[ if she's seeking a judgement, she's not going to find one. bellamy would do anything to ensure octavia's safety, even if it meant taking himself out of a war to guarantee it. although he doubts it would be easier said than done, it's what he's done here, isn't it? rather than linger within camp jaha to see to it he helps with the group healing and therapy, he's pissed off to a city that encourages cuddling. if raven's incentive was to save herself, he's glad she took it. she's one of his people, and where he had failed in being able to save her from the first few cuts, the eudio representatives have spared her the memory of it. ]
[ he looks to the table in front of him and sighs, ] I kind of wish they'd come to me a little earlier than they did. [ it would've been nice to avoid going through the whole cleansing process within mount weather, along with being caged and then being hung upside down to be drained of his blood. if he could've avoided that, skipping right over it to get to the grand finale, bellamy would've taken any proposal. ]
[ he looks up at her, brows rising slightly, ] You made a good choice. [ even though he doubts she might look at it the same way. it's better she doesn't know that they'd strung her up and they'd been floundering, wondering how they could cut her down without risking her life any further. bellamy had tried to figure out a way he could somehow cause a distraction to pull her from the tree, but with so many grounders and the need for an alliance to move forward as one had anchored his feet to the ground so he could think. he looks around the kitchen, it rather strange to see her inside of one that's so defined by cupboards and chairs and utensils when he's so used to the dark walls of the tents and the stations they create themselves. ] This place is better than Camp Jaha.
[All that, everything he says -- and he doesn't say much - makes her draw up short. Something happens, she can tell; her end of the bargain -- get them out of Mount Weather -- might have held true, but there have been consequences. She suspected that, anyway.
She pushes herself away from the edge of the table for a moment, in some attempt to maybe reach out and offer him comfort. A second later, she changes her mind. You made a good choice.
Wasn't looking for his approval, but she can accept it and let it smooth out some edges. Her selfishness no longer feels like betrayal, like that. (Of course Bellamy would get it. He'd do the same thing for Octavia - he'd do anything for Octavia, then again.)]
Do you want to eat something? [It gets blurted out, non sequitur. She's not going to press hard now, but she will. Eventually.] I'm not a cook, but there's leftovers of yesterday's takeout and you can probably use it.
[Too bad if the answer is no because she's already digging through her fridge, hope you like reheated lasagna.]
[ he opens his mouth to say i'm alright, even though bellamy hasn't eaten decently in what feels like an age. taking from maya hadn't felt right, but he needed to keep his energy up and his senses alert for any swift and sudden changes within the mount weather atmosphere. she gets up and he closes his mouth, that protest of his dying with it. it's easier to let raven do what she wants than to fight her, anyway — regardless of what he says, she'll shove a plate of whatever is in her fridge in front of him and stare him down until he's eaten. ]
Sure. [ it's not like he has much of a choice, anyway. bellamy watches her for a few moments, finding it odd — everything within this city is just that, completely managing to successfully throw him out of his comfort zone. but raven looks comfortable within it, whereas he thinks himself to stick out like a sore thumb. ]
Must be weird having leftovers. [ even though he's someone who prefers silence to any awkward small talk, bellamy figures he owes it to her to fill the quietness of the kitchen with a conversation that isn't as heavy as what he's left unsaid and what she's refused to ask. he isn't sure if he even wants her to ask him to tell her what happens, but skirting around issues — it's never been bellamy's way when he can easily bulldoze through them instead. ]
[ it's still weird to think she has leftovers when they could barely feed the hundred of them, let alone the forty-seven and then forty-four they've been reduced to. ]
[He'll get over it. She stuck out like a sore wound at the start; angry and bitter and unapproachable in cuddle city. She's moved on, and adapted, and so will he. He's too smart not to.
She switches the lasagna to a plate and shoves it in the microwave oven, letting it heat up, and smiles at him over her shoulder.] Yeah, no kidding. I don't remember having this much food or clothes or anything in my life.
[Low classes unite in this apartment, hella.] My first days here, I gorged out on every free food offered to me. Felt sick for a week, but I don't know - worth it. [She shrugs.
While the meal heats up, she turns to look at him properly.]
