A/N: Thank you for your reviews! They mean the world to me :)

"It fits you," Lexa said quietly, only meant for Clarke, as another merchant left the throne room, already followed by the next one to take his spot in front of Heda and Wanheda.

Clarke, seated in the regal chair not unlike Lexa's own next to the Commander, felt her lips tug upwards. The throne that had been made for her felt comfortable underneath her, even though it was made of the same sturdy wood as Lexa's. Intricate designs sprawled along the armrests and whereas Lexa's chair sprang upwards in twisted branches and sharp spears, Clarke's was more delicate; vines weaved together and subtly reaching for the sky.

They sat close together - close enough for their fingers to touch from where they rested on the armrests if one of them was to move their hand.

The small smile was the only reaction Clarke could give to Lexa's words before another merchant bowed in front of them to present his union gift. They were pleased to see it was Nero, the blacksmith who had crafted both of their swords with the utmost care.

He raised his head again and stood up, a smile plastered on his face that made his cheeks shine. "Heda, Wanheda."

"Nero," Clarke greeted him. "It's good to see you."

His eyebrow twitched as he gave her a quick once-over. "If I may be as bold to assume the rumors are true, the sword I gave you has served you well?"

Clarke chuckled. "It has," she confirmed. Although currently not hanging from her side, she had grown quite attached to it - a familiarity that replaced the dependency she had earlier felt towards her gun.

Nero's proud smile turned to Lexa before he settled back to respect and remembered the gifts he had brought them. The two daggers he held in one hand were complimented by a sturdy yet elegant spaulder that he took out of a bag slung over his shoulder. He once more bent to one knee, presenting the gifts with outstretched hands as the others before him had done. "May your ruling be sharp as the finest blade, may your days be long upon the earth, and may you be each other's armor for all to come."

His speech of congratulations on their bonding was different from most and it brought a smile to Clarke's face.

Lexa's eyes already sparkled when she saw the daggers; the fine handles and exquisite blades immediately drew her attention. These must have taken many days to craft and she was immensely pleased with the gift, already imagining them strapped to her side or twirling in her fingers.

One of her men stepped up to take the gifts and laid them on a table not far from the thrones where a stack of weapons and other gifts were already piled up, although there was no doubt that these outshone most of them.

Clarke, noticing the royally decorated pauldron laced with blue and silver, gave Nero a gratified nod. Just like Heda had a sign of recognition in her pauldron and red sash, the people seemed to be determined to give Wanheda an armored outfit of her own. Clarke turned to Lexa so their eyes could meet in the familiar silent exchange that seemed to come natural to them, but found the Commander's gaze still fixed on the daggers Nero had brought.

The blacksmith, too, seemed to notice. He cleared his throat. "You should use them as you please."

At the sound of his voice Lexa's eyes finally sprung back to him, before jumping to Clarke's. Clarke couldn't hold in her laugh at the look on her face.

"You can have them," she assured the brunette, reaching out to pat her hand. "I know how much you care about your daggers. That pauldron is mine, though."

All clan leaders had started on their journey back to their lands, promising to send ambassadors for Clarke and Lexa's union day. Although it was a grand happening, matters in their own lands called for the leaders' presence. They had said their blessings and shook arms - some with a more excited expression than others - and had not lingered on the absence of Skaikru's initiation into the Coalition; Wanheda secured their position.

Talk of their bonding spread quickly through the city and now that no more threats were looming, they could finally simply enjoy. Aside from the traditional gifts that merchants were determined to present them with, Clarke and Lexa could no longer walk over Polis' streets without being offered the finest clothing, jewelry and weapons with open hands - all in hope that their leaders would wear it on their day of joining.

Where Clarke had expected the grounder's version of weddings to be rather solemn and traditional, much like the meetings and Skaikru's joining to the Coalition would have been, that turned out to be only half of it.

Aside from Lexa, Octavia and Raven seemed to know a surprising lot about it, too.

