Author's Note: Okay, this is set a few weeks after Mount Weather has been defeated. However, even though we all know they are going to kiss in 2x14, this fanfic is on a timeline where they haven't kissed yet. I got the idea for this fanfic while I was out ski-dooing a couple of days ago. It's a whole 1,000 words longer than my last ClarkeLexa fanfic (Lexa's Tattoo) so hopefully you guys will enjoy it.

I'm pretty sure this is only going to be a one-shot. There is a teeny-tiny chance I'll continue it but it's not my intention to do anything further with it. I'm still trying to think of what my multi-chaptered fic is going to be. Hopefully, I'll get an idea soon and you guys will have another one to follow. :)

Italics = Thoughts

"Italics in Quotation" = Trigedasleng (Grounder's language)

That Time of Year

Every year for as long as she could remember, this was the one moment in time and space that she felt the most free. It was the one time that she didn't have to be a leader; she could be that innocent girl that she once was before all of the suffering and loss. She could just sit and remember the girl she once was and the woman she had grown into. Even with all the loss, she still kept hold of that person she once was.

That first sign of winter, the first sign of snow fall. She always knew when it was coming. Like her father, she had this ability to sense when it was going to snow. It was like a feeling just overwhelmed her and she just knew it was coming. Of course it was clear that winter was coming, the air was cooling so much so that whenever someone breathed you could see the vapors come out as steam against the cool air. The grass was beginning to frost in the morning air only to melt in the daylight sunshine. Even with all this, Lexa knew, she knew it in her bones that the first snowfall was coming.

Each and every year she would go out to her favorite clearing out by Tondc, and this year wouldn't be any different. With the defeat of Mount Weather only a few weeks ago, the grounders and sky people joined up to start rebuilding Tondc to the village it once was. A village that would house both the grounders and their traditions as well as the sky people and their technology. It was a big turning point for all of them, defeating the mountain meant their people could live as one. It wasn't a fight anymore, it wasn't Lexa against her warriors, and even Indra was for this idea.

This year would be a little different however; she had someone in her life that she cared for. That she might even love. She wanted to share this great moment with her because it was one that only came around once each year and Lexa wanted to be able to share this moment with the sky leader. She hadn't shared this moment with anyone since Anya was alive the year before and even then Anya was only there to protect her. Did they have a friendship? Yes, but when the commander of the leaders was asking to sit in an open area with no protection, one cannot just watch the snow falling from the sky. They had to protect the one person that would lead them to victory if need be.

Lexa knew this, so she got used to the idea of being out in the snow alone. Sitting in the clearing until her fingers and toes felt tingly from the cold.

Currently, Lexa was walking around the camp they had created just outside the area of where Tondc once was before the missile struck. It was early to say the least, the sun was just starting to peak its head above the trees. There was no movement in the camp besides herself and one guard that hung back because even though they all knew that they have freedom; it was still old hat for that guard to watch the commander's every move.

She made her way to the shelter of her desire, the girl of her dreams, the one she wanted to share this moment with. Unsure of what to do once she got in front of the cloth covering the opening, she had heard of something called 'knocking' before entering. It was something that the sky people did so she did just that wanting to make sure she wasn't intruding on Clarke.

There wasn't a door so she knocked on the wooden post that was holding the cloth. After a moment, there was no response so she entered a little cautiously. The light shining through one of the windows was enough for Lexa to make out where Clarke was sleeping. She just stood there and stared at the blonde in front of her, Clarke's back to her. It took a moment before she got her legs moving and moved closer to her desire.

Leaning over, she placed a hand on Clarke's shoulder and shook her a little, "Clarke," she whispered not wanting to startle her awake. Clarke mumbled something that Lexa couldn't make out. "What did you say?"

"We need to get the butterflies to a safe location," Clarke mumbled into her pillow.

Lexa stared at the blonde confused, "The what?"

Clarke exhaled rather loudly sounding a little annoyed, "The butterflies. They need a home."

"The-the butterflies?" Now Lexa was even more confused.

