Chapter Text
Clarke smiles at the soft acoustic tune filtering through her computer speakers; she couldn’t believe that she was spending her Friday night folding laundry and school work. So much for having a social life. Clarke turns towards her computer as the final notes echo through the room.
“That was beautiful,” she says to the screen with a smile. Her smile widens as she watches the other girls cheeks darken, their gaze fixed on the guitar in her lap.
“What was it?”
“Cherry Wine by Hozier,” the girl replies a small smile tugging at her lips, an unmistakable shine in her eyes despite the pixelated image. That, that is my favorite smile , Clarke tells herself, trying to commit the image to memory.
“Ok I’m adding it to my playlist…. Thanks again for hanging with me tonight,” Clarke says shyly picking up a pair of pants to fold.
The girl laughs softly, shaking her head as butterflies tumble around Clarke’s stomach.
“Clarke I asked you to FaceTime oui?”
“Yeah but still….I’m excited to see you next week!”
“Me too Clarke.”
Clarke moves around the room humming a tune beneath her breath, oblivious to the green eyes that follow her every move.
“What would you like to do while you are here?”
“Doesn’t matter to me. I just can’t believe you got th-”
The door to Clarke’s room flies open and hurricane Raven storms in bringing with her the scent of cheap beer and cigarettes.
“Clarke! Don’t tell me you’re packing already!” Raven huffs eyeing the piles of clothes stacked on the bed. “You don’t leave till next week! Come on Griff, come out and drink with us please? Murphy gave up on trying to quit smoking, so he’s less of a dick. I mean he’s still a dick but like less of one ya know?” Raven looks at Clarke with sad puppy dog eyes, lip jutting out in a pout.
“Raven,” Clarke starts softly, causing Raven’s eyes to glaze over in disappointment.
“On second thought. I’m not taking ‘No’ as an answer. You haven’t come-”
“Rav-” Clarke tries to interrupt to tell her why she can’t, but Raven just talks louder.
“-out with us since O’s party. Well actually you never really came out. We all knew you wer-”
“Ra-”
“-raging lesbian. Maybe if we threw you a “Coming Out” party you’d come have fun with us. You’re worse than my grandma and she’s dead. You’re turning into my grandma. Boring. And don’t think I forgot that you promised to buy my drinks this we-.”
“Hello Raven,” Clarke’s computer says effectively cutting Raven off. Raven looks at Clarke’s computer, lazy smile pulling at her mouth.
“Bartender! Hey!” She says cheerily. “Clarke why didn’t you tell me you were FaceTiming with Lexa?”
“I tried but someone kept interrupting me,” Clarke puffs, glaring at Raven pointedly.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Raven states to Clarke before turning her attention back to Lexa, “Where’s the older grumpier version of you?”
“Anya?”
Raven nods her head energetically, “yeah her! I have to tell her something!”
The corners of Lexa’s lips turn up slightly, “ok.” Raven plops onto Clarke’s bed, knocking over a stack of neatly folded clothes.
“Raven!” Clarke groans. Raven shrugs her shoulders apologetically, eyes focused on watching Lexa move around on the other side of the call. The camera view changes from Lexa’s face to Anya lounging on the couch, the soft glow of the television reflecting off the bottle of beer in her hand.
“Hey Anya!” Raven practically yells at the screen, “are those pants on sale? Because they’d be 100% off in my room.” Raven cackles as Anya turns towards the screen, even from a distance the annoyance in her eyes is distinguishable. The hairs on Clarke’s arm stand up in a moment of terror, afraid that Anya was going to perform an act of scientific discovery and teleport into their apartment and kill Raven (and her by association).
“Hi Anya,” Clarke says apologetically.
“Clarke,” Anya says with a tip of her head.
“What am I chopped meat?” Raven whines pressing her face closer to the camera.
“No you’re just annoying.”
“Ack! Anya you wound me!”
“Is it fatal?” Anya asks, voice full of false hope.
“It just might be and then won’t you feel like a real ass.”
“Don’t hold your breathe.”
