As Clarke began to slowly wake up, she realized that she felt the safest she had in a very long time. It took her a few more seconds of sleepily trying to get her bearings before she figured out why, for the first time in such a long, long time, she felt clam, warm, unworried about her surroundings, and why she hadn't woken with any terrible nightmares. She just felt safe. Completely and utterly comfortable and safe because, as she began to realize, she was in the Commander's tent in Polis, wrapped tightly in a bundle of soft, warm furs, and pressed up against something that was even warmer and softer, but dense and strong at the same time. And that something, or rather someone, had one arm wrapped tightly under Clarke's shoulders to keep her pressed comfortably into the person's chest while their other arm was loosely holding Clarke's hips, providing comfort and reassurance without making her feel trapped as Clarke had slept using his person as a pillow with her own arm snuggly clinging to their stomach.

Clarke smiled softly as she realized what must have happened after she fell asleep last night. Lexa had insisted on remaining awake to keep a completely redundant and unnecessary (given the fact that they were in the middle of Polis, in a tent surrounded by at least ten of Lexa's personal guards) watch over Clarke as she slept. So Clarke had insisted that she would only allow Lexa to guard her if she did it lying next to her in the bed, hoping that Lexa would in fact fall asleep at some point because the girl had looked completely worn down. Lexa, apparently relieved that Clarke was speaking to her again and hadn't thrown her out of the tent yet (despite the fact that it was Lexa's tent) had agreed immediately, but had been extremely cautious about not touching Clarke as she settled into the bed next to her. Clarke, still exhausted from her time in the forest alone, had made a mental note of the behavior and promised herself that she would address it in the morning, not wanting to start that conversation late at night in her exhausted mental state. And, it appears that Lexa had in fact fallen asleep at some point during the night, just as Clarke had hoped, and had apparently wanted to cuddle, which Clarke wouldn't have expected but certainly wasn't going to complain about considering how comfortable and safe she currently felt.

For several more minutes Clarke simply laid there, basking in the emotions she was experiencing and thinking that she might be able to fall back asleep for a while, until she made the mistake of shifting the arm that was resting on Lexa's stomach and fisting her hand tightly in the fabric of Lexa's loose tank top. The reaction was instantaneous. Lexa's whole body seemed to tense and freeze as she quickly regained consciousness and realized what had happened. Clarke vaguely wondered how long it had been since Lexa had let herself sleep in the same bed, snuggled close to someone as they were now, and smiled into the chest beneath her at the thought. She was about to say something, wish her a good morning, maybe tease her about falling asleep a little, when Lexa began to move slowly, as if trying to extract herself out from underneath Clarke without waking her.

Clarke had never felt someone so tense before and she quickly tried to ease the tension in the other girl and get her to remain in the bed with her a bit longer by tightening the hold she had on her stomach, pressing her head down slightly, and mumbling a sleepy, "Wait," into the shirt below her.

But none of the tactics seemed to work. In fact, it seemed to have the exact opposite effect as Lexa's body tensed even more, almost to the point of shaking, as she tried to gently remove herself from Clarke's grasp while saying, "No, Clarke, I'm sorry, I should not- I should not have-I'm sorry, Clarke, I-"

Clarke tightened her hold on the Commander even more and shifted her face so that she could look up into the other girl's eyes without actually picking her head up off of it's comfortable resting place as she cut off Lexa's seemingly panicked rambling, "Shhh, Lexa, hey, it's okay, what's wrong?"

Lexa refused to meet Clarke's eyes as she continued gently attempting to remove Clarke's hands from their holds while saying, "I'm sorry, Clarke, it is not okay. I have betrayed you again, betrayed the trust I had regained, I'm sorry. Please, let go, I do not deserve your kindness."

