a/n: written for Chiara (coolestjellyfish) as part of the Bellarke Valentines Gift Exchange on Tumblr :)

"I can't believe we're related."

"You've already said that."

"You're such a dumbass. I mean, I always knew you were a dumbass, but this is like, next level dumbassery."

"Thanks, O. I really appreciate the support."

"Hey, I do support you. I'm just pointing out that a normal person would just ask the person they've been in love with forever on a date instead of kidnapping them on Valentine's Day."

"I'm not kidnapping her." Bellamy grumbled. "I'm just trying to cheer her up."

"Then ask her out! She's in love with you too, you know." Octavia rolled her eyes and flopped down on the couch next to Raven who was studiously attempting to tune out their conversation by kicking Miller's ass at Mario Kart.

"This isn't about me, or getting her to date me, this is about helping her get over the jackass who ruined Valentine's for her in the first place. She hates Valentine's now and me asking her out for it isn't going to change that. I just want to help her love the day again. You know how excited she always got about it and I hate that it was ruined because of her ex." Bellamy ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. He needed this to work.

"I agree with Octavia, just ask her out." Raven said, grinning as Miller swore and threw the controller at a laughing Jasper.

"Right, I'm leaving before Raven bankrupts me." Miller stood up and made towards the door. "When Clarke kills Bellamy don't give me the details. I can't defend her if I know what she's done." Miller winked at Monty and fist bumped Octavia as he left.

"I hate all of you." Bellamy sighed.

"Awww, we love you too." Jasper cooed. "I'm all for you sweeping Clarke off of her feet. I told you ages ago that you two were perfect for each other."

"He even got t-shirts made. He's been dying to wear them." Monty smiled.

"Whatever. You guys have been no help at all. I'm leaving too. I need to pick up a few things from the store for Clarke tomorrow." Bellamy grabbed his jacket and bent to kiss Octavia on the head.

He heard a chorus of 'good luck' as he exited Octavia and Raven's apartment and started walking towards his car. He was beginning to get nervous about his plan but he couldn't help the excitement too. Tomorrow would either be the best or worst day of his life and it was all up to Clarke.

Clarke woke to the smell of burning bacon and what she thought was a guy swearing violently in a language she vaguely recognised as Latin. She groaned as she pushed herself out of bed and groggily made her way towards her bedroom door. She had a half formed rant about respecting privacy and was about to launch into it when she realized who was standing in her kitchen.

Bellamy was hopping around like a lunatic, frantically flapping his arms at what was left of the obviously ruined breakfast he'd been attempting to make. She didn't know whether to laugh or shout at him for stinking out her apartment.

Clarke shouted Bellamy's name and raised her eyebrows as he spun around with a pleading expression on his face.

"I can explain everything." He held his hands out and looked so contrite that Clarke couldn't help but start to laugh.

He smirked slightly as she walked over to the cooker, still laughing, and dumped the contents of the pan straight into the bin before dropping the pan in the sink.

"I need coffee before we have this conversation." She said, walking over to the coffee machine and grabbing two cups from the stand next to it.

She heard Bellamy sigh in defeat behind her as he pulled out a chair and flopped onto it.

When she'd made them both a cup of coffee she turned back around and sat opposite him at the breakfast table.

"Okay, explain."

"It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Clearly. Why?"

"I wanted to cheer you up."

"And you thought breaking into my apartment and setting it on fire with your atrocious cooking skills would cheer me up?" Clarke grinned.

"It went better in my head." He groaned but managed a smile back.

"It always goes better in your head, you're a disaster, Bell. I don't know why they let you around kids."

"Shut up. This wasn't even the whole surprise."

"It wasn't? Okay, now I'm intrigued." Clarke got up, put her cup in the sink and started walking back towards her bedroom. "What's part two?"

"It's a surprise." Bellamy said, rolling his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed. I assume part two requires leaving the apartment because there's no way you'll let me spend today holed up in here. I was expecting one of you guys to drag me out, I just never expected it to be you." She shrugged.

"Why wouldn't it be me?" Bellamy asked confused.

"I thought you'd be on a date."

"You're more important than a date, Clarke." He met her eyes and smiled.

"Thanks, Bellamy."

"No problem. It's warm outside and it'll be warm where we're going. You've got about half an hour before we need to leave."

"Can you at least give me a clue?"

"Sorry, Princess." Bellamy laughed.

"Ugh, fine. I'll be ready." Clarke walked into her room and started to shut the door behind her, it was almost closed when she heard Bellamy shout.

"Make sure you bring a bikini unless you want to try skinny dipping. I'm fine either way." She heard him chuckle as the door clicked shut.

"Are we there yet?" Clarke asked.

"Jesus, you're like a five year old about to visit Disneyland."

"Are we about to visit Disneyland? Don't play with me about that, Bell. You know how I feel about Gaston."

"I still can't believe you want to visit Disneyland just to get banned from Disneyland by punching one of the prince's."

