So, season 5 anybody? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I have three chapters to post for this fic but I won't be posting them all in once go. It'll probably be a week before the next one goes out.

Some of what I write from this point on may be inspired by what season 5 has told us about the six years our characters have spent on the Ark, but mostly it's still just my mind running away with me.

Also, I never intended this to be a shipper fic, or to focus on any one relationship more than the others. But I've kind or ran with the idea of Raven shipping BellamyxClarke while they're up on the Ring. And with Murphy and Clarke's developing friendship, because I just adore them and I am getting really freaking impatient for their reunion on the show. So fair warning, this may become more relationship centred, rather than incident centred, as I'd originally planned. (Knowing how my mind works... That really shouldn't have come as a surprise to me.)

Note: After writing these new chapters, I sat down to figure out a timeline, based on the show's time frame, what we know about character's ages and birthdays etc. The conclusion I came to was that this chapter would be inconsistent with either the show and chapter one if I'd left everything alone. I liked the problematic part of this chapter too much to change it, so instead I altered Chapter 1. It is now Day 42, instead of Day 97. All the actual content is still the same.

I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. I think the characters may be a little OOC. Especially Monty, but I've already established that he has changed since Praimfaya, so that's my creative licence.

Please leave a review, let me know if this is as OOC as I think it is.


Contiguity

noun

the state of bordering or being in contact with something.

o PSYCHOLOGY

the sequential occurrence or proximity of stimulus and response


Day 50

Clarke POV

The knife I was using really wasn't the best for this particular task, but our people had tried to take anything useful to the ground with them so we were having to make do with what was left on the Ring. Still, I was determined to get this right. I vaguely registered that somebody had entered the room, but all of my concentration was occupied so I didn't react.

"Hey Clarke," Monty announced himself, irritated. "Bellamy's in a mood."

I still didn't acknowledge him – a mood was hardly a crisis.

Monty paused, expecting me to comment, and began to shift his feet. "Err… I was going to ask you to calm him down or something, but you're kind of giving me the silent treatment, and Bellamy's stomping around and snapping at people. I don't think that's a coincidence." Some more shuffling and I saw Monty sit down, in my peripheral vision. "Are you ok? Obviously, you're not ok. Did you guys have a fight? It's been forever since you had a proper fight… It must've been really bad if you're like this…"

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I noticed the worry in Monty's voice, and the uncharacteristic rambling. I even knew that I ought to say something to reassure him, but I was so close to finishing and it was taking all of my focus to keep this crappy knife where I needed it.

"…God Bellamy can be a dick," Monty continued. "What happened? Do you want me to beat him up for you? I mean, I'm secure enough in my masculinity to admit that there's no way I could beat Bellamy up on my own, but I could at least punch him in the face?"

At this point I was quite amused, so when I finished the card I was working on, I put it on the stack very carefully before starting on the last one, without drawing Monty's attention.

"Or I could ask Murphy to help. With the beating up, not the single punch in the face. I'm not sure when you two became such good friends but you've been bromancing ever since we got up here, so I'm sure Murphy would be game for defending your honour or whatever."

I shook slightly, holding back my laughter, and nearly slipped with the knife. Not wanting to ruin my project, I decided that my fun was over and I needed my quiet focus back.

"I'm fine Monty," I finally spoke, smiling briefly before looking back at my card. "There was no fight, if Bellamy's in a mood just leave him to it."

"Ok… but are you sure you're alright?" he asked, seeming startled by me suddenly speaking.

"Yes Monty. I'm ok, I just need a bit of quiet right now," I assured him, trying to keep the exasperation out of my voice.

With that Monty mumbled his agreement – not completely satisfied – and quietly left the room, just as I finished engraving the ace-of-spades. Four decks down, I thought, placing it neatly on the pile. Just fifty-two cards to go. I flexed my fingers a little as I reached for another of the aluminium sheets Raven had given me the previous day, just the right size for playing cards.

