AN: Some more everyday stuff, I love writing the little moments in life, I hope it doesn't get too boring! A bit of interaction with both Echo (with slight references to Becho, but it shouldn't be too bad) and Octavia in this one, trying to establish more of a relationship between these two and Clarke…
Some smut at the end, not as explicit as chapter 16/17, but I still wanted to put a warning in here. If it's not your jam, you can skip the last part, from somewhere around when they get home (you'll know)
As always, I don't own anything relating to The 100
-19-
Life settles into a routine for the three of them even before Bellamy officially moves into Clarke's cabin. They don't spend more time together once he does, really, since they all have their own things keeping them busy. Madi spends all day with the other kids in the classes that Gaia and Dina are in charge of in the mess, Clarke, Abby and Jackson are still battling the flu that seems to be going around the settlement for the second time, all three of them pulling long hours in the med bay, and Bellamy and his construction crews usually keep working on new cabins well after the suns set when the days start getting shorter and shorter, moving people from the mess to the newly finished buildings slowly but surely.
Some of the people who used to do construction have already switched to other tasks, mainly hunting, fishing and gathering. This means the last part of the construction phase takes a little longer, but they need to start building up their food stores in the smoke houses and storage buildings for winter, so it's a necessary compromise. They don't know how the animals in the area will behave during the colder months – so far, some of the birds seem to have migrated somewhere warmer, but they still spot deer, boar and rabbit regularly in the woods, so hopefully those won't disappear. But better safe than sorry.
They've picked fruit and berries from trees and bushes as far from the settlement as they've been able to haul back, and dried about half of the harvest, hoping it will last them through the winter and until the first batch of the spring arrive. Some of the trees seem to keep their nuts, so those might be a good supplement, and as long as the ground doesn't freeze, they'll have the different types of roots that have become sort of a staple of their diet. Still, if there's snow, even those will be difficult to get to, and the animals might become less mobile and harder to hunt. Clarke thinks the temperature will need to drop well below freezing for the lake to ice over, so if the worst comes to the worst, they'll have to settle for a diet of fish for some time.
They're also working on making more clothes – what they brought with them and could find on the Eligius ship gives everyone at least a couple of changes, but it won't really cut it in the long run. Octavia's in charge of the brand new sewing room, so far only a corner of Raven's workshop that the mechanic has reluctantly given up, but Bellamy's promised her a building of her own once they're done with the last cabins. They've been tanning hides from animals since they landed, but so far they've just been kept in storage. Now, though, Octavia and the other tailors have started turning them into coats and jackets, fur-lined pants, hats and gloves, and even pelts to be used to supplement the blankets for those who don't have one of the down comforters from the ships. They're also turning extra blankets and other fabric from both the ships into clothing, especially for Diyoza's baby, whose arrival is quickly drawing closer.
Clarke stops by on her way to the med bay after lunch one day to pick up a new sweater for Madi.
"Octavia?" she calls as she enters the otherwise empty workshop.
"Here," the other woman replies from behind the sheet they've hung up to separate the sewing area from the rest of the workshop – Octavia was complaining that sawdust and metal shavings were getting all over the hides from Raven's work.
"I hope you haven't worked through lunch again," Clarke says as she rounds the sheet to find Octavia on a chair in the corner, a beautiful fur coat in her lap. "You know I'd have to tell your brother…"
Octavia huffs. "I almost preferred him hating me to this overprotective thing he's reverted back to," she notes, but Clarke knows she's not serious.
"He never hated you, you know that," she replies, pulling up a chair to watch Octavia work for a while.
"He wasn't worrying about whether or not I took my lunch break, though."
"I think he was," Clarke says with a sigh. "I mean, not literally, but you know what I mean. He just didn't feel like he could mother you about it when you two were still… not in a great place."
"True," the younger Blake agrees, putting the coat she's working on away. "Bell is such a mother hen, he worries about everyone and their uncle, even the people he barely knows."
"It's just his nature, I guess." Clarke shrugs – it's actually one the things she loves most about him, how much he cares about everyone, not just their friends and family, but the entire settlement.
