Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait! After I uploaded the last chapter, I realized that Chapter 4 wasn't finished and spent the last week-ish finishing it. So from now on, there will be weekly updates on Sundays/Mondays. Also, this chapter is longer than the previous chapters and I expect the following chapters to be about the same length. Enjoy Clarke and Lexa's first date! (see more notes at the end)

Lexa's one-bedroom apartment was furnished with almost no furniture; only the essentials were present: dining table with four chairs, bookshelf, couch, coffee table, and a TV mounted on the living room wall. The apartment had come with a refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, and a washer and dryer, so Lexa hadn't had to purchase much more. Most people would have decorated the apartment with photos and little things here and there, but those remainders had been locked away two years ago in a storage unit left to be forgotten.

Lexa was content with the state of her apartment; it reminded her of how her life was in the Marines. You only had a sack full of your belongings to carry around – small things that reminded you of home.

The temperature had dropped considerably since the morning, so Lexa dressed in warm clothes: black winter jacket, a white Star Wars long sleeve, dark blue jeans, and black boots. The outfit wasn't ideal for a date, but Lexa tried her best to look presentable and manage to stay warm in the cold Spring night.

As Lexa approached The Coffee Shop, she saw Clarke's silhouette as she looked towards the Potomac River. As Lexa got closer, the lamp light shining on Clarke made her blonde hair sparkle like stars in the night. Lexa also saw that Clarke had dressed like Lexa. Clarke was wearing a dark blue winter jacket, black boots, dark blue jeans, and what looked like a violet or plum color blouse.

"Hi," Lexa said smiling. "Hi," Clarke responded with the smile that Lexa had fallen in love with.

"You haven't been waiting too long, have you?" Lexa asked. "No, I just got here a couple of minutes ago and was admiring how beautiful the cherry blossom trees look around the pond," Clarke said with a smile as she looked towards the large pond surrounded by cherry blossoms in full bloom.

"Wow," was all Lexa could say as she turned to face the large pond; the scene before her took her breath away. The light from the streetlights made the trees and pond look like a painting that belonged in a museum. The petals on the trees were a soft, light pink color and the streetlights reflected on the pond along with the trees; the city lights from behind the trees gave this scene a soft afterglow that made everything look magical.

Lexa is pulled back from her trance as Clarke said smiling, "Well, shall we?"

"Lead the way," Lexa responded with a small smile. Clarke started to walk towards the short walkway that led to the path that encircled the large pond; Lexa followed.

"So, where are we going?" Lexa asked after a few seconds. "You'll see," Clarke said with a small smirk as they started to walk around the pond.

"What's your favorite color?" Clarke asked. "Uh, black," Lexa said as she pointed to her jacket. "Good to know," Clarke smiled.

"Can I assume your favorite color is blue?" Lexa asked. Clarke looked down at her outfit and said coyly as she smiled, "Perhaps."

Lexa emitted a little chuckle. "You're just full of mystery, aren't you?"

"I guess you'll just have to ask me questions and find out for yourself," Clarke said with a wink and a smile.

By this point, they had reached a large open space where people had picnics and where free concerts were sometimes held in the springtime. "Are you currently working or are you in college?" Lexa asked Clarke.

"I'm in college. I'm currently in my second year studying biology. But once I graduate, I'm going to med school," Clarke replied. "So you wanna be a doctor?" Lexa asked.

"My mom's a doctor. When I was younger, I would sometimes go with her to the hospital and hang out in her office after daycare. I eventually wandered around and explored a bit and sometimes saw doctors in action. I kind of just grew up in that environment so it seemed like it was my destiny to become a doctor," Clarke said as she stared towards the path ahead remembering her childhood. "That's one hell of a destiny, Clarke," Lexa said with a light chuckle.

"I suppose it is," Clarke chuckled. "What about you? Are you also in college or do you work?" Clarke said as she turned to face Lexa with a small smile. "I work for a security company. Never been to college and working as a security guard is definitely not my destiny," Lexa said as she looked down at the walkway and laughed.

"My parents died when I was really young, so I was in & out of a lot of foster care homes for most of my childhood. When I started high school, I was placed in a home with an older lady and she seemed to like me good enough, so I stayed with her throughout high school. That also meant that I was finally in one place long enough to make friends which was nice until they got me in trouble with my foster mom," Lexa laughed again as she shook her head. Lexa continued, "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do or if I even wanted to go college, so I joined the Marines with a couple of friends from high school and that was my life for four years."

"Wow. I would have never guessed you were in the military," Clarke replied astonished. "That can be said about most of the people who served. It's not something you really brag about," Lexa stated nonchalantly.

