Archive of Our Own

“Lexa. I don’t mean to suggest you’re lost, but...are we lost?” Clarke huffed, the frost on her side of the rental car window building up once more. The trees, coated in a soft white icing, whizzed by as Lexa continued up a suspiciously winding road, looking particularly lost in thought. “I mean, if you’re going to take me into the woods to kill me, you should have done that awhile ago. I’m a little too committed to this relationship now.”

Lexa gave her an eye roll that reminded Clarke of the pure sass she used to give off when they first met. But she grabbed Clarke’s hand from the stick shift and brought it to her lips, causing Clarke to let out a breathy sigh.

“I think I know the way to my childhood home.” Lexa’s retort was soft, and she kept her free hand laced with Clarke’s. “Where’s the trust, Griffin?”

Clarke squeezed her hand, leaning back in her seat. “Sorry. It’s been awhile since we turned off the main road.”

Lexa smirked. “We’ve been on Woods property this entire time.”

Clarke nearly shot out of her seat. They’d been driving on this road for nearly twenty minutes. “Shut up.” She gasped. “I don’t even know why I’m surprised anymore.” She threw her hands up in the air.

“Are you warm?” Lexa asked with an amused smile, sliding her hand down to Clarke’s thigh, resting it there, the way she and Clarke both secretly loved.

“If you keep doing that I will be.” Clarke mumbled, eyeing Lexa’s hand. “No funny business. The road is icy.”

“I’m a seasoned driver.” Lexa argued.

“You’re nineteen. How seasoned could you be?” Clarke snorted, grinning when Lexa squeezed her thigh teasingly.

“I’m glad we’re getting this break.” Lexa cleared her throat after a moment.

Clarke took a minute to take a look at Lexa. She looked absolutely stunning, in her simple black sweater, and those tights that only Lexa could pull off so well. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun, and she was the image of perfection.

“I know.” Clarke nodded, sucking in a sigh. “I’ve missed you. I know we’ve been living together and it sounds really stupid… but sometimes I feel like you’re not mine anymore.”

Lexa frowned.

The media attention she’d been receiving hadn’t really been helping.

Every day Clarke would show her a new tweet or post about Lexa with some other girl (and occasionally, a guy, if the source was badly misinformed). And the commentary didn’t stop with Lexa.

Clarke began to fall under the attention and eyes of her peers. And not all of the comments were particularly flattering.

Some were downright cruel.

And so, a small but sure wedge had been driven between the young couple, and Lexa vowed to cut everything off and take Clarke to her home for the holidays, where her mother and Kane were also invited to stay.

Lexa would do anything to protect her relationship with Clarke.

“Clarke.” Lexa pulled the car to a stop, the cobblestone beneath the tires slowly sounding out less and less as Lexa put the brakes up, Clarke entirely distracted by her actions, a questioning glint in her eyes.

Lexa descended out the car door, shutting it as she strode around, opening Clarke’s side up. Before Clarke could step out, Lexa was between her legs, cupping her cheeks.

“I’m always yours.” She promised in a bold whisper. “You come before everything and anyone else. Always.”

Clarke’s breath hitched, as it always did when Lexa was so close, her body shielding Clarke’s from the chill. “I’m not asking you to-”

“I know. I’m telling you anyway.” Lexa murmured. “I’m sorry things have gotten out of hand, lately. And I’m sorry I made you feel as if you aren’t the best part of my life.” Lexa continued, pressing her lips to Clarke’s forehead.

Clarke sniffled, Lexa’s overly generous romanticism always rendered her weak in the knees (and the heart).

“Okay. I’m done being a sap. I just wanted to hold you.” Lexa chuckled, pulling away.

Clarke yanked her back down, legs locking around Lexa’s hips as she pulled her into a searing kiss, fingers tangling in the soft curls at the base of her neck. Lexa let out a soft moan.

She’d forgotten, with the stress of finals, that they hadn’t been intimate in nearly two weeks. Which, for them, was a long time.

It was somewhat comforting to know that, despite the brief period of detachment, their love was still there: all consuming, powerful, slightly needy.

The spark that never seemed to dim, since their first hints of attraction.

The little break in their intimacy seemed to have only pushed them closer together. Not to mention Lexa’s selflessness in inviting Clarke and her family and organizing their winter holiday.

Clarke was smiling into their kiss, breaking apart breathlessly to squeeze Lexa into a tight hug. She couldn’t help it. She began to shake with laughter, gripping Lexa with an iron grip.

“What are you laughing at?” Lexa poked her side, the smile on her face evident in her tone.

“...Nothing.” Clarke mumbled into the crook of her neck, leaning into Lexa’s touch. “I’m just...remembering.”

“Your amazing life before I ruined it?” Lexa teased.

“Oh my god, shut up.” Clarke snorted, slapping her on the arm, leaning back to gaze into her eyes, which softened immediately when they met. “I was thinking of when we first met.”

“Oh yeah?” Lexa hummed, busying herself with massaging Clarke’s scalp with idle little movements of absolute adoration.

“Yeah. When you would walk into a room, my stomach would just...do somersaults. You made me rethink every word I wanted to say. And god, no words for that face and that smoldering stare.”

Lexa laughed, kissing Clarke’s head. “Oh man, what changed?”

“Nothing.” Clarke’s answer was immediate, loving. “That’s what’s amazing.”

Lexa’s eyes widened at the quiet admission. “Oh.” She breathed, fingers dancing along Clarke’s cheeks. “I… really really really wish we didn’t just pull up to my childhood home, filled with our families.” She groaned.

Clarke’s eyes widened and she shot forward, smacking her forehead against Lexa’s.

“Ow!” Lexa hissed, but Clarke ignored her in favor of marveling at the frosted mansion before her, a behemoth sight that she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed.

Oh, the distracting powers of Lexa’s face.

“We’ve been here?! And you’ve just been rambling to me the whole time?” Clarke gasped, gathering her jacket, bouncing like a child on Christmas morning.

“Not rambling.” Lexa protested. “Professing my love.”

