Home

A bellarke story

'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone

Is where you go when you're alone

Is where you go to rest your bones

It's not just where you lay your head

It's not just where you make your bed

As long as we're together, does it matter where we go?

It'd been a long time since Clarke had been able to call anything home and she missed it more than anything else. Of course she had her old house where her mom and stepfather lived, but since the day her father died it hadn't felt like home at all anymore. It felt foreign, and she hated coming there.

She could easily call her apartment with her best friends Octavia and Raven her home, but the word still didn't have the same joy as it had when her father had been around.

About a year ago she'd dated this guy – who turned out to be double-crossing both her and Raven, which was how Clarke and Raven met – and for a while he had seemed to be her home, but just as her last home, it had been ripped away from her in an instant, and somehow she'd just completely given up on the idea of the feeling of a home.

Until she fell in love with Octavia's devilishly handsome older brother, that is. She hadn't planned on it, really. Actually, no one could have ever seen that one coming. They hated each other. Bickered like an old married couple every time they were together. Yelled and screamed at each other over the smallest things. They played hilarious pranks on each other, and somehow along the way, she'd fallen head over heels for him. Who saw that coming, right? But as people say; there's a fine line between love and hate.

But he didn't feel the same way, of course. How could he? She drove him absolutely crazy and she was well aware of it. He would never love her, but it didn't bother her. Ok, it didn't bother her that much. She was fine just loving him and seeing him be happy. Well, if he could be happy with her it'd be grand, but that wasn't going to happen. Right?

…

"Oh my GOD, Bellamy!" Clarke screamed as she covered her eyes with her free hand. He was standing completely naked in the middle of their bathroom.

"Jeez Princess!" he said through gritted teeth and quickly covered himself with a towel around his waist. "Seriously, don't you know how to knock?"

"Don't I know how to- Bellamy! What the hell are you doing here?" she yelled as she walked out of the steamy bathroom and into the kitchen to set the groceries on the kitchen counter.

"What are you doing here? Octavia told me neither you or Raven would be home for spring break!" he said and crossed his arms over his chest. Damn, he looked so hot. If she could just- no, focus Clarke! Bad Clarke.

"Yeah, well, I don't really want to be with my bossy mother and strict stepfather this particular vacation. Or any vacation really. So would you mind run along to wherever you need to be and leave me alone?" she said not nearly as angry as she had been.

"Sorry to burst your bubble princess, but I'm staying here for spring break with O and the guys. I thought she told you?" he said and raised his right eyebrow.

"Shit, that's right, she did mention it. Oh bloody hell, where am I supposed to go? Raven left, but I guess I could find her and Finn- oh right no I can't do that. I'm so sorry; I'll be out of here I a few hours. I guess I could go to that hotel down the road…" Clarke rambled on, but Bellamy cut her off.

"Come on Clarke, you can stay here. You know everyone else anyway. It's just me, O, Miller, Jas, Monty, Lincoln and Murphy. They won't mind. Unless you don't want to be here, of course, cause they'll totally understand that too." He said suddenly finding the floor very interesting. Clarke felt a smile creep onto her face, cause come on, could he be any cuter?

"I'd love to. Thank you Bellamy. Really." She said and he smiled back at her. It took them all of two minutes and 28 seconds before they started fighting again, which almost was a record for them.

…

"Bellamy Blake we are NOT watching 300 again! Jesus, how many times can you watch that movie?" Clarke said and everyone around her let out a sigh 'cause just 2 hours into their marathon, Bellamy and Clarke had argued over every single thing there was to argue about.

"Well excuse me if I think it's a good idea to learn something whilst watching a movie, princess! Come on, it's not like you don't use every opportunity you can find to watch The Other Woman. Come on, I know you've been in that situation and all, but se-" Bellamy didn't have time to finish the sentence before Clarke had slapped him across the face. He groaned in pain, but when he saw the hurt look on her face, he wished he'd just kept his goddamn mouth shut.

"That was a low blow, Blake." She said with fury in her voice before she stomped out of the apartment in her father's old t-shirt, that in Bellamy's opinion looked way too cute on her.

"Come on Clarke, I'm sorry-" he said, but the only response was the door slamming behind her and the sound of her small feet storming out of the building.

Bellamy looked around at his friends for help, but they all looked away except Octavia who looked almost as furious as Clarke.

"Seriously Bell? You are such an ass sometimes! You know how much Finn hurt her last year. You were there! That was just mean. Go after her, you idiot." She said and pointed towards the door. Bellamy felt a sting of guilt because it was true what O and Clarke said. It was a low blow. Suddenly another thing accoutred to him; she was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and panties. Who knew what kind of creeps she could run into? With that thought he'd quickly grabbed his jacket and ran out the door.

…

Octavia sighed as the door shut behind her idiot older brother.

