dominance | ( eudio inbox )

[ for the kid who had wished for a dragon, telling mom every time she asked him what he could possibly want that he wanted an eight-headed beast like ladon, meeting a dragon would probably see his childhood wish come true. he knows, of course, it's an impossible wish, but bellamy had liked hoping for that friend who would let him inside of the garden hesperides. a dragon would be the best guard anyone could ask for, even better than those on the ark.
]

[ he smiles as he lets his head rest against the couch, looking up at the ceiling. it's hard to picture, raven on a dragon, but, then again, it's hard to believe a dragon is real. ] No, you're just talking about things to make me jealous.

[She wonders if she could get Hiccup and Bellamy in the same room or place, if Hiccup would let Bellamy take a ride on Toothless too. Probably, the guy's a sucker for people who love his dragon, even if he protests a lot about it.

She'll try. It's worth the try.

She reaches out, meanwhile, and pats his knee.]

There there. You'll get over it.

[ just like the hug she'd greeted him with on his first night here, he doesn't expect her to reach out and touch him. it's innocent and a part of a joke, but it's new for them. there's really been no space for them to joke around when there's a war on two fronts occurring around them, and she's getting hurt in the interim while he decides to go on suicidal missions. ]

[ he's not used to her touching him, not unless it's to throw her arm over his shoulder as he tries to support her and walk her far away from the grounders who'd wanted to cut her a thousand times. he doesn't reply to her, staying quiet, just as he remains still. he's no longer smiling as he looks at her patting his knee. ]

[Is it that new that he's going to freeze whenever she does it, or is there more? She might not have touched people as often on the ground, but she was tactile, she worked with her hands for a reason.

His silence makes her hand linger on his knee, and then they're both staring at it like it's a sore thumb, sticking out.]

Uh - sorry. [She pulls it away. She did include 'and hold hands or whatever' in her offer when she invited him over, but it hasn't occured to her that maybe he doesn't want to be touched.

Except, he's in Eudio, so maybe it's just her he doesn't want to be touched by.]

[ he's begun to associate touching raven with whenever she's hurt, whether it be by grief at a sudden loss or her literally being cut at. he remembers how they'd been in his tent that night, of how he actually fell into her almost too naturally and easily. it feels like it's been an age since then, perhaps it belonging in another life, as bellamy blake and raven reyes mean nothing to one another when someone looks at them and tries to piece it together. ]

[ he doesn't know why he reacts the way he does. but he figures it comes from the fact he hasn't been touched outside of a war context, not unless it involves octavia. and half the time, those hugs are because war has separated them. ]

[ "and hold hands or whatever" doesn't include knees. ]

It's okay. [ it's all he can think to say. it is okay, even though he knows he's acting like a total idiot. he glances at her from the corner of his eye before he properly looks at her. ]

[ and then he thinks to fix it. ] Is that all you wanted to know? Whether Hades was a loner with a three-headed dog?

[Okay or not, she still made things awkward, way to go. She brings that hand in her lap like it deserves the punishment, and then glances at him again before shrugging.]

I figured it'd be an easy way to get free coffee delivered. [This is how she tries to fix it.]

[ bellamy smiles, like he should've expected that as an answer. being funny, or cute, seems to come natural to her — and he likes this side of raven, the one that jokes, even if it's often at his expense. ]

[ he shakes his head. ] I see. [ he looks at her, mouth curved into a smile. it's like he's forgotten all about the awkwardness from a second ago. he hasn't, but it's easier to brush it aside and let it creep up on him later. despite his words, though, bellamy's clearly amused, ] You say you worked in a coffee shop when you were last here and then you become Raven's coffee boy. Nice.

[Sure, let's see if it holds. She shrugs, casual.] It's a privilege, obviously.

