#oh only lexa's death cause that was rough on me man

[earthkilled]

omg i literally do not remember anything that happened in the first half of season three like at all?!?!?!

[anonfanfic]

Hi! First thing first I love (and I can't stretch it enough) LOVE your stories, they are so well written! It's always a pleasure to read the prompts and see how well your imagination can evolve them into a great story. If you're up to, I always like to read a Clexa story where they are married but someone doesn't know and flirt with one of them until the wife come and just... You take it from there. :'D You're doing great! Good luck and have a nice life! :D

Another Christmas party and another plus one invite. Lexa didn’t hate that Clarke’s company through such lavish parties. She also didn’t hate the free booze that always came with the festivities.

Lexa leaned against the deep red bar and nursed her Manhattan, lifting it and spinning the amber liquid inside the glass.

Clarke had gone off to speak with some of her co-workers, knowing Lexa would much rather sit at the bar than be bored to death by shop talk.

Lexa turned to face the crowded room of people, her elbows resting on the smooth wood. She was too busy scanning the crowd for Clarke to see the man walk up next to her. 

“Mind if I join the wallflowers club?” 

Lexa looked over and saw the smirk on the man’s scruffy face. He had light patches of gray in his dark hair at his temples and under the salt and pepper hair on his face Lexa could see dimples. He was good looking and the man knew it.

“Sure, help yourself.” Lexa gestured to the nearly empty bar, hoping the man would get the hint and walk anywhere else.

The man gestured to one of the beers on tap and took a seat next to Lexa.

“You work here or get dragged here?” He asked, as the glass was placed in front of him. 

“Neither, I like coming.” Lexa took a long sip from her drink. Once again scanning the room for Clarke and an escape from the man.

Lexa looked back over at the man and saw his eyes drop to the ring on her left hand.

“Ah, the married life. I lived it once upon a time.” The man looked out into the crowd wistfully, now he had Lexa’s attention.

“Did it end badly?” Lexa asked, trying not to sound too interested.

“Only for my bank accounts.” The man downed about half his drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his free hand. “She was used to a certain lifestyle.”

“I’m sorry,” Lexa cleared her throat uncomfortably. “That must have been rough.”

The man looked back at Lexa with a sly smile.

“Don’t be. Should have ended it years before. I like the idea of being...a free agent.” He lifted his eyebrows suggestively. “Don’t you miss that?”

Lexa shook her head and finished her drink. “Not even a little.” 

“Oh come on.” The man moved closer to Lexa so he could whisper. “It can’t be exciting to be with the same man every night.” 

Lexa couldn’t help but smile and turn to the man. His own smile widened, clearly thinking his words had sparked something in her. 

“I don’t have to worry about that either.” Lexa licked her lips, watching the man’s eyes flicker down and then back up to meet her gaze.

Lexa felt familiar strong arms wrap around her waist and knew immediately Clarke had found them.

“Hi babe.” Clarke kissed Lexa’s cheek and took a step to stand next to Lexa.

“Hi love. I’d like you to meet…” Lexa gestured to the now stunned man standing before them. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

“Rudolph,” The man’s smile was tight and looked like it was causing him physical pain. 

“This is my wife, Clarke.” Lexa tilted her head, thoroughly enjoying the misery Rudolph found himself in.

“Pleasure is mine I’m sure.” Rudolph took Clarke’s hand and gave it a single shake. “If you’ll excuse me. I think I’ve taken enough of your time.” He didn’t wait for a response before taking his glass and walking off into the crowd.

“What was that about?” Clarke laughed, pulling Lexa in for a quick kiss.

“Oh, Rudolph was just informing me how boring it is to be with one person forever.”

Clarke’s eyes widened slightly, but she let out a loud laugh. “Are you bored with me?”

Lexa leaned down and kissed Clarke murmuring into her lips. “Never.”

[lifblogs]

Prompt by @whumpster-dumpster: Whumper wants to torture the youngest in the group. Whumpee A is the youngest, but Whumpee B has always looked younger than they are. B passes themself off as the youngest so A will be spared. 

The rogue grounder paced around the hut that Raven and her friends were very thoroughly tied up in. He wasn’t involved in any of the wars, lived on the outskirts of Ice Nation territory. They’d just been passing through to bring a message to one of King Roan’s commanders under him. Even with Polis in his control, and Praimfaya coming, Roan hadn’t yet found a good enough excuse to pull all of his people out of what had been his mother’s territory. They were the ones that were going to deliver the message to do so.

The man eyed them with an ugly glare, pacing, boots softening his steps on the old wood, furs keeping him warm against the cold. They’d been stripped down to just one layer each, left to freeze, the torches doing nothing to warm them. They barely lit the hut. And Raven’s brace had been taken, the grounder having decided she needed it for something, and it was in his best interest to take away anything she needed.

He was speaking in trigedasleng, Clarke and Octavia focusing intently on him. Raven eyed Monty, Harpy, Bellamy, and Murphy, wondering if while the man was distracted talking to the others, if any of them had started forming a plan on getting out. The radios were dead this far out with the two rovers they’d taken being their only possible charging stations. And Raven had disabled them in order to keep anyone from taking their tech. None of her friends seemed to have a plan, though Bellamy, and Murphy were pulling against their rough bindings, blood seeping onto the ropes.

The man stopped talking, as Raven now started pulling on her bindings. She was looking around the hut surreptitiously, seeing if there was anything to undo the ropes that was within range.

Octavia glared at the grounder, and Raven spotted a knife on a table behind Clarke. Raven tried nodding her head in a quick signal to her. Her left leg shifted across the floor with her doing so, and it was something she couldn’t help. Her hip twinged in pain.

Her motion was noticed.

Octavia spat out something in trigedasleng, turning his attention away from Raven. It earned her a punch in the face.

