Clexa One Shots

Prenup (AU)

Lexa had just finished fixing herself up in the mirror when Clarke had padded into the master bedroom, quiet and calculated, leaning against the open bathroom door.
For the past few years, everything had truly fallen into place for them.
Clarke had her covert sort of artistry career, and she was cashing in checks that were bigger than she ever could've imagined earning.
Lexa was the league's sweetheart, the league's competitor, the star. She was the person to be with, the person to beat, the most hated, and the most loved.
In other words, she was also quite successful.
The two had enjoyed the months after their double proposal back in Arkadia, blissfully in love and excited at the prospect of being married.
Their wedding was months away, but Clarke was already dying with excitement.
She was going to marry Alexandria Anastasia Woods.
Her dreams were finally, finally coming true.
And Clarke knew that, ultimately, she was responsible for Lexa. She was responsible for keeping Lexa happy, for loving her, for protecting her, as any spouse would do.
And she had many decisions to make.
Though, it seemed, she'd soon miscalculate the damage of her actions, and the way Lexa interpreted them.
"Hey, pretty girl." Clarke smiled as her eyes raked Lexa's beautiful dress, her makeup done well, her eyes smoky and alluring, her hair in beautiful ringlets, down past her shoulders.
God, she was a vision.
"Hi." Lexa murmured, blushing as she turned to face Clarke, who was all dressed up herself. "You look breathtaking, love."
"So do you." Clarke spoke distractedly, eyes drinking up her fiancee's beauty. The ring on Lexa's left ring finger shined under the bathroom light.
It was date night.
Lexa had promised Clarke a week of respite from all media, work, and anything else. Just the two of them, fooling around like careless teenagers.
It was exactly what they needed.
"Can I kiss you?" Clarke asked softly, and Lexa nodded, leaning down to meet Clarke's lips in a soft, chaste kiss.
"I missed you." Lexa murmured. "Your work keeps you busy."
"Who would've thought I'd have any work as an artist?" Clarke teased, and Lexa chuckled.
"I did. Your work speaks for itself." Lexa replied, chin up, proud as hell to be Clarke's.
"You're sweet." Clarke whispered, kissing the corner of Lexa's mouth. "You always believed in me. Thank you."
"Always." Lexa grinned, nuzzling Clarke affectionately. "Are you ready to be wined and dined, Ms. Griffin?"
"Oh my god, I feel like we're in high school again." Clarke laughed, reaching up to lace her arms around Lexa's neck. "There's just something missing..."
"The delinquents aren't interrupting us...?" Lexa suggested wryly.
"That's not it." Clarke hummed.
"Your mother isn't lecturing me on not getting you pregnant." Lexa replied comically.
"That was one time! And I thought she was being very inclusive by giving you that talk anyway."
"She was." Lexa amended with a chuckle. "Is it...Oh, I know. Is it the fact that we're not having copious amounts of sex right now?"
Clarke slid her hand to Lexa's ass, tight and firm beneath the dress, eliciting a gasp from her.. "Hmm." Clarke replied in a husky tone. "Could be. Wanna test that theory out?"
Lexa whined. "Clarke." She drawled, eyes roaming to her cleavage and settling there.
Clarke grinned as Lexa licked her lips.
"I uh...I don't think we should..." as Lexa spoke, her hands were roaming towards Clarke's chest. "I think it's...wait, what am I talking about?"
Clarke laughed, kissing Lexa once out of pure adoration. "Not having sex." She reminded.
"Right." Lexa mumbled. "Why the hell would I say that?"
"The restaurant?" Clarke questioned.
"Oh right! Clarke!" Lexa took a step back, eyes widening. "It's a Michelin rated restaurant on a rooftop, and I booked the whole evening for just us."
"Lexa, that's...insanely expensive." Clarke sputtered, in awe.
Lexa really was something else.
"Pocket change." Lexa waved her off, going to fix her slightly smudged lipstick from Clarke's multiple kisses. "I really need to get the lipstick that doesn't smear."
"Why? I like when people know I kissed you." Clarke smirked.
"And you call me a peacock." Lexa snorted.
"I ran into Luna today, and I invited her to hang out tomorrow. Is that alright?"
