As soon as the boat landed on the dock leading up to Polis, Clarke jumped out hurriedly and tore off in the direction of the tower. She was headed straight back to her nice warm bed where all her spare clothes were waiting for her to put them on.
Her two companions were laughing, Aden himself was at the point where he was doubled over, mainly from watching Clarke's expression get darker and darker as they got closer to the shore.
The morning and early afternoon had been beautiful throughout and by the time it came to sail back, Clarke jumped straight into the boat without a moments hesitation. Halfway back to the shore, Lexa and Aden had struck as one. Lexa weighted one side of the boat with her body so Aden could fling himself at Clarke, knocking her straight off the boat and into the center of the lake. Knowing Clarke's ability to swim was just passable on her best day, Lexa had chosen a point where enough sand had built up on the bottom to allow Clarke to stand, but that didn't improve Clarke's appreciation for their prank in the slightest.
She had sulked the entire way back to Polis, which thankfully wasn't very far at all, and then announced that she needed to change before disappearing. Aden, who had also gotten soaked, had been prepared and changed into a dry shirt whilst they were on their way back.
Lexa almost felt guilty, but there was just the tiniest sparkle in Clarke's eye that reassured her that she wasn't actually mad, so she allowed herself to find their prank as amusing as Aden had as they walked through the town.
However, just in case she stopped at a food vendor just outside of the tower to pick up some freshly cooked meat that Clarke had took a liking to, it couldn't hurt to go in with a peace offering after all.
"Clarke." Lexa called, as she entered their room and looked around in confusion, Clarke was nowhere to be seen. After a moment hands grabbed onto her waist from behind, her heart jolted slightly until she recognized the feeling of Clarke's grip and the sound of her breath. Relaxing into her lovers arms she held the food up, "A truce?"
Clarke laughed and let go, in a much better mood now that she was dry and warm, "I knew you were planning something you know. You and Aden have this little look thing you do, how long have you know him anyway?"
Lexa smiled and sat on the couch, pulling her legs up beside her, "All his life. I took over his care properly after the last member of him family died."
"I thought you oversaw the care of all the night bloods?" Clarke asked curiously, still vague on many of the different responsibilities that Lexa held and carried out on a day to day basis.
"I do." Lexa nodded, "But that isn't to say that their families never see them again after they come here to train. Everyone but Aden has family outside of this building, and I had ties to his family myself, it seems only right that I take care of him now as best I can."
Clarke grinned and took a seat next to Lexa, pulling Lexa's feet onto her lap so she could sit even closer, which allowed Lexa to twist around and effectively lay down along the couch.
"I really wish that my people saw you the way I do."
"I imagine they would lose any respect for me they still retain, certainly they would lose the wariness that helps keep them in line and stops them from continuing attacks on my warriors." Lexa sighed, closing her eyes as they spoke.
Clarke rolled her eyes, "You have no idea of how many people would follow you because of who you are rather than because you are the Heda."
Lexa opened her eyes and looked at Clarke questioningly.
"I just mean that your people here really love you, and I'm willing to bet that a large amount of them would follow you to hell and back whether you ordered them to or not. Respect is so much more than fear, I really think that my people would respect your commitment and devotion to your people..."
Lexa smiled at Clarke, who was babbling on and on about the true nature of respect and how a leader should inspire no order as such. Finally she had listened to enough of Clarke's incessant stream of speak and held up a hand in front of her face to get Clarke's attention.
"Ai hod yu in." She laughed, watching a wide grin spread across Clarke's face, "And I was right, you cannot help but try and fix everything. Apparently that even applies now, when there's nothing to fix."
Clarke leaned over, so that she was hovering over Lexa's face, "Maybe, maybe not. But there is something I need to do."
She leaned down and kissed Lexa quickly, "So when you said we had the day off?"
Two hours later they lay side by side in bed, Clarke once again gently tracing the tattoo on Lexa's back whilst Lexa patiently waited for her to satisfy her curiosity.
"You still haven't told me about the other circle." Clarke prompted gently.
"Soon I will." Lexa whispered softly, rolling over to gently bump her nose against Clarke's, who nodded and smiled at her, perfectly willing to wait until Lexa was ready to tell the story to her if that's what she needed.
"What about this one?" Clarke asked after a long silence, running her hand over the large, intricate design that took up most of Lexa's upper arm, "It wasn't this big before the mountain."
Lexa smiled, "That tattoo is the reminder of the commands I gave that I wouldn't make again, claiming my mistakes as my own. I broke a promise that day, and I wear the result of it so that I will never make the same error."
Clarke looked at the tattoo again in a different light this time, recognizing the beauty in it as always, but also the pain that must be attached to each of the segments.
"I'm sorry that you were ever in that position in the first place, you have no idea how many times I have re-ran that night in my head. If only we had gotten that damn door open when we meant to, things could have been very different. And we wouldn't have had to lose each other. I could have come to Polis first, instead of the roundabout way my journey took." Clarke looked incredibly melancholy which prompted a gentle smile from Lexa as she smoothed the loose hairs back behind Clarke's ear with the loose hand that she wasn't propping herself up with.
"You've probably re-ran it about as many times as I have Clarke. I did tell you, plans don't last long in battle. What matters is that your journey led you here, back to me, no matter how long it might have took." She paused and bit her lip, as though debating whether she should continue, before taking a breath, "Oso keryon ste teina, Clarke. I truly believe that."
Clarke racked her brain, but couldn't work out the translation with her limited knowledge of Trigedasleng, "What does that mean?"
"It means our souls are entwined Clarke, no matter what, our paths are destined to cross. My whole life has been leading me to you."
She felt her heart skip a beat as Clarke leaned in, but instead of the kiss she was expecting, Clarke layed a hand on her chest over her heart, "Marry me?" She asked softly.
A/N - Nearly 400 followers? That's insane! Please don't forget to review if you can because I absolutely love interacting with you all. Tell me what you think because I really like knowing because then that guides how I write later chapters, readers reviews always impact my work. Because of the sheer amount I can't really reply to every review without spending more time on that than actually writing, but if you ask me an actual question I will always do my best to answer those reviews in particular, but I'm just as grateful to the reviews that just say you're enjoying this so please know how much I appreciate you all! See you next chapter!