"At least you knew what you were getting yourself into," Octavia says with a smirk, reaching into a chest next to her chair. "Here, Madi's new sweater, I hope she likes it."
Clarke takes the garment and turns it over in her hands. It's a sort of patchwork design, made up of bits from several different knitted blankets from the ship. "It's beautiful, I'm sure she'll love it."
"We're running out of that type of material quick, though," Octavia continues. "I've been experimenting a little with the fur from the rabbits, and it does work but a rabbit is only so big. I was hoping we could try to domesticate the goats on the other side of the lake? Then we'd get both milk and wool for spinning into yarn."
They have been talking about this occasionally since they landed, but so far there just hasn't been time to really explore the option. She's sure there must be people among the Grounders who know how to tame animals, though.
"Why don't you bring it up at the next assembly?" Clarke suggests – they've decided to hold monthly meetings with everyone in the settlement, so they don't feel like the council is just making decisions without consulting them. The first one was just last month, and the second is coming up in a week.
"Yeah, maybe I will," Octavia decides. "I mean, I know it'll have to wait until spring, probably, but it can't hurt to get people thinking about it, gathering ideas." She goes off in a coughing fit as she finishes.
"Exactly," Clarke agrees, frowning. "Are you feeling OK?" She presses the back of her hand against Octavia's forehead, which doesn't feel warm, at least.
"Oh my God, Bell's rubbing off on you," Octavia says with an eye-roll after she's stopped coughing. "I'm fine, it's just a cold."
"I am a doctor," Clarke reminds her. "Well, sort of. The flu seems to have let go for now, but why don't you stop by the med bay on your way home, just in case? Mom still has the tea we made for the people with the flu, it will help ease a sore throat."
Octavia sighs. "Fine, but just so you won't rattle me out to Bell."
"Don't care about your motivation as long as you're there."
"Yeah, yeah… now get out of here, I have work to do."
Clarke laughs but obediently leaves the workshop and heads back to the med bay.
Her mom and Jackson are still at lunch, so she's alone for the moment and takes the opportunity to sort some medicinal plants that Miller and Jackson brought back from a hunt a few days ago. It's not exactly exciting work, but she does get so wrapped up in it that she jumps a little when there's a knock on the open door.
"Got time for a drop in, doc?" Echo's voice, hoarser than usual, alerts Clarke to who's there before she turns.
"Of course, come on in," she says with a wave of the hand. "Take your pick."
The room's empty – the flu does seem to have mostly passed for now, but they've had a couple of cases of a stomach bug in the last week, so they're half-prepared for an outbreak of that in the near future. They try to keep those patients confined to their cabins, though, to hopefully avoid it spreading too much.
Echo hops onto the nearest examination table, a rattling cough escaping her in the process.
"Flu?" Clarke asks knowingly, but Echo shakes her head.
"I thought so, but it's been almost two weeks now and it's not getting any better," she says. "Emori practically threatened to drag me here herself if I didn't go voluntarily, so here I am."
Clarke and Echo have interacted some over the two months since Clarke and Bellamy got together, but usually in groups. This is the first time they're alone together.
"Do you… my mom should be back soon, or Jackson, if you would rather wait for them?" Clarke says uncertainly.
Echo stares at her for a moment before a look of realization spreads on her face. "Oh, no, it's nothing against you," she says. "I just… as a child, I was told to not show weakness, that you were only as sick as you thought you were, and that healers were for people who broke bones or got stabbed or speared, so it's not really in my nature to ask for help for something like this."
"Oh!" Clarke can understand that, she supposes. She's not too familiar with Azgeda traditions, but she does know that future soldiers were raised in the army from a very young age, and she assumes Echo must have been. "Well, in that case, if you could just lift your shirt up, I'd like to listen to your lungs, that cough didn't sound great."
Echo obliges and Clarke presses the cold stethoscope against her chest and then her back.
