AN: We're staying in the UK for a little longer and heading out into the countryside! I have been to both Stonehenge and Bath, but that was… 22 years ago, jeez, so I can't say I remember that much… but again, Google Maps is a wonderful thing :)
I don't own anything relating to The 100
See the end of the chapter for warnings
Chapter title from "Valentine" by Jim Brickman and Martina McBride
29
Even If the Sun Refused to Shine
Clarke's secretly glad that Wells and Sasha are going with them down to the coast – it means she doesn't have to drive. Yes, she's gotten the hang of being on the left side of the road again, but her instincts are still that she's on the wrong side, and she has to be on high alert all the time to avoid going with them. Which is probably part of why she was so exhausted after their drive from Edinburgh to Glasgow.
Now, though, she gets to enjoy the trip from the backseat and can focus on pointing out everything interesting they pass to Bellamy.
They set out as soon as they've had breakfast on Wednesday morning, and reach Stonehenge with plenty of time to spare for their slot at eleven. They start at the visitor center, where they get some information before being directed to the pick-up place for the shuttle that will take them out to the actual stone circle.
"We can't get closer than this?" Clarke asks when they get to the roped path that winds its way around the stones. "The last time we were here we could walk among the stones, remember Wells?"
Wells leans in close to her. "You might want to keep your voice down," he advices quietly. "The stones were roped off in the seventies, to avoid them getting damaged by visitors climbing on them and stuff."
A middle-aged woman passing them is giving her an odd look, and Clarke quickly looks away. "Oops."
They follow the path, stopping at the spot where they get closest to the stones to snap some photos.
"I mean…" Bellamy starts, frowning a little at the circle, "it's cool and all, but I have to admit it's a little underwhelming."
Sasha laughs at that. "I know what you mean – the first time Wells and I were here, I had the same reaction. He had been telling me about his previous visit, which I'm guessing Clarke has too."
Clarke squeezes Bellamy's arm. "Sorry for giving you unrealistic expectations. I should have done more research when I booked the tickets, but I just assumed it would be the same."
He presses a kiss to her temple. "Don't worry about it, it is still a cool experience."
"Hey…" Wells says, eyes on his phone. "It says here that there's another stone circle pretty close by. It's not as well maintained as this one, but you can get closer to the stones, right next to them, in fact."
Sasha joins him, peaking at the screen over his shoulder. "It's not that much out of our way," she says. "Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes? And then it's about an hour to Bath, so we can still get there in time for a late lunch and some exploration."
Clarke looks up at Bellamy, who shrugs to say he's happy either way, but she can see the excitement in his eyes. "We're not in any hurry. Clovelly's not big, we'll have plenty of time to explore the town tomorrow before heading back to London," she decides. "Let's do it."
They head back to the car with the next shuttle, where Wells plugs their new destination into the satnav, and soon they're on the narrower A360 en route to Avebury.
"This is more like it," Bellamy notes half an hour later, when they've parked and followed the signs to the stones in the small village. He rests a hand against the rough surface of one of the megaliths, tilting his head back to take the whole thing in.
Clarke quickly grabs her phone and captures the moment, earning a raised eyebrow. "That one's going on Facebook," she announces, opening the app to upload it right away.
Bellamy sighs. "Seriously?"
"I promised Octavia I'd keep her posted on our trip, remember?" she tells him as she captions the photo. "And Miller, come to think of it."
"You and Miller are Facebook friends?"
The image finishes uploading and she puts her phone away again, looping her arm through his. "He wanted to keep up with our trip too, and since you refuse to get an account…"
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbles, pulling her along towards the next stone. "He's been nagging me about it for years, but it's not like there's any point in doing it now."
Ignoring the underlying meaning of his words, Clarke pulls him around to snap a selfie of the two of them with parts of the stone circle behind them. "All the more reason for me to post a bunch of photos," she says lightly, pleased when he chuckles at that and drops the subject.
By the time they reach Bath, all four of them are hungry enough that their stomachs are rumbling, so as soon as they've parked, they find a restaurant. After some wonderful pasta, they stroll around for a couple of hours, checking out what Bath has to offer – the Crescent and assembly rooms, which make them all feel like they're in a Jane Austen novel, a quick look in the impressive abbey and then, to satisfy Bellamy's thirst for Roman history, an hour at the Roman baths.
The sun has already set when they get in the car for the final leg of the journey, and not far outside Bath, darkness envelopes them in a soft blanket. It's been a pretty intense day so far, so Clarke scoots over into the middle seat of the car and leans her head against Bellamy's shoulder.