“I already knew that.” Clarke teased. “Move, Woods! I wanna see where my baby grew up.”

“I would, it’s just...I think you broke my head.” Lexa pouted, rubbing her forehead. “Did you not feel that?”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby.” Clarke grinned, kissing Lexa’s forehead. “Better?”

“No.” Lexa mumbled petulantly.

“God, your pout is sexy.” Clarke groaned, brushing her fingers against Lexa’s full lips. “Okay, what if I make it up to you tonight?”

“Here?” Lexa groaned. “Clarke, our parents-”

“Wouldn’t you like to ravish me on your bed?”

“Clarke, that is indicative of serious psychological damage-”

“Are you saying it’s not hot?” Clarke smirked. “We don’t have to-”

“No!” Lexa’s answer was a little too quick.

“Too late.” Clarke slipped past her rather mischievously.

“Clarke, wait! Clarke?”

Ever the gentlewoman, Lexa was off to carry their bags, or at least fight Clarke for the opportunity to.

“Girls!” Clarke grinned when she heard Anastasia’s familiar voice, and her girlfriend’s mother quickly enveloped her in a tight hug.

“I see Alexandria has retained at least some manners,” she laughed, nodding towards where Lexa was struggling with one bag too many. “Alex, darling, be a dear and help our daughter before she kills herself.”

“Can’t have that,” Alex agreed solemnly, relieving Lexa of a suitcase or two and beckoning for her to follow him up the elegant winding staircase.

“Your home is beautiful,” Clarke said once Ana released her, and the older woman smiled kindly at her.

“It certainly is, when there are people living in it,” she agreed, “come along. I’m sure Alexandria will want to give you the full tour later but while she and her father are wrestling with the suitcases I’ll show you around the first floor.”

Clarke nodded and let herself be tugged down a hallway, but not without noticing the enormous tree standing in the middle of the living room, looking as if it were freshly plucked from the forest itself, perhaps one of the largest Clarke had ever seen indoors.

She made a mental note to ask Lexa about that later.  

The soft sound of Christmas carols being plucked away on a piano drifted through the home, resonance clear and beautiful.

“Aden missed his piano,” Ana told her dutifully as they passed what Clarke assumed was a music room that held several elegant―and certainly much too expensive―pianos, with beautifully polished wood and elegant craftsmanship. “I’m sure he’ll ask you to audience for him later.”

Clarke smiled at the sight of the younger Woods sibling. Though she and Lexa often made it a mission to Facetime him at least once a week―sometimes accompanied by Lexa scowling whenever Atom made an appearance―she’d grown used to seeing him every day during her senior year, and it was even stranger for Lexa, who had been forced to be his primary caretaker for most of their adolescent lives.

“You’ll have time for catching up over dinner,” Ana continued, “your mother and Marcus are out shopping for ingredients, and we’ll have the boys whip up a meal while we chat.”

Clarke nodded and hummed an agreement, hand absently tracing over the smooth walls. She wondered what it was like for Lexa―a young Lexa, small and stubborn―to live here, in these wide, mainly uninhabited halls.

It must have been very lonely.

Not for the first time, Clarke was overcome with a wave of sympathy and almost sadness for her girlfriend, knowing how hard it must have been for her, as a young girl, without the presence of her parents. Though Clarke might not have had the luxury Lexa had possessed growing up, at least she had always had her mother and father besides her.

She spared a side-long glance at Anastasia, who was talking about the architecture of the home, and smiled softly.

At least they were trying now.

“Hey, sunshine,” Lexa breathed into Clarke’s ear, arms wrapping around the artist’s stomach softly as she pressed a lingering kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek. “I hope mom didn’t bore you too much.”

“I don’t think anyone in the Woods family could be boring,” Clarke grinned, leaning into her girlfriend’s embrace as Anastasia smiled.

“I like her,” Ana said, as though the two girls weren’t already aware of the fact, “she’s a keeper, Alexandria. Don’t mess this one up.” Lexa’s eyes narrowed somewhat at the playfully issued challenge, and before the two equally stubborn Woods women could argue, Clarke intervened.

“Show me your room, baby?” she asked softly, and at the pet name Lexa adored, the other girl softened immediately.

“Of course,” she answered, linking her fingers with Clarke’s and pressing a quick kiss to her hand before pulling her in the direction of the grand staircase she’d disappeared up earlier.

There were two rooms at the second floor, their doors right next to one another. Hanging on each were Christmas stockings, faded and red with the very clearly childish writing in glitter at the top.

Lexa & Aden .

“We’ll stay out of the human disaster’s nest,” Lexa said with a smile, before she tugged Clarke into her childhood room with a grin.

Clarke wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting.

There were no bright pink walls or glitter or fairy lights. Lexa had never had a pink phase, though she was the softest, most fae-like person Clarke knew. Though her girlfriend tried to play the ‘I’m-tough-and-experience-no-emotions’ card too often, she couldn’t escape the fact that she was the tiniest gay mouse in human existence.

The room itself mirrored Lexa’s childhood itself, Clarke supposed.

Too mature too quickly.

The walls were a neutral grey, with a plush white bed that looked too expensive for a child to own. In fact, it hardly looked lived in at all, except for the pictures.

God , there were so many.

Pinboards lined the walls, and Lexa had dutifully recounted her life on them on polaroids―in hindsight, such a tumblr thing to do, Lexa really had always been extra―and Clarke’s eyes devoured them with the ferocity of a woman starved.

Lexa as a child wasn’t something she got to see often, as her lovely girlfriend feigned embarrassment. But there she was, making silly faces at cameras, usually accompanied by Aden, Anya, or Lincoln.

“You’re so little,” Clarke grinned, and Lexa rolled her eyes at the blonde girl as she flopped down on her childhood bed. “So cute.”

“I’m still cute,” Lexa huffed.

“And still little,” Clarke shot back, eliciting an eye-roll from the lounging girl.

“Clarke I am taller than you.”

“Semantics,” Clarke waved off, “now hush, I’m taking in how utterly adorable you were.”