"Gaston isn't a prince. He's a manipulative, controlling piece of shit. Someone needs to punch him."

"You know it's not actually Gaston, right? He's an actor."

"Anyone who's willing to get paid for being a dick deserves punching. It's the principle of it."

"You're ridiculous."

"I'm amazing."

"Whatever." Bellamy laughed, turning onto a dirt road and pulling up next to what looked like a hiking trail.

"Please, don't tell me we're climbing a mountain. I suck at hiking." Clarke whined, hopping out of Bellamy's truck and shaking off the numbness in her legs from the long drive.

"I promise we aren't climbing a mountain. It's about a twenty minute walk to where we're going, you'll love it."

Bellamy walked around to the back of the truck, popped open the boot and pulled out a basket.

"Oh my god. Are we having a picnic?" Clarke smiled, delighted.

"Maybe." He laughed at her excitement and held out his hand to her. She grabbed it and started pulling him happily towards the trail.

"Part two is looking so much better than part one."

"I'm glad you think so. You might wanna slow down a little though otherwise we'll end up lost because I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be leading."

"There's literally a trail right in front of us. Even I can navigate when there's a path." She rolled her eyes but dropped back a little so she was walking beside him.

Bellamy leaned down and brushed his lips against her ear. "Who said we were following the path?" He moved back and winked, steering them both towards a break in the trees.

Bellamy grew more and more excited as he led Clarke through the maze of leaves and branches. This morning hadn't gone anywhere near to plan but he felt confident that the rest of the day would make up for it.

He'd known Clarke for about 5 years, ever since his sister had waltzed into the bar he was working in to pay his way through University dragging Clarke with her. He'd been ridiculously happy at first when he'd learned Octavia had actually made such an obviously caring friend. He could tell Clarke adored his sister even before she threatened to punch a guy for getting a little too grabby on the dance floor.

Bellamy had been surprised to find someone who was almost as protective of Octavia as he was and knew instantly they'd get along. After his shift was over he'd joined the girls and had attempted to make friends with Clarke too. Unfortunately, they seemed to disagree on everything. He didn't know what it was about her that had gotten under his skin but she'd been so infuriating he'd almost wished Octavia had never met her.

It took them months to form any sort of friendship and it was mostly down to their other friends forcing them to be civil which led to them finding common ground in their mutual love of history and art. Admittedly, Bellamy had never been a huge fan of art but the way Clarke had spoken about it had intrigued him. She'd seemed to be just as interested when he'd talked about his passion for history and mythology and so they'd managed to get through a whole conversation without starting an argument.

After that it became easy to talk to her and their harsh words from before ended up turning into good natured teasing. Clarke had really grown on him though when she started leaving drawings of whatever historical story he'd told her last. She was a great artist and she always managed to capture the scenes he described perfectly, almost as though she could see inside his head.

He never realized he was falling in love with her. It was so slow and natural, he couldn't have stopped it even if he'd tried.

Octavia was the first to point it out. She claimed it had been her plan all along and her and Raven had started a betting pool between their friends on how long it was going to take before he and Clarke started dating.

It seemed everyone had realized he was in love with Clarke before he had. He hoped Clarke would realize soon too because he had no idea how to tell her.

Bellamy came to a stop just between a huge chunk of rock and a wall of vines. He felt Clarke lean into him as she stopped next to him too. He took a deep breath and smiled down at her. "Ready?"

"Yes." Clarke breathed, smiling back at him.

Bellamy walked through the wall of vines tugging Clarke along gently behind him. He pushed back some branches and stepped into the beginning of a small clearing.

He heard Clarke gasp in awe as she took in their surroundings and was surprised to find tears in her eyes when he looked at her.

"This is amazing." She let out a soft giggle and spun around. "How did you find this place?"

"I broke down a few months back in that little lay by we pulled up in. My phone had no reception so I decided to try and get to higher ground so I could call a tow. It was the middle of the day so I wasn't that worried about walking through the woods but while I was busy trying to get a signal I ended up losing the trail."

"And you said I'd be the one to get lost." Clarke laughed.

Bellamy nudged her with his elbow and continued. "Yeah, yeah. So, I got lost and that's when I heard what sounded like water so I figured, follow the water, find civilisation."

"Nerd. You watch way too many survival documentaries."

"Well they clearly paid off because I'm still alive." He grinned. "Anyway, I followed the sound of water but instead of finding a stream I found this clearing and that waterfall."

"I'm so glad you broke down and got lost."

"Your concern for my welfare is truly touching."

"I'm a saint."

Bellamy snorted and shook his head. He set the basket he was carrying on the ground and began emptying its contents. He laid out a blanket and then started bringing out some of Clarke's favourite foods. He almost started smirking when he saw how impressed she was but figured being smug about it would cause her to stop being so open with her feelings. He felt like things were changing and he wanted to know how she felt about those changes.

