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"Rae? You up?" Clarke called out as she shut the door behind her, sparing a glance to the stack of mail on the side table. It was weird to see it there; Raven never picked it up, she preferred to walk all over it and let it get crushed by the door.
Still, there was no answer from the apartment, which was also unusual; Raven had been keyed up to have the place to herself while Clarke was at Lexa's for the weekend. By this time in the afternoon she'd expect the woman to be on the couch, shouting at a video game or snarking at some horror movie or other, leaving popcorn fragments in the cushions for Clarke to find later.
Honestly, Raven was a pretty terrible roommate, but that didn't change the fact she was suspiciously absent.
"Raven?" She called out once more and there was a heavy thud from the general direction of the woman's bedroom.
"Clarke?!" Surprise and... panic?
"Yeah, you okay?" She started off quickly down the hall toward her room, her concern growing.
"Yep! Totally fine! I thought you were going to be at Lexa's this weekend?!" Her tone was higher than usual, and the sounds of hurried movement only grew louder as Clarke drew closer.
Suddenly, the door was yanked open and Raven appeared, looking more than a little flustered and definitely out of breath. Her leg brace was absent, her t-shirt was inside out and her hair was mussed like a woman just out of bed. Clarke' eyes narrowed and she resisted the urge to smirk; she knew that look.
"I came to get my bag. Are you okay?" She feigned concern, tipping her head.
Raven swallowed hard and seemed to be trying to breathe normally. Clarke struggled not to laugh.
"Yep, just fell off my bed is all. Leg giving me trouble." She patted her thigh as if to remind them both which one it was and Clarke nodded.
"D'you need a hand in there?" She made to walk forward and had to wrestle back a grin as panic flashed in the other woman's eyes.
"No, no! All good. Just stretching it out a bit." She spoke quickly and Clarke decided to have mercy, smiling cheerfully.
"Alright, well I'm heading off. Call if it gives you any more trouble, I'll get my mom to come have a look or something." She shrugged and turned to walk away, only to be startled into spinning back to face her as Raven emitted something along the lines of a strangled yelp.
"Er... hiccups." The woman supplied and the silence stretched between them for a long moment. It was weak, the both knew it, but Clarke simply shrugged, shaking her head as she continued on her way.
"See you later, weirdo. I'm back Monday night!" She grabbed her bag on her way past her room and headed for the exit, casting one last amused glance toward the woman's, now closed, bedroom door, before she left.
Down in the parking lot, Lexa arched a brow at Clarke's grin.
"Raven’s getting laid." She laughed and Lexa joined her, driving them both away.
Raven:
She slumped against the door as she listened to Clarke move about the apartment, holding her breath until the front door clicked shut and the sound of the key being turned announced her departure.
"That was way too close." She heaved a sigh but leaned into the arm that appeared around her shoulders, pulling her against the warm body she'd so quickly had to scramble away from upon Clarke's arrival.
"I can't believe I just hid behind a door like a frat boy." Abby chuckled against her hair and Raven couldn't help but laugh, wrapping an arm around the woman's waist.
"I can't believe she didn't catch on." She shook her head, marvelling at the surreal moment as she turned, leaning in to press their lips together.
"So, where were we again?" When they broke apart, she arched a brow with a smirk, delighting in the way Abby's eyes darkened ever so slightly.
"I think I remember." Her tone dropped an octave and Raven could have sworn her good leg nearly buckled.
This was definitely worth the risk.
"Mom?" Clarke kept her voice down; it was a little early for her mom to be asleep, but the rest of the house was dark.
"Clarke?!" Her mom called back and Clarke heaved a sigh of relief that she'd managed to catch her before bed.
"Sorry to come by so late. I think I left my phone here." She explained and turned to head into the living room, only to stop when she flicked on the light. There, on the coffee table, was a beer bottle. Next to it was an empty wine glass that she could only assume belonged to her mother, but she knew for a fact that Abby Griffin did not drink beer.
Speak of the devil.
She arrived in the living room and Clarke turned to face her with a sly grin, her suspicions only growing as she discovered her mom was dressed in a robe; it was definitely way too early for her to have been asleep.
