Bellarke Secret Santa Gift Exchange

Main Pairing: Clarke Griffin/Bellamy Blake

Side Pairings: Raven Reyes/Wells Jaha, Octavia Blake/Lincoln,

Additional Characters: Aurora Blake, Nathan Miller, John Murphy. Abby Griffin (mentioned), Thelonious Jaha (mentioned)

SUMMARY: Clarke Griffin steps in when Bellamy Blake tells his family he already has a girlfriend. What happens when the Christmas Spirit plays cupid between these two college students?

A/N: written for katebistletoe on tumblr. Merry Christmas and here's to a wonderful new year!

"Well, Clarke, how was Thanksgiving?" It was an innocently asked question that her best friend, Wells Jaha, used to start up conversation as she joined him and his girlfriend, Raven Reyes, at the bustling coffee shop that was a block away from the university. It was the first day on campus following the holiday, and she was ever so grateful to be back.

"It was your typical Griffin fiasco. A wonderful meal cooked by the staff, the perfectly timed comment about how there's still time to make the switch from little ole Mount Weather University to Harvard Med, which then became another argument that involved everything but the kitchen sink. I don't think I can take more of that, especially at Christmas."

The trio snacked on pastries, discussed Christmas shopping and what size tree would look better in the couple's apartment, and how excited Wells was about bringing Raven home to spend Christmas with his dad.

"I'm more worried that he'll let her touch his prized car collection before me, but I think it'll go as planned." Wells joked as he slung his arm around Raven's shoulders. "He's been asking how soon we'll arrive, so I know we'll be good."

"I'm excited to hear all the embarrassing stories about you growing up that Clarke hasn't told me yet. Plus, your dad promised to show me all the photos of you as a baby." Raven had already met Senator Jaha when he'd visited his son a few months ago, he'd been visiting MWU as part of a round table discussion about student debt and finances and they'd all had lunch together in The Quad. Thelonious could easily see why his son fell head over heels for the beautiful, brilliant mechanic.

Clarke checked her father's old watch and realizing that more time had passed than she'd thought, excused herself to head to class after agreeing to a shopping trip that Friday night. Just because she wasn't spending Christmas with Abby didn't mean she wouldn't send her mother a gift.

The walk back to the on campus apartment she shared with Raven was filled with ubiquitous holiday sights- garland around every light pole, laughing students bundled in trendy ugly Christmas sweaters, and the frat guys singing carols off key outside the library, did very little to lift her spirits. She'd never spent Christmas alone before, and the girl she thought she might have clicked with at a mixer at the start of the semester, just didn't pan out, but it wasn't like the apartments would be completely empty.

The rest of the week trudged along in the same manner, and Clarke grew more and more desolate about her holiday plans. Raven couldn't help but feel for her friend, and was hoping that she found the solution, and was waiting for Clarke to get out of the shower before making her case.

"Clarke! Hurry up! Wells is in the car already and you know how grumpy I get when there's a crowd at the mall! Santa's there and the last thing I need is to end up on the naughty list because you remember what happened last year when you dragged me shopping on Black Friday!"

Clarke exited the bathroom, spraying her hair with a can of dry shampoo before braiding it and grabbing a beanie, her wallet, and her jacket. "Alright, let's go, I'm coming."

"Hey, Clarke…"

"What's up?

"What're your plans for the holiday? Finals are next week, and I know you said you didn't want to come along with us because your mom usually visits Thelonious, but we can't stand the idea of you here all by yourself. There's not even a cat to keep you company." Raven frowned and stopped at their front door.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll rent some movies, sleep in, maybe I'll dye my hair, binge watch all the TV shows I miss because of class." Clarke's response felt stiff and practiced, like she was still trying to convince herself.

"Well, I've this friend, and he's supposed to go home for the holidays, but he kinda told his family he had a girlfriend but…"

"Let me guess, he doesn't really have a girlfriend."

"It'll be fun, you won't be alone, you'll get a home cooked meal, and you'll get to make new friends. It's only for a few weeks."

