Lexa groaned, falling against the closed door. The Blakes had spent almost four hours at the villa, lunch turning into an 'ally celebration' that Clarke and Octavia had banded together to create. It had been a nightmare, with wine flowing freely the entire time and Blake – the older Blake; she was going to have to think of a new moniker for him – seeming to think that they were friends now.

It had taken her almost half an hour of determined avoidance before he had gotten the message.

Even better than that, Abby had walked in after several hours of drinking. She was greeted with the sight of her beloved daughter laughing uproariously with two strangers and her slave. It had taken all of Lexa's creativity to smooth that out.

Octavia and Clarke were laughing hysterically, tears running down their faces as they pointed at Bellamy. Lexa wasn't entirely sure what was so funny; she was being careful to keep herself firmly clearheaded, knowing that someone had to be responsible, and the other girls had degenerated into happy yelling a little while ago. Still, they were enjoying themselves, and Lexa couldn't begrudge them that.

Bellamy stood and pointed to the sky dramatically. The dignity of his pose was undercut slightly by the faint swaying that he was struggling to counteract. "I'll have you know-"

An extremely unwelcome voice cut him off. "What the hell is this?" Lexa whipped around to find Abby standing in the doorway, shock written across her face as she took in the scene.

Looking at her companions with an objective eye, Lexa winced. Bellamy was still in his guard's uniform, which admittedly was clean, but marked him as being lower class. Clarke was red-faced and still chuckling, seemingly unable to completely stifle her mirth, and Octavia was wearing wilder garb as per usual. She still hadn't told them why she wore it, and Lexa reminded herself absently to ask now that she was drunk.

She returned her attention to Abby, who still looked shocked, but with a rising wave of anger that Lexa was really not in the mood to deal with. She really didn't have a choice, though, since Clarke looked to be thirty seconds away from launching into an extremely bawdy song about mermaids, most likely.

Gliding up to stand next to Abby, she bowed slightly and fixed her serene slave mask on. "Greetings, domina. If you would allow me, I can provide you with an explanation."

Abby rounded on her. "Well at least someone can. What the hell is going on, Lexa? Why is my daughter with these two… hooligans?" She grimaced as she said the word, as if she would be tainted merely by uttering it. Lexa stared at her in faint disbelief.

Mind racing, she put together a story as quickly as she could. She had expected to have much more time to think of an explanation for Clarke's friendship with the Blakes, if they even explained it at all. "Domina, Clarke met the Blake siblings in the market today. We were shopping for fresh fruit when we were assaulted by two men and driven into an alley at knifepoint. I believe their intent was to steal our valuables but fortunately for us, Captain Blake heard the commotion, ran in, and subdued the men. Sergeant Blake then escorted them to a holding facility while Captain Blake stayed behind to take care of us."

She leaned in closer to Abby, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "I think Clarke has been lonely lately. She insisted on sharing a meal with them as thanks, and she looked so happy when they accepted." Keeping her eyes trained firmly on the ground, she prayed that Abby would accept the story. It was close enough to the truth that they could easily remember it, and it wasn't so sensational that it would cause Abby alarm.

Beside her Abby was silent for a moment before sighing. She walked forwards without responding to Lexa at all, prompting an eye roll from the brunette, and addressed the three at the table. "Clarke, will you introduce me to your friends?"

All three jumped at the words, none of them seemingly having noticed the woman at all until that minute. Clarke's face contorted. "Mom! You're here!" Lexa sighed, envisioning all the ways this could go wrong. She doubted drunken Clarke had anything resembling a filter.

Clarke hopped up, swayed, and steadied herself against the table. "Mom, this is Bellamy and Octavia. They're really awesome and they've helped us a lot!"

Behind them Lexa ran a hand through her hair and grimaced.

Abby smiled. "Yes, Lexa told me." Clarke shot Lexa a betrayed look, eyes comically wide. "Allow me to thank you, Captain Blake, for stopping the men who were planning on hurting my little girl." She directed her words to Bellamy, prompting Lexa to snort softly and both Octavia and Clarke to burst out in fits of laughter again.

The smile vanished. "Have I said something wrong, Clarke?" Her voice was cold, and Lexa could see tension in the harsh lines of her neck. She hates being laughed at. Interesting. And unsurprising. She stepped in quickly, trying to keep the situation from spiraling further.

"No, domina, you merely mistook Bellamy for Octavia." Lexa gestured at Octavia. "This is Captain Blake, domina. Sergeant Blake-" Here she pointed at Bellamy. "-is her older brother." Clarke and her had been surprised to find that Shadows were automatically granted the rank of Captain on their commission. It was yet another fortuitous little happening that Lexa was learning to just accept.