Bellamy started shouting.

The man yelled at them.

Clarke, lips shaking before she steeled herself said to them, “He wants to know which one of us is the youngest.”

Bellamy pointedly kept his eyes away from Octavia. Murphy’s eyes slid there, but before it could’ve possibly been noticed, Raven started crying out: “Hey! Hey!”

There was a grunt as their captor turned to her.

“It’s me,” Raven told him. “I’m the youngest.”

In English with a thick accent he challenged, “You don’t look the youngest.”

Trying to antagonize him in order to save Octavia, Raven snapped, “Yeah? Well you don’t look that stupid, but here we are.”

The man lunged at her, his hand roughly grabbing at her throat, strangling her. Raven struggled for breath, everyone crying out.

He murmured to her, “How dare you insult me in my own home.”

Raven coughed and gagged, had even started wheezing. Her throat ached, her lungs and head pounded. Black spots swam in her vision.

A voice broke through all the cries of no!, and let her go! — Clarke: “It’s me! It’s me! I’m the youngest.”

Without the grounder loosening his grip he glanced over his shoulder, and spoke, something about Clarke being the leader, so she was obviously lying in order to save her people.

Raven’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she could no longer see.

Only sound registered.

Murphy screamed, “Hey! Hey, it’s me! Okay? It’s me!”

The hand released her, and Raven was dizzy from the air that now flooded through her. Her throat hurt, and hurt, and hurt.

“Murphy…” Raven murmured, still out of it, but knowing, knowing something bad was going to happen to him. And he was doing it for her. Oh god.

“Is this one telling the truth?”

Deafening silence.

Raven’s vision came back just as she saw Murphy nodding ever so slightly, telling them it was okay.

Bellamy lied, backing him up, voice breaking as he did so, “Yeah. Yeah, he is.”

“We’re friends of King Roan,” Clarke gambled. “We can give you whatever you want. You don’t have to do this.”

“Roan’s bitch of a mother took my land, and butchered my family. One of her generals made me watch as they ripped my daughters apart while they were still breathing.”

Clarke’s compassionate voice broke through Raven’s oxygen-depleted-haze: “I’m sorry. We didn’t know. But that was Queen Naia, not her son. He is a different ruler than she was.”

“And a different ruler from Lexa,” he spat. “Azgeda scum killed my family, and Azgeda scum must die.”

“We’re not Ice Nation!” Bellamy argued.

“Bell, shut up,” Octavia said.

The man gave a cruel laugh, and then he explained, “Friends of Azgeda... ai laik Azgeda.” Raven didn’t have to know the language to understand what he meant. Clarke had miscalculated. Mentioning Roan had given them a death sentence.

“So why don’t you just kill us and get it over with?” Murphy countered.

“No. Slowly. Like the general did to my daughters.”

Murphy just stated, “Oh, ‘cause you just had to go and make this fun.”

Taking out a knife, the man went over to Murphy, and began to cut. Raven’s ears practically bled from the screams, and she found herself holding back a sob. Tears ran down her dirtied cheeks. Bellamy and Monty were screaming, Harper begging him to stop. Raven desperately glanced over at Clarke, raising her head again and again, trying to get her to look, to see the knife.

Murphy bled.

Clarke realized what Raven was trying to tell her, but all she could do to attempt to get it down was whack her head against the table, which was a horrible idea. As Murphy let out a cry through gritted teeth, sweat beading on his chilled skin, Clarke called out to Harper, who was sitting beside her.

Clarke mouthed something that Raven couldn’t hear from across the way, with Murphy’s shouting so loud, but Harper started kicking the table.

To distract from the noise, Bellamy was yelling, slamming his feet against the floor: “Stop it! Stop!”

The grounder pulled the knife away, Murphy bleeding from multiple wounds, face and torso and arms slashed up. There were some cuts to his legs as well. Raven made eye contact with him as he blood seeped into his clothes, staining them a dark red. She tried to hold back her tears, but one fell anyway. Murphy just rested his head back, and tried to catch his breath, chest heaving. A shiver ran through Raven, the toes of her right foot numb with cold.

The grounder now turned to Bellamy, knife pointed at him. Octavia started shouting something in trig, but she went ignored.

“You want to be next?” he asked him.

Monty: “We just want to live peacefully. No more fighting.”

“Then why did Roan send his people here?”

“To give a message to the rest of the Ice Nation,” Harper said, foot resting against the leg of the table. The knife had wobbled closer to the edge — thankfully, not anywhere where it would land on Clarke and hurt her.

“And what message could Skaikru give that the king can’t deliver himself?”

“We’re going to die,” Clarke informed him.

Raven’s breath caught in her throat, that anxious tingling of being close to death and running out of time running along her skin before plunging into her stomach.

“Yes, because I’m going to kill you.”

Did Bellamy just roll his eyes?

“Even if you kill us, you’re still going to die.”

The grounder growled.

“You idiots!” Octavia cried. “Stop making it seem like you’re threatening him. Hey, Inash.” The grounder — Inash — still had a snarl when he faced Octavia. “They’re telling the truth. Everyone on Earth, we’re all going to die, if we don’t get what people we can back to Polis.”

Something was said in trig, and Clarke’s voice stuttered as she responded, “Because Praimfaya is coming.”

“You’re mistaken. Praimfaya came.”

“And it’s coming again,” Raven argued.

She flinched as he wheeled on her, and her eyes instantly went to his hands that had been around her throat and had surely left bruises.

“If you let us go,” Clarke tried to delegate, “we can get you somewhere safe.”

Inash spat. “You wouldn’t. Not after I hurt your people.”

“My people, Roan’s people, Ice Nation — there won’t be any of that anymore,” Clarke pressed. “Praimfaya is coming for all of us, and we have to work together to survive it.”

