just glad I was proven right," she stated triumphantly. "I knew the two of you could get along."
"Yeah yeah," he rolled his eyes, feigning exasperation with his sister, then smirking at Clarke as she stole a piece of his bacon. "You trading for that Princess?"
She just pushed her plate towards him, silently offering him anything he wanted off her waffles. He grinned and cut off a corner of maple syrup soaked waffle, Clarke adding whipped cream and some of the fresh berries to his forkful.
"Forget the pigs," Murphy was looking horrified. "Hell's frozen over! Clarke is sharing her waffles. She doesn't even do that for people she sleeps with."
The grin on his face grew impossibly wider as Bellamy swallowed the overly sweet mouthful, and told himself the rush he was feeling at that statement simply came from the ridiculous amount of sugar.
Later that night Bellamy found himself following Lincoln and Murphy into a bar he'd yet to try but they seemed to frequent if the shouted acknowledgements from the security and bartenders were anything to go by. He had called Miller in relation to his old friend and former teammate's feelings on the others joining them and the other man had happily agreed, stating that he didn't see enough of any of them. Now, Bellamy spotted Miller at a table, far enough from where the evening's live band was setting up that they could all enjoy it, but still hear each other over the music, and they made their way over.
"Miller, my man," Murphy clapped hands with Miller in greeting. "Long time no see."
"Communication has never been your strong suit," Miller chuckled dryly. He nodded a greeting at Lincoln and slapped Bellamy on the back. "How'd this become a group thing?"
"We," Murphy motioned between he and Lincoln, "were going out anyway and Octavia decided her brother needed to get stuck with us instead," he shot the older Blake a cheeky grin.
"First round's on me," Lincoln moved - surprisingly easily for a man his size - through the crowd before anyone could say otherwise.
"Where'd you all come from?" Miller made conversation. "I thought you were coaching tonight?"
"They were at the game," Bellamy offered up hesitantly. "Where's Jackson? I thought he was coming."
"Eric has picked up a few extra shifts since Polis General is so short staffed at the moment."
"Your boyfriend is at PGH?" Murphy cottoned on. "My girlfriend is there two nights a week."
"Small world," Miller's eyebrows went up. "Which department?"
"She's an X-Ray tech," Murphy's whole person lit up with pride. "She's at a private facility four days a week and the hospital two nights since they're always short staffed. How an over funded hospital ends up short staffed all the time is beyond me."
"Tell me about it," Miller was practically moaning. "What's her name? I'll have to ask Eric if he knows her."
"Emori Sans."
Lincoln returned sporting four beers and took a seat. They drank in silence for a moment as the live band started playing their set on the other side of the bar.
"How did the game go?" Miller remembered to ask.
"They won," Murphy grinned proudly.
"Aren't you a little overly invested in a girls' high school soccer game?" Miller frowned.
"Clarke's daughter is on the team," Lincoln offered and Miller choked on his sip of beer.
"Clarke Griffin, Clarke?" he got out around his coughing, eyes wide with concern as he looked to Bellamy.
"The one and only," Murphy sassed. "Bellamy recently discovered that we've all been in touch, and she's living in Polis and mother to one of his students."
Miller's face was a cross between surprise and concern as he turned to his former teammate.
"I have to say, I'm glad someone else seemed to be in the dark." That Miller clearly hadn't known was a huge relief to Bellamy.
"You know I would have mentioned it," Miller assured him.
"Which is obviously why Octavia just avoided saying anything to you," Lincoln confirmed. "She was waiting for the day one of the two of them decided to bury the hatchet so to speak."
"And that day finally came?"
"Not exactly," Bellamy hesitated.
"Madi gave it away." Murphy chuckled at their discomfort. "An easily excitable child with almost no filter will do that."
"And who is Madi?"
"Clarke's daughter," Murphy's tone implied he was being stupid for not figuring it out on his own.
"One of my students," Bellamy added.
"How does Clarke suddenly have a teenage daughter? I don't remember that ever coming up."
"She's fostering her," Lincoln supplied. "They've put in for full adoption but the legal system has so much red tape it hasn't gone through yet."
"I'm still really confused," Miller shook his head. "How did she end up fostering? Did she end up with that Lexa chick? Because she didn't seem like the children type."
"Clarke sort of has a someone who definitely isn't Lexa," Murphy replied distractedly, eyes focused across the bar. "Madi lived with her abusive alcoholic father across the hall from Clarke..."
When Murphy trailed off, Lincoln took over and finished. "There were some unfortunate events involving Madi's father so Clarke took her in as a foster daughter and they've stayed that way ever since."