Octavia bounced forward. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am! Clarke's told us so much about you." She paused, then giggled. "Oops, I'm sorry, I meant Madam Griffin." She grinned, her usual sunny smile beaming like the sun in her exuberance. Abby looked charmed despite herself.

Bellamy stepped forward after her, slightly more composed than his sister. "Madam Griffin, I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Lexa was reluctantly impressed with the clarity of his speech even after having drunk a full bottle by himself. "Your thanks are appreciated. Your daughter is a joy to be around." He bowed.

Smiling gently, Abby waved a hand. "You don't need to stand on ceremony, Mister Blake. I can tell that Clarke has told you the same thing. You two seem like good kids, I'm glad Clarke is making friends from all walks of life." Clarke sniggered. Lexa stepped on her foot. "If you don't mind, though, it's late and I'd like to get some sleep."

Bellamy nodded gravely. "Of course, Madam Griffin. O, let's go. We can visit Clarke another time – if that's all right, of course." He gave Abby a questioning look, and she nodded in response.

Ushering his sister along with him, Bellamy left quietly. Lexa escorted the siblings through the villa and to the door. Eyeing their flushed and disheveled forms, she snorted. "Let's hold off on training tomorrow. I don't need anyone collapsing halfway through."

Octavia patted her cheek clumsily. "You're such a good friend, Lexybear." Lexa's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, words failing her. Octavia didn't notice at all, merely waving over her shoulder as she stumbled away.

Lexa leveled a glare at Bellamy. "One word and you'll never be able to have children." The man gulped and followed his sister without a word.

Clarke watched sadly as Lexa escorted the Blakes out. Now she was alone with her mother.

She pouted.

Abby looked her over, eyes lingering on the flush in her cheeks and the disheveled state of her hair. "Did you enjoy yourself today, Clarke?" She didn't seem too disapproving, just… glowery? Is that a word? Clarke pondered that for a second before shaking her head and remembering the question.

"Yeah! I really did, they're so fun!" Just the thought of the Blakes cheered her up. Octavia was like the sister she'd never had, and Bellamy was just a giant teddy bear, really, perfect for poking and squeezing. He hadn't liked it when she poked him in the nose, though.

Her mother sighed indulgently. "It's late, sweetheart. You should get some sleep."

Clarke rolled her eyes, but obligingly staggered towards her room. She had to pass Abby on her way out, but as she did her foot caught on a crack in the stone and she teetered, in danger of falling. Only her mother's hands on her waist kept her upright.

A strange look was on Abby's face as she steadied Clarke. "Clarke, are you drunk?" She sounded incredulous, although Clarke had no idea why she would be.

Laughing, Clarke batted the other woman's hands away from her. "Yeah, a little. You should try it!" She ignored the warning look that grew on Abby's face. "It'll relax you. Might help get that stick out of your ass."

"Clarke!" Her mother sounded furious, but Clarke ignored her, waving lazily as she passed her. Abby stomped after her, grabbing her wrist and swinging the girl around to face her once more. "Don't you walk away from me!"

Clarke's eyes narrowed, the haze of alcohol clearing rapidly from her mind. All she could focus on was the hand on her wrist. The same hand that had brought about her father's death, the one that touched the chancellor. That hand was on her, as if it had a right to, as if it didn't belong to a snake with a woman's face.

"Remove your hand, or I will remove it for you." Her voice was cold as ice, but her mother seemed not to notice.

Abby's face reddened. Her mouth opened, no doubt to spew some saccharine nonsense about the importance of family and togetherness – or deliver threats she'll never follow through with, her mind added – and Lexa swept in between them, gracefully replacing Abby's hand with her own. "Allow me to care for Clarke, domina. I believe she has consumed too much wine in her celebration of new companionship."

She was guiding Clarke away before Abby had a chance to process the words, and they were back in Clarke's quarters long before the woman had a chance to respond. Clarke started giggling hysterically, then couldn't seem to stop. "Did you see her face?" She was gasping through her laughter, previous anger vanishing like smoke.

Lexa smiled reluctantly, the sheer joy on Clarke's face warming her insides and cracking her stoic façade. The girl was crazy, there was no doubt of that, but she was also funny and smart and sweet when the mood struck her. The pain over Costia was still there, Lexa thought it always would be, but it wasn't the same dagger-sharp intensity it had been in the beginning. Her thoughts turned more and more to the wolf girl in human form who had swept into her life and turned it inside out.

Clarke broke away from her grasp and dashed into the bathing room. "Lexaaaaaaa, I'm all sweaty and the room is spinning. Oh look water!" Lexa rolled her eyes and followed. It would be truly unfortunate if Clarke drowned in the bath after all the work they had done.