Lexa eventually wandered over to Clarke, who was staring intently at a picture of Lexa at her eleventh birthday party, with a much younger Aden shoving cake in her face with a cheeky grin.

“Roma took that one,” Lexa told her, matter-of-factly, “the traitor, didn’t even try helping me.”

“Poor baby,” Clarke tsked.

“Are you going to spend the next week just looking at my pictures?” Lexa asked with a raised brow. “Because I can think of a lot better things to do.”

Clarke’s eyes narrowed, a smirk toying on her lips.

“Really, babe? In your childhood home?”

Lexa feigned innocence until Clarke laughed and quickly pulled her girlfriend in a kiss that started off chaste but rapidly turned into something more. Their actions, however, were interrupted by the pounding of feet coming up the stairs, followed by the quick opening of the door.

“Clarke!” Aden grinned. “Lex! Finally, I thought you two were never gonna make it!”

Lexa glared at him over Clarke’s shoulders and he shot her a shit-eating grin in response. The little devil knew exactly what he’d been doing.

“Scram,” Lexa told him affection shining through her annoyance, “we’ll be down in a minute.” Clarke laughed and moved to follow him, shooting an apologetic glance at Lexa when she pouted.

“To be continued,” Clarke promised, and Lexa sighed.

“I may have missed him,” she muttered, “but I certainly didn’t miss the cockblocking.”

“Clarke, your mother and Marcus are in the kitchen.” Anastasia announced as the girls and Aden made their way down the winding staircase, the former two hand in hand. “We’re going to bring out the old boxes of decorations and make this place more...festive...for the two weeks that we’ll be here. Better late than never.”

Clarke felt a slight pressure on her hand, and when she glanced at Lexa, she realized it may have been a sort of subconscious squeeze, judging by the frown on her lips. When Clarke nudged her, with the unspoken question of what was wrong, Lexa murmured: “This is a first. I don’t think I can remember the last time we did anything of the sort as a family.”

Clarke worried her lip in sympathy. “Hey.” She sighed, making sure Anastasia and Aden were out of earshot, pausing on the final step. “Things are different now.”

Lexa nodded, rubbing her thumb over Clarke’s hand. “I know.”

“Like it or not, Alexandria, you’ll never be alone again.” Clarke assured with a wry smile.

Lexa’s heart did somersaults in her chest. Those were simple words she’d ached to hear for the majority of her lifetime. And oh, how sweet it was to have someone who meant them.

“C’mon.” Clarke roused her from her thoughts. My mom’s going to kill me if I don’t say hi soon.”

“Sorry.” Lexa nodded.

Clarke stepped off the final step, hand still on the railing when she paused. “Lex?”

“Hmm?”

“...Where the hell is the kitchen?”

The house, or manor, specifically, was gargantuan.

Lexa, with a jolt of realization, snapped out of her trance and laughed quietly. “To your left, love.”

Clarke moved slowly, examining every single painting and vase on the way there, feeling Lexa’s hands guiding her hips in the right direction. It wasn’t necessarily that Clarke couldn’t navigate- she could hear her mother’s laughs echoing a room or so away.

She just wanted to soak up as much information about Lexa as she could.

But, eventually, she ran out of wall decor, and found herself at the entrance of the grand kitchen, looking very much alive. In the living room next door, Alexander had a roaring fire going in the fireplace, the orange glow radiating across the rooms. A jazzy sounding Christmas album was playing softly, in almost every speaker installed into the ceilings of the rooms. Clarke felt inwardly giddy. Her girlfriend’s house was damn awesome.

“Lexa!” Abby’s excited tone pierced the sounds of Michael Buble’s Christmas album (which every adult in Clarke’s life seemed to have a strange love affair with).

“Huh. I remember she used to care about me like that.” Clarke teased, patting Lexa’s butt as Abby pulled her into hug, kissing her forehead as Lexa wrapped her arms around Abby.

Clarke could feel the warmth emanating from her mother’s tone and gestures. She was genuinely ecstatic to see Lexa, just as Ana was to see Clarke. Their family was becoming as closely-knit as the girls were themselves.

“Oh, let me look at you. Beautiful as always.” Abby tilted Lexa’s chin, examining her. “And what a hell of a season, huh? My god, I couldn’t be prouder.”

Lexa blushed, cheeks burning at the intensity of Abby’s commentary.

Clarke snickered quietly. It was always fun to remember how shy and nerdy Lexa was capable of being, in juxtaposition with her bold, superstar demeanor.

“Clarke.” Abby breathed as she released Lexa, turning to her daughter. Her eyes were misty as she launched herself into Clarke’s hug, pressing kisses all over her face.

“Mom!” Clarke laughed, reprimanding her with no malice. “Hi! Hey! You’re embarrassing me.”

“Oh, please, you two are practically engaged...Right? How’s that going?” Abby smirked, and Clarke raised her eyebrows.

Abby had never been this forward (or accepting) about Clarke’s love life...ever.

“Mom?” Clarke gasped slightly. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m feeling perfect!” Abby enthused, turning to pinch the stem of her glass of red wine, swaying slightly as she did. “God, I just missed my baby girl so much.”

“Ohh.” Clarke laughed slightly awkwardly in understanding, glancing at Marcus, who’d just come into the kitchen. Pauna, his rottweiler that had nearly killed Clarke and Lexa, sat at his heel obediently.

Lexa stiffened, touching Clarke’s arm protectively, only Clarke picking up on her slight change in demeanor. Apparently, Pauna had only wanted to play, but after it seemed like she was going to take a chunk out of Lexa’s shapely rear, which Clarke worshipped, they kept their guard up.

“Clarke, Lexa.” Marcus cleared his throat awkwardly, half extending his hand as if to shake, and then retreating, rubbing his neck and glancing away.

Lexa nudged Clarke’s leg with her own, rather discreetly. Clarke knew what she had to do.

Biting the bullet, Clarke leaned forward and initiated the hug, and Lexa quietly followed suit, causing Kane to smile in surprise, while Abby clapped excitedly, rattling off to Alexander about how Christmas miracles might have been possible after all.