You know... [Quietly,] Just because I don't want to ask doesn't mean you can't tell me, if there's anything you want to [Get off your chest.] talk about.
[ maybe it's a good thing she's not looking at him when he smiles. it gives him an idea to take o all the way along the boardwalk and letting her indulge herself for once in her life. it might be more pleasurable for her if he isn't looming over her, but bellamy's always wanted to witness it — his sister being a kid. it's the kind of life he had always wanted for her, one where she didn't have to hide, one where she wasn't a secret, one she could enjoy. by the sounds of it, raven does. ]
[ he's looking off to the side when she looks at him properly. he turns his head, giving her his attention at her own quiet ... he's not even sure what it is. it's an offer, but it's one that often sits between friends or people who care about one another. although bellamy's proven he cares about the forty-four a lot more than he'd ever let himself say, he still holds onto his own declaration of i don't care. it's easier to posture than it is to be himself. and to think of raven as his friend — it's just something bellamy doesn't do. ]
[ though he considers shrugging off her offer, he does think to tell her everything — from maya in mount weather to jasper and monty proving themselves to be two formidable warriors to octavia no longer being the girl beneath the floor to even raven, guiding him through the insides of the base when he had felt lost himself. but he forgoes it. what he wants to get off his chest is his guilt — over her leg, over those dead kids in mount weather, over tondc's explosion, and over clarke thinking she needs to go at finding atonement alone — and he doesn't want to put that on her to bear. ]
[ his voice is quiet as he looks down. ] If you ever decide to go back — [ he supposes, if anything, he can give her some hope when she may think there's none. he hasn't acted as though she'd died from the thousand cuts, but, then again, he's repressed finn's death as best as he can, along with the others, just so he can get the job at hand completed. he looks up at her, ] — you don't have anything to worry about.
[Diiiiiiiiiing. Saved by the microwave oven. She holds his gaze for a few seconds longer, letting the beep go on and on, before she finally turns to open the oven door. Back to him, casually she throws at him:] Clarke told me I don't die.
[She takes the plate out without a rag, moving it quickly on the table so she doesn't burn her fingertips too much; like it's going to matter, like she hasn't already burned them enough. Then she fishes through a drawer for a fork and with it in her hand she leans into the table, pining him down with a stare.]
Are you going to tell me Lexa's going to walk in and pat my head and offer an apology, or do you want to try that again? [This is a test: don't sugarcoat it with her.]
[ it's a good thing clarke and raven established that, at least. it would've been easier if clarke had just told raven everything. it would be easier if raven was curious to know everything rather than settled with the notion that things can only get worse and she's made her peace with it. although things did get bad, they got better, too, and that's what bellamy clings to now for the sake of his own sanity. ]
[ even though he knows the ground isn't littered with land mines on purpose, he still fears stepping on one. he settles for watching her, finding himself regretting it the moment she pins him with a stare. ] No. [ even if that did happen, bellamy wouldn't believe it himself, even if he happened to witness it. if he's learned anything about lexa, she's ruthless and she's determined to care for her people just like him. but the lengths she's willing to go to had tested clarke and pushed her over the edge — just as it's threatened to do the same for him. ]
[ he sighs, knowing himself to be cornered. he could snap at her, but, truthfully, bellamy's too tired to get his hackles up. instead, he forgoes getting anything off his chest, realising it opens too many doors she's stated she wants closed. ] Mount Weather's gone. We got our people out. You live. That's what matters.
[She stays quiet a few seconds longer, then leaves the fork on the table for him. Quietly, she takes a seat on the other chair in the kitchen, and weighs his words. You live. That's what matters.
She's being nitpicky here, this one she knows, but the thought of it presses at the back of her mind, and Raven won't let it go until she's got it solved. So, there's -]
Do you? [That coppery taste in her mouth right there, the knot in her stomach? She realizes it comes from fear, the fear of him not making it.]
