a/n thanks again to everyone that added this fic to their follows/favorites list. Y'all are all amazing. A big Texas Thanks go out to batchgirl67, Sey77, and megan0870 for reviewing each chapter with me so far!
Bellamy looks up at her as he sips from his coffee, "Good morning, sunshine. How's your head?" He's trying to hide his laughter, but there's still a huge grin on his face. She might be the most hungover she's been in years, but she's not blind.
"Oh shut up. They party harder than people at my college. How is that possible? Never again will I underestimate the combined drink prowess of Octavia, Raven, Monty and Jasper. Never again."
Bellamy tosses his head back in laughter, Clarke definitely looks a little worse for wear, her eyes still a little puffy as she squints in his direction, and he thinks the bed head combined with her slight stature makes her look that much more adorable.
A deep bark lets out and Clarke visibly winces, the loud noise making the throbbing worse, as Bellamy gets up to let his dog, Gus, back into the house. "Sorry about that. I forgot Gus was outside." He comes back into the kitchen with Gus in tow as he sees Clarke looking back and forth between the coffee maker and the kitchen sink, but she grabs the coffee mug on the counter and fills it from the tap, giving a little jump as he sees Gus wet nose attack her leg.
"Hey there cutie!" Clarke exclaims as Bellamy watches her squat down next to Gus, she is quickly covered in doggy kisses, Gus is used to having company over and is a sucker for the ladies. "You said you had a dog the other night, but why didn't I see him yesterday?"
"Octavia sometimes takes him with her when she stays at Lincoln's, it gives me a little piece of mind knowing he's not at home alone all night while I'm at work and she's out of the house. It's not so bad during the daytime since our shifts don't usually overlap where he's by himself for more than a few hours. He's got one of those access panels through the patio door if he needs to go in or out, but I don't like the idea of having it open and unlocked at night with no one home. It's different when one of us is here and able to investigate if he starts barking or growling." Bellamy explains as he fills up a bowl with kibble for Gus.
"I can't really tell what kind of dog he is." Clarke says as she goes back to her mug of water and steals a piece of toast from his plate.
"Yeah, we're really not sure what kind of mix he is, but it doesn't really matter, he followed me around one night while I was on patrol, covered in dirt and whimpering, looking lost, I couldn't resist trying to help him out, I planned on taking him to the county shelter, but he curled up next to me and I couldn't bear to leave him. He's smart, protective of Octavia and the house, and is pretty happy with nights on the couch watching Netflix." He says as he remembers the feel of Gus's tiny body, warm and wiggly as he tried to curl up on his lap.
"In other words, the perfect dog." Clarke's words bring him back to the present, and as he looks back at her, she's got a smile on her face. "I bet he's very grateful that you saved him and took him in." She turns back to look at Gus as he finishes the last of his chow. "Anything exciting planned for today?"
"Not exactly, unlike my lucky sister, who has the whole weekend off, I have to be at work in about two hours until around eleven o'clock tonight. You're more than welcome to have free range of the living room and the tv, and the number for the station is written on the side of the fridge just in case. Octavia should be back here in a few hours. Lincoln was taking her to his place since it was closer to carry her. She's a ball of fun when she's tipsy but she's like an angry grizzly you poked with a stick when she's hungover and it's better him than me when it comes to dealing with her in the morning."
It took a lot for him to become comfortable with his sister's relationship with the firefighter, especially since he moved to Arcadia only six months prior. Octavia might not have minded keeping their relationship a secret from her brother, but Lincoln did. After what was their third date, he surprised Bellamy by stopping by the house while his little sister was at work. Bellamy wasn't too happy at the thought of his Octavia keeping something like this from him, but he respected the fact that Lincoln took the time to come clean, and want to have his approval, even though everything shouted at Bellamy to say no-the age gap, tattoos and the fact Lincoln was still a relative stranger to everyone, he couldn't deny wanting his sister to be happy. It helped that he was able to run a background check to make sure that his sister would be safe. Not that he believed that Indra would let anyone unsavory into her firehouse, but it wasn't until Lincoln helped save his sister after a bad run in with her ex.
