THE 100 IMAGINES

[EKA] Wonder.

     Being back in space was different this time.

Before Earth, when you were on the Ark, the grey walls, the mechanical hum, and the florescent overhead lights were normal. Before Earth, you became conditioned to everything that the Ark was. The Ark was a means of survival. The Ark was a second chance for mankind. The Ark was your home.

But after the Ark, when you were on Earth, the grey walls, the mechanical hum, and the florescent overhead lights were alien. After the Ark, you learned to live on the ground and you learned about everything that Earth was. Earth was a means of survival. Earth became your second chance. Earth became your home.

Then, that home that you had built for yourself, with the other delinquents, with your friends and your new family, that home you built for yourself... was taken away. Instead of the ground being seen as punishment, as a prison, it was now the Ark that received those titles. The Ark was now a punishment, it was now a prison.

Being back in space was different this time.

When you were growing up, you used to sit by your window and watch the Earth from far away, wondering what it was like down there. Your parents had told you stories about the radiation and war—they made Earth sound like a horrible nightmare. In the end, you realised it was a way of trying to get you to act like a good daughter, a well-behaved daughter, an obedient daughter. Which worked... for a while. When you were arrested and had been told that you were going to be sent to Earth, you felt as if your heart had stopped beating, that your entire world had collapsed in and upon itself. Your horrible nightmare was going to be your end.

But, then you got to Earth, and suddenly, all those fears slowly melted away. It was beautiful, and breath-taking, it was liveable, and it was home. Even after everything, if you were given the chance, you'd still pick Earth over the Ark. Earth had given you so much more than the Ark had ever done. It had given you friends, a real family, a hope for the future, new skills that you wouldn't have been able to learn in space, it had given you an opportunity to see how others lived and survive, those that were always on the ground, and it had given you Echo.

Admittedly, your introduction to Echo wasn't smooth. The first time you had seen her she had held her sword up to your neck and threatened to end your life. She hated you because of where you came from, because of who you were. Echo hated Skaikru, which meant she hated you. It took weeks before she even glanced at you again, and then it took months before she even considered you worth her time. When you went back up into space, it took her an entire year before she warmed up to you, and then another year before you became her friend. While in space, she had been closer to Bellamy, due to their past in Mount Weather and being around each other more than you were with her back on Earth, so you expected them to end up together, but after the third year of being trapped in space, she admitted that she liked you, that it was you who she had feelings for.

"You're not concentrating again," Echo told you, bringing you out of your thoughts as she managed to flip and pin you down on the training mat, sitting above you with an aggravated expression on her face.

"Well, when you sit on me like that, it's kinda hard to concentrate on anything other than what this position usually means," you replied with a smirk, placing your hands on her hips. A smile broke out onto her face as she shook her head, looking away from you as she laughed lightly.

Raven, who was by the control centre spoke up at your comment, "Hey! Keep it PG over there guys! Don't need to clean anything other than sweat and blood off that mat."

"Will do, Reyes," you replied, glancing over at her before you grinned at Echo. Echo rolled her eyes and got off of you, holding her hand out for you to take. When you placed your hand in hers, she pulled you up from the ground.

"What had you distracted?" Echo asked again, knowing that it wasn't her position that caught you off guard.

"Just thinking about how life was before, you know, everything that happened up until this point."

She hummed with a short nod, her expression changing on her face, one of worry. "Regret any of it?"

You knew what Echo was trying to suggest, so you shook your head faintly, and placed your hands on the sides of her face. "Not even a second."

Echo seemed to relax at your words and leaned forward to rest her forehead against yours. "Ai hod yu in."

"I love you too."