#being a hockey boy is such a prison that even though he KNOWS his eyebrows are a mess he won’t just go get them threaded

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 4 - CHAPTER 1

Annddddd we’re back with the first chapter of the fourth and final arc! No prologues this time round, we’re jumping straight into the action!

Belleza’s chaos levels: rising by the day

BELLEZA

Two days.

That was all the time Belleza had been willing to give Calantha to decide whether she would trade herself for those that Belleza had taken prisoner.  What Calantha did not know was that they had already been sent away to Olympia, Belleza deciding she had had enough of chasing around after her younger sister, and had taken fate into her own hands and decided to push ahead into phase three with or without her.

Perhaps the most surprising thing in all of this was Calantha seemed to actually be waiting two days to give her answer. Knowing what she was like, Belleza had expected her comments about Bianca would have appealed to her gentle nature and she would have willingly complied to come home, but she hadn’t. True, she hadn’t outright said no, but she had questioned what would have been the alternative had she done so, and that alone was enough to surprise Belleza.

That surprise had turned to irritation hours later when - thanks to Ulysses’s security hack that Lunick was able to modify for them - she learnt that there were plans in motion to arrange for a set-up to try and capture Belleza. Oh, how she had raged when she saw those messages, and how her impatience grew when Calantha’s call didn’t immediately follow.

When the call finally came that morning, Belleza knew what to expect; she had seen those "covert" messages. But just because she knew what was coming didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun with it.

As her scroll began to ring, she waved Miho into the next room, and shut the door behind her.

"You're cutting it awfully close," Was the first thing Belleza said as she answered the call. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to respond."

"Of course I was going to respond," Calantha responded, "I just needed time to think things through."

You needed time to plan with your new 'friends', Belleza thought to herself, rolling her eyes as Calantha prattled on.

"I'll come back with you, but you have to promise to let the others go."

"You don't have to remind me, little lamb," Belleza chided. "My memory is nowhere near as bad as our father's is - I remember what I said two days ago."

Calantha made a small noise on the other end of the call. "Right, well...we would like to hold the trade at Astrolabe University tomorrow. I will be there waiting with Wren, and you will bring the others as promised." There was a pause before her sister added, "You know where it is don't you?"

Although Calantha couldn't see it, Belleza leaned forward in her seat, looking out the window where the university could be seen in the distance. So large and imposing was the school you would be hard pressed to find somewhere in Highpoint where you couldn't see it. "Well for starters - I'm not blind," Belleza answered in a wry tone. "And secondly, I've been there before, remember? You know...when I picked up the Oxford brat and the little redhead."

"Oh, right."

"So why Astrolabe may I ask?" Belleza asked, leaning backwards in her seat. She already knew what the answer was - that it was easily defended and had already been chosen by the Mob Ops and the Security Team as it was deemed the most suitable to stage a trade off. "I half expected Mr Oxford would have wanted his precious firstborn delivered right to his door."

"We decided it would be easier to meet there," Calantha started to explain. "It's a nice central location, it's where you took Rosie and Mira, and if we hold the trade off at the sports hall, we can avoid any unnecessary contact with the students or faculty."

"I hope Major Honeycutt isn't planning on challenging me to a hockey game whilst she's at it."

"What?"

"Well that's where their local team plays isn't it?" Belleza couldn't help but laugh at her sister's confusion. "Or at least that's what I assumed based on the posters I’ve seen around the place.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Calantha admitted. “I didn’t even realise Highpoint had a hockey team...”

“Well now you do! But don’t worry we won’t be playing any games tomorrow. I swear to be on my best behaviour if you are!” Belleza said in a faux sweet tone. “I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow, little sister.” She was about to end the call when Calantha stopped her.

“You don’t even know what time to meet us!” 

“I’ll decide when I want to arrive,” Belleza snapped back, practically yelling directly into the scroll at that point. “All you and the rest of your new friends need to do is make sure you’re there and ready to go. Do you understand?”

Calantha hesitated slightly before responding. “Yes, Belle.”

“Goodbye,” Belleza said, satisfied she had gotten out all needed to say for now. After disconnecting from the call, she was quick to her feet, and hurried to the door, shouting to her companion.

“Miho! Gather your things, we have somewhere to be!”

**

After summoning Miho, the two women were quick to depart the building, but not before putting some clothes for outside. Considering they were still targets for the military and the security team, Belleza knew they had to be careful and try not to draw too much attention to themselves, which was easier said than done for Belleza whose snow-white hair made her stand out like a sore thumb. In an effort to hide her appearance she wore a slightly oversized woolly hat, and removed her earrings temporarily to be extra safe.

Stepping outside they moved quietly, and kept away from people for the most part, managing to find a good balance between making their movements seem natural and not drawing attention to themselves. Once they were safely away from the most populated areas, Belleza was willing to converse with Miho a little as they walked.

“Did she say everything you thought she would?” Miho inquired.

“Pretty much,” She nodded. “Naturally she tried to dumb it down for me, and claim she was thinking it through, rather than conspiring with our enemies to trap us as we know she was.”

Miho made a small scoffing sound, as though she couldn't believe the audacity of Calantha's behaviour. 

The two continued to walk, until they came to a nondescript building, a small warning sign on the chain link fence surrounding it being the only true hint of what this place was.

Miho took a step forward to read the sign, and turned back to Belleza with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you taking me into the mines?"

"This is where Sparrow and I stashed the supplies from a few weeks ago," Belleza explained as she walked ahead. Realising she wasn't going to stop to talk, Miho quickly fell back in line, and followed her into the building. A small rusted lock was the only true deterrent from getting further inside, but a sharp tug was all it needed to loosen enough for her to take it off. Belleza held the door open for Miho, further explaining what they were doing here. "Bianca took the majority home with her, but I'm hoping you might be able to make some use of what's left."

Miho nodded her head silently, and as they walked she looked around the building. There wasn't anything notable about the place to Belleza as most of it had been gutted of any defining furniture. The two women made their way to a back room, where a simple elevator waited to take them down to the mines.

"Is it safe?" Miho asked, stepping into the elevator, which rocked under the sudden weight.

"Well I can't imagine this thing has gone through any health and safety tests recently," She replied dryly, focusing more on powering up the elevator rather than whether it was safe or not. "You're not scared are you?" She teased.

Miho was quick to deny she was afraid, but was unable to hide the startled expression on her face when the elevator shuddered into life and began to descend. "I meant the mines."

"Yes, they're safe - or stable at least," Belleza explained. "When we first arrived I had Bianca look into the situation regarding the mines to see if it was something we could use to our advantage. Whilst no longer active per se, apparently this whole place acts as a sort of underfloor heating for the town. They regularly have surveyors come out to ensure the place isn’t on the verge of blowing up.”

Miho nodded approvingly. “That was smart of them.”

“Seems like a waste of good dust if you ask me,” Belleza huffed. After a short descent, the elevator came to a stop at the bottom of the mine shaft, which split off into three different tunnels. “But surprise, surprise, the Atlas elites wind up hoarding all the- Wait!” An arm snapped out, preventing Miho from walking off into the tunnels without her. “Do you hear that?” “Hear what?”

Belleza moved her head, trying to determine the direction where the sound was coming, eventually deciding it was coming from the right tunnel - conveniently the one they needed to go through. With a wave of her hand, she gestured for Miho to follow her, and they made their way through the tunnel. As they walked the sound - which started off as the faintest of tapping noises - continued to grow louder and louder until they found the source of the noise.

