Chapter Text
Jasper's groaning doesn't let anyone sleep. You admit it's annoying, but the kid survived a spear to the chest. Plus, the people yelling at him are being just as loud.
"Can he just die already?" Some asshole yells. You huff, shutting your eyes and letting sleep take you.
—
You lean against a tree, watching as Murphy and Bellamy practice their knife throwing skills. Murphy fails, letting out an annoyed sigh. "It's that damn kid, alright, messing with my head."
"He's not gonna last much longer. Better think of a new excuse." Bellamy retorts, his voice dry. Murphy scowls and you can't help the chuckle that escapes you. He hears it, narrowing his eyes in your direction.
Bellamy throws his knife and it lands. "That's how it's done."
You can't help but smirk at Murphy. "You should take notes." You tilt your head.
The look he gives you isn't quite a glare, but it's close. It's somewhat lighthearted, you can tell by his small smirk. Murphy's gaze lingers on you for a beat longer than intended before he turns back, muttering under his breath.
"We searched a half-mile all directions." Atom appears, Connor behind him. "No sign of Trina or Pascal."
"Visit your special tree when you were out there?" Murphy smirks, passing by the male to go pick up his knife.
"Atom took his punishment. Let it go."
"Could be grounders." Atom continues, with a worried expression.
"Yeah, or they could be in pound town. Lot of that going around recently." Murphy smirks, throwing a wink your way. You roll your eyes, ignoring the way your pulse jumps. It's stupid. He's stupid.
You don't miss the way his smirk widens when you fake gag in response.
"Look, Bellamy, people are scared." Atom begins, but you stop listening when Murphy approaches you, twirling his knife in his hand.
You look up at him, meeting his gaze. "You're shit with that knife, Murphy." You speak bluntly.
He rolls his eyes, leaning awfully close to you. "Like you're any better." He retorts, not once breaking eye contact.
There they are again. His pretty blue eyes. Every time they're on you, you swear time stops. He can't help but study you, and it feels like hours as he does so. Your heart hammers, not used to such attention. You mask it with a bored look.
But it's only a few seconds until Bellamy catches Murphy's attention.
"— We'll keep an eye out for them when we go hunting later." At this, Murphy perks up, moving away from you. Though not before shooting you a grin.
"Let's go kill something." But before he can walk off, Bellamy stops him.
"You're not going. I need you to stay here." He starts, "If the grounders are circling, we can't leave this place unprotected."
Murphy scowls, but gives in. "Fine. Somebody better tell goggle boy to keep it shut." He turns away, knife still in hand.
Bellamy looks back at you, "Sherlock?"
"Watson." You correct, eyes narrowing.
He waves you off, dismissing it. "Make sure Murphy doesn't do anything stupid." With that, Bellamy walks off. Leaving you and Murphy in a strange, unexpected silence. You glance at him, expecting another snide remark, but he holds his knife out to you.
You raise a brow, taking it cautiously. "Guess I'm babysitting you again, huh, Murphy?"
His lips quirk into a smirk, and you can't tell if he's amused or annoyed. "Go on. You should practice," he begins, "You can't defend yourself from the grounders with just your brain." He says, in an odd mix of sincerity and mocking.
At this, you raise your gaze back at him, a smile playing on your lips. You decide to humor him, throwing the knife at the tree. It lands, surprisingly solid.
He doesn't look impressed. "Beginner's luck." You hear him say, as you walk over to retrieve the knife.
"You're just mad I'm better than you." You bumping his shoulder as you pass him, shoving the knife back into his hand. "Here. You need the practice."
You don't look back as you walk away, missing the grin that crosses his face.
—
Later in the day you're all in the drop-ship thanks to the acid fog outside. Jasper's groaning is keeping everyone awake. Last night, you would've just slept outside. But that's not an option today.
"I can't take this much longer!" Someone complains. Everyone is either bitching over Jasper or desperately covering their ears. You notice Murphy out of the corner of your eye.
"That's it. I'm ending this." He sits up.
"I heard Bellamy gave him till tomorrow." A girl says.
"Yeah, well, Bellamy isn't here, is he?" Murphy retorts, annoyed. "Kid's dying anyway, I'm just getting it over with." When he stands, you do too.