Monty POV

Clarke assured me that she was ok, but her smile was gone almost before I registered it and her gaze returned to whatever she was doing with her knife and some scrap metal, just as silent as before.

She didn't seem ok.

Clarke didn't generally sit in silence like this. She didn't ignore people speaking to her (she hadn't even looked at me!) and she didn't just dismiss people for no reason.

"Ok… I'll leave you to it then," I agreed and quietly left the room, looking back a few times to see my friend still hunched over the table, half hiding behind her hair. I hesitated, but ultimately did as Clarke asked and left.

When I got to out make-shift engineering bay I even didn't remember making the decision to seek Raven out, but it made sense. She had made Clarke and Bellamy's relationship her primary entertainment, so if anyone knew what had happened between the two, it would be Raven.

I sat down beside her workspace and tapped my foot anxiously as I waited for Raven to turn off the blow torch.

"What's up?" She asked eventually, discarding her mask.

"What happened with Clarke and Bellamy?" I demanded.

Raven stopped her tinkering and gave me her full attention. "Something's happened?" her eyes lit up with excitement even as her expression became somewhat gutted. "Did they finally screw and I missed it?"

"No!" I shuddered at the mental image she'd created. "Or… Maybe, I don't know! Do you realise how much you sound like a pervert?"

"Oh, gross Monty," she complained. "I didn't mean I actually want to watch them going at it. Just catch them stealing kisses, or sneaking between each other's rooms."

"Well I haven't seen anything like that. Something's wrong, Raven," I insisted, letting worry seem into my voice.

"With Clarke and Bellamy?"

I nodded.

"Wrong how?"

"Bellamy was being a right asshole all morning, so I went to find Clarke…" I told her about my conversation with Clarke - or more like at Clarke – and Raven frowned, thoughtfully. "She was really upset Raven," I continued, "they had to've had some kind of fight. Have you seen anything?"

She just shook her head. "I've not seen Clarke today. I saw Bellamy at breakfast, he was being a jerk then too, but I didn't think much of it. I don't get it though. I saw them together last night, they were all cuddly and even more sickening than usual."

I rolled my eyes at Raven's tone; equal parts disgust and wonderment. The same one she almost always used in regards to our two leaders.

Suddenly she lit up with excitement again, bouncing in her seat. "Maybe they did screw!"

I raised an eyebrow. She really was obsessed.

"No, Monty! It makes sense! If they finally cashed in on all that sexual tension last night, and then afterwards it was awkward or one of them freaked out, isn't his exactly how they would react? Bellamy being an ass, taking it out on everyone else, while Clarke avoids him and anyone who might make her talk about it?"

I had to admit, that did sound like the way they would react to some post-sex awkwardness, I just kind of thought that this 'secret romance' idea was all in Raven's head. Sure, Bellamy and Clarke had been physically closer since we came back to space, but I'd put that down to a combination of the lack of human contact up here and the way that they had always leaned on each other. Could it be more than that? Had the leaning-on-each-other thing always been leading towards more than friendship and… co-leadership – whatever it was that Bellamy and Clarke were?

"Ok…" I finally agreed, "So what do we do about it?"

Raven just shrugged. "Give them a day of two to sort their shit out themselves. If they can't, then we stage an intervention."

"Sounds fun," a new voice interrupted, and I turned to see Murphy and Emori entering the room. "Who are we intervention-ing?" Murphy asked and started rearranging Raven's tools.

"And why do they need an intervention?" Emori finished.

"Clarke and Bellamy had sex," Raven announced. "Now it's weird."

"Well that explains the sulking," Murphy shrugged. "Did Clarke kick him out after or was she just not there in the morning?"

"We don't actually know what happened- I cut in, but was ignored.

"I thought the touch-y, cuddly crap would last way longer than this," Emori mused. "So if Bellamy's moody, how's Clarke reacting?"

"She's upset," I told the new-comers. "She wants to be left alone."

"Should we break Bellamy's face?" Murphy suggested. "If Clarke's upset he must've been a dick about it."

