AN: Time for two slightly briefer stops! We're also getting closer to another family reunion, which was a lot of fun to write and I'm really looking forward to sharing with you guys :)

I don't own anything relating to The 100

Chapter title from "Take My Hand" by Dido

40

So Sit on Top of the World and Tell Me How You're Feeling

By the time they finally check into their hotel in Agra, both Clarke and Bellamy have trouble staying upright, and their clothes are sticking to their bodies. It's definitely close to a hundred degrees outside, if not warmer.

They both managed to get some sleep at the airport in Abu Dhabi, where they had an eight hour stop over and she'd had the foresight to book a room at the on-site hotel. The actual flights were pretty short, though, just three or four hours each, so they never really had a chance to settle in and get any rest. Which means they've had maybe five hours of sleep total since yesterday morning, on top of the regular tiredness that always comes from traveling for almost twenty-four hours straight.

"Early night?" Bellamy suggests as soon as the door to their room closes behind them, dropping his bags and collapsing on the bed.

"Definitely," Clarke agrees, turning the temperature on the AC down a little. "But probably not yet."

He sighs. "Why not? What time is it even?"

She turns off flight mode on her phone and waits for the time to update. "Seriously?"

He opens an eye at her disbelieving voice. "What?"

"It's three forty-five," she tells him, continuing when he raises a questioning eyebrow. "An hour and a half ahead of the Seychelles – the time zone is GMT plus five and a half hours."

"Five and a half? I didn't even know there were places who had half time zones."

Clarke joins him on the bed, leaning against the headboard, and enjoys the cool air against her overheated skin. "Me neither, but here we are."

"OK, so we should probably try to stay up for another… four hours at least?"

She hums in agreement, grabbing a brochure for the Taj Mahal from the bedside table and flipping it open. "Well, the Taj opens at sunrise, so if we do fall asleep way too early and wake up at, like, five in the morning, we can get that out of the way before breakfast."

Bellamy lets out a snort at that before pushing himself to his feet, as if worried he really is going to fall asleep if he stays lying down. "So, what else is there to do here?" he asks, crossing the room to the balcony doors, where the Taj is visible above the treetops some ways away.

"What, you didn't research the place thoroughly?" she shoots back, laughing at the unamused look he gives her over his shoulder. "I'm not sure, honestly. There are other mausoleums, but I kind of think those would feel like a let-down compared to Taj Mahal. We could just check out the city."

He turns from the view to actually look at her, the expression on his face turning from unamused to horrified. "It's, like, a hundred and ten degrees out there," he says, slowly, as if talking to a small child. "It's worse than Dubai, I don't know if it's the humidity or what. I vote for staying in the hotel for the rest of the day, then exploring the city on our way to Taj Mahal in the morning, before the temperature's risen too much."

It actually does sound like a good idea even though she's pretty sure it won't be cool first thing in the morning either. It should at least be slightly better than it is now.

"In that case, I'm definitely taking a shower," Clarke decides, getting up off the bed to rummage through her bag for clean clothes.

"Mind if I join you?"

She raises an eyebrow at his question. "I thought you were exhausted. Are you sure you're… up for it?"

He rolls his eyes at her blatant innuendo. "I'm not allowed to go to sleep, so what else am I going to do? And trust me – I can get up for it."

And, well, she knows that…

"Well, when you put it that way…"

Their bathroom is seriously insane – they have a stand-alone, claw foot tub and a huge, round shower enclosure in glass in the middle of the room.

"Seriously, this thing has, like, a gold plated domed ceiling," Bellamy says, voice full of awe, when he steps into the shower.

"Are you going to admire the décor or join me?" Clarke asks, turning on the water.

He tears his eyes away from the ceiling and gives her a smirk. "Join you, obviously, but come on."

And, well, it's not like he's wrong – this is some next level luxury.

She manages to distract him, though, and by the time they finally leave the bathroom, over an hour later, the glass walls are all steamed up and she's sure they must have used up most of the hot water.