Lexa and Clarke continued to walk and ask each other questions. After about 15 minutes, they arrived at a pier next to some sand volleyball courts. "We're almost there; all we have left is a short boat ride and we'll be there," Clarke said as she smiled.

"A boat ride? You don't happen to be taking me to Little Island Park, are you?" Lexa asked. "You'll just have to wait and see, "Clarke said with a wink. Clarke and Lexa boarded "Madaket:" a school bus size boat that was painted white with hints of blue on the sides and back of the boat; the American and D.C. flags hung at the end of the boat. Clarke and Lexa continued to talk, smile, and laugh together as they rode the short 10-minute boat ride to the mystery location Clarke had picked out.

Once the boat docked, Lexa was surprised to see how different Little Island Park looked like at night; it seemed that everything tonight looked different with Clarke by Lexa's side. "Wow, this place looks amazing!" Lexa exclaimed. "I've been here so many times but never at night; it looks like a completely different place!" she continued as she began to look around the small park that was located in the middle of the Potomac River.

Little Island Park was a small park surrounded by trees; a fountain could be found in the middle encircled by wood benches and walkways that split off from the fountain in every direction. The walkways were encased by colorful flowers and the path itself was illuminated by solar powered stake lights that look like little lighthouses; some walkways lead to the water where people could feed ducks. There were a few lampposts here and there that added lighting to the park, but – for the most part – the park was illuminated by the solar powered stake lights.

"I'm glad you like it," said Clarke smiling. "I was afraid that I was taking you to a place you had been to before or that you might not have liked," she continued.

"No, I love this place! I usually come here on Saturday mornings to feed the ducks," Lexa replied as she continued to admire the small park.

"I'm glad I could show you a different view of a place you love then. Come on, let's go for a walk," Clarke said as she intertwined her arm with Lexa's and pulled her towards the fountain. "So what was your childhood like? Besides spending it in a hospital, of course," Lexa asked as they walked on one of the many paths that sprouted from the fountain to keep herself distracted from the fact that Clarke was so close to her.

"Well," Clarke began. "My mom was busy with work most of the time, so I spent a lot of time with my dad; he was an environmental engineer. We would watch soccer games together and spent waaay too much time playing that operation game where you had to take things out of the patient without touching the sides. And if you did touch the sides, you would lose," Clarke said with a big, but a little sad, smile on her face as she recalled her childhood.

"No wonder you want to be a doctor," Lexa said. "Your favorite game as a kid was Operation!" she exclaimed. Clarke laughed, "Yeah, now you can see what I meant when I said that it was my destiny to become a doctor."

"Destiny or not, it's safe to say that you were obsessed with that game," Lexa said with a smile. "Also, I would have never guessed you were a soccer fan," Lexa continued.

"I wasn't. Not at first anyway," Clarke defended herself. "My dad was the one who was super into soccer and, by proxy, I became a soccer fan too."

"Uh huh, whatever helps you sleep at night," Lexa remarked. By this point, Clarke and Lexa had circled back to the fountain in the middle of the small park. Clarke changed the subject, "We should head towards the boat; I think it's the last one for the night." Lexa nodded and they headed back to the white school bus size boat. As they rode the boat back towards the dock, Clarke and Lexa remained with their arms intertwined as they looked towards the softly illuminated pier next to the sand volleyball courts.

They continued to walk in silence as they headed back towards the café; neither one of them wanting to say something as their date drew to a close. Finally, Lexa spoke first as they neared The Coffee Shop. "I had a really good time tonight. I'm really glad you asked me out on a date, Clarke," she said with a soft smile. "I had a really good time too," Clarke said as she returned the smile.

"Maybe we can do this another time?" Lexa asked a little nervous. "I would love that," Clarke said still smiling. "Let me give you my number and you can let me know when you're free," Lexa said. "Here, type your number in and I'll type mine in your phone," Clarke replied as she took out her phone. They exchanged phone numbers in almost complete silence; the nearby traffic being the only noise that seemed to break into Clarke and Lexa's world.

Clarke moved closer. Lexa froze as she registered that Clarke was a few inches away; if she leaned in just a little bit closer, Lexa could kiss Clarke. Lexa unfroze as she felt Clarke hugging her and quickly returned the hug.

"I'll see you soon then?" Clarke asked as she pulled away from Lexa. "Yeah, definitely," Lexa replied with a sheepish smile.

Author's Note:
What did you think of Clarke and Lexa's first date? Did you think they were going to kiss?(;