“Your mother has certainly taken a liking to the pinot Alexander dug out of the cellar for her arrival.”Ana informed Clarke in an amused whisper as she passed by them with a plate of appetizers.

Clarke rolled her eyes in embarrassment and Lexa snickered sympathetically, stifling it when Clarke elbowed her side.

“Can we please do appetizers later?” Aden begged from where he’d emerged, two giant boxes wobbling in his arms as he failed to see in front of him. “I got the decorations-WHOA”

Lexa glanced up and with a graceful movement, she lifted the boxes from his hand, hardly thinking twice about the weight. Clarke’s mouth went dry as she noticed Lexa’s biceps, practically bulging as she balanced the boxes.

...Maybe Aden shouldn’t have interrupted them earlier.

“I’m still pretty full from our lunch, Clarke, what about you?” Lexa acquiesced, but not without double checking with Clarke.

“Yeah.” Clarke nodded with a wry smile. “I’d be honored to help the Wood siblings decorate.”

“Great! I have mistletoe over by the door. And wreaths! And candy canes! And mom and dad let me buy bows!  And the tree is in there! And the fake snow! I wanted to shovel in some actual snow, but mom said-”

“-Alright, Aden. Go get all that.” Lexa chuckled, biting her lip. “Clarke and I will start unpacking all this stuff.”

Aden grinned. “Awesome. I’m glad I interrupted your moment earlier. Otherwise we might never have seen you two down here.”

Lexa growled and stuck out a leg to trip him, but he was a lot faster, darting away. “Little shit.” Lexa muttered with an amused eye roll as she carried the boxes into the living room, Clarke in tow.

Clarke glanced up at the tree once more, breathing in the woodsy scent of the noble fir. It was lively, lush and green, towering over her.

“I thought you weren’t religious?” Clarke questioned softly.

“Us?” Lexa blinked. “We’re not.”

“So, why Christmas?” Clarke asked. “I mean, my family isn’t either, but my dad’s mom was, and she’d come over and throw a fit if there wasn’t a tree and proper decorations up, so…” She trailed off.

“...Honestly, I think it was my parents’ way of trying to make Aden and I feel a little less alone.” Lexa shrugged, bending over to pull some items out of the box. “It was hard for us to pester them when we got to go out and pick a tree with the au pair, or the babysitter, or whomever...We got to wake up to Santa’s presents, his letters in my mother’s scrawl, the distraction of the lights and music…”

“So they were never home for the holidays?” Clarke asked, her heart breaking for her girlfriend all over again.

“Not when it mattered.” Lexa snorted as if the whole ordeal wasn’t something she’d spend hours crying about as a child. “...God, Aden is taking this way too seriously. Look at all this crap.” Lexa was, with a slight lack of subtlety, trying to shift away from the subject of her childhood.

Clarke let her.

“Well.” Clarke laughed gently, wrapping her arms around Lexa’s waist from behind. “He did mention something about mistletoe, right?”

“...He did.” Lexa replied mirthfully, leaning back into Clarke’s touch.

Lexa turned to kiss Clarke, but paused when she heard Aden’s laughter coming from the kitchen, where he’d paused to speak with one of the adults.

No one else would have noticed the slight shift in Lexa’s demeanor. It was barely there, manifesting itself in a slight frown, a small curve of her lips.

But Clarke was her girlfriend. Her love. Clarke spent nearly all of her free time with her, living with her, learning every little idiosyncrasy, every nuance that was so Lexa .

Clarke had learned to read her microexpressions with practiced ease.

“Baby?” Clarke questioned. “What’s wrong?”

Lexa blinked. Clarke’s ability to read her so well was still a fairly new concept to her, even though it shouldn’t have been. “Nothing, really.” Lexa assured. “I just...I feel guarded, whenever Aden gets his hopes up like this when it's about my parents. They have a history of...disappointing us. Me, especially. What kind of sister would I be if I just let them crush his heart like that?”

Clarke nodded slowly. “I think those days are over. And I’m so sorry that you had to be the one to endure the brunt of it.” She whispered, tucking a lock of Lexa’s hair behind her ear.

“Sorry? It wasn’t your fault.” Lexa refused gently.

“Your pain is my pain, remember?” Clarke reminded, wrapping her arms around Lexa’s neck. “But nevermind that, this is supposed to be a happy break, Lex. So why don’t you treat me with a little holiday love?”

Lexa smirked, leaning in with a cocky murmur of, “I’d love to, Griff-”

“Oh!” Clarke was tugged away suddenly by Aden, who was already shoving ornaments into her arms.

“Lex, you can go get the mistletoe.” Aden ordered with his best impression of her “commander voice”.

“...Sure.” Lexa, surprisingly, spent no time arguing, and instead made for the stairs, leaving Clarke downstairs with the others, who were trickling out of the kitchen to help.

Soon, everyone was pitching in, and the work of bringing the house to life was almost done. Wine-fueled laughter filled the air and bounced off the great walls and high ceilings as the family (and really, that was how it felt) worked as one to put the finishing touches on their home for the next two weeks.

Clarke had spent most of her time working side by side with Aden, and while she adored the younger Woods sibling, her heart was with Lexa.

Specifically, her whereabouts.

Lexa had been setting up the mistletoe here and there, but she’d slunk off upstairs, and Clarke hadn’t seen her since. Quietly, she excused herself to go and investigate.

“Lexa?” Clarke called as she stepped into her girlfriend’s room. She gasped when she took in the soft lights against the now darkened room, lit around the edge of the ceiling, leading to Lexa’s bed, where her girlfriend sat. Fixed above them, hanging proudly, was the mistletoe Lexa had plucked from Aden’s supply, looking particularly inviting.

“Clarke.” Lexa opened her arms and Clarke grinned, all but throwing herself in Lexa’s arms as she felt her girlfriend’s warm embrace wrap around her. “Do you like what I’ve done with the place?” She teased.

Clarke nodded, eyes flickering around the room, fixing on the way the lights shimmered and reflected in Lexa’s glassy eyes. “I love it.” She breathed softly.