Lexa dropped the tube of lipstick, turning to Clarke with a furrowed brow. "What? Clarke, it's our week to-"
"See?" Clarke picked up the lipstick, kissing Lexa's bare neck. "Peacock." She whispered in Lexa's ear, setting the tube beside her. "I'm kidding."
Lexa rolled her eyes fondly. "Very funny."
"Aren't I?" Clarke disappeared from the bathroom, going to grab something from her bag.
"And beautiful, too!" Lexa called, her heart thrumming in her chest. She was high off Clarke Griffin, and for Lexa, that kind of emotion was hard to evoke.
But Clarke always managed to.
-0-
"You ready to go?" Lexa called from the bathroom as she stepped out, finding Clarke sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Yes. I just...can I talk to you, for a sec?"
"Of course, love." Lexa replied, sitting beside Clarke. "Is something wrong?"
"No." Clarke shook her head. "Uh...Nothing is wrong. And...I want to keep things that way."
"That's...cryptic." Lexa replied, sounding confused.
"Sorry. I'm no good at this sort of thing." Clarke murmured.
"What sort of thing?" Lexa asked, like a concerned puppy, and Clarke felt like she was stabbed in the heart.
"Um...here." Clarke reached for the folder behind her, handing it to Lexa. "Read the first page."
Lexa's eyes widened. "Clarke, handing your significant other a stack of papers with no explanation is never a good sign." She spoke good-naturedly, and it only hurt Clarke more.
"They're not divorce papers." Clarke rolled her eyes, and Lexa smiled, opening the folder, eyes scanning the page.
Clarke felt like eternity had passed, in that moment.
Lexa's eyes slowed, her mouth opened slightly, her brow furrowed, her posture went slack.
It was like watching Lexa get socked in the gut.
"...Yes....they are." Lexa suddenly whispered as she shut the folder, glancing up at Clarke frantically. "Yes they are!"
Clarke was instantly shocked, she'd never really seen Lexa freak out over anything. The way she looked terrified, the way her mouth opened but nothing came out...It made Clarke regret everything.
"They are what?" Clarke prompted, lost.
"Those....those are divorce papers." Lexa sounded shaken, and Clarke couldn't believe this. It was one of the only times she'd ever seen Lexa so frazzled, and she was the cause. God, she wasn't worth Lexa's affections.
But couldn't Lexa see?
She was doing it for her.
"They're not. Baby, they're prenuptials-"
"Prenups, Clarke?" Lexa spat, rising from the bed. "Are we that kind of couple?"
Clarke felt indignant. "What?" She challenged.
"The kind of couple that treats their relationship like a business?" Lexa challenged. "You need to protect your assets?"
Clarke was taken aback. "Lexa! You're being unreasonable! In case you haven't noticed, you're the fucking millionaire! I just make petty cash, compared to that. This is for you!"
Lexa wasn't having it. "For me? You realize what this implies, don't you? You're not only entertaining the possibility of our love somehow....fading, and falling apart, but you think that...that you're at financial risk?!"
"Lexa I-"
"EVERYTHING, CLARKE." Lexa was so lost in herself, in the anger she felt. "I would give you everything! Anything! I can't believe that-"
"I know!" Clarke roared back. "If you'd just listen, I'm trying to protect you! This is for you, Lexa! I-"
"Clarke." Lexa snapped, her jaw tense, the vein in her neck sticking out. She looked lethal. "I...." She took a breath, trying not to say something regrettable. "I'm done."
"What?" Clarke blinked. "But-"
Lexa moved to the bathroom, stripping her dress in record time, moving to the closet.
"Lexa?" Clarke followed, and was dutifully ignored. "Lexa, please just...Lexa, what are you doing? Why are you changing?"
Lexa ignored everything out of Clarke's mouth, throwing on a tank top and tights, moving for the door.
Clarke blocked her way defiantly. "Lexa."
Lexa gritted her teeth. "Move, Clarke."
"Lex, please."
"Don't call me that." Lexa snapped. "Get out of my way."
Clarke bit her lip, moving to touch Lexa's bicep, to feel her, in some way. "Babe-"
Lexa recoiled with lightning reflexes, and Clarke flinched.
"Do not call me that." Lexa growled. She used the moment to push past Clarke, careful not to lay a hand on her (she was mad, but still madly in love), as she grabbed her sports bag that sat at the edge of the bed, with a change of clothes in it. "Don't wait up." She muttered, going out the bedroom in a hurry.
