Seasons hadn’t really mattered on the Ark. Everything was regulated, and the temperature never changed. To them, there were no seasons; the only thing that marked the passage of time was the calendar and the holidays that they celebrated. Year after year went by, and it was a big line of sameness.
On the ground, things were different. Seasons were a thing here. The air changed; grew colder, grew warmer, depended on where you were and at what time. Leaves change colors, snow fell, and the breeze blew the leaves on the trees in a gentle dance. The ground froze, then would thaw. Things changed and changed.
In space, the time had been fluid. One thing had gone to another, steady and calm. On the ground, the time felt startling. Nothing stayed the same, and each season suddenly felt harsher, more startling. As if it wasn’t hard enough for them on the ground, but they fought through it. They always fought through it.
Spring was the first season they’d experienced after making sure they’d all survive on the ground. It felt right then; time was slow and easy. The flowers bloomed, the people celebrated, and new treaties helped their people finally have a place to call home again. Spring was when he saw some of his friends really smile for the first time in months.
Spring lasted what felt like forever, lasting and frozen in time as they felt happy again. Springtime seemed to last as the flowers grew, slow and steady, appearing as if you’d never seen it before. Spring felt like the eternity of happiness that they’d always wanted. Spring was when the lovebirds easily paired up, and things felt okay again.
Spring was running through the flower fields with Fox and Harper. Spring was watching Clarke and Bellamy toast and sneak off to whisper together. Spring was seeing Jasper smile, and Monty’s shoulders relax. Spring was all of them learning to let the weight off of their shoulders.
Summer was when they began to really get to work. It felt shorter than Spring had; as if they worked only minutes to find the sun was going down again, and they had to sleep to start all over in the morning. Time passed rapidly, and it felt like they’d never be able to slow down. Fields needed to be tended, things needed to be repaired.
Summer was fast and difficult. The time felt like it would never last as long as they needed it too, and like the season was moving too fast for the plants to catch up to it. It felt like they’d never be ready for Fall or Winter. Summer was when relationships and friendships were threatened. Summer was when his friends argued, and he became afraid that they wouldn’t last.
Summer was Fox bringing him water, and Harper lecturing him to eat. Summer was watching Jasper and Monty argue and not speak for weeks. Summer was watching Raven disappear into her workshop and yell at anyone who came near her. Summer was watching Clarke and Bellamy argue, and feeling afraid.
Fall felt like time froze again, giving them the time they all needed to catch their breaths. It was that feeling of being on time, of holding your breath as you wait for the next thing to happen. Fall was when they gathered all their supplies, harvested the fields, and prepared.
Fall was slow and calm, not as bright as spring, but a time that got them all back together. Friendships were mended, relationships got better, and their community grew and thrived with happiness. Fall was when he heard laughter from his friends, and it made him feel like he could live this way forever.
Fall was watching Raven breathe a sigh of relief. Fall was seeing Bellamy bring Clarke flowers, and Clarke smiling. Fall was seeing Octavia return to them after a summer away. Fall was sitting around after dark, curled up with Fox as Miller told ghost stories to all of them, and drinking Monty’s new drink creation.
Winter was harsh and cold. If Spring and Fall had felt like it lasted an eternity, winter lasted even longer. The way the earth got cold and the wind blew made him shiver and feel afraid. Even then, his memories were filled with Ice Nation, with the memories that had happened there, and the feeling of cold.
Winter dragged on and on; rationing, making sure they were safe and warm, that things were fixed and the camp was safe. Winter was long days stuck inside with his friends, and long nights curled up to his boyfriend. Winter was endless days, pacing and waiting, wondering when it would be Spring again.
Winter was endless days staring out the windows with Fox and Harper, explaining to them what the snow had been like further into Ice Nation. Winter was Abby and Kane lecturing them all and trying to keep the group from fighting. Winter was watching Bellamy get stir crazy and Octavia mocking him. Winter was hiding against Miller at night, listening to his boyfriends heartbeat.
Time passed differently on earth than it did in space, but one thing remained the same. Time went at different speeds, felt like it was never ending and over too soon at the same time. Instead of the slow, steady pace it had been on the Ark, time on earth felt like it was always moving, but never going anywhere at all, all the same.
One thing that made it all make sense though, was easy; Bryan was with those of his friends that had made it, and they were growing and living together. Despite the way time felt like it changed, like they’d all changed, the constant was them. The constant was the love and family that they had, that they’d always have.
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