Frowning even more, Clarke lifted her head and moved her arm with the intent of hovering over Lexa so that she could see her face better, but Lexa took the opportunity to use her years of agility and warrior training to slip out from under Clarke as she was moving. Grumbling, Clarke sat up in the bed and turned to face Lexa, who was now standing with her back to her across the room. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

Lexa hesitantly turned to face her again and Clarke was surprised to see the amount of emotion present on the usually stoic Commander's face. She looked sad, regretful, angry, guilty, and simply heartbroken all at once and Clarke found herself immediately getting out of bed to go to the other girl and comfort her.

Lexa held her hands out in front of her to stop the other girl's approach, but she still wouldn't meet her eyes. "I betrayed your trust, there is no excuse, you granted me your trust for a second time and I took advantage of you," Lexa said, nodding along with her words as if she was just realizing exactly what she had done, "You trusted me and I took advantage and," Lexa finally looked up into Clarke's eyes, dropped her hands as if in defeat, and set her jaw and shoulders in acceptance of whatever she had just decided in her mind before she continued, "you have every right to retaliate as you please. No one will stop you or respond, you may do what you wish. If you-" Lexa faltered and dropped her eyes for just a second before taking a short, deep breath and finishing, "if you choose to leave and never see me again I only ask that you please let me send guards with you. You can take whoever you want. As many as you want, but please just don't go alone. I couldn't," Lexa swallowed hard, "I couldn't bear it if something were to happen to you because of my stupidity and incompetence, not again." Her voice tapered off into something small and fragile in the end and once she finished talking, Lexa dropped her gaze again, as if unable to face Clarke's decision. Her body language screamed pain and sorrow and regret and Clarke could do nothing but stare, slack jawed, at her for a few seconds as she tried to figure out what had just happened.

Eventually, she took a few cautious steps to close the remaining distance between the two and raised her hand to cup Lexa's cheek and make the other girl look her in the eyes again. Lexa flinched as she saw the hand come toward her and it stopped Clarke's heart, along with her movements, cold. She stood frozen for several seconds, her hand hanging in midair between them. Lexa thought she was going to hit her? She thought that she would beat her and leave her and never come back? For what? For falling asleep? Carefully, Clarke finished moving her hand to the other girl's cheek and caressed it gently to get her to look at her. When she finally did, her eyes still spoke of all of the conflicting emotions from before, but with an added confusion in them now. It broke Clarke's still repairing heart all over again. "Why do you think you betrayed me again, Lexa?" she questioned gently, "Is it because you fell asleep?"

Lexa shook her head carefully under Clarke's touch, clearly reveling in what she probably thought would be the last affectionate gesture the other girl would ever give her. "Not just that, although that is part of it," she explained softly.

"Then what is the rest?" Clarke prompted again when the other girl didn't continue after a few beats.

"I-" Lexa swallowed and tried to drop her gaze again, but Clarke couldn't have it and carefully applied more pressure on her cheek to keep her eyes up, "I- You said you were not ready for affection and then I betrayed you and then barely regained your trust and you trusted me enough to guard you and even let me into your bed as you slept and I tried to refrain, to keep myself from causing any undesired contact, but then you were so warm and peaceful beside me and I-I had been so worried for so long when you were in the forest that I fell asleep, betraying you the first time, and in my sleep I did the most unforgivable thing and I forced you into contact that you had expressly stated you didn't want and I took advantage and betrayed you and I am so sorry Clarke, I will accept any punishment, anything you ask you may have, please, I am so sorry." Lexa was out of breath when she finished and Clarke found herself recovering from shock once again. She had never heard the Commander speak so much or in such a disjointed, rambled fashion.

Clarke was fairly certain she knew what Lexa was talking about, but wanted to clarify one more thing before responding. "When you say 'forced you into contact' what do you mean? Do you mean by holding me?"

