In the end, it took them years.
In their defence, when you're essentially on a new planet, your first priority is to survive- not romance.
So even when Bellamy realized he knew Clarke well enough to recognize her, by just the way her footsteps sounded, across the camp- he didn't say, or do- or react to anything.
And when Clarke noticed she could literally understand every single thought that was racing through Bellamy's head, just by the way he set his features- she didn't say, or do, or react to anything; Like how he would clench his jaw whenever he was irritated or annoyed; or how his eyes would start to look around, whenever he was uncomfortable; Or how his eyes would look down, to the ground, when he was… upset- upset in a way that made him feel small.
They never really spoke about any of this.
Battle plans, and keeping their people alive always took precedent. But somewhere, down the line- they both understood just how much they meant to each other. How… unthinkable it would be if the other wasn't by their side.
For Clarke, it was when they got Bellamy back from Mount Weather.
They had needed an inside man- this was true. But it didn't have to be Bellamy. And in hindsight, she understood that, there was no way she could have predicted that Lincoln would give in to his addiction- but, still… it didn't have to be Bellamy. She had led the charge of getting him and the 47 out, and when she had seen him- a fear so numbing hit her so hard in the stomach, she remembers almost collapsing.
But she didn't.
They needed to get out. Now.
So Raven took the control room with Wick, and they shot anyone they had to. And when they were able to unlock the doors to the cages- the cages- she saw Monty and Harper crawl out. In pain, and completely traumatized, but alive.
"Bellamy?"
He looked lost. And when she came to stand in front of the door, she saw… something flash in her eyes. She hoped it wasn't hate. She hoped he didn't hate her. Because she hated herself- ever since she had walked away, throwing a 'good luck' over her shoulder- without a care for his safety; without even telling him to be careful, or helping him map out a plan.
"Clarke?" he croaked out.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm here… you're okay, Bellamy." He had let out a sigh of something that sounded oddly like relief, and she was so glad they had left Octavia with Indra. Octavia didn't need to see her brother like this.
They had more or less walked out of Mount Weather- mission accomplished- even taking their leader back to camp for interrogation. But now they had access to all the technology and food in mount weather. They had their 47 back, and the grounders had their men. A couple of kids from Mount Weather wanted to come back with them, and though Clarke was apprehensive, she had nodded- telling Jasper they were his responsibility until they proved themselves.
Jasper had nodded, and then took over.
It gave her time to run to the med bay and see what was going on with Bellamy.
And Monty. And Harper, she told herself. She ran to the med bay to make sure everyone was okay.
They were. Of course they were. Groggy, and in pain, and tired- but they were okay. She went to Bellamy's bed last, scared of what he would say or do when he saw her.
He looked… smaller in the bed, with a blanket pulled over him. So much smaller, and more vulnerable- but maybe a bit at ease too. When was the last time he had gotten rest for more than two hours? She sat down on a chair, and didn't miss the glance that her mom gave her.
She ignored it.
"Bellamy?" she whispered. They didn't touch each other. Other than an arm grab, or that very impulsive hug. He was usually close enough that when she walked, she felt him behind her, or their shoulders were always brushing, but they… didn't do it consciously. Still, looking at him, she couldn't help but reach out to his hand now. She remembered her heart thrumming away violently, wondering if he'd pull away.
"Hey," he had muttered, his voice parched. And then he had tried to smile. Smile. At her. At the girl who had literally almost sent him to his death. She didn't cry much, or break down- especially in front of him. Yes, they had their few moments, of… vulnerability in front of each other- that proved they really had no fucking idea what they were doing, but that was it. Bellamy hadn't been there when she had cried to her mom after she found out he was alive. Or after she had killed Finn. Bellamy didn't see her cry.
"I'm so sorry," she started, her voice cracking, tears already rolling down her face. She bowed her head in shame, letting her shoulders shake violently. "I'm so sorry." It wasn't merely enough. Not after whatever they had done to him. Not after all the nightmares she had now inflicted on him. Not after she had told him he was expendable to her. But there was nothing else she could say. She suspected that words hadn't been made yet for the amount of remorse she was feeling right now; for the amount of forgiveness she needed. For the amount of affection she was trying to convey she had for him.