By no means are you some hero, but Jasper is a friend. Or, acquaintance, at least.
Monty scrambles up the ladder in a hurry. "Murphy's gonna kill Jasper!" He yells, and you assume him and Octavia shut the trap door. But it locks on the lower side.
"I'm gonna kill him, okay? Let me in!" Murphy pushes against the door. "Let me in, Monty!"
You grab him by the arm, pulling him down the ladder as best as you can. He's stronger than you, but you manage to get him down a couple of steps. "Calm down! Murphy!"
He struggles against you, pulling his arm away harshly. "Let me go, Watson! I'm doing us all a favor." His arm moves in attempts to push open the door once again. "Both of you better open this hatch right now!"
"Like hell you are!" You grab him again, desperately trying to push him down. As you both struggle, a voice stops you.
"Hey! The fogs gone." A girl calls out, after opening the door. Everyone on the lower level reluctantly exit the drop-ship, going off to check out what the hell just happened.
Once alone, you let go of Murphy only when you're sure he's calmed down. He looks down at you, annoyed. There's a long, awkward silence between you two. The looks you usually share are different than this one, Murphy can't place his finger on it. Your eyebrows are furrowed, you're not looking at him — more so glaring.
Murphy's annoyance falters for a split second as he catches your glare — he's not used to seeing you look at him like that. It twists something in his gut, he doesn't like it. Still, he speaks.
"Should've let me kill him. He's dying anyway."
"Bellamy gave him till tomorrow, you psycho." You grit, walking past him and out the drop-ship. Murphy stands where you left him, looking up at the hatch, then at your figure. He scoffs.
—
It's nighttime as everyone gathers around the fire. You're at your usual tree stump, fumbling with a knife you found. You see Murphy near the fire, but he does not approach you. You're glad he doesn't. When the group come back your attention is drawn to them. You stand up, walking over to Bellamy as Octavia storms off.
Atom's dead.
Murphy approaches Bellamy, too.
"Lose anyone here?" He looks between you two, perhaps noticing the tension. You shake your head.
"Jasper?" Bellamy asks.
"Still breathing. Barely. I tried to take him out, but your psycho little sister—" Murphy starts, only for Bellamy to push him back.
"My what? My what?" He yells, grabbing Murphy's shirt. Murphy's expression doesn't change. You think it's because he doesn't want to seem weak.
"...Your little sister." He corrects, pushing Bellamy's grasp away.
"Yeah, that's right. My little sister." Bellamy glares down at Murphy, the scene is tense. You stand behind the two, long forgotten. "Got anything else you want to say about her?" He challenges.
Murphy pauses for a moment, "Nothing. Sorry." He forces out.
Bellamy steps back, glare still on Murphy as he orders the other to get Atom's body away from the campfire. After this, he walks off. When he does, Murphy sees you again, studying him with an unreadable expression.
Looking away from you, Murphy throws his knife at a tree, and it lands.
—
A little while later and you're back in your usual spot. You try to relax but your thoughts return to Murphy. You look over, seeing him sat in front of the campfire all alone. He's messing with the knife he threw earlier, though it's not his usual knife, you note. You linger for a moment, debating if you should even bother.
You stand and walk over, trying not to think too hard about why.
"Gonna sit there brooding all night?" you ask, leaning against the log next to him. Your tone is casual, almost light, as if you're just making conversation.
Murphy glances up, smirking faintly. "What, you come to check on me?"
You shrug, keeping your gaze on the fire. "Just making sure you're not about to storm off to do something stupid again."
He lets out a short, dry laugh, looking away. "Nice to know you care, Watson." It's sarcastic, because he knows you don't.
Except, you do. In a way.
The silence stretches between you, comfortable but with an edge of awkwardness. You don't quite know what to say, and neither does he. But somehow, you don't mind. There's something in his expression—almost unguarded—that makes you hesitate, but the moment passes before you can place it.
You settle into a quiet, almost uneasy truce, neither of you quite willing to leave yet. You're not sure what to say, you don't even know why you approached him. But he doesn't seem to mind, you catch him glancing at you a couple of times.
You don't comment, a smile growing on your features.