Chapter Text
Some time later…
“Yr wyf i, Clarke Griffin, yn datgan ac yn cadarnhau yn ddifrifol, yn ddiffuant ac yn gywir y byddaf i, ar ôl dod yn ddinesydd Prydeinig, yn ffyddlon ac yn wir deyrngar i’w Mawrhydi y Frenhines Elisabeth yr Ail, ei Hetifeddion a’i Holynwyr, yn unol âr gyfraith.”
Lexa smiles as she watches Clarke carefully enunciate the Welsh words as part of the citizenship ceremony, mouthing the words to herself, remembering the way they’d both practiced them and the evenings they’d spent at language classes. There are only a handful of people going through the ceremony today, here in the ornate old town hall and the guest seats in the small function room are only sparsely filled. She sits by the side, anyway, her finger’s lightly gripping Pablo’s lead just in case he decides to do anything, but he’s quite content to sit there and half-watch.
There’s a mix of emotions running through her as she watches: pride at Clarke having achieved this, jealousy that the extra years she’s spent here means Lexa still has some time to wait before she can do the same, contentment at the thought they’re planting roots here in their new home, and over and above them all, love for the woman she once thought she’d lost and would never see again.
“Rhoddaf fy nheyrngarwch i’r Deyrnas Unedig ac fe barchaf ei hawliau a’i rhyddidau. Arddelaf ei gwerthoedd democrataidd. Glynaf yn ffyddlon wrth ei chyfreithiau a chyflawnaf fy nyletswyddau a’m rhwymedigaethau fel dinesydd Prydeinig.”
Clarke makes the pledge, gets given her certificate to a round of applause from the gathered few - and Lexa might be noisy enough on her own to make Pablo stir a little and wonder what the bother is - poses for a photograph or two, and then comes over to join Lexa, smiling as she brandishes her certificate. “Any chance of a kiss for a new citizen, guvnor?” She asks in an attempt at a British accent so fake it almost makes Lexa wince before she smiles.
She obliges her with one, then looks into her eyes as they wrap their arms around each other. “How does it feel?” She asks.
“Weird. I mean, it’s just words, right? Not like I was swearing an oath in my own blood or something, but it was me standing up and saying this is where we’re staying, this is where we’re going to be, and it was a bit overwhelming.” She smiles and kisses Lexa again. “But it’s me and you, right? No matter how long you have to wait for it, we’re here, together, and that’s what’s important.”
“It is.” Lexa says, as Pablo barks, noting his owners have been looking at each other for far too long and demanding some attention for himself.
“You too, of course.” Clarke says, crouching down to make a fuss of him. “Our boy.” Lexa smiles. There was never an official moment when he went from being Clarke’s dog to “our dog” but it happened sometime after she moved in, in the same way the cottage became “our house” as their lives naturally mingled together into one. Lexa hadn’t been able to get her job located within walking distance like Clarke’s was, but she had persuaded Lincoln and Octavia that there was no reason the business had to be based in London, and there were a whole lot of reasons to locate their HQ in Cardiff instead. It means a lengthy drive or rail journey for her on the days she can’t work from home, but it all feels worth it when she sees the hills ahead of her as she travels back at the end of the day and realises she’s nearly home.
“Ready to go home?” Clarke asks as she stands up.
“Sure.” Lexa say, trying to hide her nerves, though she’s not sure which part of the next few hours she’s most worried about.
They’re halfway down the hill that leads to the cottage before Clarke realises there’s something going on. There’s a few more cars than normal squeezed into the edges of the road, and a small hubbub of noise in the air, coming from the space behind it. Lexa can feel the weight of her stare and cocked eyebrow before she even turns to look at her.
“So, I invited a few people round just for a little thing to welcome you back after the ceremony.” Lexa says.
“This feels like more than a few people.”
“I might not have stressed the ‘just a few people’ element to all of them, and they might have mentioned it to some others…”
“And you can’t keep a party secret in this town, can you?” To Lexa’s relief, she’s smiling, and kisses her cheek as they approach the front door. Before she even needs to reach into her pocket for her, Niylah’s opened the door for them, hugging them both and congratulating Clarke on her citizenship.
