"I want to get a tattoo," Clarke announced one day. Lexa stirred from where she'd been resting on the couch while Clarke drew her, or rather, finished the last drawing that she'd done of her.

"Really?" Lexa asked, her eyes lighting up at the idea. "Of what?"

"I don't know yet," Clarke admitted, turning to a blank page of her sketchbook. "Want to help me think of one?"

Lexa shuffled along the couch until she was practically leaning on Clarke's shoulder (which, she eventually did).

"I'm totally blanking," Clarke admitted shyly. "How did you come up with yours?"

"I'll admit, I didn't come up with mine," Lexa agreed. "Costia was artistic, like you, and she did the designs for them."

The idea of being compared to Costia flattered Clarke. She smiled a little and looked at Lexa before daring to ask, "what was she like?"

"Oh, you two couldn't have been more different," Lexa said, smiling wistfully. "She was free-spirited and light hearted... She didn't have a care in the world. Her hair was dark and short and she always had the tiniest, most intricate little braids. And her eyes were this gorgeous red-brown that could pierce your heart or melt it."

"And she was an artist," Clarke added. Lexa smiled again.

"She was many things," Lexa agreed. "An artist, a warrior, a healer-"

"Oh yeah, nothing like me," Clarke interrupted, smirking a little. Lexa smiled back.

"No. You are burdened by the responsibility that you owe to your people, and your concern for those you care about keeps you from doing whatever you want," Lexa explained, choosing her words carefully, like always. Her words stung, but they were truthful. "After Costia died, I swore I would never love again the way I loved her, not only to protect those I cared about, but to protect myself. But when I met you, I realized that because of your fierce loyalty and your strength... I don't have to worry about that, do I?"

It was interesting to Clarke, the way that Lexa put her answer as a question. Lexa was always confident in her decisions, so the fact that she trusted Clarke enough to wonder out loud if she should be worried or not, meant a lot.

"Nah, you don't have to worry about a thing," Clarke agreed, leaning in and kissing her quickly. "But you know, if you suspect that someone is trying to get secrets out of me, I wouldn't mind if you held me a little closer, or challenged them to a duel or something."

"I don't think I could challenge them to a duel," Lexa pointed out, and while her tone was light, Clarke knew she was serious when she added, "but, I will defend you with my dying breath."

"Okay, drama queen," Clarke said, though she appreciated the gesture, and acknowledged it by intertwining her fingers with Lexa's. "Help me come up with a tattoo design. What if we got matching ones?"

"Would that be appropriate?" Lexa asked, though she grinned when Clarke suggested it. "I don't know if our people would take kindly to that."

"Okay, good point," Clarke agreed. "What about some kind of symbol of our relationship? Some candles maybe?"

Lexa smiled again, though she hadn't really stopped smiling since she spoke about Costia.

"Isn't there something from the Ark that you'd prefer?" Lexa asked cautiously, her smile finally fading a little. Clarke shook her head.

"None of that is as important as this," she said, squeezing Lexa's hand. "I mean I guess there's one or two things more important than this, like learning how to talk and stuff, but as of right now, this is the most important thing for me."

"Yu laik the won," Lexa said softly in her native tongue. "The first words we exchanged."

"Really? Those were the first words we said to each other?" Clarke asked, beaming at Lexa. "It feels like forever ago."

She started drawing out ideas that contained those words in them- the words written in an infinity symbol, the words written in a circle, the words written in a heart, which was horribly cliche. Finally, she settled on an intricately designed compass tattoo, and the words that Lexa had given her were written in tiny letters inside the design.

"It's perfect," Lexa praised. "Where are you going to put it?"

"The back of my shoulder maybe?" Clarke suggested.

"That'll hurt a lot," Lexa commented, using her free hand to trace over the area where Clarke had suggested. "This is pure muscle here, and having a needle in there hundreds of times won't feel great. It's possible, but it's not going to be pleasant. Perhaps here?"

She dragged her finger to the middle of Clarke's back, just above where her shoulder blades met.

"Here would be good," Lexa said, brushing Clarke's hair to one side and pressing a slow, gentle kiss to the spot that she had pointed out. "You'll never be able to see it, but I can tell you how good it looks."

Clarke opened her mouth to make some witty comment, but all that came out was some pathetic whimper sound.