Clarke was at a loss for words, watching Lexa grab her phone and keys from the counter.
"Lexa, you're being a child!" Clarke snapped. "Come back, let's discuss this like adults."
"Adults don't spring shit like this on each other, Clarke. Adults are clear with their intentions from the beginning."
"Lexa, I didn't think that-" Clarke was frantic, trying to ease her back. "Where are you even going? It's getting late, I-"
Lexa slammed the door behind her, leaving Clarke in a state of shock, alone in the penthouse, with nothing but guilt. What had she done?
She'd never quite seen Lexa so angry in all their years together.
-0-
"Lexa?" Lincoln and Anya were surprised to find Lexa leaning against her suspiciously nice car, outside of the beat up gym, in the poorly lit parking lot.
It was like she was asking to be mugged.
Lincoln hurried over, Anya right behind him. "What happened?" He asked cautiously, his keys in his hand.
Anya looked far more annoyed. "Was it Griffin?" She demanded. "Did she touch you?"
Lexa shook her head, jerking her head to the doorway. "Can we talk inside?"
"...Sure." Lincoln nodded, reaching for his keys. "I...still haven't had a chance to really renovate inside yet. It's more of a side project, you know?"
"I don't think she wants the details on your property value." Anya snorted, putting an arm around her cousin comfortingly, just like they were in high school. At that, Lexa gave a small chuckle.
"I brought some spare clothes..." Lincoln motioned to the bag. "You really wanna hit the heavy bag? At ten....at night? Don't you have dinner reservations?"
"Canceled." Lexa replied with gritted teeth.
Lincoln and Anya exchanged surprised looks.
"You can go." Lexa waved them off. "Thank you for the trouble. I'll send your studio a check for the extra hours."
Lincoln rolled his eyes. "You're still dramatic, heda."
Anya nodded. "Obviously we're here for you." She murmured. "You wanna talk?"
Lexa licked her lips. "I want to hit something." She muttered. "Then we'll talk."
Lincoln nodded, moving over to grab a few gloves. "Uh...please don't aim for my face. I need that for the show."
"Can you believe he's a TV host?" Anya snorted. "I always thought you were going to be a lumberjack, or something."
"Branwada." Lincoln scoffed. "Have you seen me? I have ruggedly handsome looks and a pearly white smile. I'm model material, same as you two."
Anya grinned. "Too bad you're whipped."
Lincoln shrugged. "Feels good, right Woods?"
Lexa responded by slamming her gloved fist into the heavy bag, watching it rock on its chain, making the whole building groan.
Anya and Lincoln exchanged glances.
"What's wrong?"
-0-
"I'll get it! Pause the TV, Rae! I don't want to know what happens if she doesn't choose him to- Whoa. Clarke?" Octavia took a step back in surprise, her eyes raking Clarke's overdone makeup and hair, suitable for something far greater than reality tv night at Octavia and Lincoln's ritzy new home.
"Why do you look like you cried?" Octavia questioned, a little more softly.
"I did." Clarke mumbled, stepping inside, right into Octavia's outstretched arms.
"Rae!" Octavia called.
"What, bitch, I'm trying to watch her reaction!"
"We've got an emergency here! Code 45!"
"45?" Raven's voice echoed in the hallway. "You killed someone? And you need me to get some acid from work to burn the body? When did you even have time to kill someone-"
"NO!" Octavia snapped. "Clarke's relationship trouble!" She rubbed Clarke's back soothingly.
"Oh. That's 46, genius."
"My fucking bad. Can you please come here?"
"I am!" Raven showed up, padding in from the living room. "Aw, Griffster, what's up?" She walked with them into the living room, reaching for a wine glass to hand to Clarke.
"Lexa and I got into a fight." Clarke sniffled.
"What?" Raven and Octavia exchanged shocked glances. "You two never fight."
"I know." Clarke shook her head. "It was stupid...."
"Did you accidentally root for the team she was playing against?" Raven tried.
Clarke rolled her eyes. "I presented her with prenups."
"Holy shit!" Raven gaped. "That's way worse than I thought!"
Clarke flinched, and Octavia mouthed, "Really?" to her in exasperation.
"Clarke, why?" Octavia wrapped her arm around Clarke, letting Clarke lean her head on her shoulder.