"You're not setting me up with some random guy are you? It's really a friend?"

"Yes Clarke. It's an actual friend."

"I guess I can be a fake girlfriend for a few weeks." Clarke sighed, "Now can we go shopping? Who is this guy anyway?"

Raven had failed to mention that she'd been acquainted with the guy from the library. Clarke had caught glances of the curly haired hottie here and there around campus, but she always knew she'd find him late Friday nights in the library when it was usually only med students scouring the stacks. She sneak a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye whenever she left. She'd learned he was a teacher's assistant when she overheard another student asking him about a class, but hadn't had the nerve to make eye contact with him. Raven had made arrangements for the two of them to meet at the coffee shop, Clarke had one last final, and brought her texts with her to glance over before heading back to campus.

"Hello. Are you Clarke?" A shadow fell across her textbook and she glanced up to see the man who would be her boyfriend for the next few weeks.

"Yes. Hi, Clarke Griffin. Pleased to meet you." She stood up, extended her hand out and gestured for him to have a seat across from her. He'd been in long enough to get a drink and a danish, a reminder of how engrossed with her studying she'd been. She cleared the table of her textbooks, a blush rising to her face as she took a closer look at the man across from her. He'd introduced himself as Bellamy Blake, and he had a dusting of freckles across his cheeks and nose that, when coupled with his killer smile, had her at a loss for words.

"I can't begin to tell you how glad I am that you're able to do this for me. How much did Raven tell you about my situation?" He set his drink and danish to the side, both hands clasped on the table in front of him.

"Um, she mentioned that you were going home to visit your family, and something about having a possibly nonexistent girlfriend?" Clarke went to drink from the tea that was starting to cool.

"Well, that's the gist of it. You see, it's just my mom, my sister, and I. Or it had been. My sister got engaged about eight months ago, and my mom is now pushing for me to get started on the path to being happily married. My two best friends are both in committed relationships of their own." He began to play with his napkin, folding and twisting the paper, the action revealing he was more nervous than his outward appearance would suggest. "It wouldn't be so bad if Octavia, that's my sister, wouldn't constantly be trying to match me up with either her friends, or random strangers she meets or making dating profiles online for me."

Clarke couldn't hide her laughter. "Is your sister really that bad?"

"Okay, so maybe she's not making dating profiles yet, but she was dropping hints about inviting a few 'friends' over for a get together while I was in town, and when she said friends in that tone, I knew it was going to be less me and the guys hanging out around the fire pit, and more feeling like a steak in a den of hungry lions. So, I panicked and told her I had a girlfriend here at school and I'd be bringing her home to meet the family."

They discussed the travel itinerary, he'd be picking her up tomorrow afternoon, giving her enough time to finish packing, get her gifts sent to the post office, and make any last purchases before they arrived in his hometown of Arkadia, about eight hours away. They got to know the basics about one another, he was five years older than she, and he was a history major, and did side work around the campus in addition to the teaching assistant job to help pay for school. They tried to figure out a reasonable timeline for their fake relationship, settling on having met at the beginning of the semester and just making their couple status official mid-October. New enough to not raise suspicion if they didn't know something about the other, but not too new where it might be weird that she's already coming home to meet his family. They'd agreed on a time and exchanged numbers before Clarke left to take her last exam. All in all, she wasn't too worried about what the next few weeks would bring.

"So, Miller's the nice one, and Murphy's essentially a cactus and I shouldn't take anything he says seriously?" Clarke felt a little apprehensive about meeting his two best friends, but Bellamy assured her that they'd be more interested in what she saw in him than anything else.

"Don't worry, it should just be my mom, Octavia, and Lincoln when we get there. Just be yourself and you'll be fine." He'd reached across the center console and gave her hand a squeeze. "We'll be there in about ten more minutes…"

Bellamy was a little worried about how intense Octavia would grill Clarke about their relationship, but his anxiety would soon abate, as both she and his mother were beyond elated to meet his girlfriend. Clarke was fabulous, taking everything in stride and being both properly humbled to be invited into their home and genuinely interested while his mother took her on a tour of their home, complementing the newly remodeled kitchen, which his mom had helped design.

