A/N: Remember, explicit beginning of this chapter can only be found on ao3 (both the fic and me with the same name as here). Just let me say: THINGS GOT HEATED and they were sweet. Now let's see how this ride ends!
They lay entangled under Bellamy's blanket, slowly coming back to reality in each other's arms. Clarke stroke her finger over the skin at his back and pressed her nose onto his collarbone. "I guess I can stay here tonight?", she whispered.
She more than anything felt how Bellamy chuckled, the twitch going through his whole body, making hers move as well. Fast breath on her hair, a soft sound by her ear. She looked up to him to meet his eyes.
She had never seen Bellamy so content before, so relaxed and so … happy.
"You certainly aren't going anywhere", he mouthed and readjusted his arms around her.
"You look goofy", she said with a small smile. Then she moved. "But I have to pee. And I have to be at uni at nine tomorrow."
Bellamy sighed. "Way to ruin the mood, Clarke."
But he pressed a kiss onto her hair, so Clarke didn't feel too bad. She freed herself, pressed a kiss onto the freckles on his nose and said: "Will be back right away."
As she walked out of the room a bit unstable and slowly, she heard how Bellamy sat up and she felt his gaze on her. She moved her hips overly precisely and when she heard a frustrated grown and him falling back onto the bed, she grinned. Yes. She could get used to this.
The alarm clock rang off at seven and they woke up entangled, with heavy bones and arms gone dead. Clarke couldn't nearly reach her phone to shut it off because Bellamy's arm hold her tight. But he had ruffled hair and sleepy eyes and a pleased smile and there was an inexhaustible, glowing warmth in Clarke's chest, and things were looking really, really well.
The morning developed to be quite wild, a crazy mixture of lazy cuddling, rushed showering and eating breakfast, sloppy and heated kisses under neon lights, soft touches and strong hugs in the cold air.
Dark and grey rain clouds covered the sun again. Bellamy offered Clarke to drive her to university, stopping by her place so she could grab her books. She thanked him with a heated, intense make-out session, pressing him onto the coats at the wardrobe, nibbling at his ear lobe, hand clenching around his arm.
Despite more kisses, touches, words, they arrived at campus on time (mostly thanks to Clarke's ongoing side-glances to the clock). Bellamy parked in front of her building and as his hand left the gear shift, she took it in hers. She stroke over his fingers, the back and palm and tried to remember every little wrinkle.
Because of conflicting work and lesson plans, they didn't see each other until the next night. But they had texted, a lot, and Clarke's soul was light and pleased. Cafeteria food could be as shitty as it was, professors could lecture her class for ages about the correct disposal of chemicals, rain could fall onto her head but it couldn't get to her. She felt released, light, things were manageable and there was light all around her. And she knew whose fault it was. The tears, the talking, the released tension, the sex, it all had helped, but mostly it was simply Bellamy.
They'd pull this off together.
Even her evening seminar on Friday didn't annoy her as much as it used to; she had been at her apartment during her long lunch break, cleaned it up a bit and packed a sleep-over bag. As soon as the tutor said his good-byes, Clarke fled and grabbed the bus to pizza and game night at the Blake's.
As usual on Fridays, she was the last. Octavia opened the door for her and pulled her into a strong hug.
"Everyone is in Bellamy's room, we had to throw them out of the kitchen because they're useless!", Octavia shouted into the general direction of the rest. Clarke took her shoes and jacket off. Octavia continued: "Lincoln has those new ideas for pizza toppings and of course Bellamy wouldn't let anyone else do the dough so I have to watch out the two of them don't ruin the kitchen."
"Yeah, you have to suffer a lot", Clarke said with a smile. The girls grinned at each other and walked down the corridor to where the kitchen and Bellamy's door were across each other.
Clarke peeked into Bellamy's room. Everyone sat on the floor in a circle, half discussing game proposals, half observing the kitchen through the open doors. "Hi everyone!"
"Hiiii!", a general welcome.
Clarke turned to the kitchen. The small kitchen was filled out by two huge bodies bending over opposite worktops. Lincoln was already rolling out dough on a sheet, but, fuck Lincoln, Bellamy kneaded dough in a bowl.
"How did the lab report go?", Raven shouted after Clarke.
Bellamy's arms moved fast over the bowl, the muscles exposed by his shirt flexed and the golden kitchen light let his skin glow like copper against his olive clothes.
