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"Choose your weapon, Heda."
"Sword."
"Roan, choose your weapon."
"Sword as well."
Lexa looks to the man in front of her. He's trying to size her up, but she's Heda Leksa, no one intimidates her. Well, except maybe a certain blonde when she's determined to get her way. Lexa looks over to said blonde who is standing in the crowd, an anxious look on her face.
"Heda, Roan, get to your positions."
Lexa gives Clarke a short nod, and the other girl tries to hide her worry behind a smile, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes.
"Aww, how sweet. Heda and her branwada hodnes."
"That's no way to talk to your commander, Roan." Lexa lunges forward, sword coming down connecting with his.
"Too bad she doesn't feel the same." He disconnects their swords and slashes at Lexa's leg. She jumps away before the weapon makes contact. The fight goes back to a stand off, both of them now trying to intimidate the other.
"I saw her and Niylah getting pretty close back at our village. They spent entire days together. Many nights as well." Lexa seethes. She looks over to Clarke again. "You know she only wants you to win so she can be with Niylah. If there's peace again, there won't be any problem with them having a romantic relationship. One that can be shown in public. One that she can rub in your face, especially after what you did to her and her people. A relationship that’s not purely sexual."
Lexa clenches her jaw at Roan’s words. Clarke gives her a confused look. She sees past what to everyone else is their Heda's usual stoic look, and finds hurt in Lexa's eyes. Her eyebrows are scrunched and she mouths, 'What's wrong?' Lexa just shakes her head and turns back to Roan.
"How do you know they feel such a way towards each other?"
"Oh, Heda, the walls in our village are thick, but not thick enough to block out your hodnes' cries of pleasure."
That's it for Lexa. She swings her sword to his left shoulder, and he ducks. Roan swings his sword to Lexa's right arm, but she blocks it easily. She disconnects there swords and tries to slice his upper thigh, but he deflects her sword and slashes his own over Lexa's side. The sword breaks the flesh, and Lexa stumbles. She steadies her feet, and she's back to fighting.
Their swords are flying, and neither of them gets a hit in. Then Lexa sees a moment of weakness, and connects her sword with Roan's leg. It doesn't affect him much, and he kicks Lexa back with the opposite leg. She loses the grip on her sword and falls to the ground.
"How pathetic. The almighty Heda Leksa taken down by a mediocre warrior. Something must be occupying your mind Heda." He shouts this, so that the crowd can here his taunting. His next words are said quieter so only Lexa can hear. "Is it Clarke that's in your head? Is it Niylah? Is it the thought of both of them together? Are you imagining Clarke's naked, writhing body below someone who is not you. Below, Niylah, an accomplice to Costia's death. Is that what you're thinking about?"
Lexa's teeth are clenched, and she knows the crowd is wondering what's going on between her and Roan. They know it's not good, if the words they did hear were anything to go by.
"Don't talk about Costia. Don't talk about either of them!" She looks over to Clarke once again. And there's even more worry on her face. Clarke is no longer trying to smile, but now looks like she's trying to hold back tears and trying to hold herself back from killing Roan herself. When she registers Lexa looking at her, she sets her face into an expression of encouragement. 'You can do this.'
Lexa looks back to her opponent, determination in her eyes. Roan seems to realize the newfound confidence in Lexa because he lifts his sword to end their fight. As he's running towards her, Lexa twists her legs to trip him, and he stumbles long enough for her to get up and regain her footing. She grabs her sword from the ground, and goes for his stomach. He blocks it. This time she's the one who kicks him to the ground, foot connecting with his knee. He falls to his back, and she doesn't waste any time in finishing the fight.
"Yu gonplei ste odon.”
Once it's over the crowd erupts, but Lexa's too hurt and too tired to listen. She turns away and walks towards Clarke, who is already making her way towards her with a huge smile on her face. Lexa lets herself give a small smile in return.
"I knew you would do it. Peace is restored. Hopefully no more near death experiences for you for a while. Or ever."
"That's not likely, Clarke." It’s unfortunate to think about, but it's the truth. Her life is always in danger, but even so, she lets out a small chuckle.
They look at each other for a while until someone comes up behind Lexa. "Heda we need to treat your wounds."
"Yes, Nyko. I'll be in my tent in a few moments."
"Sha, Heda."
She turns back to Clarke, and she remembers everything Roan had mentioned during the fight. She turns around and sees Niylah talking with another member of the Ice Nation. "Go celebrate with Niylah. You two don't have to be afraid of conflicts between our people anymore." With that, Lexa walks away.
Clarke gives her a confused look and follows her to her tent, where she sees Nyko waiting outside. Lexa enters her tent, and he is about to follow her in, when Clarke stops him.
"Nyko, let me do it. I don't mind, and I need to talk to her." He nods and hands her his bag of supplies.
"The green bottle is numbing ointment. The clear one is cleansing liquid."
"Mochof, Nyko." He nods again and walks away. Clarke takes a moment to ready herself before walking in.
Lexa is already done removing her armor, and is about to take off her shirt when she hears someone come in. "Nyko, will it be easier if I'm laying down or sitting?"
"It's not Nyko." Lexa stiffens at the voice.
"Clarke." Lexa turns around. "I thought you were celebrating."
"I am. I get to take care of the winner." She gives a small smile, one that she wishes would get one out of Lexa. It doesn't.
"Very well, which position would be best for you, Clarke?"