“Well, I figured, if we’re going to be living here...Might as well make it worthy of you, Clarke.”

Clarke swooned slightly. She knew Lexa was just particularly gifted at sweet talking, but god, it was glorious. Being in love with Lexa was like that.

“I’m going to kiss you, slowly.” Lexa announced as she pulled Clarke into her lap. “And then, for the next two weeks, I don’t plan on leaving this bed, and this room, much. Does that sound alright?”

Clarke laughed, a husky tone that sent chills down Lexa’s spine, and then nodded.

Lexa leaned in and cupped her cheeks, gently brushing her lips against Clarke’s, savoring the warmth and the faint taste of the peppermint bark she’d tried with Aden.

Clarke groaned at the contact, rolling her hips in Lexa’s lap as she sought to deepen the kiss. When she whispered “I love you”, it came as a hurried groan, as if by taking her time to say it, she’d somehow lose Lexa’s interest.

“I love you too.” Lexa chuckled at her hurried mumblings, the vibrations tickling Clarke’s kiss-swollen lips, tender and soft, glossy as Lexa ran her tongue over them once more.

“I want-”

“Girls!” Alexander’s voice echoed in the hallway. “Dinner is served!”

Lexa froze, panting against Clarke’s lips as she let out an unruly groan.

Clarke laughed heartily, burying her face in Lexa’s neck.

“We will continue this.” Lexa swore, mostly to herself. “The second we put our forks down.”

Lexa hadn’t considered the time they’d need to digest a meal of such epic proportions.

In her defense, she and Clarke had been living off bite sized microwaveable meals since college had started; she’d forgotten what Woods family meals were like.

Every meal was a banquet.

The snowfall was light, piling high and fluffy on the windowsill as the men of the house set out to clean up after dinner and the women gathered in living room, Abby and Anastasia occupying one couch, Pauna resting at their feet, while Clarke and Lexa sat across from them.

Anastasia and Abby gossiped by the fire, hands propping heads up as they took in the dancing of the flames against the logs in the fireplace. They both glanced up when they heard a faint giggle and a raspy chuckle breaking through their motherly musings.

Stretched across the couch, Clarke was lying down in Lexa’s arms, blankets covering the extent of their prone bodies.

Lexa’s arms were wrapped tightly as ever around Clarke as she would occasionally lower her lips to graze Clarke’s ear with what was, no doubt, a message meant for her ears only.

Anastasia couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips. Clarke’s arms were wrapped around Lexa’s neck, the two as physically close as possible. Clarke’s smile was as warm as the fire that raged on before them, flashing every time Lexa so much as uttered a word.

Anastasia hadn’t ever seen a love like that, particularly not from her daughter, the stoic, focused little genius she and Alexander had known. She’d built up such a social wall, a barrier defending her fragile feelings and her enormous heart.

Clarke had single handedly destroyed that wall, seized Lexa’s heart, and luckily- cherished it with every fiber of her being, it seemed.

For a psychologist who’d been buried in corporate work, it was intriguing to see the extent of her daughter’s affections.

“You think about them as much as I do.” Abby acknowledged, nudging Alexandria beside her.

“It’s certainly not how I envisioned things.” Ana replied, her voice quiet and carefully concealed by the crackling of the fire, as Clarke and Lexa heard nothing. “-And I mean that in the best way, Abby. Lexa was...not like this, before.”

Abby nodded, a faint smile on her features. Nothing was as it seemed. “I never imagined things like this, either. I mean, a few years ago, if you’d told me I’d be spending my Christmas holiday with my daughter and her girlfriend...that I’d be sitting beside a famous tech mogul…” Abby trailed off. “If you told me that Clarke would be laughing, and grinning, despite the fact that Jake is gone…”

Abby’s pause gave Anastasia a moment to console her friend, putting a hand on her arm. Lexa had mentioned Clarke’s love for her father. He seemed brilliant. The thought of life without Alexander made her shiver involuntarily- she admired Abby’s strength, and by extension, the strength she’d imparted to Clarke.

It was a thing of beauty.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” Abby shook her head, clicking her tongue in annoyance at herself. “But anyway, the girls…” She smiled slowly, expression warming as she glanced at the two in question. “They’re really something, aren’t they?”

“Oh, Alexandria’s undoubtedly smitten. Absolutely in love. I may not have been entirely...present, for her, but I know my daughter. Abby, we might just have a marriage on our hands, sooner than later.”

Abby smirked, a chuckle building in her throat. “Would that be so bad?”

Anastasia’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding? I’d love nothing more.”

Abby blinked in surprise, a smile curling on her lips. “That’s funny. I...I always imagined you’d be, somehow….stricter. Less open to the idea.”

Anastasia chuckled, leaning back into the leather of the seat. “Funny you mentioned it, Abby. I think that’s all part of a lesson of parenting that I’m just now learning.”

“Oh?” Abby nodded, curiosity piqued. “What’s that?”

“My entire experience as a parent has been discipline.” Anastasia informed her, voice soft, belying the intensity of her words. “I had always pushed Alexandria for perfection. In academics, in sports, in extra-curriculars…And, as brilliantly as she turned out...I know it wasn’t my doing, mostly. I learned to trust her, oddly enough. I trust her to make the best decisions for herself. It’s her life, and the mistakes are hers to make, and the benefits are hers to reap. We can’t protect them from life, much as we may want to.”

Abby nodded, sipping some of the tea she forgot she’d had, allowing it to warm her insides, along with Anastasia’s words.

Anastasia chuckled. “How long do you give them before they’re off to do no good?”

Abby snorted. “They won’t last another five minutes, judging by the rate of their hushed whispers.”

“Ah, young love. They think the world is oblivious to them.” Anastasia laughed, causing Lexa to glance up for a moment before Clarke regained her full attention, the two clearly in their own little world.

“I don’t mind. Afterall, I want grandchildren. And they would make some lovely little ones.”

“Cheers to that.” Anastasia dipped her head in approval, the soft clink of their glasses interrupted by Clarke rising to stretch, Lexa’s eyes glued to her exposed midriff.

