Chapter 22
Murphy begins reading the letter but feels a bit weird about it because its written as a father talking to their son and he knows Bellamy was the only one meant to read it. He glances over at Bellamy who is reading the last few pages of the book but looks a bit confused and Murphy isn't sure why. He decided to take a peek over Bellamy's shoulder and see what's causing the confusion. He's not sure how far he's gotten but he soon notices what's giving him problems and lets out a small chuckle that catches Bellamy's attention.
"What's so funny?"
"You looked really confused so I glanced over your shoulder to see why and couldn't help myself. I can't believe he still remembered that stupid language I made up as a kid. We used it for a while when we didn't want people to know what we were talking about but then dad figured it out and it wasn't fun anymore. Why would he write some of it in a language only I would understand?'
"Maybe so only you could read it. It's in here a lot, like almost every other sentence. It's almost like he's hiding something in plain sight. Do you remember how to translate it?"
"I think so but it may take me some time. Don't you remember it?"
"Not really. I remember us using it but I can't remember the code or the translations. How are you coming with my dad's letter?"
"I feel weird reading it because I know it's meant for you. I understand your frustration but maybe you should read it. Let me get some paper from Roan so I can translate that. I'll be right back." Murphy leaves the room and Bellamy notices that he left the letter open and kind of on his lap.
He glances down it for a moment before moving it to the nightstand and resumes reading what he could of Murphy's book. However no matter how hard he tries he keeps glancing back at the letter and can't seem to concentrate on what he's trying to read. He takes a deep breath, closes the book and picks up the letter. He lays for a while just staring at the paper before he actually begins reading it. Murphy tries to sneak into the basement to grab some paper without Roan noticing him but he has no such luck and Roan turns toward him as soon as he hears paper being moved.
"Damn you look like shit. Maybe you should stop the research and actually get some sleep."
"I can't. I'm so close Murph, I can feel it but this key code isn't making any sense when I try translating these pages. I just need a few more hours and I'm sure I'll have it."
"Not if you're dead. Look, I want answers just as much as you do but maybe you've been at this too long and things are starting to blur together. Get some sleep and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning and maybe it'll make more sense or you'll figure out something that you didn't think of before but either way you need sleep Roan. You can't help defeat The Key if you're too exhausted. You'd be a hindrance instead of an asset."
"You're probably right. After all the words were kind of starting to blur together and very little from the past hour has made any sense what so ever. Besides we still have some time to spare and getting some sleep sounds like a good idea. What are down here for anyways?"
"I needed some paper. Part of what my dad wrote is in this language I made up when I was a kid and I need to translate it."
"Do you remember how?"
"I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I've seen or used it so it may take a while but I'm pretty sure I remember what my name looked like so that's a start."
"Well don't work at it too long and here, this is the only paper I have that hasn't already been written on."
"Thanks." Murphy says a he takes the paper and heads for the stairs.
He pauses at the bottom and says "Sleep in an actual bed instead of falling asleep down here. The sleep and time away from this dank basement smell will also do wonders for your brain and figuring out this stuff."
"Yeah yeah. Careful Murph people may think you care about someone other than yourself."
"Well they'd be wrong. Now get some sleep."
Roan shakes his head and begins gathering up some of the things he'd been working on before ascending the stairs and heading to one of the guest rooms to sleep. He places the papers on the table beside the bed, takes his shoes off and lays back on the bed. Once he's comfortable he has ever intention of looking over the papers until he falls asleep but it seems his body had other plans and as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out. Murphy grabs two beers from the kitchen and smiles as he hears snoring coming from Roan's room on his way back to his. When he enters his room he finds Bellamy staring at the letter with a blank expression on his face and when he doesn't even flinch when Murphy sits down next to him, he begins to worry something's wrong.
"Bellamy? Bellamy are you okay?" He asks as he tentatively places a hand on Bellamy's shoulder.
Bellamy blinks but still doesn't respond to his presence. He repeats his name again and gently lays a hand on his cheek. Bellamy leans into the touch and says "why's your hand wet" but its barely above a whisper. However the sound of his voice and the slight lean into Murphy's touch has him breathing a sigh of relief.
