"Did she make it home okay? I think she was pretty upset when she left."

"She's fucked up Lexa, went straight to her studio and hasn't left, what the hell happened up there?"

"Not my story to tell, Rae. Just give her time, we both did things we knew we shouldn't have."

"Ah fuck, you slept with her, didn't you? The one thing I tell you not to do and you completely disregard it. Damn it, Lex."

"Just look after her. Please?"

"Isn't that what I always do?"

"Yes, and thank you... For not hating me."

"How could I hate you? You gave up your company, lost me my cushy and, well paying if I might add, job, and caused Clarke to go into full blown psychotic art break. All good, right?"

"Excuse me, but your new job is just as cushy and much better paying, plus I saved you from a monster of a boss; have you heard about her? I mean, some people say she'd kill for the bottom line." There was a long pause. "Too soon?" Lexa laughed.

"Yes, too soon, you ass. But thank you Lexa, for real. Thank you for always taking care of us. When will you be home? Indra said you had to fly to the London office?"

"Ugh, yeah, have to go explain why I arbitrarily sell my multi-billion dollar company and disappeared for 6 months. You know, logistics and shit."

"Sounds like a blast. Good luck, oh and this time don't lead with the fact that you've known you were going to do this before you went on 'sabbatical'. Everyone was pretty pissed."

"Ah, yeah... I didn't have much time to plan that speech, ya know, getting over mind-blowing sex with the girl I'm in love with, only for her to disappear into the abyss hours after."

"Hell Lex, you didn't have to admit to it. She left you, though? That's balls. Clarke's clearly taking after the master of one night stands."

"You're an ass. I gotta go, make sure you read over that contract I sent, I want to make sure you're happy with everything. If you could too, shoot me a list of the tech team you want, you'll see it in the contract. Oh, and I'll be crazy busy once I land so if you have questions give Indra a call until I get back."

"Ahh, alright, already barking orders I see... When are you coming back? Ya know, on the off chance Clarke comes out for air and asks for you?"

"It'll be about a week and a half, hopefully earlier."

"Alright, see ya later boss!"

"Bye Rae"

It had been 2 days since Lexa had returned back to New York to address her staff. As you could assume, shit hit the fan and Lexa received a slew of feedback ranging from 'wherever you go, I'm coming with' to 'everyone was right about you being a cold hearted bitch.' Lexa didn't take most into account. She knew where she was headed, and she knew, mostly, the team that she would be taking with her. Everything, however needed to remain very 'hush hush' until after the signing of the contract.

On the other hand, she had been so busy that she barely had time to register what happened between her and Clarke. Clarke had left, right after almost proclaiming that she loved Lexa again. Lexa gave her space, she didn't reach out, she didn't know how or what to say; let alone the fact that she hadn't had 5 minutes to herself. She knew she'd have to fight for Clarke, but now wasn't the time. Clarke needed to figure out what she was feeling, and Lexa needed to handle her feelings as well.

Lexa boarded her plane and began the journey across the pond, easily falling asleep due to multiple nights without it.

"Hey, have you heard from Clarke?"

"I wish everyone would quit asking me on all things Clarke. Yes, she's painting, she said don't bother her until she's done. You know how she gets Matt."

"Yeah, I know, I just haven't seen her much lately. She's been staying at the studio most nights, and when she is home I have a gallery event and ya know, we just haven't seen much of each other."

"Well in your world, no news is good news right? She's probably just on some new kick and wants to perfect her crap before she shows it to the world."

"Alright, thanks Raven. Hopefully we'll see you for brunch tomorrow? I mean, if Clarke leaves her dungeon."

"Yeah yeah, Saturday morning brunch as usual. See ya Matt."

Raven was seriously getting tired of being Clarke's mediator. Truth is, she hadn't heard from Clarke in three days since she returned from the lake house. Lexa had given Raven an open invitation earlier in the week to stay there whenever she wanted now that it was finished. Since she wouldn't be working for a couple more weeks and Octavia had some vacation time coming up she figured she'd get a group of them together for a Sunday through Tuesday mini vacation. Really though, Raven was more interested in what was 'so amazing' about the old house she once remembered.