“We…” Lexa cleared her throat, shucking off the blanket as she rose, suspiciously close to Clarke. “We’re going to turn in, for the evening.” She even faked a yawn, just for extra measure.

Abby stifled a laugh as Anastasia glanced at her watch. “At eight thirty, dear? Shouldn’t you have built a little more resilience to tiring so quickly, considering you’re in college now?”

Clarke’s cheeks burned red as she avoided her mother’s gaze. Lexa didn’t seem to be too fazed by her mother’s heckling, however.

“Clarke and I had a long flight, and drive. Excuse us.” She replied formally, moving over to accept Abby’s little goodnight side hug as Clarke did the same with Ana, and the two fled the scene, giggling conspiratorially as Clarke’s shrill cry of “Lex!” Was heard, followed by more giggles as they bounded up the steps.

“Lex!” Clarke shrieked as Lexa scooped her up, the two having just beaten a hasty retreat after dinner to finally, finally have some “alone time” as Lexa put it.

Lexa carried her up the stairs effortlessly, smirking when Clarke’s arms flew to her neck as a safety precaution. Not that she’d ever let Clarke fall.

“We didn’t even stay for dessert.” Clarke whined, reaching for the candy cane in her pocket as Lexa carried her, dropping her on the soft covers of the bed, the room still glowing beautifully from Lexa’s earlier efforts.

“I could think of something else I’m feeling particularly inclined to taste.” Lexa murmured, crawling on top of Clarke, trapping her body against the bed.

Clarke let out a squeal when Lexa nipped at her neck, her legs wrapping around her girlfriend’s looming figure before she could even think about what she was doing.

“Someone’s sex deprived.” Clarke snorted, and Lexa punished her with a thrust of her hips against Clarke’s core, the friction making Clarke cry out.

“Shh.” Lexa growled softly. “You have to be quiet. God knows everyone in this house is keen on interrupting us.”

Clarke smirked, pushing Lexa off, her smirk growing even wider when Lexa rolled off with the most disappointed stare Clarke had ever seen. (Still, Clarke noted with some satisfaction, Lexa’s “dominant act” was dropped the minute Clarke pushed her off).

“I’m going to go change. You should, too.” Clarke instructed, pulling Lexa’s face to hers to kiss away the frown she’d created. It was all going to be worth it.

“Change?” Lexa lifted a brow.

“For bed.” Clarke lied.

“...Right.” Lexa half choked, not wanting to sound as desperate as she was. She couldn’t tell Clarke that she’d been waiting weeks for that moment. That’d be...desperate.

Clarke bent down to retrieve her clothes from her duffel bag, and Lexa glanced down at her unsurely. Clarke never had any problems changing in front of her before. Everything felt suddenly...strange.

“Lex?” Clarke asked, using her best tired, saccharine voice.

“Clarke.” Lexa answered, sitting on the edge of the bed attentively.

“Can you please go down and get some waters? I forgot. And you know how I wake up thirsty sometimes.” Clarke batted her lashes and Lexa was up, eager as ever to serve Clarke.

“Of course.” Lexa murmured. “I’ll be back in a second.”

“Thank you.” Clarke hummed, and Lexa left rather obediently.

Clarke smirked as she turned out the contents of her bag, eager to find the lingerie Lexa had bought her weeks ago, fondly running her hands along the lace garter belt and bra set that drove Lexa absolutely wild. She glanced at the unused chair in the corner of the room, and dragged it towards the center. Eyeing the speakers she’d luckily had the foresight to bring, her smirk only widened.

It was time she properly thanked Lexa for taking such good care of her.

“Clarke?” Lexa frowned as she stepped back into the room, two bottles of water in her hand, noticing how dim the lights were. She smiled as she realized Clarke was probably just enjoying the Christmas lights she’d strung around the room so craftily.

“Thank you baby.” Clarke purred, stepping out of the bathroom in Lexa’s robe as she moved to take the bottle, placing a lingering kiss on Lexa’s cheek.

Lexa blinked as she noticed the chair in the center of the room. Before she could realize what was happening, Clarke had her pushed into it.

Lexa looked up at Clarke, who was always so gentle and docile with her touches, and realized that something was amiss. In the greatest possible way.

Clarke moved to shut and lock the bedroom door, turning back to her phone on the desk behind Lexa, as more sensual (non holiday related) music poured into the room.

Oh, god, Lexa recognized that playlist.

Clarke grinned as Lexa’s jaw dropped with realization. The poor girl had genuinely thought Clarke was going to let her go to sleep without the fucking of a lifetime. Lexa’s sweet side was genuinely amusing to Clarke. (And such a turn on).

Lexa took a moment to realize Clarke had snatched the candy cane from the table and had pressed it to her lips, first licking, and then gently sucking the cane into her mouth, putting on a lustful show for Lexa.

Lexa felt her throat and mouth dry as she watched Clarke’s lips run along the length of the candy cane in the most suggestive manner possible.

“You want a taste, baby?” Clarke cooed in her husky tone.

Lexa blinked, nodding mutely, looking so adorably entranced that Clarke almost dropped her act. Instead, what she dropped, was the cane, moving onto the next stage of her diabolical little show.

“Can you get this for me?” Clarke asked in the most sultry tone, stepping before Lexa and handing her the tie to the robe.

Lexa licked her lips, thanking every deity that she had the good sense to ask Clarke out that one day in the library. She tugged on the tie and it came apart, slowly crumbling away, swinging open to reveal the most godly sight Lexa had ever laid eyes on.

Clarke was standing before her, hips already rhythmically swaying to the beat, in nothing but a bra and a garter belt. And, as Lexa fiendishly noticed, no panties.

Lexa’s gasp was audible, and Clarke had to stifle a laugh at that, Lexa’s hands resting on and squeezing her hips.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Clarke murmured, reaching behind Lexa, retrieving one of the santa hats she’d oh so sweetly asked Aden for. She put it on, adjusting it with a small smile. “How’s this for an early Christmas gift?”