-100-

As Clarke suspected, the temperature the next morning isn't anywhere near cool – it's already in the high seventies when they leave the hotel a little after eight and climbs steadily on their walk through Agra.

There's people everywhere, even this early on a Sunday morning. They pass some sort of market, which a lot of people seem to be going to, several temples, and hundreds of little shops selling everything from food to clothes and furniture. The Taj Mahal is their guiding star, always at the horizon.

They reach the West Gate and the ticket office just before nine, quickly pay for their tickets and enter the park.

"I thought the mausoleum was surrounded by water?" Bellamy says, looking around at the manicured lawns and buildings around the pathway they're on. The mausoleum itself is just visible above a wall to their left.

"I think a lot of the photos online are taken from the other side, across the river," she tells him. "But there's also a fountain in front of it on this side, so maybe that's what you're thinking about."

There are other tourists around – a large Asian group led by a woman waving a blue paper umbrella around to catch her charges' attention, a couple of smaller organized groups, and others in pairs or small groups who seem to be on their own, like they are. They follow one of the smaller groups, with an English speaking guide, through the Great Gate and are greeted by the famous view of the long, narrow pool leading up to the impressive white building reflecting in the water.

It's obviously a popular photo spot and they hang around for a little while, until they get a few good shots themselves, including a selfie to satisfy Raven, before heading along the pool towards the Taj itself.

It's even more impressive up close, all the little intricate details creating a beautiful whole. They explore the inside of the mausoleum and the area around it before continuing to the museum on the grounds and learning more about the history of the place.

Still, it's only a little after noon when they leave the museum.

"Anything else you want to check out before we leave?" Clarke asks, looking around. It's gotten a little busier while they were in the museum, tourists strolling around the area taking in the different sights.

"Maybe one last lap around the area?" Bellamy suggests. "I think we've seen everything, but we're not in any hurry, right?"

"Nope, nothing else planned today," she confirms.

They set off around the gardens, this time taking one of the paved paths on the side of the great lawn in front of the mausoleum instead of the one along the fountain in the middle. They pause by one corner of the building, leaning against the railing for a moment and draining one of the water bottles they brought.

"I bet this place is amazing at sunrise and sunset," he mumbles, turning his gaze across the river.

"We could come back tonight," she suggests. "We can ask at the gate, maybe we can add a night visit to the ticket or something. Or just buy new tickets, it's not like they're that expensive."

"Well, well, what are the odds of meeting fellow Americans at a place like this?" comes a voice from behind them and they both turn to find a portly man wearing cowboy boots and a huge Stetson hat – which, seriously, it's like a hundred degrees, he should be practically melting but seems completely unaffected by the heat. He presses a hand against his chest and inclines his head a little at them. "I am awfully sorry, I promise I was not eavesdropping on purpose, but I heard y'all talking about watching the sunset and wanted to offer a recommendation."

Clarke and Bellamy exchange an amused look and she shrugs. It can't hurt.

"And what would you recommend?" he asks the stranger.

"Where are my manners?" he exclaims. "My name is James Williams, I'm on a second honey moon with my wife, Cynthia, she's around here somewhere."

Clarke can't help but smile at his obvious enthusiasm. "I'm Clarke, this is my boyfriend Bellamy. We're actually leaving tomorrow, so we don't really have a lot of time left to explore the area, I'm afraid."

"Oh, no, this won't take any time at all," he assures them. "I only wanted to let you know that there's a park across the river which offers wonderful views of the mausoleum at sunset. Cynthia and I were there last night, it was breathtaking, let me tell you."

"Oh, Jimmy, are you bothering these nice people?" a woman, the polar opposite of James – tall and thin, with the largest hair Clarke has seen since the early nineties – asks, giving him a stern look before turning to Clarke with a smile. "I do apologize for him, I cannot bring him anywhere!"

This time, she can't hold back a laugh.

"It's fine, ma'am," Bellamy assures her. "He's not bothering us at all."

