Lexa didn’t believe in second chances.
Since the moment she lost Costia, love had stopped being a possibility.
She had learned to close her heart, to harden it until nothing could get through. A Commander didn’t have the luxury of love. Not when love meant weakness, pain, and loss.
So, she promised herself she would never love again.
And then came Clarke Griffin.
Lexa couldn’t pinpoint when it began. Maybe it was at the Mountain, when she saw Clarke standing in that tent, eyes full of determination for her people, ready to do the unthinkable for them.
Maybe it was before, when she saw Clarke speak for her people at that trial, unafraid to face her, with her head held high and words full of strength.
Maybe it was the first time she saw her, hair tangled from the dirt and battle, blood of her enemies on her hands, yet with a soul that refused to break.
Maybe, Lexa thought with a small smile, it was in each of those moments.
She tried.
She tried to stay true to her promise.
She tried to see Clarke only as an ally, as a leader with whom she shared a goal.
But it was impossible.
How could she not fall in love with Clarke, when her mere presence made the world feel lighter?
How could she not love her, when her laughter made Polis seem more alive with just her presence?
How could she not fall, when Clarke looked at her as if she could see beyond the mask of the Commander and still wanted to stay?
Lexa fell.
She fell with the first stolen smile, with the first brush of fingers, with the first trembling kiss under the candlelight.
She fell, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn’t afraid.
Because if loving Clarke meant falling, then she would do it a thousand times over.
If loving Clarke meant risking pain, then she would accept it, because Clarke’s love was worth any price.
If she had to repeat every decision in her life, every moment of suffering, every scar she carried on her body and soul, if it led her to this moment, to this love…
She would do it without hesitation.
Because in every possible life, in every path she could take…
She would always, always choose Clarke.
And when Clarke smiled at her that night, her eyes shining under the moonlight, Lexa knew that Clarke would choose her too.