"How long ago was that?" Miller seemed to be asking all the questions Bellamy wanted answers to, something he was very glad of.
"Around five years ago."
"How does that work when she's on tour? Or does she not tour anymore?"
"Clarke was discharged from the army shortly before she met Madi. She's my business partner."
"How come I've never seen her when I've stopped in?"
"Coincidence?" Lincoln shrugged, his face so bland there was no way to figure out if he was being truthful.
"And she's lived in Polis all this time?"
"Pretty much."
"And you guys knew?"
"No. Just Octavia and I at that stage," Lincoln appeared to be growing uncomfortable with their continued topic of conversation.
"So what happened to Lexa?"
Lincoln and Murphy both went tense briefly, a response that didn't go unnoticed. "They broke up six years ago," was all Lincoln offered.
"Six years ago?" Bellamy jumped on that bit of information. "How soon after the group fall out?"
Lincoln shared a look with Murphy and the other two could tell they didn't want to share. Sensitive subject though it was, surely if it was just a simple break up they would have said so?
"Reaction suggests right away," Miller commented.
"Look," Lincoln let out a resigned sigh. "These details aren't really our responsibility to share. All you need to know is Clarke broke up with Lexa. Several months later Lexa was stationed at the same base as us and they kind of got back together briefly. It didn't last long and they are no longer together." There was such finality in his words they knew they couldn't push any longer.
Bellamy clearly knew Clarke had Roan now, but somehow this new information left him more confused than ever. Clarke had been in love with Lexa - she had told him so herself. But now he learned they had broken up shortly after her fall out with their other friends, who had told him the whole argument had been in regards to Lexa. How was he even supposed to process that on top of everything? Every new bit of information about Clarke seemed to leave him with more questions.
Murphy disappeared from the table not long after and Lincoln was pulled into a conversation with a patron who was apparently a client. Miller took the opportunity to lean closer. "How are you coping with this?"
"I have no idea," Bellamy shook his head at himself. He wasn't really doing as badly as he could have been, but he definitely was not handling it well either.
"Have you seen her?" Miller sounded hesitant to ask. "Wait, she was probably at the game tonight."
"I first saw her at the start of the week," Bellamy nodded, feeling himself wilt a little. "She looks good," he admitted both to Miller and to himself. "But everyone seems to keep insisting that she wasn't always. They've been very stingy on the details though."
"Well I'm around if you need an ear," Miller patted his elbow once in a subtle show of support. "I can see if I can get anything out of your sister too?"
"Good luck with that, she's been annoyingly close-lipped about everything," Bellamy huffed, but relief was making his shoulders feel lighter with Miller's gesture. Twelve years of friendship wasn't easy to eradicate and was a much needed consolation to his confused state of mind. "And they seem to be family now."
"You and I both know that Octavia is aware you haven't exactly had it easy the last six years," Miller kept his voice only loud enough for the two of them to hear. "So if she's protecting Clarke over you..." he hinted.
"Yeah, I know, she must have had it pretty damn bad," Bellamy took a large gulp of his beer, attempting to wash away the sour taste in his mouth.
"Or maybe your sister will surprise us both and turn out to be protecting both of you," they shared a somewhat disbelieving laugh at that.
"I never thought I'd see the day Clarke and I needed to be protected from each other."
"I'd put money on your friendship rising again," Miller chuckled. "If you gave it a chance anyway. A little effort always seemed to go a long way with the pair of you."
"We'll see," Bellamy left out a heavy exhale. "So far I haven't really been able to wrap my head around it properly."
"Does Echo know about Clarke?" Miller finally thought to ask.
"She knows what I've told her," Bellamy ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Turns out Clarke's dating her superior at work, so they've actually had a passing acquaintance for the last five years."
"So many overlaps," Miller was a bit stunned. "I hate to say it man, but I think fate might actually have been trying to find a way to get the two of you back in a room together."
Bellamy huffed out a doubt filled laugh.
"Off topic a little," he changed the subject. "O says you and Jackson are invited to family dinner tomorrow night to relieve my discomfort about having Clarke there."
Miller's eyebrows went up again. "Okay well I'll be there to be your buffer then, but I'll need to confirm with Eric if he's free. Is family dinner a thing with them now?"
"Seems like it," Bellamy wasn't quite resigned to that fact yet.
"Well then, I suggest we enjoy our night and decide how to deal with that tomorrow," Miller clinked their beers together and saluted.
A smile slipped across Bellamy's face and he forcefully shoved away thoughts of Clarke and family dinner, determined to enjoy the rest of his night.
A/N: Thanks for reading. Pretty please let me know your thoughts?