She entered the room and stopped dead. Clarke was standing in front of her completely nude, eyes fixed unerringly on her. The girl suddenly seemed far less drunk than earlier as she prowled forward. Lexa's mouth opened involuntarily, a sharp breath echoing on the tile as she sucked in air. Clarke stumbled dramatically, and Lexa reached out automatically to catch her as she fell.

The feeling of Clarke bare against her set Lexa's entire body on fire. In the months of living with Clarke, she had never actually seen her completely unclothed, always bathing at separate times. She stared unabashedly, mouth dry.

The girl smirked at her, draping her arms around Lexa's neck. "Oh, clumsy me, I think the wine's gone to my head. Will you help me bathe, Lexa?" Clarke drawled her name, sending shivers down her spine as she dragged it out. Full lips closed over her earlobe and she whimpered, eyes closing.

Clarke drew back slightly and took her hand, pulling it flat against her stomach. Lexa's fingers twitched at the feeling of warm skin under her palm, and it took all of her control not to act on every filthy thing she wanted right then. She took a breath, pulling the shards of her shattered composure back into a semblance of order, but her thoughts were completely derailed when Clarke kissed her.

Absently Lexa noted that the first kiss hadn't been a fluke. This kiss was harder and hotter, passion burning through her and clouding her mind, but under the heat was that same incandescence, that feeling of flying on crystal wings. Then Clarke's tongue flicked across her lips and all she could feel was want.

It was that absolute want that made her break the kiss and stagger backward. She was fully aware of exactly how much she wanted the other woman, and if she didn't stop them now they wouldn't stop at all. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world…

Shaking her head, she tried to detach herself from her body's needs. If she were to be with Clarke, which she wasn't quite opposed to, it wouldn't be while the blonde was drunk out of her mind. That would be cheap and a complete breach of trust. No. That wouldn't do at all.

She finally acknowledged what had been tickling her brain for weeks. The thought of moving on, of letting her loyalty to Costia fade into fond remembrance, didn't send her into a panic. It wasn't abhorrent to her anymore. She hadn't wanted to accept it, had thought that the honorable thing to do would be to honor Costia's memory, but Clarke was in her head and under her skin and she didn't think that she could resist much longer. Her dreams had turned from nightmares of that final day, to memories of their best times together, to scenes with Clarke, and she couldn't ignore it anymore.

Of course, that would all be dealt with once the woman could stand up without swaying. Backing up quickly, eyes fixed on the naked blonde, she held up her hands. "Believe me when I say I want you, and trust me when I say that now is not a good time." Clarke pouted, bottom lip jutting out enticingly, and Lexa spun and fled.

Clarke's voice echoed behind her. "Well if you won't help me I'll have to do it myself!"

Lexa's eyes widened. If that meant what she thought it meant, she was going to be in for a long night. The low moan that bounced off the tiled walls a few minutes later confirmed that thought. She would find sleep very, very elusive this night.

Another, louder moan drifted into the room, accompanying by the sound of water splashing. Lexa rolled over, shoved her pillow over her face, and screamed.

Blazing light searing through her closed eyelids woke Clarke the next morning. Flailing wildly, she tried to protect her eyes from it and rolled herself straight off her bed, hitting the stone floor with a thump that sent spikes of pain through her entire body.

Groaning, she lay still and tried to take stock of herself. The vicious headache pounding at her temples was self-explanatory, and groggily she vowed to never drink again. There was a sharp pain in her arm that she vaguely hitting on a doorframe the night before, and an ache between her thighs from…

Oh. Oh no. No no no no no.

She slumped into the cold stone underneath her, memories of her flinging herself at Lexa swimming into her muddled consciousness. She had practically assaulted the girl, and when the other woman had fled she had acted like one of the girls at the lupinaria. Oh, Clarke wouldn't blame Lexa if she had left in the night. She wouldn't even blame her if she went straight to the council; she had acted like an ass.

I knew she wasn't ready. She's still mourning her lover, and what do I do? I strip naked and jump her in the bath. Well done, Clarke Griffin. So much for waiting for her. She threw an arm over her eyes and groaned again.

"Well aren't you the dramatic one."

Clarke stiffened, not believing her ears at first, then yanked herself upright, ignoring her body's screams of protest. "Lexa," she breathed. The brunette smirked at her, looking every inch her usual collected self, but Clarke could see a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.

Lexa opened her mouth to speak, but Clarke cut her off. "I am so sorry, Lexa. I was drunk, and I know it isn't an excuse, but it's all I have. I never meant to pressure you, I know you're still mourning, and- and you have every right to! I didn't mean to imply that you shouldn't be, I just- it's been a while, and you're just so amazing, and- I'll control myself from here on, I promise, just please don't leave. I need you, Lexa, please don't leave me." She ended her rant staring at the floor, unable to meet Lexa's eyes and see the condemnation and disgust that must be there. The loss of control she had suffered the previous night made Clarke's skin crawl, and the knowledge of what it had led to was almost more than she could bear.