"I grabbed us a beer on my way back. What's wrong? Was it something you read?" Murphy asks concern lacing his words.
"Thanks I could really us one right about now. I read some of my dad's letter to me. I didn't read much, just the first paragraph and then I couldn't read anymore. He talks about me like he knows exactly who I am and he's so sure of everything he says about me but I just feel like it's all a lie. How can he know exactly who I am when I'm not even sure myself? And he talked about O like he wanted us to someday be an actual family knowing full well that that could never happen. I don't care what he has to say, I'm not reading anymore of that letter. You can read it if you want but I can't. It's nothing but lies and promises made by a man who knew he was going to die and there was no danger of him ever having to come through on any of it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Did you find some paper?"
"Yeah, are you going stay in here or go back to your room?"
"Do you want me to stay in here?"
"If you want to."
"That's not what I asked Murph. Do you want me to stay here with you or not?"
"Yes, I want you to stay." Murphy says so low that if he wasn't so close he'd never of heard it.
Bellamy smiles as he settles down on the bed beside Murphy with his beer and watches Murphy go through the book and write down the parts that his dad had coded. After a while he notices Murphy stopping every few seconds and flexing his hand like it's cramping form all the writing and takes the pencil from his hand. Murphy looks at him with both confusion and anger but before he can explode Bellamy speaks.
"Let me write the code down for you and you can begin translating what you already have down. That way your hand can get a bit of rest and you can get started on translating this quicker."
"Won't that defeat the purpose of giving my hand a rest if I'm still using it?"
"Can you write with your other hand?"
"Not if you want to be able to read what I write."
"Well, go grab us some more beers and that'll give your hand a bit of rest before you start translating."
Murphy smacks him with the papers in his hands but gets up and gets them each another beer. A few more minutes of writing and Murphy has to stop to give his hand a rest before it cramps to the point he can't use it for a while. He looks over what he's got so far and is about to grab the pencil to mark something out when he feels Bellamy massaging his hand causing him to pause. He looks down at his hand and then up at Bellamy who seems oblivious to what he's doing. Murphy isn't sure if he should say anything to him about it or not because he's afraid he'll stop and it feels so good that he definitely doesn't want him to stop. However Murphy accidentally moves his hand causing him to stop.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you I was just..."
"You don't have to stop. You can keep doing it. It doesn't bother me. In fact I kinda like it." Murphy says nervously.
Bellamy doesn't say a word but smiles as he resumes massaging Murphy's hand. Without thinking Murphy relaxes and leans his head onto Bellamy's shoulder. Bellamy continues to massage his hand but lays his head against Murphy's and places a soft kiss to his hair. Murphy freezes and Bellamy thinks that maybe he fucked up. Murphy slowly raises his head towards him and Bellamy tries to think of something to say to explain why he did what he did but instead of snapping at him Murphy simply looks at him curiously. Before either of them really have a chance to think about it their lips meet. The papers and book forgotten as Bellamy grabs the back of Murphy's neck, pulling him closer. As Murphy's hands begin to run through Bellamy's hair, he pulls Murphy into his lap and deepens the kiss. Bellamy breaks the kiss and begins to trail kisses along Murphy's jaw and down his throat, stopping at the base of the neck where he begins to nibble and suck. Murphy soon begins rocking back and forth in Bellamy's lap trying to get some friction on his growing erection. Murphy's moans and pants are causing Bellamy to get hard as well and he's soon gently thrusting up into Murphy as he rolls his hips. It isn't long before the lack of skin to skin contact begins to frustrate Bellamy and he's undoing Murphy's pants. Once he has them loose enough that he can get his hand down them, he does and palms Murphy's dick. He gets a few strokes in before Murphy seems to come to his senses, realizing what's going on and quickly jumps out of Bellamy's lap.
"I can't, we can't, I'm sorry." He says before he bolts from the room.
Bellamy lays on the bed staring at the ceiling and wondering what in the hell just happened. He's confused by both their actions and Murphy's reaction but can't help the smile on his face when he remembers the feel of Murphy's lips on his or the way his body responded to his every touch. He also can't help but wonder if and when he can do it again and hopefully this time they could get further because he'd love to hear the way his name sounded being shouted by Murphy as he came.