"Clarke, I'd love to come with you for this, but we still have to keep our relationship under wraps," Lexa explained sadly. "For the time being, at least. When our people are accustomed to the Skaikru being a part of the coalition, we can announce our bond."

"That's alright," Clarke said. She wasn't big on public displays of affection anyways. "I'll get Octavia to come with me. But I mean, if she kisses me after I hold her hand for the duration of the tattooing process... You'll understand right? I'm pretty great at hand holding."

"If she kisses you, she dies," Lexa scoffed, feigning jealousy.

"Was that a joke?" Clarke gasped, unable to contain her smile. "Did you really just make a joke?"

"Go or you'll be late," Lexa insisted, all but shoving her out the door. As Clarke left, she turned and blew a kiss to Lexa in the doorway before searching for Octavia.

She found the girl sharpening her sword outside the tower. She was sitting on the ground and leaning up against the cold brick wall, balancing the sword in her lap while she ran over it with a whet stone.

"Octavia, come with me," Clarke said, offering her hand to help her up. Octavia gave her a skeptical look so she continued. "I'm getting a tattoo and I hate needles so you're coming whether you like it or not."

"You're getting a tattoo?" Octavia repeated incredulously. In a more mocking tone, she added, "does your mom know about this?"

"No, she doesn't, and it'll probably stay that way for a while if things work out properly," Clarke explained.

"Oh my god," Octavia squealed, jumping to her feet. Her sword nearly clattered to the ground and she fumbled to get it back in it's sheath. "Are you getting a tramp stamp?"

"A what? No!" Clarke said, starting towards the tent where Lexa said the tattoo artist would be. "You'll see when it's finished."

The tent was no different than the dozens of others that were set up around Polis, but inside, it seemed darker than the others. The tattoo artist was sitting with her feet kicked up on her desk, watching Clarke and Octavia enter with calculating eyes. The woman was dark in every way- dark hair, dark eyes, even the way her lips curled at the edges was dark.

"Wanheda," the artist greeted cordially as they entered the tent. Clarke had expected her to have a gruff voice, however, the voice was actually quite mellow, and Clarke found herself at ease in her presence. "I was starting to wonder when you would come around here."

"I was just having trouble coming up with a design, but I think I have one now," Clarke replied, handing her the paper.

"Yeah, I can do this," said the woman approvingly. "Where do you want it?"

Clarke pulled her hair forward over one shoulder, and reached back to rub the spot that Lexa had suggested earlier.

"Very well. You can take off your shirt and we'll get started," the woman instructed. Clarke did as she was told, and balled up the fabric in her hands as she was guided to the chair where she would be spending the next few hours.

"Do you want me to hold your hand, Princess?" Octavia asked, her tone teasing. Clarke opened her mouth, but as soon as the artist picked up the needle, Clarke's stomach flopped. So naturally, Clarke snatched Octavia's hand and braced herself for the impending pain.

"How'd it go?" Lexa asked, stepping into Clarke's bedroom that night. After Clarke had gotten her tattoo, she had gone out riding with Octavia to try and take her mind off of the pain of the tattoo. It didn't help much, but there were plenty of laughs between the two of them, which made the ride worthwhile.

"I didn't think it would hurt that much," Clarke admitted, sitting up in her bed, stiff and sore.

"Can I see it?" Lexa asked shyly, sitting down beside Clarke on the bed. Clarke obliged, feeling much more comfortable as she pulled her shirt off for Lexa than she did at the tattoo place. Lexa fell silent as she carefully peeled back the bandages to reveal the tattoo.

"Well? Does it look okay?" Clarke asked impatiently. Lexa traced it with the tip of her finger, and Clarke's skin shuddered under her touch.

"It's beautiful," Lexa remarked, her hands spreading over the expanse of Clarke's back before snaking around her waist and tugging her towards herself so that she could gently kiss the crown of Clarke's head.

Sighing heavily, Clarke settled back against Lexa and closed her eyes.

"I have to go to Arkadia tomorrow," Clarke mumbled. "Not for very long, I just have to stay updated on what's going on."

"Of course," Lexa said calmly, taking to braiding Clarke's hair. "Do you require company?"

"No, Octavia already said she'd come with me," Clarke said. "She wants to see her brother. Probably to beat him up, but still."