Some sort of displeased grunt left Inash, and then he was making his way back to Murphy. Everyone but Murphy begged.

Raven couldn’t help the morbid curiosity that had her watching as the knife slashed into his stomach.

With all the noise, Harper went back to kicking the table.

The knife fell.

Raven held her breath, even as her lungs pounded, demanding air, telling her they’d had enough. She was light-headed, and when she breathed in, a wheeze sounded.

Inash sliced into Murphy’s shin.

“Hey, watch it!” Murphy cried. “This body belongs to someone else.”

“Yeah, me.”

“Ew, I meant my girlfriend,” Murphy told him.

“Then I’ll send her your head.”

He glanced at Raven and shrugged, somehow still coherent through all this. His face seemed to say, So much for that.

Harper kicked the knife over to Clarke, who grabbed it with her hands. She nodded at Murphy, distressed, mouthing, “Just a little longer.”

Inash put the blade to Murphy’s throat.

“I’ve about had enough of you.”

Murphy spat blood, and though his voice was raw, and his breaths were struggling gasps, he said, “I could say the same about you.”

A noise left Raven that might’ve been a distressed whine.

Murphy had hurt her, he’d betrayed them, he was the reason she needed to wear a brace. But she realized that she didn’t want him to die. She couldn’t watch him die. She just couldn’t. They’d all already lost so much, been hurt too much.

Clarke was desperately working with the knife she’d gotten.

Inash started cutting a shallow line across Murphy’s throat that had him wincing and baring his teeth in a snarl.

Raven’s vision blurred with tears, her screaming louder than Murphy’s; everyone’s begging and pleading impossibly loud.

There was a meaty thunk, and Inash stilled, breaths gurgling. He toppled sideways, landing hard next to Murphy, his eyes dead and unseeing. The hilt of a knife stuck out of the back of his head. Raven hadn’t even seen Clarke, who was now released from her bindings, throw it.

The world was a blur as Clarke got Bellamy’s bindings undone, and then they worked on freeing all of them. Monty and Bellamy supported Murphy, who was barely conscious. Clarke and Harper helped Raven.

“We gotta find where he put your brace,” Harper said.

Raven just nodded, not taking her eyes off Murphy. Harper left to go find the brace, Clarke seeming to have no problem supporting Raven on her own.

Murphy didn’t tear his gaze away, though he was pale and shaky, exhausted. He just nodded.

Brace found, they started making their way out of the hut, to the rovers.

Raven and Murphy ended up sitting next to each other in the back, leaning against each other. Harper was putting Raven’s brace on, her hip twinging at the movements. Octavia was going in a different Rover, but she climbed up into theirs.

Her body was directed at Murphy, but her eyes were downcast.

Voice hoarse, quiet, she said, “Thank you.”

Murphy just responded, “I didn’t do it for you.”

Raven did her best to hide her shock.

Octavia jumped down from the rover, and she heard Bellamy cry, “Move out! Back to Arkadia. We get the message to them another day.”

“We don’t have time,” Monty argued.

“Yeah? Neither does Murphy.”

They finished getting in the rovers, Clarke driving theirs, Bellamy the other, and Raven could barely find her voice. But finally, she whispered to Murphy, “Thank you.”

He wearily nodded his head before passing out, his blood seeping into her clothes.

[robinhoodrevisited]

The Morning After

Sherwood Forest. By The River. Morning. (It is the morning after the night before. The gang have scattered, unable to return to their camp lest the newly appointed Sheriff capture them. By all accounts, being outlaws after all, sleeping rough shouldn't be something new to Hood's gang. However the experience is less familiar to Lady Marian who had joined Robin's gang sometime after the outlaws' camp had been skillfully erected by Will Scarlett. Sure, she had spent a few nights under the stars with Robin but that was different. They had had their bedrolls with them for one thing. Last night, as the bitter cold of the evening air had made its presence felt, Marian had no blanket or cloak with which to warm herself. She did not feel the cold now though, she mused in her half conscious slumber. It was with this thought then that she resigned herself to further examine her current surroundings and slowly open her eyes for the first time. It was morning, that much she could tell, as the air was still wet with dew. As yet more senses came slowly back to her, she could hear footsteps approaching and tried to sit up. Finding that she could not, Marian realised for the first time that there was an arm draped around her shoulders and that the warm pillow beneath her head was, in fact, not a pillow at all. Marian turned and craned her neck to see just whom she had used as a bed for the night. Marian gasped as she observed Guy of Gisborne's sleeping form. Her slight exhalation along with her movements merely caused Gisborne, still snoring lightly, to wrap his arm around her more tightly. Unfortunately, just as Marian collapsed once more upon Gisborne's chest, Robin arrived.) Robin: (Taking in the scene:) "Well, isn't this cosy?" Marian: (Wriggling free of Gisborne's embrace:) "Robin, this is not what it looks like." Robin: "Oh really?" Gisborne: (Eyes still closed:) "No, it's exactly what it looks like." (Robin glares at Gisborne who slowly opens his eyes.) Marian: (To Gisborne:) "How long have you been awake?" Gisborne: (Smirks:) "Long enough to know that I was right." Marian: (Confused:) "Right about what?" Gisborne: "That waking up with you in my arms would feel like heaven on earth." (Marian, taken aback by this, is at a loss for words as Robin takes a step forward.) Robin: "Alright, Gisborne. On your feet." Marian: "Robin, stop this." Gisborne: (Slowly getting up:) "What's the matter, Locksley? Jealous?" Marian: "Guy, stop it. Robin, nothing happened I swear." Robin: "You still spent the night in his embrace though, didn't you?" Marian: "Because it was freezing! (Turning to Gisborne:) Guy, tell him." Gisborne: (Folding his arms:) "I do not recall the specifics. But yes, (to Robin:) I held her all night long." (Robin fumes at Gisborne's goading as Allan stretches and wanders into the clearing.) Marian: "Allan will tell you. He was with us all night." Robin: "I'll just bet he was. (To Allan:) Go on then, Allan, tell me. (Pointing at Gisborne:) Lie for your master. Once a traitor, always a traitor." Allan: "Oi, that's a bit harsh." Robin: "It's true though, isn't it eh?" Allan: (Frowning:) "Oh, shut up. The only truth around here is that you don't trust anyone." Robin: "And I wonder why that is." Allan: "Give it a rest. I've made my mistakes and I've owned up to them. (Pointing at him:) I saved your life back in Nettlestone and you still treat me like dirt. What else do I have to do to prove myself to you?" Robin: (Through gritted teeth:) "Just tell me the truth. What happened last night between these two." Allan: (Shrugging this off:) "Ask her yourself, has Marian ever lied to you?" 