"Did you find it?" Mom remained calm under her knowing gaze and Clarke shook her head.
"Not yet." She began searching and her mom helped her look, eventually locating the damn thing down the back of Clarke's favourite chair. Neither of them mentioned the bottle, but it sat in the room like a beacon. As Clarke made for the door, she had to say something.
"It's really cool, you know." She paused with her hand on the doorknob and turned back to find her looking unsure.
"What is?" She seemed to pull her robe tighter about herself.
"You're finally moving on. I think it's great." She smiled cheerfully and gestured to the living room. Her mom took a moment to try to look dumbfounded before heaving a sigh, a gentle smile on her face.
"Thank you, honey. Get home safe?" She tipped her head and Clarke nodded.
"Lexa's waiting outside." With one last shared look of understanding, Clarke slipped out, locking the door behind her as she all but skipped back to the car, where Lexa was fiddling with the radio.
"Mom's got a new boyfriend." She practically sang and Lexa smirked.
"Raven’s going to be pissed." She teased and Clarke batted her arm.
Lexa liked to joke about Raven having a crush on her mom, it was gross.
Abby:
She stayed staring at the door as the sound of an engine faded into the distance, considering her daughter’s words of encouragement. Would she be so okay with it if she knew it was Raven? They’d talked about it, of course, trying to figure out when would be the right time to tell her… But she was more than aware that they were putting it off, neither of them particularly wanting to bite the bullet.
“Abby?” Think of the devil, Raven’s voice came from the stairs and she turned to find the woman leaning against the bannister, half dressed and concern clear in her eyes.
“She knows.” She folded her arms across her chest, oddly cold in the warm hallway, Raven’s eyes widened in panic.
“About us?” She started down the stairs but she hadn’t put her brace on, she staggered a little and Abby immediately moved forward to stop her, catching her by the upper arms.
“No, just that I’m seeing someone.” She smoothed her hands over the woman’s shoulders, feeling the tension ease from them as relief flooded her face. It didn’t last long, fading in the wake of worry as she reached up, her hand warm as it came to rest on Abby’s cheek.
“What did she say?” She questioned gently and Abby sighed, moving up the last step to join her on the landing.
“She said it was good that I’m moving on.” She offered a slight smile and Raven glanced toward the door with an oddly proud expression.
“Good for her.” After a moment she looked back and Abby hummed her agreement.
“We should tell her, soon.”
“Hey Mom!” Clarke called out as she let herself into the house but soon stopped dead in her tracks. There was music playing in the living room, something soft and… Romantic? Peaking around the corner, she found the living room warmly lit with candles, a bottle of wine (mercifully unopened, so clearly she wasn’t interrupting anything) and two glasses ready on the coffee table.
Following the sound and smell of cooking, she moved to the kitchen and had to bring a hand to her lips to cover her smile. Mom was facing away from her, cooking something that honestly smelt amazing, humming along to whatever song was playing. She was all dressed up, a dark blue dress Clarke had never seen before and her hair carefully twisted into a knot at the back of her head, she was even wearing heels. She grinned behind her hand, and as her mom finished whatever she was doing and turned, she had to laugh at the way she jumped, looking almost like a teen caught sneaking out.
“Clarke! I didn’t hear you come in.” She turned down the heat on the stove and seemed to fidget restlessly, like she wasn’t sure what to do with herself.
“Yeah, sorry, I just needed something from my room, I’ll be gone in a second…” She paused to smirk.
“Don’t want to interrupt anything.” It was rare that she got to see her mom blush, she felt almost mean for it now, but she’d still yet to meet this mysterious man so she felt like she was entitled to tease a little.
“Right… Yes. Er…” Apparently as a loss, the usually articulate and confident Abby Griffin was floundering in her own kitchen. Clarke decided to be kind and moved forward, going for a hug. She did not miss the relieved look on her mom’s face before she accepted.
“You look great, Mom.” She spoke quietly and felt the arms around her squeeze a little tighter.
“Thank you, honey.” With that they let go and Clarke grinned.
“I’ll just grab my stuff.”