Just then Clarke rolled over mumbling, "Lexa, I know you know where the butterflies should go. This is your land after all…"

Lexa took in the situation at hand noticing Clarke's eyes were closed and clearly she was still sleeping. "She's dreaming about me…" she could barely contain her excitement as she looked upon the sleeping beauty.

"I knew you weren't heartless Lexa…."

Lexa wanted to hear more but she knew the snow was coming soon and wanted to be there in the moment when it happened so she went against her judgment and touched Clarke's shoulder again to shake her awake. "Clarke, wake up."

Finally a sleepy-eyed leader opened her eyes and at first was smiling and then looked confused, "Lexa?"

Lexa nodded, "Yes."

Clarke looked around her quarters as she leaned up on her elbows, "What are you doing in here?"

"Get dressed, I have something to show you." The commander waved her arms in a 'come on' motion to get the point across.

"It can't wait until the sun is actually up?" Clarke asked the hard questions as sleep was not going away from her.

The commander shook her head side to side, "No, it must be right now. I promise you it will be worth it."

The blonde took a moment before letting go of a breath she didn't know she was holding in, "Okay, fine. It better be good," she swung her legs off of the bed and stood up noticing no movement coming from Lexa. "Um… can you give me some privacy to get dressed?"

"Oh, right… yes of course… I'll wait… I'll just wait… Um, wait outside. Yes," her words rattled off as she was overwhelmed with her own butterflies seeing that Clarke's shirt had ridden up a little revealing creamy looking skin. Skin she wanted to run her fingers across. Walking outside, she felt a flush against her cheeks, happy that no one was really around so that no one could see her blushing.

Moments later, Clarke walked out of her shelter… "Okay, I'm ready to go." She looked at Lexa briefly before she noticed one of the grounder warriors a few metres away, "Why is he following you?"

Lexa looked over to the grounder warrior briefly before looking back at Clarke, "He knows it is not necessary for a guard to be with me at all times anymore. I think he is using it as an excuse to come with me."

Clarke was intrigued now, "Go where?"

The commander couldn't help but slyly smile, "That is something you will have to wait and see for. Now come on, let us go before we miss it." She turned to leave as Clarke followed behind.

Clarke ran up to catch up to Lexa, "Do you have a backpack?"

Lexa's blush came back a little but not enough to be too visible. She was thanking the gods in this moment that her skin was not pale, "Yes, I do. I borrowed it from Raven."

"Wherever, you're taking me must be important for you to use something from my people." Clarke stated knowing that grounders very rarely used their stuff. Every so often, she would find a grounder using something of theirs but it was very rare.

Silence overtook them as they walked toward the clearing Lexa was so fond of. It only took a few minutes before they walked out of the trees into this large open field. A few larger rocks lined the edges of the trees but the field was all grass and was big enough that Clarke could not see the other end.

"Wow…." Clarke was in awe at the vast amount of space this field had. When a thought hit her, "Why are we trying to rebuild Tondc where it was? Why not just move it here?" She looked back at Lexa standing there staring at Clarke.

Lexa moved past Clarke and walked farther into the field, "I never thought about doing that. That is something we will have to bring up at our next council meeting. Now come, we are not here to discuss future plans; we are here to get away from it all."

The sky leader did as she was told and continued to follow Lexa further into the field. She could tell they must have been far enough when Lexa put down the backpack she was carrying. Looking back, she noticed that the warrior was no longer following them but was near the tree line sitting on one of the larger rocks. "Not that I'm complaining but why is your warrior all the way back there?"

Lexa looked over to see where he was and couldn't help but smile, "I told you. He used me as an excuse to come. I am sure that if needed he would protect us, but that is not the reason he is here." She opened the backpack and pulled out a blanket, laying it on the ground before sitting on it herself. "Come, sit."

"You sure thought of everything," Clarke sat down on the blanket. "So… are you going to tell me why we're out here so early?"

The commander leaned back on the blanket until she was lying down staring up at the sky, "I am not. It is a surprise."