(As the rest of the gang arrive, having heard the shouting, Robin turns and takes a few deep breaths before asking Marian once again.) Robin: "Well?" (As Much, Little John, Djaq & Will gather around.) Marian: (Calmly:) "The girl, Meg, the one you saved from being executed? She died last night. She was killed trying to save Guy's life. (Indicating Guy and Allan:) The three of us spent the night burying her." Much: (Scoffs:) "Burying a corpse in the forest? That's definitely a euphemism." Little John: (Hissing:) "Shut up, Much." Marian: (Glares at Much, to Robin:) "Her grave is just through those trees. (Robin doesn't take his eyes from Gisborne who has his gaze averted, lost in his thoughts.) We were exhausted, Robin. As soon as it was done, we fell asleep." Robin: (To Allan:) "So why were you coming from over there? Didn't want to disturb them?" Allan: "I was looking for food! I haven't eaten since yesterday." Much: (Stepping up:) "Yeah, well it's because of your bloomin' girlfriend that we can't go back to the camp and eat. (Wistfully:) My poor kitchen. Isabella's men have probably destroyed it all by now.” Will: (Reaching into his bag:) "Will you stop thinking about food for once in your life?" (Will throws an apple at Much and starts handing out more to the others.) Allan: "Where'd you get all this from?" Will: "Djaq and I went back to the camp last night. We grabbed what we could and...well." Djaq: "There was no sign of the Sheriff's men so..." Much: "Oh, I see. You two spent the night tucked away at camp whilst I slept up a flippin' tree!" (As the gang begin to argue amongst themselves, Robin draws his sword.) Robin: "Quiet, the lot of you! (As everyone stops their squabbling:) The fact remains that the camp is compromised. It might not be today but soon Isabella will lead her men there. (Pointing his sword at Gisborne.) And I say we leave her a parting gift." Marian: "Robin, what are you-" Robin: "Isabella took Vaisey's title just as Gisborne took mine. The whole family's rotten to the core and whether he admits it or not one day he's going to try and take you away from me." Marian: (Stepping between Robin and Gisborne:) "Robin, stop this. You're tired, you're angry and you're not thinking straight." Robin: "Oh, I've had time to think. And I've made up my mind." Gisborne: (As Robin advances:) "So what, going to attack an unarmed man, Locksley? Show all your friends what kind of a man you really are?" Allan: (Reaching under his cloak:) "Guy! (Gisborne turns and Allan tosses Gisborne his sword:) Collected it from the dungeons whilst I was there." Robin: "There you go, Gisborne. No excuses."

(As Robin and Gisborne begin to circle each other Marian maintains her position between them.) Marian: (Throwing her hands up:) "All right, you want to do this? You want to fight like a pair of schoolboys, fine. But you will not use weapons, do you hear me?" (Marian looks to each man in turn. Gisborne gives a slight nod to her as Robin tosses his sword down in answer.) Gisborne: (Lowering his sword slowly:) "How do I know you haven't got a knife stashed somewhere on you?" Robin: (Removing his quiver from his back:) "Oh, I won't need a knife." (Gisborne charges Robin and wrestles him to the ground. They roll over twice and the gang look on amazed as the two men fight each other. Marian bends down and collects each man’s sword just in case either man decides not to honour the rules of their combat. The two men scuffle in the dirt as Much runs to break things up. He is metres away from them when they both roll quickly over the edge of the steep slope, fighting all the way into the ravine.)

Powis Castle. Great Hall. Wales. (Clarke stands quietly to the side of the room as Titus informs the Commander of Queen Nia's death.) Titus: "She was found by her guards slumped back in her chair, both wrists slit." Lexa: "That doesn't make any sense, Nia wasn't suicidal." Titus: "Her people don't think so either. Whomever is responsible for this, they will be found. You have my word." Lexa: (Glances at Clarke, to Titus:) "Leave us." (Titus nods and leaves the room Lexa nods to the guard who also turns and exits the hall.) Lexa: (Her back turned to Clarke:) "Please tell me you had no part in this." Clarke: "If you wish me to lie to you, I will." Lexa: (Shakes her head:) "Damnit, Clarke. What if you had been caught? You didn’t need to do this. I had a plan."

Clarke: "What, to die and let Nia become Commander? You were playing right into her hands." Lexa: (Turning to face her:) "Only if I had lost. (Takes a breath:) I know you were just trying to help, Clarke. But now there will be consequences." Clarke: "I couldn't just let Roan kill you." Lexa: "If that were to have been my fate then you would've had no choice. You're driven to fix everything for everyone but you cannot fix this. I have to decide what to do next and you have to let me." (Clarke watches her a moment then nods. Lexa straightens her shoulders, walks past Clarke and leaves the hall.)