Moving quickly, she dashed upstairs and grabbed her walking boots from the back of her closet. Lexa’s family was big on outdoors-y sort of things and had invited her along for a family hike; she was already pretty sure they saw her as a total ‘city girl’ and she wanted to prove them wrong. Still, she couldn’t stick around too long, so she tucked them under her arm and ran back downstairs.
“Got them, have a good night!” She called through the living room and smiled as her Mom appeared in the kitchen doorway.
“Thanks honey, we’ll er… talk soon, okay?” She seemed unsure and Clarke smiled.
“When you’re ready.” With that she ducked out of the door, shutting it behind her. However, as she turned to head back to the car she walked head first into something, or someone, apparently.
“Whoa!” A familiar voice caught her attention as she bounced backwards.
“Raven?” Confused, she stared at her best friend who was, for some reason, on her mom’s doorstep at half past six on a Saturday night.
“Clarke!” And who was now looking distinctly startled to find her there. Surely, if either of them had any right to be here, Clarke was higher on the list than Raven?
“What are you doing here?” So she asked the obvious question, and the other girl retreated back a step.
“Oh er… Your mom asked if I could drop by some time and look at her car… I was passing by so I…” She rambled and trailed off, obviously uncomfortable. Clarke narrowed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest, boots still in hand.
“So you turn up at dinner time on a Saturday?” She let her scepticism fill her tone and even in the dark, she could see the shade of red the other girl turned. Suddenly, it hit her, and she frowned.
“Raven…” She began, but she hardly needed to continue as a guilty look flooded her friend’s face.
Oh god, Lexa was right?!
“Do you have a crush on my Mom?” She tipped her head and was almost startled into flinching as Raven gave a weird sort of strangled laugh. It actually seemed to take her a second to compose herself as she ran a hand over her hair.
“Yes. I do.” She sighed heavily, and when she met her eyes again, Clarke frowned at the genuine emotion she found on the older girl’s face. Suddenly, she didn’t feel quite so annoyed… Instead, a well of sympathy settled in her stomach and she reached out, taking her friend’s hand.
“Listen, Rae. Ignoring how I feel about that…” She shot her a pointed look and Raven winced but nodded.
“Mom’s seeing someone.” Keeping her tone as gentle as possible, she squeezed her hand.
“She has been for a while. She seems… Really happy.” Searching her face, she tried to get some sort of idea of have Raven was taking this news, but she was struggling to get anything.
“So maybe… It might be time to move on? See someone else?” She coaxed carefully, tipping her head.
“Like whoever you had over that weekend I was at Lexa’s?” She offered a smirk that grew into a grin as Raven’s blush deepened. Having mercy on her friend, she sighed.
“I’ll leave it there for now. And mom’s got company tonight, so maybe text her tomorrow or something about the car. See you at home?” She would have offered her a lift, but she could see Raven’s truck just down the street. Raven seemed to shake herself out of whatever thoughts she’d been in and squeezed her hand before letting go.
“Not tonight, I’ve er… Got somewhere to be…” She scrubbed a hand over the back of her neck and Clarke grinned. It was good to know Raven was at least still seeing other people and not throwing everything into this apparent crush on her mom. God, Lexa was going to be insufferable about this.
“Alright, let’s go before we scare off mom’s date.” She headed for her car and watched Raven make her way to her truck as she pulled away, giving a small wave that was returned.
Raven:
That. Was. Close.
Letting herself into the house, she heaved a sigh and pulled off her boots. Clarke turning up out of the blue had probably rattled Abby a bit, particularly if she’d figured out enough to know she was expecting company. As that thought occurred to her, she heard the soft music coming from the living room and smiled. It only grew as she followed the sound into the next room and saw the effort the woman had gone to.
Glancing down at herself, she suddenly felt under-dressed. Abby had been so busy lately that this was the first night they’d been able to see each other in nearly three weeks; she’d really been expecting pizza on the sofa and an early night. Not to say she didn’t look great, her favourite red flannel over the black racerback vest that she was very aware Abby loved, paired with the black skinny jeans that, frankly, made her ass look amazing. Still, it wasn’t quite ‘candle lit living room’ standard.
