[ the ark has a one-child policy. bellamy doubts any of the kids, save maybe clarke and a few others, know what it's like to witness it. he doesn't think clarke's even seen a woman give birth to her child, but he supposes abby would have stories. it's more than what anyone else would know, he thinks. ]
[ it's easier to talk about octavia than it is mom. it'll always be easier. ]
There's not really much to talk about. [ he looks down, hand still beneath hers, but he almost doesn't feel it. almost. given her hand is cold, it's a little difficult to ignore. his tone isn't conversational or warm. bellamy's trying to remove himself from the topic at hand, given it tiptoes a little too close to what he doesn't want to think about. ] She died. I have to focus on Octavia now.
[ her heart still aches when she thinks of her own parents, lost to sea. she understands that feeling of utter loneliness and helplessness. but this isn't about her and all that she offers to this conversation is, ] My parents were Agnarr and Iduna.
[ after this, she won't press for more. this is territory in which she knows to tread carefully. ]
[ bellamy has never had a problem speaking of aurora when it comes to octavia or beating himself up. in most circumstances, he speaks of her because that's all he does — trying to instil confidence in octavia to believe in herself, and to tear himself down. he thinks about mom a lot; from the day he'd chosen to shoot chancellor jaha to yesterday, aurora blake is a person who he's never forgotten, even though he wonders if she's become a memory to him he's begun to warp in his own head. ]
[ lifting his gaze up at her, bellamy's expression isn't as open as it once was. lips slightly parted, he looks as though he's a kid again. uncertain, if a little afraid — aurora is simply someone he just doesn't speak of. he doesn't let himself; he's the reason she's not here. ]
[ he thinks to comment on her parents' names sounding more like greek mythological gods to him, strange and unique in their own syllables, but he knows elsa better by now. she won't let him stray from this, even if he so much as asks her to. ]
That is a beautiful name, [ she exhales with a smile.
her parents were proper, strict enough, always loving. they were the perfect king and queen from what she could see, even if things were less than perfect behind the throne. sometimes, it's difficult to reconcile her memories of her parents with the newfound information from her family's hidden past, but all families are complicated. it doesn't matter how rich or how poor they are.
she might just shift the topic slightly instead, not wanting him to grow too uncomfortable with her. ]
I know someone named Aurora. I met her in Storybrooke.
[ he doesn't know what he expects from elsa. she's always been kind. even though she'll disagree, he doubts there's a mean bone in her body. but he finds himself guarded all the same. ]
[ if he gives her this piece of himself, bellamy knows he won't be able to get it back. by giving people slivers of who he is, he knows he won't be able to leave this city as easily as he would've at the beginning of his stay here. just like the snowgie she'd given him, speaking of mom in any way, shape, or form keeps him tethered here and to her. ]
[ he looks up at her, and he smiles, but it isn't out of mirth. her answer is one he should've predicted, but instead had gotten his hackles up and let them make him feel as though she was pressing him with icicles instead of the soft chill of her hands. aurora isn't a name he expects to be as well known as octavia or even elsa's own, but bellamy thinks he understands what she's doing now. instead of batting her away, he tries to lower those hackles just a little. ]
[ ducking her head, she smiles and covers her mouth with her other hand. ]
Aurora – she is a princess from another kingdom. She was cursed by the evil, vengeful enchantress Maleficent who could turn herself into a dragon. Many outside of our worlds know her better as Sleeping Beauty.
[ wrinkling her nose a little, she isn't sure how bellamy would take it, if he would find it to be amusing or not. she holds her breath and watches him carefully. ]
[ his smile is small and soft. no longer on edge, or particularly guarded, bellamy finds himself at ease with the story of aurora the princess who seems to have slept for a long, long time. he remembers reading the fairytale one night, but his version hadn't given her a name. ]
I doubt Mom would've been fond of being called that. Or a princess. [ just like octavia, he thinks his mother would've preferred to be some kind of warrior, like mulan. he doesn't move his hand from beneath hers, but he does shift it, as though he's begun to relax again by moving his fingers slightly. ] Kind of doubt she'd let any person curse her.
[ he looks at her with his eyebrow slightly arched. ] Did she find a cure to this curse?