He'd sent text messages to both Miller and Murphy, letting them know he was back in town already and if they wanted to meet soon to catch up. He might as well get all the introductions out of the way and pray that Murphy reigned in his inner asshole and didn't ferret out the truth.

"Bell!" Octavia jumped into her brother's arms, both excited to see him and excited he finally found a girl worth bringing home. "How's school? How've you been? And most importantly, how the heck did you manage to get a girl like Clarke?"

Bellamy laughed, not at all surprised at her rapid fire questions in place of a greeting. "Hey, it's been good. What do you mean a girl like Clarke? You make it seem like I'm some kind of loser!"

"Bell, she knows details. She and mom just spent the last five minutes debating quartz versus granite countertops. You don't pay attention to stuff like that."

"Well, long story short, a friend introduced us."

She reached up to ruffle his already unruly hair, "Whatever. I'm just glad you're happy. Lincoln should be getting out of work soon, he'll be joining us for dinner tonight. Did you finish all your shopping? Cuz I was hoping you two can join me tomorrow so I can find the perfect gift for him while he's at work. Do you think she'll mind?"

"I'm sure Clarke'll be ok with that."

"And what, exactly, will Clarke be ok with?" Clarke asked teasingly as she came up behind Bellamy, wrapping one arm around his waist, he followed her cue and curled one arm around her shoulders filling her in on tomorrow's plans as the trio went to join Aurora in the living room to decorate the tree.

"Thank goodness Lincoln was able to get the tree set up last night." Aurora said as she opened up the boxes labeled ORNAMENTS. The first box held the classic round shiny ornaments in traditional red, green, and gold. Bellamy and Octavia argued over the spacing and placement of each orb, resulting in childish name calling from each of them, eye rolling from Aurora, and much laughter from Clarke. They'd moved onto the second box, holding little pieces of the past, paper ornaments made in primary school lovingly preserved; and keepsake collectibles purchased to commemorate each year together.

It was a wonderful experience for Clarke, the atmosphere was easy going, with the radio playing a variety of Christmas carols from every genre, getting to help decorate the tree wasn't something she'd done since her father passed. Taking a deep breath, relishing the pine scent of the fresh cut tree as Bellamy placed the star at the top, Aurora explaining that it was Bellamy's favorite thing to do as a child, that finishing touch to let Santa find their house. "He picked it out when he was only five years old, and we've kept it ever since. He always made sure to wrap it carefully, cleaned and shined for the next year."

The weekend flew by, Octavia's shopping trip allowed the two girls to familiarize themselves with one another, and the younger girl was beyond ecstatic they'd had similar tastes. Octavia was very glad to have Clarke's expertise when it came to paint supplies, which made finding Lincoln's gift that much quicker. The following day, Bellamy took her with him to meet John Murphy and Nathan Miller at a nearby bar. Murphy was almost exactly how Bellamy described, and after a few tense moments, she was joking around with them as if they'd been friends for years.

Bellamy drove her around looking at all the houses lit up in decoration before meeting up with Octavia and Lincoln at the town square. There were additional booths set up selling holiday staples like hot chocolate, cookies and roasted nuts. Near the town's 55 foot tall Christmas Tree was a small stage and one of the school groups were currently serenading the visitors with carols.

It was easy to forget their relationship was all for show. Bellamy was a refreshing surprise and he seemed to genuinely be a nice guy, she wondered if they'd still be friendly after they got back from the holidays, and what things would have been like if she'd ever taken the time to approach him at the library. After the mini concert, they went off on their own and couldn't resist taking photos of all the lights. After several failed selfies with the tree, an older couple offered to snap a shot of them with the tree in the background, and Clarke handed over her phone without a second thought lost in the joy of holiday spirit.

Bellamy was relieved that those close to him had yet to see through their ruse, Clarke was a blessing in disguise. She was winning everyone over selling their relationship with just the right amount of affection and teasing, and he was a little nervous about leaving her alone with his mother and sister for the day.