Lexa was drooling. She was at a loss for words. Her brain couldn’t even form proper commands for actions. She was too busy pondering how on earth she’d gotten so lucky as to manage landing the absolute goddess that was Clarke Griffin. Her eyes raked every inch of Clarke’s exposed body- her soft, creamy skin glowing under the sparkling of Lexa’s lights, her eyes twinkling with lust and mirth. Her round, voluptuous breasts sat proudly, nearly spilling over the cups of the bra she was wearing. Her thighs pressed together as she swayed, and Lexa ached to be between them.

But Lexa had a feeling Clarke was going to prolong the torture. The sweet, sweet torture.

“Do you like what you see, baby?” Clarke’s tone was evil, husky and teasing.

Lexa couldn’t stifle the groan at the back of her throat. Just moments ago, she was the hunter, and now, the hunted.

Clarke gave her a little spin, turning around and bending slightly, her round ass in Lexa’s face. Soon enough, she felt Lexa’s hands on her, squeezing,  grabbing, beckoning greedily.

Clarke smirked and pulled away with a sharp turn, eager to tease, rather than give into Lexa’s whim.

Clarke’s hips were swaying deliciously as she stepped forward, fingers tangling in Lexa’s locks as she saw down, straddling Lexa with a look of pure mischief.

“I was thinking about this for a long time.” Clarke groaned, her words but a whisper in Lexa’s ear as she ground down on Lexa’s lap, her bare sex rubbing deliciously against Lexa’s thigh. Lexa felt the beginnings of slick wetness against her thigh and let out a low sort of growl, which only sent another thrilling shiver up Clarke’s spine. “It’s so hard, watching you come home from your games when I had to study.” Clarke told her in another whisper, lips brushing against the shell of Lexa’s ear.

Lexa moved to put her hands on Clarke’s breasts, but she smirked and tutted. “Uh uh, Lex.”

Lexa resisted the urge to cry out in frustration as she leaned back, hands uselessly at her side as she watched Clarke grind against her thigh, the wetness building, tempered by the occasional moan or whine from Clarke’s lips.

“You would come home and change right in our room, all sweaty, with those muscles…” Her hand traced Lexa’s bicep, the other still firmly planted in her hair, pulling her closer. She leaned in to place a searing kiss against her lover’s lips, a messy, biting clash of lips and tongue. Lexa, unable to touch Clarke, focused on retaining her control through the bruising kiss, and the implied meaning made Clarke drip with arousal.

“I just wanted to fuck you.” Clarke admitted in a sheer whisper, as if the words were too filthy to be spoken aloud. “I’m so wet for you, Lex.”

“Then let me take care of you, Clarke.” Lexa murmured, speaking up for the first time.

Clarke swooned at the tender implications of her words and tone, but felt herself resisting, nonetheless. Not yet.

Clarke gently tugged downwards, forcing Lexa’s face into the line of her cleavage, feeling Lexa’s tongue and lips instantly dart out to map the territory, a new experience without her hands.

But Lexa was nothing if not resourceful.

Using her teeth, just barely grazing Clarke’s skin, she peeled back the bra just to reveal one rosy, pert nipple, and attached to it as if her life depended on it, drawing out a cry of immense pleasure from Clarke.

Lexa glanced up at her as she placed a suckling kiss to Clarke’s breast, a devilish smirk on her features as she noticed Clarke’s grinding intensifying.

“Fine.” Lexa seemed to find a new wave of confidence. “Fuck yourself then. Right here.” She motioned to her thigh. “I want to watch you please yourself, baby. And then I’ll make you come.”

Clarke nodded in surprising obedience, rocking her hips with newfound conviction. Lexa’s lips attached to her neck as Clarke began grinding steadily, feeling her impending orgasm build within her.

“You’re so gorgeous, Clarke.” Lexa murmured possessively in her ear. “All mine.” Lexa reminded, biting down softly on Clarke’s earlobe. “You’re so wet for me, Clarke. You’ve been wanting me to kiss you. To touch you. To fuck you.” Lexa taunted in her ear, and Clarke felt herself coming undone at the words.

“Please, touch me.” Clarke groaned, breaking her will to remain resolute. Lexa smirked, rising suddenly, strong arms wrapping around Clarke’s thighs as she carried her to the bed, keeping Clarke’s thighs around her head as she ducked between her legs.

With a single smirk and a broad swipe of a gifted tongue, Clarke was coming, crying out, a shuddering mess as she gripped Lexa’s hair in a vain attempt to keep her close. She glanced down, and Lexa was watching her with hooded eyes, giving her kitten licks that were somewhat predatory as she guided Clarke down from her high, making her squirm with her newfound sensitivity.

“Ugh.” Clarke groaned in bliss at her release as she leaned back on the bed, feeling Lexa climb back up to greet her. She held her hands out needily and Lexa brought her lips to them, kissing them before lacing her fingers with Clarke’s.

“Hey beautiful.” Lexa murmured, and Clarke swore, every hint of her topping, dominant personality was set aside momentarily. Clarke loved Lexa’s ability to care, to read what Clarke needed and act accordingly. Clarke was never overwhelmed with her.

“Hi.” Clarke panted softly, cupping Lexa’s cheeks as she pulled her in for a soft kiss. “Thank you. I was just wound up-”

“I hardly did anything.” Lexa chuckled, fingers going to unclasp Clarke’s bra, more for her comfort (and admittedly, in pained Lexa to see her favorite sight all caged up like that) than anything else.

Clarke groaned as Lexa’s skilled hands kneaded away at her breasts, running over the spot she’d previously marked so enjoyably. “Are you kidding? You were the inspiration.” Clarke chuckled as Lexa’s mouth descended to greet her breasts with soft kisses. “Your love for my boobs is inspiring. I bet I could put a bow on them and it would be enough of a gift for you.”

Lexa cocked a brow, mouth latching onto a breast, but her lips pulled into a smirk. “You certainly wouldn’t hear any complaints from me, Clarke.”

Clarke laughed softly, hands roaming down Lexa’s back, to her pants. “Take these off.” She demanded petulantly.