"Do you think she'd mind going shopping with me? If I'm staying longer than a few days I'll need to stock up on some essentials." She says as she continues to give Gus a rub down, making kissy face at him. Lucky dog.
"Clarke, I'm pretty sure she'd love to, everyone had a great time last night and I'm sure you're on your way to forging a few new friendships. If Octavia and Raven take to you the way I think they are, this town won't know what hit 'em." He says as he pours out the rest of the coffee from his mug, washes it clean and sets it down to dry; before he can voice his next thought, the front door unlocks and in walks Octavia, back to her normal deposition.
"Clarke! I'm so glad I found you! I had so much fun last night! Please tell me you're not planning on leaving soon? We definitely need to have that girls night. I texted Raven and she agrees. I know it seems like there's not much to do in a place like this, but it's not really where you're at, it's who you're with. Right, Bell?" Octavia is elated to see that Clarke is still here, she'd rushed over from Lincoln's after taking something for the headache she'd woken up with and drank about a gallon of water. She failed to mention that Raven had texted her this morning and asked if she had also noticed the glances that Bellamy and Clarke each sent when they thought the other wasn't looking. Octavia heartily agreed and was beyond delighted at the idea of Bellamy dating again. True, Clarke was still a complete stranger, and she did say she was taking a road trip for summer vacation but plans can change, and Octavia was determined to help make her brother happy. Bellamy sacrificed a lot for Octavia growing up and if she had to have Raven covertly make Clarke's truck inoperable to keep her in Arcadia longer, she would.
"It's funny you should ask that. Bellamy invited me to stay for a bit longer, and I was hoping, if it's not too much trouble, maybe you wouldn't mind going shopping with me, Bellamy said you had the day off? I'm really not packed for more that a two day stop anywhere. Is it alright that I'm staying here for the duration?" Clarke asks.
Octavia is beyond overjoyed and cannot wait to text Raven the news. "I'd be more than happy to, let me get dressed and once we figure out exactly what you're looking to buy, we can head out. When we get back, if you want to join us, Raven and I were going to have a movie night." Clarke looks relieved at Octavia's easy acceptance of both the news and the invite, after all, it's not everyday your brother invites a complete stranger to stay with them, but it made the start of Operation Date My Brother go that much more smooth.
Bellamy excuses himself from the kitchen, kissing Octavia on the head, "Don't get into too much trouble today." and leaves the girls to make their plans for the day. He heads to the backyard, spends some time playing with Gus, refills his water bowl, gives him one last scratch behind the ears, before he heads back inside to get ready for work, "Don't get too much dirt in the house while I'm gone. And make sure the girls and the house are safe. Love you."
Bellamy walks into the locker room at the station, both Miller and Murphy already there; Kane for some reason almost always has the three scheduled at the same time. It's convenient, especially when one considers how frequently the whole group meets up, vacations are different, there's not a large staff, but a town of roughly 400 doesn't exactly have a huge crime rate.
"I hear Clarke's staying with you for a little longer." Murphy asks almost as soon as Bellamy drops his bag on the bench.
"Oh really? That doesn't surprise me, she did say she usually tries to stay a day or so at each place she stops at." Bellamy says.
"Bullshit. You know as well as I do, it's going to be more than a day or so," Murphy stops in front of Bellamy, "might even be longer than a week."
"Honestly, Bellamy, you should know by now nothing's a secret with this group." Miller finally chimes in. "Octavia texted Raven, she told Jasper, he told Monty, Maya, and Harper. Monty told me, and by the time I got here Murphy already knew."
"Yeah, Harper told me." Murphy says as he gets this dazed lost in memory lane look, Bellamy catalogues this for a later date.
"Ok, so I offered her the option to stay longer. I'm not gonna lie, yes, I think she's attractive, but that's not the reason I made the offer. Here's a girl my sister's age, who obviously is capable and independent, but when I think of Octavia being in her shoes, and her car breaking down, driving everywhere alone, I'd breathe easier knowing someone offers her a safe place to stay if something unplanned happens. Plus, she's had a rough few years, she really needs to be able to relax without worry. She can do that here, it's not really a tourist hotspot but we're not that bad."