Crouched in front of the wall, hammering away at a vein of fire dust crystals, was a young boy who had to be around Calantha’s age if Belleza had to guess. However, the colourful emblem on the hoodie he wore made him seem slightly younger. The boy had a pair of headphones in his ears, and was humming along to whatever song was playing through them, so wasn’t aware of their presence until Belleza kicked a loose pebble at him.

After the rock hit him and he became aware of their presence, he lost his balance and tumbled backwards in surprise. He quickly managed to scramble to his feet, and might have made a run for it, had it not been for Miho reaching out to grab his hood, and holding him in place, before forcibly turning him around to face them once he ceased his struggling.

He seemed nervous when he finally plucked up the courage to talk to them. “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“What are you doing here?” Belleza countered, putting her hands on her hips.

The boy looked down at the floor. “I was trying to get a crystal from the mines to impress Daisy Tisane,” He admitted shyly, speaking as though Belleza was supposed to know who that was. “Please don’t tell my mom about this, okay? She grounded my ass for a solid month the last time I tried this and even threatened to pull out my application for the academy.”

“I don’t even know who your mother is,” Belleza said flatly.

“What?” The boy seemed taken aback by this. “Captain Bougainvillea? Surely you must know her. I’m her son - Maroon.”

“What do you want - a medal?”

“I-” Maroon seemed at a loss for words.

“Listen boy, I couldn’t give a shit who your mother is. I have no intention of seeking out Captain Boogaloo, or whatever her name is, I have a job to do, and I’d like to take care of it without any interference from you or her. Believe me when I say telling on you is the least of my priorities!” Belleza snapped. She took a step toward the boy. “I won’t tell anyone that I saw you here, if you don’t tell anyone about us. Do we have a deal?” Belleza held out her hand almost as soon as she finished speaking, not giving the boy any other option but to say yes.

Reluctantly, he stretched out his hand to hers and gave it a weary shake. Before she let him, Belleza tightened her grip and leaned in even closer. “Be a good boy and run along before I change my mind about being so nice and decide to break your legs.”

The boy’s eyes widened in alarm, and no sooner had Belleza released  her grip, did he take off down the tunnel eager to get away from them. In his hurry to leave, he left behind the dust crystal he had been hammering off. Miho bent down to pick it up, and tossed it in her hand. “I’m guessing he won’t be needing this anymore.”

Belleza smirked. “Keep that close, Miho. You might be able to make some use of it later.”

After the brief interruption, the two women finally made it to where Belleza had stashed the last of the supplies they had taken. At the end of the tunnel, the mine opened out into a large cavernous space, which was connected to even more tunnels.

Miho whistled. “Wow. How big is this place exactly?”

“Big enough,” Belleza said simply. She signalled for Miho to join her by a crate she was standing next to. As her companion joined her, she lifted the lid to show the contents inside - several dust crystals carefully packaged together with several wires and pieces of scrap metal.

“Will this be enough to do your thing with your semblance?” She asked.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Whatever it is you’re planning on using it for,” Miho laughed, reaching into the box to pick up a crystal.

“Think of it as a distraction. A really big distraction,” Belleza said, watching as Miho studied the crystal carefully. Belleza never really had much use for dust, so had never bothered to learn much about it other than the basic uses. “When Cala and her new friends come to the meeting they’ll find these waiting for them instead of us. Of course, it would require one of us to stay behind to ensure they found their intended target...” Although she was certain Miho would have offered herself up regardless, she fluttered her eyelashes at her, hoping that playing nice would serve as a further incentive for Miho.

“If you want me to stay behind I will. No questions asked,” Miho said. “I would give my life for you if you asked it.”

“That is good to know,” Belleza smiled. “But don’t try and pick any fights afterwards.I still have use for you back home and would rather not see you wind up in an Atlesian prison or meeting your maker at the end of a hail of bullets. We can use the chaos from what happens in the aftermath to flee.”

“But how? Won’t the city go into lockdown or something?” Miho asked, sounding a little doubtful.

“Oh, it will,” Belleza confirmed. “But you’re looking at our escape plan right now.”

For a split second, Miho looked down at the crystal she was still holding.

“Not the dust, you idiot,” Belleza scolded, smacking Miho on the arm. “The mine! You see, a couple of these tunnels lead right out of town.”

“Really?”

Belleza nodded. “So whilst you ensure Cala finds our little present, I will wait down here in the tunnels for you. And then, whilst everyone is running around in a panic, you’ll escape, join me in the tunnels, and we’ll skip right out of town and straight back to the O.R.C.A.S!”

[heartslogos]

newfragile yellows [972]

“Are you okay? What did he say? Can I kill him?”

Mahanon shoves Carver to the side, jabbing backwards with his elbow, and taking his place in front of Ellana as they huddle on the terrace. Mahanon doesn’t say anything, but he does give her a very judgmental look.

“It’s not going to be Aedan Cousland.” She can’t tell if he’s reminding her or confirming if that statement is still true.

“Of course it’s not going to be fuckin’ Cousland.” Carver grumbles, looming over Mahanon’s shoulder to look at her.

Aedan had gone back into the party without her after a good half hour of them walking aimlessly through the garden and chattering about Ellana’s future marriage prospects. He had a startling amount of insight into everyone — even Carver — that Ellana finds herself grateful for. And she feels so much more relaxed. Though with the way Carver and Mahanon are acting she’s starting to feel her previous anxiety work up again.

“It’s not going to be Aedan,” Ellana confirms to the both of them. “But I think Aedan and I are going to be friends now.”

Mahanon sneers and Carver covers his face with one of his broad hands.

“God he’s so shitty though,” Carver whines, “Do you have to be friends with literally everyone you talk to?”

“If I were friends with everyone I’ve ever spoken to I don’t think gang wars would be a thing anymore. Did the Iron Bull show up? What did I miss?”

“You missed everyone talking about how you and Aedan absconded from your party for almost an hour. I think Solas was going to puke if you took even a second longer.”

“Damn. Maybe I should’ve stayed out longer.”

“It’s not funny, the entire party was about to collapse in on itself out of outraged confusion.” Mahanon points at Carver. “Starting with the entire Hawke family.”

“The Iron Bull finally showed up,” Carver says. “He’s mingling with the Cadash and Trevelyans. Prior working history, I guess.”

“Should I say hello?” Ellana asks.

Carver and Mahanon immediately trap her between them, Mahanon on her left and Carver on her right.

“Wow, it’s like I’ve got two annoying brothers. One older and one younger,” Ellana deadpans as they practically march her back into the ballroom. “Am I a prisoner?”

“If you disappear with Aedan Cousland again, we might as well sign the marriage certificate now,” Mahanon replies to her. “Everyone is about to call it quits.”

“We were just talking. You could see us from the terrace. It’s not like we went off to — to make out or something.”

“What are you a teenager? Make out?”

“Well, how else do you want me to say it, Mahanon? Suck face? Play tonsil hockey?”

“Aedan doesn’t have tonsils,” Carver says.

Mahanon and Ellana both turn to stare at him.

Carver grimaces. “Don’t look at me like that. He got his tonsils out ages back and I guess he wouldn’t shut up about it for a whole year. It’s all he would talk about and Garrett and Marian wouldn’t stop mocking it every chance they got.”

Ellana scans the crowd for either Max or the Iron Bull and comes up empty. She’d know Max anywhere in a crowd, she’s so used to having to go pick him out for his own safety or her own. The Iron Bull, she figures, she should be able to pick out because of the physical descriptions she’s been given. And the few pictures.