[ it's really hard for bellamy to remember that raven hasn't experienced the drilling for her bone marrow. it's really hard for bellamy to remember she doesn't know that he's successful. it's really hard for bellamy to remember raven hadn't been there when clarke had decided his life was worth the risk of him losing it if he got caught within the web of mount weather. it takes him a moment to recall what both clarke and raven have told him of this place, but it doesn't stop the knit of his eyebrows for a moment. ]
[ raven doesn't know he goes into the lion's den, and it's a little hard for bellamy to make sure he doesn't say anything else she may latch onto. he doesn't drop his gaze. it's quiet: ] Yeah. [ barely. being hung up and drained of his blood, running around mount weather trying to remain undetected as an impostor, and almost being blown to bits under raven's own instructions and his own stupidity, bellamy's surprised he's even alive. ]
[ he doesn't get how this place works. so, in an effort to disperse any tension that may have sparked, he adds without much of a smile, ] How else would I be here?
[Mission not accomplished, tension still there. The way he lowers his gaze, she's done that before. It's when you're trying to placate someone's worries but the reality and truth of the situation is altogether bigger, worse. She scowls for a second, before he asks that question.
And then...?] I don't know, there have been rumours. About this place being able to bring in people who're otherwise...[Doomed to die. Bonus points if you're thinking about who she's thinking.]
We both know I'm not that lucky. [ if he was, he thinks they would've offered him eudio before lincoln and he made it to the reaper's caves. but if anyone's lucky, it's finn, but as far as bellamy's concerned, he's nowhere to be found. if so, he thinks he'd be hanging off of his girl — and not the one who's offering leftovers to him. ]
[ in another attempt of changing the subject and possibly alleviating the tension that will most likely be unsuccessful, he thinks to approach another topic — one far from finn and that night where he'd lost a friend and raven had lost her family. he doesn't dip his gaze downward this time. ] Clarke told me I was here before. I don't remember any of it. I don't get how I don't, but if we spoke before ... I guess I should say sorry I don't remember.
We didn't. [She'd rather latch onto the subject change than continue down the road. Nowadays, she thinks of Finn only once a day instead of once every hour; cries about it maybe once a week, when bottling it up is too hard to keep up with. But it's been months here, more months than she's had the liberty of back home.
If it can be called home.
Either way.] Clarke told me you were around, but you'd left before we could run into each other. [There, see, a flash of a smirk.] Jerk.
[ bellamy's lips quirk up and he shrugs his shoulder. ] Sorry. [ but he doesn't really sound it. he can't give her a reason why he hadn't sought her out, but he supposes maybe a part of him had known he'd missed her his first time around. he doubts it would've been on purpose, but given he doesn't know when he'd been offered his trip to eudio and why he'd taken it to only be thrown back into the real world, he can't really make sense of it himself. but it seems as though she's not particularly broken up about it. he doesn't get why she would be. ]
You probably would've seen me if you'd bothered to offer me free food. [ and he looks pointedly to her leftovers before looking up at her. ]
[ bellamy rolls his head, shaking his head. ] That's cute. [ he leans forward to rest his arms against the table, folding them across it. he doesn't think about how well they seem to get along when there's no fight with the mountain men or grounders to pull them together. ] I guess I should be saying thanks for not being too busy for me tonight, then.
[You know it is. He doesn't think about that? She keeps thinking about how ironic it is that the guy who wanted to kill her on sight -- same guy she pulled a knife on? -- is the one who ended up being unspoken moral support to her the most. You know, by this rule, in the future she's going to be BFFs with Lincoln, or something.]
You just got lucky - nights are usually slow. If you'd tried it during the day, you'd have had a harder time finding me.
[ and bellamy's going to fight octavia for lincoln's love. honestly, bellamy doesn't like to think about it at all because he hates who he had been. he's learned from his mistakes, but it doesn't mean he's too fond on walking the road back into his past. he'd been a dick, but he likes to think things are better now that he's learned his lessons the hard way. it's easy, it feels nice — he's had a really shit week, so ending it with some banter that has no impact on any life-changing decisions removes the weight that's constantly burdening his shoulders. ]
[ he nods, pressing his lips together as if to suppress a smile. bellamy doesn't know if he even remembers how to, but it seems as though his cheeks are getting a nice work out tonight. ] Because you're busy smearing grease on your face. [ his eyes shift to her cheek before he thinks to lift his hand to touch his. ]
[She pulls back -- was she leaning forward, elbows on the table? Oh, okay.] Well excuse me for not putting on my ballgown for you, your Highness.