When she felt his hand tighten around hers- as much as he could, she looked up.
"No hard feelings, princess."
After that, she just knew. She suspected Bellamy did too- he wasn't an idiot. He had basically raised Octavia, and he was older than her; more in check with his emotions. But they went about their business. Learning to fight with help from the grounders, and make piece with the other 11 clans.
Bellamy. Bellamy had come to terms with the fact that he had known for a while. How much she meant to him. Probably around the time he didn't let her fall to her death in that grounder trap when they were looking for Jasper.
Yup. That long.
He had seen the doubt in her eyes when she realized she had grabbed his arm- wondering if he would just let go, because dammit- he needed that wristband. It was pretty downhill from there if he was being honest with himself. Watching her with the Spacewalker, and then with Raven. She had seemed a bit lost during that time, not knowing what to do- so she clung to him. Well, because right now, I don't feel like being around anyone I actually like.
She was hurt. Simple as that.
And as much as Bellamy wanted to walk over there and punch Finn, he also knew he shouldn't get involved. That was the thing about raising a sister in secret on the ark. You learned to just be invisible sometimes. Look the other way when you shouldn't. To not draw attention to yourself.
And then he almost died.
And then she almost died.
And then Octavia- the point being, his… feelings towards Clarke took a backseat.
So when she sent him into Mount Weather, he was hurt, sure. But he had learned to read Clarke like an open book. And he could see that this had absolutely nothing to do with him. She was going on about not being weak, and he almost laughed. Almost.
She was the strongest person he knew down here. Clarke Griffen was a lot of things- but weak wasn't one of them
When he came back, she had apologized, and apologized, and then apologized some more. She sat with him every single day, and told him about the workings of the camp. She was starting to get restless with the amount of power Abby and Kane were taking away from her, but she still told him not to worry about it. She told him about Octavia becoming Indra's second, and calmed him down when he almost ran over there and decided to tie Octavia up for the rest of her life, so that she would just stay put and not get hurt. She told him they found Lincoln and she was starting him on some weird version of rehab. She told him about Raven and Wick, or… Raven and Monty? She wasn't sure. But she was glad that Raven was at least moving on- even if she still hated her. She told him that she suspected her mom was secretly dating Kane, and he couldn't help but blow out a huff of laughter at that.
"I thought they were dating on the ark," Bellamy stated.
"My mom hated him on the ark!" Clarke exclaimed.
"Like how we hated each other when we landed?"
It was quiet for a minute- the insinuation lingering in the air, before Clarke looked away, shook her head.
"I never hated you."
"You were close to it," Bellamy teased. "Very close."
"I was toeing the line," she smirked. "I was more irritated and scared than anything else."
And that put so much into perspective, didn't it? That pretty much summed up their life now. Irritated and scared.
They were pretty much unbreakable after that. She never once second guessed that caring for him was a weakness and he never made a decision without asking her. They had a lot of secret missions, since Abby had started to put more security on Clarke and her actions. In the back of his mind, he knew it was a mother just… caring. But he couldn't help but roll his eyes, whenever Abby second guessed if Clarke knew what she was doing.
The 100 were a force to be reckoned with. They followed their co-leaders blindly, and believed in them. Emotions, and romantic feelings were never on the forefront.
But every once in a while, something was said out loud, that kept them tossing and turning throughout the night.
"Bellamy, you need to eat," Clarke had said one time, walking up to him as he tried to figure out just exactly why the Ice clan hated them so much. She passed him a small bowl of nuts and some sort of meat. He didn't even look up from the map that he has scattered around in front of the fire. "Bellamy," Clarke sighed.
"Clarke," he stated, a hand wiping over his face. "I really can't think about anything right now, other than stopping that clan and keeping you safe."
What he meant, she rationalized at 3am in the morning, looking up at the ceiling of her tent, was you as a collective. As in the 100.
She hoped that if she said it to herself enough times, she'd actually start to believe it.
