A/N: Thank you for your reviews, you guys are amazing :3

Clarke was still sitting outside with Lincoln and the Blake siblings when she noticed Lexa. She excused herself from her friends with a smile that let them know how much she appreciated them, and walked towards the Commander.

"Clarke." Lexa's eyes were lit up by the smile that she hid from the people around them.

"How did the meeting go?" Clarke asked, automatically falling back into the old leader version of herself that was always concerned about her people's safety. "Any bad word from the other clans? Things we should be worried about?" Her chest tightened slightly as she unintentionally felt the burden of her people on her shoulders again.

"There's nothing you should be worried about, Clarke," Lexa assured her. "We're in a time of peace. Our people are happy and although it is our job to remain cautious, we should not forget to allow ourselves to breathe." Clarke nodded in response, mulling over the way Lexa spoke in plural. She didn't want to bother herself with the thoughts of politics and peace and war, she didn't want to think about deciding what was best for her people or how to maintain alliances - yet she couldn't stop herself from doing so, even when she had basically resigned her position as their leader.

"I promise you that if anything does come up that causes concern for your people, I will let you know. Unless it is something of no importance regarding trade or Mountain supplies or any of the sort; in that case I will only bother the Chancellor with it," Lexa said with a light smirk. "Now come have lunch with me."

Clarke was happy when Lexa took her to the seclusion of her tent. She had a guard bring them their food.

"Heda, ai lid sanch in, (Heda, I bring you lunch)" he announced, waiting outside of the tent.

"Min yu op (Enter)," Lexa said, and the guard entered with two plates that he placed on the table.

"Mochof," Clarke said to him. The guard failed to hide his smile in surprise and bowed his head before leaving. Clarke saw the same smile on Lexa's lips.

"If I did not know any better, I would think your voice was made to speak Trigedasleng."

"I know a few words," Clarke shrugged. "Someday, I'll be able to understand the full conversations you have with your generals at the meetings… I'll find out about all the secret plans you discuss with them and silently listen to their insults about me when they think I don't know what they're saying," she joked. Lexa was only glad that Clarke thought of herself as present at those future meetings.

"You know I would not accept it if they insulted you, be it in any language," Lexa said and Clarke's eyes found hers. "In any case, you do not have to fear that anyone would speak badly of you. You already won their respect, Clarke."

They ate their food and Clarke appreciated this quiet time after her morning outside. She looked at Lexa; watched the dark hair that fell over one of the girl's shoulders, with waves lingering in it after being braided in the Commander's design. She watched the well-defined jawline as the young woman took a bite out of a slice of apple; watched the juice roll over her lips. She watched green eyes move from the table to the apple in her hand to Clarke's own eyes and she could swear Lexa's soul was staring back at hers. For a short moment, she forgot how to breathe.

"Did you have apples on the Ark, Clarke?"

She shook her head. "Not like those. We grew fruit, but it was small and tasteless and usually mushy. Not…firm and sweet and tasty, like these," she mumbled, averting her eyes and putting some food in her own mouth to chew on as a distraction. For some reason, there was a restless warmth creeping through her chest.

"There is a large field full of apple trees near Polis where I used to play as a child. The apples are rich and sweet and hang from the branches in red and green. I will take you there someday, I'm sure you'd love to draw it."

Clarke did not know what amazed her the most: the image in her head of the field with colorful apples hanging from the trees; or the thought of a young Lexa playing among those trees; or even the very fact that Lexa knew about her love for drawing. She remembered Lexa's invitation to come to Polis with her when they had stood in front of the Mountain door. She had almost forgotten about it in the mist of war, pushed it away as all of their futures were uncertain, but she remembered.

"Polis is your capitol, right?"

Lexa nodded. "It's different from the villages you've seen. It's a city, with buildings and a market, and children playing in the streets. It's where I reside during times of peace. It's my home."

Clarke stared at her for a while, thinking it over. She wondered what the longest period of time had been that Lexa had spent there, since she had been at war a lot and often traveled to other lands. She wondered if Lexa actually felt that Polis was her home or only considered it to be so because it was the official capitol.

"Why is your camp called Camp Jaha?" Lexa's question broke her out of her thoughts.

"Thelonious Jaha was the Ark's Chancellor before we came down to earth. They named the camp after him. I believe you've met him, actually. He was once your prisoner along with Marcus. He returned to his people, but he was a different man and my mother had taken over his position. He was convinced that it was impossible for us to live along your people, and so he left with a few others. Said he was going to look for some city of Light. He never returned."

Clarke chuckled. "Now that I think about it, it is rather odd that our camp is named after someone who had no faith in our alliance."