"The official ceremony of a commander's bonding takes place in the throne room according to tradition," Lexa explained, eyes trained on her shooting target - a circle on a tree about thirty yards away from her. She released the arrow, lodging it directly in its target before turning to those next to her. "All else is up to us."

The sun was just warm enough to ease the coolness of the wind. The archery training area resided in the far end of the city; an open area with a look onto the forested hills bordering Polis.

The trees were subtly starting to change color and Clarke wondered how long it would be before she would find herself in the mornings reaching for the coat Lexa had given her. She didn't linger on the thought although the prospect made her lips turn upwards, and was quickly brought back to the present when Octavia poked her in the side with an arrow.

"Yeah, yeah. You're the Commander, we get it," Raven commented with the hint of a grin. She took the bow from Lexa as if it was the most normal thing in the world and positioned herself to nock an arrow, all confidence and ease. "But you're also Trikru. From what I've heard your people have some pretty interesting traditions themselves. How are all these customs going to blend?"

Lexa's eyes found Clarke, once more conversing in silence. It was a funny thing how Raven, Octavia and the rest of Polis seemed to be more occupied with their wedding day - as they called it - than Clarke and Lexa themselves.

The last few days had been so packed and stressful that they had barely had time to talk about their bonding, not to mention the details of traditions and formalities. Seeing everyone so enthusiastic about it though, brought up a nervous excitement in Clarke (and in Lexa too, although she'd never admit that).

"Raven, you're supposed to release the string to let the arrow fly," Lexa commented when she turned to see Raven's arm shake with the strain of drawing the bow for so long.

"I know that," Raven cut back, loosening her hold on the string and turning to face her. "But I can't concentrate when you're breathing down my neck like that."

Lexa raised her eyebrows and took a step back to give the girl more space, not sure how else to respond to that.

Octavia frowned. "Since when do you use a bow, Reyes?"

Raven shrugged. "It's all science. Should be easy."

The way she put it, Clarke could easily believe the girl needed nothing else than her genius to make the shot. Octavia, however, crossed her arms and leaned against the nearby fence, intrigued.

Lexa considered correcting Raven's stance but decided against it. Perhaps this science would really be all she needed.

When she finally took the shot the arrow flew impressively straight, seemingly heading for its target, but then lost its speed halfway and twisted oddly sideways, instead landing in one of the spare training dummies along the edge of the shooting range.

"I was aiming for that," Raven stated and without further ado handed the bow to Octavia.

As the young warrior nocked an arrow of her own, getting into a flawless stance, Lexa shifted in place, remembering their earlier conversation. "I am Trikru, yes. Our ways are important to us but I would not disregard your own customs. Aside from that, we are in Polis, which has a complete culture of its own."

Clarke wrapped her arms around Lexa from beside her. They were in public, but she couldn't care less. "Maybe we should pick the traditions that mean the most to us, and then celebrate in whatever way we want to."

"Was that sexual? That sounded sexual."

Clarke rolled her eyes at Raven's remark and Octavia's second arrow almost missed its target as she tried to stifle her laugh.

"A warrior should never lose focus, Okteivia," Lexa commented, although her voice and expression were soft - impossible not to be with Clarke's arms around her.

"Sha, Heda," Octavia nodded and then added with a careful lightness, "although that doesn't sound very convincing coming from you nowadays."

As if Clarke's arms wrapped around her weren't a sign enough, Lexa raised an eyebrow in defiance. "Explain."

Another arrow hit its mark and Octavia turned around, smirk on her face. "From what I've heard, you're not as focused during training anymore, Heda."

"He is a dead man," Lexa stated as she stormed down the streets of Polis, looking for the guard.

Clarke rolled her eyes at Lexa's dramatic reaction. "Lexa, it was probably just meant as a joke."

"Clarke, a guard should not speak of his Commander in that way. They should keep private matters like these to themselves."

Clarke chuckled out a breath. "You really think it's a secret that you and I have a hard time focusing on anything else when we're close to each other? Ryder respects you more than anyone else, I'm sure that hasn't changed just because he is the only one to witness me landing a punch on you during our training."

