AN: Hey guys! I just wanted to inform you that this is not a new chapter. It's actually quite useless, but I thought maybe you'd like to read "The City of Light" all at once instead of in 4 short chapters. Just let me know if this is ok, otherwise I'll delete it.

Thank you!

By the way, I passed my exam this morning, so I should finally be able to upload a new chapter soon :)

When Clarke opens her eyes again she's not on the balcony of Lexa's room anymore. She's standing in the middle of a narrow road, closed on each side by a series of houses. They're all one or two-stores houses with flat roofs, just like the ones in Polis. She smiles to herself when she remembers the night Lexa told her about her childhood adventures as a young Natblida in training where she would have to run and jump from one roof to another along the streets of the capital. She can imagine Lexa doing the same now on these roofs.

She's brought out of her thoughts by the sound of steps coming from behind. Her heart stops, because she would recognize that sound of boots against the road anywhere. It's crazy, but when you love someone, a family member, a friend, a lover, you pay attention to the small things such as the typical sound of their steps on an unsurfaced road and so you become able to tell their presence before even seeing them. That's why she can't breathe anymore, that's why she doesn't move, afraid to be brought out of this amazing dream. But most of all, that's why she doesn't need to turn or to hear her voice to know the hand that's come to rest gently on her shoulder is hers. She knows, but she still can't believe Jaha's chip actually works, so she asks anyway.

"Lex?" Her voice cracks as her eyes fill with tears.

The hand on her shoulder moves down to intertwine its fingers with Clarke's as another hand does the same on the other side. Clarke's body tenses as she tries to hold back the sobs that threaten to come out and wreck her. She feels her arm being moved so that their right hands come to rest on her heart and their left ones across her belly.

"I'm here." Lexa finally speaks before tightening her hold on Clarke until their bodies are pressed against one another.

Clarke shakes slightly, but she's still refusing to let go. Lexa, of course, can feel it and so she whispers in her ear: "I've got you." You can let go now, Clarke. You can break down, because I'm here to hug and kiss all of your prices back together. That's all she tries to convey in just those four words and Clarke understands it all.

When the blonde lets out the broken sob she'd been holding, Lexa brings her even deeper into her as if to prove her words. And with that Clarke finally lets go, sinking on her knees as her body wrecks with her loud sobs. Lexa never lets go of the girl, she just goes down with her, kneeling behind her and holding her tightly. She doesn't try to shush her or whisper sweet nothings into her ear to calm her down, because she knows the girl needs to let it all out and break completely in order to start again and live again.

They stay like that for what feels like hours and when Clarke finally stops sobbing and shaking Lexa gives her a long kiss on the crown of her head. It's not enough to put the blonde back together, but it's a first step to give her back some of her lost strength. She feels her girlfriend take a deep breath and she knows Clarke is going to say something soon, so she moves her head down to rest her chin on her shoulder as if to let her know she's listening, whenever she's ready to talk.

"You never came back to me." Her voice still wavers slightly despite her efforts to keep it stable. She doesn't move her gaze on Lexa yet, she just stares down at their joined hands.

"I know." The former Heda does not apologize. It's not her fault someone killed her, Clarke would never blame her for not coming back, she was just stating a fact.

"I killed her. Nia. She had me pinned to the ground and for a moment I thought I wasn't gonna make it, but then I remembered what you taught me in our training sessions and I was able to free myself and kill her." Clarke's voice is just a little above a whisper, but her girlfriend hears it all clearly.

Lexa is shocked by her words, but she doesn't say a word, she just leans back to look at the side of the blonde's face waiting for her next move. The Sky girl strokes her thumb on the back of one of the brunette's hand in order to gather her courage before raising her head and tilting it to the side to finally meet the eyes of the girl she loves. Her eyes water again at the sight of Lexa's beautiful green orbs staring back at her, full of life. Slowly, she brings her hand up to cup the other girl's cheek, like she still needs some proof that this is real, that she is really there.

"That's what I was going to tell you once you came back from battle." Clarke gives her girlfriend a soft smile. "I wanted you to be proud of me. I wanted you to know that I can finally fight like you. Well, not like you you, but... like a true grounder. With swords, knives and all. I wanted you to know that the Ice Queen was not gonna hurt you anymore, because she's dead. I killed her. For Costia. For you."

"I..." Lexa is at a loss of words, because of the turmoil of emotions she feels right now. She wants to scream her anger at whoever killed her for not letting her have the reunion Clarke had planned for her; she wants to be mad at Clarke for facing Nia on her own, putting her life at risk in the process; she wants to cry in relief because the Ice Queen won't be able to hurt Clarke anymore; she wants to thank Clarke for avenging Costia when she couldn't do it and she wants her to know that she's always been proud of her.

Instead of trying with words again Lexa leans in to kiss Clarke, hoping this simple gesture is capable of conveying all of the things she's feeling at the moment. Like it's always been for the two of them, they don't need to say anything for the other to understand the message.

They kiss until their lungs burn for the lack of oxygen and then they keep close, leaning their foreheads against one another.

"Lexa?" Clarke calls gently after a while, causing the girl to open her eyes and look at her.

"Mmh?" Lexa hums in question.

"I can't feel my knees." That causes Lexa to chuckle lightly and, God, was it worthy to break the serious moment. Clarke hadn't realized how much she'd missed the sound of her laugh.

Lexa shakes her head amused as the blonde grins back at her and, then, she gets up pulling Clarke up with her in the process. When they're in a standing position in front of each other they simultaneously move forward to close the gap between them, so they hold each other properly for the first time.

"I missed you, so much." Clarke says in the crook of Lexa's neck. "I don't ever want to leave you."