"Like I suspected, you have fluid in your lungs, which can be the first stage of pneumonia," she says when she's satisfied. "So Emori was right to send you here. I'll get you some of the tea we've been giving to the people with flu for now, and some to bring home with you to make yourself. You're going to have to take it easy for at least a week – I don't want this to develop into full blown pneumonia, OK? We don't really have the means to treat that. So no hunting parties, no scouting expeditions, nothing, got it?"
Echo nods a little reluctantly, letting her shirt fall back down on as Clarke speaks.
"Thank you."
"Of course." Clarke busies herself with starting a fire in the fireplace and putting a kettle of water above it before she gets some of the dried leaves they use to make the tea from a cupboard. She pours some into a small box for Echo to take with her. "Take this, drink it morning and evening at least. Ideally, I would like to keep you here until at least tomorrow for observation, but if someone can stay with you tonight and come get one of us if your temperature rises or you start having trouble breathing, that's fine too."
Echo looks away at that. "I… yes, there's someone who can stay with me," she says after a beat.
For a moment, Clarke thinks that she might continue, but when she doesn't, she goes to pour some of the now boiling water into a metal mug and finishes the tea.
"Here you go," she says, offering the mug to Echo when it's done. "Careful, it's hot."
Echo blows on the tea before taking a small sip and then grimacing, which makes Clarke laugh.
"It doesn't taste great, I know. But it really does help ease some of the soreness in your throat."
Echo nods, taking another, longer sip of the tea before resting the mug against her leg. "I… I've been seeing someone, I guess," she says after a moment, eyes on the mug. "Thor, he's Podakru. Most of the Azgedans don't really want anything to do with me, they're not hostile or anything but to them I'm still banished… the other Krus have been good, though. We… it's only been a couple of weeks, but it's… nice."
"Nice?" Clarke repeats, noticing the hesitation in the other woman's voice. "Don't sound so excited."
Echo sighs. "No, I am, I just… it's different from anything I've really had with someone before, you know? He's a fisherman, he brings me flowers, I've never… it's all new."
"New can be good."
"It is, it is good." Echo gives Clarke a hesitant look. "I'm sorry, is this strange? I just… I want us to be friends, if we can. I know we've had our… differences in the past, but maybe we can move past them."
Clarke's a little surprised by that, if she's honest. It's not like they're enemies or anything, at least not anymore, more like… acquaintances. Friends of friends. Bellamy had told her that Echo said she needed some time, some distance, so Clarke's been sort of taking her cues on their relationship, really.
"I'd like that too," she now says. "I didn't want to push, Bellamy… he said you needed some space."
To her surprise, Echo laughs at that. "I did tell him that, yes, when we ended things. I just didn't think it would take him quite as long as it did to actually get his head out of his ass and do something. I sort of assumed he'd rush right over, and, well… I didn't really want to have to see you two together at that point, I think you of all people can understand that."
"Oh, trust me – I do," Clarke assures her, and they exchange a knowing look. "But I really would like to get to know you better, and Thor too. You should bring him next time you join us for dinner."
Echo starts coughing again, and Clarke nudges her hand so she drinks the rest of her tea when it passes.
"I'll try to get over this pneumonia first," Echo finally says when the tea is all gone, her voice barely more than a wheeze. "But that would be nice."
Clarke sends Echo on her way with strict instructions to go straight home and get into bed, drink plenty of fluids and just take it easy.
They have a couple more cases of the stomach bug during the afternoon, but soon Clarke's getting ready to call it a day, fully intending to drop off some tea at the workshop on her way home, when someone appears in the doorway.
"Finally," she says when she sees that it's Octavia. "I thought I'd have to come to you."
Octavia rolls her eyes. "I'm here now, calm down."
"Sit," Clarke orders, nodding at a stool and Octavia obligingly sinks down on it. "Lift your shirt up, I want to make sure you don't have pneumonia."
Octavia sighs but does as she's told. Clarke listens to her breathing for a moment, but her lungs sound fine.
"OK, you probably just have a light cold," she says as she's putting her stethoscope away. "Drink the tea for a few days just in case though, try to take it easy, and come back if you feel worse."