"Ooh, Americans!" she exclaims, seemingly delighted. "Lovely to meet you both, I hope you're enjoying your vacation."

"Very much, thank you," Clarke tells her.

"See, darling, I was just telling them about the lovely park we went to last night, to see the sunset over the Taj Mahal," James pipes in.

"Oh, that was lovely," Cynthia confirms. "If you don't have any plans tonight you should really head on over there. It's just across the river, you can see it from here. The park itself isn't much to write home about, but the view across the river is just wonderful."

"Well, we don't have any plans tonight," Clarke says. "So we'll definitely look into that."

"It had a name, didn't it honey?" Cynthia says, brows furrowing. "I can't for the life of me remember it now… but ask at your hotel, they should be able to tell you."

"We will, thanks," Bellamy says.

"Where are you staying?" James asks.

"The Oberoi."

Cynthia lets out a squeal that might attract dogs. "Oh, that's where we are too! We're just done here and about to head back, do you want to join us? Or maybe you just got here?"

Again, Clarke and Bellamy exchange a look. It would be easy to say that they did just get here, but James and Cynthia are really just excited. It wouldn't be a hardship to walk back to the hotel with them.

This time, it's Bellamy who shrugs, so Clarke turns to the eagerly waiting couple. "We were just about done too, so we'd love to head back with you."

Which is how they end up spending the afternoon with the slightly over-excited but very friendly Texan couple, only escaping when they take a cab to the park across the river from the Taj Mahal.

"They were right," Bellamy notes when they're leaning against a partially destroyed brick wall, the sun sinking slowly towards the horizon in front of them. They've been lucky, the day has been mostly clear, and now, at twilight, the mausoleum is clear across the river, the setting sun painting both the building and the water in front of it in shades of gold and pink.

"They were," Clarke agrees, leaning her head against his shoulder. His arm comes around her waist and he pulls her closer. "Good end to our Indian adventure?"

"The best."

They stay until the sun has disappeared completely, using the flashlight on Clarke's phone to pick their way back through the park to where their cab is waiting.

The next day is another grueling travel day, their flight leaving the airport in Agra at two in the afternoon and arriving in Beijing at half past eleven the day after, with tiring stopovers at three different forgettable Indian airports of various sizes.

Their hotel is in the very heart of Beijing, a short walk from the Forbidden City – which they catch a glimpse of from the cab – and Tiananmen Square. Their room, though, is facing a courtyard that the building is apparently surrounding, and they have a small terrace with a table, two chairs and a bunch of greenery. Clarke doubts they'll use it much, but it's kind of nice, a bit of an oasis in the middle of the bustling city. The room also has a bathroom with see-through glass walls, which will be… interesting.

Bellamy drops their bags and then slumps down on the bed while she goes to open the door to the terrace. Compared to Agra, it's practically freezing, though she's pretty sure it must be around seventy-five degrees even if it is cloudy. She leaves the door open, to let in some air, and joins him on the bed, rolling onto her side.

"I don't know if it's the… not jetlag, what's the time difference, like an hour and a half?" he says, voice tired.

"Two and a half," Clarke corrects, sliding her fingers into his hair and scratching his scalp a little. He lets out a pleased hum. "So no, not jetlag."

"Travel tiredness, then," he amends. "Anyway, I don't know if it's that or if I'm actually getting used to all the traveling and stuff, but we just drove through Beijing, which is… it should be a huge deal and I'm just, like… cool."

She can't help the laugh that bubbles up. "Getting jaded, huh?"

He lets out a long breath. "I don't know, I hope not. I mean, I know, on a logical level or whatever, that this is totally awesome, I just can't muster any excitement."

"I think you're probably just tired, I bet you'll feel better in the morning. I'm pretty meh at the moment too, and sure, I've been here twice before, but it's still totally cool."

"OK, good, so hopefully I'll be able to appreciate it in the morning. So what's the plan today? What time is it anyway? Can we go to bed soon?"

