AN: Time to leave Vegas and really get started on The Great American Roadtrip :)
I don't own anything relating to The 100
Chapter title from "Always Remember Us this Way" by Lady Gaga from the movie "A Star is Born". I was sort of obsessed with that song while writing… well, most of this story, to be honest. It's still in my playlist and I still love it. The song was actually the starting point for this chapter, or at least a scene in it. I hadn't actually seen the movie when I wrote the chapter though (I have now) so please don't jump to any conclusions based on the plot of the movie – I promise there's no deeper meaning or hidden predictions of what's to come!
55
When You Look at Me and the Whole World Fades
Saying goodbye to Octavia and Lincoln honestly isn't as bad as Clarke thought it would be, but that's probably because she was picturing the absolute worst case scenario – Bellamy breaking down completely at the airport, his sister freaking out, possibly security getting involved… in the end, it's probably not much different from how it would be if they were just saying goodbye not knowing when they were going to see each other again.
There's very little traffic, and even with Octavia having to run back into the hotel when she realizes she forgot her charger in the room, they get to the airport at twenty minutes past eleven. Clarke pulls into the short term parking and turns off the engine, despite both Octavia and Lincoln assuring her that they can take it from here, and she and Bellamy follow them into the terminal and help them find the line for security.
"OK, seriously, you can't come further than this," Octavia says, only partly sounding like she's joking.
"I know," Bellamy tells her, turning to Lincoln and holding out a hand. "It was good to see you again. Take care of her, OK?"
Clarke takes the opportunity to hug Octavia goodbye, just catching the roll of her eyes at her brother's words.
"She usually takes pretty good care of herself," Lincoln replies. "But I will do my best."
"And you take care of my brother," Octavia counters when she and Clarke break apart, just enough of a glint of steel in her eyes to show she means it. "I know he can get in his head sometimes but just… don't let him, OK?"
Clarke nods. "I make no promises, but I will do what I can."
She turns to Lincoln, trying to give the siblings at least the impression of some privacy. Still, she sees Bellamy pull his sister into a tight hug out of the corner of her eye.
"I'm so glad you could make it," he says, voice low enough to not carry to any of the other people around but loud enough Clarke has no trouble hearing. "I wouldn't have wanted to do this without you."
Octavia is hugging him back just as tightly. "Of course, I couldn't miss my only brother getting freaking married."
He laughs at that, sound only a little watery, and presses a kiss to her hair. "Love you, O. Never forget that, OK?"
"God, you're so weird," she complains, squeezing him one last time before disengaging. "I guess I love you too, loser. But it's not like we'll never see each other again – you married rich, remember?" She winks at Clarke.
"I knew you only wanted me for my money," she says, playing along.
"Obviously," Bellamy replies with an eye roll.
"So I'm thinking you'll come visit at least once a year," Octavia continues, going into planning mode. "Maybe twice, summer and Christmas? And then we can come out to New York now and then too. You can get flights pretty cheap if you book early, plus we can save on hotels if we can just stay with you."
"Of course," Clarke assures her, knowing that it will never happen. Or maybe Octavia will actually want to stay in touch with her after… everything. Which would be a whole other problem, down the line. She pushes the thought away for now. "You're always welcome."
There's not much of a line at security, and they stay to watch Octavia and Lincoln go through, not leaving until they disappear from view.
"That could have gone worse," Clarke notes when they're back in the car.
Bellamy lets out a long sigh that feels like all the air leaving his body. "Yeah. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect myself, but that was… OK."
She starts up the engine and gets them on the road before reaching over to take his hand. He intertwines their fingers and squeezes, hold a little too tight, but she doesn't mention it. She can be whatever support he needs right now.
"They'll be in the air when we get to the hotel tonight, but maybe we can Skype in the morning, before we leave for Roswell?" Clarke suggests, merging onto the 515.
"Maybe wait a couple of days, she'll think it's weird," he replies, voice a little wistful. "We talked twice a week before, we can get back to that."
