The ground was jagged, it was hard and harsh and nothing like Clarke thought at first. Not long ago Clarke had dreams of forests, leaves were soft in her imagination, and they shifted in the wind like clouds did across the earth they watched from windows too thick to break from leaning against it like she used to as a child. But that earth was different from the ground.
The Grounders were fierce, they were fighters and they were warriors, and the Sky People were not. They weren't fighters, but they were survivors and many see those as one in the same. In any case blood is still blood, and when it runs it runs freely, so when the time came for battle and the Grounders started fighting, and the Sky People continued to survive the red that stained the earth was unidentified, and the army was one with their injuries.
The battle went well, of course, but the war was far from over. You can't win a war with one battle, and you can't lose one with one defeat, but they'd won this round and that called for some celebration.
As it turned out the Grounders celebrated in different ways for different parts of war; if it was over and in their favour then there was a four day long feast with drums and dancing and praising to the spirits that they believed in, but the war was not over and so they celebrated by bandaging their wounds, telling those passed that their fight was over, and by sharpening their weapons and training harder.
Clarke's been told before that she thinks too much, and she couldn't bring herself to disagree. Her mind ran a mile a minute and her need to find a solution for everything drove her to think faster than the world was moving. Except when her eyes landed on Lexa after the battle, with her fist raised bloody and clenched from the fight that they'd won, her mind stopped. In fact her breath stopped too.
Lexa's arm was pressed tightly to her stomach, her other arm cradling it like a baby and her sleeve was wet with unidentified red.
Please let that be someone else's blood.
Clarke couldn't remember moving but suddenly she was in Lexa's tent, and Lexa was walking as calmly as ever with her arm hanging at her side. Oh thank god, Clarke thought, she's fine.
And Clarke could breathe again, and think again, only now her mind was racing. Why did she care so much if Lexa had been injured? Why would it change anything? The alliance was strong enough now, and in the middle of a battle the Grounders wouldn't turn on their allies, no matter who their Commander would be had Lexa gone away.
When the tent's flap closed behind the Commander and the sounds of the wounded faded out behind the thick pelts, Lexa tilted her head back and let out a shaky breath.
"Lexa," Clarke said, stepping closer to the other girl. "I'm glad you're o-"
Lexa swallowed deeply and shook her head, she tentatively raised her left arm and as she did Clarke realized that the wet of her sleeve was still darkening, that the ground beneath them had two drops of dark red blood, that Lexa's eyes were crinkled in pain.
"It's," Lexa lifted the sleeve slowly with her other hand, "It's not that bad, but still, they can't know that I was weak."
Three drops.
"Clarke?" Lexa's voice was soft, and moved to place her right hand on Clarke's shoulder.
Four drops.
Clarke's eyes ran over the wound, it was two angry red lines that curved as it ran over Lexa's forearm. They were bloody, and they were deep and Clarke remembers being 12.
When she was younger she would go with her mother to the infirmary to play with the kids that came in, or to listen and learn about the things her mother did to help them. There was a Mechanic who came in after an accident with one of the pressure regulators with his leg cut deeply and blood dripping onto the floor, behind him a girl, his daughter, clutched at her shirt in worry. Clarke remembers her mother using extra pain killers, and the man swearing to make it up to them for the cost of it. That cut bled less than Lexa did now, and Clarke could not comprehend Lexa feeling weak about it.
"This," Clarke's hand wrapped gently around Lexa's moving her arm so that the other girl would look at it, "This is not weakness."
Lexa's eyes softened and her shoulders relaxed some. "This is strength," Clarke let go of Lexa's hand and brought her own up to move Lexa's chin to bring her eyes from her arm to Clarke's face. "You are strength."
And then Lexa saw nothing but black, and the red from the pain faded away until all she could register was Clarke. Clarke's lips on her own, soft and gentle and not at all like what Lexa expected. It was slower than the kiss she'd stolen before, it was sweeter and warmer, and Lexa could not remember ever being kissed like this before.
When Clarke pulled away and Lexa's head moved to follow, Clarke let out a breathy laugh, how was it that this warrior, this amazing creature that lived on the jagged, harsh ground, could be so soft and pliant for her?
"Now sit over there," Clarke motioned to Lexa's bed, "I don't know what you usually do for injuries, but I'm going to bandage it, and you get no say in how I do it."
Lexa smiled softly and nodded her head, her eyes roaming over Clarke for a moment, as though she couldn't quite believe that this girl had fallen from the sky, and then sat where Clarke had told her to.
Clarke's mind went back to racing. This meant something. Lexa meant something to her. And most surprising, Clarke was more than okay with that.
She did the best she could with what she had, and so brought a bowl of warm water and the cleanest piece of cloth she could find. She snuck in to her mother's tent in the section of the camp that the Sky People were set up, and took some pain medication, some antibiotics, and as much gauze and padding as they could spare.
When she returned to Lexa's tent she found that the girl had moved from sitting on the bed to standing by the large table that held all the maps and battle plans that they'd made, and was currently rearranging the little carved pieces that represented the different tribes and the different sections of the army. Her fingers were stuck on the blue dyed piece that represented the Sky People.