She has no intention of falling asleep, but watching the dark countryside pass by the car window must have a soothing effect on her, because suddenly, she's being shaken awake gently. When she opens her eyes, he's looking down at her with a soft smile. "We're here, sleepy head."
"Mmm… give me a sec."
He chuckles but gets out of the car when she leans back against the seat and squeezes her eyes shut again, and she stretches as much as she can in the cramped space before following.
It's already almost nine, so all they really want is to get checked in and crash in bed, but since they haven't eaten since they got to Bath, they order some sandwiches in the on-site bar. The woman behind the reception desk promises to have them sent up to their rooms as soon as they're finished.
Clarke knows they have a view of the harbor and sea beyond, but when she and Bellamy get to their room, the windows are dark, only a few bobbing lights visible in the distance, probably on boats off the coast. She drops her bag on the bed and shrugs out of her coat before rummaging around for the sweats she brought to sleep in while Bellamy disappears into the bathroom. Once she's changed, she just slumps forward onto the bed, burying her face in the soft comforter. A moment later, the bathroom door opens again and a laugh fills the room.
"Will you make it through dinner?" he asks, sitting down by her head and running his fingers through her hair.
She turns her head to be able to respond. "No guarantees."
He laughs again just as there's a knock on the door, and Clarke makes an effort to roll onto her back and sit up while he opens the door for the receptionist.
The smell of the sandwiches does perk her up a little, and she joins him at the small table by the window.
"It's a shame it's so dark," he notes, squinting out the window. "I bet the view is amazing."
"You'll see in the morning," she replies, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Unless this place has changed completely since I lived here, the harbor's full of little colorful fishing boats that balance on their hulls at low tide and the cottages look like they've all been here for hundreds of years. It's a beautiful village."
Bellamy nods. "So when do we need to head back to London tomorrow?"
"The drive's about four hours without any stops," she replies with a shrug. "So around three, maybe? We don't have anything planned in the evening, but it's still nice to not get back too late."
"So plenty of time to explore, then."
Clarke can't help but laugh at that. "Trust me – we don't need that much time to explore this place."
"Still, it's nice to not have to rush."
By the time they've both finished their sandwiches and gotten ready for bed, Clarke has about enough energy left to crawl under the comforter. She sinks into the soft pillows and lets out a long breath. When she feels the bed shift next to her, she rolls onto her side to be able to cuddle closer, throwing one leg over Bellamy's and wrapping an arm around him.
"Love you," she mumbles, burying her nose against his throat. She feels his lips against the top of her head.
"Love you too, Princess. Now go to sleep."
She doesn't need to be told twice.
-100-
Since they went to bed early, they're up by a little after seven, while it's still dark out. Wells and Sasha join them in the restaurant for breakfast only a few minutes after they sit down, and they admire the sunrise as they eat.
"So what's on the agenda today?" Wells asks, finishing off his bacon.
"I figured we'd explore the town and surrounding area for a while, grab some lunch and then head back towards London," Clarke replies after swallowing the last bite of her scrambled eggs. "I doubt much has changed since we lived here, but the weather's OK so it'll be nice to just stroll around the town a little. Plus, it's low tide for the next four hours or so, so if you're feeling adventurous, we could check out the beach, I used to love walking along it."
Everyone agrees with the plan, so after they've finished the food, they check out and pack the car before venturing out on the pebbled beach. They follow it for a couple of miles, until the odd stone formation called Blackchurch rock comes into view.
"I'm getting flashbacks to Iceland," Bellamy notes, coming to a stop a few feet from the large stone arch.
Clarke looks up at the rock face, which is indeed very similar to the cliffs at the Reynisfjara beach. "I see what you mean."
"Can you walk through it?" he asks, looking between her and the archway.
"Only one way to find out."
They pick their way carefully along the rocky ground, eventually emerging back on the beach on the other side.
The tide is starting to come in when they get back to the harbor, but the beach is still dry, so they continue past the town to check out the waterfall a few hundred yards in the other direction, and then the lifeboat station on the way back.
As if they haven't had enough hiking, they then head up High Street, which is so steep it's actually been terraced into a sort of staircase with very long steps. They check out the Donkey Shop, and then the actual donkeys at the top of the hill, munching away at some hay.
Still, by the time they get back to the inn down by the harbor, where the tide has now come in, it's only noon.
"Do you guys want to just grab lunch here, or go back up to the tea rooms?" Sasha asks, voice a little too off-hand, checking out the board with the lunch menu outside the inn's entrance.
"I don't know about the rest of you," Wells replies, glancing back the way they came a minute ago, "but I'm not that keen on trekking back up that hill, so I vote for the inn."
Bellamy immediately raises his hand. "Seconded."