"You've been growing close to her," Lexa observed. Clarke smirked, but Lexa didn't see.

"Are you jealous, Commander?" Clarke asked.

"Do I need to be?" Lexa replied.

"I mean, I just got a tattoo symbolizing our relationship," Clarke reminded her. "I don't think you need to worry about anything."

"Clarke!" said Jaha as Clarke walked through the camp. "Do you have a minute? I have a favour to ask of you."

Clarke didn't really have spare time, but Jaha was the former Chancellor and warranted Clarke's respect, so she stopped to listen to him.

"You've heard of the Polaris station, haven't you?" Jaha asked. Clarke nodded- she'd always been fascinated by the story. "Rumour has it that the chip that Becca was working on still exists. That it's down here somewhere. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Clarke had always gotten a bit of a crazy vibe from Jaha, but this was unheard of.

"I haven't heard anything about that," Clarke replied curtly. "By down here you mean on Earth or...?"

"It would be among the grounders, most likely, since they were here when Becca deployed the Polaris station."

Clarke didn't want to get ahead of herself, but the name Polaris was awfully close to Polis... She pushed the thought from her mind.

"Could you draw me a picture of this... chip?" Clarke asked skeptically, fishing out a piece of paper from her back pocket. It was the same one that had her tattoo design on it, but she didn't really care. Jaha took the paper from her and scribbled something down that looked like a spider. Clarke took it from him and stuck it back in her pocket.

"Thank you, but I really have to talk to Chancellor Kane," Clarke said, excusing herself as she brushed past Jaha.

While the Chancellor brought her up to speed on what was happening, her mind kept drifting off to what Jaha had told her, and she kept pinching herself to bring her attention back.

"Okay, so let me just make sure I got everything," Clarke said after Kane finished talking. "Pike has been banished, his followers are disbanded and awaiting trial, and Jaha is a drug dealer now?"

"Pretty much," Kane agreed, cracking a smile. "I don't think Jaha is really a threat though. He's just babbling nonsense."

Clarke nodded, feeling better about what Jaha had told her earlier.

"Do you think Pike will be a threat now that he's out? He has no restrictions or anything- he could still do some damage if he wanted to," Clarke wondered out loud. She was less than enthusiastic about the idea of Pike being able to go wherever he wanted.

"We gave him no weapons and no rations," Kane replied. "And if he somehow survives, and tries to attack our people or yours- sorry, the grounders, then I told them we wouldn't hesitate to kill him."

Clarke smiled at the idea of the grounders being her people, though they weren't really. And the idea of Pike suffering because of what he did to Lexa's army thrilled her.

"How are things at Polis?" Kane asked, crossing his arms.

"Pretty docile now that relations between their people and ours are more stable," Clarke said. "It's just business as usual there now."

"Any news from the Skaikru?" Lexa asked as the thirteen clans met in the conference room. Twelve faces turned to Clarke, but the only gaze she felt was Lexa's.

"Pike has been banished without supplies and his followers await punishment for their war crimes. If Pike is seen on any of our land, we have the right to kill him," Clarke assured, and the others nodded their approval. "The people are responding well to Chancellor Kane's leadership."

"Very good," Lexa praised, turning to the next ambassador. The went around the circle, each sharing updates and struggles that each clan faced, though there were very few problems this week.

For the first time since Clarke had landed on the ground, she actually felt like maybe there was an end to their hardships.

It was hard for Clarke to think about struggles when the Commander of the Twelve Armies had her arms around her, pressing kisses on her neck and shoulder.

"Titus told me something interesting today, when I got back to Polis," Clarke said when Lexa stopped kissing her to lean her head on her shoulder instead. "He said that being the Commander meant you have to be alone."

"Don't listen to what he says," Lexa replied, making a sound of frustration. "He accuses me of making decisions with my heart rather than my head... And while it's exceptionally difficult when it comes to you, ai hodnes, I'm capable of keeping you out of my decisions as the Commander."

"Ai hodnes," Clarke replied, testing the words out on her tongue. Lexa smiled shyly. "What does that mean?"

"That is for me to know and for you to learn," Lexa teased, her smile growing. Clarke pouted. "You have a long way to go if you're going to integrate into our culture."

"Maybe the secret is in whatever you just told me," Clarke replied. Lexa just shook her head.