Somewhere In The Woods…The Fight Continues. (Gisborne runs down and swipes a punch, but Robin ducks and successfully returns with a left hook, sending Gisborne reeling. Gisborne attempts another punch, but Robin ducks again, then connects with his right fist. Gisborne comes back at him swinging. Robin backs away from him and Gisborne advances, then swings overhand and Robin grabs his arm and pulls him into a tree. Robin resets his feet and is ready when Gisborne turns and tries another punch. Meanwhile, as this is going on, the gang watch from above.) Little John: (Frowning as he watches the melee below:) “How much longer do you think they can go on like this?” Djaq: “John, this is Gisborne and Robin. They’re just getting started.” Allan: (Stood beside Will, winces as a particularly nasty strike connects with Robin’s midsection.) “Nice one, Gis.” Will: “Oi! Who’s side are you on exactly?” Allan: “Oh come on, this is great stuff!” Will: (Shaking his head:) “You’re sick in the head, you know that.” Allan: (Smirking:) “Maybe. Look, this is a good thing, it’ll get it out of their systems a bit. And we’ll stop it before anyone really gets hurt.” Will: (Glances at Allan, then shouts down:) “Come on, Robin. Hit him!” (Robin grabs his arm again with his left hand and swings a punch with his right into Gisborne’s stomach, then immediately follows with an uppercut to his jaw and a punch with his left fist. Gisborne goes down and rolls down the hill a bit. Robin follows, but stumbles as he stops and Gisborne backslaps him as he gets up, then punches him in the face, knees him in the stomach and throws him into the trunk of a large tree. Gisborne pulls Robin upright by his shirt and punches him in the stomach, then throws him downhill. Robin rolls to the bottom of the hollow and Gisborne follows, picks him up, punches him in the gut, then the face.) Much: (Stood with Marian.) “You see this? You see what you’ve done?” Marian: “Oh will you shut up, Much!” (Marian looks on concerned for both men as the fight continues below them. Meanwhile Will and Allan are talking about why the fight is happening.) Allan: “Nah, I don’t think so. I mean yeah, Giz and Marian have been making eyes at each other for ages but, if anything had happened before now I’d’ve known.” Djaq: “And why are you so special?” Allan: “You know exactly what makes me special, darlin’. (He winks and Djaq laughs. Will frowns and returns his attention to the fight.) Well Marian would’ve told Isabella wouldn’t she? And of course, she’d’ve told me.” (Smiles to himself.) Djaq: “Don’t mention that snake’s name around me. She’s in league with Prince John.” (Robin reaches back and his right fist lands solidly on Gisborne’s jaw. Gisborne stands back up with a smile and Robin answers with his left fist. He swings again, but Gisborne catches his arm and pushes him backwards into a tree. Robin pushes Gisborne’s arms down, shoves his shoulders back and connects with a left hook. Gisborne falls to his knees.) Robin: "Give it up, Gisborne. Marian and I are to be married.” Gisborne: (Frowning a moment:) “Really? Have you set a date? No, let me guess…when the King returns?” Robin: “This is different, I wasn’t threatening to have her killed if she declined.” Gisborne: (Smirking:) “I’ve learned from my mistakes, Hood. Marian has changed me.” Robin: “You’re lying to yourself, Gisborne. Scum like you never change, you’ll always put your ambition before others.” Gisborne: “With her by my side…a man can change his stars.” Robin: (Roars:) “She’s to be my wife!” (Gisborne lunges and manages to pin Robin beneath him. Raining down punches, Gisborne hears a horse neigh. Looking behind him, his faces falls as he sees Isabella on a horse with several guards behind her.) Gisborne: (Mutters:) “Of all the people...” (Isabella spots them.) Isabella: “Seize them!”

[raavenreyes]

aeternum.

Bellamy x Raven: reincarnation / immortal au

Word count: 2, 290 words.

Description: Bellamy Blake has been alive for longer than he’d care to admit. When he refused to side with a God in a petty disagreement, the God decided to curse him with immortality. When the war resulting from the petty disagreement reaches Bellamy’s front step, the immortality benefits him but kills the love of his life. Now, thousands of years later, he’s doing his best to blend. That is, until the love of his life finds him once more. But that’s impossible, right?

Chapter 5.

Bellamy’s first love was the moon.

He knew this now, even as an adult. She was so full, so bright and showered everything in the deepest blue. It was hard not to fall in love with her, especially when his mother spoke of Selene. He imagined her not as the pale woman with dark hair most of his people painted, but as the tan, dark eyed woman he had fallen in love with in adulthood.

To him, Raven was his moon. She was high in the sky, bathing him in blue, guiding him through the dark. He had never known the darkness of a moonless night until she had died and now—

Well now, his sky was nothing but light and he could see every star. But the darkness was there, pulsing around his light and threatening to swallow him whole.

He let out a deep sigh, tipping his head back against the brick border around his windowsill he was perched upon. The sounds of the city were beneath him, foot swinging out six stories up as he watched people meander the streets in silence. Raven was asleep on her stomach, breathing gently, back rising and falling. Before he had woken up, he knew he had never slept so peacefully. She filled his sheets with the smell of vanilla and jasmine and her tongue tasted like the cheap wine he bought from the liquor store on the corner. The cigarette in his left hand signed his fingers and he hissed, dropping it over the edge of the window and watching the light at the end fade as it hurdled to the ground. He stood up and made his way to his nightstand, pulling another out of the pack and placing it between his lips.

“Bell?”

Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, he turned his attention to Raven, who had awoken in cold and confusion at the lack of a presence next to her. “I’m here.” He whispered in the dark, and she turned around, squinting her eyes until they adjusted in the low light.

“What’re you doin’ baby?” Her voice was raspy, and it pulled him in like an undertow.

“Just needed a smoke,”

“Those things’ll kill ya,”

He let out a snort of a laugh. “Sure.”

