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Lincoln has gotten better at this, at picking Octavia up when she was the most broken. Here in the bunker, it happened more often than either of them would like. As she makes her way to their shared room he sees it on her face.
Octavia is tired not only physically but emotionally. As she makes her way in she looks to Lincoln. “You didn’t stand next to me to watch the match..”
“I wasn’t there- I can’t keep watching these people die,” Lincoln tells her.
“I noticed,” Octavia says simply before she starts to take off her clothes that Gaia has her wear to the matches instead she tries to get herself into the more relaxing clothing.
Lincoln tenses his jaw for a moment before he walks over to her, helping his partner as she tries to get herself comfortable. “I love you, Octavia,” He whispers to her.
Octavia turns too look at Lincoln with her blood covered face. “I love you too, Lincoln.”
Lincoln smiles at her before he goes to dip a rag in a bucket then makes his way back over. He starts to clean blood off of her face though he feels a sick knot in his stomach. He loves her so much but this hurts him he can only think about the girl who would twirl flowers around her hands and chase around butterflies. That girl was long gone but he knew the woman he loved was still there.
“What are you thinking about?” Octavia asks as she rings out the rag and gets it wet again.
Lincoln comes back to her face and cleans the last of her blood. “About you- about us. You’re a different person than when we first met.”
Octavia nods as she thinks about that time it was so innocent it was a side of her that was long gone. That side died when she killed Luna and watched her friend Ilian die. “I wish I could still be that girl but they don’t need a girl chasing butterflies they need a leader.”
Lincoln signs and leans down to press a kiss to her clean forehead. “They do need just that and you make a good leader.” He then motions for her to take a seat on the ground in front of their shared bed.
Octavia does just that and watches as Lincoln moves to sit behind her on their bed. If anything can help her unwind from what has happened today in the pits it would be Lincoln.
Lincoln runs his fingers through Octavia’s hair before he starts to braid it back. It doesn’t meet the standards of Gaia’s frightening leader who looms over everyone. They aren’t going to be around others though it’s time for just them so he can help her feel softer.
“I love when you do this,” Octavia whispers before she closes her eyes and relaxes into his touch.
Lincoln smiled as he looked down at his beautiful significant other. “I noticed.”