A/N: Slowwww burn. I really want to jump into the good stuff but I got to do this properly.
At least I finally got some solid interaction happening.
"Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure this is the fourth time that we've passed that fallen log."
"I didn't ask you to come with me and I'm not asking you to stay." Clarke wasted no energy turning around to face Bellamy who insisted on acting like her body guard.
He trailed behind her carefully, piping his opinion into the silence of the forest whenever he felt his presence was being forgotten. The two had been trekking through the trees for a decent amount of time, stopping only once when a certain princess tripped over an overgrown root.
"The sun is beginning to set. If we want to make it back before sundown we need to get to this base soon." Bellamy had still doubted the idea that such a supply jackpot even existed but Clarke's persistence was enough for the both of them.
The silence settled within the space between them once more as Clarke decided to ignore Bellamy's comment. He was looking out for the both of them, she knew that but she also knew that the future of her doctor gig depended on those supplies. Teenage criminals were clumsy and idiotic. The first two who had died on the wretched planet were casualties of teenage stupidity, if that wasn't a clear prophetic sign of the future then one simply did not exist.
"There. That has to be it." Clarke stopped in her tracks, her eyes stealing a quick glance at Bellamy who had suddenly taken to her side. A feeling of relief washed over her along with the realization that she would not have to face the judgmental eyes of Bellamy Blake as she admitted she was wrong. "Let's go!"
"Wait." Instinctively, Bellamy flung an arm out to stop Clarke from moving forward. The threat of grounders was a consistent danger that they needed to be aware of and the wide open rubble of a building caught in the crossfire of radioactive warfare seemed like the perfect place to set up a trap. "Let me go first."
The two adventurers exchanged a look of understanding and fear before Bellamy took the first few steps out into the clearing.
Clarke couldn't help but keep her eyes on the back of Bellamy, not that she was doing it intentionally. His body had shielded her view from whatever had been ahead of them, an act that would have normally agitated her instead brought comfort. As a leader who spewed orders, Bellamy had always appeared as a mangy, lust-filled, power hungry man child to Clarke. He found a way to irritate her more than the four barren walls that she had been confined to on the ark. The way he had smirked when he thought he was being charming always had a tendency to bring about this uncomfortable urge to scream, not that she ever did. He had pranced around camp like a one-sided strong man, only revealing to Clarke that he actually felt emotion when she mercifully murdered his best friend. From that point, things had seemingly fallen back into their irritating place until the situation with the grounder happened. After they had both compromised their own moral sanity to save Finn and an understanding was met Clarke was finally able to look at Bellamy as the man that he truly was.
She stepped where he stepped, only glancing up to be met with the wild untamed locks and the delicate beads of sweat that cautiously dripped down his neck. She really hated admitting it, even to herself, but Clarke was thankful to have Bellamy accompanying her.
"If there was a base here, nothing remains." For the first time since the duo had descended into the clearing Bellamy had spoken. Words that should have been accompanied by that god awful nickname given to her by Finn, held no trace of satisfaction. Bellamy genuinely appeared apologetic.
"N-No. No. There has to be something." Clarke pushed Bellamy aside.
Her eyes took in her surroundings, her heart sinking as she did so. Rubble covered in dirt and moss, that was all that had remained. No resemblance of a building or an underground bunker had been in sight. Hours of walking with a man she was barely starting to understand with nothing to show for it.
"It's getting dark, we need to get back to camp before the grounders show up." Bellamy placed a hand on Clarke's shoulder but the short moment of physical comfort was not followed by any response.
With every passing moment of defeated reflection the sky grew darker; the threat of danger growing more imminent. Clarke bent down and picked up a rock. With hope in her hands and desperation in her heart, she tossed the rock as far as possible. Her eyes followed it as it flew a few meters, only stopping once it had clinked with an item in the distance.
No words needed to spoken between Bellamy and Clarke. Without any hesitation they both ran in the direction that the rock was thrown, furiously clearing away the rubble until hope was revealed.
"Find anything?"
"Besides this god awful stench? No."
Clarke exhaled sharply and continued walking through the maze of empty storage containers. The entire bunker had been moderately flooded. The damp facility appeared larger in the dark then it truly was. It had consisted of a narrow hallway that led to two rooms, one on either end. The first room they had checked out contained a few boxes of extremely expired canned goods; goods that couldn't possibly be deemed as edible. They may have kept for ten years, but after ninety seven there was no way in hell they were suitable for human consumption.
The big containers in the first part of the hallway contained water and mold for the most part but the two leaders continued trudging through the mud, carrying with them the hope that there would be a light in one of those god damned crates.
"This one is tightly sealed, there might be something good in it. Mind giving me a hand?" Clarke held her light out for Bellamy to take but instead, he handed off the one he was holding.
Clarke took a few steps back, angling the light on the mystery crate. She had found Bellamy's blatant show of strength rather silly yet slightly cute. Cute? Was that a word Clarke was really willing to describe Bellamy as? No, no of course not.
"Holy shit." Bellamy's voice trailed behind the precious snapping sound of the unlocked crate.
"What? What!" Clarke tried to peek at the treasure that had just been discovered but Bellamy was one step ahead of her.