"We need to do something guys." She said. "They are so fucking clueless about their feelings. Both of them told me they like each other, but none of them has the guts to tell the other."

The guys looked at her, Jasper and Monty nodding excitingly.

"Look, O, I don't think we should mess with them. Let them figure it out themselves. Or at least give them some time to try on their own before stepping in. I think they're getting there." Miller said. He had complete faith in his best friend. Bellamy would get the girl, of course he would. He always did.

"Fine. Ok, but everyone needs to act like they're asleep tonight at some point so we can see how they handle things alone, ok? Not interfering, just spying." Octavia said, and everyone seemed to be ok with that plan.

…

She heard his quick feet approach her within five minutes. You're getting faster Blake, was all she could think in that moment. She didn't want him to see her cry. He'd just assume she was crying about Finn, which she was not. She was crying because he was an ignorant ass who kept hurting her with his words, and because she was in love with that ignorant ass.

She quickly wiped away the tears from her eyes and sniffled quietly. He tugged his jacket around her shoulders and sat down next to her and rested his head against the tree trunk.

"Why do you always go out here when you're upset?" he asked.

"Because it reminds me of my father." She answered quietly. She was too tired to think of a lie this second. "We had a tree just like this one in our garden. He planted it when he was a kid, and it sort of became 'our' place at home. Whenever I was mad at my mother or pissed at Wells or something happened to my favourite TV-characters, that's where I'd go. Only my father could find me out there and he was usually the only one I'd want to talk to. I feel like he's here with me when I'm out here."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Clearly Bellamy wasn't expecting a real answer, just a snarky comment.

"I'm sorry about what I said, Clarke. I didn't mean it. I was just being an ass. I am most of the time, actually. And I'm really sorry about all the other shitty things I've said to you. " He said and she felt his nervous gaze on her. He knew he'd crossed a line.

"It's ok Bellamy. It's not like I haven't said anything mean to you either." He snorted amused and put his arm around her shoulders as he chuckled. She stiffened under his arm, but he didn't seem to notice.

"I guess you're right. Want to come back in and watch The Other Woman?" he said as he pulled her up.

"We can watch 300 if you must." She said and shoved his arm playfully. He raised an eyebrow to see if she was joking.

"How about this; we watch Titanic? It has both historical facts and the lovey-dovey-things you love so much?" he asked as they began walking back towards the apartment.

"Oh like you don't secretly love it, too!" she giggled.

"Nuh-uh!" he insisted, but something in his voice said the opposite. She laughed at him and his confused look only made it even funnier. "What?" he tried, but she couldn't stop laughing to tell him.

"Ok, you asked for it." He said as he picked her up and threw her laughing body over his shoulder and he carried her the rest of the way to the apartment whilst Clarke's fists pounded on his back and her mouth cursed at him in words even he didn't know, and he had a huge curse words vocabulary. They were both laughing and arguing at the same time as they walked/ got carried into the apartment again. It would be the underestimating of the year to say they looked surprised when Bellamy and Clarke walked through the door.

…

The rest of the night Bellamy and Clarke seemed to get along quite all right. They spoke a bit more politely to each other, but the day they stopped arguing was the day the world would go under.

They saw Titanic and Clarke and Octavia sat on each side of Bellamy as they sobbed into his shirt in the scene where Jack dies. Jasper and Monty cried throughout the entire movie, partly at each other's shoulder, partly at Miller and Murphy's shoulders. The three boys shot each other helpless looks during the entire movie, but they all put up with it.

Bellamy would never admit it, but he secretly loved comforting Clarke like this. That may or may not also be why he didn't mind watching tragic love stories the entire evening. It wasn't like he was watching the movies anyway. He only had eyes for the petite, but nonetheless beautiful blonde by his side. Oh god the movies were rubbing off on him.

They'd already seen The Other Woman (yes, he'd given in to watch it the 1000th time, but it was no big deal, ok?), The Notebook, and Love Actually. When O suggested Pretty Woman, Miller and Murphy were already fast asleep in the beanbag chairs, Monty and Jasper were cuddled up together on the other couch, O was all over the place making popcorn, but after fifteen minutes of the movie she was snoring on the coffee table, completely blocking Bellamy and Clarke's view at the TV.

They didn't care though. Somehow between the six movies, they'd ended up laying next to ach other. Bellamy lay behind her, his string arms around her stomach and his chin resting on the top of her head. They were both facing the TV, not sure whether or not the other person was awake.

So they lay in silence until they fell asleep, still wrapped around each other.

Bellamy took a chance, not sure whether or not she would remember, but he couldn't hold back any longer. He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

"Sweet dreams, my princess." He said and fell asleep. Of course Clarke was awake.

The moment before she drifted off she thought to herself; this is my home. As long as they are here – as long as he is here – it's my home.

And for the first time since her fathers passing, the word felt completely right and natural.