It's Cami's birthdayyyyyyy and do you know what Cami loves? Short and fluffy. So this is short (for me ok, I'm a graphomaniac) and this is hopefully fluffy. I'm not an expert at this. I tried.

Happy Birthday Cami!

A Sort Of Proposal

Marcus looked peaceful.

Abby shifted her head on the pillow with a smile. Most of her forearm was under his shirt, her hand spread over his heart so she could feel every beat, her thumb drawing soothing pattern on his warm skin.

It wasn't always like that. Even three months after everything that had gone down with Pike, Jaha and the AI, nightmares were still plaguing them. They were learning to put everything behind but it was slow going.

They had been slow going too.

They had taken the time to lick their own wounds before exploring this, them, but they had done it while leaning on each other, drawing strength from the other… It hadn't been easy to look behind the guilt and the pain but… They had done it. And, truth be told, Abby was glad for the pain. It was only when you lived too long without something that you realized how vital it was.

They were settled in this now. This was comfortable, easy… This was precious and this was everything.

She pressed a light kiss on his shoulder, over the thin fabric of his shirt, careful not to disturb his slumber. His lips stretched into a smile.

"What are you doing?" he asked, more curious than annoyed, his voice rough from a good night sleep. She liked his voice first thing in the morning, it was even deeper than usual.

"Watching you fake sleep." she grinned. "Very entertaining."

He opened his eyes, his smile deepening even more, and covered the hand on his chest with his own. She cursed the shirt that prevented her from feeling his palm on her skin.

"Hi." he said, leaning in to steal a slow kiss.

"Good morning." she whispered against his lips.

"It can be only good if it starts like this." he chuckled, rolling on his side to wrap his arm around her. Her hand was trapped between their bodies, under his shirt, but she didn't complain.

"What would they all said if they knew their Chancellor is a big romantic?" she teased, resting her forehead against his.

"I think that secret is already out." he snorted, brushing her lips against hers. She sneaked her hand out of his shirt and brought it to his face, running her nails through the beard. He hummed in satisfaction like a cat who liked to be scratched behind the ears and it made her grin harder. His hand roamed up her back to her shoulder and trailed along her arm to her hand, stilling it against his cheek. There was a spark of uncertainty in his eyes now that she didn't quite like. "Abby?"

"What?" she frowned, already readying herself to hear about a new catastrophe he would have hidden from her until now.

He hesitated a moment longer and then licked his lips. "Life's short. I want to wake up like this every day for the rest of it."

She blinked, taking that in, and sighed in relief.

"Idiot." she snorted. "I thought you were going to say another evil AI was about to take over."

It probably meant progress that she could joke about it now.

"I'm serious." he insisted. "I know it hasn't been so long but…"

"I'm not getting married right now." she cut him off. That would involve a conversation with Clarke about Jake – which would jeopardize the fragile relationship she had managed to build with her daughter – as well as a lot of attention and fuss from everyone in Arkadia and she could frankly do without that at the moment. "I'm not saying no, Marcus. But not right now."

His lips twitched in amusement and he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "Okay, this is awkward because… I wasn't proposing."

"Oh." she winced, feeling her cheeks reddening.

"You really think I would propose to you like this?" he laughed. "Abby, when I propose – and I probably will someday – I'll do it right. With a ring for starters."

She didn't need a ring to be happy but she didn't tell him. It would make him happy more likely and who was she to deny him that?

"What did you mean then?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows.

He gave a small shrug and pressed a kiss on the inside of her wrist. "I meant… Maybe you could move in here with me. Or I could move to your room. Or, you know… We could even build a house."

People were doing that more and more. Building. Arkadia was growing everyday and people tended to leave the station nowadays, to expand.

"So just to be clear…" she teased. "You're not proposing but you're sort of proposing."

He stared at her, a soft smile on his lips. "I don't want to waste time. And I'm sure about this, I'm sure I want a future with you."

It was still complicated. There would be gossip – even more gossip than at the moment – and Clarke might still have something to say about it but… Abby couldn't quite bring herself to care. She spent almost all her free time in Marcus' room when they weren't both in the war room anyway. Clarke was an adult and lived her life, she didn't share her quarters anymore. What was there left for her in her room but clean clothes, a few books and some mementoes that would easily be carried to Marcus' in a few trips?

"Alright." she accepted, leaning in to kiss him. "Yes."

He pulled her on him with a laugh and she squealed half in surprise and half in joy.

She had forgotten life could be so happy.