Wow, she really shouldn't have worded it like that because the images flashing through Clarke's mind are very, not innocent.
"Um, uh lying on your back is fine." Lexa gives a nod, and lies down on the furs, not sensing Clarke's sudden nervousness. Lexa removes her shirt, and winces at the movement. Once it's off, Clarke checks her side where there should be a deep cut from Roan's sword. It's not as large as Clarke expected, thank goodness, but it's pretty deep. Clarke takes out a cloth and wets it with the cleansing liquid. "I'm going to need to clean it first, and you're definitely going to need stitches."
Lexa just nods, not meeting her eyes.
Clarke takes the wet cloth and carefully starts dabbing around the cut on Lexa's side. She sees the pain on Lexa's face, even though Lexa tries to hide it.
When she's finished cleaning the cut, she grabs the numbing ointment, and spreads it on Lexa's side. The initial, cold touch of her fingers makes Lexa flinch, but soon the medicine starts working, and Lexa's face relaxes.
“She doesn’t mean anything to me." Lexa doesn't look at her, but Clarke knows she heard her by the clench of her jaw. "I mean she helped me sort myself out after I left camp, but we're just friends, if you can even call us that. Our relationship had other... aspects to it, but I ended that part quickly. I felt like I was using her, plus it felt wrong after every time. She wasn't the one I wanted comfort from. She wasn't the one I needed.”
Lexa still doesn't turn to her.
"She told me about Costia. My relationship with her probably doesn't sit right with you. If it's too hard for you, I'll stop talking to her. I care about you more." Clarke reaches for Lexa's hand and covers it with her own.
Lexa still avoids the blue eyes blaring into the side of her face.
"It's none of my business, Clarke, who you are or aren't friends with. Or who you are or aren't with... in other ways." Lexa still doesn't meet her eyes.
When Clarke is done spreading the ointment, she wipes her fingers and starts to the thread the needle. "It's not your business even if you're the one I want to be with? Even if the only person I ever want to talk to about my problems is you, the only person who could understand what I'm going through and not think I'm selfish or crazy after I tell them all of what I'm feeling. You never judge me, and you always try to calm me down and stop me from worrying. And it works. I hope I could do the same for you. You're the only person I want. I'm ready to be with you, Lexa."
Lexa finally meets her eyes. "Clarke, I know you care for Niylah. It's okay. I'm okay. Be with who you truly want be with."
"I don't want to be with Niylah, Lexa!" Lexa's eyes widen slightly in surprise. Even with frustration in her words, her name never sounds as beautiful as it does than when Clarke says it. "After everything I said, everything I confessed, you still don't understand that the only person I truly want to be with is you?"
"Clarke."
Clarke starts sewing up the wound. There are tears forming in her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall.
Stitching up the wound takes a few minutes. During those minutes neither of them say a word, but Clarke feels Lexa's eyes on her the whole time. Once she's finished, Clarke starts putting all the supplies back in Nyko's kit.
"Clarke." Clarke continues putting the medicine in the bag. "Clarke, please look at me." She finally looks up to meet Lexa's eyes. The pleading look in those deep green orbs makes her frustration dissolve. "You really want to be with me?"
"Yes, Lexa, I want to be with you," Clarke says with an exasperated sigh, but a smile is on her face.
Lexa moves to sit up, but Clarke pushes her down. "You need to stay lying down. You could mess up your stitches." Clarke finishes putting everything away in Nyko's bag and moves it onto a table.
"Come here, Clarke." Clarke walks over to where Lexa is holding out her hand. She grabs it and is taken by surprise when she's pulled down closer to Lexa. She is half lying on Lexa's chest and half still standing up, their noses almost touching.
All of a sudden her mouth is dry, and she can't think properly. "Your stitches," Clarke manages to croak out. It takes all of her power to tear her eyes away from Lexa's and look down to check the wound.
"Don't worry about them, hodnes." Clarke looks up again, astonished at what Lexa just called her.
"Hodnes?"
"Is that not okay? I'm sorry, Clarke. I should have asked first. If it makes you uncomfortable or you are not ready for that, it's fine I just-"
Clarke leans down and presses her lips to Lexa's for a sweet kiss. She feels Lexa smile into it, which makes her smile in return and deepen the kiss.
She never knew a kiss could feel this perfect, this right. And honestly she wishes she could climb on top of Lexa and do more than just kiss her. Damn stitches.
After a few seconds Clarke pulls away and rests her forehead against Lexa's. She opens her eyes to find that Lexa's are still closed. Seeing the soft smile and the overall look of peacefulness on the other girl's face makes her kiss her again.
When she pulls away for the second time, both of them open there eyes at the same time. Lexa looks like she wants to say something, but Clarke doesn't want her to say anything that could ruin the moment. She's guessing Lexa still doubts what she means to her, but Clarke needs to get out the words that have been stuck in her throat for weeks now. And stuck in her mind for months.
"Ai hod yu in, Lexa."
Lexa sees nothing but sincerity in Clarke's eyes. Though her look doesn't stop Lexa from being completely shocked that Clarke just admitted to loving her.
Clarke laughs at the surprised expression on Lexa's face. "And yes, you can call me your love, as long as I can do the same to you." Clarke says the last words with a giant grin on her face.
"Of course, my hodnes." Lexa returns the smile, equally as big. "I love you too, Clarke." Lexa reaches up and brings Clarke in for another kiss.