Lexa remembered the man. She remembered him being too weak to kill his friend for their people. She remembered him attacking her, to which she had taken him down and let him be beaten up to be sent as a message. She remembered disliking him.

"What about 'Arkadia'?" Clarke mumbled.

After their lunch, Lexa took Clarke to a nearby lake. The day was warm and although the walk wasn't specifically long or tiring, it made the cool water all the more appealing.

They broke through the line of trees and Lexa immediately unbuckled her armor. She threw them down near the waterside, leaving her in a tank top and underwear, and Clarke didn't hesitate to remove her own outer layers of clothing.

Lexa was in the water before Clarke had finished, and tugging at her jeans she watched how the Commander dove underwater and came back up with a smile. Clarke looked around the lake, searching for any suspicious movement in the water that could indicate the presence of a lake monster, silently reminding herself to recite the tale of Octavia and the water-monster to Indra sometime since it should make for a good story around the fire. She slowly walked into the water when she noticed that Lexa didn't seem to share her concerns.

But Lexa had noticed her hesitance and moved back through the water towards Clarke.

"I have guards in the trees, we will be safe. Have a swim Clarke, the water feels nice."

Clarke smiled and walked further into the water. Lexa's hair was dark from being wet and the sun reflected off the water's surface, leaving Clarke to realize in awe how much she'd love to paint this picture of a young girl with a smile on her face in the middle of a beautiful lake on a sunny day. She wasn't sure if it was because of the scenery, but seeing Lexa like this took her breath away.

Lexa dove under again and Clarke turned around, bending down further into the water to wash out her hair. She took her time combing her fingers through her blonde locks and stood back up again when she finished. Before she could turn around and face Lexa, something gripped her ankle. She let out a yelp, expecting it to be some kind of lake monster after all, and the girl who had taken down a mountain actually felt afraid of whatever was currently in the water, holding on to her ankle. The fear immediately subsided when her ankle was released and Lexa popped out of the water, chuckling.

"Did you just squeal?" she asked.

Clarke pouted. "I did not squeal."

Lexa raised an eyebrow, still trying to hold back her laugh. Clarke's face was not amused and she splashed some water to Lexa in protest. Lexa immediately stopped laughing and raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"That was a mistake, Clarke of the Sky people. No one starts a water fight with the Commander," she said with a serious voice, and immediately followed with a large splash of water into Clarke's face. Before Lexa realized what was happening, Clarke tackled her and they fell backwards into the water. Laughing, Lexa brought them back above water again, arms still wrapped around the sky girl. Both their laughter slowly died down, simply leaving them with smiles on their faces and their bodies pressed closely together. Clarke swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry as she took in the girl in front of her. Bright green eyes stared at her, begging her to fall into them. Lexa's skin glistened against the sun, water drops rolling down the curve of her neck - and Clarke saw her, saw the girl that was Lexa.

"Hi," she whispered, running a hand along the line of Lexa's jaw, marveling at the way Lexa's eyes were studying her like she was a miracle. Because, to Clarke, the only miracle here was Lexa herself.

Lexa's eyes darted back and forth between Clarke's eyes, then shortly glanced at her lips and Clarke closed the small distance. Their lips might have met as smiles against each other, because right now and right here, they were simply two young girls in love.

An hour later, they made it back to camp and Clarke found herself in the medbay. There were still wounded warriors and victims of the Reaping that were recovering. Lexa accompanied her, knowing a visit from their Heda would do them good.

"Clarke." Abby was on shift and noticed her walking in. She smiled softly and gave her daughter a warm hug, but Clarke barely returned the embrace.

"How are the wounded doing?" she asked her mother, desperate for a distraction so Abby wouldn't start asking about her mental state. Abby motioned to a few patients and began to describe their situations. Lexa shared a few words with their injured people, but mostly watched intently as Clarke checked on their vitals.

Clarke was closely examining a severely wounded Trikru warrior who had grievous wounds all over him and seemed to be unconscious on pain medication. She was replacing the bandage on his arm when his other hand grabbed her wrist. She looked up at his face, startled by his sudden consciousness. He seemed to struggle to keep his eyes open through the pain, but kept them strongly fixed on her.

"You brought back my daughter," he spoke slowly but clearly. "Thank you, Wanheda." He forced a small smile at her startled expression, and with that his eyes closed again as he seemed to black out from pain. Clarke shouted for her mother, ordering to give him more morphine and cursing the healers who had been careless enough to let him wake up in pain.

Little did Clarke know Lexa had been standing behind her as the warrior spoke and had clenched her jaw in an attempt to subdue the shiver that went through her spine as she overheard what he said.