“Raven is right Clarke,” Lexa says stepping into the frame.
“See Clarkie I’m right….wait what am I right about?”
“You did promise to buy her drinks this weekend…” Lexa trails off, smirking at Clarke’s jaw dropping open slightly.
“Ya hear that? We’re going out!”
“I do not like this! You two on the same team,” Clarke mutters gloomily.
“Come on, let's go drink your sorrows away. I’ll even buy the first round!” Raven says as she leaps from the bed, further dislodging Clarke’s perfectly folded clothes. Clarke pretends to think it over for a moment, watching Raven fidget impatiently.
“Alright when you put it like that,” Clarke declares with a wide tooth smile. “I’ll see you next week,” she promises her laptop screen.
“Next week,” Lexa replies softly.
“Bye,” Clarke murmurs before ending the video.
“Hell yes! Let’s go!” Raven cheers, dragging Clarke out into the living room. “Guess who's finally coming out!
“Raven! I’ve been out for awhile now” Clarke huffs turning into the living room.
“Clarke!” Monty yells wedged between Bellamy and Murphy on the couch.
“Autobots roll out! No, not you Murphy we all know you’re a Decepticon” Raven claims plucking the lit cigarette from between Murphy’s lips and making a show of putting it out.
“Bite me Reyes,” Murphy grunts.
“Sorry, I don’t eat spoiled meat.”
“Come on Jasp, we’re going!” Monty yells towards the bathroom.
“Dropship?” Bellamy asks as he holds open the front door.
“Dropship,” Clarke confirms with a wicked grin as she passes him.
***///***
“I hate you,” Clarke grunts the next morning as she drags herself towards the coffee pot.
“I don’t know about you but I feel great,” Raven chirps from the living room couch, feet propped up on the coffee table, newspaper in hand.
“I reiterate, I hate you. Do you even know how much the tab was last night?” Clarke sighs as the smell of the steaming coffee fills her nose.
“Almost two hundred?” Raven asks looking up from the newspaper.
“$170 basically!”
“$168.95,” Raven rattles offhandedly, all of her attention devoted to the crossword puzzle in her lap. “You should know better by now, offering to pay my tab. Whatever were you thinking Princess.”
“I think I finally learnt my lesson. God I feel like I drank a whole bottle of gasoline. What the hell did we drink last night?”
“You say that every time. Well it started wi-”
“I was being rhetorical!” Clarke cries, wincing as her hangover throbs.
“We really need to work on your sarcasm skills.”
“I hate you!” Clarke says as flops onto the couch next to Raven, slowly nursing her cup of warm coffee, savoring the way it slowly chases her hangover away.
“Mm number 15 down is what you are,” Clarke quips with a snort, leaning over to check Raven’s puzzle.
“‘Person who annoys the hell out of people’ Raven reads, looking over the puzzle. “Eight letters... starts with an ‘s’ and ends with an ‘s’....SMARTASS!”
***///***
Glaciers seemed to move faster than Clarke’s week. Getting from Monday to Thursday felt like floating through space with nothing to do for a hundred years. For four days straight Clarke’s brain had been a constant stream of Lexa (the color of her eyes), Lexa (her laugh), Lexa (the way her nose scru - [ok Clarke we get it.]) intersped with random thoughts (eat dinner, go to work, laugh at Raven’s bad jokes.) The anticipation of spending the entire weekend with Lexa left Clarke feeling like a live wire. Full of energy and bubbly excitement, Clarke had trouble staying still for more than minutes at a time. Which drove Raven MAD which tickled Clarke and only made her more giddy, it was a vicious cycle really.
By lunch on Thursday Clarke was one pin prick away from bursting.
“You’re picking me up from the airport right?” Clarke asked eagerly for probably the eighth time that week.
“Yes Clarke. I will be there,” Lexa replies slightly exhausted but a small smile on her lips nevertheless.
“Just confirming. My flight lan-”
“Lands at 17:43 also known as 5:43pm.” Clarke smiles knowing that Lexa’s eyes were rolling on the other end of the line. “I might be a little excited.”
