Lightning Only Strikes Once - Clexa

Chapter 55: A Girl Worth Fighting For

The air is cold this morning, but it's still bright and sunny. The kind of day you want to spend outside, enjoying the brief sunlight before winter sets in fully. Not the kind of day you want to spend trying to break into a secure military base.

Of course, Clarke thinks, there probably aren't many days with the perfect weather for that. 'Perfect weather' in this case being some more serendipitous lightning just blowing the place to hell without their interference. Except her mother's inside. So maybe not.

She hadn't been able to sleep properly at all last night, just a few uneasy dozes. Neither had Lexa. On the bright side, this gave them hours wrapped around each other, whispering about nothing all, kissing, touching each other, just being together. They'd alternated between periods when they couldn't get close enough to each other, when they'd nearly bruised each other with desperation, and quieter soft moments where every touch was feather-light.

"Sit still," Lexa commands quietly from behind her. They're sitting at the entrance to the tent, with Clarke looking out over the village. "Your hair is a mess, it is difficult to even get this comb through."

"You're the one who messed it up," Clarke points out.

She feels Lexa's smile even though she can't see it. "Is that a complaint, Clarke kom Skaikru? Because at the time someone was ordering me to. However, if you are concerned about your neatness, in future I will make sure to ignore your forceful words -"

"Mockery is not the product of a strong mind, Lexa," Clarke quotes at her, grinning . Lexa's hands are quick and deft in her hair, looping and tugging with swift skill. She almost wants to ask her to go slower. She gazes out at the quiet stillness of the village.

Octavia looks odd, standing in the middle of TonDC dressed in Skaikru clothes once more, next to a small Grounder child she's trying to give a flower to. But Skaikru clothes are a protection now – the Maunon are far more likely to just outright kill a Grounder than a Sky Person. The Trikru have outlived their usefulness to the Mountain, literally.

As Clarke watches, Octavia lifts the small child up and bounces him in her arms several times. Clarke smiles as Octavia then holds the boy away in a panicked fashion as he throws up dark liquid, barely missing her clothing. Even from this far away she can see the disgusted face Octavia makes. Nevertheless, Octavia jogs to her pack nearby and pulls out a cloth, wiping the child's face with it. He starts bawling, not appreciative at all.

"Have you ever thought about having children?" Clarke asks, without intending to. It just slips out.

Lexa pauses in her movements for a second. "I used to think about it sometimes with Costia," she admits. "But I knew it could not be. Whether a child I gave birth to or just raised, it would always be a target. And I have the Natblida. Do you think of such things?"

"Back on the Ark, it was sort of assumed we'd all have one kid," Clarke says idly. "When I was young, I figured I would get older, get married, have one kid, be a doctor. So basically I thought I'd be a carbon copy of my mother. But that was back when she used to be my hero so of course all I wanted was to be like her. The kid thing... I'm not sure about that, anymore."

"Married," Lexa says, tone thoughtful. "That is like being bonded, correct?"

"Exactly like, except with rings instead of tattoos, and a slightly different ceremony," Clarke says. She swallows nervously. "Want to do it someday?" This has to be the worst marriage proposal of all time. Somehow, that doesn't seem to matter. Here, on this clear, cool day, with Lexa fiddling with her hair, this is right. The words do have weight, but she already knows she'll be with Lexa forever. The ceremony is just a formality – albeit one that she realises she wants. She wants to be open and free and honest, wants to shout to the skies that Lexa means everything to her and will for the rest of time.