[She reaches up and rubs at her cheek; the one not smeared with grease. There, now both cheeks are equal and she has reduced the tone of this mood to 'five year olds'. Something to revel in, to be sure, because how often do people like them joke around? Not at all that much.]
I'm a mechanic, getting dirty's in the first line of the job description.
[ bellamy tries his best not to be amused, but he is. maybe it would've helped if he'd specified which cheek, but he's always liked being a pain in the ass. it's always been the smallest of things that have brightened up his day; though he supposes returning to camp jaha had happened yesterday, despite him not having any time to sleep before winding up here, it's kind of a nice end to what he doesn't want to think about. raven not screaming in pain is something he hopes he gets to look forward to in the future once he returns home. ]
[ regardless of how he tries to bite it back, he smiles. ] You missed.
[From one pain in the ass to the other, right? She keeps track of every bolt in this house, you think she doesn't know where her smudge it? But she catches that dork smile and it's so unusual on his face, it stirs some sort of instinct in her.
Look. Eudio's been good to her. She's healthier here, calmer, maybe even funnier here. Maybe she'd like the same thing for him too; she she could find it in herself to smile and laugh again, who says he can't?
She lets her fingers hover over the initial smear of grease on her cheek, then rubs them over the bridge of her nose.] Did I get it?
[ what bellamy doesn't know kind of outs him as not getting to know raven as well as he can. though, it's probably something one learns over time, that she's well aware she has grease smeared on her cheek even if she acts as though she isn't, bellamy doesn't know it. being involved in a war doesn't exactly invite any moments like this — bellamy had never allowed himself any moments like this. ]
[ he plays into her hand so easily — and maybe surprisingly, but his moments with octavia within their own little home had to be quiet and clean. there was no room for paints, let alone grease smears, within the blake home. he shakes his head when her fingers skim over her nose and when she asks her question. ] I didn't say it was on your nose. [ neither did he even say it was on her cheek. ]
[ maybe it's the control freak within him that resurfaces, but rather than show her again, on the proper cheek this time, bellamy leans forward. ] Here. [ extending his arm out, he pushes himself as forward as he needs to go, hand raised and his eyes focused on her cheek that had first been smeared, and swipes his thumb against the apple of it. instead of leaving it with that, as if a touch will help raven rub it off, bellamy doesn't trust her not to smear it further and add another layer to it with her hands. his fingers end up cradling the side of her face as he tries wipe it clean. ]
[That...she has to admit, she didn't calculate that into the outcome of this situation. She supposes that they haven't had the time to realize the other has a sense of humour (come on, he must've caught glimpses of hers), so maybe that's why he takes it so literally.
But the touch is unexpected, and unexpectedly pleasant; it stuns her into stillness and silence, the smile locked on her face like it's not buying that this is happening at all. She lets it go on as long as it takes him to get more adamant about getting her face clean.
Then she pulls her head away, puts herself out of reach and just galantly rubs her sleeve against her face.] Forget it, it's just going to get worse later, I still have work to do. I'll take a shower -- oh. [That reminds her.] That reminds me, you should try those. They're...yeah.
[ bellamy usually leaves all the jokes to jasper and monty and all the other funny guys. he reads it like it's a joke, but, at the same time, he doesn't. he wouldn't know someone's teasing him until it literally came to bite him in the ass — or someone laughed like it was a joke, like she has a few times. things at camp have been so intense he wouldn't even be able to recall a good knock knock joke if she was to ask him for one. ]
[ he doesn't take note of her stillness, but the moment she pulls away, he drops his hand and himself back into his chair. slumping slightly within it once more, he lets his hands settle on his legs as he looks up at her with his brows knitted. showers. a nice chance to be clean. bellamy hasn't felt clean for a long time, and the one moment he had — he's not sending the mountain men's corpses a thank you card. ]
[ sliding his hands along his legs, he leans forward with an arch to his brow as he purposefully misconstrues her. ] You don't think I look clean enough? [ he's turned the shower on in his own apartment, but he hasn't stepped foot in it. looking at the spray after he'd accidentally turned it on too hard had taken him back to the basement of mount weather. instead, he'd opted for splashing face on his face and gone about his day of interrogating everyone within eudio. ]
Edited (showers are a tw raven!!!) 2015-07-16 13:52 (UTC)
[She frowns.] Not how I meant it. [There's a dumbass that's implied in her tone. He looks clean enough. About as clean as she'd looked during her first days here; washed but not wearing new clothes. She shakes her head, unaware.]