It took almost two years to come to a truce with the ice clan. And by then, it wasn't uncommon to see Clarke in Bellamy's tent- lying on her stomach on his bed, as she sketched out… something, while he looked over maps, and weapons and strategized. She never slept there- no- but no one ever really saw her leave. Just that she was always coming out of her own tent in the morning.
Truth was, Clarke didn't usually leave until first light anyways, only catching about two hours of sleep.
It was around then, after the truce with the Ice Clan that Clarke finally voiced what her and Bellamy had been thinking for almost three years.
"We should go out on our own," she said, in front of a fire as he sharpened his blade. "Just the 100. Maybe a couple of others- like Wick and Lincoln."
"Getting tired of not being a princess anymore?" Bellamy laughed. Clarke rolled her eyes in good faith and then put a hand over his.
"I'm serious," she breathed. "Me and you have been the ones to strike a truce with most of the clans anyways. If we went out, if we wanted to, I could talk to the leaders- tell them that our truce still has the same provisions. We could do this, Bellamy."
"What about weapons, and shelter and food?" he countered, for the sake of arguing. They needed to think this through.
"We did this once," she said, inching closer to him- if it were possible. "We can do it again. Maybe we can get Lexa to teach us how to make bow and arrows with branches and I can get Wick to smuggle out some weapons. Just to start- there must be more bunkers in this world, Bellamy- we've only found a handful."
She was right, of course.
They needed to leave. He had started to feel suffocated for a while now, but with the danger of the Ice Clan, everyone had co-existed. But he knew, they would either leave, or someone kill them.
The next year was the hardest.
Civil war.
He had never seen Clarke so distraught in his life. Maybe one time- when he had come back from Mount Weather so many years ago- but, he told himself, what she felt right now, against her mother- could never come close to the magnitude she felt for him.
The next spring, they led a group of 117 people out of Camp Jaha and decided to settle near an ocean. They had already divided up tasks and teams, and Clarke had already asked Lexa for a safe house- for any materials people could smuggle out.
It was a good thing they got there when they did. Winter was just dying down, and they had the rest of the year before it came back. The next 8 months were spent making houses, storing food, teaching people to fish, laying down rules and laws and boundaries of their land.
Again, there was no real time for the emotions Clarke felt whenever she saw Bellamy.
When they had their first celebration at their new camp, Camp 100- was the first time she fell asleep in Bellamy's tent. Monty's moonshine had gotten a lot better, and so, a lot easier to drink. Kids were playing, adults talking and laughing around the fire- Octavia and Lincoln making out against a tree, and Raven finally admitting her feelings for Wick. Clarke had been glad that Raven had forgiven her. It had happened around the time they came to peace with the Ice clan, and Raven had just walked over to her, and given her a mug of moonshine. They needed to find their footing after that, but they had- and Raven had slowly found her place again within their inner circle.
Now, Clarke sat at the edge of Bellamy's bed, the door to his tiny hut open, so she could see the festivities without really participating.
"What's the matter princess?" Bellamy said, coming over to sit next to her. "Homesick?" The thought hadn't even crossed her mind and she had almost laughed at that. She was home. After a really long time.
Wow. How long had it been? Almost five years since that drop ship, that's how long.
"Bellamy," Clarke said, her eyes wide. "I think I'm 22."
"You think, Princess?" he laughed. "How much have you had to drink?"
"I mean," she said, rolling her eyes, as she shoved him a bit. "We've been down here for almost five years."
"It's been a while," he nodded. They were quiet for a while, at peace in the silence. A silence they hadn't felt in a very long time- what with all the death and destruction around them. Clarke sighed contently. "I remember seeing you on the ark," Bellamy blurted out.
"You do?"
"You were with Wells," he nodded. "You were giving your rations away to an orphan." Clarke was surprised by this story to say the least- or the fact that he remembered it. How long ago had that been?
"I remember telling myself that I still needed to hate you," he whispered. "That you were still Abby's daughter- part of the council that got my mom…" he trailed off and Clarke wondered just how much he had to drink.