Maleficent cursed the entire kingdom into eternal slumber the moment Aurora pricked her finger on a spindle.
[ there's another case of parents hiding their daughter away to protect her from misfortune, but some things are inevitable. elsa nods belatedly in response to his question. ] True love's kiss saved her. Aurora had fallen in love with a visiting prince – he hadn't realized she was a princess when they met in the woods.
[ her hand slides away from his and she leans against her seat, lacing her fingers together in her lap. ] Love is the strongest magic of all.
[ bellamy does agree. love is what compelled him to get onto that drop ship, and it's why he's here, in this city. though elsa talks of true love, he thinks she, of all people, would understand what keeps him in eudio. it's not the romantic kind of love, but one he thinks to be true all the same. ]
[ he's still not sure if he believes in magic, despite all the proof he's seen with her. he can believe in a woman wielding ice from her fingertips, but when it comes to a feeling being able to break a curse, he's not so sure that's magic. ]
I read some of those stories, and I think they missed another kind of love. I think you'd understand it a little better than Princess Aurora.
[ he looks at her hand, no longer beneath his, and reaches for his beer. he doesn't think on it, though he does wonder, for a brief second, if she removes her hand because she's uncomfortable touching him. he doesn't drink it, but holds it close, as though he's about to. ]
Mom always taught me to never wait around for someone to save me like all the princesses in the Greek stories do. Andromeda could've cut herself from that rock if she had a knife. Pretty sure Medusa could've exacted revenge on Poseidon and Athena with her snakes. Not everyone has a prince who can break any spell with true love's kiss.
The rules of breaking curses are – broad and often confusing. In my past experiences, it has always been family love that has saved the day.
[ whether it be anna's love for her or ingrid desperately needing the love of her family, it's enough to thaw the frozen tundra and shatter the mirror spell. family love saved storybrooke from regina's original curse. if past and present company hadn't confused her and sparked her curiosity, she would have powered the city with her mutual love for her sister. elsa is sure of that.
her hands remain fidgeting under the table, picking at the hem of her dress. it's difficult to look at him but she forces herself to. it would be impolite not to do so. ]
Princes are unreliable sources for curse breaking.
[ in bellamy's experience, most men are dirtbags when it comes to trying to help a woman out of a tricky situation. he opens his mouth to say so, but thinks otherwise. though his mind goes to his mom and the guard, his own anger toward their situation and what she had forced herself into for her children's sakes, it's not the time for it. ]
[ instead, he takes a long drink of his beer before placing the bottle down onto the table. keeping his fingers wrapped around the neck of it, he studies it. he always presumed if elsa was enchanted into some sleep, it'd be anna to wake her up. but maybe she has a prince waiting around, a source of her own comment of them being unreliable. ]
No princes tried to break any spells with you? Besides the one who was a dick.
[ it seems like he'll always think there's a prince waiting in the wings for her, regardless of how many times she says otherwise. ]
No! [ what an embarrassing outburst. ] Oh, no. Not at all.
[ all elsa can hear echoing in her head right now is anna calling bellamy a bonehead. and even if she has convinced herself that she is content with continued friendship, because it truly is an important factor to her, she can just imagine anna's stern commentary about this situation.
[ bellamy really is a bonehead, but it's not because he looks up at her with an amused smile and slight arch of his brow. his amusement stems from her outburst, and even though bellamy should know it could be because of what transpired on the beach, a part of him thinks — rather loudly — that she's moved on. it's that loud, bonehead of a voice that tries to tie everything together, even though the end result makes little to no sense. ]
[ he can't say he's disappointed to hear there's no prince in the picture. ]
I guess that's a good thing. [ he looks down and lets go of his bottle, reaching for a slice of pizza. ] Anna seems more reliable than a prince.
[ there is a proud smile. ] She certainly is. I'm very happy to have such a reliable curse breaker on my side.