"Hey," Clarke chided playfully, moving to place the stuff she'd gathered on the table beside Lexa. "I thought I put you to bed."
Lexa smirked at Clarke with an eyebrow raised, "I think in my language 'put to bed' means something more exciting than in your language."
Clarke's mouth fell open at the thought and she licked her lips to make her mouth less dry, "Uhm, well, I brought everything I need so, could you sit," Clarke's eyes shifted nervously around deciding that the bed was probably not something she wanted to think about right now. "somewhere?"
Lexa laughed and it sounded soft and easy, unlike the forceful nature of the stoney monotone Lexa often spoke with.
Lexa shifted some of the maps on the table so she could sit on it beside the supplies Clarke brought, and rolled up her sleeve once more, wincing at the pain it caused when it moved over the injury.
Clarke shook her head softly, "If it hurts why do you keep moving it?" She dipped the cloth in the water bowl and went to gently clean off the skin surrounding the wounds.
Lexa shrugged, "I will have to pretend as though it's not there later, why not now?"
Clarke grabbed the alcohol she'd swiped on the way back and poured some onto Lexa's arm as the girl stiffened, but remained silent. "Because you're with me now, and you don't have to pretend. I don't think it's weak to hurt, I think it's strong to acknowledge the hurt and to heal from it because there's almost nothing harder."
Lexa chewed on her bottom lip and nodded slowly, her body relaxing from the subtle tenseness Clarke hadn't even realized the girl had. It must be hard to be so stiff all the time.
Clarke wrapped up Lexa's arm as gently as she could, and took special care whenever she caught Lexa wincing or shifting uncomfortably in her seat, when she'd finished however and looked up to meet Lexa's face, it held no trace of pain. The Commander's eyes were fixed intently on Clarke's lips, and her own bottom lip was caught between her teeth.
Clarke's mind slowed down a bit, and grew hazy with the image of Lexa's eyes so hungry and focused. The living are hungry she'd said, but hungry for what?
Clarke licked her lips and shifted Lexa's arm slowly, "You should rest it as much as you can, I brought some medicine that our doctors made from some of your plants, you might not have known they were helpful but, uh I think you'd benefit from having some-"
"Clarke," Lexa's voice was low and her eyes flickered up from Clarke's fast moving lips, she moved her arm to her side and used her good one to pull Clarke by the waist against the table between her legs. "Stop talking."
Clarke was just about to speak, to say that she'd love to stop talking for once but her mouth had a mind of its own, when Lexa didn't give her the chance. Their lips met in a dance that was more passion and heat than it was gentle, if their last kiss was a nice breeze than this one was the flicker of a fire at night, it was brilliant and warm and Clarke couldn't remember ever being kissed like this.
Lexa's hands found their place on Clarke's waist, and though Clarke couldn't remember moving them she felt the nape of Lexa's neck in hers, her hair curling around her fingers in gentle strands, all she knew was that she needed Lexa closer.
Lexa deepened the kiss, her tongue running across Clarke's bottom lip in a needy demand, one that Clarke didn't even consider denying, and the low growl that rumbling from Lexa's mouth when Clarke's hands shifted lower? Well, that was all the incentive Clarke needed to tug and pull and nearly rip away the layers of Lexa's top. When Lexa's shoulders were bare and all that remained on her torso was a carefully wrapped chest binding Clarke used all the willpower she could muster to pull her lips away from Lexa's and trace a path along Lexa's jawline, pausing briefly to suck on her pulsepoint and feel how fast Lexa's heart was beating, before letting her fingers work hastily against the bindings and nipping softly on the Commander's collarbone.
Lexa's hands had migrated from Clarke's waist to have one tangle in her blonde hair, and the injured one rest carefully on the table beside her. Her breath came in low pants, and her eyes were squeezed tightly shut. Spirits help her, how was this Sky Girl's mouth so gifted? Though she supposed it must pay off to talk so damn much.
Once Clarke had freed Lexa's breasts from their confinement she withdrew her oral attack on the other girl's clavicle to let her eyes drink it in. Lexa shifted impatiently when she didn't feel any contact for a moment, and then another until she opened her eyes to see a madly blushing Clarke licking her lips and staring starstruck at her chest.
"Usually on the ground, we don't just look at them." Lexa quipped with a dry tone. Clarke's eyes flicked up as though she'd forgotten she wasn't alone, and without a word her mouth crashed back into Lexa's and her hands were softly grasping at Lexa, her fingers teasing Lexa's nipples in a surprisingly talented way, but then Clarke had always been delicate with details. Before Lexa could even attempt to hold back a moan at the glorious treatment of her breasts Clarke's mouth had disappeared, only to find itself around Lexa's nipple. Her tongue danced around and flicked across, and Lexa's hands gripped tighter against the table, the wince of pain hidden beneath the way her chest thrust itself needily towards Clarke's suckling mouth.