I shook my head, even though that had been my first thought too. "Like Raven said, let's just leave them to sort it out themselves for now. Come on," I stood up and made my way to the door. "Raven was busy. Why don't we test run that game she just finished coding?"

"Yeah," the mechanic agreed, reaching for her mask and torch, "leave me alone. And I expect a full report on that video game when you're done."

We made our way to the game room, if it could even be called that yet. All it actually had in it was a couple of couches, one video game and a ping pong table with no ball or paddle. So just a table, really. When we got there, we all froze at the sight of Bellamy doing something with said ping pong table – rebuilding it, I thought.

"What?" he grumbled, as the three of us just stood watching him, waiting for something to happen.

Murphy opened his mouth, but Emori slapped his arm and spoke before he could. "Hey, we were going to check out Raven's game, but if you need a hand…?"

Bellamy let out a grunt and turned back to the table. The rest of us figured that meant 'no' and sat down to figure out this game.

Between a few bugs in the game, Murphy not being able to drop the fact that Raven had based it on an old classic called Space Invaders, and the competitive nature that the three of us shared, it wasn't a surprise that we got pretty loud while playing. What shouldn't have been a surprise – given his mood – was the noise getting to Bellamy to the point that he exploded on us.

"Will you shut the hell up!" he almost roared causing Emori and I to freeze at the sudden outburst.

Unfortunately, Murphy wasn't as affected. "Oh, float yourself, Bellamy."

"Excuse me?" the elder man spat.

"You heard," Murphy put down his controller and looked over his shoulder at Bellamy. "Just because you screwed Clarke doesn't give you the right to be a dick. Especially to her," he added.

Bellamy stopped whatever he was doing, pulled himself out from under the table and stared at Murphy with utter confusion. "What are you talking about Murphy?"

"Look," a protective glare - reminiscent of Bellamy's own when we first landed on the ground and Octavia was running wild – took over Murphy's features as he stood and squared up to Bellamy. "Whatever's going on between you and Clarke, it's between you guys and we don't want to get involved. But you and your bad attitude are making it everyone's problem, so here it is," Emori and I were kind of entranced. I'd never seen this side of Murphy before and I didn't know what to do with it. "We all know that you want more with Clarke, so whatever the fall out was after the trip to pound town… I get that you're disappointed, and I feel for you man, really. But Bellamy, it's her choice. If that's all Clarke wants, or she needs time or whatever… You don't get to be an asshole about it. So, you're gonna stop being a dick to everyone, give Clarke her space and then, when she wants to be in the same room as you again, you're gonna apologise for whatever you said or did to upset her. We clear?"

I tore my gaze from Murphy to see Bellamy's reaction and was met with complete befuddlement.

"You think I slept with Clarke?" Bellamy seemed to be trying to make sense of Murphy's whole speech. "Clarke's upset? And you think it's because we had sex? What gave you that idea?"

Now it as our turn to be confused, as Murphy glanced at us and back to Bellamy he asked, "Are you saying you didn't sleep together?"

Clarke POV

When I had finally finished engraving the fifth deck of cards, I gathered them up and dropped by the command centre to pick up the ping pong set Bellamy had been working on, as I was headed to the game room anyway. I was rummaging through the ever-present clutter on Bellamy's desk – looking for the paddles – when I found a hand drawn calendar.

"Oh hell," I muttered out loud, after scanning my eyes over it. "Bellamy… why can't you just tell me these things."

Now knowing the reason behind the bad mood Monty had mentioned, I abandoned my search and went looking for Bellamy – feeling like a bitch for not looking for him earlier. Finding his compartment empty and Raven alone in engineering, I headed for the game room.

"-you want more with Clarke," Murphy's voice echoed down the corridor and I paused. "So whatever the fall out was after the trip to pound town- "

What?! I crept forward and saw Murphy getting in Bellamy's face. Monty and Emori were just watching the two of them, shocked and deciding whether to intervene, from the look of things. And Bellamy, he was just confused. What is he talking about?