“Bellamy, I’m serious. You should quick.”

“There’s worse things than a cigarette, Raven.”

“You’re gonna destroy your body. You wanna be cancer riddled before you even have grandchildren? You—I don’t even know why we’re fighting about this. Just come back to bed.” She laid back down and he sat back on the windowsill, staring out into the night towards the horizon. “Bellamy.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Fine.” Raven pulled herself out of bed and he was quick on his feet, going to her side and gently urging her back onto the mattress. “Let me up.”

“You can’t move around too much, Rae. You got released from the hospital three days ago.”

“I want you here, in bed with me. You won’t come to bed, so I’m coming to you.”

“Sit.”

“Let me go, Bellamy.”

“Rave—”

“Let me go!” She yelled, and he locked onto the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. “I can do this, I can walk. Let me do it. I can do it.”

“I never said you couldn’t Rae,” He said softly. “Raven, I don’t doubt your capabilities, I just think you need time to heal.”

“I don’t—I don’t wanna be coddled. I don’t want to be babied. I wanna—I’m gonna be okay. I have a shop I need to run, this isn’t gonna kill me.”

“Of course not, Raven.” Bellamy pulled her into a hug and she began sobbing into his chest, not lifting her head until his shirt became soaked with her tears. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

She lifted her head, and the dark brown in her eyes were indigo stars in the moonlight. “What did I do to deserve you?”

Bellamy smiled. “You were born.” It made her laugh, and he was thankful for that. “C’mon, let’s go to bed.” He reached behind him, grabbing the back of the collar of his shirt and tugging it over his head. He tossed it into his hamper in the corner of the room and helped Raven under the covers before sliding in behind her and enclosing himself around her form. Face buried in a seat of coffee-colored locks, he let himself drown in her.

Morning came gold and light, and he was surprised to wake up alone. He came out of his bedroom to find Raven settled on the couch, knee deep in a Netflix series and eating out of a bag of chips.

“Raven, it’s eight o’clock in the morning, why are you eating hot Cheetos? Where did you even get hot Cheetos?”

“Miller dropped some off before heading to the shop.” She explained. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” He snatched the bag from her grip and she whined, giving him a frown. “I’m cooking you a real breakfast.”

“Breakfast burritos?”

“I got…” He opened his fridge. “Eggs and coffee—and hot sauce.”

“I’ll take it.”

He wanted to say something about her getting around on her own, but decided against it. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah, I mean…after um…” She sighed. “Listen, Bell, I’m sorry for yelling at you last night, I just…it was a rough night. I’m not used to be useless, is all.”

He shut the fridge door, pressing the start button on his dingy coffee maker before going to her side. “You’re not useless, Raven. You’re a little banged up. It’s gonna be okay.” Leaning down, he caught her lips in a gentle kiss. “And if I hear somethin’ like that leave those pretty lips again, we’re gonna have a problem.”

“Maybe I wanna have a problem,”

“Don’t try to distract me. Plus, you’re injured. You’re gonna have to wait a little while for me to rock your world, Reyes.”

“Oh, we’re gettin’ cocky now, are we?” She teased and Bellamy chuckled, shaking his head as he made his way back to the kitchen to get some eggs started up. “I’m not spoiling you on anything, am I?” She asked, lifting the remote to resume her program.

“Oh, no. I’ve seen Daredevil like four times. Shit never gets old.”

“That hallway scene though,”

“Damn right that hallway scene.”

The quiet that settled between them was calming, and Bellamy couldn’t remember the last time he was this happy while sitting in silence with someone. He passed Raven a plate of buttered toast, two fried eggs and a hot cup of coffee before lowering himself into the couch next to her.

“Thanks, babe.” She grinned, patting his thigh. Bellamy slid his fork through the eggs, flooding the ceramic with yolk so he could dip his bread in it. “I wanted to ask you something,” She said suddenly, clicking pause on the remote when Bellamy was in mid-bite. He nodded for her to continue, and Raven let out a long sigh. “I feel guilty about being here. Eating your food, watching your TV, showering, all—y’know, using your resources and I can’t—I mean, I can give you money.”

“Raven,”

“No, wait—I just, I have a proposition. Stop your payments on the bike. It’s fixed. Okay? That’s it. We’re even—plus, I’m gonna take you to dinner because I’ve never, no one has ever selflessly just dropped everything to take care of me and I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

Bellamy slid his hand onto the side of her head, brushing his thumb across her bottom lip. “You’re an incredible woman, Raven Reyes. I want to see you succeed. I want to see you live. That’s all I ever wanted. But hey, I’m not gonna deny a free meal and a repair job.” He grinned. “Thank you.”

Once he finished eating, he reached behind him to the end table pressed against the back of his couch to find Raven’s medications. “Here, you gotta have two of these after breakfast.” He tapped out the two small white pills into her palm and watched her douse them back with her coffee. “When’s your next appointment?”

“Three weeks, the twenty-seventh.” Raven answered absentmindedly, staring at the television screen while hugging her warm mug. The bruises around her face were fading into green and yellow tones, making little galaxies on the high points of her features.

Knocking at his front door caused both of their heads to whip towards it. Bellamy pulled himself to his feet and went to answer it, a sigh leaving his lips at the sight of the person on the other side.

“Lexa, you have a key.”

“And you have a girlfriend now. So I’m knocking.”

She pushed passed him and into the room, and Raven sat up. “Raven, this is Lexa. Lexa, Raven,”

“Hi,” Raven answered, glancing over to Bellamy as he shut the door behind him.