"You can," she agrees. "But I'm sure she'll want to see the Grand Canyon, so you have a pretty good excuse."
To her relief, Bellamy actually chuckles at that, and she glances over to find him looking more or less relaxed in the passenger seat. "Good point, I'll text her later and see what she says once they land tomorrow."
She flashes him a smile before turning her focus back to the road. He doesn't let go of her hand, but his grip lets up a little and feels more like companionship than a need for support, and he leans forward to turn the radio on. He flips through the stations, stopping when he finds one playing classic rock, and soon they're flying down the I-11 singing along to Sweet Home Alabama.
It's still technically the Fourth of July weekend, and Hoover Dam is apparently a popular destination for that – the parking garage is almost full, and there are several tours going on at the actual dam. Clarke's been before, and Bellamy has, of course, read up on the dam, so he offers some commentary while they explore on foot, foregoing driving across the actual dam.
It's as impressive as always, of course, the Colorado River far below, the rocky walls of the Black Canyon rising on either side, the sun making the color differences even more prominent.
"Shit, it's high," Bellamy mumbles when they're stopped at one of the viewing spots, leaning just a little over the edge. He snaps a couple of pictures before straightening up.
They continue across the entire dam before crossing the road and going back along the other side of the dam, stopping at the café to grab an early lunch, and are back on the road by a few minutes to one.
Arizona doesn't offer much in terms of change of scenery, at least at first. They catch glimpses of the river and canyon now and then, but apart from that, it's desert in all directions for the hour it takes to get to Kingman, where they make a five minute stop to check out the map Bellamy found. It's pretty cool, Clarke has to admit. Definitely worth a ten minute detour, especially since they make good time and it's only a quarter to five when they arrive at their hotel in the Grand Canyon Village.
"Are we up for a…" Clarke pauses, checking her watch, "…three hour hike? Or do we want to take it easy for a while and just take a shorter walk along the canyon later, to catch the sunset?"
They've checked in and gotten their room, and are currently grabbing a snack at the hotel café.
"We've been in the car most of the day, so I wouldn't mind getting out and moving around a little," Bellamy replies after a moment, crumbling up the wrapper from his chicken salad sandwich. "Did you have a specific hike in mind? And by 'hike', do you mean rough terrain? I'm not really up for climbing or anything."
"I was mostly thinking we head down to the visitors' center and then basically follow the rim trail," she expands, swallowing down the last of her own tuna sandwich. "Check out the different viewpoints along the way. As far as I remember, it's paved, so it's more of a walk than a hike, really. No climbing whatsoever, promise."
"So a three hour walk then?"
Clarke rolls her eyes but ignores his teasing and opens Google Maps, zooming in on the area. "Hopi Point has an amazing viewing platform, 180 degrees, and I think that's the best spot for watching the sunset. It's not quite five miles one way, an hour and forty-four minutes according to Google so around three and a half hours if we want to walk all the way back." She looks up at him. "What do you think? We can always turn around earlier if we want, or I think we can get the shuttle back…" She pauses to switch to a browser and find the shuttle service website. "Yeah, it doesn't stop at Hopi on the way back, but Powell is just a few minutes' walk away and it stops there."
"Yeah, that sounds good," Bellamy agrees with a nod. "But we should probably bring one of the backpacks with water and something to eat, just in case."
"Definitely."
So they finish up and stop by the room to grab some provisions, put on a couple of baseball caps against the sun, and Clarke puts Raven's camera around her neck as well. If there's any time when they should get photos of professional quality, it's definitely now.
Twenty minutes later, they get their first look at the canyon, partially hidden by the trees lining the railing, but still undeniable.
Bellamy stops in his track, mouth falling open as he takes in the view.
"Amazing, isn't it?" she says, and he snaps out of it.
"Yeah. I mean, I've seen pictures, but it definitely doesn't compare to the real thing."
They start along the path, pausing at Mather Point – which is crowded as always – a minute or so later.