"I'm sorry," she stated softly. "For what we did-"
"You didn't do anything, Clarke," he murmured. "I was a kid back then- I wasn't thinking straight. You had nothing to do with my mom being floated." Clarke nodded, and pulled him in for a hug. He turned a little bit, so that his head settled into the crook of her neck, and she let her hands, softly weave through his hair- trying to soothe him.
"She would be proud of you," Clarke stated with conviction. "She'd be so proud of you." She felt his hot breath on her neck, seemingly from a scoff, and tried not to pay attention to the warmth it spread to other places. "I'm serious Bellamy," she went on, pulling at the ends of his hair, so that he looked at her. "The way you brought us here- the way you've looked out for Octavia all these years- how you've sacrificed so much for the 100…"
She trailed off when she realized how close they were.
"Clarke-"
"Bellamy? Clarke?"
They both looked over to the door, and moved away from each other- just a bit. It was Lincoln.
"I needed to speak with you," he said. Clarke realized he was nervous, and she knew immediately why. Instinctively, she grabbed hold of Bellamy's shirt and he put a hand on her knee. His was just a reaction to hers. Clarke had the ability to feel people- so when she picked up on something, he followed her lead.
She almost laughed. He thought she was nervous. She was just making sure he wouldn't freak out.
"Octavia and I…" Lincoln started, and Clarke felt Bellamy tense under her. She started to make soothing circles into his back. "We… well, I…wanted your permission," Lincoln went on, stumbling. And then he stopped, took a deep breath, and walked over to them. "I'd like to ask for your permission to marry her." She felt her heart swell, so happy for her friend, and so excited for all the possibilities of this marriage. She wanted to squeal and jump for joy, and cry.
"I should leave you two to speak," she finally voiced. This was a family thing- she shouldn't have even been here to begin with.
"No!" Bellamy said, grabbing out for her hand. He looked scared- nervous. "I need you…"
To stay, she rationalized. He meant he needs her to stay so he doesn't punch Lincoln.
She nodded, and went to stand next to him again, when she realized he hadn't let go of her hand. She didn't really pay much attention after that; after she felt Bellamy making circles into her palm, unintentionally. But she saw Lincoln smile, and thank Bellamy, and then hug Clarke as he raced outside.
And then she looked at Bellamy and squealed out her excitement. For him. For Octavia, for Lincoln and for their community.
"This is gunna be so much fun," she said into his ear. "This is going to be great." Bellamy had looked at her, a little amazed, as she ran over to Octavia and engrossed her into a hug, both of the laughing. Raven joined as well, only then did Clarke realize she was crying. In happiness- but crying nonetheless.
And it felt so good, to shed tears for something other than hurt. And death. And fear.
She woke up the next day, with a massive hangover, and completely comfortable on Bellamy's bed- while he slept on the floor.
The next month was spent on making sure everything was perfect for Octavia's wedding. They invited all the clans- including Camp Jaha for the occasion; an olive branch.
The only thing they needed was cotton- for a dress. Or some sort of textile. Silk maybe?
So, her, and Bellamy, Monty and Jasper decided to ask the mountain clan for some. They were always welcoming, and kind, but Clarke had decided to bring them some gifts of medical supplies either way.
"We were hoping you could spare some textile," Clarke smiled. "For a wedding."
Kina, the head of their clan, smiled sincerely. "We were wondering when your next wedding would be. We assumed we had not made peace when the first occurred."
Monty and Jasper snickered behind Clarke, and she saw Bellamy raise an eyebrow. Who was married?
"Kina," Clarke stated, ever diplomatically. "There must be a misunderstanding- this is the first wedding of the Skye people. It's why we want everything to be perfect." Kina looked confused and Bellamy slowly felt for his pistol. He hoped no one was offended.
"Are you and your second not wed?" Kina asked, incredulously. There was no misunderstanding who she meant- especially when she pointed between him and Clarke.
"Bellamy's not my second," Clarke answered. "We work side by side as a team." He rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe that was the first thing she decided to clear up. "But no, we… aren't married."
"My apologies," Kina replied, looking a little flushed. "When we received word you were on your way, we thought news of a child was to be shared." Clarke tensed, but refused to look at Bellamy. "I had these made…" Kina went on, now fully blushing.