"Yeah, sounds good," Clarke agrees, looking between the three of them. She's not sure why, but it feels like she's missing something… She pushes the thought away as Wells holds the door to the hotel open for them. It's probably nothing.
Before they reach the restaurant, though, the receptionist intercepts them. "Ms. Griffin?"
Clarke stops in her tracks. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry, but there's a problem in your room," the woman says with a contrite smile. "Would you mind terribly accompanying me up there so we can have it sorted?"
A problem in their room? Did they forget something? Clarke's sure that she checked everything before they left the room, but she supposes it's possible she missed something, even if they barely unpacked. But why wouldn't the housekeeper just have brought whatever it is down to the reception? She knows they didn't break or damage anything.
"Sure," she agrees with a nod, figuring it's best to just get it over with. "You guys go ahead, I'll join you in a minute."
Wells squeezes her hand before he and Sasha disappear through the door to the restaurant, but Bellamy doesn't move.
"Go on," she tells him. "I'll take care of this, whatever it is."
"I'll go with you," he replies immediately.
She considers arguing that there's no reason for both of them to go, but just as she opens her mouth, he raises an eyebrow and she knows there's no point.
They follow the receptionist up the stairs to their floor, where she holds the door to their room open for them. Clarke steps through, scanning the room to figure out what might have happened.
Everything looks fine, the bed's been made and the window is cracked open slightly, letting in some air and the sound of the waves.
And the small table is set with two covered plates as well as a lit candle and a single, red rose in a vase in the center of the table.
"What the…" she starts, snapping her head around when the door closes behind them.
Bellamy gives her a slightly sheepish look. "Happy Valentine's Day."
The way his voice rises a little at the end makes it sound almost like a question and she can't do anything but stare at him for a long moment.
"It's…" she then starts, going through their itinerary in her mind and coming to the conclusion that it is, indeed, the fourteenth of February. "I didn't even remember."
"I kind of figured." Bellamy chuckles before going serious again. "You're not one of those people who think Valentine's Day is just a commercial holiday designed to sell flowers and chocolate, are you? I mean, I did ask Wells and he thought you would appreciate this, but if you…"
"Hey," she cuts him off before reaching up for a kiss. "I love this. I can't believe you managed to pull it off without me figuring it out, though. How did you do that?"
"Well, I had some help," he admits, leading her over to the table and pulling the chair out for her before sitting down opposite. "I asked Wells to talk to the receptionist last night – thanks for falling asleep in the car, by the way – then the hotel set all of this up after we checked out this morning, and Wells called when we were getting closer so they could get the food ready at the right time."
Clarke just shakes her head, unable to stop smiling. "Wow." She lifts the cloche over her plate to reveal baked salmon with roasted potatoes. "This looks delicious."
He uncovers his plate as well, giving her a hesitant look. "They did offer to do their full Valentine's menu, with some sort of oysters for starters and homemade ice cream for dessert, but I decided to stick with just the main course, I hope that's OK?"
"It's perfect," she assures him, popping a potato in her mouth. "I've never really liked oysters, and it's a little cold for ice cream."
Bellamy lets out a relieved breath. "We do have this though," he says, leaning down to grab something from the floor next to his chair and producing a heart shaped box of chocolates.
"Where did you get that?" she asks incredulously.
"We stopped to get gas while you were asleep in the car yesterday," he explains. "The gas station didn't have a huge selection, but they did have this."
"Well, aren't you a real romantic?" she says in a teasing voice, and he shrugs.
"I figured it's our first Valentine's Day, and, you know…" he trails off, but she knows what he was going to say, of course – that it's also their only Valentine's Day together. She refuses to let the thought get her down though, and is relieved when he clears his throat and continues. "I just wanted to do something for you, make the day a little special."
Clarke reaches over the table to squeeze his hand. "Mission accomplished."
They have a wonderful lunch, talking and laughing about whatever comes to mind. When they've both cleared their plates, Bellamy opens the chocolate box and somehow, they end up feeding the pralines to each other. If it weren't for the fact that the bed has already been made and it would be only too obvious what they've been up to if they leave it in a different state, Clarke's pretty sure they would have ended up between the sheets.
"Tonight," Bellamy murmurs in her ear as they leave the room again, his hand trailing down her spine to settle against her lower back and making her stomach swoop, and she knows he must have thought the same thing she just did.
"I'll hold you to that," she replies just as quietly, glancing up at him and watching his eyes darken.
They meet Wells and Sasha by the car, both with big smiles on their faces.
"Good surprise?" Wells asks when they reach them.