Clarke grabbed hold of Lexa's arm, stopping their walk and pulling the brunette to face her. Without warning, she claimed Lexa's lips with her own. Taken aback, Lexa's tensed but then relaxed into it, kissing Clarke back with gentle movement.

Clarke pulled back and Lexa's adorably confused face stared back at her, brow furrowed and lips parted. "Don't be too hard on him, please?"

Lexa's nod was barely visible and from beside them came the sound of giggling. Two young children looked up at them.

They giggled again, bumping against each other as Clarke and Lexa's attention fell on them.

"Heda," asked one of the girls, "en's ridiyo yu hod em in? (is it true you love her?)"

It struck a chord in Clarke because even though she knew Lexa did, admitting that to her people was a completely different thing.

Lexa, ever the charmer, smiled that half-smile of hers and answered, "Sha, en's ridiyo (Yes, it's true)," complete with a light squeeze of Clarke's hand in hers and a soft glint in green eyes.

Clarke grinned lovingly at her. "See? No secret at all."

Lexa huffed, "Fine. But you should know I can focus just fine during training if I wish to."

"Mhm," Clarke acknowledged half-heartedly and amused.

Still, Lexa felt the need to prove something - and besides that, remind Ryder of his place. Clarke saw it coming and she wasn't surprised when Lexa dragged her to their usual training spot outside of Polis' walls. Ryder, ever faithfully on duty and the only one to have been assigned to keep an eye on them, sat near the tree line like usual, whittling away on a small piece of wood that was starting to resemble the figure of a horse.

Although always alert, looking up every few seconds and scanning the surroundings, Ryder was visibly more relaxed than before. Everyone in Polis seemed to be. It brought warmth to Clarke's chest. Perhaps life really was starting to become about more than just surviving.

Lexa's blade connected with Clarke's, stopping it's low, swinging motion in between the two of them. Clarke pushed, Lexa gave way and caused Clarke's figure to come closer to her own. With a nudge of her shoulder and the sound of metal sliding against metal, she separated them again.

Lately, Clarke had taken up the skill of watching her opponent's face during a fight. It was much like Lexa had said; it predicted their next move as easily as the stance of their feet and allowed her to take in weak spots from the corner of her eye.

With Lexa, she wasn't sure if holding her gaze made it easier or harder.

The Commander herself had clearly struggled with it sometimes. Clarke hadn't hesitated to take the opportunities. It was almost comical, the way Lexa's gaze could change from focused and stoic to hesitantly lovestruck; focusing too long on blue irises or drifting down to Clarke's lips. At these occasions, Clarke had to hold back her smirk and would deftly, smoothly position the weapon in her hand to strike where Lexa expected it the less. Green eyes would come back into focus, Lexa would straighten herself and sometimes nod at her in approval, before starting their routine all over again (or simply throw all caution to the wind and crash their mouths together).

Today was different. Clarke didn't need to wonder why. Their sparring was on point, executing defensive and offensive moves without much in between. She didn't complain, having grown accustomed to her sword and confident in her skills. But Lexa pushed back a little harder and spun at certain points of which Clarke was sure they were only for show. Not once did the Commander allow her to keep the upper hand for long, repelling with careful but forceful moves and never losing focus.

It was a show of dominance, no matter how ridiculous Clarke thought the reason.

That being said, it was also kind of arousing.

Clarke was fond of her sword but didn't complain as they discarded the weapons nearby and moved to hand to hand combat.

She had also recently found out she was quite good with a bow - better than she was with a sword, admittedly - and figured it must have something to do with the precision it required from someone's hand-eye coordination.

Still, hand to hand combat wasn't one of her weak points, either.

Lexa got in stance. Her chest heaved with concentration but she was far from exhausted.

"Just let me know if you're tiring, Clarke," Lexa told her.

Clarke accepted the challenge with a quirk of her brow. "Let me know when you give up, Lexa."