A man standing beside her handed her a pair of baby boots and a small winter jacket.
"Winter is coming," Kina said, quickly. "We wanted the child to be comfortable."
Clarke nodded, not trusting her voice as the small boots and jacket were placed her hands. She had wanted this- once upon a time. She remembered speaking to Wells about it. She always thought she'd be a mom, one day.
"…Thank you," Bellamy said, albeit a bit awkwardly. "We appreciate these- and I'm sure the first child of the sky people will wear them with pride."
Kina nodded and then pulled Clarke up to take her to show her an array of textiles.
She heard Jasper and Monty still laughing, now more loudly, since Kina was gone.
"When are you going to propose?" Monty asked seriously.
"Shut up," Bellamy replied, lamely. "Both of you."
When they got back to camp, Clarke handed off the silk to their best seamstress. Octavia was more than thankful, and invited Bellamy, her, Jasper and Monty to hers and Lincoln's cabin for dinner. They spoke about random things, happy things- things Octavia wanted for the wedding, and Lincoln obviously just agreed to. They spoke about Bellamy walking her down the aisle, and Raven officiating. They spoke about Clarke being her maid of honour, and hopefully, Bellamy jumping ships to take a place as Best man.
"Does the whole camp think me and Bellamy are together?" Clarke blurted out just as Octavia had started on flowers.
Silence.
"Aren't you?" Octavia asked, confused. Bellamy looked shocked, and Clarke couldn't help but laugh. She didn't reply, but just changed the topic.
"Clarke?"
She looked up from the presents Kina had given her, to see Bellamy standing at her door. She smiled and put them to the side.
"What's wrong?" she asked, standing up, looking him over to make sure he was okay.
"Nothing," he replied stopping her. "Are you okay?" His eyes landed on the small boots behind her.
"I'm fine," she shrugged. "We'll gift them to Octavia when she has her first baby.
"What about you?" he said, handing her a plate, and walking over to sit on the edge of her bed. "You could keep them for when you have a child."
"I don't know if that'll ever happen," she said softly. She sat down next to him, biting into the meat, and sighed. "Look at how cute these are Bellamy," she gushed. "Can you imagine the small feet that would fit these?"
He could. Vividly.
Blue eyes, brown hair- lightly tanned skin.
"Why do you think it won't happen?" he pushed.
"We have a camp to run," she sighed. "And when I'm not doing that, I'm stitching people up. Love isn't in the stars for me."
"You forget, Princess," he smirked. "That we were once the stars to everyone on earth."
She wondered what he meant by that, and then wondered when was the last time she had seen him with a girl.
"What about you? You had a string of girls when we first landed…"
"That's because I never had so much attention in my life," he laughed, sipping on his water.
"And now?"
"I'm right where I need to be."
They had stayed up all night, talking about hopes and dreams, and a week later, their guests started to arrive for the wedding. Most of camp Jaha didn't come. But Abby and Kane did. Hand in hand.
Clarke groaned as Bellamy laughed.
"Clarke," her mom smiled. "It's good to see you again." There had been so much animosity towards each other right before the 100 had left, that they had forgotten how much they needed each other.
"Mom," she sighed, hugging her. Kane walked over to Bellamy, patting his back.
"I guess a congratulations are in order," Bellamy smirked.
"They are," he nodded. "We made it official about a year ago."
Bellamy smiled, and led them to their cabin. Clarke's cabin.
"Where will you sleep?" Abby asked.
"I'll go and stay at Bellamy's" Clarke shrugged. Abby raised her eyebrows.
"Are you and Bellamy…?"
"Uh- no…" Clarke stuttered. "But apparently, everyone on earth thinks we are."
"I thought you were together when you were at Camp with us," Abby smiled. Clarke rolled her eyes, and showed her mom around her camp. She ended up at Bellamy's after all the guests were settled in. He was walking around with no shirt, and even though she had seen it all before- didn't mean that she had become accustomed to it.
"Everyone settled in?" he asked, over his shoulder, trying to tie a bandage around his bicep.