Bellamy leans on the railing, taking the panoramic vista in from right to left, and lets out a long breath. The sun is beaming down on them, though it's nowhere near as hot here as it was in Las Vegas, and the temperature is starting to drop further as the golden orb descends slowly towards the horizon. He doesn't seem to notice, though, his focus on the natural wonder in front of them.
His skin seems to glow in the bright sunshine, and for the first time in a while, Clarke thinks that he looks at peace.
This is the way she wants to remember him, she realizes. Relaxed, happy, eyes slightly widened in awe at the miracle in front of them. She lifts Raven's camera to her face and focuses on his features before pushing the button.
He turns to look at her at the sound of the shutter, a half-smile on his face. "Hey, I wasn't ready for that one," he objects amusedly.
She lets the camera swing from the strap again and shrugs. "It was a nice moment."
He chuckles lightly, coming to stand next to her. "Show me."
She lifts the camera again, turning it to viewing mode. "See?"
"Yeah," he agrees with a nod. "That's pretty good."
It's more than pretty good – it's beautiful. The rugged landscape blurry behind him, the sun casting shadows on his face, bringing out the sharp angles of his cheekbones.
She thinks that maybe, once things have settled down and she can bring herself to go through the photos from this trip, she'll want to have this one developed. Maybe turn it into a painting, if she can figure out how to get the play of light and shadows right.
She knows it will be a long time before she gets to that point, but she also knows that when she does, she'll be grateful to have this.
"Selfie for Raven?" Bellamy suggests, pulling her out of her thoughts, and they snap a couple before continuing along the path.
It follows the edge of the canyon most of the time, now and then detouring a little further from it, viewpoints here and there, and they check out each one. They keep up a good pace, though, and when they reach Hopi Point, the sun is still some ways above the horizon in the distance.
This viewing platform here is even more crowded than the one at Mather Point, so they continue a little ways past it, stopping instead at a spot along the trail that's fairly deserted.
Bellamy turns in a half-circle, as if he's scoping the place out. "Yeah, this feels like a good spot," he decides, turning back to her.
"Glad it gets your approval."
He rolls his eyes but joins her on the bench she's sat down on and accepts the bottle of water she hands over.
The sky is mostly clear, a few fluffy clouds just above them, but nothing to take away from the spectacular scene as the sun slowly sinks towards the horizon. Clarke keeps Raven's camera at the ready, snapping pictures every now and then, and Bellamy pulls out his phone after a while to film the last few minutes, the shadows rising slowly up the peaks below them, and then the final rays as the sun finally dips below the canyon.
They stay on the bench in silence for a while after, just watching the play of colors in the wake of the sun.
"You know," Bellamy then starts. "If I was ever going to be converted to some sort of religion, this would probably do it."
Clarke lets out a surprised laugh at that. "I guess so," she then agrees, after thinking about it for a moment. "If there's one thing that can convince you of some sort of… divine power or whatever, it's the everyday miracles of Mother Nature."
"That and the fact that there's apparently some sort of higher power that decides when people die, of course," he adds, voice light, but it still brings her mood down a couple of notches.
"Yeah…"
He doesn't miss the hitch in her voice, of course, and reaches for her hand with a frown. "Sorry, that wasn't meant to be a downer or anything."
"I know." She forces a smile onto her face. "Ready to head back?"
"Sure," Bellamy agrees, eyes still intent on her. "Want to catch the shuttle or walk?"
It's only eight thirty, and it's not like they're in a hurry. "Let's walk, it's a nice evening."
He nods and gets up, pulling her to her feet as well, and they set off back along the canyon. He keeps a firm hold of her hand, thumb rubbing circles against her skin, and Clarke lets the moment go.
There will be more, she knows, but there will be good ones too, and those are the ones to focus on.
-100-
"Come on, Princess, time to wake up."
Clarke's not sure how she managed to sleep through the actual alarm, but Bellamy's arm wrapping around her and his low voice is a much better way to wake up.