[ she pulls at the collar of her sweater. watching him reach for a slide, she follows suit, but instead of holding it up to her mouth, elsa begins to neatly pull off pieces to eat little by little. it seems to be easier to eat and converse for her this way. ]
I've mostly been unimpressed by the princes who I've spoken to back home, but I also have little interest in marrying so soon. [ her kingdom, her rules. ]
[ bellamy doesn't take a bite out of his slice, dropping it onto his plate like he doesn't particularly care for it. in a way, he doesn't. he'd grabbed it on a whim, and though he's hungry, often eating a little more than he otherwise would now that eudio seems to be in plenty supply of food, he finds he doesn't want to distract himself from the conversation just yet. ]
[ he's preparing for it, in his own way. ]
Maybe you'll find someone when you go back. [ it's what clarke would say, he thinks. he isn't so sure. whenever octavia had spoken about the boys in camp, he'd shut it down too eagerly. his experience with this kind of talk is pitiful, to say the least. but he shrugs a shoulder, nonetheless, and carries on. ] Or from here. Pretty sure I've seen a few princes around.
Perhaps, [ she sighs, shifting slightly in her seat as she pulls at her pizza again, popping the bit into her mouth and taking her time when chewing with her gaze averted. ]
I'm not particularly interested in princes or even kings right now. [ she clears her throat and reaches for her glass of iced tea again, holding it over her lap while pulling the straw to her lips. ] It isn't necessary, ah, not a priority.
[ it's an easy deduction to make, even if he wonders if that's all it is. he remembers how she'd had someone interested in her months back, and considering she hasn't said much about him, bellamy supposes that guy's out of the picture. ]
[ he thinks. he's not really up with the whole social thing when it comes to romance. all he knows is how to protect octavia and how to put her first — and how to fight the kind of war where people die, not necessarily break hearts. ]
[ but it's easier to focus on that and let that be the reason than to think on what he believes he knows, but refuses to give much thought to. it's easier that way, living in denial. it makes the idea of leaving a hell of a lot easier if he stays there. ]
[ he glances down when he asks, ] What ever happened to that guy who liked you? Your sister end up punching him?
Of course. She is the most important person in my life.
[ though she does take comfort in the fact the kristoff is also here to help her and keep an eye on anna in her shenanigans. elsa feels the need to hover less now that he is around, though they both know that anna can still get herself into trouble, as her several network posts have shown before. ]
Nothing happened, [ she continues, taken aback by his memory and the question itself. ] Nothing happened at all. I think he's with someone else.
[ elsa doesn't feel especially torn apart by it. she simply twists her lips to one side with the straw in between them before taking another sip. ]
[ bellamy looks at her and wonders what the hell he's trying to find in her mannerisms and tones. sometimes he digs a little too hard for something. mom used to scold him for trying to stir trouble when he questioned her over and over and over about her whereabouts before he'd known better. though the situation with his mother had proven his gut to be true, bellamy's not so sure what he's looking for here. ]
[ elsa lifts a shoulder calmly and even smiles a little. ] It was a bit of an intimate experiment upon my arrival, I suppose, and he very sweet, but it wasn't meant to be. I'm told that's normal. [ she still has the handmade snowglobe he had so nicely given her when she first opened the ice cream shop but even she can tell that it doesn't seem to be the right moment to bring it up. ]
[ even now, she speaks of potentially dating as an experiment. and he knows that that's what she had been attempting, considering she's not like him, easily going with the flow as he'd done so when he'd first dropped onto the ground. he wonders if it's easier for her to think of it in such terms, detaching herself slightly from what's otherwise pretty emotionally driven. ]
[ bellamy takes a bite out of his pizza for the sake of having something to do and even distract himself with. he looks down, and his gaze stays down after he swallows and reaches for his beer. ]
Well, he's an idiot. [ and he lifts it and takes a sip, so he doesn't have to tell her it doesn't matter how sweet someone is. ]
[ bottle still in hand and off the table, he points it to her and asks, good-naturedly, ] Do you look at all the interactions you have with people as experiments?
Absolutely not! [ elsa exclaims, voice rising in pitch. she presses a hand to her chest. ] I don't know what else to call it. A passing flirtation? None of it sounds particularly good to me.