“I need to talk to Bellamy for a second.” Lexa announced, pulling the man into his bedroom and shutting the door behind him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I could ask you the same question,”

“When you told me it was Raven, I just thought you found some girl that looked like Raven but that’s—that’s Raven,” She said in a hushed whisper. Bellamy only had one thing to remember Raven by, a drawing done by a very talented artist he had commissioned of her body after death. She looked so peaceful. He had shown it to Lexa many years later, after a many painstaking years of keeping it preserved. “I saw you leave the hospital together and—”

“Stop following me.”

“Okay this time I wasn’t even following you. Clarke and I were on a date. We walked to a café across the street from the hospital after she got off from work.”

Bellamy turned his back on her, moving aside a box in his closet to reveal a safe door in the wall. He clocked in his pass code and pulled a leather-bound book from its confines. Page 38 contained the same sketch, two-thousand years old. Recreated over and over again through time, but the image never losing its lines. Raven.

Remember her face, always—it stated on the bottom of the page in his own writing, the ‘s’ in ‘always’ smudged slightly from a tear that had slid off his cheek during its writing.

“I’m afraid of what this means.” Lexa revealed. “I’m afraid for you, Bellamy. What if he’s testing us?”

“Who? The god that cursed us? He doesn’t give a shit about us, Lex. He doesn’t care. He’s probably forgotten about us.” He scoffed. “I have another chance with my wife. I’m gonna take it. It’s probably—I don’t know. I don’t know shit about spirituality or the afterlife but history is bound to repeat itself, right? Maybe this is the case. Maybe it…repeated, and I got another chance.”

Lexa pressed her lips together, attempting to stare him into submission. “Be careful.” She urged.

He nodded, tucking the book away again and locking up the safe. “That’s the love of my life, Lexa. I’m not gonna lose her again.”

The petite woman nodded, moving past him and opening up the door. “Nice meeting you, Raven.” She said calmly, before exiting the apartment.

“Unrequited love?” Raven questioned.

“No, she uh—she’s my old roommate. We’re really close. She’s like my sister.” He ran his hands over his chin, feeling the rough stubble, dry skin.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. She uh, she started dating this girl she’s been obsessing over for the last month or so. She just wanted to talk about it.” He smirked. “She’s funny.”

“Bellamy?”

“Hm?”

“What are you lying to me about?”

His heart thudded into his stomach. “Ly-Lying? I’m not lying to you about anything, Rae. She came over to talk about her.”

“Bell, your walls are paper thin. I heard my name. What are you lying to me about?”

He crossed the room and took a seat next to her, a comforting hand on her thigh. “Lexa’s protective. She just…wanted to know I was okay. She doesn’t want me to get hurt. That’s all, Raven, I promise.” She stared into his eyes for a brief moment, and then turned away. Lie after lie after lie. They were getting easier to tell, and Bellamy was worried that one day they’d become a part of him.

“Okay.” She whispered. “Don’t lie to me, Bellamy. I’m not stupid.”

“You’re not.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

“That’s your best friend. I understand. Just wish I heard about her before she came over unannounced.” Raven shrugged. “Maybe we can double date.”

“Sounds good.” He nodded. “I’m gonna go run some errands. You gonna be okay for an hour or so?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Bellamy bent over the back of the couch, pressing a kiss to the top of Raven’s head. She leaned her head back and met his lips, giving him a smile. “Be safe.”

“Will do, Rae. See you soon.”

[gillywulf]

do not stand at my grave and cry; i am not there. i did not die.