Not too far away from them, Ryder sat on a boulder, watching the interaction with a mental roll of his eyes. The two women had discarded their blades and that usually meant Heda and Wanheda would get into some odd struggle to gain the upper hand that mostly just counted as low-grade flirting and would end with one of them on their back.

With a chuckle that was only existent through the shake of his shoulders, he averted his eyes back to the piece of wood he was shaping.

Much like expected, the two girls soon found themselves in a wrestling match that could barely be called innocent. It had started fairly controlled, jabs that were deflected with ease from both sides, arms that hooked together in defense and caused their bodies to collide, shoves that caused one or the other to land sprawled out on the ground.

And once one of them fell down, they usually remained there.

Pinned to the ground with Lexa's legs on either side of her, Clarke growled as the brunette leaned down and took the opportunity to bite softly at Clarke's ear lobe.

"Have you made your point yet, Commander?" Clarke asked.

Lexa grinned mischievously at her. "This is only the beginning, Clarke."

The thumps and low growls were audible from where Ryder sat. Whereas the rolling of his eyes had only been mentally earlier, he now struggled to keep it from his face.

He respected his Commander more than anything of course, but these training sessions with Clarke were a bit too mushy for him.

It was amusing to see the great, stoic Commander falter every now and then, seemingly distracted by Clarke's eyes or her…other assets. It made for a good story among trusted friends too, not that he'd ever admit that to his Heda.

Still, it was a time of peace and if there was no imminent danger, he preferred to keep his gaze off the sappy love fools as much as possible. Indra would agree with him that their wrestling matches really were a ridiculous sight to behold, he thought to himself.

His small knife almost slipped from his grip, drawing a small cut on his finger when a dagger buried itself three inches from his foot. He looked up in shock, grasping for his sword and already feeling stupid for not being more alert, when he noticed his Heda already watching him with a pointed look.

"It seems you are not as focused as you should be, Ryder," she said.

Clarke, hands in her side from exhaustion, stood watching the encounter with somewhat of an amused expression.

"Apologies, Heda," he mumbled.

Lexa retrieved her dagger and walked back to Clarke, throwing over her shoulder, "Focus, Ryder. You should be alert when you claim your Commander to be easily distracted."

Oh, that's where this was coming from. He bit his tongue. He was in for a rough time.

Later that day they went by the barracks. The Nightbloods were training as usual, having finished their morning lessons and now working on their skills and reflexes. Titus seemed only glad that Lexa was spending time with them, wishing them to learn from the best. Whereas he expected her to train with them, however, she and Clarke instead took them to the city's market.

Lexa was sure there were a dozen people who would be all too glad to demand her attention for upcoming matters, but Clarke convinced her she could use a day off. Multiple days, preferably.

The Nightbloods followed them around on the streets and they seemed lighter on their feet too; undoubtedly happy to have their Commander alive and well, making the idea that they would have to take her place someday seem distant.

If things were to go as Lexa hoped, they wouldn't have to replace her for many years to come.

The market was flooded with stalls and merchants and one in particular caught Clarke's eye. Besides an arrangement of bright, shiny stones and chipped wood bracelets, colored crayons and sets of charcoal were displayed. The woman behind the stall beamed brightly at Clarke.

Blue eyes turned to Lexa and back to the merchant. "I'll take ten of these."

Not much later they found themselves behind the barracks, drawing on large, smooth boulders with colored crayons near the edge of the training area.

For a moment Clarke had been worried the children wouldn't know what to draw. She remembered drawing her family at their age, the earth and trees and animals she had seen in books, but her life had been so different from theirs. Theirs had been violent and dangerous and filled with radioactive mutated animals for as long as they could remember, so she was pleasantly surprised when they drew magnificent horses and large temples and even a likeness of Polis' tower.

She never should've underestimated their creativity.

The Nightbloods curiously asked Clarke what the earth had looked like from space, and she drew it like she had seen it many times. Oceans of blue and green expanses, too far away to make out any sign of life.

It seemed surreal to the children, how small the world could be - just a circle in a black expanse - but at the same time it was larger than they expected when the clans were just dots on green plains.

