A/N - Hey guys! :) So I worked really hard on this one so please let me know if I pulled it off properly haha. And also, I know I keep saying it, but I love you all so much. You have kept me going through these two weeks and you will never know how much I have relied on each and every one of you that has supported me. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you! xxx

There was a long, incredibly awkward silence as Lexa just stared at Clarke with an unreadable expression. Clarke's throat dried up as her brain realized what her heart had blurted out without her permission.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to assume that-"

"Clarke." Lexa calmed her with a singled gesture, a quick tap on the knuckles of the hand that was still layed over her heart, "I'm not upset, I just don't understand the word."

Clarke stared at her for a second and then burst out laughing in relief that she wasn't being rejected, there was just still some slight language barrier issues to work through, she allowed her mind to catch up properly and then didn't think twice about repeating the question in a way Lexa would understand.

"Marriage is the Skaikru word for your Trikru bonding ceremony, or at least our equivalent." She explained, making sure that Lexa understood this time.

For the first time in perhaps her entire life, the commander of the twelve clans was completely speechless, "You want to- With me- But I- But we don't- I..."

Clarke grinned, "I'm not asking you to do it today, this week, or even this year if you don't want to. Skaikru have what's called an engagement between saying yes to the ceremony and actually doing it." Lexa looked at her quizzically, "It means that we announce our intention to marry at some point in the future."

Lexa nodded slowly, letting her mind process the information, "Yes." She breathed finally, staring into Clarke's eyes lovingly, "I want to be bound to you for the rest of my life, no matter how long or-"

"It's going to be long." Clarke cut her off with a laugh, meeting her with a searing kiss that drove all thoughts of her death from Lexa's mind as she once again lost herself in the otherworldly sensation of Clarke kissing her.

"This means you're not my girlfriend any more." She murmured happily, leaning over Lexa's face, less than an inch from her mouth, "The new word for what we are to each other is fiancée."

Lexa frowned slightly, humming against Clarke's mouth as they met again, "I think I quite like that Clarke."

Clarke giggled softly, deliriously happy about how events were unfolding, she layed back down next to Lexa, snuggling closer to her as she considered where they were now compared to just a few short days ago.

If she was completely honest with herself, there was no way that this would have happened without Titus' attempt on her life. Clarke had still been harboring too much resentment about Mount Weather to jump into anything, although she was getting there slowly. But when she saw how close she came to losing Lexa for good...everything else fell away. There were no guarantees anymore, on the ark life was simple, boxed up neatly and there was nothing waiting around a corner to tear you to pieces. Here on the ground? Everything was a threat, and Clarke couldn't protect everybody. But she had saved Lexa, and maybe that was enough for her for now.

That single, heart stopping moment, when the bullet had hit Lexa, even despite her best efforts... It had felt even worse than when she had killed Finn with her own hands. On the ark, her mother had told her that when she found her soulmate she would know it, and it gnawed on her constantly that she had almost not realized until it was too late. So, the engagement may be a little sooner than the arkers would understand, but it was a symbol, a symbol of the commitment and love she would show Lexa every day for the rest of their lives. A symbol that maybe, just maybe, she could be happy. Really, truly happy and the world would finally just let her be.

Lexa's mind was following a similar train of thought to Clarke's. For the first time in her life, she was glad to have taken a bullet, but not because it jarred Clarke into realizing she had already forgiven her completely. The bullet she had taken was meant for Clarke, if she didn't walk in when she did... She had everything she wanted yet had feared she was losing forever when she walked away at the mountain, and her arms tightened around Clarke's waist, who curled up against her like a puzzle piece, her missing part.

"You were right, life is about more than just surviving." She whispered in Clarke's ear.

"I have never believed that more than this moment." Clarke replied honestly, closing her eyes and holding Lexa close with a firm grip as her new fiancée did the exact same. "Although my mother's going to kill me."

She felt Lexa's chuckle and allowed her own to escape as she fell asleep in Lexa's arms, lulled by the security and warmth that they always offered.