"What time is it?" she mumbles, burrowing against him for a moment.
"A few minutes after five. We should get up if we want to catch the sunrise."
She allows herself one deep breath, inhaling the scent of his sleep warm body, before rolling into a sitting position. "OK, I'm up."
She can't say she's exactly alert, though, but luckily, he takes the lead, helping her pull on a sweater and a pair of sweatpants.
The cold morning air – according to the car, it's only forty-two degrees – wakes her up a little more, but she still lets Bellamy drive the short distance to the parking lot at the visitors' center.
The sky has already started to lighten, and when they reach Mather Point, tendrils of pink and purple and gold are trailing across the sky. It's not quite as crowded as last night, but there's still more people than Clarke would have expected, cameras poised for the first glimpse of the sun in the distance.
"Huh." Bellamy hums. "I didn't think we'd be alone, but I wasn't expecting a crowd," he says, voicing her exact thoughts.
"Yeah, me neither." She scans the viewing platform. "Come on, over there is less crowded."
She tugs him along to a smaller platform off to the right, and they claim spots by the railing.
"So what do you prefer?" he asks after a quiet moment. "Sunset or sunrise?"
"We haven't seen the sunrise yet, I'll let you know soon."
He rolls his eyes. "I was talking generally, not here specifically."
"Ah." Someone elbows Clarke lightly in the side and she moves closer to him. He takes a step back so she can fit between him and the railing, and cages her in with one hand on either side of her. "I was going to say sunset, but I think that's mostly because it's usually such a hassle to actually see the sunrise," she continues. "But as a concept, I think I like sunrises more. A new day, you know? The beginning of something, not the end."
He hums, his breath warm against her cheek, and leans his chin against her shoulder. "Good reasoning."
Someone off to their right makes a shushing sound, whether directed at them or at everyone, she's not sure, but the effect is immediate and silence descends over the platform.
"This feels like Dubai all over again," Bellamy notes quietly in her ear, and she nods.
A moment later, the first rays of sunshine spread across the canyon, and she hears people gasping all around them.
It really is spectacular.
They stay until the sun has risen above the horizon completely, and then they both shift at the same time.
"Back to the hotel for a few more hours of sleep?" Clarke suggests, even though she's not sure she'll be able to get back to sleep.
He nods, mouth turned up in a half-smile. "Come on."
Their room has blackout curtains, so it's actually still dark and pleasantly warm after the cold morning. She doesn't bother getting undressed again, just crawls under the covers.
"Alarm for nine?" Bellamy asks, eyebrows raised and his phone in his hand.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," she agrees. "Don't want to sleep the whole day away and have to drive all night."
He sets the alarm and slides in next to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her in close.
She's asleep again within minutes.
The second wake-up of the morning is less pleasant, Bellamy's alarm blaring angrily somewhere to Clarke's left. She reaches out blindly but doesn't even reach the bedside table. A second later, he groans and shifts underneath her, eventually managing to turn it off.
"It might have been better to just stay awake," he notes through a yawn. "I'm much more tired now than I was three hours ago."
"Morning shower to wake up?" she suggests, rolling off him and stretching.
"Are you joining me?"
She turns her head to look at him, finding her favorite, lazy morning smile on his lips.
"If you insist…"
They stop short when they enter the bathroom, though, since apparently both of them had forgotten that there's no shower cubicle, just a tub, with only a simple sink, the toilet and a basic shelf making up the rest of the room.
"Rain check?" Bellamy suggests. "We want to get going anyway, right?"
"We do," she agrees a little reluctantly. "And we're staying at a Marriott hotel tonight, I bet they have better bathrooms."
He chuckles at that. "There's nothing wrong with this one, it just wasn't built with people wanting to hook up in mind."
"Exactly. What were they thinking?"
He's still laughing as he pulls his shirt over his head. "I'm still taking a shower." He pauses with one hand on the drawstring of his pants. "You staying to watch the show…?"