There are people scattered through the house and the garden, the taming of which has been Lexa’s quest since she moved in, and it feels like half the town has turned out to congratulate Clarke. Lexa knows how much her partner is respected here, but it’s something else to see it demonstrated like this. The process has always been centred around her wanting to make a commitment to staying in this place, showing it’s their home for good, and today is about the community they’re now part of thanking Clarke for that. Lexa spends most of the afternoon watching how Clarke shines as she receives their compliments and gratitude, feeling proud of her and how glad she was to come here and find her again.
It felt like the half of the town that hadn’t been there when they got back had all turned up at some point in the afternoon to give their congratulation, but eventually most of them drift away and Lexa knows it’s almost time. She finds Clarke on a seat in the garden with Pablo chasing after a ball she throws for him, eagerly dashing back with it every time.
“He’s pretty wired from having so many people fussing over him,” Lexa says, crouching down behind her and lightly draping her arms around her neck, “we should walk him, let him burn some of it off.”
“After we clean up around here.” Clarke says. “We’ve got a lot of great friends, but none of them seem to know how to clean up after themselves.”
“Yes we do.” Niylah leans out of the door. “It’s your day today, Clarke, you two go enjoy yourselves with him, we’ll clear the place up.”
“Are you sure?” Clarke asks, not noticing that Lexa’s mouthing thank you behind her.
“Absolutely. I’m the one who misunderstood and invited everyone along. It’s the least I can do.”
Pablo’s already stood in front of them, sensing the prospect of a walk and eager to get going. “All right, let’s take you out.” Clarke says, and Lexa lets out a breath she didn’t realise she was holding.
The trip up the hill isn’t the shortest, but he’s an energetic dog so either alone or together it’s a walk they do often. Even though she knows the route well, it always gives Lexa a thrill when she remembers the first time she walked it and everything that’s happened since then. There have been plenty of sunrises and sunsets and stars they’ve seen from up there but even now with the sun still up above the hills in the west it’s a special place.
“Thank you.” Clarke says after they reach the top. Pablo’s eagerly sniffing out all thte new scents that have appeared there since his last visit, and it’s just the two of them by the rocks. Clarke’s half-leaning, half-sitting on one of them, and Lexa’s leaning back against her.
“For what?” Lexa asks.
“For today, for being here for me - coming here for me - for loving me.” She squeezes Lexa tighter, leaning down so her lips brush the soft skin of her neck just below her ear. “For everything. Sometimes I still find it hard to believe we made it here. Especially after all that time apart.”
“I know, but maybe we needed to be apart so we could both be here when we were ready for everything.” Lexa takes a breath, slowing and calming herself. “And when I saw you today, affirming your loyalty and everything, I knew I’ll be ready for that when my time comes but there’s something I need to do first.”
“What’s that?” Clarke asks. Lexa thinks she can feel Clarke’s heart beating harder against her, but it might just be that hers is ready to leap out of her chest.
Lexa turns in Clarke’s arms and moves slightly back from her, lowering herself down onto her knee. It’s not the easiest movement to do, especially avoiding kneeling directly on the point of a rock, but it feels as natural and easy as much of their rekindled relationship has been. “Swear my loyalty to you.” She says, looking up at Clarke. “Being here with you, our life, it’s the best thing I’ve ever had. I love you, and I love to see how happy you are, and I want to spend the rest of life doing whatever I can to make you happy every day.” She reaches into her pocket to pull out the ring box she’s been carrying in there, flipping it open as she raises it. “Clarke Griffin, will you marry me?”
The broad grin on Clarke’s face is the first indication of her answer, along with the tears of joy in her eye and the breathless kiss she leans down to give Lexa. Still, it’s not until she pulls her lips away to say “Yes, of course I will. Yes.” that Lexa finally relaxes and lets herself smile.
“There’s one condition, though.” Clarke says, reaching into her pocket and bringing out another ring box. “You have to marry me too.”
“You knew I was going to ask?”
“Not for sure, but I know you, my love, and it was a backup in case you got too nervous. So, what do you say?” Clarke laughs as Lexa stands up and wraps her arms around her.
“Yes,” she says, “always yes.”