Work Text:
They turned around to face forward in the tower’s elevator, a synchronized motion, two people moving as one. The doors closed, and they were alone. It would be minutes before they reached the ground floor. They stood in silence for a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity.
Abby finally spoke, eyes trained on the closed metal doors. “That went terribly.”
“These are only preliminary negotiations,” Marcus replied, also staring forward.
“I thought Indra was on our side.”
He sighed, turning to face her then. “She is.”
The new commander had always been opposed to Skaikru joining the coalition as the thirteenth clan, but after events with A.L.I.E., he allowed them to rejoin. Marcus skimmed his fingers over his Guard jacket, and he could feel the raised skin of his forearm beneath the fabric; the brand there represented hope once again. However, the new commander was a difficult man, and although he allowed them to rejoin the coalition, he definitely didn’t like them. Unfortunately that put Indra in a tough spot as his lead advisor. She was doing her best to be diplomatic, but sometimes that left them out in the cold.
Abby continued to stare at the elevator doors. She gripped her left wrist with the fingers of her opposite hand, thrumming them lightly against the delicate skin. She looked defeated after a long day of negotiating, but she also looked anxious. Haunted.
He felt it too. This was the first time they had entered the tower since Clarke had saved them nearly three months ago. Being in the throne room again… It had been hard, made even harder by the argument that took place. He was so proud of Abby though; she showed no evidence of her fears during their meeting with the new commander. She remained calm during the entire debacle. It was only now that she let her guard down, alone with him in the elevator.
He placed his left hand squarely on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears, and he didn’t bother to ask if she was okay. He knew she wasn’t, just as he wasn’t. But it would do no good to dwell on the past; they both needed to live in the present, if only for a few moments. They needed each other.
“Put your hand on my shoulder,” he said suddenly.
“What?” She was confused, tears slowly fading back into the depths of her brown eyes, and he found himself falling completely and utterly in love with her all over again.
Instead of answering her question, he lifted her right arm and placed her hand on his shoulder before she could protest. He settled his right hand into the crook of her waist, then pulled her other hand into his and held it close to his chest, right next to his heart.
“Now stand on my feet,” he murmured.
She smiled as a flicker of realization passed across her face. She understood now. Silently, she did as he asked, stepping carefully onto his boots. He wrapped his arm around her, supporting her back and holding her close. To have her slender frame pressed into his body so entirely, her hand gripping his shoulder like she never wanted to let go, her other hand dwarfed in his own… This closeness was something he craved every day. Every hour. Every second. Her presence, her touch, her laugh - they were so deeply ingrained in his soul that he could barely breathe without her.
He moved his feet then, not far, just side to side in a slow swaying motion. As she clung to him, he began to hum a low melody from his childhood, something he remembered his mother singing as she gardened.
Abby smiled and tucked her face into his neck, the ends of her long hair dangling against his Guard jacket. He could feel her breath against his skin and smell her unique scent, a mixture of antiseptic and cotton and a fruit he couldn’t quite identify. Every painful memory they had of this building faded away until it was just them. They were miles away from Arkadia, but he was home.
She was his home.
They continued swaying together for the remainder of the ride to the ground floor, him humming into her hair, her sighing sweetly into his jacket, and when the doors opened, they didn’t even notice. When they eventually did, she stepped off of his boots, kissed his cheek, and interlocked their fingers. They left the elevator hand-in-hand, ready to face anything. Together.