“Yes, I might have noticed that,” Lexa deadpans, affection obvious in her voice.
“Is that Lexa?” Bellamy asks as he struts into the break room seeing the smile on Clarke’s face. Clarke nods her head in response, “I want to talk to her,” he says states striding towards her.
“What? No Bellamy.”
“I just want to say hi!”
Clarke grunts as Bellamy attempts to snatch the phone away from her ear.
“Clar-?” can be faintly heard on the phone.
“Bell get off me,” Clarke says voice full of amusement as she tries to force him back with one arm, which just increases Bellamy’s effort.
“Ha! Hi Lexa!” Bell says cheerily as he wrests the phone from Clarke’s grip. “I just wanted to go over some things for this weekend. What’s the plan?” Clarke sticks her tongue out at Bellamy as he listens to Lexa head bopping along to what she’s saying, he smiles when Clarke gives him the bird.
“Mmmmhmm ok I approve. What about your intentions? Because if you hur-”
“OK! Bell,” Clarke cries, surprising Bellamy as she yanks the phone back. “I’m sorry about that Bellamy doesn’t have social skills or any concept of BOUNDARIES!” She says pointedly in his direction.
“Please assure him that I have no intention of hurting you….For the record I’m excited to see you too, Clarke.”
“See you in a few hours,” Clarke says smiling as she hangs up the phone.
“Bellamy Bla-” Clarke is cut off by the alarm blaring loudly through the speaker.
“Ambulance 10 dispatched to, 389 West River Ave, one unconscious victim.”
“Bellamy Blake I hope you know you were saved by the bell, literally!”
Bellamy winks as Clarke turns and runs from the break room.
***///***
Tapping an insistent beat, Clarke waits for the plane doors to open. Come on come on! How long does it take to open a door? The doors to the cabin slowly slide open and Clarke sprints from her seat like an Olympian….well as fast as anyone can sprint while in an airplane. Power-walking through the terminal Clarke tries to control her nerves. It’s just Lexa, Lexa who, who is drop dead gorgeous and probably way out of my league and has the prettiest smile in the world. THE CUTEST LAUGH. We’re probably going to have sex this weekend, no Raven or Bellamy to interrupt us. OH god did I shave my legs? Bypassing baggage claim, Clarke heads straight towards the exit, trying to control her ragged breathing.
She skids to a stop, disgruntled travelers moving around her in their rush to get home. She can feel her cheeks warming as a red blush spills across, desire eating at her insides. Leaning against Anya’s truck wearing a white linen shirt, first few buttons undone to show off her breastbone was none other than Lexa, the picture of pure seduction. The look was seriously working for Clarke and Lexa knew if her smug smile was anything to go by. Standing there gaping like a fish, Clarke watches as Lexa pushes off from the truck her long legs closing the distance between them easily.
“Hi,” Lexa murmurs staring Clarke’s eyes, then her lips . “These are for you,” she says holding out a bouquet.
“Merci,” Clarke says without looking at the flowers, so captivated by Lexa’s eyes in the setting sun.
“You said they were your favorite.”
Finally looking at the bouquet, Clarke laughs loudly. She was so focused on Lexa’s eyes that she hadn’t even noticed that her bouquet of flowers wasn’t actually flowers at all. Lexa had given her a bouquet of sweet potato fries, all the different styles clustered together. A memory from their “first date” floats through Clarke’s mind.
***///***
“I’ll have a side plate of sweet potato fries too please,” Clarke said with finality as she closed her menu. “What?” she asks upon seeing the look on Lexa’s face. “Sweet potatoes are the best potatoes and therefore sweet potato fries are the best fries and my favorite.” Lexa held her hands up in surrender, smile splitting her face in two. “Je me rends.” (“I surrender.”)
***///***
Grabbing Lexa’s neck Clarke pulls her in for a long lazy kiss, heart humming in contentment.
“I love it,” Clarke whispers against Lexa’s lips. “I can’t wait to tell Anya and Raven.”
Lexa groans loudly, pressing her forehead against Clarke’s who just laughs loudly.