The flaw in Clarke's dramatic exit was her lack of destination. She found herself lurking outside the door. Through it, she could hear the murmur of conversation. There was no shouting. That was a little frustrating for her curiosity, but it was ultimately a good thing. No need to air their dirty laundry before all of Sanctum.

She must have been standing around for a few minutes before Bellamy slipped through the door. He leaned against the wall too, so that they were both facing ahead, with the door separating them. "Did you want me to lead Clarke?"

"I want what's best for you, and I want what's best for the group. But I don't think those ideals match up."

It was a non-answer. In truth, Clarke had wanted Bellamy to step up and lead. For the very selfish reason that he was the person she would feel most comfortable following. But she couldn't tell him that. He had nominated her first, so he clearly felt the same way about her. If he could respect her refusal of the job, she was obliged to respect his.

He sighed. "If you're benching yourself, then I'm benching myself too. Maybe that's weak or lazy, but it's just what I have to do. I don't think I could explain it if I tried. It's a bone-deep instinct that I can't ignore. If the feeling's this strong, then it has to be right, doesn't it?"

Clarke shrugged, then realised he wasn't looking at her, so she had to give a verbal reply. "It doesn't have to be right, but I think it will be. If there's anything I've learnt, it's that there's no single right leader. We're not in the kind of emergency that needs you or me, specifically, to lead. Our friends are good people. Whoever ends up leading will do their best to see us through this. That's all anyone can ask. Or at least, that's all that they should ask."

"But we've been here before. What if this turns into another Octavia situation?" He swivelled his head to meet her gaze. His eyes were sad. "I believed in her so much Clarke. I thought that she would thrive leading the bunker. But it broke her. Are we setting someone else up to take a fall?"

Clarke thought about it carefully. She didn't want to lie. She couldn't offer any promises. "I hope that we aren't. And I'm glad that I can hope, because if I couldn't, it would mean that I didn't care anymore. I've come close to that feeling, and I have no intention of giving in to it." She bounced off the wall, and stood up straight. "Hope is important, but we can do more than hope. We'll be here this time, watching and waiting, ready to offer a hand when they need it. If we can all just stick together, then we have a chance."

Bellamy gave her a wry smile. "You're not doing your best to convince me that you'd make a terrible leader Clarke."

"Neither are you."

The tension in his posture visibly melted away. It seemed that she had cracked the code without meaning to. He had wanted that reassurance, to know that he still had that spark, that leadership potential, even as he was choosing not to wield it. She was touched that her opinion still mattered so much to him, after all of the drama they had been through recently. She wanted to reach for his hand, but she was still a little uncertain, so she just gave him a smile instead, hoping both that he could see her affection for him in it, and also that he wouldn't see too much. She was saved from drowning in her contradictory thoughts by a change in the tone of the voices leaking through the door.

"Ready to meet our new leader?"

"Not yet," he said, surprising her. "Can we just stay in this moment a little longer? Can we just be retired and at peace, before the world comes crashing in again?"

"Of course we can," Clarke answered lightly. "We aren't in charge anymore. We're free."

And even though they knew that wasn't true, they had fun pretending for five more minutes.