Lexa listened with a smile on her face as Clarke answered all they asked her, and it struck her how terribly far away they had been from each other. It made her arms ache with the longing to hold Clarke as close as possible, now that she could.

Late in the afternoon Ida came out of the building, watching them quietly and contently for a while before calling out dinner was ready.

Perhaps children didn't eat a whole lot, but seven kids were a lot to take care of and Lexa knew the assigned chefs would always prepare something decent for the potential future commanders.

"Leksa, Klark," Ida smiled at them as the children made their way to the dining table, "eat with us, beja. It would please the children."

One of the girls had already shuffled to make space next to her and was tugging on Clarke's hand.

Lexa looked at Clarke, who responded with a grin.

"We shall dine with you," Lexa confirmed.

Mashed potatoes and seasoned steak were piled onto their plates, along with a few carrots and broccoli. Lexa observed the Nightblood's table manners, pleased to see their postures. They were proper, even the younger ones who were determined to cut their own steaks.

It was only when the boy next to her ate everything else on his plate and then hesitated at the broccoli, pushing it around with his fork, that Lexa schooled her face into that of the Commander.

"Harfi," she addressed him, "is it your wish to be weaker than your comrades?"

The boy looked at her with wide eyes. He shook his head.

"Then eat your vegetables."

He swallowed, looking at his broccoli. Then he composed himself and straightened in his seat and ate the vegetables without further ado. The other children had their eyes on them and Lexa gave the boy a genuine smile. "Good."

His eyes lit up.

All other children started on their broccoli, too.

Soon enough their plates were empty but everyone remained seated at the table. The children had excitedly asked Lexa to tell another one of her stories, and this time she was telling them about the first time she was allowed to go hunting. They listened with toothy grins and even interrupted every so often to make a remark or ask a question.

"I saw something rush by my side, but it moved too fast for me to make out its color. When I looked at the ground, I saw there was another pair of tracks aside from the hare I had been hunting. It was large, much larger."

"Was it a panther, Heda?" Aden asked, not bothering to hide his curiosity when Lexa was gracing them with one of her stories.

"A panther has large claws. These tracks were smaller but deep into the ground, so I knew it was a heavy animal."

A boy with dark hair giggled. "Maybe it just was a really fat pig."

Lexa smiled. "It was. The boar was twice my size and it charged at me from behind. By the time I finally managed to nock an arrow, Indra had already had to shoot it twice to slow it down."

Clarke's heart felt warm. Although the Nightbloods undoubtedly respected their Heda, they clearly loved her as well. What touched her the most was seeing that Lexa loved them, too.

Suddenly she had this ache in her chest, a longing to have this with Lexa, together. A family. Before her eyes could well up with what-ifs, she swallowed it away.

Lexa noticed, though. Although Clarke smiled reassuringly at her, the Commander excused them not much later. Formality somewhat returned to the children, standing straight and hands clasped behind their backs as they bid them goodnight.

"Ryder," Lexa called to her guard, "you shall clean the dishes for them tonight."

Ryder sighed. "I'd rather not leave you unguarded, Heda." He knew his protest was useless even before he spoke it.

Lexa brushed him off with a stoic look, something about her being capable enough of protecting them herself, and at last he nodded his acceptance. Even though it was no job for a commander's guard, it could've been worse.

Lexa walked them back to the tower, Clarke's hand clasped in hers and no longer caring who saw. The sun had started on its decent and the streets were emptying out, people returning to their homes and children being called inside.

Before they could reach the building though, Clarke became impatient. She tugged Lexa down one of the alleys, still full of adoration and lust and love that had been building up, and pinned the brunette between her own figure and the wall.

"Clarke," Lexa breathed but lips soon covered her own and it's all she could do not to moan when Clarke's desperate tongue sought out hers.

An ache deep in her belly and between her thighs became apparent to Lexa and as the blood rushed through her ears, she squeezed the blonde's hip once more before pulling back.

"Clarke," she now panted, "we should really just take this to our room."