They're just great, is all. Endless supply of hot water, nobody about to float you for using too much soap. Good stuff.
[ but it's exactly how bellamy had wanted to interpret it. being a little agitating, and in an innocent way, is something bellamy hardly gets to indulge himself in. being purposefully oblivious to her own meaning is him showing her he has a sense of humour deep down under all those layers of brooding and anger. ]
[ a world where you don't get floated for spending a little longer in the shower? it's a strange one to bellamy. he purses his lips and nods to himself. ] Sounds like a treat. [ and it does, one that sounds too good to be true. he wants to be distrusting toward it, but with how unclean he's felt, he thinks, maybe, the eudio representatives owe him this. a nice bar of soap he doesn't have to worry about. ]
[ he looks to her then the lasagne she had kindly heated up for him. ] You want to go hide your soap? [ or have a shower, since he presumes that's where she wants to be in this very moment. but hiding it behind a joke that isn't up to jasper levels of funny is bellamy's way of giving her an out to either take a shower or even get back to her own work if he's keeping her from changing the world like the superhero she is. ]
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( action )
[ he looks to the table in front of him and sighs, ] I kind of wish they'd come to me a little earlier than they did. [ it would've been nice to avoid going through the whole cleansing process within mount weather, along with being caged and then being hung upside down to be drained of his blood. if he could've avoided that, skipping right over it to get to the grand finale, bellamy would've taken any proposal. ]
[ he looks up at her, brows rising slightly, ] You made a good choice. [ even though he doubts she might look at it the same way. it's better she doesn't know that they'd strung her up and they'd been floundering, wondering how they could cut her down without risking her life any further. bellamy had tried to figure out a way he could somehow cause a distraction to pull her from the tree, but with so many grounders and the need for an alliance to move forward as one had anchored his feet to the ground so he could think. he looks around the kitchen, it rather strange to see her inside of one that's so defined by cupboards and chairs and utensils when he's so used to the dark walls of the tents and the stations they create themselves. ] This place is better than Camp Jaha.
( action )
She pushes herself away from the edge of the table for a moment, in some attempt to maybe reach out and offer him comfort. A second later, she changes her mind. You made a good choice.
Wasn't looking for his approval, but she can accept it and let it smooth out some edges. Her selfishness no longer feels like betrayal, like that. (Of course Bellamy would get it. He'd do the same thing for Octavia - he'd do anything for Octavia, then again.)]
Do you want to eat something? [It gets blurted out, non sequitur. She's not going to press hard now, but she will. Eventually.] I'm not a cook, but there's leftovers of yesterday's takeout and you can probably use it.
[Too bad if the answer is no because she's already digging through her fridge, hope you like reheated lasagna.]
( action )
Sure. [ it's not like he has much of a choice, anyway. bellamy watches her for a few moments, finding it odd — everything within this city is just that, completely managing to successfully throw him out of his comfort zone. but raven looks comfortable within it, whereas he thinks himself to stick out like a sore thumb. ]
Must be weird having leftovers. [ even though he's someone who prefers silence to any awkward small talk, bellamy figures he owes it to her to fill the quietness of the kitchen with a conversation that isn't as heavy as what he's left unsaid and what she's refused to ask. he isn't sure if he even wants her to ask him to tell her what happens, but skirting around issues — it's never been bellamy's way when he can easily bulldoze through them instead. ]
[ it's still weird to think she has leftovers when they could barely feed the hundred of them, let alone the forty-seven and then forty-four they've been reduced to. ]
( action )
She switches the lasagna to a plate and shoves it in the microwave oven, letting it heat up, and smiles at him over her shoulder.] Yeah, no kidding. I don't remember having this much food or clothes or anything in my life.
[Low classes unite in this apartment, hella.] My first days here, I gorged out on every free food offered to me. Felt sick for a week, but I don't know - worth it. [She shrugs.
While the meal heats up, she turns to look at him properly.]