Clarke pretends to think it over, running her eyes up and down him slowly. "Go ahead, I'll pack the last of our stuff in the meantime."
"Tease!" he calls after her when she turns her back on him.
"Not my fault this place doesn't know how to do sex-friendly bathrooms."
In the end, it's probably good for their schedule that they don't get distracted in the shower – they pack up the car before grabbing breakfast, and are on the road before ten thirty.
"So, eight hours today, right?" Bellamy asks when they've been driving for a while and are merging onto the highway.
"Eight to nine, depending on traffic and any road work, I guess," she replies. "And we have a couple of stops, right?"
He pulls his phone out to check. "Just one actual stop, at the meteor crater, then the petrified tree in Holbrook I think we can just pass, and the musical road we kind of have to drive, so…"
"OK, good. And tomorrow will be another eight hours, so two long days in the car to look forward to."
"At least it has AC," he notes, and Clarke laughs.
"At least there's that."
But it is a long day. The meteor crater turns out to be a brief stop – you can walk around it, or even climb down into it if you want, but they're both happy to just check it out from the edge and then keep going – and the petrified tree is clearly visible from the road, so their first longer stop is in Gallup, where they grab lunch at an Applebee's just off the highway. They switch after lunch, Bellamy getting behind the wheel for a while, and Clarke leans back against the passenger's seat, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Tired?" he asks, reaching for her hand once he's gotten back onto the highway.
"I think you were right, we should have just stayed up this morning," she replies, covering a yawn with her hand and opening her eyes.
"Good to know for the future," he notes, hiding a yawn of his own, and she swallows down the response that flashes through her mind, that they don't have all that much future left anyway.
Nineteen days today.
She turns the radio on to try to distract herself from the thought, and it does work, or it works as well as anything. It's not like the countdown hasn't been somewhere in the back of her mind for the last… eight months, really, but especially since the Seychelles, since Bellamy's Number went from three digits to two.
She hadn't thought she was ready for this, not really. Which doesn't matter, of course – you can know something is going to suck and still not be prepared for just how it'll suck.
"Princess?"
Bellamy's voice finally pulls her out of her own mind and she turns to look at him, leaning back against the headrest.
He glances at her with a frown. "Where did you go?"
"Just… thinking," she replies with a half-shrug.
"Well, stop it," he says, squeezing her hand. "I don't know what I said, but I didn't mean to bring you down."
"No, it's not your fault," she assures him, letting out a long breath.
"Want to play a game?" he suggests.
Clarke can't help but laugh. "Like what?"
"I don't know." He shrugs. "We never did road trips when I was a kid, I think you have more experience in this area. All I've got is 'I spy'."
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I've never really played any games like that either," she tells him. "But we can do 'I spy'."
And it's actually pretty fun, mostly because Bellamy picks completely random things that she can't actually prove he hasn't seen on the side of the road, but that seem so unlikely – like a red Coke bottle, a blue sneaker and a purple backpack. When he claims he's spotted an orange paper cup, she declares the game over on the basis that he's obviously been cheating.
But she's also been laughing for the last half hour or so, so the original purpose has obviously been fulfilled.
They're also just leaving Albuquerque, and need to get back on Route 66 to find the musical highway.
"So I just need to go 45 miles per hour on the rumble strips?" Bellamy asks when they spot the first sign.
"I think so," Clarke confirms, rolling down the window as he sets the cruise control to the correct speed.
It's definitely cool – she can pick out the notes of America the Beautiful, even if it's not perfect or anything.
She says as much, making Bellamy laugh.
"What were you expecting? They're road markings, I'm amazed anyone came up with getting them to make music in the first place!"
He's right, of course, but she still rolls her eyes. "Well, when you put it that way…"
Even though they've kept all their stops brief, it's still after eight by the time they finally get to Roswell, and they just drop their stuff in the room before heading back out to check out the city and grab some dinner.
