Cobwebs and Flies

Ch6• Sea of Terrors

Bellamy woke up first, his arm still tightly wrapped around Murphy's slim body. He smiled, Murphy was so peaceful when he slept. Carefully not to wake him, Bellamy retrieved his arm and stood up, stretching his body for a solid minute before gazing up at the blue sky. The camp was still quiet, several bodies piled up around the dying campfire as the tents were full and reserved for the sick or the injured.

He took it upon himself to fetch a fresh batch of water from the nearby stream, grabbing a bucket and walking past the wall with a gun strapped around his shoulder for protection. The walk was quiet, he enjoyed the view of the trees as they danced in the morning sky, greeting him with open arms. He made his way down to the stream, placed the bucket by his side and leaned down to cup some water in his hands and splash it on his face. The cold woke him, and he felt a rush of adrenaline shoot through him as he drank some, his parched mouth desperate for it. He began to fill the bucket until he was disturbed by a cracking branch.

He jumped to his feet, dropping the bucket by his side, the water spilling back into the stream and Bellamy aimed his gun at the trees. He waited impatiently for the shadow to reveal itself, his finger grazing the trigger and ready to fire. The bushes rustled and he heard footsteps approaching and gulped down what tasted like fear mixed with anxiety. The face revealed itself, Bellamy lowering his gun when he noticed it was just Murphy.

"Woah, don't shoot! I come in peace." Murphy chuckled as he walked closer to Bellamy, raising both his hand in demonstration of his innocence.

"Very funny, Murphy." Bellamy kneeled back down to grab the bucket, "I almost shot you."

They were by the stream when Murphy kicked off his boots, peeling his damp shirt from his body and removing his pants before jumping into the fresh water.

"Murphy!" Bellamy shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm enjoying Earth, what does it look like?" Murphy dipped his head underwater, digging his fingernails on his scalp to clean the dirt from his thick hair. "Why don't you join me?"

Bellamy hesitated, he was considering it but it seemed almost too reckless of them to jump in a foreign body of water. "I think I'll pass."

Murphy wouldn't take no for an answer, he walked back toward the shore, his boxers sticking to his skin and taking the form of his body. Bellamy was looking at him, unsure of what was to come next. Within a second, Murphy was tugging at Bellamy's arm, forcing him into the water until he finally submitted and fell face first into the chilly water.

They were standing next to one another, Murphy's chest revealed marks and scars that he normally would be ashamed of but with Bellamy, he didn't feel the need to cover himself.

"See? Isn't this nice?"

Bellamy couldn't deny that this was a heavenly feeling. It was the closest thing to a shower on Earth, something he missed terribly from the ark. "Yes, actually it is."

"You seem surprised?" Murphy spalshed Bellamy with a wave of cold water, making him shake his head, the curly, dark hair throwing water around him like a wet dog shaking its fur.

Bellamy looked at him, daring him to do it again. Murphy read his mind, except he took on the challenged and splashed water all over him, twice the amount beforehand. Bellamy looked at him, a smirk on his face, "That's it, you asked for this."

He threw himself onto Murphy, wrestling him underwater just to be dominated by Murphy who was much stronger than he appeared. Then, Bellamy remembered that he carried him through the forest after his experience with psychedelic nuts. They continued to play like children, Murphy pushing waves of water he conducted with his palm onto Bellamy's face, leaving him defenseless enough for Murphy to jump onto his back, riding him like a horse. Bellamy, however, didn't seem to mind, in fact, he kept the boy above water for quite a while before jumping back, dropping Murphy into the stream.

When he raised his head, his hair was soaked, water dripping down his toned chest until they returned back to the water where they belonged. Bellamy was staring into his blue eyes, now shining underneath the sunlight brighter than before, leaving Murphy's skin to glow in a saturated ray of warmth. Bellamy took a step closer until they were inches apart from one another, slowly reaching his hand to cup Murphy's chin and pulling him close until the space between them disappeared. Their lips rested upon each other until he felt Murphy pull away, leaving him hanging with his eyes closed.

When Bellamy opened his eyes, he saw Murphy slipping his clothes back on quickly and running back into the darkness of the forest. He sighed to himself, knowing this was a mistake. Why did he expect someone like Murphy to be interested in him? What good did he have to offer? He couldn't heal people like Clarke, he wasn't wise like Monty nor birlliant like Raven, and he never had the heart of a peacemaker like Finn. He looked down at himself, remembering that people only ever seem to get hurt when he's around. After all, his mother would still be alive if it wasn't for him taking Octavia to the masked ball.

Bellamy sat in the sun for a while to let himself dry off before finally filling up the bucket and returning it to camp. When he arrived, everyone was out and about, a hunting party gathering some weapons before leaving to fetch some breakfast. Murphy was amongst them and before Bellamy could talk to him, his shadow had already passed the wall and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Bellamy made himself useful by counting the ammo and continuing to prepare for the grounder's counterattack. He had to be ready, there were bigger threats to worry about than his petty feelings.