You know... [Quietly,] Just because I don't want to ask doesn't mean you can't tell me, if there's anything you want to [Get off your chest.] talk about.
( action )
[ he's looking off to the side when she looks at him properly. he turns his head, giving her his attention at her own quiet ... he's not even sure what it is. it's an offer, but it's one that often sits between friends or people who care about one another. although bellamy's proven he cares about the forty-four a lot more than he'd ever let himself say, he still holds onto his own declaration of i don't care. it's easier to posture than it is to be himself. and to think of raven as his friend — it's just something bellamy doesn't do. ]
[ though he considers shrugging off her offer, he does think to tell her everything — from maya in mount weather to jasper and monty proving themselves to be two formidable warriors to octavia no longer being the girl beneath the floor to even raven, guiding him through the insides of the base when he had felt lost himself. but he forgoes it. what he wants to get off his chest is his guilt — over her leg, over those dead kids in mount weather, over tondc's explosion, and over clarke thinking she needs to go at finding atonement alone — and he doesn't want to put that on her to bear. ]
[ his voice is quiet as he looks down. ] If you ever decide to go back — [ he supposes, if anything, he can give her some hope when she may think there's none. he hasn't acted as though she'd died from the thousand cuts, but, then again, he's repressed finn's death as best as he can, along with the others, just so he can get the job at hand completed. he looks up at her, ] — you don't have anything to worry about.
( action ) LIERRRR
[She takes the plate out without a rag, moving it quickly on the table so she doesn't burn her fingertips too much; like it's going to matter, like she hasn't already burned them enough. Then she fishes through a drawer for a fork and with it in her hand she leans into the table, pining him down with a stare.]
Are you going to tell me Lexa's going to walk in and pat my head and offer an apology, or do you want to try that again? [This is a test: don't sugarcoat it with her.]
( action ) SHHHH.
[ even though he knows the ground isn't littered with land mines on purpose, he still fears stepping on one. he settles for watching her, finding himself regretting it the moment she pins him with a stare. ] No. [ even if that did happen, bellamy wouldn't believe it himself, even if he happened to witness it. if he's learned anything about lexa, she's ruthless and she's determined to care for her people just like him. but the lengths she's willing to go to had tested clarke and pushed her over the edge — just as it's threatened to do the same for him. ]
[ he sighs, knowing himself to be cornered. he could snap at her, but, truthfully, bellamy's too tired to get his hackles up. instead, he forgoes getting anything off his chest, realising it opens too many doors she's stated she wants closed. ] Mount Weather's gone. We got our people out. You live. That's what matters.
( action )
She's being nitpicky here, this one she knows, but the thought of it presses at the back of her mind, and Raven won't let it go until she's got it solved. So, there's -]
Do you? [That coppery taste in her mouth right there, the knot in her stomach? She realizes it comes from fear, the fear of him not making it.]
( action )
[ raven doesn't know he goes into the lion's den, and it's a little hard for bellamy to make sure he doesn't say anything else she may latch onto. he doesn't drop his gaze. it's quiet: ] Yeah. [ barely. being hung up and drained of his blood, running around mount weather trying to remain undetected as an impostor, and almost being blown to bits under raven's own instructions and his own stupidity, bellamy's surprised he's even alive. ]
[ he doesn't get how this place works. so, in an effort to disperse any tension that may have sparked, he adds without much of a smile, ] How else would I be here?
( action )
And then...?] I don't know, there have been rumours. About this place being able to bring in people who're otherwise...[Doomed to die. Bonus points if you're thinking about who she's thinking.]
( action )
[ in another attempt of changing the subject and possibly alleviating the tension that will most likely be unsuccessful, he thinks to approach another topic — one far from finn and that night where he'd lost a friend and raven had lost her family. he doesn't dip his gaze downward this time. ] Clarke told me I was here before. I don't remember any of it. I don't get how I don't, but if we spoke before ... I guess I should say sorry I don't remember.
( action )
If it can be called home.
Either way.] Clarke told me you were around, but you'd left before we could run into each other. [There, see, a flash of a smirk.] Jerk.
( action )
You probably would've seen me if you'd bothered to offer me free food. [ and he looks pointedly to her leftovers before looking up at her. ]
( action )
Sorry I was too busy stuffing my face with it to try.