Clarke gave one last teasing flick of her tongue, and a gentle rake with her teeth before she pushed Lexa's back against the table, the papers and maps rustling their annoyance as the Commander obeyed, laying flat with her stomach flexing under Clarke's lips as she trailed her kisses lower. Clarke was too impatient to pull Lexa's pants and shoes off carefully, and so they were tossed across the room with a growl that made Lexa's legs open just a little bit more, and her mouth lose a little of it's moisture. What was she doing? She was Heda, she was in charge, how could she let this Sky Girl, this emotion driven survivor do this to her? But before she could even attempt to retaliate, Clarke's mouth was ghosting over her thighs, and her fingers were back tangled up in silky blonde hair, and she was using all her energy on holding back the 'please' that threatened to loosen itself from her throat.
Clarke's blue eyes stared intently at her, and when she sucked on Lexa's inner thigh she couldn't stand to watch any longer, and her green eyes flickered up to the roof of her tent. Clarke pulled her mouth away and Lexa's hips jumped up involuntarily. "Commander," Clarke's voice was low and husky, thick with lust but Lexa did not move. "Lexa," it was warning now, firm and Lexa swallowed thickly, "Lexa look at me." Her eyes moved back down, and the image of Clarke's head between her legs, with a hand on each spread thigh would never leave her memory, or so she prayed it wouldn't. "You're going to watch me while I fuck you, because I want to see your eyes when I do it, and you will not cum," Lexa's hips jerked and Clarke smiled, lowering her mouth back down so each syllable left a breath on Lexa's folds, "Until you beg."
Lexa swallowed thickly but refused to make a sound, her eyes wide and observant as Clarke tipped her head forward and ran her tongue slowly up the length of Lexa's dripping center. Lexa's grip on the table tightened, and the strain on her recent injury caused her to wince, which Clarke noticed and tried to remedy by tracing her tongue in a lazy circle around Lexa's entrance, pressing teasing against it when Lexa's shoulders relaxed, and the Grounder let out a soft whimper at the lack of anything to clench around. Clarke smiled at the sound and grew determined to entice more noises from the girl, she traced her fingers lightly over the girl's thighs and drew circles around her clit, never close enough to satisfy, but more than enough to make Lexa's hips grind up in needy gyrations.
"Clarke," Lexa's voice was clipped and desperate, her eyes still locked on Clarke and her slow moving tongue. "I-" She looked conflicted, pained in that silent way she always had when she was having trouble deciding what was the best solution for everyone involved, "I need, please…."
Clarke's eyes lit up, as they did when she got what she was after, and she pressed forward, slipping her tongue inside Lexa as her fingers danced their way up to press on either side of her clit. Lexa let out a moan of relief and tangled her uninjured hand in Clarke's hair, pulling her closer and gasping as it sent the girl further into her. "Fu-fuck…." She breathed, eyes squinting shut as Clarke's fingers started moving on her clit, spreading her wetness on the sensitive bud.
"Lexa…." Clarke's voice was warning and Lexa groaned at the feeling of emptiness she was left with. "You need to watch me," Clarke's fingers rubbed circles into her clit and her body shivered at the feeling, "C'mon baby, I promise if you just keep your eyes open I'll make you cum so hard you forget your own name."
Lexa's eyes shot open and Clarke grinned for one second before her tongue was back, thrusting and shifting and moving within Lexa in ways that made it very difficult for her to keep her eyes open, but she managed. She drew closer and closer, so high on the edge that all it would take was one more move from that talented tongue, one more flick of the thumb on her clit, and she'd be gone. She was worried Clarke would know, would keep teasing her and pull away but she didn't, and just as Lexa could feel herself shiver, clench around Clarke, the flap of her tent shifted and Raven, Sky Mechanic Raven stumbled in with that stiff leg brace, and Lexa came. Her back arched and her eyes met the dark brown of the surprised newcomer as her walls fluttered and clenched on Clarke's tongue and her cum slid to join the wetness on Clarke's cheeks, and Lexa refused to open her eyes when it was done.
"Lexa?" Clarke's voice was still low and husky, "You alright?" She felt the blonde shift between her legs, stand up and move her hands to Lexa's hips.
Lexa opened her eyes and took a deep breath, holding it as her eyes landed on Clarke's smug expression, and behind her a few steps, Raven's conflicted one. "Raven." Lexa said, not getting much else out before Clarke's face scrunched up and she stepped back as though offended.
"What? Lexa, I-" Clarke started, but was cut off by Raven, who coughed rather awkwardly.
"Uhm, heyyyy….. Clarke…. I just, was gonna, yknow I just came to see if you were okay, I saw you with some med supplies, but uhm, y'look great so…. yeah…." Raven rambled once Clarke had turned to face her, she held her crutch with a white knuckled grip and her eyes refused to stay in one spot, switching between the wetness on Clarke's lips and the wetness on Lexa's thighs. Lexa had yet to cover up since she saw no shame in it, but was very much interested in the way Raven had started to shift her weight, and lick her lips far more than usual.