“They must have ducked out for a smoke or something,” Carver says. “I don’t see Edric, either.”

“Well. I trust you. You’re taller and all,” Ellana says, leaning a little against his arm. “Alright. I guess it’s you and me for a while then, Carver. Where’s Bethany? I haven’t talked to her in ages. Let’s go. Come on Mahanon. It’s time to have twin bonding time.”

“Garrett and Marian excluded?” Mahanon asks.

“I trust in their ability to sense a good time being had and to come and crash it within moments,” Ellana replies, “Let’s go.”

- “You’re late,” Max says as Bull surveys the crowd that eyes him back just as sharply. “Not a good first impression.”

“I’m not really trying, Trevelyan,” Bull points out. “And I don’t think me being late is making this crowd so agitated. What happened?”

Edric gestures towards the open glass doors to the side of the large room. “Aedan Cousland and Ellana Lavellan went off by themselves about fifteen minutes ago.”

Bull’s eyebrows raise. “Fifteen minutes? Is she dead?”

Max rolls his eyes. “Cute. No. They’re walking around the garden. They actually look like they’re getting along which is a shocker.”

“You know Ellana best out of the three of us, is it a shocker?” Edric asks.

“Well.” Max pauses. “Ellana can get along with anyone, really. But then again, Aedan can get on the nerves of a literal saint. Maybe it cancels out.”

“So can I go home?” Bull asks. “She’s getting on with Cousland; Edric’s fifteen years older than her so there’s no way in fuck she’s picking him; you’re practically a squatter in her back yard so there’s no point in her marrying you; Carver Hawke is one of her best friends and is in a committed relationship with Merrill Sabrae; I threw my name in because everyone else was and I didn’t think I’d get this far. She’s picking Cousland, I’m going home.”

Edric and Maxwell both grab him before he can turn around and leave.

“She’s not going to pick Cousland,” Edric says.

“You sound unsure.”

“She’s not going to pick Cousland.” The three of them startle, turning around to see Vivienne de Fer nursing a glass of wine. She gives each of them a deeply disappointed look. “Ellana Lavellan knows better than to pick Aedan Cousland, Aedan Cousland knows better than to think she’s going to pick him, and now they’re playing that against the rest of you. Get your heads in the game, boys. This is a song and dance at least one of you should be able to figure out.”

She shoots Bull a very pointed look that jabs somewhere fleshy and vulnerable.

“I don’t think she’s going to pick me,” Bull says. “I really don’t know how I got this far into the selection. I heard the Adaars put in an effort.”

“Kaaras would keel over if he got to this point,” Max replies. “Dead on the ground before the two of them could even so much as exchange a hello. Besides. She could pick you. Stranger things have happened. I mean. She’s having a good time with Aedan Cousland. Literally anything can happen.”

[chucksbruins]

author’s note:  First of all I need to say the biggest thank you to everyone who took the time to read the first part, you all left so many amazingly kind messages and I was absolutely blown away! A special shoutout to @seggstars and @psychospeak-blog for being so encouraging <3 If you ever feel so inclined, I’d love to talk to you guys so feel free to drop into my asks and let me know your favorite lines and any predictions you might have for this fic!!

word count: 2.5k

warnings: drinking, swearing

Part 1

c2. Unexpected and Unprepared

I was completely and utterly exhausted as I slumped onto the now familiar barstool of Pel’s Pub. Five weeks had passed since my first visit to the small bar, whose heavy wooden door served to be a beacon of warmth against the bitter cold nights that settled in Dallas during February. Having grown up in Philly,I thought I was prepared for any sort of weather but Dallas was testing me more than I had expected. The cool nights failed to be accompanied by a familiar white dusting, leaving only barren trees and my breath in front of me with nothing to force me to appreciate the time of year.

I’d found myself frequenting Pel’s at the end of every week, finding comfort in the dim lights and murmured conversations of the other regular patrons. Pel and his wife Alice truly fit the mold of what I’d expected from the South, always greetingher with a welcoming smile and a genuine kindness expressed through long conversations over pitchers of good beer. I’d learned the two had met their sophomore year of college – Pel the school’s football kicker and Alice his quiet but feisty English TA. Pel could talk for hours about how lovely his wife was and the girl couldn’t help but always smile goofily, the warm beer-induced flush extending from her cheeks deep into her heart. It was nice, I thought, to be reminded of what true love looked like – a stark contrast to the definition of love that I had believed in for the past decade.

“You seem tired today hon’, everything alright?” Alice asked, sliding a beer across the counter to rest in front of her.

I let out a heavy sigh, “Just exhausted, I knew teaching fifth grade was going to be a hands-on job I just don’t think I realized how hands on it really was.”

That was the truth – I had wanted to be an elementary school teacher for as long as I could remember, and I knew from my years of interning in classrooms as a teaching assistant that teaching meant way more than just being a glorified babysitter, but nothing could prepare me for what it was like to have a classroom all on your own. The twenty-three kids who lined up outside my classroom door every morning were, in my unbiased opinion, just about the best group of kids a first time teacher could ask for. However, that didn’t mean they didn’t exhaust me with their endless questions and energy, and after five weeks of running after them day after day, I was ready to crawl under the covers and hide there until the only way I was setting foot back into that classroom was if our principal physically dragged her.  

There were other parts of teaching that I hadn’t been prepared for either – the complete and utter lack of funding for supplies, let alone decorations meant I had squeezed every extra penny I could find into crayons, stickers, posters and wallpaper to distract from the dismal grey brick walls but the room still resembled a prison cell more than it did a welcoming classroom.

Alice chuckled, “I bet those kids just absolutely adore you, I know I would have loved for our Aiden to end up with you as his teacher – maybe then he’d have liked school a bit more!”

I smiled tiredly and let out a small laugh, “I don’t think I’ll be getting any awards for being a life-changing teacher any time soon”

“Well not with that attitude hon’! I’ll leave ya be, don’t want to sound too much like your mother, I’m sure you get enough of it as is”

I stared wide-eyed at Alice before forcing my face to normalcy, shooting the woman my best attempt at a smile and hoped she hadn’t noticed the momentary freeze, but before I could get too lost in thought I heard the barstool beside me scrape against the floor.

“A teacher, eh?”

Of course. Of freaking course he would show up tonight of all nights when my hair hadn’t been washed in two three days with my face bare and limbs thrown into a pair of leggings and old, ratty Dartmouth t-shirt. Not that I had dressed up all the other times I had dragged myself to Pel’s, but I’d at least made the effort of having showered in the last 24 hours on the off chance that the annoying brunette would make an appearance. I did try to shower daily for reasons other than maybe seeing a boy, but he was definitely at the back of my mind the couple of other times I’d considered showing up to Pel’s a little bit greasy. After five weeks and no reappearance, I figured I was safe and yet here I sat, face-to-face with the bearded not-so-stranger from my first visit to the bar.

“Fifth grade” I responded, hoping short answers would give the boy the hint that I wasn’t in the mood for his flirting tonight.

“Damn, wish I’d had you as my fifth-grade teacher, maybe I wouldn’t have dropped out in middle school if I knew I had you to make proud,” he flashed his eyebrows, shooting me a grin that was growing all too familiar for my liking – as was the feeling in my stomach that occurred every time he flashed it.

“Pretty sure you can’t drop out until high school bud, you must have been a real delinquent if they let you give up that early”

He barked out a laugh, his grin never faltering.