Clarke was a little confused at first and didn't know if she should lie down too but then she figured might as well. So she lied down to the left of the commander. "If you're not going to tell me what we're doing out here, can I ask you a question?" She asked staring up into the colorful sky as it turned from darkness into light.

Lexa nodded at first only to realize Clarke couldn't see that so she answered with, "Yes."

"It seems to me like this is something that you do every year. Maybe the blanket is something new, maybe it's not but all of this seems like a norm for you."

"You are right. I do this every year." Lexa looked up into the sky not able to look over at Clarke for fear that she would see right through her and see the feelings there.

"Why did you want me to be…."

Lexa watched Clarke sit up ever so slowly, "What is it Clarke?" She leaned up on her elbows as she watched Clarke look up in awe. Her eyes moved from Clarke into the air and she noticed the one thing she came out here for every year. The ability she had was still there.

Clarke's hand reached out in front on her just a something white fell out of the sky and touched her hand. The fluffiness was there and gone within seconds as it melted into water on her hand. She was in awe as she looked up into the sky and felt more falling from the sky. "Snow…." She barely got out in a whisper as her mind raced. She had read about the four seasons in the brief classes they had to take growing up but she had never thought she'd be able to experience it. Rain she had experienced but she wasn't sure if she would experience the frozen part of it.

For the first time in her entire life, Lexa wasn't watching the thing she came out there to see… No, she was watching the person she only had eyes for experience it for the first time. The look on Clarke's face said everything, the look of awe and excitement, Lexa could tell that Clarke was happy to be there in this very moment. She could feel fluffiness landing on her hair, on her clothes, but she didn't care, she just wanted to watch Clarke.

Finally after a few minutes, Clarke looked back down at Lexa, "This is why you brought me out here?" Her smile never leaving her face.

Lexa nodded slowly as she moved to a sitting position, "Yes…"

Clarke looked around and noticed the warrior behind them staring up into the sky as well just taking in the snowfall. Lexa was right… He wasn't here for her. "Thank you," she calmed down for a moment to really express what she was feeling in that moment to Lexa.

"You are welcome, Clarke of the sky people," Lexa's smile widened as she used the title she very rarely used when referring to Clarke.

Clarke couldn't stop looking at Lexa, the fact that she was one of the few people that ever saw that smile, the fact that she was in this moment right now because of the strong-willed commander sitting next to her. Before Clarke knew what she was doing, she leaned over to Lexa and connected her lips to the commander's. There wasn't a single bit of resistance. Lexa didn't pull away from her; in fact Clarke felt one of the commander's hands reach up and around her neck to deepen the kiss. Their lips moving together as one, there was no hunger, no need just complete and utter passion for the other. This was a moment that both of them would hold onto for forever…

Lexa was the first one to pull away, the hand she had brought up around Clarke's neck slowly detached itself but not losing contact with the person in front of her. Her hand ran along the blonde's collarbone, onto her shoulder and down her arm to her hand. She wanted to keep contact to make sure this was not a dream. That it in fact did happen.

Finally Clarke opened her eyes and she was left staring at the woman, the commander of the grounders, staring back at her with the same intensity that she felt in that moment. She could feel the commander running her fingers along her left hand and the feeling of lust came back full force. Her heart had finally caught up to her mind and she wanted more, she leaned in again to kiss Lexa again when Lexa stopped her.

"Wait…" Lexa was still a little breathless from their first kiss as she held Clarke back with her free left hand.

Clarke stopped and looked at her completely, her right hand subconsciously sweeping off the snow that was on Lexa's shoulder. Her mind was racing from the kiss; she couldn't fathom words in this moment.

"I need to know something."

The sky leader finally found her voice, "Anything."

"What's happening here," she motioned between the two of them. "Is it because of this moment?"

