Work Text:
It had been Abby who originally suggested naming all the kids after the elements. Things were still rough, but Abby wanted to see Juno and Gaia and Marcus had grown on Clarke. He was a good guy, and it was pretty funny to see him doing tummy time with his granddaughters (they’d decided they’d be called Nana Abby and Papa). Abby and Clarke were watching Bellamy and Marcus try to help the girls crawl when Abby brought up other kids.
“You have the sky and the earth covered, for the next kids you should do fire and water. Complete the set.” Clarke nearly choked on her water. Her and Bellamy had discussed future kids abstractly, but they were still wrapping their heads around having twins.
So when she brought it up to Bellamy later that night while they were trying to get the girls into the bath, she was rather shocked when he smiled and agreed. Then Gaia decided to push Juno over and Juno started screaming and then Gaia started screaming and the idea of future kids was pushed away.
When the girls were five Clarke became pregnant again. Judging by the size of her stomach, it was just one, and Skaikru was placing bets on the gender. Octavia, Raven, Harper, Monroe, and Monty all wanted a girl. The rest of the camp bet boy, and Bellamy and Clarke remained silent.
When she went into labor the girls went to Raven and Wicks cabin (who had a 4 year old girl named Quinn) and Octavia and Monty helped deliver. Another girl was born at the sunrise, with fire red hair and Bellamy immediately knew her name. Azar, an old name that a Grounder told them meant fire. Io is one of Jupiter’s moons. They became a family of four, and while they were happy, Clarke knew they were missing something.
Two years later, she was pregnant once more. This, Clarke knew, was their water baby. Something felt off when contractions began so they fetched Abby, just in case. When the baby was born Clarke knew something was wrong. She was bleeding, too much. Bellamy took the baby out of the room and her mom entered, quickly checking her before instructing Monty to give her moonshine and telling Octavia to get a medkit. Clarke drank the moonshine, took the herb to knock her out, and when she woke up her mom told her she had a placental collapse, and nearly died. Bellamy came into the room, eyes thick with tears, and handed her the squalling baby. Another girl. Delta Fay, Delta being Gaia’s idea and Fay because she looked so much like a fairy with her milky skin and shockingly calm demeanor, and Clarke felt complete.
Clarke and Bellamy had never quite understood Juno. Their little girl was never all the way present, even as a baby. While Gaia had babbled, Juno had stared into space, gumming on her fist. So they put extra work in. They watched her more, tried to engage her more, but it wasn’t until she was five that something clicked. Bellamy had taken Juno to see Raven, mostly so he could freak out about Clarke’s pregnancy to her, and Juno had been sitting quietly in the corner of the room. Twenty minutes later she walked to her father and aunt and held out her hands, showing them a fan that Raven was tinkering on, now fully fixed. Raven directed her towards the back table, where spare parts and broken projects lived, and Bellamy watched his daughter build and rebuild for the next three hours. Raven suggested that Juno hang out with her during the days, where she was in a contained space, instead of Bellamy and Clarke having to watch her all the time. They agreed, and would spend as much time as possible just watching Juno work, fascinated with the change they saw in their little girl.
Gaia held the world on her little shoulders. Bellamy and Clarke watched her try to take care of everyone, even when she didn’t need to. Her sharp eyes caught everything and she was constantly at her parents sides. Not because she was scared, but because she wanted to be them. She didn’t know how to take a break, how to let people be. When Bellamy worried about it, Clarke kissed his shoulder and reminded him of the boy he once was, the boy who took the world into his hands and raised a community. Bellamy thought it was because of how they got the girls to sleep. Clarke would strap Gaia to her chest with a spare piece of cloth and walk around the cabin, reading treaties out loud and discussing trade deals. Those were Gaia’s bedtime stories when she was little, while Juno’s were Bellamy trying to remember what constellation was which (even though he didn’t know half of them he made up stories). But that was what the girls loved. Gaia loved her mother’s voice and the lull of working towards peace, Juno wanted the night air and half-assed astrology lessons. Gaia was fifteen when Clarke saw her kissing a Grounder girl in TonDC, sixteen when Raven told her that she saw Quinn and Gaia behind the kitchen, and seventeen when Gaia finally told them that she loved girls. Their baby looked so scared, with Delta clinging on her like a monkey, and Bellamy told Gaia he loved her unconditionally. Clarke told her about Lexa, and how she fell in love with the girl who carried the world, and how years later she’d fall for the man who carried the world.
