Our Journey (the Fourth Book in the Her Weakness series)

Chapter 72

Lexa's POV

The next day we spend a little more time hunting with the success varying from person to person. We are all ready to go back to TonDC after the last person (my Nomon of course) so we head back quicker than expected.

***

"Time flew by," Raven remarks. She wipes a lone tear from her face. "I'm going to miss you guys."

"We will miss you too, Raven." Nomon (mom) says, opening her arms to one of my best friends.

I watch with amusement as Raven practically launches herself at her. Raven hugs my Nomon before moving on to hug my Noni (dad) as well.

"Only you, Raven, could befriend our friend's parents like this." Octavia says in amusement.

Raven nudges her girlfriend. "Hey, I know you consider them friends too."

"But I didn't cry when I hugged them."

"You haven't hugged them yet," Raven points out.

Octavia sticks her tongue out at her girlfriend and then moves to hugs my parents.

"It was great to see you again. Take care," Octavia says.

"It was good to see you too. And we will, we just have a few things to finalize here before we can head to... What is the name of your town, Lexa?" Nomon asks.

"Branageda," I provide.

"Branageda," Nomon repeats. "So we will see you soon, within a week or two."

"Alright. So you'll meet us there?" Octavia asks.

"Yes, we should be arriving at around the same time as you all," Nomon confirms.

Octavia smiles at my parents and steps back to stand next to Raven, who looks sad to be leaving my parents. She wraps an arm around her girlfriend and I urge my fiancée forward.

Clarke gives me an understanding smile, knowing that I'll want to be the last ones to hug my parents goodbye. She approaches them and warmly hugs Noni first, who murmurs something in her ear too softly for me to hear. She nods and he smiles, holding her tighter for a moment before letting go of him. She hugs Nomon next, then steps back for me to have my turn.

Noni approaches first and wraps me in a tight hug. I have to remind myself that I will see him soon, that this is not a permanent goodbye.

"Ai hod yu in, strikon (I love you, little one)." He murmurs to me.

"Ai hod yu in sentaim Noni (I love you too Dad)."

He squeezes me again and then releases me with glistening eyes and wet cheeks. He wipes at his face and gives me a warm smile.

"I will see you soon strikon," he promises.

I kiss his cheek, rough and scratchy since Nomon encourages him to shave. I hug Nomon next and she holds me tight.

"I love you, my little Heda." Nomon murmurs to me.

I choke on whatever I was going to say in response and squeeze her tighter. That nickname is one that has been with me since childhood. According to Noni, it has been with me since before it was even discovered that I am a Natblida (Nightblood). Apparently, I was forceful and determined and did not want to listen to anyone if I thought they were wrong even as a child.

"We will be there in time to help you and your fiancée," Nomon says.

"Mochof (thank you). For everything. I cannot wait to see you and Noni again," I admit.

Nomon is the one who pulls back slightly, smiling warmly. Her smile is wide enough that her eyes crinkle along the edges.

"Pro (you're welcome)."

"Ai hod yu in (I love you)," I say.

"I love you too. Now go, make memories with your fiancée," Nomon winks at me. "Be careful with that Nomon of hers."

"I will. And Abby has been better."

"Good."

Nomon kisses my forehead and I feel my jaw tremble with the weight of my emotions. Gods, I am going to miss them.

I mount my horse and wave goodbye to my parents. They wave back, with Nomon wrapping an arm around Noni's waist. Clarke takes my other hand in hers and I try to choke down the emotion rising in my throat. She squeeze and I draw comfort from the familiar feeling of her hand in mine.

I let go so we can get going, saying one last goodbye to my parents. I look back every once in a while after we get our horses moving to see them still standing there, watching us. I keep looking back until I cannot see them anymore.

***

That night, Clarke holds me in bed. My head is resting on the middle of her chest. I can feel her chest rise and fall with each breath she takes. I can hear and feel her heartbeat, steady and calming. Clarke's fingers stroke through my hair, a gentle touch and a consistent rhythm.

I feel like a puddle, like ice that has melted from her warmth. But I know that we do have to talk, that Clarke wants to talk about today.

"I am going to miss them," I admit softly.

"I am too niron (loved one)," Clarke murmurs.

"It never feels like enough." At Clarke's confused looks, I elaborate. "My time with my parents."

Clarke hums the way she does when she understands what I am saying completely. "Yeah. That's what I feel like with you." I shift so I can look at her face better as she speaks. "No matter how much time I spend with you, even if we're attached at the hip for a month... Whenever I'm away from you, I miss you. Even if you're just gone for a couple minutes."

I melt further, seeing the soft earnestness in her eyes. Gods, I love this woman. I sit up, gently straddling her hips and lean down over her. I kiss her deeply and Clarke smiles against my lips.

I pull back just enough to whisper to her. "I feel the same way, hodnes (love). I can never get enough of you."

Someone mentioned Anya again and I promise, we'll find out what actually happened to her! Just closer to the wedding! And man, I'm glad I finished and it seems like an okay chapter to me! I went to my first ever comedy show, and the guy wasn't my favorite comedian and made some jokes that I didn't really appreciate... But it was still fun! The not fun part was the sleep... I'm a light sleeper, right? And I was sharing a hotel room with my dad. You know those like cartoons with exaggerated snoring that kind of actually sounds like "sawing logs"? Yeah, that's my dad. He's a loud snorer. After an hour and half of waking up five times, I gave up and put on my headphones and started playing my classical music. But then I was like "wait, white noise!" So I went on iTunes on this old a*s iPod but the app kept crashing. So I tried the AppStore. That kept crashing. Twenty minutes later I'm in tears and I'm exhausted so I'm like screw it, I'm restarting it. However, this iPod's power button doesn't work so I had to plug it in to get it to turn back on. Then I downloaded the app. But I was still close to my dad snoring loudly so I went and laid down in the bathroom area, covered myself with my jacket and a bath towel, put on my (noise canceling) headphones and fell into a restless sleep. So yeah, that was my morning. I can't wait to to to bed tonight! Dang, that was a long Author's Note... Anyway! Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!