"Urgh, fine in the end", Clarke half-heartedly answered Raven. With two steps, she was by his side and slid her left arm around his waist. "Hey", she said softly.
Bellamy turned his face – which wore a goofy grin –, said "Hey" and their lips met. The kiss was soft, and sweet, and promised more. It didn't feel like two days ago at his door, where everything had been supposed to be fake. Now, it was real and true and open. And it felt better. She peeked into the bowl. "What are you making?"
"Pizza dough, obviously …", Bellamy said.
"Are you doing this right?", she smirked. She stole a bit of the dough and moved her fingers to her mouth. She noticed how Bellamy's eyes followed her hand and how he stared at her lips when she opened them and she suddenly remembered what she had done with those lips to him two nights ago, and he seemed to remember it, too, because his eyes turned into fire and a warm shiver ran down her back. She slowly put the dough into her mouth, lips closing around her finger and Bellamy's jaw clenched and then she let go her finger with a loud smacker. Like she had planned, the sexual tension disappeared; she chewed shortly on the dough and said lightly: "Tastes good."
Bellamy looked like a child whose soap bubble broke and Clarke smirked up to him, as if to say "Got you!". Then Bellamy laughed out loud and pressed a kiss on her cheek and Clarke giggled into his shoulder.
There was an uproar in Bellamy's room. They turned around and saw the people staring flabbergasted at them, with open mouths and huge eyes.
"Did you just –?!", Jasper shouted, pointing at them.
Like a deer in the headlights, Bellamy and Clarke started back at the group. There was silence for a few beats.
Octavia started to laugh. "Take a room next time?"
"You guys are in my room", Bellamy grumbled and massacred the dough. "And I'm not taking yours, O."
"Uh, gross", Octavia said.
Lincoln sighed. "Clarke, can you pass me the tomato sauce from the fridge, please?", Lincoln asked over his shoulder.
"Sure", she said and some activity came back into the kitchen. Clarke went over to the fridge and Bellamy and Lincoln turned to their respective doughs again.
"No, no, no, no", Raven said. "You don't get off with that because of tomato sauce!"
"Seriously, guys", Harper said. "You have to give us more intel!"
Monty groaned.
"Since when are you …?", Octavia asked.
Bellamy and Clarke looked at each other through the kitchen and came to the conclusion that Clarke would do the PSA. She took a breath. "Since Wednesday evening. And there isn't really more besides that we're together now. So yeah. Things as usual."
Raven nearly choke and Bellamy grinned. "As usual?", he whispered.
"Shut up, you know what I mean", Clarke said and put tomato sauce on the dough like Lincoln wanted it. Bellamy just chuckled.
"You owe me!", Jasper shouted and there was tumult. "Reyes, you owe me!"
"The fuck I do."
"Wait, what?", Bellamy shouted into his room. "You took bets?"
"Yeah, well", Raven grumbled. "After last Friday, Little Jasper here was so in love with you guys –" A pillow was being thrown and Raven dryly added, looking to Bellamy: "And I couldn't believe you'd grow up enough to want a stable relationship like Clarke would want."
Clarke's and Bellamy's eyes met through the kitchen and Clarke's face slowly showed astonishment. If they knew that Bellamy had been the one to voice his seriousness … But they didn't have to. Clarke and Bellamy knew what had happened, and how it was mutual, and steady, and the others didn't have to know it. The smile they exchanged was sheepish and conspiratorial. She added it to the list of things she liked to do with Bellamy.
"First sheet is in the oven!", Lincoln shouted and went to the bathroom to clean himself up.
Bellamy cleared his throat and washed his hands. Loud enough for people to hear, he said: "Well, thank god then it worked out fine."
She stepped next to him and bantered: "You should thank whoever you switched shifts with. Since it got you a girlfriend after all!"
He laughed out loud. "That'd be Miller."
"I'll thank him one day."
Their faces had come closer and Bellamy finally turned around. He stroke across her cheek and copped her face. And their lips met and they kissed and she stroke her fingers over his arms and a warm prickle went down her back and her knees went weak and she had to come up for breath.
As she looked into his brown, melting eyes, embracing his wrists with her fingers, she put everything she had in her eyes. Would she ever be able to believe this?
A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. I love you! I'd also like to hear what you thought but no pressure. Love you loads!