TO OCTAVIA, BELAMY, ANYA, CLARKE: Make yourselves available Sun-Tues we're going on a trip.

FROM CLARKE: No Lexa? No Matt?

TO CLARKE: Nope just me, you, Anya, Bell and O.

FROM CLARKE: Anya...?

TO CLARKE: You'll be fine. Man up Griffin.

FROM CLARKE: Fine. We'll talk tomorrow.

FROM OCTAVIA: I'm down. Where we going?

TO OCTAVIA: Not telling.

FROM OCTAVIA: Ugh, whatever, I'm down. No Matt?

TO OCTAVIA: Yup.

FROM OCTAVIA: Fuck yeah, now I'm really down. I'm totes team Lexa right now..

FROM BELL: Gonna have to bail babe, I have a date Sunday night.

TO BELL: Who the fuck goes on a date on a Sunday? Whatever man, your loss.

FROM ANYA: Me and Clarke in the same room? Please tell me I don't have to deal with that dick head of a fiancé too...

TO ANYA: You guys really need to get over this, and no, no Matt and no Lexa. Besides you're going to need to get along with Clarke if we're going to keep having nights like last night.

FROM ANYA: I will be nice. I promise ;)

TO CLARKE, ANYA, OCTAVIA: alright bitches, it's just the 4 of us. Pack your bathing suits!

FROM OCTAVIA: I swear to god if you and Anya have loud ass sex like last night I'm leaving with Clarkey.

FROM CLARKE: So that's like a thing... Anya and Raven? #Ranya?

FROM RAVEN: Fuck yeah #Ranya

FROM ANYA: ...why do I even like any of you?

FROM OCTAVIA: Because we're the coolest friends you'll ever have.

FROM CLARKE: I second that.

FROM RAVEN: Same babe, you're stuck with them and me.

Brunch the following day was uneventful, Clarke and Matt held hands like everything was fine. Raven and Octavia talked about work and the new job Lexa couldn't tell her about. It all seemed to go back to normal, at least for the most part.

"Hey babe, Raven is making us go on a girl's weekend this weekend so I won't be home."

"Cool, sounds fun, where you off to?" Matt responded, seemingly not fazed by the sudden departure.

"I don't know. It's Rae we could be hiking Mt. Vesuvius for all I know."

"Well let's hope not for your sake, they'd have to leave you behind at 200ft." Matt quipped referring to an earlier adventure they had together.

"Omg, it was one time, and for the record, I unknowingly had pneumonia if you recall!"

"I know babe, I'm only joking. How's the painting going? Raven said you had some sudden inspiration?"

"Uh.. Yeah you could call it that. I just needed to get out of my head." Clarke responded trying to hide the blush that was forming on her face. 'God, why does just thinking about her do this to me?' Clarke thought to herself.

"Great, hopefully you'll let me see them soon?"

"Yeah, for sure."

"What's up babe? You've been kinda weird lately? Pre-wedding jitters getting you worked up?"

"Uh... Yeah, I guess. It's fine. I'll figure it out. I promise." With that Clarke left to meet Raven outside with the rest of their foursome headed to their unknown location for the next 3 days.

Raven was driving her signature lime green jeep with the top off. Octavia was in the back the look of relief she gave Clarke was humorous to say the least. Clearly, she had been exposed to too much #Ranya already and it was only 20 minutes into their adventure. Anya helped Clarke load her things into the trunk space that was made up mainly of vodka and beer. The only person who knew where they'd be headed was Anya due to Raven needing to know if they'd need to bring tents like they always had before. As soon as Clarke hopped into the back Raven sped off, and out of the city.

"So... Does anyone know where we're going other than the PDA queen?" Octavia asked the group.

"PDA queen? If I remember it was only last week you basically we're having sex on my dance floor with Lincoln..." Anya chimed in for her girlfriend's aid.

"Oh my God, we were dancing, we're not in third grade anymore."