She laughs again and he opens his eyes to glare a little at her. "It's only half past one, I'm afraid, so we should probably try to stay awake."

His eyes narrow and then she's suddenly on her back, Bellamy pressing her into the mattress, mouth an inch from hers.

"You better do something to keep me awake then."

And, well, she does her best.

-100-

Clarke is proven right the next morning. They grab breakfast at the hotel before making their way to the Forbidden City by way of Tiananmen Square. They have tickets that let them skip the regular line, but there's a small line to that entrance as well, so they get a chance to really check out the Meridian Gate.

Bellamy's quiet, so after a moment, she turns to him, finding his eyes darting over the building in front of them, mouth slightly open.

"Awe set in yet?" she asks amusedly.

He snaps his mouth shut and tears his eyes away. "Yup, definitely. This is…"

"Yeah," she agrees, grabbing his hand to pull him along as the people in front of them move closer to the entrance.

She's been to the Forbidden City before, and knows there's a lot to see, so she did actually write down an itinerary for them, just so they won't miss anything.

"Right," she starts once they're inside the actual palace complex, pulling the small notebook where she has all her notes for different cities and sights from her bag.

Bellamy raises his eyebrows. "You seriously have a list?"

"Shut up!" She elbows him in the ribs. "This place is huge, OK? If you don't organize the visit somehow, you're going to miss things. Trust me, I know from experience."

He just chuckles. "Fine. Lead the way, Miss Tour Guide."

So she does. They check out the different squares and gates, explore the numerous palaces, admire the beautiful Nine Dragons Screen and the extravagant caisson ceiling in the Hall of Union, and stroll around the Imperial Garden.

By the time they reach the exit at the Gate of Divine Might, it's almost one in the afternoon.

"OK, you might have been right," Bellamy admits when they've crossed the moat separating the Forbidden City from the rest of Beijing. "We definitely would have missed a bunch of stuff if you didn't have that list."

"Told you," Clarke replies with a smirk. "Now, I want to check out the view from up there…" She points ahead of them, to the pavilion in Jingshan Park. "But I think we should maybe grab some lunch first."

"Good plan."

They find a western style coffee shop nearby and after some delicious sandwiches, they're ready for the climb.

The viewing spot is packed, but it's easy to see why – the Forbidden City is stretched out beneath them, its characteristic red roof tops glistening even though the day's overcast.

"Wow," Bellamy breathes out when they turn to take it all in.

"I know."

They take the long – extremely long, a huge detour, really – way back to their hotel, rounding the entire perimeter of the Forbidden City to check out the four corner towers. It takes over an hour, but they don't have anything else planned today, so it's not like they're in a hurry.

"Besides," Clarke notes when they're back in their room, slumping down in an armchair and toeing her shoes off. "We'll basically be walking for, like, six or seven hours tomorrow, so this is good practice."

"Or we should have gotten some rest before going on a twelve mile hike," Bellamy retorts, pulling his shirt off and giving her a nice view of his back. "Too late now but, you know, for future reference."

"We don't really have anything planned on Friday," she says. "I mean, I had a couple of ideas, but we can just chill here, if you want."

It's quiet for a moment, but then he lets out a sigh that some might interpret as resigned, but she knows better. "I mean, we don't have that much time here. As long as I don't have to walk around the whole day, we can do whatever it is you were thinking on Friday."

She bites her lip to keep from smiling. She knew he'd say that.

"I promise you'll have fun," she assures him. "And then we're going to the national museum on Saturday."

He seems to perk up at that. "Oh, yeah, that's going to be awesome."

"But a bit more walking."

"I can put up with walking for history stuff." He pauses and gives her a meaningful look. "I'm taking a shower before we grab dinner. You joining me?"

She pretends to consider for a moment. It's only a little after five, they have plenty of time before they need to head out to find somewhere to eat, and there are a lot of restaurants close by. "I guess."

-100-

Thursday's an early start, but any fatigue they're feeling basically evaporates as soon as they start their hike.