They sat for a while, making idle conversation and filling each other in on what was happening at work. Bellamy told her about possibly being promoted to head of the history department at the college he was teaching at and Clarke practically bounced up and down when she told him about her upcoming art exhibition.

It was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable days Bellamy had ever had.

"Do you wanna go for a swim?" Bellamy asked. "We've got about an hour before we need to be heading back."

"Sure." Clarke stood up then blushed looking around nervously. "Where do I get changed?"

"We're both adults. We'll just turn our backs on each other and agree not to look. I won't judge if you peek though, I know I'm pretty irresistible." Bellamy pushed himself up off the ground and turned around, pulling his shirt up and off before looking back over his shoulder at a motionless Clarke.

"You just gonna stand there all day, Princess?"

"What? No, sorry...I'll...yeah, okay." Clarke blushed even more as she spun around.

Bellamy continued stripping, acutely aware of a very naked Clarke stood just behind him. He felt his throat get dry and tried to think of something else before he did something stupid. He stayed facing away from her until he heard her clear her throat.

"You can turn back around now." She said.

Bellamy looked over his shoulder at her and held out his hand again. "Together?" He nodded towards the water and watched as Clarke followed his movement.

She swallowed and grasped his hand firmly in hers. "Together."

Bellamy grinned and started running towards the water, Clarke matching his pace and laughing as they got faster.

They both jumped at the same time and neither let go as they plunged into the cool water. Bellamy stayed under for a few seconds, meeting Clarke's eyes before they both kicked towards the surface.

When they came up for air they were both laughing. As he looked at her he was struck by how beautiful she was. He'd always known she was beautiful but right now, with the sun shining down on them and water dripping from her face, she was captivating.

They seemed to gravitate towards each other as the laughter died down and he was confused as he tried to place the look she was giving him. It was almost like adoration and his heart began beating faster the longer she held his gaze. She seemed to be searching his face for something.

Clarke kept moving closer whilst Bellamy remained frozen, almost not daring to breathe for fear he'd break whatever moment they'd fallen into.

He watched as she brought one of her hands up out of the water and used it to push his hair back from his face. She cupped his cheek gently and he leaned into it and closed his eyes.

If he could have frozen time he would have. He decided that this was probably what true peace felt like and he wanted to stay in this moment for as long as she'd let him.

"Bellamy." Clarke whispered. He smiled.

"Open your eyes." She laughed.

"I'm great like this, thanks."

"Seriously, Bell. Open them."

"You're so demanding." He huffed and opened his eyes. Clarke was beaming at him. He was stunned for a second as he took in her happiness. She was radiant and it almost hurt to look at.

"Bellamy Blake." She said.

"Yes?"

"Bell." She smiled even wider.

"Okay, you're starting to freak me out now, Princess. Why are you smiling like that?"

"Because I'm happy."

"That's good."

"You made me happy."

"That was the goal." Bellamy was slightly confused, he'd never seen her smile this much and he felt a little dizzy as she started to gently stroke his cheek.

"I mean, you make me happy. Every day you're in my life makes me happy. You're the most important person in my life and I'm always going to want you around. I'm always going to want days like this and I'm always going to need you. You're my best friend and I'm hoping...that maybe you'd want to be more than that."

Bellamy blinked. He couldn't quite understand what she was trying to say. He thought he got it but it sounded so much like every daydream he'd ever had that he was having trouble believing it was real.

"What?" He stuttered.

Clarke laughed and pulled him closer, pressing herself against him until there was no space left between them. She looked at him and Bellamy felt everything else fall away as she began leaning closer.

He felt a brief second of panic and the realization that there would be no going back after this but as soon as he felt her lips press gently against his he realized that of course there was no going back. There was nothing to go back to because it was always heading this way. It had always been like this, always would be like this.

His lips moved more fiercely against hers as they worked through five years of waiting for this moment. It felt monumental and simple all at once.

Their kiss gradually began to slow and Bellamy pulled back gently to rest his forehead against hers.

Clarke played with the hair at the bottom of his neck as his thumbs stroked circles against her waist.

He cleared his throat a few times before he trusted himself to speak. "I love you." He whispered. He hoped she understood how much because he was having trouble putting it into words and those three just didn't feel like enough.

"I love you." Clarke whispered back.

"Thank God." He said as she laughed. He didn't think he'd ever heard her laugh so much in one day.

"You can take me home now." She said moving back and starting towards the edge so she could pull herself out.

He panicked again at the thought that maybe he'd misread some signals and that that kiss didn't mean what he thought it had meant but she must have read his face and so she shot him a reassuring smile.

"We can watch bad romance movies, make out and I'll ring O and Raven to settle that bet. They owe me big." She smirked.

"You bet on us?"

"There's nothing I'd rather bet on." She smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Me too." Bellamy smiled and started making his way towards her. He had a feeling Clarke would start loving Valentine's Day again. He just hoped he'd be able to top this one next year.

a/n: I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope you guys liked it! Reviews are always appreciated :D