[ evidently, even though he doesn't think to give her the chance to preen beneath a yeah, it is. it's nice to be needed, even if it's just for coffee — for a joke. he doubts she'll call him for another, or even try and find out where it is he works. he wouldn't want to drink anything he makes, either. for now, though, he'd felt needed and useful in a city where he doubts o will really need him anymore to be her big brother. ]

[ if she's going to joke, he's going to joke. but he's not going to press his cheek into the cushion to look at her to do so. instead, he looks up at the ceiling, arching his back slightly. he still remains slouched, proper posture going to hell. ] And how many people have you honoured with delivering you free coffee?

[How is his back doing the thing, a mystery on your tv screen tonight. She looks at him, considers the question and the way it's worded and doesn't make a deal out of the answer.]

To my place? One. [Because hey, she hasn't said yes to a question that started with 'do you want to try this food/drink' yet, but where she lives is something only a select few know. And so far, only a select one has been her delivery boy here.]

[ he looks at her then. it's like any attempt he makes on trying to encourage her to tease the hell out of him or posture herself as someone who has about ten boys lined up to bring her better coffee isn't something she wants to latch onto. he doesn't know what he thinks about it. he doesn't really know what to think about her response, feeling as though she's responding to something else. ]

Lucky me. [ it may be a monotonous response, but if he reads into it like he doesn't want to — he guesses he is lucky. he stares at her for a quick moment before he looks away, voice shifting as he jokes, ] Unlucky for you. Any coffee I make would kill you.

[She lets out another huff, amused, and stands up from the couch.]

I'm sure it's not that hard. [She's going to toss her empty cup in the bin now that she's done with the coffee.] You'll learn.

[ he watches her, eyes following her until he figures out where she's going. he sits up properly, feet against the floor, as he leans his elbows against his legs. ] Not sure if I want to spend my days learning how to make coffee when I could stop being such a lousy shot. [ he turns his head to look at her, before letting his gaze move to anything that isn't her. ] There's more important things to learn.

[ coffee making is probably easy, but bellamy doesn't like it. it's not enjoyable, taking orders from people, even if it's just something ridiculous like putting cream in a hot drink. it's easy money for sure, but it's not how he wants to spend his days if he can help it. raven's found where she belongs, with grease on her face looking like she's meant to be the girl working on all the weird crap he doesn't understand. he just feels misplaced, except for when he's in her company. ]

[She comes back in time to shrug, like what he's offering up here isn't an actual problem.] So do that. There's time, nobody's chasing you with a sword, learn new things.

[ it comes off as a problem to him. he's always listening to other people's orders, nudged in the direction they want him to go. he isn't so sure if he had wanted to be on the guard, or if it had been his mother simply pushing him to aspire to be something else. ]

[ it's such a simple solution, but it's one that bellamy finds difficult to grasp. he's always been octavia's older brother, the guy who shot chancellor jaha, the more aggressive leader. he'd been following clarke's lead for a while now that he isn't so sure what to do without the push and pull that once provided. ]

[ the easiest way to deal with what she's saying is to make a bit of a joke about it. he looks at her, amused, ] Some people do have swords here, Raven.

[She rolls her eyes again, because he's being obtuse on purpose.] Okay, so...don't give them reasons to chase you with those swords, then?

[ bellamy arches his brow. he's self-aware enough to know that he gives almost anyone a reason to chase after him with a sword. he's giving her a good one right now. ]

When I leave here, I'll get right on it. [ by his tone, bellamy blake's not changing his ways of being exasperating. but, given he's being purposefully obtuse, maybe he'll try and do that whole striving to achieve his dreams thing. ]

[ he finds himself wanting to change the focus from him, just like she'd done so before. it's leaving him uncomfortable, being encouraged to do what he wants, especially by someone who doesn't really owe him that sort of thing. he doesn't know where to begin, let alone what he really wants, and so he doesn't wish to speak of it at all, worried he'll be placed on the spot if he does. ]

[ he remains as he is, elbows digging into his thighs. ] You got any plans for the rest of the day?

[It's a damn shame she doesn't have a sword, then. She sighs, and that's her response to his dry smart-ass response.