Murphy's got that glint in his eye. "How chivalrous of you..."
"Well, I think it's a great idea," Miller jumps in, not letting Murphy finish, "I liked her, she seemed to get along with everyone last night. Besides, the more the merrier, right?" All three men agree, at that, and not wanting to waste any more time, and as the two leave Bellamy to get dressed for his shift, Miller hangs back a bit.
"Hey," he says softly, "if he gives you shit about inviting Clarke to basically live with you for the summer, he didn't make it back to the apartment last night. And if he heard your news from Harper... Well, I think we can connect the dots as to his whereabouts last night."
Bellamy chuckles to himself, he wouldn't have thought about those two as a pair. "Murphy and Harper, huh? Now, who have seen that coming?"
By the end of the day, Bellamy was dead exhausted, could barely keep his eyes open they're so puffy and itchy; and there was nothing that he looked more forward to than getting home and sitting on the porch with Gus as they watched the night sky. The last thing he had to do before officially reached the end of his shift and could clock out was to find Kane and submit his paperwork, he and Miller traded off the paperwork portion unless they had any major incidents, and today he had drawn the short straw.
Bellamy mentally kicked himself, it hadn't occurred to him that Kane would also be curious about the newest resident in Arcadia; however, after Bellamy brought him up to speed on Clarke, how she ended up in their neck of the woods, and his own invitation to stay a while; the chief was quickly granting his approval.
"I can certainly see why everyone's so amused with the way this turned out, it's not everyday someone purposely comes here from out of state, but she's definitely in good company. I'm sure that regardless of how long she stays, she's going to have a vacation to remember while here, especially if Mister Green and Mister Jordan have anything to do with it, although I for one, am very glad they put their particular skill set in ways that won't have me pulling my hair out." Kane stood up at that moment, and came around to stand in front of Bellamy, eyes bright. "Your mother would be very proud of you, you've done such a wonderful job raising your sister, and now you've provided a safe environment to another young woman travelling alone. Be proud of that, and don't worry so much about what everyone else is thinking. Now get out of here and enjoy your day off tomorrow." With those last words, Marcus ushered him out of his office.
Bellamy quickly gathered up his belongings and took off towards home, eager for rest, and a bit anxious at what he'd find once he arrived.
He needn't have worried, though as he walked into his living room, a box of pizza on the coffee table, a couple bottles of Monty's moonshine, and both his sister and Clarke curled up on the couch with Gus watching Pacific Rim. He called out in greeting from behind the couch, which prompted Gus to leave the girls and make his way over to Bellamy to shower his affection at his return from work before running through the doggy door to the back.
"Oh my gosh Bell, today was so much fun!" Octavia got up and rushed over to him, much more steady on her feet compared to the night before- "Clarke is going to fit right in, and Clarke, thanks so much for a great day, Bell, there's still a few slices if you're hungry. Goodnight, I'm heading to bed." Octavia quickly grabbed the box of pizza and her drink before dancing off towards the kitchen as she leaves both Bellamy and Clarke behind.
"Bellamy?" Clarke asked, and he turned back towards her. "I just wanted to say thanks, for letting me stay here. I really like your friends and everyone's been so welcoming. It's great, really great. And I like it here. So thanks." She leans up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to his cheek. "Good night. See you in the morning." He's a little surprised to see her turn red as she turns in the direction of her room, but from the warmth he's feeling on his own face, he sure he's just as red, but he goes to sleep with a smile on his face.
a/n: So this is a little filler chapter, as we move past the introductions to the major players and go into the rest of the summer. Still not sure how many chapters until the end, but there is still more in sight. Anyone else ship Murphy/Harper? I can't explain it but I really love those two.
Off topic, but how about Jurassic World? Major Raptor, and raptor dad feels here y'all. My sister is playing devil's advocate and insisting I write for it and write her a Bucky/Nat fic, but don't worry, this is still at the forefront of my WIPs.
Have a great weekend everyone and thanks again.