Clarke nodded, seeing her point. She wasn't going to ravage Lexa around the corner of a dark and musty alley when anyone could just walk by and notice them. That would be…wrong. Right?

She gave into the temptation of hastily pressing a few open mouthed kisses to Lexa's neck and stole another peck from her lips.

Then, smoothing down her shirt, they continued on their way. Clarke desperately hoped the elevator ride wouldn't take too long.

When they finally stumbled into their room, Lexa spoke a few hasty and demanding words to the guards outside their door who took their leave as requested.

Clarke's hands were on Lexa's belt, tugging on her shirt, kicking off her own boots. Lexa wasn't entirely sure where this came from since they just returned from an afternoon with the Nightbloods, but to Clarke she was suddenly irresistible and Lexa wasn't about to complain.

Open mouths and desperate kisses sparked up the temperature between them until they both remained in their underclothes and stumbled backwards to the bed.

With hooded eyes Lexa allowed Clarke to take off the remainder of her clothes and Clarke simply watched her for a moment before shedding her own. Their mouths crashed back together, love sparking strongly between their chests.

Clarke lowered her naked form onto Lexa's, her tongue coming out to nibble at the brunette's ear as she ground her hips into the woman below her.

"Clarke," Lexa gasped, "you're beautiful."

Lexa's hands glided down Clarke's sides until they met the curve of her hips.

"And you're perfect," Clarke whispered hotly in her ear. They moved against each other, breath coming in shorter and louder gasps that were only muffled whenever their lips met, turning them into soft whimpers instead.

Clarke's mouth moved to Lexa's collarbone, down her chest and over her stomach. Fingertips softly scraped Clarke's scalp, needing to give some sort of affection. Reaching the tender skin around the curve of Lexa's hip, Clarke bit softly on the inside, eliciting a desperate grown from Lexa.

"That okay?" Clarke asked, looking back up. Lexa nodded and Clarke kissed the tender area, moving down to nibble her thighs before going back up to give the girl's breasts the attention of her mouth while her hand descended between them.

Lexa was glad she sent the guards away that night.

Especially when she was settled with her head between Clarke's thighs later.

The cool air was soothing on their flushed skin. Lexa's arm felt numb from where Clarke's head rested on top of it but she didn't care. It was perfect. She was happy.

All was still and Clarke rolled over to once more lie on top of her. Eyes connected and Lexa's arms came up around the blonde's middle.

"What is it?" she breathed.

Clarke smiled even as a beautiful sadness hung in her eyes. She studied the contours of Lexa's face, taking in her gentle eyes and the tender touch of her body against her own. The thought that she was about to get married to this woman still left Clarke breathless.

"I want you," she whispered, words sounding broken and incomplete.

"You have me," Lexa assured.

"I want you… I want us," Clarke stated. "I want-"

"What, my love?"

Clarke's voice stuck in her throat and she suddenly felt incredibly dumb for what she was saying. They weren't even bonded yet, but it stuck in her mind, in her heart, only to make its way out of her mouth. "I want to have a family…with you."

Lexa's chest coiled and she didn't think anything painful could ever feel so right. Her eyes widened with wonder. She cupped Clarke's cheek and guided her over to place a tender kiss on her lips.

Clarke found herself pressing a little further into Lexa's soft lips, hoping that if they could just keep kissing she wouldn't have to hear Lexa's response.

She kept her eyes closed and chased after her lover's mouth until Lexa gently pulled back and whispered, "I want that, too."

Surprise turned into wonder, then into love until Clarke felt like her heart would explode.

Grins took over their faces and ruined the kisses, noses bumping in low chuckles. The truth is, neither Clarke nor Lexa knew how they were supposed to raise kids when they were also ruling thirteen clans, nine of which were part of the Coalition. The biological aspect wasn't quite thought out either, but what mattered was that both of them wanted nothing more than to spend their life with each other and build a family with them. That shared feeling just brought a giddy happiness to them.

"I don't know how," Lexa admitted, "but maybe someday. Let's first just get bonded, shall we?"