( action )
( action ) oh no you didn't
You just got lucky - nights are usually slow. If you'd tried it during the day, you'd have had a harder time finding me.
( action ) i am innocent.
[ he nods, pressing his lips together as if to suppress a smile. bellamy doesn't know if he even remembers how to, but it seems as though his cheeks are getting a nice work out tonight. ] Because you're busy smearing grease on your face. [ his eyes shift to her cheek before he thinks to lift his hand to touch his. ]
( action ) i'll show your cheeks a nice workout
[She reaches up and rubs at her cheek; the one not smeared with grease. There, now both cheeks are equal and she has reduced the tone of this mood to 'five year olds'. Something to revel in, to be sure, because how often do people like them joke around? Not at all that much.]
I'm a mechanic, getting dirty's in the first line of the job description.
( action ) (*‿*✿)
[ regardless of how he tries to bite it back, he smiles. ] You missed.
( action ) i didn't plan for this
Look. Eudio's been good to her. She's healthier here, calmer, maybe even funnier here. Maybe she'd like the same thing for him too; she she could find it in herself to smile and laugh again, who says he can't?
She lets her fingers hover over the initial smear of grease on her cheek, then rubs them over the bridge of her nose.] Did I get it?
( action ) LIAR.
[ he plays into her hand so easily — and maybe surprisingly, but his moments with octavia within their own little home had to be quiet and clean. there was no room for paints, let alone grease smears, within the blake home. he shakes his head when her fingers skim over her nose and when she asks her question. ] I didn't say it was on your nose. [ neither did he even say it was on her cheek. ]
[ maybe it's the control freak within him that resurfaces, but rather than show her again, on the proper cheek this time, bellamy leans forward. ] Here. [ extending his arm out, he pushes himself as forward as he needs to go, hand raised and his eyes focused on her cheek that had first been smeared, and swipes his thumb against the apple of it. instead of leaving it with that, as if a touch will help raven rub it off, bellamy doesn't trust her not to smear it further and add another layer to it with her hands. his fingers end up cradling the side of her face as he tries wipe it clean. ]
( action ) what have you done
But the touch is unexpected, and unexpectedly pleasant; it stuns her into stillness and silence, the smile locked on her face like it's not buying that this is happening at all. She lets it go on as long as it takes him to get more adamant about getting her face clean.
Then she pulls her head away, puts herself out of reach and just galantly rubs her sleeve against her face.] Forget it, it's just going to get worse later, I still have work to do. I'll take a shower -- oh. [That reminds her.] That reminds me, you should try those. They're...yeah.
( action ) made a mess.
[ he doesn't take note of her stillness, but the moment she pulls away, he drops his hand and himself back into his chair. slumping slightly within it once more, he lets his hands settle on his legs as he looks up at her with his brows knitted. showers. a nice chance to be clean. bellamy hasn't felt clean for a long time, and the one moment he had — he's not sending the mountain men's corpses a thank you card. ]
[ sliding his hands along his legs, he leans forward with an arch to his brow as he purposefully misconstrues her. ] You don't think I look clean enough? [ he's turned the shower on in his own apartment, but he hasn't stepped foot in it. looking at the spray after he'd accidentally turned it on too hard had taken him back to the basement of mount weather. instead, he'd opted for splashing face on his face and gone about his day of interrogating everyone within eudio. ]
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They're just great, is all. Endless supply of hot water, nobody about to float you for using too much soap. Good stuff.
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[ a world where you don't get floated for spending a little longer in the shower? it's a strange one to bellamy. he purses his lips and nods to himself. ] Sounds like a treat. [ and it does, one that sounds too good to be true. he wants to be distrusting toward it, but with how unclean he's felt, he thinks, maybe, the eudio representatives owe him this. a nice bar of soap he doesn't have to worry about. ]
[ he looks to her then the lasagne she had kindly heated up for him. ] You want to go hide your soap? [ or have a shower, since he presumes that's where she wants to be in this very moment. but hiding it behind a joke that isn't up to jasper levels of funny is bellamy's way of giving her an out to either take a shower or even get back to her own work if he's keeping her from changing the world like the superhero she is. ]
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( action ) warning: nerd.
( action ) you're not joking
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