"Great surprise," Clarke replies. "But I'm amazed you managed to keep your mouth shut, you've always been awful at keeping secrets."
He rolls his eyes as he unlocks the car. "Maybe I've gotten better at it."
She snorts in response. "Yeah, right."
To Wells and Sasha, the drive back to London is probably pretty uneventful. To Clarke, though, it's something of a chicken race where she and Bellamy continuously push the limits of what they can do to turn the other one on without their two friends in the front seat noticing. By the time Wells pulls into the driveway at their house, she's about ready to pull Bellamy straight up to their room and have her way with him, but it's only six fifteen. It's too early to claim to be tired and call it an early night, and though she considers, for just a brief moment, to simply tell Wells and Sasha the truth, she quickly decides against it.
Bellamy disappears into the bathroom as soon as they enter the house, while Sasha heads upstairs and Clarke follows Wells into the living room.
When Bellamy comes into the room a few minutes later, Clarke gives him an innocent look. "You OK, babe?"
His eyes narrow as he slumps down next to her on the couch. "Just fine, Princess, you?"
"Oh, I'm just dandy."
Wells gives her a confused look and she quickly averts her eyes before she starts blushing. She feels his eyes on her for another moment, then he seems to decide that it's nothing and turns the TV on to a soccer game.
Sasha comes down the stairs fifteen minutes later, changed into a pretty, red dress with her hair up in a fancy chignon.
"Shouldn't we get going soon?" she asks, putting on her second earring as she stops in front of Wells. "The Uber will be here any minute."
"Get going?" Clarke asks.
"Right," Wells replies. "You guys already did your Valentine's Day thing, but we actually have reservations at The Ivy at seven thirty."
"You guys will be OK on your own for a few hours, right?" Sasha adds innocently. Maybe a little too innocently, if her slight smirk when Clarke looks up at her is any indication.
"I think we'll be just fine," she says, squeezing Bellamy's arm. "Right, babe?"
"Of course," he quickly agrees. "Go, have fun. Don't worry about us."
"OK, give me one minute to just change my shirt," Wells says, hurrying up the stairs.
Sasha shakes her head after him, an amused smile on her face, before turning to face her two guests. "Right, you know where the take out menus are, if you want to order food," she says. "Or if you want to cook something, just help yourself to whatever you need."
"We'll be fine, Sash," Clarke assures her again.
"I know, I know. Well, we probably won't be back until at least eleven, so if you're already in bed by the time we get home…" She winks subtly at Clarke as she says that and Clarke determinedly does not blush. "… I'll just say goodnight now."
Wells comes back down the stairs at that moment and Sasha heads into the hallway.
"Bye, guys, have fun," Clarke calls after them.
Wells sends her a mischievous smile. "You too."
She rolls her eyes, which he doesn't see since he turns his back on her to follow Sasha out of the room.
The house is silent for a long minute after the front door has clicked closed behind them.
Then Clarke jumps off the couch and takes off towards the stairs. A moment later, she hears Bellamy's steps behind her, but she makes it all the way to the second floor and their bedroom before he catches up to her and pushes her up against the door just as she reaches for the door knob.
"What was that, huh?" he says gruffly, breath hot against her ear.
She can't move much, trapped between his body and the door, but she does push back against him, earning a groan.
"Just thought we should move this somewhere a little more… private," she replies, gasping when his mouth descends on her throat. "Before things get, you know, out of control."
He hums against her skin. "You didn't have a problem with privacy in the car," he notes, sliding one hand from her hip around to her stomach and under her shirt.
"Me?" she questions, trying to turn her head to be able to look at him, but he's trailing kisses across her neck to her other shoulder, pushing her hair out of the way as he goes. "You're the one who was trying to drive me crazy."
Kind of like he is now, she adds silently as his hand travels north, his thumb brushing the bottom of her breast through her bra. She leans her head back against his shoulder, giving his wandering lips better access, and lets out a breath.
Bellamy chuckles before biting her shoulder lightly through the material of her shirt. "I was just following your lead, Princess."
And yeah, OK, maybe she was the one who started getting a little handsy in the car. She doesn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her admit that, though, instead focusing on the feel of his body pressed against hers, his mouth on her throat. He moves his hand to cover her beast through the bra for a moment before pushing the material out of the way so he can twirl her nipple between his fingers, and Clarke lets out a low whine at that.
A moment later, his other hand slides down her side and around to dip into her jeans, and yeah, she's done being the passive party in this. Fumbling around a little, she finds the door knob and twists it, making them both stumble forward into the room.
