Chapter 7
Clarke exhaled a steadying breath, shifting Julius in her arms as her eyes followed the every movement of the delegation the Amazon Tribe, as they had been dubbed, made. The four women were truly beautiful in a way Clarke hadn't expected, and she was sure most of the Deliquents including Bellamy hadn't expected either. However, unlike most of the boys in the camp, Bellamy's gaze didn't linger on the women. She shifted slightly, taking in their features as they waited for them to speak. The four grounders were tall for women, with long hair pulled back in strict hairstyles ranging from braids to tight ponytails. They're eyes were light colors, different shades of green and blues, and they're complexion were similar to Bellamy's and Octavia's. They were slender with toned muscles and they reminded Clarke of the panthers only Bellamy ever seemed able to kill.
"You would take any males born to us in exchange for your medical knowledge?" the woman who had been doing most of the speaking, Diana, questioned, unsure as to whether or not she should believe the people who fell from the sky over a year ago.
"That is correct," Bellamy nodded, his thick curls falling in his eyes as he stood tall across from the warriors, thick arms crossed over his chest. Diana glanced over her shoulder and held a silent conversation with her three comrades before nodding her head.
"You have an agreement Belomi kom Skaikru. Ava wishes to speak with your healer right away, to compare notes I suppose," she stated with a smirk, her hazel colored eyes drifting from Bellamy and focusing on Clarke who tensed at the other woman's words. She watched as Bellamy's jaw clenched before he nodded his head sharply, turning to take Julius from Clarke.
"Clarke will be more then happy to talk with Ava," he commented lightly, however Clarke could hear the underlying anger in his tone as he moved quickly, exiting the dropship with her son and leading the three other grounders out.
"He seems angry over my wish to speak with you Wanheda," Clarke winced at the name she had gained, closing her eyes and steeling her nerves before she turned to face the other woman.
"He is protective, and doesn't like leaving me alone when there are others here," Clarke answered easily, shrugging her shoulders before moving to her make shift book shelf and pulling down one of her medical sketch books.
"What was it you wanted to compare notes about?" Clarke questioned easily, turning her focus to business rather than the man who looked angry over leaving her with this stranger.
"We are a tribe trained in warfare, killing, war strategy. You... You are a healer from the sky. Certainly you know more effective ways to treat certain wounds and illnesses. I assumed you had more knowledge over the vegetation that grew on this planet than us seeing how Trikru has been helping you as well," Ava explained slowly, her jade green eyes never leaving Clarke as she carefully opened her sketch book and began showing a few of the plants to Ava.
Bellamy was not jealous. He knew Clarke had feelings for him, could see it in the way she looked at him, spoke to him. He was not jealous of leaving her in the company of a beautiful woman. She wouldn't choose some stranger over their little family they had been creating.
"Sit down Blake. The way you keep looking at the dropship, I'm worried it might combust," Raven's voice held a teasing note to it, however Bellamy wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone other than Julius.
"Bell, she's just showing that grounder different sketches of the plants with medical properties. They aren't getting up to anything," O's voice drifted to his ears a moment later, yet Bellamy couldn't force his muscles to relax, couldn't keep his gaze off the dropship for longer than a moment. Why did he insist on having this meeting before he and Clarke could properly speak with each other? Why had he thought it would be best to get the meeting over with first before confessing everything he was feeling to Clarke?
"Jesus Blake. She loves you. She isn't going to decide she would rather be with some Grounder warrior she barely knows rather than with you, raising her son she chose to adopt. She chose you to help her raise him, no one else. If you honestly believe you forced her to pick you, you're an idiot. Everyone knows you can't force the Princess to do anything she doesn't want to do," it was Murphy who finally got him to stop pacing, to finally turn his glare from the dropship to the thin man who was seated beside Raven with an arm wrapped easily around her waist. He exhaled a growl as he ran his long fingers through his unruly curls.
"I know that. I know she is the last person anyone could force to anything. I just can't help feeling as if this Grounder might be the one to change her mind. Lexa almost succeed," Bellamy reminded the others, reaching for Julius who was being held by his sister.
"And Lexa screwed up, made a fatal flaw in her attempt of trying to woo Clarke. She left you in the Mountain to die. Clarke loves you Bell. Everyone can see it. Hell Anya keeps asking me whenever Lincoln and I do supply runs if you two have finally figured your shit out and gotten married yet," Octavia spoke with exasperation in her voice as she rolled her hazel eyes before movement from the drop ship caught her attention.
"You're sketches are extremely detailed Wanheda, could you make copies for me?" Ava questioned once they were closer to the group city near the center fire. Clarke closed her eyes for a brief moment at the title before shrugging her shoulders.
"Honestly, Monty, Murphy, O, and I have memorized what all of those plants look like and between Monty and myself it would be easier to just write the properties down. You can take the two sketch books I have to help you," she answered with a forced smile to her lips. Ava smiled shyly before nodding her head in thanks.
"That is very generous of you Wanheda, thank you," Clarke could only shrug her shoulders before her ice blue eyes landed on Julius who gurgled happily at the sight of his mother.