He'd made arrangements to meet up with Murphy and Miller to find a gift for Clarke, because it would be really uncomfortable to not have a gift for his girlfriend on Christmas day. The guys managed to appropriately chastise him about waiting until last minute to shop for his girlfriend, and he was jostled at almost every store. "Two days until Christmas, Blake! Two days!" Murphy taunted, after they left a bookstore empty handed, his tolerance level having gone through the roof.

"Hey, I'm not the one threatening to end people left and right because they jostled you in line." Bellamy countered as he decided that the scarf and beanie he saw at the last store would be perfect.

"I can't begin to tell you how happy it makes me to see my Bellamy smile." Aurora Blake said as she poured hot chocolate into two mugs. "He's always been so serious ever since Octavia was born." Clarke shifted in her seat, reaching out to accept the mug, now topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. "I'm not sure how much of his life growing up he's shared with you, but when I see you two together, Clarke. I know he's got something good in his life again." Aurora proceeded to tell Clarke about raising Bellamy alone, and then Octavia's father leaving after learning she was pregnant. "He took on so much responsibility at such a young age, helping to take care of her while I worked three part time jobs." There were tears in her eyes brought on by the memories. "I'm so glad he has you. I hope you'll join us again next year."

Clarke felt guilty, partly at her own upbringing, but went about reassuring the woman that her son had grown into a wonderful person, with a loving heart and not an ounce of resentment for his family. Aurora moved the conversation to happier memories, bringing out baby pictures of the siblings, as Clarke found herself hopelessly smitten with Bellamy Blake.

Octavia soon caught up with Clarke as both girls went to place the last of their gifts at the tree. "Hey, Clarke?"

"Hey."

"I'm ready glad my brother has you." Octavia started, as she lowered herself to the couch. "I overheard you and mother earlier… Bellamy sacrificed so much when we were little, just to make sure I was happy. He always put me first. I just want him to be happy. And for the first time since he left for school, he finally looks happy, and it's because of you." Octavia had tears running by then end, Clarke enveloped the girl in a hug, whispering reassurances that he was happy with his life and loved her so much.

Guilt began to eat away at Clarke for her part in their falsehood, his family was so loving and welcoming. She went up to the guest room she'd been using, and sobbed into her pillow. Her relationship with her mother was strained since her father's death, neither one of them willing to give an inch. They made her feel more accepted in the week and a half she'd been there than the past summer at home. She'd surely have to do her best to make the next time she saw her mother go smoothly. Exhausted, she sent Bellamy a text that she wasn't feeling well, and would be heading for bed early.

Christmas Eve started with a simple breakfast of warm oatmeal, and the Blake family plus Clarke made the begrudgingly necessary trip to the grocery store for last minute essentials. After the chaos of the parking lot, and managing to pick the line that moved slower than molasses, they finally arrived back at the house to prepare finger foods to snack on later, and prep for tomorrow's dinner. Everyone was helping, from washing dishes, cleaning vegetables, polishing the good dinnerware, and Bellamy relished his part as "official poison checker" at the risk of his mother's wrath interrupting her cooking.

Clarke excused herself from the festivities within the Blake household, taking a seat on the front porch swing. Lincoln joined them for dinner, and Bellamy's friends had stopped by, and the impromptu Christmas party started. She'd been having a wonderful time, there was plenty of laughter, and she was truly amazed to see Murphy rushing to the table when Aurora revealed Christmas cookies that needed to be decorated.

She pulled out her mobile phone, called her mother, but was forced to leave a voicemail wishing her a Merry Christmas. Scrolling through her contacts, she sent a quick text to Raven to see if she could spare a few minutes, and shortly after hitting the send key, her friend's photo popped up with an incoming call.

"Merry Christmas sweetie, what's up?" Raven's voice bordered between cheerful and concerned, Clarke liked to keep most of her burdens to herself, and if it was just a simple case of calling to wish them the best, the blonde would have called Wells either on his mobile, or the house phone.