“I’m just kidding, wanted to see if I could get a smile out of you. You’ll be happy to know I never actually dropped out – some might have even called me a star student”

I couldn’t help myself from rolling my eyes, shooting him the most unimpressed look I could muster.

“Let me guess, you slept with all your teachers?”

“Just the hottie in the administrative office who could hack the system and change all my grades.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, a giggle escaping my lips before I could trap my lip in my teeth to stop any more laughter from escaping. He was so obviously a fuckboy it was almost comical, but I had to hand it to him for how easily it seemed to come to him. I’d encountered too many guys to count who were just straight up assholes with such an obvious disregard for the idea of respecting women, but it was clear the man standing in front of me wasn’t like that. He was just a natural smooth talker whose good looks had obviously gotten him through life judging by the expensive watch that adorned his left wrist. Maybe he was a model or something.

“So Eliza Mae, you’re a teacher, I’m guessing you went to Dartmouth which means you’re a real nerd and you like to spend your free time drinking alone in this pub – I’ve heard AA can really change your life, might want to look into it,’ he joked, his grin and gleaming eyes just begging you to get fired up.

“You always insult the girls you’re trying to sleep with?”  I asked, raising an eyebrow as my mouth pulled into a smirk.

“Who said I was trying to sleep with you?”  

“I’m a female, aren’t I?” I shot back, taking another sip of my beer to hide the flush that had erupted across my cheeks.

He laughed again, this stupid loud belly laugh that caused him to throw his head back before settling his eyes on me once again.

“Touché Eliza Mae, touché”

“It’s just Eliza, and it doesn’t seem fair that you know not only my first and middle name and you haven’t even bothered to tell me yours.”

He looked a little bit surprised at my comment, probably thrown by the fact that I would even care to know what his first name was after my harsh response to his attempts to chat me up.

“It’s Tyler,” he said “Tyler uh, Seguin”

“You sure? You seem a bit hesitant about the last name, sure you’re not just trying to pull a fast one on me?”

He laughed again, “Nope, I promise Eliza Mae that’s my real name, trust me if I was trying to ‘pull a fast one you’ I would not have given you that name.”

“What, are you in witness protection or something?”  I asked, slightly confused.

“Witness – no, no” he said before leaning in a bit closer. “I’m a professional hockey player for the Dallas Stars,” he explained, the expression on his face making it clear he expected me to be utterly flabbergasted by this new information. While I had to admit, I definitely respected all the hard work and sacrifice that it took to get to that level, I had never been a huge hockey girl –  I was much more inclined to sit in a cold football stadium than I was any hockey rink. It wasn’t that I was unimpressed with the fact that he played hockey, the news just didn’t exactly entice me to drop my pants for him right there – it wasn’t like the guy invented penicillin or anything.

“Oh, that’s cool I guess,” was all that I allowed myself to give him, smirking at how my indifference caused a look of obvious surprise to overtake his dark features.

“It’s not nearly as noble a profession as becoming a teacher, but most girls would think it was pretty impressive that I made it in the league,” he teased, his surprise replaced by his resting state of overconfidence.

“That’s the whole reason for playing though, right? The girls I mean,”  I teased right back.

“The girls and the free stuff,” he cracked, his eyes playful as they met my own.

For the second time that night, my only response was to laugh as I took another swig of my beer mug, which was significantly emptier than it had been at the start of my conversation with Tyler.  Before I could muster an equally witty response, he opened his mouth to speak again.

“Seriously though, teachers deserve way more credit than they get – I mean all of my school teachers deserve a medal for having to put up with me, your kids are lucky to have you. Although if you’re half as feisty with them as you are with me I bet you’ve scared them all into behaving,” he teased again and I was defenseless against the blush that threatened to creep across my cheeks. After twenty minutes of banter, the contrast of his sincerity made his words just that much more meaningful. No matter how confident they may seem or how many hours they spent shadowing, any new teacher will tell you how terrified they are of messing something up. Eliza believed so strongly in how important a good education was and the last thing I would ever want was to leave my students unprepared and set up to struggle when they moved up to middle school next year, so Tyler’s words warmed my heart – no matter how unfounded they might be.

I muttered a shy ‘thanks’ into my mug as I took another large gulp of my beer, hoping the liquid would wash down the butterflies that had crept into my stomach as a result of his words. Tyler noticed the now almost-empty mug and gestured to Pel to send down two more.

“Oh I really shouldn’t” I protested, “it’s getting pretty late so I should get going.”

The look of disappointment that flashed across his features wasn’t lost on her, although it was probably born more out of the realization he had spent thirty minutes talking to a girl and wasn’t going to get rewarded with sex than anything else.

“Here,” he gestured, “let me follow myself on my Instagram so I can follow you back” he said as he reached for my phone, but I pulled it close to my chest before he could grab it from my hands.

“I don’t have an Instagram,” I explained, shrugging my shoulders with a semi-apologetic look as he dropped his outstretched hand next to my own on the counter. Brushing the tips of his fingers over mine, his eyes darkened and his voice dropped – I recognized it as his attempt to sound sexy and while I wasn’t going to say it didn’t work, it was more amusing than anything else.

“How am I gonna get in touch with you then?” he asked, acting as if he couldn’t walk into any bar in town and instantly get laid by fifty other girls.

“Well funnily enough, Instagram isn’t the only app to exist on your phone – there’s this thing called ‘Messages’ that some people use to text and even a phone app in case you ever, god forbid, need to call somebody. But I don’t like to give out my number to strangers so I guess you’ll just have to wait until next time we see each other to convince me to hand that out”

Taking a final swig of my beer, I stood – slightly more off balance than I’d anticipated, the effect of the beer and adrenaline resulting in me being just a tad more inebriated than I’d planned on getting tonight. As I wobbled his large hand shot out to my waist, gripping through my t-shirt just above my hip bone to steady me.

“Next time, eh Eliza Mae?” he asked, his grip on my waist just barely tightening, squeezing before he dropped his hand back to rest on his knee.

Despite the tangle of flustered thoughts that flooded the lonely horny part of my brain, I forced myself to hold his gaze. Professional fuckboy or not, I was not about to let him know how much his simple touch had affected her.

‘God,’ I thought ‘get it together Eliza.’

My only response was to roll my eyes as I slung my bag over my shoulder and stepped away from him, trying to put as much distance between his hand and the burning skin above my hip.

Giving him one last smile, I strolled away from him until I was leaning against the heavy door preparing myself for the inevitable cold that awaited me outside.  Giving Tyler one last look over my shoulder, I couldn’t help but smirk when I found his eyes still staring after her.

“Goodnight, Travis” I called, finally shoving open the door as I pulled the scarf tighter around my neck before stepping out into the cold.

The last thing I heard before the door slammed shut was the deep, melodic laughter that I knew belonged to only one patron of the bar – and suddenly, the warmth that filled my chest made it so that the night air didn’t seem so bitter cold anymore.

[storywool]

Chalk it Up

Request:  The 100 Bellamy Blake imagine but about his twin sister? So there is Bell, the reader and Octavia.

A/N: this one is SUPER LONG because i had so much fun writing it! I’m definitely not done with the Blake Twins yet. lemme know what you’d like to see from them in any future parts :)) 

Word count: 5,360

“We know the rules: one child per family.” Marcus Kane said as he furrowed his brow in concentration. He eyed the members of the table. Abby Griffin was staring at the table, avoiding eye contact with Kane. He knew how she felt on the subject, but still sought her validation for some reason. Chancellor Jaha was stroking his chin, deep in concentration. The other council members stared at Kane blankly, for no one knew what to say in this situation.

