RealLifeShipper asked for a Valentine's Day ficlet, and here's what I ended up with...

It's set in the universe of my "Cut Off and Carrying On" story (meh, still hate that title), but you don't need to have read that before this, just basically know it's an established relationship.

Clarke and Bellamy's first Valentine's Day as a couple was coming up. Every year he had known her, Bellamy had heard Clarke rant about how Valentine's Day is a scam; florists, chocolate shops, card companies, and all the others preying off people who claim to be in love. She had also been down right cynical about the over-the-top lovey-dovey couples who seem to come out of the woodwork every February 14th. She always brought up the point that it was a ridiculous notion that there should be one designated day to show your significant other you love him or her; because apparently the other 364 days didn't count for anything.

Bellamy had heard this rant copious times; he had shared many of the same feelings as her, but would still argue because that's what they used to do. Granted they still bickered with each other, but there was never a harsh undertone or animosities behind it anymore. And yet, this year he thought he finally understood what all those other people were celebrating. This year was different, this year he was pretty sure he was in love. Neither him nor Clarke had said those words to each other yet, but he if he had to give name to the feeling he had whenever he thought about her, he would probably have to go with "love." Not that he'd tell her that on Valentine's Day, way too clichéd, not to mentioned she'd likely wring his neck if he played into the hype of good ole February 14th.

"So, Clarke, you and Bellamy have any plans for V-Day?" Raven asked at their bi-weekly girls only dinner.

"Keep it PG," Octavia warned from her seat next to Raven.

"You guys know how I feel about Valentine's Day," Clarke said exasperatedly.

"I always thought you were just being a cynic because you weren't part of a couple," Octavia offered.

"Yeah, Valentine's Day can be great. Your partner dotes on you and buys you things, but it's not all about the physical things. It's a time to celebrate that you have found someone who complements you. And that's complements with an "E," not an "I." You celebrate each other and that you figured out that together is where you want to be for now and for, at the very least, the foreseeable future."

"Wow, that was really beautiful, Rae," Clarke told her.

"Shut up. You know what I mean."

"No, she was being sincere…I think," Octavia added. "But seriously Clarke, if you focus on the materialistic aspects of the holiday, sure yeah, I agree, it's not the most meaningful; but then the same could be said about Christmas. Except Christmas is about family and friends and Valentine's Day is about love and partners.

"Don't get me wrong, I love the chocolate, the flowers, the jewelry, and all that, but it only really means something if the right sentiment is behind it. Random guys off the streets could send me flowers on Tuesday, but the only ones I'm going to care about are the ones from Lincoln," she said with a big dopey smile on her face.

"You feel something for Bellamy, right?" Raven asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, of course, I mean I'm pretty sure I'm actually—" Clarke cut herself off before she could say in love with him, because she had barely admitted it to herself.

The realization had hit her unexpectedly the other day. She had just hung up from a tough phone call with her mother—the two may have been talking on a regular basis again, but that didn't mean the chats always went smoothly—when Bellamy walked in the door to pick her up for the movies. One look at her, no words, nothing, and he enveloped her in his arms, holding her close, her ear pressed against his heart as it beat out a steady rhythm. She had stayed tucked in the safety of his arms and when she pulled back to say they'd better get going if they didn't want to miss their movie, he had simply looked at her incredulously and informed her it was more of a Netflix and Insomnia Cookies night. The way he had look at her with such care in his eyes, not pushing for an explanation, only giving her understanding and comfort, she barely caught herself before she let the words "I love you" spill from her lips. Even though it was true, she still wanted to mull it over herself. Plus, she wasn't sure if he was ready to hear those words from her, and the last thing she wanted was to have him pull away.

"Oh my god! You love him! You love my brother!" Clarke felt herself blush furiously as Octavia shouted in glee. "You're going to fully and officially be my sister!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, O," Clarke quickly tried to reign the girl in.

