Chapter 24: Denouement
"Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time."
Maya Angelou
Lexa looked up onto the ceiling of the pavilion; every corner was lined endlessly with twinkling lights. Round tables were covered with plaid cloths and adorned with cornucopia center pieces. Lexa loved the idea that the tablescapes were edible, she nibbled on the grapes as they were waiting for their meals to be served. Gustus had always wanted this rustic country theme for their wedding, Titus happily gave him the upper hand in all the planning. Titus couldn't care less, he could have agreed to marry Gustus in front of the city for all he cared. After everything that they've been through, all he wanted was to finally get rid of all the toxicity in his life and settle down. Gustus on the other hand was ecstatic, so Titus allowed him to enjoy all the barnyard splendor much to his heart's content. Eighties dance music was blasting in the air, the DJ wasn't so bad though Gustus had already prepared their own playlist beforehand. It was all Pride salutations and 80's nostalgia for the couple.
"Can I just say that I'm too old for this?" Titus plopped down on the seat next to her. Sensing that he was very parched, Lexa offered him her punch and he took it in one gulp, talking out his handkerchief to wipe his sweaty forehead after.
Titus who initially looked very polished took off his blue bow tie and his brown tweed blazer leaving only his vest over his crisp white shirt. At this point Gustus has already taken off most of his clothes as well. Over his shirt which already had sleeves rolled up in the arms, he only had his suspenders and plaid bowtie left. Sans his blazer and vest, Gustus was starting to have a good time. All the tearful speeches were over at this point, half of the guests have left and only family members and close friends were enjoying the rest of the evening. Lexa wore a halter neck burgundy dress with lace details on the upper chest, her hair was set up in a messy bun with the fringes eventually falling to the sides as the day faded.
Lexa was alone in the table at this point, people were dancing to Kylie Minogue's "The Loco-Motion" late in the reception party. When Titus left the dancefloor, Gustus joined Marcus and Clarke, sandwiching the latter in between the two men. Lexa observed Clarke from her seat, she looked so carefree and relaxed; she looked so contented. She wore a flowy cornflower one-shoulder floor length dress with a high-slit, she danced comfortably now that her high-heeled shoes were stashed below the seat next to Lexa. As she continued to witness the scene before her, a sudden realization hit Lexa like a gust of cold wind in the advent of winter. She could dwell in that scene forever, witnessing how blissful Clarke was as she danced, like nobody was watching, except she was.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Titus remarked again, looking at the same direction.
"Yeah." Lexa agreed, though she knew that they were looking at different things.
"What are you two perverts looking at?" Suddenly, a new presence had broken their reverie. Anya slouched in between the two of them; Anya wore a burgundy pantsuit, same color as Lexa's since they were part of the wedding entourage. Her blazer was elegant over a black silk shirt and her pants framed her long legs perfectly in a flowing boot cut.
"Marveling at our significant others." Titus replied immediately. "Speaking of, where's yours anyway?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"She's just right there, talking to Indra about their shared interest of street food." Anya pointed to the adjacent table where Raven was chatting animatedly with Lexa and Gustus' boss.
"So, are you joining the club anytime soon?" Titus inquired with a wink.
"Probably, but not really soon, soon." Anya adjusted herself from her slouched position. "After graduating, Rae and I are taking this European tour. Who knows where we'll end up?" Anya smiled at the thought.
"Funny, I never realized we'll all reach this point." Lexa mumbled without looking at her two friends, her gaze was still fixated on Clarke.
"Yeah, I never guessed I'd be the first one to take the plunge either." Titus snorted at himself.
"But you're happy now, right? I mean after the scare?" Anya placed a comforting hand on Titus' shoulder.
"After everything, An. I'm just glad I'm here now, pondering about the future with my two favorite people in the world." Titus motioned to envelop the two ladies in a tight hug.
"Stop being a sap! Your reception's almost over and I haven't wasted a tear yet, so don't make me." Anya snapped at Titus but both her eyes were already glassy, on the verge of tears.
"I remember back in high school, I could not even pronounce the word denouement. Knowing how to pronounce "dāno͞oˈmäN" now, I guess I could say I know what it means, I kinda know what it feels like." Lexa eventually drivels out.
"You're blabbering my dear." Titus takes out his handkerchief from his pocket once again, but this time to wipe a tear.
"Damn, we all had a difficult time before, this is so surreal!" Anya exclaimed with a huff. "Enough with these sappy recollections, can we just hit the dancefloor again?"
"Lead the way, madam!" Titus rose from his seat to join Anya.
Lexa chuckled at herself, if things didn't turn out the way they did, if they continued on making the wrong decisions, seemingly punishing themselves for their past mistakes, they could not have reached this point. After all the heartaches, all the acceptance, all the growth that they needed to do; all the foolishness and cowardice will simply remain but an amusing memory of the past. A sappy story as Anya puts it; a bunch of sentimental stories that they'll talk about during a reunion at the quaint coffee shop near Polis Park or probably another funny story to recall in another wedding. Who knows what will happen next? Lexa's musing was suddenly broken by a pair of blue eyes that looked towards her direction.
"Lexa, are you coming with?" Anya shakes her shoulder once more.