"O, babe, please just say you'll be exclusive with him. It's been 6 months now..." Clarke said overly exasperated.

"We are, I mean, we have been for a few weeks. He's just been gone a lot with Lexa being all over the place."

"Raven... Where are we going...?" Clarke questioned. The area looking far too familiar now.

"The lake house, Lexa said I could use it whenever and now seemed like a good time."

"Great..." Clarke was excited but also nervous. She didn't know what to think really. The house held many memories for her, but her most recent memory was what was plaguing her the most.

"Yeah! Lexa said the only rule is no sleeping in her bed unless you're Clarke cause she doesn't want dirty 'sex mongers' in her bed."

"Well then why the fuck is Clarke okay? If anyone of us is a sex addict it's Clarke!" Octavia retorted, clearly upset she wouldn't be sleeping in the master bedroom.

"Oh my god. I'm not a sex addict!"

"Really Clarke, it took you all of 3 hours to jump into bed with L-" Raven was interrupted.

"She fucking told you?! What the fuck Raven? Why would you bring me here if you knew what happened?"

"Holy shit, you slept with Lexa?!" Octavia and Anya said in unison.

"She didn't tell me, I guessed... And by the way, you're not as fucking subtle as you think. Returning home at 8:30am when normally you don't get out of bed until noon? Then locking yourself in your studio for days?"

"Wait... Hold up. Like legit, you and Lex? Am I hearing this all right?"

"Shut up O!" Clarke playfully swatted her best friend.

"Holy shit..." Anya was the last one to speak, she knew exactly what that decision would do to Lexa, but also to Clarke.

Clarke had always been adamantly against cheating of any kind, regardless of circumstances. In fact, when Clarke and Lexa had met at the bar for the first time Clarke had called her then boyfriend to break up with him before approaching Lexa. She didn't even know if anything would turn out from the beautiful brunette that had sent her a drink earlier in the night, but she broke up with Finn just minutes before she even attempted anything.

The girls made their way into the driveway of the lake house nearly 30 minutes after the silence had begun. Seeing the house in the daylight was a completely different view for Clarke. Yes, she had seen the amazing transformation of the inside of the house, but she came and went before she ever saw it in the sun. Originally, a dirty stained white color Lexa had it painted bright white, she added black shutters, and new railings and posts for the front porch. It really was like a house out of a magazine. The front porch had black wood flooring, and even a porch swing Clarke had always said she wanted some day. The yard was beautifully landscaped with tiger lilies and some other flowers Clarke didn't know the name of. Lexa had added what appeared to be a boat house or garage to the left of the house closer to the water. It too donned the black and white theme. It was two stories, and the second floor had a large balcony that looked out over the lake. Clarke was really intrigued at what would be up there, the view from the balcony would be amazing to paint.

The girls grabbed there things after they finally settled down from the sheer amazement of what had been done to the old house. They had come out here many summer days working on it together with Lexa and Clarke but what sat before them was something out of a movie. Both Octavia and Raven were in awe of the sheer dedication Lexa had put into every detail. Once inside the amazement didn't wear off, instead Octavia and Raven went through the lower level just as Clarke did her first night here, not saying a word, but just taking everything in. Anya had a look of bemusement on her face the whole time, she knew exactly how much time and effort went into this house. Hell, she was the one who helped paint most of it. After finally getting their bearings the girls all settled on the couch in the great room to talk about everything they had seen.

"It's pretty amazing isn't it?" Anya said to no one in particular.

"No wonder you slept with her Clarkey, she rebuilt this whole house for you... My God, it's... It's just crazy" Octavia said, eyes still scanning the area around her.

"I don't even have words, how did she do all this? I mean, I know a year is a long time, but this, is... Unbelievable." Raven had the same awestruck face that Octavia did, eyes focused on the large glass bi-fold doors to the patio. "Holy shit, she put in a new dock? And a new patio? Oh my God, this is seriously going to be the best weekend ever."

"Did she really do all this by herself?" Clarke questioned Anya.