"Why what? Why did I give Lexa that way out?" Clarke sighed. "I thought I was helping!"
"Clarke, prenups are like...preparing for the end, at the very beginning of your life together. They mean a break up is really something on your mind, and...to Lexa? That's probably shocking."
"I..."Clarke groaned. "I know! But I swear, that wasn't why I did it! I just...every since we've been together, people have been claiming that I'm only with Lexa for her money."
"And that's not true." Raven supplied.
"Of course not! I adore Lexa for who she is! She's thoughtful, she's sweet, she's romantic, she's funny, she's adorable, she's-"
"We get it."
"...I love her. I love her to death. I don't even understand how much I love her. This was just...proof, you know? Proof that I love Lexa for her, not for whatever wealth she has to her name. I thought this would be good for us."
"It's...something you should've talked to her about, Clarke." Octavia supplied, and Raven nodded. "When you spring it like that-"
"It's awkward!" Clarke whined. "I wanted her to sign it, really quick, so we could go off and just drink and forget about it! I will never leave her, as long as she wants me."
"So...forever." Raven quipped with a smile.
"I'm not so sure anymore," Clarke whispered. "She was...mad. Ballistic."
"Why?" Raven hummed. "What could set her off like that?"
Clarke thought about it for a moment. "I don't know...She was acting like...a child."
And then it hit her like a ton of bricks.
-0-
"Damn, Woods, save some of that energy to get home!" Anya snapped, watching Lexa pound the ever loving shit out of the heavy bag.
She was sweaty, muscles rippling as she worked out her anger, her frustration, her confusion, into the bag, rattling off its chain.
"Take a break." Lincoln murmured, holding the bag.
"I'm not ready." Lexa snapped.
"It's been an hour straight. You're ready." Anya replied, getting in between Lexa and the bag. "What the fuck happened, Woods? Did she cheat on you?"
Lexa made a face, and Anya knew she was off the mark.
"No. Nothing like that."
"Did she...hit you?"
"No!" Lexa snapped. "I mean, thank you for the concern, but no. It's not like that at all."
"What's it like?" Lincoln asked, coming to sit with them in the small circle of chairs towards the back of the gym.
"Tonight, Clarke and I were supposed to have a date." Lexa explained, sitting down with a huff. She looked weary, tired, beaten.
She was lucky to have Lincoln and Anya to talk to.
"And, right as we were about to go, Clarke asked to talk. When she did, she showed me something. A folder. I opened it and...long story short, Clarke presented me with a prenup agreement."
Anya nodded slowly, digesting the information.
Lincoln blinked. "That's...that's it?" He balked.
Anya rolled her eyes. "What do you mean that's it? That's not nothing, Lincoln."
"It would be bad if she had the money." Lincoln argued. "But you do, Lex. Why is this shocking to you?"
Lexa gaped. "Why is it shocking? Lincoln, she's already thinking about divorce! I couldn't imagine life without her! She's my everything!"
"You're her everything, too." Anya reminded softly.
"Apparently not!" Lexa snapped. "Apparently I'm an idiot, who can't see things as they are. I'm in too deep, and she's not!"
"Lex, did you give her a chance to explain?" Lincoln asked gently. "Maybe she's trying to tell you something?"
"What, that she doesn't love me? She called me a child." Lexa replied with gritted teeth.
"You're very volatile." Anya replied observantly. "This goes deeper than that."
Lincoln seemed to pick up on where she was going with that. "Oh, that's right. I mean, the way she sprung it on you was....a poor choice, but Lexa...I think I see the issue, too."
"Enlighten me." Lexa scoffed.
"Do you remember who you used to be, before Clarke, in High School?" Anya asked, her voice taking Lexa back.
Lexa shook her head. "Honestly...I don't even remember life before Clarke. Not really."
Anya, surprisingly, smiled. "Okay, sap. You were a womanizer. You weren't really fixed on relationships, you liked short term things."
Lexa nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She knew where this was going.
"You didn't like permanent fixtures in your life." Lincoln added, sagely.
"I didn't believe in permanence." Lexa murmured. "Not since my parents...and not now, anymore."
Anya snorted. "You're misinterpreting this."
"Am I?" Lexa scoffed. "What if that's what this is?"