"You can't stay here forever, Clarke." Her tone is sad and she holds the girl a bit tighter when she says these words. She knows her girlfriend has to go back to the real world, but she also doesn't want her to leave.

"Then I'll keep coming back." That's a promise she intends to keep.

Lexa smiles, happy to know this won't be the last time she's going to see Clarke.

"How did you get here anyway?" She asks with a curious tone, because, let's be clear, she still has no idea what this place is supposed to be and how dead people are very much alive here or how living people can come here and then go back to their real life.

"Jaha, one of my people, gave me a sort of 'key' to this virtual reality. He told me there was no death here." Well, that explains some of it, Lexa thinks. She's brought back from her thoughts when Clarke starts talking again.

"I wouldn't believe him. I couldn't afford getting my hopes up about seeing you again and then find out he was just lying. I didn't want to take the chip, but..." Her voice cracks when she thinks about the reason she's standing here right now. "I got to the point where I could hardly survive without you. I need you in my life, Lexa." She cries.

"Hey, ssh, I'm here." Lexa moves to cup Clarke's cheeks before leaning in to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'm here." She breathes on the blonde's skin there.

They stay like that for a while until Clarke has calmed down a bit. When the tears stop, Lexa tries to lighten up the mood, because she can't stand to see the girl she loves suffer so much.

"I'm not going anywhere, Clarke. Literally." She jokes.

"Oh, shut up. This isn't funny, Lex." She tries to suppress it, but a light chuckle still leaves her lips and it is music to her girlfriend's hears.

Lexa grins at her making Clarke shake her head at how proud the girl is for getting her to laugh a little.

"So... You wanna come see my house?" The brunette asks as she she holds out a hand for her girlfriend to take.

"You have a house?" The Sky girl asks surprised.

"Sort of. There are no properties in the City of Light. If you want something, you have to make it yours." She explains as she starts to walk down the road with Clarke.

"So you broke into the house."

"Of course not. No one lived there... it was just waiting for someone to pick it up."

"If you say so." Clarke isn't actually judging Lexa's choice, it's just that she enjoys messing with her, but, unfortunately, her girlfriend is too smart to fall for it.

"Just wait to see it. You're gonna love it." She says and, as she was hoping, it is enough to get Clarke's attention.

They walk in silence for a good five minutes. Lexa giving Clarke the chance to take everything in. When her girlfriend stops in front of a large metal gate, the blonde turns to look at her questioningly.

"That's it?!" She waits for Lexa's confirming nod before adding: "Wow. That's one big house."

From the gate she can see a small path leading to the front door of the large house and a yard surrounding the whole building. She's never seen a place that big. Her whole life she's lived in a small room on the Ark, or in a tent or in a room of Polis tower.

"And you have yet to see the best part. Come on." Lexa smiles to her as she gestures for her to get inside the gate she's pushed open. And with that they walk together to the front door.

Once inside Clarke notices that this house looks a lot different from the others. It's nothing like the buildings in Polis and totally like the large houses from before the apocalypse that she's seen in pictures and videos on the Ark. Right by the entrance there's a big room that is both a kitchen and a dining room. There's a long corner counter against the walls on the left of the front door and a very long wooden table in he middle of the room. There are eight chairs around it, but Clarke is sure it could host much more people. A wall and a door separate this room from the next one, which is an enormous living room. Coming from the entrance you meet in front of you a large glass wall that shows the beautiful yard just outside, that can be reached by two large glass doors. There's a bookcase that covers the whole left wall of the room and that is so full of books it seems impossible some don't fall off. A big rectangular carpet is laid on the floor in the middle of the room and two long couches are placed along the door side of the carpet and the right wall side of the carpet. A square wooden table is in the centre of the carpet with a few books on it. On the right wall there's a big tapestry and that's about it for the furniture of this room. It's a very big living room, but it's also rather empty.

"Come. I'll show you the other rooms." Lexa takes her girlfriend by the hand to lead her back to the first room.

Somehow Clarke had missed it before, but to the right of the entrance, opposite to the kitchen, there's a flight of stairs that leads to the second floor. Here there are a couple of main bedrooms and three smaller guest rooms, plus two bathrooms. The same stairs also lead to a mansard. It's a small room that looks like a mini version of the living room, but, instead of opening to the yard, its glass doors open to the rest of the roof. Clarke can only imagine how beautiful it must be out there by night when the sky is full of stars.

"Remember that time we sat on the balcony of the throne room to gaze at the stars?" Lexa asks softly and when Clarke hums in affirmation she continues: "Ever since I got here I spent every night on this roof pretending you were by my side, star gazing with me."

"Maybe we can do it tonight. And many others to come." She turns to Lexa before continuing. "You can stop pretending, ai hodness." She whispers the last part against the girl's lips before kissing her lovingly.

When they part Lexa smiles widely at her before biting her lower lip in thought.

"Would you like to see the lake?"

"Lake?"

"Yeah. There's a small lake that can be reached by the yard. It reminded me of the one near Polis, that's why I chose to move in here."

"Well, in that case, I'd love to see the lake. But I have to warn you: I don't know how to swim, so you'd better not push me in the water if you don't want me to drown." She jokes, because, honestly, the whole world, or better all worlds, know Lexa would never do anything that could endanger Clarke.

"I make no promises. I'm pretty sure by the end of the night I will be able to get you wet." And, God, does the smirk that appears on her face mean that the pun was totally intended.

Clarke just shakes her head and follows her downstairs pretending her comment didn't affect her at all, though she might actually be a little turned on already. She'll never thank Jaha enough for this chip.