"Well, a couple things she needed to contract out like the boat house getting built and doing plumbing and electrical stuff, but yeah, she painted and put the floor down, decorated the place herself, all of it. We'd be out here for weeks at a time, she worked straight through. It was cathartic for her, ya know?" Anya paused for a second, not sure whether to say what she had to next. "You know, she did do all this for you Clarke; I think part of her thought it would help you come back to her if there was ever a chance, the other part I think was... She needed to have pieces of you close to her, like a reminder that what you had was real."

"She did everything for you C, for all of us..." Raven said somberly. The room remained quiet for a while until Octavia as usual broke that silence.

"Hell, enough with the sappy shit, Lexa's amazing we already know that. Let's go pick rooms, and then get your asses down here for some lakeside fun, bitches." Octavia yelled behind her running up the stairs with her large bag.

"I really forgot how energetic she was..." Anya said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and picking up Raven's in the same motion.

"You gotta love O though, she's always down for a party." Raven said, still sitting on the couch waiting for Clarke to get up. Anya went upstairs on her own, giving the two some time to talk.

"Rae, do you think what I did was wrong? With Lexa? Ya know, sleeping with her?"

"I don't know babe, I mean, what is your heart telling you?"

"That... That it felt right, but also that I hurt a man who's done nothing but try and fix me from what she's done. I mean... Matt fixed everything that Lexa broke.. You know? And yeah, she did it to protect us, to protect me, but, it still hurts Rae, she still broke my heart."

"I have something for you... Lexa gave it to me before she left. She said not to give it to you until she was back from London, but I think right now, you just need to see what she has to say... You don't have to read it, I mean, you can throw it away if you want and I'm sure she'd understand. She knows C... she knows how much you love Matt, and how much this is tearing you up. I think she's accepted everything, for what it is.. Regardless of what you choose to do from here."

"Thanks Rae... Um, I'll be down in a little bit okay?"

Clarke and Raven made their way upstairs, Clarke to the master bedroom and Raven to the spare room with Anya.

Anya and Raven sat their things down quickly, changed into their bathing suits and met a waiting Octavia downstairs. Octavia already had 4 shot glasses full of some sort of clear alcohol, most likely vodka knowing her.

"CLA-"

"Don't O, she needs some time, she'll be down later, I promise." Raven interrupted before Octavia's boisterous voice could get Clarke's name out.

"Ugh, fine, whatever. More for me!"

"I really hope you've learned to hold your liquor better than you used to Octavia.." Anya joked.

"I'll have you know I can drink you under the table Anya, bar keep of Trikru!" Octavia challenged.

"Oh God, this is going to get messy, remember guys no drinking and swimming, we all remember the first year here." Raven warned.

"Listen that was all Lexa trying to show off for Clarke, no one told that idiot to try and swim across the lake completely obliterated after hours of drinking." Octavia chuckled.

"Jesus, do you remember trying to get her sloppy ass in the boat?!" Anya was in full blown hysteria at this point.

"Uh yeah, you assholes, I do; because you laughed from the shore when she flipped me in 3 times in a row!" Raven yelled at the pair that were now crying from laugher.

The next hour or so wore on like this with the girls retelling old stories of their time together. It had been a while since they had eaten and all three were getting hungry. Raven volunteered to be the person to go ask Clarke what kind of pizza she'd have, even though everyone knew. 'Double cheese extra pepperoni' classic Clarke.

"Hey C, we're gonna order pizza-" Raven stopped seeing Clarke on the bed clearly re-reading the letter Lexa had left her, she wasn't crying, in fact, she looked happy, lighter maybe. "You okay babe? You've been up here a while..."

"Yeah, yeah I'm good Rae, thanks. Uh double cheese extra pepperoni" Clarke responded, folding away the letter and returning it to its envelope.

"Shoulda known. Typical Clarke." Raven chuckled. "So... You ready to join us? O is getting seriously stir crazy, she needs some Clarkey."

"Yeah, coming right now." Clarke laughed while putting on her bathing suit behind the bathroom door. "Hey Rae?"

"Yeah babe?"