"Yes, Mom," Octavia agrees in an amused voice.
"Careful, I can still tell your brother…"
Octavia's eyes narrow at Clarke's threat. "You wouldn't dare."
Clarke just crosses her arms over her chest, and Octavia leaves with a huff but also a squeeze of Clarke's shoulder after she too gets a box with the tea.
Her mom and Jackson have already left for the day, so Clarke tidies up a little around the room before heading out herself.
It's Friday, which means movie night in the mess after dinner, something Raven initiated when they moved the ship up to the hill and got electricity in there. She and Jordan have somehow managed to move a projector from the ship and connect it to the entertainment archive, and they use one of the walls in the mess as a huge screen. The first couple of weeks, almost everyone in the settlement showed up, the Grounders fascinated by the technology that they had never experience before, but it's been a month now and some of the novelty has worn off. Raven has designed a method for going through the movies that Clarke doesn't understand at all, and tonight, it's apparently time for a movie called Gladiator that Bellamy's been grumbling about all week, ever since Raven put up the note in the mess.
He's already home when Clarke gets there – the builders almost always call it a day early on Fridays – lounging on their bed with the shutter open to let in enough afternoon light so he can read.
"Hi there," she greets him, leaning down for a kiss. "How was your day?"
"Fine," he replies with a shrug. "We're a little behind schedule, but hopefully we'll wrap up the last of the cabins in a couple of weeks. I just hope winter doesn't sneak up on us and hit full force out of the blue."
"We'll be OK if it does," she assures him. "Nobody's in tents anymore, and the people still sleeping in the mess can stay there, it's not like they'll freeze. Or they can bunk in the already finished cabins, if they prefer that. There are spare bedrooms. Don't worry so much."
Bellamy sighs. "I know, I just want to get it done."
"I know." Clarke's reminded of her and Octavia's conversation earlier in the day and can't help but run her hand fondly through his curls. He leans into her touch, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her down on the bed next to him.
"Did you have a good day?" he asks when she's moved around so she can curl up against him and lean her head on his shoulder. His arm settles around her, thumb just barely slipping under her shirt to caress the skin on her ribcage, making a shiver run up her spine.
"I did. Some more stomach bugs, but nothing too bad. And I had a nice talk with Echo, actually."
Bellamy's thumb freezes for a moment at that before starting to move again. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, she's got the flu, borderline pneumonia, so I gave her some tea and ordered her to rest for a week… we'll see how that goes."
He huffs. "Yeah, no, she's not great at taking orders or resting, so I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you."
"I guess I'll have to make sure she does, then." Clarke hesitates for a moment. "She said she wants us to be friends, if we can."
"Really?"
"Really," she repeats, looking up at him to gauge his reaction. His eyebrows are raised, but he seems mostly surprised. "Apparently, the whole thing about needing space was because she thought you would actually make a move, like, right away."
He's quiet for a moment. "I guess that does make sense."
"Anyway, she's got a new boyfriend, so I think she's fine."
"She does?"
Clarke hates that she listens carefully for any hint of jealousy in his voice, but she can't help it. To her relief, though, he sounds… glad. A little surprised, but glad.
"Yup, his name's Thor, he was Podakru, and apparently he's nice."
"That… doesn't sound like Echo, to be honest," Bellamy notes. "But good for her. I think he worked on my team for a few of the cabins, seemed like a nice guy. I'm glad she's found someone."
"Yeah," she agrees, suppressing a yawn.
"You know, you seem tired… maybe we should just skip this movie night?" he says, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Clarke chuckles, but lets her eyes slide close for a moment. "Nice try, but no can do, you know Madi's really looking forward to it."
"Fine," Bellamy says with a deep sigh.
As soon as Madi gets home a little later, they head off to the mess hall for dinner. When everyone's finished eating and about half the room has cleared out, Raven starts up the projector and they all turn in their seats so they can watch the movie play on the back wall.
It's not something Clarke would have chosen herself, and if she's being completely honest, the best part is listening to Bellamy grumbling next to her about everything that's wrong with the movie from a historical perspective.