"Nothing. There's nothing in the crate, sorry princess." He tried to sound serious but the childish excitement shined through his voice.
Bellamy finally stepped away from the crate giving Clarke an opportunity to peer inside. She shown the light inside the crate, revealing the one thing she had set out to find, medical packs.
Words couldn't describe what emotion had suddenly filled Clarke's veins. Without even a second thought, she set the lights down on the box next to her and began shoveling med packs into her backpack. Bellamy left her to her greedy looting. While the med packs were an exciting find, he still wanted more and more is exactly what he had found.
Leaving no crate unchecked they had discovered blankets, lanterns, military uniforms, miscellaneous supplies such as tarp and soap, and of course the one thing that could get Bellamy Blake's blood running, guns. With no possible way of carrying everything back with them, they took what was most important, padding pockets and extra space with a little of everything.
By the time the looting was all said and done the sun had completely set. The darkness hid the path that led back to camp along with any other creatures lurking amongst the shadows.
"We'll have to stay the night. We can head back first thing in the morning." Bellamy was not suggesting the idea, he was demanding it.
As much as Clarke would have liked to protest such a blasphemous idea, she knew he was right. "The last room we checked held the least amount of mud. It'll be the best place to set up camp for the night."
As the night grew older, the room got colder. Clarke and Bellamy had made a make-shift bed out of a few plastic crates and some tarp. While it was enough to keep them dry, it was hardly any more comfortable than the earth itself.
"This wasn't about the supplies, was it?" Bellamy's voice was soft and inquisitive.
Clarke would have never imagined the first time being in bed with Bellamy as such an awkward experience. They both were lying on their backs, shoulders barely touching. She had feared he would seize the opportunity to flirt his way into her pants but there was none of that going on. Surprisingly enough, Bellamy was being rather normal, the night being less dramatic than the one she had spent in a bunker with Finn.
"What do you mean?" She knew where the conversation was going but she asked anyway, buying a few seconds to sort out an answer.
"As soon as you saved Finn's life you ran from him as if he had the plague and before he got hurt it seemed like you were doing everything in your power to avoid him." Bellamy repositioned himself so that he was on his side, his eyes piercing through Clarke in the poorly lit room. "What'd spacewalker do?"
"Nothing."
"C'mon on princess, I know you better than that."
Clarke had nothing to say, especially not to Bellamy. Her business with Finn was just that, her business. She did not ask him why he pranced around pretending he was invincible or why he controlled every aspect of his sister's life. In fact, she hardly talked to him. The first real conversation that they shared was about to be centered on her issues with Finn; that alone made her stomach tighten.
"Why did you shoot Jaha?" She had turned the tables. Clarke rolled over onto her side, mimicking Bellamy's body language. They appeared to be two friends at a sleepover rather than two head strong leaders being civil.
"So I could protect my sister." He propped himself up on one elbow which gave him this intimidating advantage over Clarke. "Did Spacewalker make you his earth girlfriend before Raven came down?"
"No." Thankfully. What a fool she would have been then. "Why do you care?"
"I care about everyone in the camp."
"That's it?"
"Yes." He narrowed his eyes at her, meticulously analyzing her facial expression. Even in the poor light, she glowed with an aura of optimism. Her lips trembled while the temperature continuously dropped in the room, adding another beat to the drip drop of water coming from the ceiling.
Bellamy dug around in his bag before he pulled out a single blanket. His protective side showed as he unfolded the thick piece of cloth and laid it over the two of them, ensuring Clarke was completely covered. It was an odd thing for him, at least Clarke believed so. A few days ago, the thought of this night would have brought chills to her spine. She once despised the man she was now sharing a blanket with.
"Come here, we'll stay warmer if we are closer." Bellamy hesitated to pull her closer. If she wanted to freeze in the damp bunker he would let her.
Clarke on the other hand hesitated for her own selfish reasons. Cuddling Bellamy Blake? Ugh. In her mind he was covered in this invisible layer of dirt, dirt which he had accumulated from all those girls he had slept with. The idea of cuddling such a shared man was disgusting.
"I don't bite. Unless you want me to, princess." Bellamy winked at her but Clarke continued to fight against her inner thoughts. After a moment or two she finally inched closer, keeping a bent knee in between them.
"You should get some sleep. You'll be bombarded when we get back to camp tomorrow."
"You never told me what happened between you and Finn."
He had finally called Finn by his actual name but Clarke had been too distracted to notice. While Bellamy continued to poke at the topic she was clearly trying to ignore, she couldn't help but watch the way his lips moved. As he spoke to her, the smirk lingered around the corners of his mouth but Clarke did not find it irritating. In fact, she actually found it to be rather precious. It was a quality she had never looked at in such a light before. A quality that went perfectly with the light freckles that spotted his cheeks and brought out the youthful side he had buried away from the others. As she recalled the night she had spent with Finn, she realized she had never taken the time to appreciate his unique features. For some horrible reason, she found her mind attempting to compare the two men and the result of that was not something she was ready to admit. Clarke had actually found Bellamy Blake, the most irritating man on earth, attractive.