Archive of Our Own

Clarke had fallen plenty of times. She fell down stairs, tripped over her own feet, landed flat on her face during a night out, but never had she fallen from the top of a building. Especially on purpose.

It had seemed like a clever idea at the time. What a brilliant way to drag The Commander out of hiding.

She was always there, The Commander. Even if Clarke sneezes a tissue miraculously appears in her hand. The Commander, compared to all the reviews about her being stoic and reserved, was oddly compassionate.

Lexa would always scoff and dismiss Clarke's words on The Commander. For some reason, Lexa just couldn't stand to hear Clarke talking about this heroine. Lexa, with her kind eyes hidden behind thick brimmed glasses, with gentle words and wavy hair tied back into a thick plaite. Clarke would be tempted to fall for her if she didn't have such an odd obsession with another flying woman.

So here Clarke was, literally falling for that other woman. Legit plummeting to the ground. She fell with her arms crossed, furious with herself for doing something so unimaginably stupid. She couldn't even scream she was so mad.

Who in their right mind would think that this was a good idea? No one. That's who. So why on Earth would Clarke, who up until this moment had always assumed herself to be sane, jump off of a building?

What would Lexa have to say about this? Her green, incredibly green, eyes would just scream her disapproval. Her lips would mouth the words ‘moron’ without actually making the sound. But her tone would be kind, and caring, and gently point out the fact that Clarke was quite possibly the biggest fucking idiot to ever have existed.

Clarke could definitely fall for someone like Lexa.

Instead she was falling for a stranger. An alien. Who was most probably-

She wasn't falling. How long had she not been falling for? No, she wasn't falling anymore, she was flying! Zipping past the buildings and up over the rooftops, the cars below looking like busy little ants. She was being held like a newly wedded wife was held as they crossed the threshold of their new house. Strong arms holding her up as she was swept away from the city, it's huge buildings slowly shrinking into the distance as she flew.

She was alive? Wait, SHE WAS ALIVE! She hadn’t met her concrete fate below! She kept her arms crossed as she flew, not really sure of what to do with them or where to put them.

Clarke swallowed. She was putting off looking at her saviour's face for as long as she could. She suddenly realised that she wasn't ready for this type of meeting, no no no, not yet. She probably looked horrific now, with her windswept hair and tear stained cheeks. Wait, when had she started crying? She quickly lifted her hands and wiped at her cheeks, hoping that her hero hasn't witnessed a thing.

She could feel herself slowing now, watching as the ground carefully came up to meet them. It wasn't the stone ground of the city, but was instead the soft mud of the surrounding farmlands. She was placed on it, her heels sinking slightly until she regained her balance. The Commander (who else could it possibly be?) Made the slightest of sounds as she settled behind her, her cape flapping away as the breeze picked up.

Clarke braced herself before, ever so slowly, turning around.

She came face to face with green, incredibly green, eyes.

Her jaw fell open.

“ Lexa?!”

Lexa’s eyes widened momentarily before she looked away guiltily. Her hair had been undone, flowing along with her cape in the breeze. The braids she normally wore obviously helped in giving her hair the volume it needed when she wore her super suit. Which, by the way, looked phenomenal on her. War paint was placed beautifully across her eyes, almost seeming to drip down her cheeks.

“I don't know who this ‘Lexa’ is.” She stated, her voice obviously being made to sound more gruff.

Clarke was shocked for a mere second before she started to laugh. A full laugh. A proper body shaking laugh that made her grab her stomach as she doubled over. Lexa just stood there watching, a light blush covering her cheeks.

Clarke leaned back and wiped the new tears from her cheeks again.

“you're kidding, right? Lexa, you're not even wearing a mask and that paint changes nothing!

Lexa blushed even more. “ you weren't supposed to recognise me.” She mumbled.

Clarke struggled not to laugh again. “I see you everyday for eight hours straight, sometimes more, how am I not supposed to recognise you?”

“you haven't so far…”

“I've never seen your face!”

Lexa just stood there looking uncomfortable as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

Clarke shook her head in wonder. Not in a million years would her brain have connected the two on its own, but seeing Lexa like this , like the Commander , she was shocked she hadn't put it together before. Then a thought occured.

“Wait a second.” She said, holding a hand up. “how did you even know what I was going to do? You were sitting opposite me when I left.”

Lexa seemed to have regained her composure as she raised an eyebrow at Clarke. “you have this look in your eyes. You have this look where you're thinking about The Commander, and you have this look where you're thinking about The Commander and doing something stupid at the same time. You wore that look when you left your desk.”

Clarke shook her head again. Her eyes jumped from place to place on Lexa, taking in every detail. The leather armour and the red cape that, now she was close up, looked exactly like the scarf that Lexa would wear in winter.

“I can't believe I never knew! You're so quiet at work, so serious. Why didn't you say anything?”

Lexa smiled at her, one of the rare smiles that Clarke only gets to see after she says something nice. Sometimes Lexa just gives her one of those smiles for absolutely no reason.

