The allied fighters celebrated long into the night over their victory of the mountain men. Except for those decent Mount Weather people who had survived the war and were currently in uncontaminated isolation, no one wanted to be locked inside the mountain of the dead, not when they felt so alive. So once scouts had assured the commander that the pauna threat had vanished, they relocated back to grounder camp just outside of the veil range.

The grounders celebrated in a tribal way, in a way Clarke had only read about in very old historical records upon the Ark. The remaining 100 members watched in a fascinated manner as the usually stoic people danced around an enormous bonfire while others played strange instruments Clarke had never seen or heard before, but found to be utterly captivating.

Eventually some of her now drunken friends, namely Jasper and Monty, got up and joined them. Clarke and Octavia laughed at how stupid they looked among all of the hardened warriors. It was a nice feeling, to laugh again. She could barely remember the last time the impulse had taken hold.

Shortly after this she noticed Lexa watching her through the revellers. The commander didn't look away and she felt that now familiar flutter in her chest, the one she wished would just go away. It was too soon after Finn, after everything. She wasn't ready. Or so she kept telling herself.

Lincoln swept Octavia up into the growing crowd and then Clarke was left alone and uncertain of what to do with herself. In her inebriated state, she briefly contemplated asking Lexa to dance with her. Immediately she dismissed the idea as ludicrous. Not only would everyone stare at them, but the commander would never agree to such a scheme in a million years. Clarke doubted she even knew how to dance. Not that Clarke really knew how to dance to this herself. Sure there were the occasional dances on the Ark, but those had been to considerably different styles of music. She would probably look even more foolish than Jasper, if such a thing were possible.

Still, the dumb idea persisted and she got up a bit unsteadily and started for Lexa. The commander's piercing eyes quickly found hers, questioning, curious. Clarke was nearly there when Bellamy (or as the people had christened him Sky Lord) swam into view and he laughingly grabbed a hold of her, taking her into the fray as well. She wanted to tell him off, to break away, but she quickly found herself surrounded by her gay friends and unable to stay mad.

"Come on, Clarke!" yelled Bellamy over the raucous. "Just let go and dance!"

"Yeah!" came Monty's slurred response. "If anyone's earned the right to look stupid, it's you!"

"I'm pretty sure I'm having a spiritual awakening!" said Jasper as he flailed around ungracefully. "And it's awesome!"

Despite herself she smiled and started to feel the rhythmic music. Before too long the dramatic beats had pulled her in absolutely and she was hopping around as terribly as all of her friends, failing miserably at mimicking their new found comrades. So lost was she in the music that she was completely unaware of the newest member to their little ragtag group. Something, like a sixth sense, told her to turn around and open her eyes. And there to her utter astonishment danced the fearsome grounder commander! And she was dancing just as, if not more gracefully than the rest of her people!

"Hey look!" exclaimed Monty, pointing rudely. "The terrifying, yet hot grounder chick has joined us!"

Octavia happened to be passing by right then and smacked him in the head. "Show some respect!"

Clarke stopped moving and just stood there and stared. In that instant Clarke knew this was the real Lexa, the one that was always hidden behind layers and layers of armour and power. The one Clarke had only caught a glimpse of here and there during a rare unguarded moment. This was the carefree young woman who actually knew how to feel something more than righteous rage and show something more than indifference. This was the person Clarke desperately wanted to get to know better.

Lexa looked at her then and smiled, with actual teeth showing! With her worries stripped away, she looked like nothing more than a happy child who had gotten into her mother's makeup and made a mess of her face.

"You are staring, Clarke!" Lexa said with a grin.

"Sorry!"

"Do not be sorry! Simply dance!"

Clarke continued to gawk and Lexa laughed! She actually laughed!

"My ability to dance shocks you?"

Clarke nodded, then shook her head, then just looked plain confused. Lexa laughed again and grabbed Clarke's hands in an attempt to get her moving once more. Eventually her senses returned to her and she no longer required the aid of her helper to move to the beat. They danced around each other for awhile, oblivious to all the people casting them curious glances. It was no common occurrence for the commander to join in such things, and to have her clearly favouring one particular person was almost unheard of. There was only one other she had ever paid such undue attentions to, and it was widely known that they had been lovers. This was the precise reason Costia had been targeted, tortured and killed by The Ice Nation. And at that very moment members of that clan were present...and watching.

Clarke and Lexa danced until they no longer could in their war torn states, until the music and bonfire had mostly died down. For the most part they were alone, everyone else going back to their tents to get some much needed rest before the trials of the new day. Only a few had been disgraceful enough to pass out right there on the ground, some nearly in their own sick. Most of these were her friends, but Clarke paid them no mind. She only had eyes for one person. And she just so happened to be standing close enough to touch, if she dared to without the excuse of sharing a celebratory dance.

The problem was that, while her heart told her to just go for it, her brain told her otherwise. It wouldn't be right to be with Lexa when Finn was barely dead and gone, by her own hand no less. Such a thing would be a mockery of their time together, as if it had meant nothing at all to her. Which of course it had. She had loved him, hadn't she?

Why did her heart have to be so fickle in the ways of love? Why did she have to find this mysterious girl so mesmerizing and attractive so soon after Finn? Or at all for that matter? Life would be so much easier if these feelings would just go away, but they wouldn't. They only ever seemed to intensify every time they were close like this.

"The battle is won, Clarke," Lexa finally said, after they had been staring at each other for a couple of minutes. "It is time to rest."

"Yeah, that would probably be the smart thing to do."

Lexa studied her for a few seconds, giving nothing away, her old demeanour quickly taking hold now that the magic of the dance was at an end. "Good night, Clarke of The Sky People."

Clarke couldn't return the farewell because she was too captivated by Lexa's lips. The commander saw this and pretended as if she hadn't. She would not be the one to make the first move again. If this was something Clarke truly wanted, Clarke had to show her. Lexa would not force the issue until Clarke was ready, no matter how much she desired to. Tonight, or what was left of it anyway, was her last night of freedom. Tomorrow, and the weeks ahead would be far from idle. The many dead had to be burned and mourned. She would have to convene with the coalition to ensure their continued loyalty now that the mountain men were no longer a threat. How she would achieve this, she was not certain. Their alliance had been contingent on this one shared goal. It did not help matters that there were a few 'good' mountain men survivors – if such a thing existed - and she would need to discuss what to do with them with the The Sky People as well. Then there was the matter of rebuilding Tondc, and constructing a memorial for all those that perished there. As well-

At this point she became aware of Clarke invading her personal space. Their lips were nearly touching. Lexa just looked at her and did her best to appear unaffected.

"I'm ready," Clarke whispered.

Unconsciously Lexa licked her lips. "Are you certain?"

In response Clarke took her face in her hands and kissed her soundly.

Lexa stopped thinking about tomorrow's duties. She stopped thinking altogether and simply wrapped her arms around the blonde beauty, pulling her completely against her. The heat between them was palpable.

When the embrace ended it took a moment before Clarke next spoke. "Your tent or mine?"

"I am the commander of many nations, Clarke, it would not do to be seen anywhere other than my own quarters."

If Clarke hadn't been so turned on right then, she probably would have rolled her eyes and given Lexa shit for the amount of ego that had been dripping on her every word. Instead all she did was nod and take Lexa's hand. They smiled at each other and then Lexa hurried them to her tent before the break of dawn. For once it did, this twilight fantasy would come to an end.

I don't plan on adding to this but I had another alternate idea for this second part and will post that in a separate fic.

It's still kinda hard to picture Lexa dancing, but anything's possible in fantasy worlds right? Well, anything except for Indra dancing too. :p

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this. :)