"I'll catch up…" Lexa replies almost inaudibly still looking at the opposite direction.
Sensing what has caught Lexa in such an enchanted state, the duo took the hint and headed towards the dancefloor, winking at Clarke as they chanced into her moving at their direction.
"Hey stranger" the blonde greeted.
"You can still walk away; if you change your mind, you can still lose me in this crowd." Lexa replied meaningfully.
Clarke recognized that line from the evening when they first met.
"Never" she straddled Lexa's lap and connected their lips in a solemn and tender kiss oblivious to the world around them.
Clarke sat at the ledge and the stared at the night sky from their hotel window. Spending another idyllic evening with Lexa in bed seemed like such a farfetched thought a month ago. Yet, there she was cozy in a charming bed and breakfast, cuddled in a warm bedstead listening to Lexa's soft wheezing as their evening ended in such a blissful state. The pavilion where the wedding reception was held was quiet now, all the furniture had been store away and the guests have retired to their respective rooms. They were in the outskirts of Arkadia where the cattle farms were and where the sky was clear enough to make the constellations visible from where she sat. Clarke hummed to herself as she gazed at Lexa's face, her sharp jaw was outlined by the soft moonlight infiltrating through the window.
Lexa's soft features suddenly scrunched up, "I can hear you thinking all the way from here" she mumbled as she carefully opened her eyes.
"Hey babe, just missed looking at a clear night sky." Clarke answered as she fumbled back to bed, only holding up a crumbly white blanket to cover her naked form.
"Well, I suppose that's not all you're going to miss when you head back to school." Lexa grinned mischievously as she positioned herself, her back against the headboard revealing a naked upper torso as her blanket slithered down from her form.
"Yeah, about that, I've been meaning to talk to you." Clarke sat at the foot of the bed opposite Lexa.
"What about?" Lexa asked with droopy eyes.
"About this" Clarke gestured to Lexa and herself. "Whatever we'll do next."
"We'll you're scheduled to go back to school after a week, right?" Lexa motioned for Clarke to move closer.
"Yeah, one more week and then it's probably going to be one more year." Clarke explained as she laid her head on Lexa's shoulder, both of them now seated against the headboard.
"Then it's going to be one more year then." Lexa mumbled.
"I guess…I can wait one more year." Clarke muttered unenthusiastically.
Lexa saw that flash of sadness in Clarke's eyes.
"No, not like that. I don't mean like that." Lexa held Clarke's chin, beckoning Clarke to face her. "Together, not apart, we'll be together."
"But we tried it, Lex, you know how it went, remember?" Clarke responded with glassy eyes.
"It was different back then, we were scared, we were tentative, and I was terrified." Lexa blurted out. "Can you trust me one more time?" Lexa held on to both of Clarke's hands.
"Always." Clarke answer back pulling Lexa in to a fervent kiss.
The kiss they shared was intense but it wasn't just lustful, it was penetrative as if they were delving into each other's thoughts, feelings; into each other's soul that no words could express. With bated breath, they both paused for a while simply searching into each other's eyes.
"Ow, before I forget!" Lexa suddenly jumped from the bed and turned on the ambient lighting and rushed towards her suitcase in all her naked glory. When she finally found what she was looking for, she gesticulated back to Clarke, "I have a surprise for you, close your eyes."
"Is it something kinky?" Clarke joked as she covered her eyes with her hands.
"Nope, it's something better!" Lexa cried out as Clarke felt the bed dip beside her.
"I should be or else I'll be very disappointed." Clarke chastised.
"Alright, open your eyes now." At Lexa's command, Clarke removed her hands from her eyes and as she adjusted her vision to the bright light of the room, she was faced with a grinning Lexa who was holding up a coffee table book before her.
The Traveler's Sketchbook: An Illustrated Guide to Mainland Southeast Asia, Words by Alexandria Woods, Art by Clarke Griffin, Published by Polis Travel and Living
"I suppose they already mailed a copy to your address at New York by now but I got this from the first batch of the first edition prints." Lexa smiled goofily.
"Wow!" Clarke sifted through the pages of the book. It outlined all the places they've been to from their evenings in Hanoi, to their adventures in Siem Reap to the city life in Bangkok. "We really did something beautiful together." Clarke garbled as she skimmed through the pages.
"Well, Indra already pitched the idea of turning it into a volumes like making one for Maritime Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, well she went on and on until she covered all the regions in the world." Lexa smiled sheepishly.
"She said that?" Clarke asked unreservedly.
"Yeah, she'll talk to the executives if this one turns out well, it will be much of a possibility." Lexa grinned.
"Hey, Lex." Clarke slurred.
"Yeah?" Lexa inquired.
"Thank you for letting me tag along in your journey." Clarke beamed.
Author's Note: Clarke and Lexa's story has reached its end (for now), thank you so much for waiting so patiently and following and even subscribing to this story. I hope you have enjoyed this journey as much as I did writing it. This was my first work of fanfiction and I am glad that you guys have appreciated it so far. Anyway, there will be an epilogue to this story, plus, I am also working on another story as we speak. Again, thank you so appreciating my work! Of course, I do not own any of the characters created by Kass Morgan and The 100 TV Series; any plots and characters with similarity to other works are purely coincidental.