“But what do we do when the family has twins?” Jaha asked.

Aurora Blake, a seamstress on the Ark, had become pregnant by a guard. The doctors in her sector had said she was having one child, but as she went into labor, she ended up having twins: a boy named Bellamy and a girl named Y/n. The Ark had reached an impasse. On one hand, Aurora had no way of controlling having twins, but on the other hand, those were the Ark’s rules. And the rules said one child per family.

“She didn’t choose to have twins. The fact that this is our first case of twins is a miracle,” Abby replied, “We can’t float the mother and kill one of the babies because of something they can’t control.”

Jaha was obviously thinking about the situation. Abby was right; how the Ark still didn’t have any protocols for dealing with twins was a mystery. He sat right up in his seat, as if the wheels turning in his head came to a halt.

“The mother and father aren’t together, correct?” Jaha asked.

Kane’s eyebrows furrowed even more as he shuffled through some papers laid out on the table. “Um, no. She’s a seamstress in sector five and the father- uh, Jonathan- is a guard in sector one.”

“So how’d they me-” One of the council members began, but Jaha cut him off.

“What if we give one of the babies to Aurora, and the other to Jonathan?” Abby sat forward in her seat, intrigued by the idea. Kane cleared his throat. He was unconvinced by this plan. Jaha sensed his uncertainty.

“The parents aren’t together. They live in different sectors. Neither of them had kids previously. We can change Jonathan’s schedule so he never sees Aurora and the other child.”

“You want to separate the twins?” Kane questioned.

“Better than killing one of them.” Abby responded. Jaha eyed the members of the council for reassurance.

“All in favor, raise your hand.”

The vote to separate the twins was almost unanimous, with Kane being the only one to vote against it. With a random drawing, it was decided that the girl, Y/n, would go to her father, and Bellamy would go to his mother. They would live their lives without knowing each other. Aurora and Jonathan were sworn to secrecy about the twins. They would grow up to be completely different people, living completely different lives. The Ark then put rules in place for any other cases of twins- both where the parents are together and where they are separated.

Y/n sat on the couch, watching a taped hockey game from the good old days of Earth. She was working on homework for her chemical engineering class when the front door opened with a bang. Y/n jumped up from her seat with a start to watch her dad stumble into the living room. Y/n didn’t even have to look him in the eye to know he was drunk.

Y/n’s dad, for lack of a better word, was a piece of shit. He was a guard on the Ark that abused his position to help himself. He used it to cheat the system and break the rules that he was supposed to uphold. He was drunk the majority of the time, and when he wasn’t drunk, he was yelling at Y/n for stuff she had no control over- like her mother’s death.

Y/n heard the story so many times that she could recite it in her sleep. Her mom, a seamstress, was a wonderful and kind woman who loved Jonathan. They weren’t married, but she got pregnant with Y/n. They were so excited to have a child, but her mom unfortunately died during childbirth. Since that day, all the love Y/n’s father felt for her mother was replaced by resentment toward Y/n.

“Oh look, it’s my good-for-nothing daughter.” Her dad slurred as he nearly tripped over the dining table.

“Oh look, it’s my piece of shit father. What’d you do today? Ruin some more lives?” She sat back down on the couch and picked up her homework.

“No, but I can ruin yours.”

She rolled her eyes. He really needed better comebacks. “You already have.” She mumbled under her breath. The only thing keeping her sane was the promise of moving when she passed her engineering test. She would move to the science station with her best friend, Raven Reyes. Her dad didn’t have clearance in the science station, and so she’d be truly free of him. All she had to do was pass that test, but she had Raven to help her study.

“What was that?” He said, the tone taking an almost demonic turn.

She shook her head. “Nothing, Dad. Go to bed.”

He stomped over to her and stood in front of the TV. “No, you don’t get to tell me what to do. I’m the parent, you’re the child.” Y/n looked up from her homework and into her dad’s red face. It was starting to turn redder as his rage progressed.

From there, hell seemed to unleash in their tiny apartment. So much happened at once that Y/n wasn’t completely sure how it all happened. She remembered her father’s fist colliding with her face, she remembered falling to the ground, and she remembered grabbing a knife off the coffee table. She didn’t, though, remember driving the knife into his leg, and her dad falling on top of her, hitting her over and over until she lost consciousness.

She woke up from her dream with a start. Sweat rolled down her forehead and she felt cold chills ravish through her body. She eyed the cell round her. She was safe. She was in her cell in the prison station. She had to remind herself that her dad was dead and that she was safe.

After the attack happened, Y/n woke up in the medical station, attached to an IV and her hands cuffed to the bed. Dr. Abby Griffin informed her that her dad was floated for child abuse and for stealing all of the supplies they found in the Y/L/n residency. After her bruises recovered, Y/n was thrown into Prison Station for keeping her dad’s theft and abuse of power a secret. She frequently had nightmares about her dad and that night. She had never seen something so hellish inside of a person before. She hated to admit it, but she was glad her dad was dead. She hated that all of her dreams of becoming an engineer were shattered, but at least that monster couldn’t torment her anymore.

Bellamy watched as they dragged his little sister away. They were on their way to throw her into Prison Station, and there was nothing he could do but watch. His mother cried at his side. The guards were very cruel in that they made Aurora watch as they dragged Octavia away before they took Aurora to the floating chambers.

“Bellamy, there’s something I need to tell you before I go.” His mother started. Her voice cracked as she spoke and tears continued to fall from her eyes. Bellamy felt himself tear up as well. She hesitated as she looked at her only son. Her heart hurt at the thought of leaving him and Octavia behind. She took his hands in hers and thumbed the rough skin gently.

“Bell- you have another sister.” She began, but the guards in the room heard her. She had broken her oath to Chancellor Jaha. They grabbed her by the waist and started to drag her out. “She’s your twin, Bell. Her name is Y/n. Find her and take care of her please. Please, Bell, do that for me!”

Bellamy could barely comprehend what his mother was saying. His mind was going at a million miles per minute. His sister was in jail, her mom was about to be floated, and he has a twin. He didn’t know what to do or say, so all he did was pull his mother into one last hug before she was carted away to her death.

From that day forward, he was determined to figure out who this Y/n was and what had happened to her. If his mom was telling the truth, why were they separated? Why did he not know?

The door to the Sky Box opened as the harrowing faces of the delinquents were brought in and strapped into seats that lined the walls. Y/n eyed all the people around her suspiciously. To her right was a kid with sunken cheeks and youthful eyes. Y/n had only ever talked to him once, but his name was Jasper, and he was nice. To her left sat Finn Collins, her best friend’s boyfriend.

“I wonder what’s going on.” He whispered.

“They’re sending us to the ground.” Y/n responded emotionlessly. She fidgeted with her hands.

Finn stared at her, his eyes wide. “Why would you say that?”

She shrugged, “Why else would they chip all of us and strap us into seats with these seatbelts?”

The door opened again and a girl with long brown hair, a beautiful face, and oddly familiar eyes entered the room. She was thrown into a seat roughly as a hush fell over the room. Every pair of eyes landed on her, but she paid particular attention to Y/n. They shared the same expression; they looked so much alike it was almost uncanny.

“That’s the floorboard girl.” Y/n heard Jasper say to his friend Monty. “Floorboard girl?” Y/n continued to stare.