Roswell itself is actually a lot more low-key than Clarke was expecting. Sure, there are some alien references – street lights with lamps looking like alien heads lining the main street, a UFO shaped McDonald's, and, of course, a couple of funnily named stores and restaurants, like 'Stardust Antiques' – but really not that much, and it's mostly just another American town.
It's a little disappointing, if she's honest, and she's glad they're not planning to stay here longer than overnight.
They grab some burgers at a grill on the way back to the hotel, but it's still pretty early when they're back in their room.
"Want to watch something on TV?" she suggests, opening her backpack to grab a change of clothes.
She feels Bellamy behind her, and when he speaks, his voice is low, just an inch or so from her ear. "I seem to remember someone asking for a rain check this morning…"
His arm sneaks around her and he places a kiss on her shoulder, making it very hard to actually think, but she does manage. "I seem to remember that someone being you," she points out, voice coming out almost normal, which is an achievement.
He chuckles, pulling her back against him and playing with the hem of her shirt. "Details. Want to see if this bathroom is… more suitable?"
"Does it have to be the bathroom?" she asks, turning around to be able to lean up and kiss him.
He returns the kiss for a long moment, one hand slipping under her shirt and up her spine, leaving goose bumps in its wake, and the other anchoring on her hip.
"Not necessarily," he says, a little breathless, when he finally breaks away. "I just got this image in my head this morning, of trying to fuck you on that sink, which wouldn't have worked, I know, but there's a nice vanity in this bathroom…"
Of course, his words bring that same image to Clarke's mind, and her stomach swoops in anticipation. She reaches behind her, finding the desk she knew was there, and lifts herself up onto it.
"There's a perfectly good desk right here," she says, raising an eyebrow.
Bellamy steps closer, leaning one hand on either side of her thighs. "I like the way you think."
Then he pulls her shirt over her head before leaning down to kiss her, and she doesn't do much thinking anymore. His mouth is demanding against hers, his hands a little more urgent against her skin than usually, but she gives as good as she gets, making quick work of his shirt as well.
They hit a bit of a snag when they realize she's still wearing her jeans, and she has to get down to pull them and her underwear off, but while she gets rid of them, he removes the last of his own clothing. He lifts her back up onto the desk, pulling her forward until she's on the edge, and she reaches down to guide him inside her.
He stills for a moment when he's completely buried inside her, breathing deeply, and she's the one to pull him down to her, the one to dig her heels into his back to get him to start moving.
It's fast and urgent and a little rough, his hips snapping against hers, his teeth nipping at her bottom lip. When he brings one hand up to her breast and twirls her nipple between his fingers, she lets out a moan that he swallows.
When Clarke breaks the kiss to lean back against the desk for better leverage, he takes the opportunity to pull one nipple into his mouth, his hand still playing with the other, and she feels the first tendrils of her orgasm.
"Please… I need…" she manages to get out, but luckily, that's enough – his other hand slides down her stomach and he finds her clit with his thumb, immediately pushing her over the edge.
He slows as she trembles around him, moving up her throat to kiss her neck, arm once again wrapping around her to hold her close.
When she's finally come back down, she pulls in a deep breath and opens her eyes to find Bellamy looking down at her, eyes soft. When their eyes meet, he leans down and kisses her, a much softer kiss than earlier.
She pulls away after a moment. "Bed?" she suggests. "This desk really isn't very comfortable…"
He chuckles but wraps his other arm around her as well and maneuvers them over to the bed, slowly lowering them both to the mattress.
"Good?" he asks and she nods, wrapping her legs around him and arching her hips.
He takes the hint, pulling out of her almost completely before pushing back inside, both of them moaning at the new angle. He picks up the pace, finding her lips for an almost bruising kiss, and she doesn't quite come again before he does, but he does get her off once more before collapsing on his back next to her.
"Worth the wait?" he asks, mouth quirking up on one side.
Clarke lets out a laugh and rolls onto her side to be able to curl up next to him. "Always."
Chapter warnings: explicit sexual content