"Yup," she nodded, walking over to help him. He had had a block of wood collapse on his arm, leaving a cut while they were trying to build some extra cabins for the guests. "If you had just stayed in the med bay," she chastised. "Someone over there could have helped you."
"Maybe I wanted your help, princess," he smirked. She rolled her eyes, and fed him his food, so that he wouldn't hurt his arm any further.
"So, uh- Lexa came," she stated. "Um…"
"What?" Bellamy asked, a bit amused by how awkward she looked. "Did she say something?"
"Well, turns out Kina and Lexa are good friends, and um- Kina told her that we weren't… married. Lexa… suggested that… we, uh-"
"What? Get married?"
"No," Clarke said, her voice strained. "She suggested we offer to marry the heads of the clans we haven't found peace with yet."
He froze. She had spoon to his mouth, and he didn't even look at it. He actually pushed her hand away, his jaw clenching- a tick making itself known.
Anger.
"Bellamy, just think-"
"No."
And that was pretty much the end of his side of the conversation.
"We could have peace, Bellamy," Clarke sighed. Because even if she had feelings for him, he had never really… said anything, or shown any interest in her- other than platonically, or co-leader respect. Which she was fine with. She wasn't the same girl from that drop ship anymore. She didn't pine for a man who didn't want her, or wallow. She had Bellamy this way. That was enough.
"You're not getting married to anyone you don't want to," he bellowed out. "I'll start a thousand wars before that happens." She had stood up, a bit taken aback by how… affected he was by this.
"Why?"
And he stood there, his fists clenched, his jaw ticking- a storm in his eyes, while she walked up to him, her chin stuck out, daring him to look away. To lie.
"You know why."
That was the only answer she got. And she understood it and she was so… happy. She let herself smile, just a bit, before nodding and looking away.
"Ugh, Bellamy!" she yelled, looking at the immediate consequences of his little outburst. "You got all the food on the bed, and we have to sleep on that now!"
"Maybe you shouldn't talk about marrying random men while feeding me dinner then," he yelled back.
"Or!" Clarke said, rolling her eyes, already stripping the bed of its sheets. "You shouldn't be such a caveman and maybe use your words."
That was it.
They just went on, then. They both knew where they stood, and small things changed from then on. He held her around the waist, and secret smiles were shared. They didn't announce anything, or, tell anyone.
They just went on.
He kissed her on a random day- a random day that meant nothing to anyone, as she made tea for him. She moved into his cabin a couple of months later, and if anyone noticed these changes, they didn't say anything.
"Bellamy," she breathed, as he walked through the gates after a month. She thought he was gone. He had left on a hunting trip, and hadn't come back. It was the first time… they had been apart since… they had started- only four moths after everything, and every single search party hadn't found anything. Even camp Jaha had helped. Lexa had looked at her, torn, as she tried to comfort the girl.
And a month later, he walked in, with his team of four, tripping over himself, his face bloodied and a… panther over his shoulder while everyone around him began cheering, and clapping, sighs of relief could be heard ran to him. She didn't care no one knew. She ran to him. He dropped the panther to the ground and she kissed him- furiously. "Did you ever stop to think-" she started, pushing away from him, angry tears flowing down her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm sorry."
"Finally!" Jasper yelled, collecting, what seemed like… rations, while Nina, his girlfriend, tried to stop him. Clarke rolled her eyes. They had bets on them. She had hugged him again, letting out a sigh of relief, feeling like she could breath again for the time in a month.
She took the hunting team to the med bay and started on their stitches, and then they went on with life.
Sort of.
Since everyone knew now, they didn't really shy away from kisses anymore. Nor did they stop the flirting.
To her surprise, Bellamy was the first to say those three words. Randomly- again. Just staring at the ceiling, as they both lay on the bed, talking about whatever they needed to talk about. More rotations? More rations? More food? How much technology was salvageable- and could they maybe communicate with different countries any time soon?
"You know I love you, right?" Bellamy asked, suddenly- as if he had just caught on to the fact that he hadn't said it out loud, in so many words. She had laughed- giggled almost, and just nodded.
"I love you too, Bellamy," she whispered, leaning up to kiss him. He let out a hot air of breath, and just nodded.