AO3

Summary: Lexa learns what “death is not the end” really means.

~~~

As it comes with thinking of death as often as she did, Lexa liked to imagine the afterlife. That, and it was inescapable.

She thought it might be a place where she would be forced to endure punishment from the lives she’d taken during her own, both as a warrior and a leader. She pictured the scores of fighters and innocent civilians caught in her crossfire and what they might say and do to her. There wasn’t much they could have done in life, but in death, there was nothing to stop them. 

Her surprise was clearly warranted when that was not what awaited her.

When Lexa opened her eyes after closing them for the last time, it was to the clearest skies she’d ever seen and tall swaying grass that proved there was a breeze before her skin ever felt it. It was literally impossible. Her hands patted frantically at her stomach only to feel nothing. It was almost a full minute before her situation sunk in.

This was death. Decent weather and a pretty view.

She walked until she found a matching picturesque forest where light filtered through the canopy and lit up the forest floor in patches. The way it fell on to her skin warmed her more than she thought it ought to. Then, after walking for hours, she came upon a small network of huts. Wary as she was, she took a chance. 

“Hello?” she called out. She positioned herself to be ready for anything, to fight, to flee, to talk. The nearest door opened and she didn’t know which of those options was more appropriate.

“Lexa,” Costia gasped, marching across the distance with urgency, “what are you doing here?” Lexa could barely breathe.

“What?” Costia threw her arms around Lexa’s next and squeezed for the years they had and lost together. Instinctively, Lexa reciprocated. Costia was her first everything and to hold her again was...incredible.

“You shouldn’t be here, not yet” Costia murmured into her neck. Her warm breath tickled Lexa’s skin and it felt too real. Her arms tightened again.

“I swear to fucking- are you kidding me?!” A new voice broke them apart just in time for Lexa to catch a fist to her jaw. She stumbled to the ground, and with a hand to the wound, she gaped up at her attacker. Anya’s eyes had uncharacteristic tears flowing from them. “Why the fuck are you dead?” Oh. Yes. That was why they were upset to see her. “You ungrateful-” Her mentor heaved her off of her ass, “completely stupid-” pulled her into another forceful hug, “idiotic goufa”

“It wasn’t intentional” Lexa argued lightly, allowing herself to feel the relief of seeing her mentor again. Soon enough, Gustus, her parents, and two other Natblidas from her conclave - Oten and Lyt - came out of their huts to admonish her and hold her tightly. It was overwhelming.

She’d been only a few years old when her natblida status had removed her from her parents custody. She’d attempted to find them again once she’d been made Heda only to discover they’d been killed in a bandit raid five years prior. It made her unsure of how to act around them, as with the other natblidas and Gustus, seeing as she had been the one to kill them. All of them assured her as they sat in her parents hut catching up that they harbored no ill will against her. But Lexa still cried and apologized. Only in her death could she have all of the people she loved in one place.

“How did you die?” her mother asked in the contented silence after dinner. All of them watched Lexa expectantly. She was suddenly aware that they must all have been expecting some glorious death fit for Heda of the twelve clans, founder of the Coalition.

“I was shot in the stomach by Fleimkepa Titus. It was an accident,” she admitted softly, “I was not the intended target”

“Who was?” Gustus’s fury was evident in his sharp tone and incensed expression.

Even softer than before; “Clarke” The word was met with silence until Gustus slammed his fists on the table and rose to his feet, quickly turning away. “She is not to blame. Titus is the one who held the weapon and made the decision to shoot-”

“Because of her!” Gustus snapped. “I told you she would kill you!”

Anya tried to step in. “Gus, she may be-”

“No! I will not have this rationalized! Who is Heda now?! A child?!”

“Enough!” Lexa let her authority bleed into the room, causing her most trusted body guard to freeze. “Clarke was leaving Polis at great personal cost. Titus prevented her from leaving and no doubt caused a larger mess than if she were to have left. She was never, and will never be to blame for what happened to me” Her gaze bore into Gustus’s, challenging him.

“You sound awfully sure of this girl” Oten raised a suspicious eyebrow. Hyper-aware of Costia’s presence at the end of the table, Lexa nodded.

“I am”

~

Months passed and Lexa slowly relearned her loved ones, not as Heda or as a potential Heda, but as Lexa the girl. She let herself smile and joke and to feel their love. It was fantastic.

Her father did the same sword twirl that she did, her mother made them same face of annoyance. Oten and Lyt’s maturity had grown beyond their outward appearances to match the man and woman they would have become. Gustus showed her his whittling hobby and the many small animals he spent his day making. Anya demanded to spar with her at every opportunity and still corrected her even when Lexa won most of them. Costia spoke with her about the event that ended her life and let Lexa cry until she was certain she felt no grief for it.

She settled in her own hut just out of eyesight from the others and found another small cluster of huts on the opposite side of hers with a nice eyed middle aged man who called himself Jake and a boy who called himself Wells. Lexa knew instantly who they were and began having regular lunches with them, trying her best not to reveal who she was.

It was the happiest she’d ever been in her life and the irony didn’t escape her.

On almost a year to the day she’d arrived, Lexa wandered over to Jake and Wells’s huts for a lunch. Like usual, it was a perfectly sunny day with a perfectly balanced breeze. After the healing she felt getting reacquainted with her family, Lexa found the days that much more beautiful and relished each breath she took (though she was well aware there was no expiration date this time, which made her feel all the more ridiculous for not wanting to take it all for granted).

Something was different the moment she stepped from the tree line. Usually, one of her two new friends would be there to greet her, eager to catch up with her, but there was no one there. With a frown, she pushed on. Their huts weren’t a far distance from the tree line so it wasn’t long before Lexa pressed her back to the side of Jake’s hut. Cautiously, she peered around the corner. 

In the center of the small cluster was what seemed to be a group hug. She could see Wells, Jake, the woman who had been introduced to Lexa as Wells’s mother, and another couple she’d met. All of them were huddled around someone with blonde hair.

Her heart stopped. Of course Jake chose that moment to turn around.

“Lexa! I’m so sorry neither of us met you,” he wiped tears from his eyes and she finally got a good view of the blonde in his arms.

Clarke. Clarke.

“Lexa” the love of her life mumbled in disbelief. She disentangled herself from her friends and family and sprinted towards Lexa. She looked good was the first thing that came to Lexa’s mind. In all fairness, she never thought anything less of Clarke, but to see her in person, there was no way she could think anything else.

She caught Clarke around the waist and tugged her close, her hands stroking at her hair and back like she’d never done it before. She smelled like the most fragrant flower, the ocean in the morning, a fruit after the first bite. If Lexa had nothing but this for the rest of eternity, she would be okay with that. Clarke pulled back enough to look her square in the eyes and oh that ocean analogy was certainly apt. Clarke’s eyes seemed brighter by the perfect sunlight and the tears shining in them.

“So we met again” she couldn’t help but say. Though Clarke’s laugh was garbled by the sob, she still leaned forward to kiss her. It was desperate and rough, but Lexa kept it in mind that they would have eternity for softness and gentleness. She brushed her thumb over Clarke’s skin just to feel her. When they felt that pesky need to breathe, they pulled apart and Clarke dropped her forehead to Lexa’s collarbone.

“I watched you die” It was barely above a whisper, but it rattled Lexa’s very bones. She could see how much it destroyed Clarke as it happened - the tears and screaming and frantic hands trying fruitlessly to save her - and she had already endured the deaths of people she cared about. Lexa never wanted to be among them.

“And now we get to live” she promised.

~

Lexa and Clarke woke up to each other every morning. They made breakfast and prepared for the day before splitting their time between their families, Lexa’s mother doted and Clarke and Jake nearly burst into tears when the pair of them told him their story. Anya seemed less than excited to see Clarke, but she was happy to realize that she hadn’t been shot in the back for nothing (Lexa, learning of the fact for the first time was alarmed, but they both assured her they hadn’t known it was coming).

Some days they would spend only in the comfort of one another. Lexa may have spent the day teaching Clarke to fight, or Clarke may have drawn as Lexa napped in her lap. but the most amazing thing was that it all happened without the burden of others. Neither were worrying about the impact of their choices or the choices of others.

This was death; in love and at peace.