“Yeah, her mom already had a kid. His name’s Bellamy, I think. Anyways, her mom hid her under the floorboards so no one would find out she existed.”

Y/n didn’t know why she had never heard about ‘floorboard girl’ before. She didn’t have much time to dwell on it though, for Chancellor Jaha’s smug face appeared on every screen in the vicinity, informing them that Y/n was right. They were going to the ground.

A few weeks had passed, and the ground was beginning to lose its appeal. They had no food, no water, little shelter, and no leadership. Everything was a mess, but they weren’t going to let that stop them from having a good time. In those two days, everyone was partying and having a good time, as if they weren’t on the ground. As if they weren’t susceptible to death every waking second. But Y/n knew they needed to get supplies from Mount Weather, or they were all going to die soon.

During those weeks, Y/n mostly stuck with Finn, who had completely seemed to forget his life on the Ark. He flirted heavily with Clarke Griffin, Dr. Griffin’s daughter, despite having a girlfriend back on the Ark. She had become friends with Jasper and Monty too, but they liked to hang out with Clarke a lot too. Y/n didn’t mind Clarke, but she wanted to get to know Octavia more. Octavia was so popular and liked that she never seemed to be alone, though. She was always with someone that Y/n didn’t quite know. She knew his name was Bellamy and that every girl had a crush on him, but she had never seen him. Y/n watched them interact as she tried to fix the radio back to the Ark.

Y/n couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew Octavia and Bellamy, despite never having met them before. They both looked the same (obviously), but they also weirdly had similar features to Y/n. They both had the same eyes as her. Aside from physical similarities, especially between Y/n and Bellamy, she felt a strange and invisible connection tying them together. It was almost like that connection one has to their siblings; it’s invisible and intangible, but real.

Bellamy could feel Y/n’s eyes watching them. “Who’s that girl over there?”

“The one who keeps staring?” Octavia sarcastically said, not looking up from her work, “I don’t know much about her. Her name’s Y/n though.”

Bellamy’s blood ran cold. His mind immediately flooded back to the memories of the day his mom was floated. “Wait, Y/n?”

Octavia shrugged and rolled her eyes, “That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Octavia looked up at her brother, who had gone rigid. Bellamy felt his stomach turn and his throat close. Was this the girl his mom as talking about?

“Bell, what’s wrong?” Octavia asked. She reached out for her brother’s arm and squeezed. His eyes shone with unshed tears at the memory of that day. The ghost of his mom’s screams filled his ears, and the words she spoke felt etched on his skin. ‘She’s your twin’.

He clenched and unclenched his jaw as he spoke, “O…after you were taking to Prison Station and before Mom got floated, she told me something.” He glanced over at Y/n, who was now focused on the radio in front of her. “I have a twin.”

Octavia dropped the materials in her hands and stared at her brother with her mouth agape. “Wait, what? Are you shitting me?”

“The Ark’s rules say one child per family. I think they gave me to Mom, and Y/n, if that’s her,” He motioned to her, “went with my dad.”

Octavia bit the end of her thumb nervously as she thought. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Octavia whispered. “She told me after you were imprisoned. When we came to the ground, I never thought I’d have a chance of potentially seeing her…if that is her, so it never occurred to me to tell you. I mean, I’ve never heard of anyone named Y/n, and you have to admit she looks a lot like us.”

They sat in silence for a second. Octavia knew Bellamy was trying to absorb what was going on, and Octavia’s mind was ruminating over this new information. She did look a lot like both of them. Octavia remembered the first time she saw Y/n, and how her first thought was how the resemblance was uncanny. Better yet, if this was her, that meant Bellamy had a twin, and she had a sister.

“Well go talk to her.” Octavia prodded.

“What no! What would I even say? Hey, I’m your twin brother. We didn’t know about each other because the Ark made our parents split up and never talk about us.”

“Yes Bellamy, go up to her and say exactly that.” Octavia rolled her eyes, “No, go up to her and talk to her like she’s a normal human being.”

Bellamy ran his hands through his hair. He fidgeted with the sleeves on his jacket before taking a deep breath and moving toward Y/n. He walked up to her and she stared up at him. He felt like he was looking in a mirror. Her eyes were the same hardened brown, her skin olive, and her hair fell past her shoulders in chocolate curls. She was petite (like Octavia, Bellamy thought) and muscular. If he didn’t think she was his sister, he’d even say she was attractive. He was staring down at her when he realized he had no idea what to say to her.

Y/n could sense his hesitation. She was feeling the same nervousness as he was, and they both could feel it. She cleared her throat, “Uh, can I help you?”

Bellamy coughed into his hand and rubbed the back of his neck. He avoided eye contact with her. “Um, I uh…we were uh-,” He stammered. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he form sentences?

“You’re Bellamy, right?” Y/n asked, helping this poor guy out. He was so nervous for some reason, Y/n noticed. She thought it was kind of sweet; the big bad leader couldn’t even talk to her.

He nodded, and she stuck her hand out for him to shake. He took it and grasped it in a tight grip. Something about the touch felt electric; it was shocking, but Y/n and Bellamy couldn’t seem to pull away.

“Can I ask you something kind of crazy?” She started. Bellamy chuckled and nodded, “I’m sorry, I know this is really weird, but I feel like I know you from somewhere.” She shook her head as she spoke. As the words escaped her lips, she realized how dumb they sounded.

“Actually, I was just thinking the same thing.” Bellamy replied. He didn’t want to come right out and say that they might be related, because what if he had the wrong person? He couldn’t have the wrong person though; she looked just like him. She smiled like he did, her eyes shone like his did, and she even scratched the back of her neck nervously like he did.

“What sector are- were- you from?” She asked.

“Five, what about you?”

“One.”

“Oh, you’re a high born.” He joked. He always had a problem with people from sector one. After all, guards from sector one were the reason his mom got floated.

“My dad was a guard who got floated for child abuse and for stealing stuff from people from other sectors. So ‘high born’ is a bit of a stretch.” Y/n responded coyly. Bellamy raised an eyebrow and his heart sank. She just admitted that her dad, (their dad?), abused her. “But that doesn’t explain why I would know you. Different sectors…hmm… what was your profession?”

“I was a guard in training until my sister got captured and my mom floated...then I was a janitor.” He responded, staring at his hands. Y/n smiled sheepishly. They both came from messed up backgrounds. But that still didn’t explain why she felt like she knew him.

“I was an engineer, so unless you trained in sector one, we would have never met.”

“At least we’re meeting now.” Bellamy chuckled. Y/n smiled and nodded in agreement. Despite the obvious nervous air, they both talked to each other so casually- like Y/n would if she were talking to Finn or Raven.

But then Bellamy began to panic. Every part of his body wanted to come right out and say that they were twins that were separated at birth, but a very miniscule part of him wanted him to keep his mouth shut. He took the seat next to her.

“Maybe it’s because we look a lot alike?” Bellamy prompted after a moment of comfortable silence. Y/n examined him more. They did look so much a like it was uncanny. Y/n remembered reading somewhere about doppelgangers, but this felt different. This wasn’t just coincidentally similar characteristics; it ran deeper than that, but Y/n couldn’t explain it.  

“I’m really glad you think that too. I was gonna say that but didn’t want to sound weird.”

They sat in silence for a second as they both thought of what to say next. Y/n wanted to ask him a million questions at once, and Bellamy was trying to come up with a good way of telling her the truth.