"I think Raven could maybe get a telephone working," he went on. "The only thing that matters is who'll be on the other end."
And that had been that.
Marriage… was an interesting step. She had never told anyone else about the small boots and jacket she kept hidden in the closet. And as ashamed she was to admit it, not even to Octavia when she had her first daughter.
"Do you want kids?" he asked, one day, while she made a list of all the herbs she needed.
"Uh, yeah- that'd be nice," she replied absently. And then stopped. She looked at him, a bit frozen in fear. "Whenever!" She rushed. "I didn't mean now. Or ever- if you don't want them… because I'd get it. A kid in this… environment would be a handful. I didn't mean-"
"Relax princess," Bellamy had laughed. "I'm just asking. So we're on the same page."
"Oh," she nodded. "Are we?"
"We are," he winked. And that had been the end of that- she thought. One day, whenever the pull out method faltered, they'd have a kid.
It was two months later. Two months later, and almost 6 and a half years after the drop ship, did she wake up to Bellamy on his knee, with an actual ring Lexa had given him, asking if she'd be Mrs. Griffen-Blake. She had laughed, hugged him, falling to her own knees and nodded, saying, of course.
"And that, is the story," Bellamy said, slowly to their daughter and their son. "Of the princess and The Dragon."
"What happened after that?" Jake, 5 years old, asked.
"They lived happily ever after," Anya, 3, replied as if it was obvious. "Duh."
"Yup," Bellamy laughed. "They had a prince and a princess, and all was good." Clarke came over, setting the food on the table, as Bellamy winked at her.
"The point of the story being," she said, looking at Anya. "You don't always need a prince to be a princess." Anya nodded, and Jake looked at Bellamy.
"And buddy," Bellamy said, ruffling his hair- so much like his. "Some princesses fall in love with dragons too." They didn't get it, that he understood. They didn't get it yet, but one day- he was sure, it would be Anya who would put the pieces together. She would ask him to tell the story one more time, and ask way more questions that usual, and then just say something smart like you're not a dragon, daddy. And he'd have to tell her to not tell her mom just yet that she'd figured it out. Clarke was always trying to find ways to protect them of the horrors of the world they had landed in. When they didn't need to speak about their history, they didn't. And when they did, Clarke was vague, and far away- remembering all those they lost- all the people who were left behind.
Clarke never liked that Bellamy had dubbed this story 'The princess and the dragon.' She was by no means a princess- ever, and he was the furthest thing from a dragon. She remembered the first days on earth, when he was power hungry and ruthless, and reckless- and couldn't help but laugh. He was lost. He was lost in a place with no rules. He wasn't the only one who had acted out. And he wasn't the dragon of their story. And she told him that every night after the kids went to sleep, after reciting that particular story. He always just laughed it off, saying it taught them a better lesson than to have him the prince, or better- the king.
"I remember a different ending," she said now, looking as if she was dramatically think thinking in concentration.
"What ending?" Bellamy asked, an eyebrow raised. Her two kids were looking up at her in awe.
"I remember it ending with two princesses and a prince."
She looked back at Bellamy, who's eyes were wide, shocked and then slowly smiled. Anya and Jake didn't really understand why their mom had corrected such a minor detail, but shrugged. She got up to get a glass of water, and Bellamy was behind her instantly.
"How far along are you?" he asked.
"About a month," she smiled. "I think. When Raven fixes the Ultra Sound machine, I can check for sure."
"Two princesses eh?" he laughed. "What if it's a boy?"
"I'm okay with either," Clarke muttered, leaning up to kiss him. "As long as you're here, beside me."
"Always," Bellamy smiled, leaning down so she could reach.
So, it wasn't a whirlwind romance. When you're plopped in the center of an unknown environment- romance really isn't a priority. Survival is.
So, no, it wasn't a whirlwind romance.
And in the end, it took them years.
But Bellamy realized, he wouldn't have had it any other way.
-
Thanks for reading!
Hope you enjoyed it, and please review! I'm also taking any prompts you guys have- just send me a PM :)
Thank you! xo