But that's when Raven began to sing her own little song, "You love Bellamy Blake. You love Bellamy Blake."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Clarke hid her face in her hands and tried her best to act like she didn't know the two girls across the table from her; though the whole sitting in the same booth made the act a little more difficult to pull off.

"Okay, okay, fine." Raven calmed down. "So you love the guy, but you don't want to do any Valentine's stuff with him? Fancy dinner? Special gifts? V-Day sex?"

"PG, Raven! Any and all Bellamy-Clarke related talks must remain PG around me! I can't take the mental images!"

Raven ignored her and gave Clarke a pointed look. "You love him, if that's not a reason to celebrate that you're together, I don't know what is."

Clarke scrunched up her face, but had to admit they had a point. "Okay, I get it. Take away the materialistic aspects of the day and it actually sounds nice."

"Mission accomplished," Octavia nodded with a smile before angling toward Raven. "And now onto the officially engaged couple; what are your and Kyle's plans for Valentine's Day?"

The weekend dragged on and Clarke waited for Bellamy to bring up something about Tuesday. But it didn't happen. After dinner she had gone over to his apartment to hang out and he didn't say anything. She spent the night into Saturday morning and he didn't say anything. She called after her art program on Sunday and he still didn't say anything. By Monday, she was worried that he hadn't even realized what Tuesday was, so she decided it was time to take action and be more (or less) direct.

Hey, Bell, I was wondering if we were
planning anything for tomorrow.
4:06 p.m.

Our usual? Netflix, pizza, and chill?
4:07 p.m.

Clarke huffed to herself and typed out a response.

You do know tomorrow's Valentine's
Day, right?
4:07 p.m.

Yeah, but that's just another day of the year.
We don't have to do anything special.
I've heard your rants a thousand times.
4:08 p.m.

Clarke grimaced, her own tirades coming to bite her in the butt. But it wasn't like she could really take that all back now; she just wasn't built that way.

Right. So our usual it is.

See you at 5:30.
4:10 p.m.

Sounds good to me!
4:10 p.m.

To say Clarke was a little grumpy on Tuesday night was an understatement. She got to Bellamy's apartment at the previously agreed upon 5:30 and harrumphed her way through dinner. Bellamy had made her favorite, mac 'n cheese from scratch, and then cookie dough ice cream for dessert all the amenities included—whipped cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, sprinkles, cherries—but even that couldn't get her out of her slump.

She kept trying to force herself to smile and have a good time, but she just wasn't feeling it. She loved the stupid idiot for god's sake and she just wanted a romantic evening with him. She had even bought him a nice leather satchel, the kind that all the stereotypical nerdy professors have, and she knew it was something he would love, even if she hadn't caught him admiring it at the mall the other day. She kept it tucked away in her overnight bag; if he wasn't going to bring up Valentine's Day, she wasn't going to be the first.

When they settled onto the couch and pulled up Netflix on the TV Clarke scoffed at all the romantic movies it was suggesting before she could stop herself. Bellamy turned to face her fully, "Alright, that's it. I've tried to ignore it, putting it down as your usual Valentine's Day cynicism, but it's more than that. What's up?" Clarke bit her lip, caught and unwilling to respond. "Clarke," Bellamy said in a frustrated tone. "Talk to me."

"It's stupid, I guess. It's just—" She struggled to get out her words. Bellamy waited her out with a cocked eyebrow. "I've always said Valentine's Day is stupid and superficial and a scam and all that, but then I was talking to Raven and Octavia and they pointed out all the ways it wasn't. They talked about it as celebrating the person you're with and that the two of you are together and they made me actually get excited about the dumb holiday. But then you didn't say anything, and when I asked you about it, you said it was just any other day. And I know that's what I said before, and I didn't really want to contradict myself, so yeah."

Bellamy was holding back a chuckle. "Basically you wanted a romantic Valentine's Day, but didn't want to tell the one person who could actually make it happen for you? That's logical."