Lexa simply nodded and Clarke let out a long breath of relief as she choose her next words carefully. "Lexa, you did not betray or take advantage of me-" when Lexa opened her mouth to protest Clarke hurried to cut her off, "no, let me finish. You did not betray or take advantage of me. It is true that before the war I told you I was not ready, and that was-is true, I am not ready for romance, not quite yet. However, last night I invited you into bed because, as you said, I do trust you again and, whether you know or accept this or not, I care for you, Lexa, and you looked exhausted and I wanted your company and so I invited you into my bed. I was hoping you would fall asleep, Lexa. I did not expect you to snuggle up to me and hold me in our sleep but" at this the small amount of hope that had been creeping into Lexa's features died and Lexa looked absolutely crushed and ashamed again. "BUT" Clarke continued more forcefully, "you certainly, in no way, took advantage of me by holding me. I am in no way complaining. Do you know what I was thinking when you woke up and darted from the bed, Lexa?" Clarke asked.

Lexa gave the smallest shake of her head, a confused look on her face.

"I was thinking that lying there, in your arms, was the safest I had felt in months. Probably since I landed on Earth. Heck, maybe even since before I was sent down here. And I was so incredibly grateful and happy and safe in your arms. So please, Lexa, don't think you betrayed my trust, I trust you, I trust you, and it shatters my heart to know that you think me capable of hurting or leaving you so soon after having found you again, so please-" Clarke broke off, unsure of what she was pleading for but hoping that Lexa would understand.

Lexa's face had gone back to being unreadable and she merely stared at Clarke for several long seconds before hesitantly asking, "You care for me? I provide you comfort? You desire the comfort I provide?"

Clarke nodded fervently to each of the Commander's questions and broke out into a large smile when it seemed that Lexa had, in fact, understood what she was trying to say. This provoked a small, half smile from the other girl for a moment before it faded and Lexa asked, even more hesitant than before, "So I haven't lost you permanently this time?"

"No! Of course not," Clarke assured her before leaning in gently to connect their lips. This kiss was just as gentle and caring as their first, if not more so considering that Lexa was barely responding. It was as if she wasn't sure if this was really happening or she was afraid that if she kissed back too much it would scare Clarke away or cross one of the lines that she had been so sure she crossed earlier. After several more seconds of tender kissing, Clarke pulled back just enough to separate their mouths before she leaned forward to rest her forehead against Lexa's, her hand still cupping Lexa's face. "I care for you, Lexa. And I want to rebuild what we had, what we were starting, and I think I might be almost ready, my time alone gave me a lot of time to think, we just need to go slowly, talk, and I think we'll be okay."

Lexa looked as if every dream she had ever had was suddenly coming true. Her eyes shone with joy and hope, but a small sliver of doubt seemed to be creeping into her mind as well. After a moment, Clarke asked, "What is it? What's bothering you?"

Lexa slowly moved her own hands to cup Clarke's face as she searched her eyes for something that Clarke desperately hoped she would find as Lexa spoke, "I can't help but fear that this is a dream…or a trick. That I'll wake up or something will happen only to reveal that you don't really feel this way, and then I do not know if I will survive. I never let myself hope that you would ever trust me again, let alone be willing to develop a relationship with me, and now that I find myself presented with the option I realize how completely you could destroy me in this moment."

Clarke nodded in understanding, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable fear and it was one she was eager to smother as soon as possible. "It's not a trick or a dream, Lexa, I swear it. I care for you and I trust you. You make me feel so safe and it's almost like I can feel myself letting go of everything that I've had to do, you know, Finn, the missile, the mountain, and move on with my life. Maybe learn to be happy and loved again."

This time, the smile on Lexa's face was breathtaking. "That's all I have ever wanted. To provide you comfort, to help, to ease the burden."

Clarke smiled in return and leaned forward slightly to press a delicate kiss on Lexa's lips one more time. This time, Lexa did not hesitate to respond. After a second, Clarke pulled back again and whispered, "Good. Now, will you come back to bed for a while, I was very comfortable." Lexa's smile only seemed to grow as she nodded and let herself be pulled back to the pile of furs.