Clarke chose a section of the Great Wall with both unrestored and restored parts, and they start off at Gubeikou, where there's honestly not much wall to actually see at the moment – there's a dirt path with some stone details here and there, surrounded by green, rolling hills in all direction, but some ways away, they can see a part of the wall that actually looks like the Great Wall, with the distinctive parapets.

Their tour guide and the rest of their group, only six people, are a little further ahead, but Bellamy's stopped, so she does too.

"Something wrong?" she asks, pulling his attention from the view.

"Just taking it all in," he tells her with a smile. "It's a little… overwhelming."

"I know what you mean."

"So this is number four of the new wonders of the world, right?" he continues, interlacing their fingers and setting off after the rest of the group.

Clarke frowns. "Is it? I have to admit, I'm not on top of that."

If someone put her on the spot, she would probably have put the wall on the list. Probably the Colosseum, maybe the Parthenon, Stonehenge… the Eiffel Tower?

"Yeah, we've done the Colosseum, Petra, Taj Mahal and now the Great Wall," he explains. "And I think we'll tick off the last three as well."

"Which are the ones we have left?"

"Machu Picchu and Chichén Itzá and… that huge sculpture in Rio de Janeiro, Christ… something."

"Oh, yeah, we're doing Machu Picchu and Chichén Itzá, we already have tours booked for those, and we have two full days in Rio, so I think we can fit that one in too."

"Cool, that would be really awesome. And we already did the only remaining of the old wonders too." He smiles down at her. "Come on, let's catch up with the others."

The first part of the wall is the hardest, in a way – some of it hasn't been restored at all and it's crumbling in places, so they really have to watch where they put their feet. On the other hand, that means they're not moving particularly fast. Once they get to the part of the wall that has been restored, the one that most people probably think about when someone says 'Great Wall of China', it's an easier walk but they pick up the pace, so by the time they stop for lunch, their entire little group is pretty tired.

"You know…" Bellamy starts once they've both dug into their food. "I thought some of the best Chinese food was in New York, but this is just… on a whole other level."

"Definitely," Clarke agrees, taking a sip of her water. "There's really no comparison."

Soon enough, they're back on their feet, following their guide along the last part of the wall they're hiking.

It's a long, tiring day, no doubt about it, and they basically just collapse in bed when they get back to the hotel, but it's still one of the most rewarding days on the trip so far, at least judging by the smile that just won't leave Bellamy's face.

"Good day?" she ask, rolling into him and pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"Fantastic," he replies, pulling her closer. "I really did think that maybe my mind was getting full up with all these amazing sights and historical stuff but, yeah, no. Not at all. It's still fucking amazing."

"That's good, since we still have a bunch of things left to see," she notes, a little amused. "I'd hate for you to be all indifferent when I went to all this trouble and spent all this money on this amazing trip…"

He cuts her off by rolling them over and pushing her into the mattress. "Yeah, yeah."

The look in his eyes is amused for a moment, but then his gaze drops to her mouth and Clarke can pinpoint the exact moment when his thoughts are diverted. "Nope," she tells him, pushing against his chest. "No funny business until after dinner, I'm starving."

He laughs but doesn't argue, just gets out of bed before pulling her up as well. "As long as funny business isn't off the table completely."

She stands on her tip toes to give him a quick kiss. "Never."

-100-

They're not in any hurry on Friday, so they have a lazy morning in bed, ordering room service instead of going down to the hotel's breakfast buffet. Clarke wouldn't really mind just lounging about all day, but she also wants to show Bellamy the things she has planned, so when he disappears into the bathroom a little after noon, she resolutely pulls on her sleep shirt that was discarded on the floor at some point earlier and sits up in bed, determined to not let him distract her again.

He beats her to it, though.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything," he starts, coming back into the bedroom. "But I seem to remember you wanting to do something today. Maybe we should head out before we get… sidetracked again?"

She can't help the smile on her face. "I was just thinking the same thing."