“Okay, I’m gonna say something that’s going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but I need you to trust me.” He started. Y/n felt her anxiety increase exponentially as Bellamy began to act more serious. Bellamy leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He used his hands as he talked. “When my mom was floated for having a second child,” he motioned over to Octavia, “she told me something. Something that she was never supposed to tell me, but she was about to die, so she told me anyways.”

“Bellamy, why-” Y/n started, but Bellamy continued over her.

“She told me I have a twin sister…named Y/n.”

Y/n couldn’t help but laugh. “Bellamy, that’s ridiculous. You out of all people know the Ark’s rules. One child.”

“Yeah, but what happens when it’s one pregnancy and two kids?” Bellamy insisted. Y/n had to admit, she had never heard of the Ark’s rules in relationship to twins. That still didn’t mean what Bellamy said was true.

“My mom always told me that my dad was a guard from sector one that had a family of his own. That’s why he left.”

What his mom had told him, if they were twins, wouldn’t have been a complete lie. Her dad was a guard who had his own family, technically. She thought back to the story her dad would tell her: her mom was a seamstress who died during childbirth. “What did your mom do for a living?” Y/n asked.

“She was a seamstress.”

Y/n’s never felt her entire world stop spinning before, but she imagined that it felt a lot like this moment. What he was saying sounded ridiculous, but Y/n knew he wouldn’t be saying it unless he was being serious, and too much of his story was adding up for it to all be happenstance. She stared at him, her mouth agape. Her insides ran cold.

“My dad always said my mom was a seamstress who died during childbirth. He blamed me for her death.”

Bellamy’s heart was starting to race. “This can’t all be coincidence Y/n,” Bellamy whispered, “The Ark didn’t have that many seamstresses from sector five that had a child with a guard from sector one.”

Y/n was becoming frustrated. Not at Bellamy, but because she was confused. If what Bellamy was saying was true, why did she get stuck with her dad? Why weren’t they allowed to meet? Who decided their fates for them?

Y/n sat up straight and moved to pull her left sleeve up to expose her wrist. “I read in my biology class that twins have shared characteristics that only they share, like birthmarks or freckle patterns.” She held her wrist out for Bellamy; on the inside was a crescent shaped birthmark. “My dad used to call me ‘moon child’ because of how unique this birthmark was.”

Bellamy’s breath hitched in his throat. He pulled up the sleeve on his right arm to show the practically identical birthmark on his right wrist. They stared at each other in amazement.

“Still think this is all a crazy coincidence?” Bellamy asked.

Y/n stared into his eyes. She didn’t know what to say or do next. She wanted to believe Bellamy, but she couldn’t chalk all of this up to the way things appeared to be. She needed proof, genetic proof. That was something they couldn’t get on the ground. Y/n stood up and began to pace back and forth.

“What are you thinking?” Bellamy questioned, hoping to get her to stop pacing. Without responding to him, Y/n moved to take off in the opposite direction, toward the drop ship. Bellamy jumped up from his spot and went to follow her. He passed by Octavia, who began to ask him what was going on, but he just shrugged and continued walking.

Inside the drop ship, Bellamy saw Y/n run up the ladder that led to the second floor. He quickly trailed her up the ladder. “Y/n, what’s going on?”

“Monty, have you gotten communication back with the Ark?” She practically yelled to her friend. He nervously nodded yes. “Good because they’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

Without further questions, Monty moved from his spot to the video camera that he had rigged. He tapped a few buttons, moved a few things around, and began making the call to the Ark. “Do you want me to stay?” He asked. While he had a thousand things running through his head, he wanted to make sure she was okay more than anything.

“No that’s okay,” She stared into his concerned eyes, “I’ll explain later.”

Monty rose from his seat and exited the drop ship. Bellamy closed the latch behind him. Whatever Y/n was doing, he knew she needed to do it in private. “Will you explain to me what you’re doing now?”

“I need real proof. The only way we’re gonna get that is through Jaha.”

Jaha’s stoic, annoyingly optimistic face appeared on the big screen. Y/n felt Bellamy go rigid next to her, but she didn’t know why. She shook it off, though. Behind Jaha were Abby Griffin and Marcus Kane, who both looked anxiously into the screen. Y/n knew they were hoping to see Clarke, not the daughter of a child abuser and son of a woman who hid a child under her floorboard.

“Y/n Y/L/n, Bellamy Blake,” Jaha greeted, “Not the faces we were expecting to see.”

“I don’t want to be here just as much as you don’t want me to be here,” Y/n replied.

“How are things going on the ground?” Abby asked.

Y/n explained in as little detail as possible all the things that had been happening on the ground from the Grounders to their failed attempt to find Mount Weather. Y/n started to bounce her leg anxiously. “But that’s not why I’m- we’re- calling.”

“Oh?” Jaha said, sitting up in his seat a little straighter.

“What are the Ark’s rules about twins?” Y/n asked bluntly. She had no time to waste on pleasantries and small talk anymore. The three council members traded an uneasy glance. “After we’re finished here, I’ll answer whatever questions you have about the ground in depth. But first, I need you all to answer my questions.”

Jaha felt a shock swim through his body. He realized why her face was so familiar, and he hated that he had honestly forgot about Y/n and Bellamy, the twins separated at birth. He had also completely forgotten that they were on the ground together. Jaha sat forward and crossed his hands on the table in front of him. “Y/n,” He began.

“What are the Ark’s rules about twins?” She restated. She wasn’t messing around, and it honestly made Bellamy feel proud. If this was his sister, at least she was a total badass.

“In the event that the parents are together, at a random draw, one of the children would be put up for adoption.”

“What about when the parents aren’t together?”

“In the event-” Jaha started.

“Jaha, she doesn’t want to know about the Ark’s rules.” Kane said, cutting the chancellor off.

Y/n reached up to wipe a rogue tear off her face. She tried to do it fast enough so Bellamy wouldn’t see it. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder as she spoke, “Kane, you’re right. I don’t want to know about the Ark rules. I want to know the truth about my family.”

Jaha sent Abby to get Y/n and Bellamy’s birth records. He sent Kane to handle something that Y/n didn’t quite catch, but it appeared that Jaha just didn’t want him in the room. When the coast was clear, Jaha began to open up about everything. “When Aurora Blake became pregnant, the doctor said she was only having one child, but fifteen minutes after Bellamy was born, Y/n was born too. We didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t kill the mother and one of the children for a biological mishap…” Bellamy sat on the chair next to Y/n, his heart heavy at the news. They both only partially listened to Jaha explain how Y/n was picked to stay with the father and how the council members made the parents keep their existences a secret from one another.

“I know what we did to you both seems unfair, but it was the only solution we could think of that kept both of you alive.” Jaha concluded. Y/n felt a rage boiling inside her that she hadn’t felt since the night her dad nearly beat her to death. She wanted to scream, cry, punch, anything to make Jaha feel the pain she was feeling right now.

“Jaha, what you did to us is more than just unfair. I don’t think you know what it’s like to not know where you come from, to not know who your mother is, to feel like a part of you is missing your entire life only to find out it’s because you have a twin that you didn’t know about.” Y/n’s voice began to crack as she held back tears, “I don’t think you’ll ever be able to imagine the feeling of finding out that the only reason you lived with an abuser was because you got the short stick. You didn’t just keep Bellamy and I away from each other, you rewrote our fates. You forced us into our situations.” Y/n was fuming, and Bellamy couldn’t blame her. He felt a rage within him that he had never felt before. But he also felt a sense of relief; that the part of him that was missing this whole time now had the capability to be fulfilled. They couldn’t change the past, but at least they had each other now.