It was heart stopping.

“that's what secret identities are supposed to do. I can't have just anyone noticing me now.”

Clarke took a step forward. “but you don't mind me knowing?”

Lexa also took a step forward, “You're not just anyone, Clarke.”

A shiver crept up Clarke's spine as Lexa was stood directly in front of her.

Then she started to panic. She had to say something, she couldn't just stand there staring at her.

Without thinking, she reached her hand up and gently traced the black lines that dripped down her face. She could feel Lexa’s breath on her palm.

She relished in the fact that her breath hitched every now and then.

“How do you even have time to put this on?” she murmured.

Lexa smiled at her again, showing her teeth this time. “I just paint a thick black line over my eyes and then fly really fast.”

Clarke laughed yet again, leaning forward and resting her head on Lexa’s shoulder. She could feel Lexa laughing with her this time.

And then strong arms were wrapped carefully around her waist and her feet were lifted from the ground. She gasped as they steadily climbed higher, her eyes wide as she watched the landscape expand. She threw her arms around Lexa’s neck and held on for dear life.

Lexa soft voice whispered in her ear. “hold on tight. I'm just going to hold you differently.”

Clarke shivered, not just from fear. “can’t you just give me a piggyback?”

Lexa laughed. “The Commander is not going to be seen giving a pretty girl a piggyback into the city.” she said as she whipped her arms about, holding Clarke like she had before. RIZ

Clarke refused to bury her head into Lexa’s shoulder again, no matter how nice she smelled. Instead, she took in everything around her. Never had she thought that she'd be flying into the city. Let alone with The Commander.

They weren't flying as fast as they had before. Lexa almost seemed to be taking her time as they returned.

“So, have you finished your report?”

Lexa shook her head, another smile spreading on her lips.

“you just find out the secret identity of The Commander, and you want to know if I've finished my report. On The Commander.”

Now it was Clarke's turn to blush. “I don't know! What do superheroes talk about?”

“They try not to talk about work when they have a pretty girl in their arms.”

Clarke’s blush burned brighter, the feeling spreading to her neck. Was Lexa flirting? She had never seemed brave enough to do anything like that. She was too flustered to reply.

They settled into a comfortable silence as they flew and Clarke found herself relaxing into Lexa.

“I’m just taking you home now, okay? I’ll cover for you at the office.” Her voice was still soft and still close. Clarke had trouble controlling her breathing.

“This is weird.” Was all she could think to say.

She mentally kicked herself when she felt Lexa’s arms tense.

“In what way?” Came the careful reply.

“You’re flying me home and talking about work at the same time. Lexa this is odd.”

Clarke felt Lexa’s arms relax again, ever so slightly holding her closer. She glanced up at her and noticed her grinning.

The city was nearing, the buildings growing the closer she got. She knew that Lexa knew where her apartment was, they had spent hours there working on their projects together. Clarke smiled as she thought back to those moments again. A very nervous Lexa stepping through the door and looking around, being very careful not to knock anything over. Lexa had never been so quiet as they went over their very first report on The Commander. Now Clarke finally knew why.

“Is the window open?”

“Really, Commander? The window?”

“If Spiderman can do it then I can too!”

Clarke looked up to see a very determined face, green eyes locked on her destination.

“The window is open.”

Lexa nodded and sped up a little, only slowing when she tried to fit through. She slipped in easily and settled Clarke back on her feet, holding onto her arm until she was certain that she had her balance. As soon as she was sure, she instantly backed up and dropped to her feet, her cape still being fluttered majestically behind her.

“Clarke, I know this goes without saying, but you can’t-”

Clarke shut her up by stopping Lexa’s bottom lip. With her own lips. Because that was the most obvious move to make.

Lexa froze for only a second before taking action, wrapping her arms around Clarke’s waist again as Clarke’s arms snaked up around her neck. Lexa kissed her softly, gently, as she held her close. Clarke drew her arms back and snaked her fingers through Lexa’s hair. She smiled as she felt Lexa’s breath hitch again.

“Are you kissing a fucking alien?!”

Clarke jumped backwards, instantly letting go of Lexa and glancing at her roommates who stood there motionlessly, both with their jaws dropped open.

She looked over at Lexa to see her blushing, rubbing a hand against the back of her neck.

Raven had been the one who had spoken, her dark hair scraped back into a ponytail. Octavia, slightly shorter and more fierce looking, smacked Raven in the arm as she glared at her. “We have a superhero in our home and that’s what you ask?!”

Raven was looking at Lexa suspiciously, completely ignoring Octavia’s remark. “Doesn’t she look familiar?”

Before Octavia could do anything else, Clarke grabbed Lexa’s arm and dragged her into her own room, stopping her roommates from ruining Lexa’s identity.

They stood in that room for few moments, just taking each other in.

“Well,” Lexa started, “ They didn’t recognise me.”

Clarke threw her head back and laughed, hugging Lexa.

Maybe, just maybe, she could fall for both Lexa  and The Commander.