Clarke thought for a moment before answering with, "Yes and no." Lexa squinted at her confused. "Everything you've done here. The fact that you felt that I would like to see all of this…" She motioned to the snow falling all around them coming down more rapidly than before. She paused for a moment before continuing, "It means the world to me. So yes, this moment has brought it on definitely." The look on Lexa's face told Clarke that she was a little sad from that revelation. "However," Lexa's ears perked up. "It's not what made me want to kiss you. It just gave me an excuse. All of this, the care and work that you put into this, even the secrecy says to me that…" Her words were lost as she looked into emerald eyes staring back at her.

"That what Clarke?"

"That you feel for me, what I do for you." She gulped back some saliva that had built up in her nervousness.

Lexa was stunned at this revelation. The woman that she had been swooning over for several weeks now had actually been feeling the same emotions she was. No matter how many times she told herself that 'Love is weakness,' she could never get her feelings for Clarke to go away. Now… she wouldn't have to. They were felt on both sides.

"Lexa…" Clarke tried to pull the commander out of her state. That shook her out as Clarke could see the commander was focused on her now. "I said that I feel for you-"

Clarke was cut off by Lexa pulling her back in for another kiss. This one was more lust-filled, more hungry, like they now had a realization that this could have been going on long before now had they just gotten their act together earlier. Hands were on necks and getting tangled in partially wet hair from all of the snow melting on them, they got so lost in the moment that they had forgotten about the snowfall, forgotten that their ears were getting cold from the change in weather. In this moment, it was about them and nothing else.

"Heda!"

Lexa heard something in the background but was too lost from Clarke's lips being on her neck to focus on anything but that.

"HEDA!"

It was louder that time and she looked over to see the warrior in the distance waving his hands at her trying to get her attention. She sighed a little loudly unfortunately for her getting the attention of the woman sucking on her pulse point.

"What is it? Did I do something?" Clarke lifted her head and looked at Lexa only to see her looking toward the warrior. "Oh…"

"YES!" Lexa yelled over to the warrior in the distance.

"HEDA, YOU SHOULD HEAD BACK TO CAMP. THE TEMPERATURE IS GETTING TOO LOW. YOU WILL CATCH COLD!" The warrior yelled back in Trigedasleng.

Lexa looked back at Clarke and could see that the cold was in fact showing on her skin. Maybe he was right, Lexa thought to herself.

"What did he say?" The sky leader could see worry across the features of the commander.

"He said we should head back now and from the looks of you, I think he is right," Lexa moved to stand up on her feet reaching out her hands to help Clarke get up as well. "You look like you should be out of this cold weather."

Clarke shrugged her shoulders as she helped Lexa fold the blanket and put in back in the backpack, "I feel fine. You on the other hand…"

Lexa looked at Clarke in confusion, "What about me?" She swung the backpack over her left shoulder so that she could reach her right arm around Clarke and rub her arm to keep her at least a little warm as they continued their walk back into the forest. The warrior far behind giving them the space they clearly wanted.

"You just… You look like you're breaking…" Clarke chuckled at the look on Lexa's face. "I just mean, you don't exactly sport the 'love is weakness' look anymore." She used quotation marks to further her point.

"Well that is what happens when someone from the sky falls into my life," the commander pulled Clarke in a bit more to place a kiss upon her head.

Clarke smiled, "So that's happened often has it?"

"It has only happened once and once was enough for me… It was worth the wait, even if I was heartless as you put it." She could see the gate of the camp they had temporarily built until Tondc is completed.

As they walked through the gates, Clarke could see Jasper and Monty running around in the snowfall. Even Bellamy was outside creating snowballs and trying to hit those two. For a moment in time, everything was perfect in Clarke's world. She turned just to see Lexa starting to move away from her.

"Wait, will I see you later?" Clarke asked the commander giving her the eye.

Lexa nodded, "Of course you will. For now, be with your friends. The first snowfall only happens once."

"I'll see you later then…" Clarke didn't know how the commander would react to her expressing her feelings right out in the open so she just waved and wondered off toward her friends.

Lexa watched as Clarke ran off toward her sky friends playing in the snow. It was that time of year again and all Lexa could think about was the next year and whether it would be the same or not. Then again, nothing could really top the year that her feelings were reciprocated by the one and only Clarke Griffin.

THE END