"You do know this isn't a documentary, right?" she mumbles to him when he huffs loudly at a scene in the gladiator arena.
"They could still make an effort," he replies. "See, and now… yeah, like that would happen!"
Clarke just rolls her eyes and exchanges an amused look with Raven a few seats over.
The movie's long, and by the time the end credits roll across the wall, Madi's fallen asleep with her head on Clarke's shoulder.
"Here, I've got her," Bellamy says as he gets up, leaning down to lift the girl into his arms. She mumbles something in her sleep but doesn't wake up, not when they get out into the considerably cooler air or when they finally tuck her into her bed at home.
Clarke closes her door quietly behind them and doesn't even bother to fight the huge yawn that overcomes her a moment later.
"Tired?" Bellamy asks, his arms wrapping around her waist from behind, pulling her back against him.
She turns around in his embrace to be able to slide her hands into the back pockets of his pants. "Mmm, not that tired."
"You sure?" he insists, bypassing her waiting lips to press a kiss to her throat. "I should probably tuck you into bed too, let you get a good night's sleep."
She knows he's teasing her, even if it's a little hard to think straight with his mouth against her throat and his hand traveling up her spine underneath her shirt, but, well – two can play that game.
She fakes another, big yawn as she takes a step backwards, out of his embrace. "You're right, I should get some rest."
He doesn't move as she turns around and starts heading towards the bedroom again, but she's only gotten a few steps before she hears him behind her, and then she's suddenly pressed up against the wall next to the bedroom door.
"Not so fast, Princess," Bellamy whispers in her ear, his breath hot on her skin and his hand slipping under her shirt, skirting up her side to tease the side of her breast.
"I thought you… ah," she cuts herself off when his hand moves slightly, squeezing her breast once before he flicks her nipple lightly with his thumb through the worn material of her bra. He uses his other hand to push her hair away from her throat and then his mouth is hot and wet against her pulse point.
"You were saying…"
Clarke pushes back against him, feeling the beginning of his erection against her butt. "Shut up and fuck me."
He chuckles against her throat, but moves back slightly so she can turn around and finally kiss him.
"Bedroom," she murmurs against his lips after a moment, when his fingers close around the hem of her shirt and start pulling it up.
"Right."
He manages to maneuver them through the door without letting go of her completely, and once he's closed it behind them he doesn't waste any time in lifting her up so she can wrap her legs around his waist and pushing her up against the door. She's vaguely aware of the sound of the metal hasp they've put in to keep Madi from barging in at inopportune moments falling into place, but then Bellamy finishes his earlier endeavor of getting her shirt off, closely followed by her bra, and then his mouth is on her breast and her brain stops working completely.
She somehow manages to get the first few buttons on his shirt undone and pushes it off his shoulders so she can get her hands on skin as well, letting her nails scrape lightly down his chest and abs and then back up. His hands go to the hem of her pants and he manages to get the button and zipper undone, before he pulls back with a slight frown on his face.
"This isn't going to work," he notes half-dazedly.
Clarke looks down between them and realizes that, yes, she's going to have to get down if they want to get the last of their clothes off. She also starts noticing the way the rough door is scraping against her back.
"And I don't really want to get a bunch of splinters in my back," she notes. "Bed?"
Bellamy nods and reluctantly lets her slide down to the floor, where she makes quick work of the last offending garments before she scoots onto the bed, eyes on him the whole time.
He's paused, zipper halfway down, to watch her, eyes dark. She gives him a teasing smile. "What are you waiting for?"
He snaps out of his daze and pushes his pants down, along with his underwear, before crawling onto the bed and covering her body with his.
"Sometimes I still have a hard time believing that you're really here," he mumbles before kissing her softly.
"I know, me too." She wraps one arm tightly around his neck, pulling him down until they're skin on skin. "But I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."
"I know, I know." His lips are insistent against hers, kiss deep and hard. "I love you."
She slips a hand between them to wrap around him and position him at her entrance, and waits until he's slowly pushing inside before she replies. "I love you."