( that ragged breath is all it takes crumble the last of her defensive resolve. one whimper and the foundation begins to shake, stones cracking away to fall into the canyons between them; coral pink and dusty like the landscape slipping by beneath their feet, though clarke hasn't been paying attention to the skyline for some time. the expansive alien world around them has narrowed in on lexa, and now she stares at her hard, as if to peel back the layers of obstruction between them with the mere force of her gaze. as if to watch the map of exposed nerve endings on her features, as so plainly as she radiates them.
there's a tug in her chest, like each rib is wrapped individually with wire and all seek to pull her off her chair and further into the other woman's personal space; instinct raging to cup lexa's face and kiss her, chasing away hurtful beliefs and memories whatever sights that have been so horribly twisted to lead her to believe that clarke somehow shuffled her off to second place. and it aches, being unable to do so here. in mixed company, in the middle of a mission that demanded composure. a sharp ache, in no way dulled by the familiarity of high stake situations.
what little clarke can allow herself is dragging her arms from their perch on the edge of the table, seeking to blanket her gloved palm across lexa's knuckles where they're nestled in her lap. )
(I don't want you to be in pain, Lexa. Not because of me.) ( again. amazing, how spanning universes to reconnect could lead them down the same path of lingering pain and bittersweet as they had trodden on own homeworld. ) (And I respect the differences in what we see and believe, and what being here means for us — for all of us. But you have to know, you have to know, that I would do anything to defend you. Support you, protect you, carry on your legacy.
And if I could have died for you, I would have.)
( this is another way clarke griffin says i love you. )
no subject
there's a tug in her chest, like each rib is wrapped individually with wire and all seek to pull her off her chair and further into the other woman's personal space; instinct raging to cup lexa's face and kiss her, chasing away hurtful beliefs and memories whatever sights that have been so horribly twisted to lead her to believe that clarke somehow shuffled her off to second place. and it aches, being unable to do so here. in mixed company, in the middle of a mission that demanded composure. a sharp ache, in no way dulled by the familiarity of high stake situations.
what little clarke can allow herself is dragging her arms from their perch on the edge of the table, seeking to blanket her gloved palm across lexa's knuckles where they're nestled in her lap. )
( I don't want you to be in pain, Lexa. Not because of me. ) ( again. amazing, how spanning universes to reconnect could lead them down the same path of lingering pain and bittersweet as they had trodden on own homeworld. ) ( And I respect the differences in what we see and believe, and what being here means for us — for all of us. But you have to know, you have to know, that I would do anything to defend you. Support you, protect you, carry on your legacy.
And if I could have died for you, I would have. )
( this is another way clarke griffin says i love you. )