"Athena would be pleased to see her son healthy and flourishing. You're love for the baby shows," Ava commented lightly, and Bellamy noticed the way Clarke's entire body tensed.
"What... What happened to his mother?" she questioned quietly, feeling rather than seeing Bellamy come to stand behind her, close enough to touch her should she need the comfort.
"She died of sickness a week before he was cast from the village. We knew he had been born and were going to allow her to keep him until his first birthday. However she fell ill and we had no means to help her," Ava answered solemnly. Clarke nodded her head in understanding before turning towards O and reaching for her son.
"You and the others are more than welcome to stay the night. But I must excuse myself. Julius should be hungry soon," right as the words left her mouth, his little mouth opened in a wail, demanding to be fed. Clarke winced slightly before shrugging her shoulders and taking her son from Octavia and turning on her heel.
"I would suggest telling her exactly how you feel Belomi kom Skaihru. Clarke is an amazing woman, a feared warrior, and a loving mother. Your eyes tell just how much you care for her, she should know before someone tries to take her from you, some one like me, or that floppy haired boy following after her," Ava tipped her chin in the direction Clarke had just left, forcing Bellamy to glance up in time to see Finn reaching for her arm which she jerked away from him. Bellamy's jaw tensed before he decided to finally teach the Space walker to keep his hands to himself. Raven reached for Bellamy, resting her hand on his bicep to stop him from doing something he would regret once the jealousy and anger cleared from his vision.
"Clarke isn't going to go for the whole macho jealous act Bellamy. Let her shake him off and than go talk to her. You know where she is headed, and she won't allow Finn into her tent when she's going to be feeding Jules," Raven spoke softly, well aware of Ava's watchful eyes. He inhaled a steadying breath before closing his eyes and mentally counting to ten before he nodded his head in agreement and turned on his heel, deciding to take the longer route to his and Clarke's shared tent.
She was sitting in the rocking chair, humming a lullaby to Julius as he nursed when Bellamy opened the flap, just standing in the opening of the tent and taking in the sight that greeted him.
"You're so beautiful," he spoke softly, loud enough for Clarke to hear him, which wasn't something he had actually intended. His brow was furrowed as if he was memorizing the sight before him, and Clarke guessed he most likely was, storing it away to look over later. Her cheeks heated from the blush as she ducked her head, focusing her bell blue eyes on her son as she took a moment to gather her thoughts.
"I think you and I need to talk," she finally whispered, barely loud enough for Bellamy to hear even in the quiet of their tent. She heard him exhale a breath before he nodded his head in agreement and crossed over to the cot, perching on the edge as he waited for her to tell him she didn't want him except to help raise Julius.
"You're so amazing Bellamy, and you don't even see it," Clarke began, peeking at the man in question from under lashes to see him focused intently on his hands which were curled in his lap.
"These kids admire you, look to you for guidance. Not just with the big things anymore either. You are a natural father, Bell. I don't know what I would do without you," Clarke paused, chewing on her bottom lip as she considered confessing everything as had been suggested to her.
"Clarke, really, I'm nothing great. I've just had practice when it comes to kids. I don't need your praise," Bellamy spoke, harsher than he had intended. Clarke frowned for a moment, her brows furrowing in confusion before she shook her head.
"I'm not trying to validate you or anything Bellamy. I'm trying to..." she cut herself off, pressing her lips together for a moment as she thought over her next action. Before Bellamy realized what she was doing, Clarke was standing beside him, leaning towards the middle of the cot to lay Julius down before moving to stand between his legs. Her small hands were framing his face as she forced him to meet her eyes, a softness there he only ever saw directed towards Julius.
"Bell, I'm telling you these things because I'm in love with you. I didn't... Before Jules, I knew you were important to me, you were my best friend. But since you've helped me raise him I noticed that bond between us has changed, it's shifted into something more. We don't act like friends anymore, everyone has noticed it, they keep commenting on it, calling us 'Mom' and 'Dad' when we aren't really paying attention. And I want to be associated with you, whenever anyone thinks of you, I want the immediate thought of me to follow right after. I want everyone to know you're mine. I want everyone to know that I'm yours and Julius is ours and I really fucking love you Bellamy Blake," Clarke finished her ramble, blushing at the awestruck look on Bellamy's face before she dropped a quick peck to his lips.. The brief contact seemed to wake him from whatever trance she had put him under because quicker than she could catch, Bellamy's hands moved to grip her hips as he pulled her closer to him and surged upwards to reconnect their lips.
"That's great Clarke, because I really fucking love you too," he mumbled against her lips, refusing to move to far away from them. Clarke smiled widely, ruining their kiss, but neither of them could care less, both content just for the small bit of contact to pull away.
"O and Raven are going to be insufferable when they discover this," he mumbled after a moment of just breathing the same air as Clarke. She only hummed, closing her eyes as the tension eased from her body.
"Not as bad as Jasper and Monty who are going to go around the entire camp shouting how Mom and Dad are finally together," she replied. Bellamy only groaned before falling back on to the cot and pulling Clarke with him so she was on top of him.
A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update! Life got super busy for the last couple of months. I have no idea when Chapter 8 will come, but enjoy and feel free to let me know what you thought!