So they get dressed and head down to the hotel reception, where the receptionist calls a cab for them and, on Clarke's request, writes down the address they're going to.

"So what's at this place?" Bellamy asks when they've gotten into the cab.

She glances at him. "You'll just have to wait and see."

He rolls his eyes but doesn't push, and they spend the drive commenting on interesting things they spot through the window.

The driver stops in front of a nondescript building which most people probably wouldn't look twice at when in search of a tourist attraction.

"You sure this is the right place?" Bellamy asks before getting out of the cab, as if he doesn't want to let it go in case they're in the wrong place.

"Yup, this is it," she assures him. "I know it doesn't look very tourist-y, but trust me – I've been here before."

That seems to convince him and he gets out of the car, which takes off again. "In that case, lead the way."

So she takes his hand and pulls him along into the building and to the elevator, hitting the button for the sixth floor.

"You know, the only reason I'm not actually worried you're taking me to some abandoned office space to kill me is that it would just be such a long game," he notes when the elevator door opens. "I mean, at this point, you've pretty much earned it."

"Don't be such a drama queen," she replies with a laugh. "Come on."

She stops outside the café and looks up at him expectantly.

"OK, yeah, this is cool," he admits, scrutinizing the unmistakable sign on the window – Central Perk. "Is it an actual replica of the coffee shop on the show?"

"Why are you asking me, just come check it out!"

She holds the door open and he leads the way inside, head turning from side to side to check out everything – the chalk-board menu on the characteristic brick wall, the furniture that's practically taken straight from the show, including the orange couch, the guitar by the window, which looks like it's waiting for Phoebe to strike the first chords of 'Smelly Cat'.

"OK, yeah, this is seriously awesome," he admits. "What's that through there?" He nods at an open door.

"That wasn't actually there last time I was here," Clarke replies. "But I read about it – apparently, they've created a replica of Chandler and Joey's kitchen-slash-living-room. Want to check it out before we grab a coffee?"

"Absolutely."

There's not too many people around, a lot less than the last time Clarke was here, so they can take silly photos with the foosball table and on the orange couch and all that before ordering some coffee and a slice of cheesecake each.

It's not the best coffee she's ever had, but the environment definitely makes it top ten.

"So, where to next?" Bellamy asks after finishing the last of his coffee. "Is there some 'Cheers' inspired bar around? A recreation of, I don't know… the Peach Pit from 'Beverly Hills' or something?"

She smiles but shakes her head. "Not that I came across when I was looking for things to do, anyway. I actually had something a bit more your style planned for the rest of the day."

"Oh yeah?"

She considers telling him he'll just have to wait and see again. It was fun with the coffee shop – seeing his reaction was as much of an experience for her as the actual visit – but maybe it's played its part now.

"We're going to the old summer palace," she reveals. The smile that immediately spreads on his face tells her it was the right decision.

"Really? I read a little about it and it seems really cool."

Clarke nudges him with her foot. "Why didn't you say you wanted to check it out?

He shrugs. "It didn't seem like it was too difficult getting tickets on site, so I figured I'd suggest it if we had some time to spare."

"Good thing great minds think alike, then."

She did read up on the place before they arrived, but in the end, it's Bellamy guiding her around the vast former palace complex, explaining what the different buildings used to be. After an hour or so, they grab some lunch at a restaurant near the park, before returning and exploring until the sun starts to set.

Their last day in Beijing and China, they spend at the national museum – a large building with six floors, all full of fascinating objects from the many different Chinese dynasties, everything from jade and stone artefacts to large sculptures in different materials.

Since they have a morning flight to Tokyo tomorrow, they grab an early dinner on the way back to the hotel and then spend a couple of hours laughing at dubbed American sitcoms before bed.

A pretty good last night in China, all things considered.

AN: I know, I know, "Friends" again… I wasn't planning this or anything (honestly!) but I was googling "different things to do in Beijing" or something and it was right there and I just figured, of course they'd go there, so here we are! It seems like a really cool place