The following week, Lexa put Clarke straight to work, leaving no time for personal conversations to keep things from getting awkward. They met at the river each morning, where they continued to practise running on rocks, or strengthened Clarke's ability to use the force to move objects such as said rocks. However, the next step in Clarke's training was simply inevitable.

"You want me to what?" Clarke said, her eyebrows shot high up on her forehead.

"You heard me," Lexa replied. "Carry me across the rocks. On your back."

"Why is that even relevant?" Clarke demanded. Lexa laughed a little.

"Ever since Luke Skywalker was a Padawan, it's sort of just been tradition," Lexa offered as an explanation, though even she didn't really understand why it was necessary. "Now, enough complaining, let's get to it."

Clarke bent down for Lexa to climb onto her back. The younger girl staggered a little under Lexa but eventually found her balance.

"Can I at least practise on solid ground first?" Clarke asked.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Lexa agreed, wrapping her arms around Clarke and trying her very best to ignore the energy flow between them. She still didn't understand it- she'd never felt it with anyone else before. Although, it was becoming very difficult to overlook. Her insides squirmed not unpleasantly at the feeling of Clarke's hands strongly gripping her thighs.

She sort of wished that Clarke would fall in the water to rid Lexa's mind of these thoughts.

When Clarke felt confident, she started walking on the rocks. She took one step at a time, sometimes pausing for minutes at a time as she worked out which rocks would be easiest to step on with her balance so off kilter.

But then Clarke's legs started rattling violently and before Lexa could give her any advice, they tumbled into the river. Weighed down by her cloak, Lexa had to put in a little extra work to swim against the current, but managed to get back to shore, along with Clarke.

"You're doing well," Lexa encouraged, because Clarke looked absolutely miserable. She didn't let herself examine Clarke's body for injury, because she knew she would get distracted by other aspects of her. "You can use the force. Let it guide you."

"You couldn't have told me that half an hour ago?" Clarke complained, wringing out her hair. Lexa rolled her eyes.

"Half an hour ago, you didn't need it. You were just walking on a paved path," Lexa reminded her. She took off her cloak and draped it over a rock to dry in the early morning sunlight.

With the use of the force, Clarke was able to walk with much more confidence, but didn't run quite yet. Lexa didn't want her to anyways. But the way that Clarke used the force so easily made it clear to Lexa that Clarke's powers were stronger than she originally thought.

"Let's leave it there for today," Lexa suggested once Clarke had walked the same length that she had without her on her back. "Come with me. We have more training to do."

"Seriously?" Clarke groaned in protest. "I did more work today than I have ever!"

"Don't worry, the rest won't be too difficult," Lexa assured. "Usually a Jedi takes their Padawan on missions with them, and since I'm not exactly doing any missions at the moment, you're going to come with me to work."

"Why aren't you assigned on any missions?" Clarke asked curiously, catching up to Lexa, who was already snatching her cloak and climbing the steps back to the city.

"The Jedi Council finds me argumentative," Lexa explained. "I'm always challenging their traditions, and they find that problematic. Even though I was the top of my class, they hardly ever send me on missions. Don't tell anyone that."

"My lips are sealed," Clarke assured. "So what do you do?"

"I'm a glorified security guard," Lexa said. "Basically I just protect this fleet of ships from smugglers."

"Smugglers, huh?" Clarke repeated, smirking. "Ever seen any?"

"Not yet," Lexa admitted, growing suspicious of Clarke's expression.

"Well, maybe because there aren't any," Clarke replied, holding back laughter. "Seriously. Everyone here is training to become a pilot, and every ship that leaves here has to be checked and double checked by security before it can leave. And those who do try to smuggle a ship out of here... Well, they get thrown into orbit without anything. We call it floating. No one is dumb enough to risk that."

"I didn't let him pay me because I thought I was doing some great service to him by being here," Lexa said, looking around uneasily. "Wait out here. I'm going to talk to him."

She entered the office of the aircraft hangar, where her employer was sitting with his feet kicked up on the desk.

"You didn't mention that there aren't any smugglers in this city," Lexa said angrily, not even bothering to say hello. His jaw dropped a little and he hung up the phone, whispering some variant of "I'll get back to you later."

"Lexa...," he started, but quickly trailed off. His silence said more than any words could.

"I'm quitting," she informed him. "I trust that you won't need two-weeks notice, since this job wasn't necessary to begin with."

"Fair enough," said the man. "You can keep the room. You deserve it."

"Thank you, Gustus," Lexa replied in a calmer tone. She bowed her head and left the hangar.

Clarke was outside, leaning against the wall and waiting for her with her arms crossed. If Lexa didn't already know her, she might've been intimidated by the blonde.

"How'd it go?" Clarke asked, standing upright when she saw Lexa.

"He's letting me keep my living quarters," Lexa said optimistically. They fell in stride with one another as they walked back towards Lexa's place.

"Did you have to use the force on him? Did you force it out of him?" Clarke pressed, making some weird hand gesture to represent using the force.

"No, I just asked for the truth and he told me," Lexa said. "People know better than to underestimate the power of a Jedi. When you've earned your title, no one will dare to challenge you ever again. Except perhaps your peers."

"Must be nice," Clarke said in a dejected tone that concerned Lexa. Against her better judgement, she reached out and took Clarke's hand. Clarke looked at her with surprised eyes.

"Clarke, you're stronger than you think," Lexa insisted. The energy between their palms was pleasantly warm, but held them together like glue. "If anyone is making you feel-"

"They aren't," Clarke asserted, a little too quickly to be convincing. "Just sometimes at work... Well, there's this one regular, and he's a really sloppy drunk. I have to get authorities involved every night he comes in, and he's not really a threat to me, it would just be nice if I could handle him myself, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Lexa agreed, thinking back to her entirely too cocky classmates. "If you ever need help... You know where to find me."

"What are you going to do now that you're out of a job?" Clarke asked. She didn't let go of Lexa's hand, and it seemed unlikely that either of them would be able to. Their arms swung back and forth gently with each stride. Lexa's home was coming into view.

"My full-time job is training you," Lexa replied with a knowing grin, causing Clarke to roll her eyes.

"Great, lucky me," Clarke said sarcastically, and when Lexa leaned in to kiss her, it was purely by accident. However, wrapping her arms around Clarke and letting the kiss continue was on purpose. As much as she fought her feelings for Clarke, something inside her, stronger than the force, kept drawing her to the blonde.

"Wait- I thought you said that you couldn't be with me," Clarke protested, pushing Lexa back by her shoulders, but her grip was gentle and polite. Lexa's hand traced the curve of Clarke's jaw.

"I said I couldn't keep my feelings in check, and I stand by that statement," Lexa reminded her. Clarke smiled. "Unless this makes you uncomfortable."

"Not at all," Clarke replied, leaning in to kiss Lexa again.