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Arkadia is bustling with excitement. People are running about preparing for the day, setting up tables and chairs for the big event. Abby and Kane are finally getting married. It’s the first wedding to happen on the ground. They hadn’t had time before what with the grounders, mountain men, and then ALIE. But now things have been settling down.
It’s been about six months after ALIE. Arkadia has since grown, cabins are currently under construction, small gardens are scattered throughout. It doesn’t seem to just be a giant lump of cold metal but is starting to appear like a small village, a home. Not only has the physical environment improved but there are now trade agreements set up with the grounders and Roan has taken over as the commander until a willing nightblood is found.
But, today was not a day about politics, just two happy people finally tying the knot.
What’s surprising though is that Bellamy hasn’t seen Clarke all day and it’s her mother’s wedding. You think she’d be somewhere helping people out, sticking her nose in everything because she’ll want it done right. He asks around the people who are helping set up and no one really has a solid answer. He walks inside alpha station and he comes across Raven who is working on the rover inside the entrance hanger. Always work to be done.
He walks across the area bangs on the hood of the rover to get her attention. “Raven, you seen Clarke anywhere?”
She rolls out from underneath quickly and says, “Hey, watch it! And what she’s not attached to your hip like usual and suddenly you don’t know where she is?” She looks at him with one eyebrow raised daring him to fight her on the statement. She slowly starts to get up so she can talk to Bellamy, not sitting on the ground.
“No, more like it’s her mom’s wedding and no one seems to know where she is.”
Raven’s cockiness fades a little. “Well… I did see her scrounging around the repurpose clothing room. She was probably looking for something to wear. Have you checked her room yet?”
What’s silly is that thought didn’t even occur to him. Half the time she is either in the Med Bay or the council area, and the other half the time Clarke stays with him because she either can’t sleep or she has nightmares. Being around each other makes dealing with their demons a little easier, for both of them.
Bellamy shakes his head and says, “Um, no I haven’t checked there yet. She almost always at either the Med bay of the Council room, didn’t think of it.”
A sly smirk comes across Raven’s face. She begins to working on the rover and jokes, “Of course not. Tell her I say hi before you start doing the horizontal tango, thanks.”
He just chuckles, ignoring her comment and begins to head toward Clarke’s room.
Walking through the halls of Arkadia gives him such a strange feeling. The walls are still gray and cold reminding him of space, but there’s now a sort warmth to them. Some paintings are now hung along the walls, attempting to make it feel more homey, to remind them that they are on the ground now and are trying to build a lasting society.
When Bellamy arrives at Clarke’s door, he knocks and waits for an answer but he never gets one. He knocks again, louder, still no answer. He then goes to open the door and it opens easily, it’s unlocked. He walks into her room hesitantly, unsure what he would find. Nothing seems out of place her bed is still a mess and her desk is covered with sketches, plans, and maps. There is even a couple books he lent her that he knows she hasn’t read yet.
He steps in a little further to see Clarke standing in the corner in front of her mirror. He was not expecting to find Clarke like this.
Bellamy cannot take his eyes off of her. She’s wearing a dress, one they dug up from another bunker raid and her regular boots. It’s really simple actually nothing fancy just a blue dress with what looked to be small dots on it. He never thought he would see her wearing one. She’s always one for the practical, with her pants, boots, shirt and jacket. Always ready to go. Seeing Clarke in a dress has literally stopped him in his tracks.
Another reason he cannot take his eyes off of her is because she looks so uncomfortable wearing it. As she looks in the mirror she has a grimace on her face and keeps patting her hands on the dress like that will somehow fix whatever is wrong with it. The only reason she’s probably wearing it is because Abby must have made her. Clarke is the maid of honor after all.
Hesitantly, he says, “Clarke?”
She whips around so quick and nearly shouts, “What are you doing in here? I didn’t let you in!”
He holds back a laugh at her sudden outburst at being snuck up on. She’s always watching her back and to be caught off guard has to throw her off. Calmly he says, “I knocked and you weren’t answering. People have been looking for you and no one had any idea where to find you.”
“Well I’m here and you can go tell everyone else. Now can you please leave?”
“No.”
“What do you mean no?”
“I mean no. Your mom is getting married in a few hours and she needs her maid of honor out there helping prep stuff not here, doing… whatever it is that you’re doing.” He partially knows, he thinks. She doesn’t want to go out in the dress probably for many reasons, more than likely just because it isn’t a particle outfit.
“I will help out… once I can… I don’t know. Bellamy, I hate this. I should not be wearing a dress.”
“It’s fine, it’s just a dress and once the day is over you can go put it with the rest of the repurposed clothes again.”
“I know that… but, this is going to sound silly and childish and you can’t laugh.”
Now he is a little concerned what could be bothering her if it’s not just the dress itself. “Alright…”
She’s looking down, staring at a piece of metal on the floor, refusing to meet his eyes. He can see she has a slight blush on her cheeks. Clarke looks younger than she has in years. Quietly, she asks, “You need to answer honestly; do I look okay in this dress?”
Her question throws him for a loop. Clarke Griffin the girl who is known as the Commander of Death, the girl who has saved the world multiple time, the girl who has not had time for thoughts other than survival, is concerned as to whether or not she looks good in a dress.
Bellamy must have been taking to long to give her and answer so she rushes out, “Never mind, don’t worry about it. I said it was silly. I’ll go back and see if I can find something-“
“Clarke,” Bellamy interrupts, “You look beautiful.”
Her eyes snap to his quickly, her blush getting deeper. He takes a few steps forward until he’s right in front of her. She’s looking up at him not saying anything. “It’s just a dress, don’t worry about it.” He gently takes her hands into his and repeats himself, “You look beautiful.” She grips his hands tightly and briefly, looks away but then looks back when he speaks again. “It’s a special day, you’re allowed to act a little silly if that’s what you want to call it. But, it’s nice to see you worrying about something that isn’t a life or death situation.”
“Thank you, Bellamy.” They stand there for a couple more moments just studying each other, thinking about how far they’ve come, how life on earth is finally looking up. Bellamy even thinks maybe one day him and Clarke will be able to move forward with whatever it is that has been going on between them. The both give each other a small smile.
Clarke grips Bellamy’s hands and begins to say something again when a loud echoing bang comes from the door. Raven shouts from the other side, “Come on you two, put your damn clothes on, there’s a wedding going on and they need you two to actually do shit!”
Both Bellamy and Clarke give a little laugh and Raven and her crude joke. Clarke then shouts back, “Yeah yeah, we’re coming.” They let go of each other’s hands walk toward the door. Clarke opens it to see a smirking Raven. “We were in a full state of dress, just saying.”
Raven looks them over. Satisfied with what she sees and replies, “Doesn’t mean you can’t be doing anything just cause you have clothes on.” Clarke walks out the door and Bellamy follows shutting it behind him. Raven quickly looks over at Clarke as they being walking towards the front of Arkadia and adds, “Oh, and nice dress!”
Clarke rolls her eyes and replies, “Shut up, Raven.”
The three of them walk through the halls, back to where the festivities are being held. Once they are near the area where tables and chairs have been set up they see Kane, who is dressed is a worn suit. When he sees the three he shouts, “Where have you been! The wedding is happening soon.”
Bellamy and Clarke just smile lightly as Raven laughs. The three of them quickly separate and attend to the wedding duties that Kane assigns them.