They eventually moved past having kids strapped to chests with random pieces of cloth, and got an actual sling to keep kids safe. This was how Azar grew up. She fell in love with medicine at a young age, by choice, not by force. When Clarke realized how much Azar loved medicine she worried it was because of her, and that she’d pressured their daughter into it, like her mother had done to her. Bellamy smiled into her hair and told her that Azar was five, and head strong enough that no one could force her anywhere. She was a natural, as proven when she started patching up small wounds before she was 10. She was an easy baby, blessedly calm most of the time, but god help them when she got angry. The first boy who told her that she wasn’t strong enough to wield a spear got punched in the jaw. Bellamy told her that she couldn’t hit (but gave her a high-five later that night for perfect form). She was strong, stronger than anyone as you had to be in medicine. She was their warrior girl, their healing magic, their fire baby.
Their youngest was ethereal. She charmed her older sisters, giving them gummy smiles and holding their fingers until they laughed. She fell asleep best on Bellamy’s bare chest, tucked right next to his heart. Sweet Delta had worked her way into everyones hearts, family or not. She’d sit in Monty’s lap at the fire, hang on Monroe’s leg when she was instructing cadets, enchant even the most stoic Grounder leaders until they smiled at her. She was an artist and after dinner Bellamy would find his arms and legs covered in her charcoal drawings, leaving a whole landscape on his bicep. Clarke worried, as any parent would, that she would get hurt. She was beautiful, she was all sunshine without the darkness her parents had. But she was also whip smart. She never gave anyone too much information, she was always aware of her surroundings, she excelled in self defense training. Bellamy had seen her calm an agitated deer and wrap its wound, he had seen her beat a grown man in hand-to-hand combat, and he had seen her smile her way out of situations that would make him nervous. Della was an enigma, and she preferred to stay that way.
It was fascinating watching the girls grow up. Gaia had stayed with Quinn, and they got married in a beautiful ceremony with flowers in their hair and bare feet. They took in kids without parents, from Skaikru and elsewhere. At largest count, they had 10 kids in their cabin. Gaia took over leadership duties more and more as she grew up, until one day Bellamy and Clarke addressed their people and stepped down. They were ready to relax, to breathe. The world was safe in Gaia’s capable hands. Juno fell in love with a Grounder, and they spent their time traveling, working with Kru’s to improve their conditions and bring medical advancements. They had a walkie, and called in once every few days. They got to sleep amongst the stars. Azar took over med-bay after Jackson and Clarke. She created first-aid kits for everyone to carry and developed a triage protocol to limit infection and death. Under her, Skaikru was healthier than ever. Delta was a teacher. Skaikru had revised protocol to say that all kids had to attend school, if only until they were 12 and then after that they’d have regular training in survival skills. Delta lead the 4-6 year olds, teaching them about the ground, the sky, and just how beautiful the earth was. She fell in love with a kind boy with brown eyes and a crooked smile. She and Ashe had four kids, and Bellamy and Clarke added them to the list of grandkids (every child Quinn and Gaia took in was also added so the list was quite extensive). Their kids were happy, and they were safe.
Bellamy and Clarke were not perfect. They fought, they messed up, they had regrets. But they also made four beautiful children who were strong, happy, empathetic, safe, and had none of the darkness that Bellamy and Clarke had had to carry since they reached the ground. Earth, sky, fire, water. They were children of the universe, and Bellamy and Clarke could rest easily, knowing they had done their best.