[ which isn't to write it off entirely. feeling pursued and giggling as often as she had felt good for an experiment/passing flirtation. but elsa isn't like most people here, having been hindered by her powers and the idea of touch for so long.
she's reluctant to let go of her glass even though all that's left in it are ice cubes. ]
[ bellamy can't help but laugh at her reaction. elsa reminds him of someone who takes almost anything to heart, not wanting to offend anybody, even if that person deserves it. she's not necessarily innocent, but bellamy thinks she's too kind. it's that part of her he knows draws him to her, given how he's come to expect the worst in people, she's only ever reminded him that there's nothing wrong with seeking the best. ]
[ placing his bottle down, he looks at her with amusement. ] It sounds like what it was, Elsa. I wouldn't worry about it. [ he shrugs; given bellamy hardly labels anything himself, he's in no position to judge what she calls a passing flirtation. ]
[ as long as it's passed. and is very far away from where she is now. ]
[ glancing down at her glass, bellamy's mouth slowly curves into a smile. ] Want another one?
[ she is a little too pragmatic and polite for her own good sometimes.
oddly enough, she doesn't blush as furiously as she thought she would have when discussing a past flirtation, but she supposes that it is a sign of her comfort level with bellamy and also an indication that whatever crush she might have had is truly behind her. that is a first. she'll have to remember that.
looking down into her glass, she shakes her head as she slides it onto the table again. ] No, thank you. I'm perfectly content.
[ bellamy shakes his head. he looks at his bottle and realises it's almost empty, the crappy bit at the bottom sloshing about inside. ]
No. Probably go home and watch Netflix.
[ he shrugs his shoulders. it's so simple and so boring, but given he hadn't had the luxury of watching any of the old football games on the ark, he takes advantage of his subscription. he knows he'd be called lame, considering how today's some big day for everyone, but bellamy simply likes to be alone. ]
[ shifting in his seat, bellamy leans his arms against the table. looking at her, he tries not to smile, but fails in achieving his small goal. ]
I've got a question for you, though. Been kind of wondering about it all day.
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[ it's easier to talk about octavia than it is mom. it'll always be easier. ]
There's not really much to talk about. [ he looks down, hand still beneath hers, but he almost doesn't feel it. almost. given her hand is cold, it's a little difficult to ignore. his tone isn't conversational or warm. bellamy's trying to remove himself from the topic at hand, given it tiptoes a little too close to what he doesn't want to think about. ] She died. I have to focus on Octavia now.
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[ her heart still aches when she thinks of her own parents, lost to sea. she understands that feeling of utter loneliness and helplessness. but this isn't about her and all that she offers to this conversation is, ] My parents were Agnarr and Iduna.
[ after this, she won't press for more. this is territory in which she knows to tread carefully. ]
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[ lifting his gaze up at her, bellamy's expression isn't as open as it once was. lips slightly parted, he looks as though he's a kid again. uncertain, if a little afraid — aurora is simply someone he just doesn't speak of. he doesn't let himself; he's the reason she's not here. ]
[ he thinks to comment on her parents' names sounding more like greek mythological gods to him, strange and unique in their own syllables, but he knows elsa better by now. she won't let him stray from this, even if he so much as asks her to. ]
[ his gaze becomes unfocused for a moment. ]
Aurora.
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her parents were proper, strict enough, always loving. they were the perfect king and queen from what she could see, even if things were less than perfect behind the throne. sometimes, it's difficult to reconcile her memories of her parents with the newfound information from her family's hidden past, but all families are complicated. it doesn't matter how rich or how poor they are.
she might just shift the topic slightly instead, not wanting him to grow too uncomfortable with her. ]
I know someone named Aurora. I met her in Storybrooke.
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[ if he gives her this piece of himself, bellamy knows he won't be able to get it back. by giving people slivers of who he is, he knows he won't be able to leave this city as easily as he would've at the beginning of his stay here. just like the snowgie she'd given him, speaking of mom in any way, shape, or form keeps him tethered here and to her. ]
[ he looks up at her, and he smiles, but it isn't out of mirth. her answer is one he should've predicted, but instead had gotten his hackles up and let them make him feel as though she was pressing him with icicles instead of the soft chill of her hands. aurora isn't a name he expects to be as well known as octavia or even elsa's own, but bellamy thinks he understands what she's doing now. instead of batting her away, he tries to lower those hackles just a little. ]
Yeah? It wasn't a real popular name on the Ark.
