#mothinked

It had been ages since Ellie and Dina were able to get a night to themselves. In all honesty, Dina couldn’t even remember the last time they’d gone into Jackson, just the two of them, to have a good time. They both had quite a bit of difficulty leaving JJ, even if only for a few hours, but Jesse’s parents had insisted. Dina had caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror after washing up, and embarrassingly, she found herself looking...tired. 

Maybe they needed some time together. Just them. She wondered if Ellie would need convincing. 

Skinny jeans that hugged every curve of her body and cuffed at the ankle, paired with one of Ellie’s many, many henleys tucked neatly into her waistband, Dina kept the buttons undone for a softer touch. She threw her hair into a messy bun and wandered through the doorway and onto Jesse’s parents’ front porch, only to find Ellie swaying back and forth with JJ. “Hi babes,” she said with a big, pearly smile, leaning in and pressing kisses against each of their heads before turning to Ellie, her voice lowered. 

mothinked said: "Let me hold you for a while." - Ellie

“ yeah... yeah, i’d like that. “

she’s tired. between the terrible, near-constant ache in her back and frequent cramps, dina’s been finding it difficult to get any sleep. ellie definitely notices, because she hardly sleeps either, though the reasoning for that is far different. 

without protest, dina settles into her girlfriend’s embrace, like a key fitting into a lock. she gives a satisfied sigh as she feels an arm slip around her, beneath the swell of her belly. dina’s hand finds ellie’s, gives it a gentle squeeze.

“ it’s gonna happen any day now. i can feel it. “

Ellie expected yelling. She expected being told to get off the porch and go somewhere else. She expected a lot of things that she honestly would’ve just taken because she felt she deserved it. All Ellie wanted to do was apologize for her actions, for hurting someone who had tried so hard to keep her sane and happy before Ellie left. 

The woman had been too shocked to even kiss Dina back, words of acceptance and love were shown to her with little hesitation. Tears pricked at the edges of her as thumbs rubbed across her cheeks. Green eyes still wide with the shock, the way Dina looked so relieved that she was alive instead of angry that she had left. Words had been gripped tight in her throat, and no amount of force was bringing them up. Her mouth opened, but only remnants escaped. Ellie found herself dumbly nodding, before Ellie found herself slowly wrapping herself around Dina. 

The motion was so hesitant, as if this was all a dream. That Dina would lash back out like some sick joke. She wants to sob and laugh all at the same time, and Ellie just found herself almost numb as tears just continued to fall down her cheeks and onto Dina’s shoulders. 

mothinked said: [ lacerate ] - Ellie

first, dina wonders why she wakes up at all. she thought for sure she was a goner, only praying in her last moments before slipping into unconsciousness that she had caused enough of a distraction to give ellie time to escape. then she wonders why she doesn’t wake up in a pool of her own blood. that’s the last thing she remembers before losing consciousness; shallow, sticky breaths through what felt like a broken nose as she bled out from an arrow wound.

instead, she’s greeted by the familiar musk of ellie’s jacket, damp with blood and sweat. a strong arm around her, holding her close against a wiry frame. it shouldn’t be relieving— ellie looks as bad as dina feels, one arm bent at a sickening angle and blood dried over her face —but she’s alive. and that’s enough to put dina at ease, even as she winces at the pain in her shoulder.

tears prick at her eyes, and dina tries to blink them away unsuccessfully as she struggles to bring a hand up to ellie’s face. she feels more like a burden than ever.

“ i’m sorry, ellie. i’m so, so sorry. i tried to help. i’m sorry. “

"I'm surprised you stayed." — Owen | @mothinked

IT HAD BEEN DIFFICULT, LEARNING TO TRUST again, to allow others to touch her. The enslavement she and Lev had been subjected to, being tied to wooden posts and left to starve to death, to face the elements, all because they had failed in their attempted escape . . . It had left the young woman broken, her trust in others shattered, her willingness to accept friendly physical touch nonexistent. Then, to be rescued by the immune girl, someone she’d practically forgotten about . . . The universe had surely played a joke on her. ( Had it been some sort of punishment? To be saved, then immediately forced to fight for both hers and Lev’s lives? )

They’d taken a boat to Catalina Island, the immune girl having let her go. The Fireflies had been her focus prior to her capture, and while they and their cause were the furthest things from her mind, she knew they would care for Lev.

Besides . . . Owen was certain to be there.

She stretches out her limbs ──── arms much smaller than they once were overhead, legs across the length of the mattress ──── and places her hand over Owen's scarred back. It isn't their usual post-sex cuddling, but it was a start. ( To have even elected to sleep with Owen so soon after reuniting . . . It had taken a lot, but Abby needed to feel that closeness with someone, again; to have a sense of love, of safety . . . And, now matter how much time had passed them, Owen always provided that. )

“ I'm a bit surprised, too, ” she smiles, absentmindedly tracing the path of the burn scars against his skin. “ Guess it helps that you're a huge dork, though. ”