“Hi, sweetie.” A quiet voice to her left caught her attention and she might have very suddenly forgotten how to breathe. Abby looked… Incredible. She always did of course, but fuck, this was something else. Vaguely aware she was staring with her mouth open, she scrambled for a way to close it and swallowed hard.
“H-hi.” She just about managed a syllable and Abby smirked, moving forward. Raven’s brain had yet to finish rebooting, but fortunately her body moved her toward the woman on reflex alone, her arms settling about her waist as she was pulled in to a kiss that certainly didn’t help her cognitive function.
“Sorry I’ve been so busy.” Abby pulled back just enough to whisper against her lips and Raven had to really concentrate to keep her leg from buckling.
“You didn’t have to do all this, you know that, right?” She searched those beautiful brown eyes to make sure; she didn’t want her to feel like she resented her working. Abby loved her job, and Raven knew that, respected it, even, she knew she would be exactly the same soon enough. The woman settled a hand on the side of her face and she leaned into the warm touch.
“I know, but I wanted to.” She smiled, her gaze soft, and Raven let it go.
“You look amazing.” She flexed her hands on the woman’s waist, if only to reassure herself she was real.
“I’m underdressed.” She aimed for an apology but was pulled back into another mind-melting kiss.
“You’re perfect.” Abby smiled, and Raven sighed helplessly.
God, when the hell did she get this lucky?
“Hate to kill the mood, but Clarke stopped by not long ago.” Stepping away properly now, Abby moved to the table and set about opening the wine. Previously, Raven had been of the opinion that all wine tasted like antifreeze, but the woman had persuaded her to keep trying them and she had to admit, a few had grown on her. She still preferred a beer, but she was happy to have a glass of wine with dinner. Still, she nodded.
“I know, I ran into her outside.” She winced at having to deliver this news and sure enough, Abby’s attention snapped to her in shock.
“What? What happened?” Her panic was understandable, Raven smiled reassuringly.
“She doesn’t know it was me coming tonight.” She offered the information quickly and watched as the tension drained from the other woman and she continued pouring.
“We really should tell her soon.” She sighed and Raven nodded in agreement, moving forward to take the offered glass.
They’d been sneaking around for almost six months now. It had been fair enough when it was just beginning and neither of them knew where it would go; but Raven was rapidly becoming aware that she was tumbling, helplessly, head over heels for her best friend’s mom and she was pretty sure Abby felt something for her too. They hadn’t really discussed it, but she had a vague idea. Shaking herself from that thought, she took a sip of her wine.
“Honestly, I’m amazed she hasn’t figured it out. Particularly tonight.” She gestured to the room around them.
“She can be strangely oblivious when she wants to be, Jake was the same.” Moving toward the kitchen, Abby chuckled and Raven followed.
“I suppose we should be thankful she didn’t inherit her mom’s near-psychic perception.” She flashed a grin as she moved to her usual seat at the counter. She was an acceptable cook but Abby was a league of her own and did not tolerate people getting in her way. Raven had established this seat as a safe zone some months ago and had enjoyed a few occasions of watching the woman expertly move about the space, creating fantastic meals for them both. She didn’t do it much, in fact, the busier she got, the more she leaned toward frozen meals and take out, but when she did cook, it was phenomenal.
“But she’s not completely blind, she did ask me if I have a crush on you.” Gesturing idly with her glass, Abby finished taking something out of the oven (Raven had no idea what it was but it smelt amazing) before turning with a smirk.
“Oh?” She tossed the oven glove to one side and moved toward her with purposeful strides. Raven’s eyes wandered; she’d been staring earlier but her brain had short circuited before she could really take in the details. The dress stopped just above the knee, adult and sensible but showing enough of the woman’s wonderfully toned legs that Raven’s mouth went dry. Beyond that it hugged tightly to her hips, dipping in at her waist and accentuating the curves that Raven could map with her eyes closed. It was looser at the neckline, exposing collarbones and just the very top of her chest. She took a drink in an effort to steady herself as the woman drew closer.
“And do you?” Abby smirked as she finally managed to drag her gaze back to her face, stepping into the space between Raven’s legs as she lounged on the high stool, her hands settling on her thighs. Raven couldn’t put her glass down fast enough to wrap her arms about her.