"Hi Rae." Clarke didn't sound like herself, but Raven couldn't do anything other than wait for Clarke to continue. Both girls went through the motions, exchanging holiday greetings, and Raven indulged Clarke's curiosity by sharing how her holiday was faring at the Jaha's. Once she mentioned that she was still in disbelief that everything was going so well and how glad she was that Wells' father was so accepting did Clarke come clean.

"I feel the same way here. I was so worried that pretending to be someone's girlfriend was going to be like walking on ice, but his family is so nice! I really like his mother and sister, they're amazing! His mother is so much like how mom used to be before she got all caught up in the politics that come with her job. And Bellamy…"

Clarke was silent on her end of the line that Raven was worried the call had been disconnected when she heard Clarke sigh and could picture her running her hands through her hair in vexation. "Bellamy's just great, I… I just.. You remember how I told you about the guy in the library? It's him. And he's just really nice, and he's funny, and I know that there's gonna be some sort of catch somewhere. It's crazy to think how well we mesh together, and I feel like I'm in over my head but I think I really like this guy. Like I wanna see if this could be a viable, stable relationship."

Clarke filled Raven in on most of her own winter vacation, and even sent her the picture of the two in front of the Christmas tree. Raven could see it in the faces of both her friends and had to give herself a congratulatory pat on the back, this was a picture of two people hopelessly infatuated with one another, but before she could respond, Clarke interrupted with a very rare flicker of nervousness to her voice.

"I feel so conflicted. I hate the insecurity that I'm feeling, Rae. But what if I do go to him and say, 'Hey Bellamy, I don't know about you, but I think you're pretty spiffy and was wondering if you'd maybe like to go on a real date at some point in the near future?' and the attraction's all one sided?"

Raven was about to tell Clarke that she shouldn't fret over it and just ask him out when his voice carried over the line.

"Who said it's one sided?"

Clarke dropped the phone and spun in his direction. "How long have you been listening?"

"Since you said that you liked my family." Bellamy moved closer to her from his place by the door. Clarke blushed, but Bellamy wasn't one to shy away from opportunity. He sat down next to her, angling his body to face her. "You remember how Raven mentioned she had a friend that needed a favor, right?" At her nod he continued, glad to get the whole story out. "Well, what she didn't tell you was that I had asked about you, specifically."

"You asked about me?" Clarke looked at a Bellamy, who was staring intently at her. Her heart was pounding away in her chest, and the butterflies in her stomach picked back up. "When?"

"About a week before we met. You see, I've known Raven since last year, when we had a class together and we stayed friends, but we didn't really hang out a lot this year, different schedules, work, and all. Now I'm spending a lot of time in the library this year, and I notice this one girl that's always buried in medical texts, and I'm stunned at how beautiful she is, in addition to being amazingly brilliant, because, med school is intense. But I don't really know how to approach her, since I don't think she's ever even noticed me there. And one day, I see Raven walking around with my mystery girl from the library. Next time I ran into her on campus, I work up the nerve to ask her if by any chance her friend is single and if, when everyone comes back from the holidays, does she think I have a shot at getting to know her. I had already vented to her about my family's girlfriend fib a few days prior."

"Why after the holidays?"

"Oh, it's because finals are bad enough, I can't imagine how bad they are for med students and I didn't want to to be inconsiderate. But then Raven and I met for lunch and told me about how you were going to be on campus alone for the holidays and then I suggested, that if Raven was so worried about you being alone for Christmas why didn't she ask if you'd be interested in coming with me? A little selfish on my part because I'd get to know you a bit, and I spent the last few days trying to think of a way to ask you out." He ran his hand through his hair, tousling his unruly curls.

"So, Bellamy Blake. I think you're pretty spiffy and was wondering, would you like to go out on a real date and see where this goes? Because I think your mother already invited me back for Christmas next year."

"Excellent. I guess I did get my Christmas wish this year." Bellamy replied as they walked back to his family, arm in arm.