"I doubt it," Lexa said confidently, leaning back against the head of her bed.

"Alright, well if you're not going to tell me, then I guess I'm not being the big spoon tonight," Clarke protested, though it was hard come across as angry when she was still holding hands with Lexa. And she wasn't about to be the first to let go.

"Big spoon?" Lexa asked, raising an eyebrow. Clarke smirked.

"How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine?" Clarke gloated.

"I'll tell you what ai hodnes means, if you tell me what a big spoon is," Lexa offered. And Clarke rolled her eyes.

"Okay, fine, you first," Clarke relented, fully planning on not telling Lexa. Sure, it was petty, but it was also necessary. For personal reasons.

"It means my love," Lexa explained, and even the gentle, loving version of Lexa had an air of regal confidence to her. The way her chin tilted upwards as she spoke, the way she looked at Clarke with hooded eyes to conceal her true emotions, the steadiness of her voice... Clarke couldn't help but smile.

"That's sweet," Clarke hummed. At this point, she realized she had to tell Lexa, or the guilt would eat her up forever. "The big spoon is basically the one who wraps their arms around the other when they're cuddling... Which makes you the little spoon."

"I am not a little spoon," Lexa insisted. Clarke rolled her eyes.

"Yes you are," Clarke replied. "You might act like you're a tough, ruthless tyrant, but I know that you're actually just a big ol' cuddle bug."

"Yes," Lexa relented, though there was still a playful glimmer in her eyes. "And it's all your fault. The revered Wanheda has claimed yet another victim. I'm powerless to you."

"Well that's a bit of a stretch," Clarke huffed, though she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at the idea of Lexa bending to her will. "I watched you grab a sword with your bare hands. I don't think I'm qualified to be more powerful than you."

"I'm glad you noticed," Lexa commented. "I did it just to impress you. It had nothing to do with saving my own life or anything."

"I think I like sarcastic Lexa," Clarke replied, leaning in to kiss Lexa.

"I like you too," Lexa replied, before laying amongst the furs of her bed. Clarke laid back as well, shifting to put her arms around Lexa's waist and nuzzled her nose to the curve of her shoulder.

"Goodnight, little spoon," Clarke whispered.

Remembering the paper that Jaha had given her, Clarke examined it more closely in the early morning light. She still had no idea what this thing was- let alone how to find it.

"How do you know what that looks like?" Lexa asked accusingly once she woke up.

"You know what this is?" Clarke replied, equally as surprised as Lexa. Lexa pried the paper gently from Clarke's hands.

"This is the spirit of the Commander," Lexa said, her brows furrowing together. "Where did you get this?"

"Jaha drew it out for me- he's looking for it. Something to do with the City of Light," Clarke explained, unsure of why Lexa seemed so spooked. "Do you know where it is?"

Lexa turned her head, pulling her hair to one side, revealing a tattoo of an infinity symbol with a scar running straight through it. Clarke reached out and ran her hand along the tattoo.

"Wait- it's in your neck?" Clarke gasped, her hand freezing. That explained why Lexa was so freaked out. "I won't tell him, I promise."

"Whoever possesses this is the Commander of our people," Lexa explained, looking equal parts stern and afraid. "Are you sure you don't know what he wants with it?"

"He said something about a code, but he didn't go into detail," Clarke said. "I wish I could tell you more, I really do. But for now- I'll protect you, Lexa."

Lexa didn't seem convinced, but she at least softened a little.

"How many others know about this?" Lexa asked.

"I haven't told anyone," Clarke assured. "But I'm not sure who Jaha's told about it. I can try and get some more information from him the next time I go to Arkadia?"

"No, don't," Lexa protested. "I don't want him to think that you know something. If he, or anyone tries to take it from me, I will punish them as necessary. That includes any of your people."

"If they try to hurt you, I'll be the first to fight back," Clarke assured, pressing a kiss to the top of Lexa's head. "Though, you can probably handle yourself."

"Thank you, Clarke," Lexa murmured, finally able to relax back against her pillows. They fell silent for a while, closing their eyes again as if they didn't have a whole day of work to do.

"Lexa," Clarke said quietly. Lexa rolled over so that she faced Clarke. "I'm glad you trusted me with this. Thank you."

Lexa smiled softly, and pressed a small kiss on the tip of Clarke's nose.