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Aurora – she is a princess from another kingdom. She was cursed by the evil, vengeful enchantress Maleficent who could turn herself into a dragon. Many outside of our worlds know her better as Sleeping Beauty.
[ wrinkling her nose a little, she isn't sure how bellamy would take it, if he would find it to be amusing or not. she holds her breath and watches him carefully. ]
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I doubt Mom would've been fond of being called that. Or a princess. [ just like octavia, he thinks his mother would've preferred to be some kind of warrior, like mulan. he doesn't move his hand from beneath hers, but he does shift it, as though he's begun to relax again by moving his fingers slightly. ] Kind of doubt she'd let any person curse her.
[ he looks at her with his eyebrow slightly arched. ] Did she find a cure to this curse?
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[ there's another case of parents hiding their daughter away to protect her from misfortune, but some things are inevitable. elsa nods belatedly in response to his question. ] True love's kiss saved her. Aurora had fallen in love with a visiting prince – he hadn't realized she was a princess when they met in the woods.
[ her hand slides away from his and she leans against her seat, lacing her fingers together in her lap. ] Love is the strongest magic of all.
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[ bellamy does agree. love is what compelled him to get onto that drop ship, and it's why he's here, in this city. though elsa talks of true love, he thinks she, of all people, would understand what keeps him in eudio. it's not the romantic kind of love, but one he thinks to be true all the same. ]
[ he's still not sure if he believes in magic, despite all the proof he's seen with her. he can believe in a woman wielding ice from her fingertips, but when it comes to a feeling being able to break a curse, he's not so sure that's magic. ]
I read some of those stories, and I think they missed another kind of love. I think you'd understand it a little better than Princess Aurora.
[ he looks at her hand, no longer beneath his, and reaches for his beer. he doesn't think on it, though he does wonder, for a brief second, if she removes her hand because she's uncomfortable touching him. he doesn't drink it, but holds it close, as though he's about to. ]
Mom always taught me to never wait around for someone to save me like all the princesses in the Greek stories do. Andromeda could've cut herself from that rock if she had a knife. Pretty sure Medusa could've exacted revenge on Poseidon and Athena with her snakes. Not everyone has a prince who can break any spell with true love's kiss.
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[ whether it be anna's love for her or ingrid desperately needing the love of her family, it's enough to thaw the frozen tundra and shatter the mirror spell. family love saved storybrooke from regina's original curse. if past and present company hadn't confused her and sparked her curiosity, she would have powered the city with her mutual love for her sister. elsa is sure of that.
her hands remain fidgeting under the table, picking at the hem of her dress. it's difficult to look at him but she forces herself to. it would be impolite not to do so. ]
Princes are unreliable sources for curse breaking.
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[ instead, he takes a long drink of his beer before placing the bottle down onto the table. keeping his fingers wrapped around the neck of it, he studies it. he always presumed if elsa was enchanted into some sleep, it'd be anna to wake her up. but maybe she has a prince waiting around, a source of her own comment of them being unreliable. ]
No princes tried to break any spells with you? Besides the one who was a dick.
[ it seems like he'll always think there's a prince waiting in the wings for her, regardless of how many times she says otherwise. ]
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[ all elsa can hear echoing in her head right now is anna calling bellamy a bonehead. and even if she has convinced herself that she is content with continued friendship, because it truly is an important factor to her, she can just imagine anna's stern commentary about this situation.
bonehead. ]
No princes at all.
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[ he can't say he's disappointed to hear there's no prince in the picture. ]
I guess that's a good thing. [ he looks down and lets go of his bottle, reaching for a slice of pizza. ] Anna seems more reliable than a prince.
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[ she pulls at the collar of her sweater. watching him reach for a slide, she follows suit, but instead of holding it up to her mouth, elsa begins to neatly pull off pieces to eat little by little. it seems to be easier to eat and converse for her this way. ]
I've mostly been unimpressed by the princes who I've spoken to back home, but I also have little interest in marrying so soon. [ her kingdom, her rules. ]
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[ bellamy doesn't take a bite out of his slice, dropping it onto his plate like he doesn't particularly care for it. in a way, he doesn't. he'd grabbed it on a whim, and though he's hungry, often eating a little more than he otherwise would now that eudio seems to be in plenty supply of food, he finds he doesn't want to distract himself from the conversation just yet. ]
[ he's preparing for it, in his own way. ]
Maybe you'll find someone when you go back. [ it's what clarke would say, he thinks. he isn't so sure. whenever octavia had spoken about the boys in camp, he'd shut it down too eagerly. his experience with this kind of talk is pitiful, to say the least. but he shrugs a shoulder, nonetheless, and carries on. ] Or from here. Pretty sure I've seen a few princes around.