"Well you can't stop trying." Lincoln offered. "You can't guarantee permanence in anything, Lexa, but that doesn't mean effort isn't required."
"You think I don't give enough effort?" Lexa challenged.
Lincoln shook his head, putting a hand on Lexa's shoulder. "I'm saying you still should."
-0-
"Her childhood!" Clarke leapt off the couch like a rocket, startling her two companions.
"...Of course this would be some Dr. Phil shit." Raven mumbled, glancing at Clarke.
"I was thinking...what could possibly have offended Lexa so much? I mean, the money is one thing, but our relationship has never, ever been about money. But Lexa? Lexa's afraid of people leaving. That's her biggest fear, and this? This just added to the fear! She thinks...Oh my god, she thinks I'd even consider leaving her."
"Well, didn't you?" Octavia pointed out awkwardly.
"I....no!" Clarke defended. "I never even thought we'd see the day where we had to use it! I just wanted to wave it in the face of anyone who would say that I didn't marry Lexa for her, and instead, I married her for the money!"
"You did this as...proof?" Raven quirked a brow.
"Not just to them....to Lexa's parents, to Lexa herself...I just wanted to enter this marriage without any doubts, and now, I've opened Pandora's fucking box. You should've seen how mad she was! She stormed out, didn't tell me where she went, and slammed the door! I'm...worried about her." Clarke felt tears prick the corner of her eyes. "I miss her."
"Good god, that's gay." Raven mumbled. "Did you try...calling her?"
"Only a billion times." Clarke mumbled, glancing at her phone. "Straight to voicemail."
"Okay, well...try now." Octavia urged. "Maybe she's cooled off. Leave her a message too, alright?"
"Okay." Clarke whispered, taking her phone from her pocket as she moved to step into the hallway, away from their listening ears.
She needed to appeal to Lexa somehow.
To bring her girl home.
She turned on her phone, smiling sadly at the display. She was kissing Lexa's cheek, Lexa grinning her gorgeous, cheeky grin. It was Clarke's lockscreen, her favorite image to look at.
They were such a happy couple.
Clarke was stupid for trying to slip something like prenups past her wickedly smart fiancee.
She knew, now.
The phone rang.
It rang again.
Ring, ring, ring.
"This is Lexa, you've reached my voicemail-" Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Lexa was beyond pissed, to be ignoring Clarke like this.
The tone came faster than Clarke could imagine.
Her voice sounded husky and terrible.
"Lex....uh, Lexa, sorry. I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spring that on you, and I did it for different reasons than you think. I know...I know I have limited time, so I'll try to speed this up. I love you. More than life itself. I will never, never leave you, as long as you'll have me. Please, please come home, and I will tear it to shreds, if that's what you want. Let's talk it out, okay? I love you, I love you, I love you."
The call ended not too long after that.
-0-
Lexa felt like an idiot.
She felt like an idiot for the scene she made, and she felt like an idiot for coming home.
At Clarke's message, she broke down.
She had a cathartic night, with Anya and Lincoln.
She realized the error in her train of thought, and Clarke's.
She missed her fiancee.
But she also wasn't quite ready to face her, just yet.
So when she heard Clarke's surprised gasp, in front of the penthouse door, while she was fumbling with the key, she paused, pressing her forehead against the door, hiding her face.
"Lexa." Clarke spoke softly, her voice sounding torn up.
"You weren't home?" Lexa mumbled, muffled by the door. "Where were you?"
Clarke bit her lip. "Seriously? Interrogations? After you left like that without a single word on where you were going?"
Lexa sighed, taking a moment. Slowly, she pushed off the door, turning to face Clarke. They both looked like they'd been through a shitty night, red rimmed eyes, sniffling noses, all the evidence of an emotionally taxing night.
"I-" Lexa never finished, because Clarke's eyes were glued to her knuckles. Her bloody, bruised knuckles. "What?"
"Baby." Clarke whispered, dropping her bag as she stepped forward.
The name filled Lexa with unmatched warmth.
Clarke forgot all about their fight as she lifted Lexa's knuckles, inspecting them with pained eyes before kissing them lightly.
"Clarke, I-"
"Are you in pain?" Clarke asked, looking as if she were about to cry. "Come on..." She turned the key, leading in Lexa without a glance backwards. "I need to clean you up."
-0-
"There, is that better?" Clarke asked tenderly, pressing her lips to Lexa's hand, right below her damaged knuckles.