She takes the opportunity to turn around, wrapping an arm around his neck to pull him down while sliding her other hand under his shirt, finally finding bare skin. She absentmindedly notes the sound of the door closing behind him and then feels his hands on the button on her jeans. He gets it undone deftly and slides the zipper down as well before continuing in his earlier venture and pushing one hand into her underwear, just cupping her sex for a moment before sliding one rough finger inside her.
She has to break the kiss to pull in air at the familiar but still thrilling feeling, and for a long moment, they just stare at each other, both breathing heavily, Bellamy's finger working her slowly. When he adds another, though, she snaps out of the slight daze, because she wants more. She wants him inside her, now.
She makes quick work of her shirt and bra, throwing both garments into the corner, and pushes her jeans off her hips before starting on his jeans as well.
Bellamy chuckles. "Eager, are we?"
She finally manages to get the button and zipper undone and slips her hand into his boxers to wrap around him. He's not quite where she wants him yet, but the sharp intake of breath and the way his hips snap against her hand makes her think it shouldn't take long.
His fingers have stilled inside her, though, so she pushes against him, fucking herself on them until he takes the hint and starts moving again, in time with her hand around him.
"You spent the last four hours getting me worked up in the car," she breathes out. "What did you expect?"
He laughs, slightly breathless, before tugging a little on her messy braid, making her tilt her head up for a deep, unhurried kiss.
Clarke knows that he's trying to slow things down, and any other time, she'd go along with it, but not tonight. She does return the kiss, happily, but also starts working on getting her pants all the way off. It takes a minute or two, but soon enough, she can step out of them, leaving her in only her panties.
Bellamy's still basically fully dressed, though, so she releases him and takes a reluctant step back, making his fingers slide out of her.
"One of us is wearing way too many clothes," she notes, giving him a once over.
"Mm-hm," he agrees, reaching out to hook his thumbs in her panties. "These definitely have to go."
"That's not what I meant and you know it," she complains, but then he's kneeling down in front of her, pulling her panties down her legs, and, well, it's very distracting.
"Up," he directs her, and Clarke lifts first one foot and then the other, to let him remove the underwear completely. Once they're gone, he slides a hand up the back of her leg, tugging a little when he gets to her thigh, but she shakes her head, getting a raised eyebrow in return.
"I want you inside me."
He places a soft kiss just below her belly button. "How can I say no to that?"
He pulls his shirt over his head as he stands back up and captures her lips again. When he wraps an arm around her waist a moment later and pulls her closer, she realizes that he's gotten rid of the rest of his clothes as well, because she can feel him hot and hard against her stomach.
She knows the bed is somewhere to their right, and after a quick glance to ascertain exactly where, she manages to maneuver them around so she can push him down onto the foot of it before climbing into his lap.
"Princess wants to be in charge, huh?" he mumbles when she rises up enough to be able to wrap her hand around him and position him at her entrance.
"Uh-huh," she replies, sinking down all the way in one quick motion.
"Fuck," Bellamy grinds out. "Give a guy some warning next time."
She gives him an innocent smile. "Sorry."
"No, you're not." His fingers dig into her hips, hard enough to leave marks, probably, and he pulls her impossibly closer.
"No, I'm not."
Clarke leans her forehead against his, maintaining eye contact as she rises up and sinks back down, much slower this time, relishing the feel of every inch of him inside her. His eyes flutter closed when she repeats the motion a second time, and she lets her head fall back, losing herself in the feeling.
Before long, he starts meeting her downward movement with a thrust of his hips, heightening the already intense feeling, and a moment later, his lips close around her nipple, sucking it into his mouth and pulling a moan from her. The first ripples of her orgasm make her pick up her pace a little, chasing that release, and as if he could read her mind, Bellamy slips a hand between them to find her clit.
It doesn't take long before she's coming hard, a cry escaping her and her nails digging into his back.
He holds her close as the waves of pleasure wash over her, mouth still on her breast and tongue circling her nipple. Before she's come down completely, though, he flips them so she's on her back and thrusts into her, hard and deep.
She wraps her legs around his waist, pulling him even deeper and urging him on, and after only a few thrusts, his movements start becoming sloppy. His lips find hers for a kiss that's messy and a bit more teeth than is entirely pleasant, and then he stills above her, pulsing deep inside her.
Knowing that he's about to pull out or at least roll them around so she's on top, Clarke tightens her legs around him and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him down completely on top of her.
"I'm crushing you," he complains breathlessly.
"No, you're not," she replies, her eyes sliding closed as she fights to get her breathing back to normal.
She feels Bellamy's mouth press against the side of her throat and turns her head to get a kiss. He happily obliges.
"Good Valentine's Day?" he asks after a moment.
"The best."
Chapter warnings: explicit sexual content