"Shut up." Clarke shoved him a little.

"You do realize that I purposefully made your favorite food and brought out all the stops for the ice cream. You know very well I never keep those extra toppings in my apartment; I bought them for you, so that the night could be special in small ways since I thought you were still on the hating Valentine's Day bandwagon."

Clarke felt a blush of embarrassment rise to her cheeks. He was right, she knew he never kept those extra toppings stocked at his place; plus, given the option he would make mac 'n cheese from a box any day, and she had spotted three boxes in his cupboard when she had gotten the sprinkles.

"I was going to wait until midnight to give you this, since then it officially wouldn't be Valentine's Day," Bellamy said, reaching over the armrest of the couch and coming back with a wrapped gift box. "But under the circumstances, I think I'll give it to you now." He wore a smile that showed his continued effort to hold back from laughing.

Clarke took the box and put it in the space between them on the couch. "I've got something for you, too," she told him and went to her bag to pull out his present.

Taking it from her, he asked, "If I hadn't given you a present or otherwise acknowledged today was Valentine's Day, what would you have done with this?"

"Held it hostage until your birthday probably," she answered easily

He burst out laughing. "You're ridiculous. I love you."

Clarke's eyes widened at the words and she bit her lip. Bellamy's laughter stopped abruptly as he realized what he had just said. Clarke took a deep breath. "I love you, too," she said softly.

Bellamy surged up and pulled her into him, crashing their lips together. After pulling back breathless, she looked deep into his eyes. "I love you," she repeated.

"And I love you," he told her, holding her gaze before pulling her into another kiss.

Soon she pulled back again. "Okay, we could continue this all night, but I want to see your face when you open your present."

"Presents and then the chill part of Netflix and chill?" Bellamy proposed.

"We didn't even watch Netflix," Clarke pointed out.

"But we pulled it up on the TV; that counts."

"Okay, presents and then Valentine's Day I love you sex."

"You know, I'm never going to get tired of hearing you say that."

"What? Sex?" she teased.

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "But the other part is probably my favorite."

"Oh, just probably?"

"No. It's definitely my favorite."

Clarke smiled widely and happily. "Just open your present already."

He did as requested, his face delighted when he revealed the satchel. "Is this the one I was looking at the other day?"

"Yup," she hummed gleefully.

"But it was so expensive."

"Did you miss the part where I love you and would do pretty much anything for you? …Also, coupons," she told him honestly.

He kissed her gently. "Thanks, Princess. Your turn."

She picked up the box and began to meticulously unwrap it. Bellamy chuckled. She glared at him. Yes, she knew how frustrated he got with her careful unwrapping. No, she wasn't going to change her ways. But it wasn't too long before she unveiled a Royal and Langnickel painting chest; one she had been saving for. She looked up to him, her eyes wide. He was wearing a shit-eating grin. "Do you know how expensive these kits can get?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I bought that one. And before you say anything else, think of how much you paid for that satchel you got me. Plus, I couldn't pass up a royal art set for my princess."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but opened the chest and ran her fingers reverently along the colors. "Thank you, Bell; it's perfect." She learned over and kissed him. "The whole night was perfect…well, minus me being grumpy and not realizing you were doing nice dinner things for me."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he smiled at her, a smile which soon took on a salacious edge. "But the night's not over yet."

"You're right," she said standing up. "We still have Valentine's Day I love you sex on the agenda."

"I think you just killed the mood by referring to it as an agenda," he said, but stood up and began to follow her to the bedroom. She took off her shirt and threw it at his face. He pulled it off and tossed it on the floor, taking the view of her in. "Alright, mood back on."

Clarke laughed and hurried to the bedroom. She'd call the girls tomorrow to talk about her Valentine's Day which turned out to not be so bad after all. Well, she'd leave out the ending activities for Octavia, but the "I love you"s, those would definitely be in the story.