Finally

As Clarke watched the guards escort Finn to the grounders, she turned and began to walk into the trees, her pace increasing as each foot landed. Abby took a step forward, but Bellamy held out a hand to stop her.

"No, I'll go," he said. He hoisted his bag across his shoulders and slowly set out after her.

He followed with a measured tread, knowing that she was heading towards the bunker but also knowing that she would need time too. But as he neared the bunker, he heard a quavering breath on the other side of the clearing. And there she was.

Clarke.

She sat at the foot of a large tree, legs drawn-up, hands on knees, head on hands, her blonde hair cascading beside them.

Clarke.

He dropped his bag and walked heavily towards her. He knew she knew he was there, but she did not lift her head. He slid down the tree beside her, just a few feet away and waited.

"They sent you after me?" she finally said.

"We drew straws. I lost."

She raised her head and glanced at him, and her hint of a smile sent a small warmth through him, a not unpleasant (or, if he was being honest with himself, unwelcome) sensation.

"Also, I figured maybe you wouldn't feel like being around anyone you actually liked."

The corners of Clarke's mouth turned up even more as she sat up and turned her gaze to the forest around them. The day she had first said those words to him felt like a lifetime ago. Hell, multiple lifetimes. Before the war had begun, before Mount Weather, before Finn at the village. But that day had meant a lot to her. It was the day they found the guns, when they finally had some power in this impossible world. It was the day she'd saved Bellamy's life and he'd saved hers. It was the day she'd understood that he was so much more than the façade he'd put on their first two weeks on the ground. It was the day she and Bellamy had become a team. Clarke turned her head and locked her serious blue eyes onto his.

"If you thought I wouldn't want to be around someone I actually liked, then you really should have sent someone else."

Bellamy held her gaze. He was thinking about the day she'd first said those words too. That day had meant everything to him. It was the day he'd finally allowed himself to comprehend the horrible acts he had committed against Jaha and the sacrificed Ark residents. It was the day he'd admitted how heavily the shame his mother would feel weighed on him. It was the day Clarke stood up for him and told him how much he was needed. It was the day he and Clarke had become a team.

He looked away. "Well. Who'd have guessed that a couple months ago, right, Princess?"

"Princess…," she smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I guess we ran in different circles on the Ark. If we'd stayed there, we probably never would have met."

"Probably not. If you had an excessive amount of trash, maybe," he tried to joke. The truth was that the thought of never having met Clarke was causing him almost physical pain. He shouldn't be glad that he had shot the chancellor and snuck onto the drop ship, but when he thought about never having known Clarke, he almost was.

"Bellamy."

He almost started at how good it felt for her to say his name. He turned his head and held her gaze. Clarke too was upset at the thought of not knowing him.

"After the battle at the drop ship, when I thought you were dead, when I thought I had killed you…"

"Like I said before, it had to be done."

"I know. But the moment I saw you again at Camp Jaha…." She glanced away and back as both of their thoughts drifted to the memory of their reunion. "That was the happiest I've felt since we hit the ground." His heart rose in his chest. The moment when he'd realized she was alive, safe, when her arms were wrapped around him, that was the happiest he'd felt too. "And now… I don't know if I could do all of this without you. I … I'm not sure I could be here without you."

"Clarke. You won't be here without me. Ever. We both know I'm the one who would be lost here without you. You saved me."

They both stared, eyes searching the other's face, every line, every expression. Their eyes scanned quickly from one eye to the next, back and forth, until their gazes also began to take in the other's lips. Their bodies slowly leaned in, closer and closer, until their faces were just a few inches apart, their eyes still scanning.

Bellamy covered the last few inches and touched his lips to Clarke's. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment, the feel of her lips, his head filled with sound. He hadn't even realized this was what he wanted, but in this moment, all he could think was, Clarke. Finally.

Clarke closed her eyes too. Overcome, she leaned fully into the kiss and her lips responded. She reached a hand to Bellamy's neck to pull him even closer. She hadn't even realized this was what she wanted, but in this moment, all she could think was, Bellamy. Finally.

He wrapped his arms around her, just as he had at their reunion. But now. Now there was so much more.