"You were right..."

"About?"

"Everything..."

"Not sure what you're talking about, but you know this Reyes is never wrong. Meet you downstairs, I gotta go check on the children."

Raven and Clarke had made their way downstairs to order the pizza. The group just sat and chatted mostly about everything that had been going on in their own lives. Each of them claimed a lawn chair and were laying out under the quickly setting sun. Anya and Octavia had held off their drinking challenge until later in the night so as not to waste precious sun bathing time. The pizza arrived and was devoured quickly after. The conversations were growing deeper with each drink they had started having.

"Let's play truth!" Octavia shouted.

"Don't you mean truth or dare?" Anya asked.

"No, we don't allow O to play dare when she's drunk, way too many hospital visits put a kibosh on that." Clarke explained.

"Yeah, yeah, you jump off a roof one time and everyone holds it against you for years!" Octavia chuckled, sipping down the rest of her vodka tonic. "So, truth it is!"

"I'm down" Anya and Raven said in unison.

"Ugh, fine..." Clarke said hesitantly. Games of truth with Raven and Octavia usually ended up with someone crying or a huge fight between the 3 of them. Hopefully with Anya here it would be less emotional.

"Okay, Reyes, then me, then Anya and then Clarke." Octavia sputtered out. "If you're caught in a lie or half-truth you down your drink? And no targeting, that's just not nice."

They all agreed to the terms.

"Alright, who to choose, who to choose... Okay, O, who was the last person you hooked up with before Lincoln" Raven questioned.

"Ugh... You guys already know this you alwayssss bring it up! Fucking Jasper okay... Not my greatest moment."

"That's hilarious!" Anya said nearly spitting her drink out.

"Oh just wait dear...my turn now; Anya, have you ever had sex with a guy?"

"Nope, gold star right here." Anya answered confidently.

"That was a boring one O." Clarke chastised.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'm just trying to wean her into it. Your turn Anya."

"Hmmm... Okay, Clarke, why did you slap Lexa at the gallery?"

"Damn, she jumps right to it doesn't she...?" Raven said taking a long drink from her glass.

Clarke chuckled before answering. "I really don't know... I think it was just my gut reaction. I didn't even realize I was doing it until it happened."

"Fair enough Griffin, it was pretty balls. I've heard you've grown some lately." Anya laughed.

"Yeah yeah... My turn, Raven, what did Lexa tell you about the night I came up here?"

"She said you both made choices you shouldn't have, I guessed that you had sex, she didn't deny it, then she said later she was distracted at her speech because of 'mind blowing sex with the girl she's in love with' and the fact that you disappeared into an abyss or something."

"Mind blowing sex?" Anya asked with a quizzical eyebrow.

"Not your turn yet Anya!" Octavia chimed in. "And you, Griffin, you ran away? Like a legit one night stand? Pretty impressive, never knew you had the balls."

"That's all she said?" Clarke asked again, seemingly confused at how casually Raven said it. "Was she like making a joke about the mind-blowing sex part or something?"

"Nope. No joke."

"Interesting" Clarke said while rubbing her forehead. "Ok Rae, your turn."

"Alright, since you made me betray a conversation with a friend, read us the letter Lexa wrote you..."

"Babe, that's not fair, that's personal." Anya tried to defend her cousin's honor.

"No, no it's fine, it's really not that personal. And I'll cut out any of the really emotional parts, is that fair Rae? It is kind of an invasion of privacy..." Clarke suggested.

"Fine, but don't cut out the gushy stuff, I love when Lexa gets gushy." Raven finally responded after a few moments.

Clarke was back from retrieving the letter before she read it to the group. She opened the envelope, and read over the letter again, a smile forming on her lips, trying to pick out which pieces she could read and which she shouldn't.

