[ it sounds stupid to him when he thinks about it, but bellamy doesn't know how to act around anyone else who isn't octavia. keeping people at a distance is easy. it's the way he'd coped on the ark, keeping his sister safe, his mother in a less anxious and snappy mess if he had less friends who wanted to walk him home. he's begun to learn through the delinquents how to be kind to people who aren't his sister, but it's a long and slow lesson that he sometimes fights when learning. ]
[ with her shifting, he stays still, watching her come closer to him until she's comfortable. he hadn't wanted to lean over her, pressing her leg at an awkward angle or see it hanging off the floor if it's to bring her discomfort. ]
[ when her arms are around him, it isn't until he feels her chin on his shoulder that he reciprocates. it isn't with the uncertainty he feels, those walls building themselves back up brick by brick whenever he feels as though he's being vulnerable, as he wraps his arms around her, pressing a hand between her shoulder blades. ]
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[ with her shifting, he stays still, watching her come closer to him until she's comfortable. he hadn't wanted to lean over her, pressing her leg at an awkward angle or see it hanging off the floor if it's to bring her discomfort. ]
[ when her arms are around him, it isn't until he feels her chin on his shoulder that he reciprocates. it isn't with the uncertainty he feels, those walls building themselves back up brick by brick whenever he feels as though he's being vulnerable, as he wraps his arms around her, pressing a hand between her shoulder blades. ]
[ he murmurs, ] Nike's a better hugger.