“Maybe a little one.” She grinned back, the stool actually putting her a little shorter than the other woman for a change. Being eye level with her lips gave her a wonderful excuse to drop her gaze to them. She leaned up but Abby tipped back out of reach with a sly smile.
“Is that all?” She arched a brow, her hands flexing on Raven’s thighs in a way that had her choking back a whine. Blood rushed to her face; whether from the barely suppressed sound or the answer to the question on the tip of her tongue, she couldn’t say. Shaking her head, she reached up, settling a hand on the side of her face.
“You know it’s not.” The words left her as a sigh and Abby’s smirk faded to a soft smile as she came closer again.
“I know, sweetheart.”
Clarke:
“…then Raven turned up. She was there to fix the car or something, but she picked Saturday night to do it. I just know she was planning to stop for dinner. God, I can’t believe you were right.” She gestured dramatically at nothing and flopped down onto the sofa, dropping her head into Lexa’s waiting lap and sighing as long fingers immediately began carding through her hair. She’d been ranting since she got back, having entered the flat by announcing that Raven did, indeed, have a crush on her mom. Lexa had been completely unsurprised and had listened with an irritatingly amused expression as she summed up the events of the evening.
“She’s staying with someone tonight though, I think whoever it was she was with a few weeks back, do you remember?” She glanced up and Lexa nodded.
“So hopefully she’ll get serious with them…” She trailed off as a thought occurred to her.
“Is it weird that my mom and Raven both have mysterious partners at the same time?” She frowned up at the ceiling for a moment and Lexa didn’t answer, the silence of the room filled only with the sounds of traffic outside until… Oh.
OH.
The penny dropped with a resounding clang and Clarke sat bolt upright, spinning to face Lexa and finding a far-too-amused grin on her face.
“You just worked it out, didn’t you?” She arched a brow but Clarke was still too shocked to find the words to reply.
Raven and her Mom.
Raven and her Mom!
Suddenly her mind was flooded with the last few months.
Raven’s reaction to her suggesting her mom come and check on her leg when she’d caught her in bed with someone.
The beer bottle on her mom’s coffee table.
All the times Raven had stayed out, and the weeks she didn’t at all, which, now she thought about it, coincided perfectly with the times her mom was super busy with work.
Running into her just now at the front door. God, how the hell had she missed that?! Raven’s lie had been weak at best but she’d thought she was just covering for her crush… Though she supposed she had been.
Was it just a crush?
All of this had been going on for months. An image of her mom tonight made its way into her head; she’d looked so happy, the happiest Clarke had seen her in a long time. Between that and Raven’s soft expression when she’d admitted to liking her… Suddenly she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Part of her wanted to storm over there and confront them, tell them how gross it all was and demand they stop it because that’s her best friend and her mom goddamn it! The other part wanted them to be happy.
It took a good three hours of ranting over pizza and snuggling with Lexa on the sofa before she reached a decision, scooping up her phone to send a text just as they went to bed.
Abby:
A phone chimed and she frowned to herself at the unfamiliar tone until Raven’s arm tightened about her waist and lips pressed to her shoulder.
“Sorry.” The mumbled apology made it clear whose phone it was and Abby gave an acknowledging hum as she continued to drift off in the general direction of sleep. They’d eaten, finished a bottle of wine between them and cuddled together on the sofa, lazily trading kisses and catching each other up on the time they’d been apart, until the low level tension that had been hovering in the air all night simmered to a point where it could no longer be ignored. Now, she was pleasantly exhausted and more than looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, wrapped up in bed with Raven.
That was, until the woman in question started laughing.
Frowning, she rolled over to investigate and found the younger woman flopped back against the pillows, laughing so hard the bed shook beneath them.
“Dare I ask?” Slightly grumpy to have been pulled back from the edge of sleep, she scowled, but instead of explaining, Raven simply held out her phone. Sitting up, Abby took it and winced at the brightness. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, and another for her to actually process what it said.
Clarke: I’m not calling you dad.
She couldn’t help but chuckle to herself as Raven continued to roar with laughter beside her. They’d probably still need to discuss it at some point, but this was enough for now.