Lexa nodded, breath hitching, as she felt Clarke stand between her legs, in dangerously close proximity.
"I haven't said anything this whole time." Lexa spoke up, voice vulnerable, hating the way she sounded.
"You don't have to." Clarke promised. "I...I need to apologize, for so many reasons. For springing that on you, for not fully explaining my intentions..."
"No..." Lexa whispered. "I took it too seriously. I have unrealistic expectations. I-"
"You don't." Clarke growled, angry at herself. "Lexa, it's not unrealistic to want a perfect marriage, one that'll last as long as we do. I want that too. I'm so sorry I made you even think otherwise, because I do want that with you. I want to spend every second with you, until you're sick and tired of me." Clarke whispered emotionally. "That's not what those stupid papers were about."
"I should be thanking you." Lexa murmured, her arms circling Clarke's neck, pulling her closer. "You were trying to be thoughtful, to prove a point, and I...I assumed the worst. I always do, and I'm sorry, Clarke."
"That's not your fault, Lex...Lexa." She stumbled slightly.
"I'm sorry." Lexa murmured shamefully. "You...I was angry. I shouldn't have commented on that."
"You needed space, and I didn't see that." Clarke sighed, touching her forehead to Lexa's. "But you're always my baby. I know that. You know that."
Lexa smiled and Clarke couldn't help the light laugh that escaped her throat, as she leaned down to kiss Lexa.
"I love you." Clarke whispered.
"I love you, I love you, I love you." Lexa murmured, uttering Clarke's message back to her.
"You got that?" Clarke blushed.
"It's what brought me home." Lexa admitted, savoring the feel of Clarke against her.
"I..." Lexa croaked out a little unsurely. "I was afraid of what it meant for us."
Clarke sighed, pressing a kiss to Lexa's cheek. "I know, I shouldn't have gone about it the way I did. It's ironic, I only asked for one to prove to you that I was with you till the end."
Lexa sighed softly. "I'm sorry, Clarke. It hit a nerve. I don't know what came over me."
"Hey, don't worry about it, okay?" Clarke murmured. "Just...don't disappear on me again. I need you. I need to know you're safe, at least. Not busting someone's jaw in a bar or..."
"I was with Lincoln and Anya at the old gym Lincoln bought." Lexa quickly sputtered. "I wasn't at some bar-"
"Oh." Clarke nodded, leaning back. "Okay. I trust you, babe." She extended her hand to Lexa's. "Let's get ready for bed, alright?"
-0-
"Lex." Clarke watched her fiancee do shirtless pull-up's in the bedroom door frame. Lexa didn't seem to hear her. Clarke got up from her prone position on the bed and came to Lexa,  wrapping her arms around her.
Clarke pressed several kisses on Lexa's taut stomach, and watched Lexa gasp and then slowly bring herself down, into Clarke's full grasp.
"I was calling you." Clarke mumbled, kissing Lexa's collarbone.
"You were?" Lexa looked bashful. "Sorry, my mind has been racing-"
"You do that when you're guilty." Clarke whispered.
"You read the same issue of Cosmo for an hour." Lexa countered.
"Fair point." Clarke tugged Lexa onto the bed, pulling Lexa onto her lap.
"I'll crush you!" Lexa yelped.
"Relax, I weigh more than you do." Clarke snorted, wrapping her arms around Lexa. "We need to clear our consciences."
Lexa nodded slowly.
"I love you." Clarke continued. "More than anything. More than anyone. Do you know what that means, Lexa? It means I'll never, ever leave you. You need to know that."
"I do." Lexa whispered.
"Good."
"Clarke, I love you. I'm sorry that I reacted so badly, it was...unbecoming of me. I know what you expect, and-"
"Lex." Clarke cut her off. "I don't expect stoicism. I expect you to have emotions. What happened today is okay. I don't need you to be strong for me, I need you to be open with me. I adore you..." Clarke whispered, cupping her cheeks. "I just want you to be happy."
Lexa nodded, kissing Clarke with unmatched passion, tangling her hands in Clarke's hair.
"Thank you." Lexa whispered against her lips, their kiss becoming slower, more tender as time went by. "I love you." She repeated for the billionth time, and she grinned against Clarke's lips, happy to be at peace with Clarke again.