Clarke felt something heavy against her chest, almost crushing her. She struggled to open her eyes, still groggy against the rays of the morning sun. As she shifted her body she felt something also shift on top of her. She finally opened her eyes, and noticed what the weight was. The great and mighty Heda was cradled in her arms, her head resting against Clarke's chest. Clarke moved her head a bit to get a closer look at Lexa in her arms. She smiled as she saw the slow breathing, the small look of happiness upon the other girl's face. She was so beautiful. Clarke reached one of her hands up and began to slowly outline Lexa's features with her fingers. She traced Lexa's closed eyelids, her smooth nose, her perfectly formed cheekbones. Clarke hesitated when she reached the edge of Lexa's lips, not knowing why. She ran her thumb slowly over Lexa's soft lips and suddenly an image of their lips meeting flashed and burned in Clarke's mind, startling her so much that she let out a soft "Oh!" She watched as Lexa's eyes fluttered open and couldn't help but stare into those green emeralds that had haunted her every night since their first meeting.
"Good morning Wanheda," Lexa said in a calm tone, as if their embrace were an every day thing.
"Oh, uh, good morning Lexa," replied Clarke, a blush appearing on her face at Lexa's greeting.
"Is there a reason why you are touching my lips?" Lexa said, the hint of a smirk upon her mouth.
Clarke realized that she still held Lexa in her arms and her thumb was still softly rubbing Lexa's lips. She began pulling her hand away when suddenly Lexa pulled Clarke's hand back to her and gave her a soft kiss on the palm. Lexa then sat up and stretched, leaving Clarke's arms.
Clarke watched as Lexa stretched, missing her warmth already. She remembered that Lexa had asked a question and felt the need to defend herself. "I was only touching your face because there was some dried blood still on you," said Clarke fast, also sitting up to face Lexa.
Lexa looked over at Clarke and gave her a soft smile. She knew that this was about more than blood but she didn't want to pressure Clarke into saying anything that would make her uncomfortable. "Okay Clarke," she said, with an involuntary chuckle escaping her throat. She smiled once more at Clarke before getting up, feeling the burn of Clarke's eyes watching her naked back and leg that her nightgown so perfectly revealed. She turned around to face Clarke, and held out her hand. "It is morning now, we must attend to our duties," she said to Clarke as she looked again into the eyes of the person who made her question everything she ever stood for. Clarke took Lexa's hand and stood, both women watching one another, the space between them minimal since Lexa hadn't stepped back. Lexa's breath hitched as she felt Clarke's fingers interwining with hers rather than letting go as she had expected. She didn't know what was happening but her heart immediately sped up as Clarke's thumb began stroking her own.
Clarke hadn't planned on holding Lexa's hand, it had just happened. She loved the way Lexa's hands were soft while hers were more calloused from months of hunting and fighting wild animals. She didn't know why Lexa had such an effect on her. Even when she wanted to hate her, she just couldn't. Lexa was always worrying about Clarke's safety and comfort, she had even gone as far as to sleep in Clarke's room to make sure she wasn't alone but still felt safe. Clarke had no way to repay Lexa for all that she had done for her. She didn't know how to truly express her thanks to the girl who never gave up on her. Suddenly, the image of her lips against Lexa's flashed in her mind again and Clarke knew how she could show just how much Lexa's efforts meant to her.
Lexa studied the mix of emotions play across Clarke's face as she stood deep in thought, her eyes on Lexa but not really seeing her. Suddenly, Clarke's eyes snapped into focus and Clarke's piercing deep-blue eyes gave full attention to Lexa's soft-green ones. Lexa smiled as Clarke seemed to return to her normal self and began pulling away, "We should probably g-" Lexa's speech was cutoff as she felt Clarke's fingers on her lips once more. Her eyes opened wide as she felt Clarke openly caress her face, and she closed her eyes and leaned her weight against Clarke, their bodies touching.
Clarke tilted her head to see Lexa's look of bliss before she moved her mouth forward, her lips replacing her gentle fingers.
Lexa felt Clarke's lips against hers and so many emotions flashed through her, overwhelming her and causing tears to flow down her cheeks.
Clarke felt as a wetness covered their soft kiss and pulled away, only to find that Lexa was looking at her with tears running down her face. In that moment, Clarke knew. She knew just how much Lexa had also been hurting. She knew that this wasn't just for Lexa, it was for her too. Clarke also knew that there was a truth that she hadn't been willing to admit until now. "I love you, Leksa kom Trikru." Clarke whispered to the crying girl in front of her as tears also began forming in her eyes. She watched as Lexa's eyes grew wide once more and felt as Lexa's crushing embrace came soon after. Clarke held Lexa against her and let her pain and loneliness also come rushing out of her. The two young warriors held each other in the light of day as all of their pent-up emotions finally came out. Before, none of them knew that it was possible to just let go. In the arms of one another, they knew that it was okay to do so and would always be okay as long as they had each other. Something happened between the two women then, and they both understood, even through their tears, that they were bounded for life. No matter what happened between them, they would always find one another. Alone, they were weak. Together, they were strong. Love wasn't weakness, as they had so mistakenly thought. Love was strength. And this was true love.