“I don’t understand your pain, and I never will,” Jaha said. Y/n noticed a tear roll down his cheek. She had almost completely forgotten about his son Wells, who died just a few weeks after being on the ground. All this talk of children was probably bringing all of those memories back. “I cannot fix what the council decided that day. All I can do is hope that since you both have found each other, you can find some peace within your past.”

With that, Jaha told Y/n to call back tomorrow so Jaha could ask her all of their questions, but he wanted to give Y/n and Bellamy some time to process what had happened. Jaha signed off, leaving Y/n and Bellamy to the silence of the drop ship. Bellamy stood up from his seat and began pacing. Y/n sat frozen in her spot. She looked up at Bellamy, at her brother and began to cry. It wasn’t violent, but it was emotional and raw. Every emotion she suppressed because of her father came back to the surface, and it hurt.

The latch of the drop ship opened as Finn poked his head through. “Hey Y/n-”

“Not now Finn!” Bellamy and Y/n yelled at the same time. They traded each other a fierce glance. Was this their life now? Doing the stereotypical things twins do? Finn held his hands up in surrender and disappeared almost as fast as he appeared.

After Finn left, the only sound was of Y/n’s muffled cries and Bellamy’s stifled tears. He didn’t want to cry, but his emotions were overwhelming. He didn’t know if he wanted to hug Y/n, run away, or just continue to sit in the, what was becoming unbearable, silence. He moved over to Y/n’s side, took a seat, and took her shaking hand in his hands. He stroked the back of her palm gently.

“How are you not freaking out about this?” Y/n whispered to Bellamy, who had yet to shed a visible tear. She used her other hand to wipe some tears from her eyes.

“Trust me, I am. I’m just not as good at showing it.”

She let one more tear roll down her face before she forced herself to stop crying. “What do we do now, twin?” Bellamy hummed like he was thinking. “What’s your favorite movie?”

Y/n laughed and shook her head, “Um, well, I’m a sucker for the Harry Potter movies.”

Bellamy chuckled and smiled widely. “Don’t tell anyone, but me too.”

They sat like that for what felt like hours; they talked about anything and everything from their favorite foods to what their opinions were on Clarke as a leader. They knew that they would have to eventually face the real world and tell the others the news, especially Octavia, but they wanted to live in this moment. They wanted to experience this by themselves, since it was robbed from them as children.

“Oh god…” Y/n murmured.

“What?”

“We’re gonna have to tell Finn. He’s gonna lose his shit…”

[densi-mber]

A Little Woman-to-Woman Talk 

A Densi-mber drabble

by Psyched

Kensi watched the kids skating on the ice as she made her way down the bleachers.  Even though it wasn’t a free skate session and there was no Christmas music playing in the indoor rink, she couldn’t help but smile a little at her favorite ice skating memory.  It was hard to believe it was almost exactly three years since she and Deeks decided to be bold together.  

Now they were engaged and talking about leaving their jobs to start a family.  Kensi paused and took a settling breath as she spotted her target sitting alone among the smattering of observers.  Time to be bold again.

Choosing a spot one bench behind and a little to the right the woman, Kensi tried to guess which child belonged to her.  It was impossible to see hair color due to their helmets, and they were chasing after the puck too fast to get a good look at their faces.

Acting before she could change her mind, Kensi cleared her throat and asked, “Which one is yours?”

Ellen Whiting did a good job of schooling her features when she turned around, Kensi thought.  She looked neither startled nor pissed, but Kensi was sure she was a little of both.  “What are you doing here?” the detective demanded.

Kensi stood and climbed down to Whiting’s level to sit next to her.  “I apologize for the location, but I was hoping for a little woman-to-woman talk,” she said sincerely.

Somewhat mollified, the detective asked, “How did you find me?”  

“Your husband really should make his Facebook page private,” Kensi said.

Whiting shook her head and looked back at the rink for several moments before speaking.  “Number twenty-seven.”

They both watched the boy, now ten years-old if Kensi was correct, maneuver smoothly around the ice.  He whipped his stick at an imaginary puck while he waited for the real one to come his way.  “He’s good,” she said when she’d seen enough to say it truthfully.

“Got his father’s grace out there,” Whiting replied.  “I can barely stand up on blades.”

Kensi smiled, “Deeks outdoes me on the ice too.  In most activities that involve water in any form, in fact.”

“I’m sure you didn’t come here to discuss Deeks’ recreational aptitude.”

“No.”  Kensi spoke slowly, “I came to ask what it was like to leave your son when you went back to work.  Knowing there’s always a risk you might not come home.”

This time Whiting’s face did betray her surprise.  “You mean after he was born, or when I was shot?”

Kensi shrugged, “Either. Both.”  Spotting the detective’s quick glance at her abdomen, she said, “I’m not pregnant.”  She eyed the young hockey players and continued, “But I want to be one day.”

Catching on, Whiting said, “They were two of the hardest days of my life.”

“Why’d you go back, then?”

“It’s what I do.  And frankly, before I worked with your team, I’d never even come close to being shot,” she said, matter-of-factly.  “What we do is important, Agent Blye, and there aren’t enough women in law enforcement as it is.  Don’t feel bad if you choose to keep working.”

“I already decided to give it up when the kids come.  Probably before then.”  The detective’s eyebrows shot up and Kensi chucked.  “Deeks’ idea, actually.”

“I have to admit I’m shocked to hear that.  I didn’t think he was the type to want his wife to stay home having babies.”

“He isn’t.  He wants out too.  Wants a job that doesn’t have us dodging bullets every other day.” Kensi leveled her gaze at Whiting.  When she was confident the other woman recognized the true purpose of her visit, Kensi put it into words.  “If Deeks leaves LAPD some day in the not-too-distant future so we have a better shot of raising our children into adulthood, I need to know if you’re going to try to send him to prison for murder.”

The detective was silent for a long time.  They both followed her son’s progress across the rink as he made a break and attempted to score.  Grabbing her phone to record it, Whiting stood up as he took the shot, sending the puck soaring into the net.  She cheered and shouted her praise at the boy.  Kensi was still applauding and whistling when Whiting said proudly, “I know it’s only a scrimmage match, but that was his first goal in this league.” She replayed the video on her cell. “His dad’s going to hate that he missed it.”

Nodding to the phone, Kensi said, “It’s good he’ll still get to see it.  You’re quick with the camera.”  She left Whiting to send her husband the video and focused her attention on the boy as he got back to the game.

Whiting’s attention was still on her device when she calmly spoke. “I can only give you my word, but if Deeks wants to find a safer job so you both can watch your children grow up, I won’t stand in the way of that.”

Kensi nodded, a slight smile on her lips.  “I’ll take your word.  Deeks trusts you, and I will admit that you’re a good detective who is dedicated to doing the right thing.  I respect that.”

Whiting met her eyes, “And I respect what you two want to do.  Despite what I said earlier, maybe I even envy your decision.”  

Kensi stood and offered her hand.  “Thank you, Detective Whiting.”

They shook.  “Is there a timeline for this change of careers? Any idea how much longer I can count on Deeks to be my secret weapon?”

“Not yet.  We still need to figure out what we want to do next.”

“Whatever it is, I doubt you’ll find anything quite as exciting as what you do now.”

Pointing to the rink, Kensi said, “What I just saw was pretty exciting to me.  I think we’d be happy with a long lifetime of moments like those.”