Gentle fingers tucked themselves under her chin, raising her head to meet Lexa's gaze. Those forest-green eyes that had her so entranced studied her for long moments, searching for- something, Clarke didn't know. Whatever it was, it felt like the most important thing that could ever exist, the hinge on which her life swung.

Those warm eyes eased, fingers relaxing minutely from a hold to a caress. A soft smile formed on Lexa's mouth, the woman seemingly pleased by whatever it was she had seen, and then she was kissing her, soft and slow. It was the most intimate thing Clarke had ever felt, just a sweet brush of lips on lips that had he soul fluttering inside of her, aching to meet Lexa's own.

After an endless moment Lexa pulled back, hand still cupping Clarke's face. "Do all you Arcamians talk so much?"

Clarke's eyes were half-lidded, basking in the sheer contentment Lexa's kiss had brought her. She hummed lowly. "Usually, yes, but right now I think I'm alright with quiet."

Smiling, Lexa ran a finger down her cheek. "I'm not going to lie and say I'm completely over Costia – I don't think I ever will be, to be honest. But I do think I'm ready to try with you." She gently tapped the tip of Clarke's nose. "As long as the you I'm trying with is sober enough to stand unaided."

Clarke swatted Lexa's side. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Her annoyed words were offset by the warmth in her voice and the sunshine in her bones. Lexa was with her all the way, she knew that now. It sent satisfaction rushing through her veins, satisfaction and happiness and a fierce rush of power.

She wanted to charge the council, run through the streets with a sword in one hand and Lexa at her other. She wanted to scream to the stars that she had her hurricane at her side and the future at her feet, shout her joy to the endless woods and make the world bend to her with the force of her will and the ecstasy in her heart.

She had never intended to get this deep, never meant to feel the way she did, but it was too late to back out now. This was something good, something that she had never expected to find, and there was no way it would slip from her grasp now.

Impulsively she kissed Lexa again, quick and hard, drawing back and giggling happily. Lexa wasn't beaming the way Clarke was, but there was a genuine smile on her lips and a hand resting possessively on her hip.

A surge of affection rushed through her and she bit her lip, Lexa's eyes zeroing in on the movement. The hand on her hip tightened, the air losing its giddy feel and charging with a heavier tension. Clarke leaned in, absently noticing how dark Lexa's eyes had gone.

Their lips were a centimeter from connecting when a crash echoed in from outside Clarke's room and Octavia's voice, frantic and strained, followed behind it.

Exchanging a quick look with Lexa, Clarke sprinted towards the main door, figuring it was her best bet for finding Octavia.

Her gamble paid off, the Shadow crouching over another figure in the atrium. At the sound of their fast-approaching footsteps Octavia's head shot up, relief etching itself into her features when she saw Clarke. "Oh thank god. She's hurt, really badly, I didn't realize how bad it was until she passed out on the way here."

Waving Octavia back hastily, Clarke fell to her knees next to the figure on the ground. It was a girl, tan and dark-haired, covered in blood and quickly developing bruises. Even with the gore her beauty was staggering.

Clarke launched herself into the medic's mindset, rapidly cataloguing injuries. "Okay, so she's got slight head trauma, not urgent..." She ran her hands down the girl's sides. "…two broken ribs, a gash on her left side, and… oh, god, her leg." The sight of it knocked her from her professionalism. It was badly broken, in two places from what Clarke could see, but there were also cuts all along it. It looked like it had been run through a millstone.

Octavia lowered her head. "It was the guard. She was begging them to let her have a body, I don't know whose. She wanted to give him a proper burial, but they wouldn't let her. I guess they got sick of talking to her, so they…" She gestured.

Lexa growled behind her. "This was done for caring for a loved one?" Clarke heard her begin to pace. "Despicable." She trailed off into mutters, speaking too quietly for Clarke to hear.

The girl on the ground coughed suddenly, body lurching with the movement. Her eyes shot open and she jerked forward, only to stop mid-motion with a moan of pain and sink back into Octavia's supporting hands.

Octavia eased her back into a reclining position, supporting her head on her outstretched leg. "Hey, hey, take it easy. You're safe."

The girl squinted up at her, suspicion coloring her gaze. "Who are you? Where am I? What the fuck happened to me?"

Clarke answered, drawing the girl's attention to her. "You were attacked by guards, do you remember that? Octavia saved you and brought you to me. I'm Clarke Griffin, this is my home. The girl brooding behind me is Lexa. Can you tell me your name?"

Still glaring, the girl on the ground seemed to contemplate her options for a moment before sighing. "My name is Raven. Can one of you help me up? I need to go kill the chancellor."