"-Bellamy, it's her choice. If that's all Clarke wants, or she needs time or whatever… You don't get to be an asshole about it." Despite not having a clue what he was going about, I felt a smile creep across my face at Murphy's protective streak showing. It was a far cry from the John Murphy who fell to Earth with us. ". So, you're gonna stop being a dick to everyone, give Clarke her space and then, when she wants to be in the same room as you again, you're gonna apologise for whatever you said or did to upset her. We clear?"

I quietly stepped into the room, still unnoticed, as Bellamy caught up with Murphy's train of thought, and Murphy finally realised that Bellamy had no idea what was going on.

"Are you saying you didn't sleep together?"

"No," I announced my presence, "we didn't. But it's good to know you care, Murphy. Who knew you could be so sweet?" I teased.

"Oh…" Emori broke the following silence, "Raven's going to be pissed."

I rolled my eyes, because of course that's where this ridiculousness came from.

"Wait," Monty found his voice. "If you guys didn't have sex then why were you upset?"

"I wasn't upset, Monty," I sighed. "I was just concentrating. How does me being upset equate to Bellamy and I having sex anyway?" I asked but immediately raised my hand, thinking better of it. "Actually, I don't want to know," I sighed. "I'm not upset and there was no sex," I reiterated and looked between the three conspiracy theorists to make sure the information sank in. "So, now that's cleared up, can I borrow Grumpy over there?" I gestured to Bellamy and nodded towards the door. "If one of you could shatter Raven's fantasy while we talk…?" I trailed off and walked out into the corridor, knowing Bellamy would follow.

"Hey," he spoke softly, catching my arm to stop me, once we were out of the others' earshot. "Are you really ok?" Bellamy asked, eyes searching me for any sign that something was wrong.

"Yes," I promised with a small smile. "But you're not. Bellamy…" I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Why didn't you tell me it was Octavia's birthday?"

I felt him deflate and tighten his arms, which had instinctively wrapped around my waist. "I don't know," he admitted, "I guess I didn't expect it to hit me this hard." I pulled back just enough to see his face as he continued. "They wouldn't let me visit O in lock up, not even for her sixteenth birthday," he explained, "But I convinced a guy from my old cadet unit to pass her a message for me. It wasn't enough, but at least she knew she had someone. This year we don't even have that. It kind of feels like the first time I'm not with her on her birthday."

I cupped Bellamy's face, feeling his warmth seep into my cold palm, while I waited for him to meet my eyes once more. "It's strange to think that she's only now turning seventeen," I admit. "She seems so much older."

"I know," he let out a sad chuckle. "You know what's even stranger? When I realised Octavia's birthday was coming up, I worked out yours too." I blinked in surprise. "You turn nineteen next month. You still being a teenager is the strangest thought I've ever had," Bellamy chuckled.

"I know right," I laughed. "I certainly don't feel like it."

"I know," he tilted my chin up. "Just promise me one thing?" I raised an eyebrow in question. "When your birthday does come around, at least try to act your age. Enjoy yourself."

"Ok," I agreed, settling back into his chest. "But you have to promise me something too."

"Hmm?" I felt his hum rumble against my face.

"Your missing five of Octavia's birthdays up here, and that sucks. Promise me that you'll try to remember that in missing those you'll be able to spend the next fifty birthdays with her. Once we're back on the ground these five years will seem like nothing. It'll all be worth it."

Bellamy squeezed my waist in thanks. "I'll try"

We maintained our embrace for a moment more before pulling away and wordlessly agreeing to take a wander around the Ring.

"So, are we gonna talk about the fact that the other's think we're sleeping together?" Bellamy broke the silence once we neared the command centre.

"Do we need to?" I forced myself to meet his eyes, and ignored the nerves that his question ignited in my stomach.

Bellamy searched my face for something, the air still around us. "No," he finally spoke, so soft I could barely hear. "I guess we don't."