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I'm not particularly interested in princes or even kings right now. [ she clears her throat and reaches for her glass of iced tea again, holding it over her lap while pulling the straw to her lips. ] It isn't necessary, ah, not a priority.
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[ it's an easy deduction to make, even if he wonders if that's all it is. he remembers how she'd had someone interested in her months back, and considering she hasn't said much about him, bellamy supposes that guy's out of the picture. ]
[ he thinks. he's not really up with the whole social thing when it comes to romance. all he knows is how to protect octavia and how to put her first — and how to fight the kind of war where people die, not necessarily break hearts. ]
[ but it's easier to focus on that and let that be the reason than to think on what he believes he knows, but refuses to give much thought to. it's easier that way, living in denial. it makes the idea of leaving a hell of a lot easier if he stays there. ]
[ he glances down when he asks, ] What ever happened to that guy who liked you? Your sister end up punching him?
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[ though she does take comfort in the fact the kristoff is also here to help her and keep an eye on anna in her shenanigans. elsa feels the need to hover less now that he is around, though they both know that anna can still get herself into trouble, as her several network posts have shown before. ]
Nothing happened, [ she continues, taken aback by his memory and the question itself. ] Nothing happened at all. I think he's with someone else.
[ elsa doesn't feel especially torn apart by it. she simply twists her lips to one side with the straw in between them before taking another sip. ]
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Disappointed?
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[ elsa lifts a shoulder calmly and even smiles a little. ] It was a bit of an intimate experiment upon my arrival, I suppose, and he very sweet, but it wasn't meant to be. I'm told that's normal. [ she still has the handmade snowglobe he had so nicely given her when she first opened the ice cream shop but even she can tell that it doesn't seem to be the right moment to bring it up. ]
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[ bellamy takes a bite out of his pizza for the sake of having something to do and even distract himself with. he looks down, and his gaze stays down after he swallows and reaches for his beer. ]
Well, he's an idiot. [ and he lifts it and takes a sip, so he doesn't have to tell her it doesn't matter how sweet someone is. ]
[ bottle still in hand and off the table, he points it to her and asks, good-naturedly, ] Do you look at all the interactions you have with people as experiments?
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[ which isn't to write it off entirely. feeling pursued and giggling as often as she had felt good for an experiment/passing flirtation. but elsa isn't like most people here, having been hindered by her powers and the idea of touch for so long.
she's reluctant to let go of her glass even though all that's left in it are ice cubes. ]
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[ placing his bottle down, he looks at her with amusement. ] It sounds like what it was, Elsa. I wouldn't worry about it. [ he shrugs; given bellamy hardly labels anything himself, he's in no position to judge what she calls a passing flirtation. ]
[ as long as it's passed. and is very far away from where she is now. ]
[ glancing down at her glass, bellamy's mouth slowly curves into a smile. ] Want another one?
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oddly enough, she doesn't blush as furiously as she thought she would have when discussing a past flirtation, but she supposes that it is a sign of her comfort level with bellamy and also an indication that whatever crush she might have had is truly behind her. that is a first. she'll have to remember that.
looking down into her glass, she shakes her head as she slides it onto the table again. ] No, thank you. I'm perfectly content.
Do you have any other plans after this?
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No. Probably go home and watch Netflix.
[ he shrugs his shoulders. it's so simple and so boring, but given he hadn't had the luxury of watching any of the old football games on the ark, he takes advantage of his subscription. he knows he'd be called lame, considering how today's some big day for everyone, but bellamy simply likes to be alone. ]
[ shifting in his seat, bellamy leans his arms against the table. looking at her, he tries not to smile, but fails in achieving his small goal. ]
I've got a question for you, though. Been kind of wondering about it all day.
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