But the question, that one has no actual answer. She shrugs, because truth be told she would've fiddled with something just to make time pass, because being surrounded by people and sleeping so close to someone else's tent you can practically hear their snores in stereo only means the silence and emptiness of this apartment, however hers it is, gets bigger towards each evening.

And she hasn't cuddled someone here yet.]

[ it's a good thing he's watching her so he catches the shrug. he guesses she's got a blank day like him, even though he thought about returning to the museum, maybe watching the sun set on the beach, or just taking a walk around the city while knowing he wasn't going to be attacked by reapers or grounders or mountain men. it's weird, having time. ]

[ it'd be easy for him to leave and continue his day, making sure the things he wants to do get crossed off his list, but bellamy doesn't make a move to get up. he leans back against the couch, slouching once more against it. he breathes out, ] Yeah, me neither. [ he can do all that boring, solo crap by himself tomorrow, on a day where he has no plans or spontaneous phone messages asking him to tell a story that requires him to be in person. ]

[ maybe she didn't want to see him. but he can't tell the story about cerberus over text. it's not really satisfying for him that way, being forced to miss out on all her reactions. ]

[She wanted to, but it doesn't mean she's going to say it out loud. The company was specifically chosen; just like that night in his tent, she specifically chose him. And it could've been someone else, but the fact that it isn't is something she's going to skirt around.

He gets comfortable, taking up half her space, and she decides that fuck it, so will she. Get comfortable in this case means to sit back down and bring her right leg up in his lap. You know, whatever. She slouches too, leaning her head back against the armrest of the couch.]

Are all your Greek myths depressing or annoying?

[ bellamy should expect it, but, raven's kind of unpredictable to him. she places her good leg on his lap and he doesn't feel any desire to shove it off. he just looks down at her leg, confirming it's the weight in his lap, before he looks to her. ]

[ it isn't on purpose he doesn't touch her. his hands remain at his sides on the couch for now. ]

[ he thinks over her question with a soft smile and a bow of his head, as if maybe the floor can give him an answer. the stories he has latched onto as a kid had been the depressing ones, but that isn't all he knows. he looks up at her, ] No. There's a few happy endings in there. They just don't really belong to the big characters in the mythology.

Ha. [There's a dry little laugh, because she can see the irony there even without him saying it. She might not have read books beyond the coursework for zero-g back on the Ark, but she gets the way analogies work.]

A universe where the big characters are assholes and the little guys get the happy endings but none of the glory. [She rests her hands on her stomach for now, staring down at her leg in his lap.] Glory's fucked up if all it gets you is pain, anyway.

That's not completely true.

[ he's well-aware she's looking at her leg, maybe referring to the loss of her other one as being the price for trying to attain glory. raven may think herself to be a little character in the mythology of the ark people, but where clarke is often the one to challenge him, raven had steered him and given him a path to run along when he had needed it most. ]

[ there's glory to be found in being the little guy. it may not get someone a golden apple at the end of the day, but there's something. ]

Remind me to tell you the story of Psyche. Little fish in a sea of sharks, but I think she got the happiest story of them all.

Edited (8|) 2015-08-06 16:21 (UTC)

[Like she said it once, there's nothing great in being a king or a princess. But if there's nothing great in being a pawn, either, which part is left that could satisfy? She squeezes her eyes shut, then looks up at him.]

Okay? Tell me.

[ and bellamy is more than happy to tell her the story, and then another, and then even another. but she's allowed to joke, and so he thinks it's his turn to be a pain in the ass. ]

[ he looks at her when she closes her eyes, then down at her leg when she opens them. ] I would, but ... [ he presses his lips together and shrugs, wanting to convey it's not really his fault he can't. he doesn't realise he lifts one of his hands to wrap his fingers gently around her ankle. ] I only tell stories in exchange for food.

[ free coffee and its delivery get him here with the exchange of company, but his stories don't come without their price. he's found she's paid for them in lasagne and tacos. ]

[ though he doesn't expect any food now, not when she's comfortable, it's a promise he doesn't want to acknowledge. there's only one coffee boy who's been to her place, after all. he figures he may as well make it worth it. ]

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