Clarke,

I don't have much time so I'll keep this short. I know you feel like you made a mistake last night, and maybe in the scheme of things you did, well, we did. Just know that it didn't mean nothing to me, every moment with you means something, even when you're slapping me in the face. I know that leaving you like I did you hurt you, maybe even broke you. What I did wasn't right, or fair, or honorable; and frankly, what I did last night wasn't either. You have a choice to make Clarke, this isn't an ultimatum or even a request. This is just me finally being honest with you. Matt is an amazing man, he will treat you right, and he loves you so deeply, you can see it in his eyes. You can be honest with him Clarke, you can tell him the mistake you made last night, and he will forgive you, because he loves you and because he's a good man. Please don't take this as me saying I don't want you with everything I have, that is the furthest thing from the truth. What I want is your happiness Clarke, no matter if it's with Matt, or me, or someone you meet next month. You deserve love, you deserve everything in this world. The real point of what I'm trying to say is; whatever happens from here, I will support you, I will respect whatever choice you make, and most importantly, I will always be there for you in whatever capacity you'll take me as.

Always,

Lexa

In the end, Clarke ended up reading the whole thing to the group. They all fell silent; Octavia with tears in her eyes, Raven with her mouth gaped open and Anya with a strong, somber look on her face. All three of them lost in their own thoughts. Raven knew the Lexa she had learned to love years ago was still there, still being strong despite the fact that Clarke was the only person she'd truly love, no matter what she said. Octavia was thinking back to times she'd stayed up late just talking about life and the world with Lexa, remembering how she was wise beyond her years. That still held true today, Lexa was putting Clarke above herself, she always had, and Octavia knew she always would. Anya on the other hand only felt sadness, she knew how much it must have hurt Lexa to write those words. Lexa still believed Clarke would choose her and part of Anya felt that Lexa would break completely if she didn't. Yes, Clarke's happiness was most important to Lexa, but Anya knew if Matt was Clarke's happiness that would end up hurting Lexa much more than she already was.

"Guys... Say something... It's all going to be okay, you see?" Clarke said finally.

"Are you fucking blind? She is clearly still completely in love with you. Jesus, Clarke, read between the lines, she's literally the only person on the planet that would say 'I'm still in love with you, but we'll still be okay if you choose him'" Octavia spat out.

"She's not forcing me to choose her, that's what she's saying. She said she'd respect my choice."

"C, she loves you, so much so that she's willing to lose you. Lexa, she.. she doesn't want to lose you completely by making you choose between her or Matt. Yes, she said she'll support your choice, but don't you think maybe she's hoping that choice will be her?" Raven tried to explain further, the game of truth long since forgotten.

"Anya? What do you think?" Clarke questioned, now finally filling in the blanks.

"It's not a simple answer Clarke..."

"Can you at least try...? Please?" Clarke pleaded.

"Look, Lexa has done a lot of shitty things the last year, and they hurt you, all of you, but don't forget how much it hurt her too... She gave up everything for you guys... It doesn't change the pain you felt and still feel. It doesn't change the fact you have moved on with Matt, the fact that you're engaged to him too… Clarke; you left an engagement ring for Lexa to find at the pent house, and a letter telling her how you were going to propose; on the birthday that she had spent crying herself to sleep in my arms because of how much she hated herself and Nia for what she had to do. That same week was the week the magazine cover came out, it's when she found out you were engaged. She's been hurting just as much, if not more than you for the last 15 months. But still, she took care of you, she watched over you, she fought for your safety. Hell Clarke, she built a fucking house for you… Listen, I'm not saying that you have to choose Lexa, I'm not telling you that you have to choose, but what I am saying is that you need to take a serious step back and realize exactly who you're walking away from. Lexa will respect your decision, she has no choice, but if it's Matt.. That will break her, even though she'll never tell you that." Anya didn't realize how angry she got recounting the events unknown to the group. "Look, I'm not trying to make you feel like shit, but Clarke… Don't make this decision tonight, don't make it tomorrow… Give her time, give yourself time. Your wounds are so fresh, your hearts are still hurting." With that Anya got up and started to light a fire in the fire pit. Once she had it completed she lit a cigarette and sent a quick text.

TO LEXA: Don't you dare give up. Fight for her Lexa.

FROM LEXA: Trust me, I haven't given up.