fandomtownies | Covent Garden Flowers, Thursday

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Covent Garden Flowers, Thursday

Last week had been a long one. Rapture's physical pull on Octavia had stopped immediately as the island changed again, but as for her mind... She'd spent most of last week alternating between sleep and drumming, with very little in the way of socializing or even just coming out of her room to break up the endless repetition of those two things.

This week was a little better. A little easier. Coming to work today wasn't even the first time she'd been out of the house, this week, so that was progress.

She was still tired, though. Really tired. And all the flowers were black and white and shades of gray, the same as Octavia herself. A new shipment had come in that was apparently four different shades of petunias, and she was just... at a loss as to which ones were which.

Maybe people would just have to settle for being surprised next week if they wanted to buy flowers this week.

[ooc: Open!]

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"Wow," Bellamy said as he came in to, once again, check on Octavia. He'd been doing that a lot lately despite her probably hating it. He didn't care.

"Colorful," he said dryly. "Feels like a rainbow inhere."

He wasn't wrong, she did hate it. She hated that he had cause to keep checking in, too. Those two things together meant she only barely glanced up before looking firmly back down at her hopeless task of trying to sort all the gray petunias.

"Oh, you noticed?" she replied, matching his dryness, although hers was also a little bit more mumbly. "Guess this place makes it even more glaringly obvious than it is everywhere else."

A lot of the streets looked almost the same as they usually did, but flowers were supposed to have a lot of colors.

"Not something you did, then?" Bellamy asked as he came in and leaned against the counter. "No special weird island flowers that came in for stocking or something?"

Okay, Octavia looked up.

"Yes, Bel. I turned the island into black and white with my magical flowers." That was... unnecessarily petty and sarcastic. But considering how little she'd spoken through all of last week, maybe it was still progress?

Her gaze dipped back to the petunias, even though her hands had stilled. "Guess a normal week's too much to ask for."

"You gonna throw a tantrum next?" Bellamy asked, shaking his head. "Because I've got a game on my phone that could use some attention until you're done."

He could be petty and sarcastic too.

It clearly ran in the family.

Octavia made an annoyed, huffy sound. But didn't throw a tantrum, so that was good.

Instead, she sighed, her hands fidgeting with one of the plants, doing nothing useful. "I'm just tired, Bel."

"Then, why are you here?" Bellamy asked, arching an eyebrow. "The flowers can wait. Go home and rest."

"I've been home."

Probably more than she should have, over the past week and a half. Enough to start going stir-crazy towards the end, which was probably how she'd managed to get herself out of the house earlier in the week.

She shook her head. "It doesn't help."

"Okay, can I say anything to you without you biting my head off? Anything?" Bellamy asked, frustrated. "Because that's all that happens."

And he's exhausted.

Octavia opened her mouth, retort at the the ready.

Then she closed it, because what she'd been about to say just really proved his point. So she sighed again, instead. Tried to grasp at something more -- productive, probably.

"You keep checking on me," she said, mildly.

Okay, softly.

"I'm your brother," Bellamy said with a shrug. "That's what I'd do. You'd do the same for me. I'm sure you can handle things. I know you can. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to be concerned."

Octavia watched him for a moment.

Then she said, still softly, "I'm fine, Bellamy."

Well, she would be? That counted, right? Just like it counted that the itch under her skin had gone away, even if some of the one in her head still lingered on.

"Are you?" Bellamy asked because he didn't really believe that for a second. "I haven't been fine since I got here."

Octavia dropped her gaze again.

"More fine than two weeks ago, anyway," she amended in a sigh. She wasn't snapping as harshly or acting as erratic as she had two weeks prior, but he was right.

They weren't fine.

"It's something," Bellamy said, head dipping in something of a nod. "You got anything going on besides work?"

Octavia shook her head, keeping her head down. "Nothing you haven't already heard."

She meant the drumming.

... The honestly pretty incessant drumming. Perhaps they needed to look into soundproofing her room.

"You're getting better," Bellamy said, shrugging. It's not like he slept much anyway. "Soon, you'll be taking part in some local talent show this place has to have."

"I don't have a talent." Don't be so literal, Octavia. "It's just noise."

No, she knew she was getting better because all that extra practice was good for something. She was just feeling worn down right now.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes.

"You know, you don't have to argue with every single thing I say," Bellamy said, tired. "You can just take a compliment."

Octavia swallowed back several very unhelpful comments. That counted as progress, right? Of course, it meant that all she managed to come out with was a mumbled "Sorry."

She looked worn down. And not just tired, but -- sad, somehow.

"It's fine. Not everything has to be an argument," Bellamy said, sighing. "But, if you're not up to talking, I'll go. I'll see you when you get home."

Octavia fidgeted in place for a long moment. Then she stepped out from behind the counter. Circled around it until she stopped right in front of him.

These days, she put a lot of effort into seeming tough and world-weary and unaffacted. But there were times she still sometimes looked like it had only been a handful of years since the Ark.

This was one of those. No question.

She came around the counter and stopped in front of him, almost looking expectant and he's not sure what to do or what she wants.

"What?" he asked because might as well not beat around the bush. "Are you okay?"

Octavia gave him something of a withering look, though it was far too tired to have any bite to it.

Then she stepped that last tiny bit into his personal space, and hugged him. Pretty tightly, in fact.

Oh. Well, this is...different. They haven't really been close like this in awhile and he found that he missed it. He got his arms around her and hugged her back, sighing and closing his eyes.

They really hadn't. Had Octavia been asked, she would've guessed it had to do with how they'd both been fending for themselves for a while before she'd ended up here too.

But no one had asked.

Judging by the way she was clinging to him, she'd missed this too. Eyes shut tight and just trying to not have a guard up for one goddamned moment because having one up all the time was exhausting.

"I'm sorry, big brother," she mumbled. For what, she couldn't even pinpoint. For being difficult, for acting irrational, for having taken the drugs whose withdrawal symptoms were behind all her shitty behavior in the first place.

"It's all right," Bellamy said, reaching to rub her back and sighing quietly. "It's okay. It's hard, I know. And I get it. You just...you're my sister. You don't have to constantly fight me."

"I'm not trying to," Octavia replied. Mostly muffled against his shoulder, but guess that was okay. "Or, I'm trying not to. I don't know."

She had that happening to her a lot lately.

"I get it," Bellamy said, sighing. "And that's all I can ask. You're trying and I'm trying. It'll be fine."

He wanted to believe that. He really did.

"Come on, get back to work," he said playfully. "I'll get something for dinner on the way back. Don't stay here too late."

Right this moment, Octavia wasn't sure she believed it. But she sure as hell wasn't going to tell him that. And anyway, if she just got through this week, things would ease up again.

Hopefully.

With another squeeze and a heavy sigh, she pulled back. Hastily wiping the corner of one eye with her sleeve. "Okay," she promised with a nod. "It's not like I'll be able to tell all the monochrome flowers apart no matter how late I stay."

"So don't stay late and I'll get a ton of food and we can make a night of it," Bellamy said. They could ignore everything and just do nothing. Eat, watch television, whatever. "Okay?"

"Okay," she said, again.

They could try to be normal for an evening. Except she was going to be a lot clingier than usual, probably.

"I'll see you later, okay?"

"You'll see me later."

He headed for the door but before leaving, looked back and said, "Don't work too hard."

Octavia mustered up one of her less serious eye rolls, somehow.

"Wasn't going to."

No, but she was going to take that less literally and try and not push herself as hard today as she otherwise might've.

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Covent Garden Flowers, Thursday

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