“Yes ma’am.” Lexa grinned, leaning back to remove her pants, sliding them off.

“Shirt too. I want to feel those abs I helped to maintain.” Clarke smirked. When Lexa glanced at her with a curious look, she elaborated: “Please. Sex is probably your number one workout. And, who buys the kale for all those disgusting excuses for food you call salads?”

Lexa laughed, a velvety, genuine laugh, that had Clarke biting her lip in amazement. Oh, there was something so rewarding about being so madly in love with her best friend. She removed her shirt, climbing back on top of Clarke, their demeanor playful and sexy all at once.

“Nice.” Clarke drawled, running her fingers down Lexa’s abs, causing her girlfriend to chuckle.

“Oh, you like those?”

“You know I do.” Clarke rolled her eyes, turning them over so that Lexa was beneath her. “Well…” Lexa huffed as Clarke ground her dripping core against her abs appreciatively. “I can safely say that this turned out to be a lot sexier than how I imagined it.” Lexa admitted as she laced her hands with Clarke’s, watching her grind down, leaving a slick trail of pleasure.

“Yeah?” Clarke smirked, leaning to kiss Lexa’s neck. “You imagined this?”

“Well, the santa hat was a given. No panties and a garter belt? I can safely say I’m pleasantly surprised.” Lexa breathed sharply when Clarke bit softly as she left marks along Lexa’s neck.  

Clarke smirked, hand reaching down into Lexa’s underwear, eyebrows lifting when she found a pool of evidence along Lexa’s folds.

“I can tell.” Clarke murmured triumphantly, as Lexa squirmed beneath her. “Are you going to let me take care of you now, baby?” Clarke taunted.

Lexa smirked and flipped her over, quickly pinning her to the mattress. “Not a chance, love. I still have to give you my present.”

The days passed on in a blur as Clarke and Lexa continued exploring bits and pieces of one another that they hardly knew existed, despite their rapidly approaching one-year anniversary.

“Lex! Do you want some cocoa?”

Lexa smiled at the sound of her little brother’s voice, and shook her head fondly.

“Not if you’re making it,” she laughed, “it’s more like marshmallow with only a little bit of cocoa, too sweet.”

“O- kay , more for me then!”

Seeing him back here, in their childhood home, for Christmas, filled with such life and happiness … it made Lexa’s heart ache. Christmases at their childhood estate hadn’t always been the greatest, what with their parents always gone, and she couldn’t help the pang of bitterness directed at her parents still for leaving them alone so much.

“Lexie T-Rexie!”

The eight-year-old smiled widely as her five-year-old baby brother slid up to her on fluffy red and green socks, a too big santa hat covering his eyes. He collided with her with a soft oomph and Lexa quickly pulled him into a hug.

“Santa’s coming tonight!” he cheered, pulling the second hat that had been poorly concealed behind his back to place firmly on Lexa’s own head. “Roma’s making cookies.”

“Is she?” Lexa asked gingerly, pulling the hat up off of Aden’s eyes and tucking it behind his ears. “Have you been a good little elf?”

Aden pouted, crossing his arms across his chest.

“I’m not an elf, Lexie.”

“Are you sure?” Lexa teased, pulling on his ears, “because you’re so tiny, and you have such big ears.” Ticklish as ever, Aden erupted into a fit of giggles, blue eyes bright.

“Not an elf!” he repeated through his laugher.

“Alright, alright,” Lexa conceded, “what have you been up to?”

“Writing my letter for Santa!” he chirped excitedly. “Ed had to help me with some of the letters, though, s is tricky.” Aden was exceptionally smart for his age, which filled Lexa with an odd sense of pride, but even he had some difficulty when it came to the direction of the letter ‘s’.

“Do you want me to read it over to check for mistakes?”

“Yes please, Lexie,” he smiled, “it has to be perfect, otherwise I won’t get what I want.”

Lexa was eight, and because she was eight, she knew things. Things like the fact that Santa Claus wasn’t real, and that reindeer with red noses were just songs that people sang to their children. Not that Lexa would know what songs parents sang to children, seeing as hers were always gone.

They’d promised they’d be home for the holidays, too.

Her mother had kissed both Lexa and Aden dutifully on the forehead before she left, and her father had ruffled Aden’s messy golden hair and tugged his daughter into a tight hug.

“It’s only for a week,” they had said.

One week had turned into two, and then a full month, with only a few calls here-and-there from the busy couple who seemed to forget they even had children to worry about back home.

Lexa had been moping the entirety of December, with the understanding that her parents would be gone for yet another holiday. She didn’t have the same instinctive, unconcealed hope that Aden did. He was too little to fully understand the situation, and still had faith that Alexander and Anastasia Woods would hold true to all their promises.

Lexa had seen them break enough to know that it was highly unlikely.

“Here!” Aden pressed the letter into Lexa’s hands excitedly, preening like a peacock in a rare show of signature Woods confidence for the younger boy, obviously proud of himself for the letter he’d written.

At every word, a bit of Lexa’s heart broke.

Dear Santa,

This is Aden Augst  Augustus Woods, and I am five years old. I live with my sister Lexie and our friends Ed and Roma at our house. Ed is helping me write, ‘cos I can’t spell very well yet. I don’t know our aders address but you know everything.

Lexie told me I should right write you a letter on what presents I want, and to think ‘bout it really hard, otherwise I might get something I won’t ever use.

I made a list earlier with lots of toys, then decided that I didn’t really want any of those.

Since your you’re Santa and you have magic powers, I decided that I should ask for something special. So ‘cos I’m not asking for any toys could you please bring me my parents home for Christmas? Their names are Ana and Alex Woods but I call them Mom and Dad.

I promise I’ve been a really good boy this year. I eat all my veggies when Roma tells me to and practice my letters with Ed and help Lexie with her chores. I just really want to spend Christmas with my mom and dad, because I miss them.

Thank you for your magic!

Merry Christmas,

x Aden

“Is it alright?” Aden asked anxiously, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Lexa blinked forcefully a few times to prevent herself from crying.

“It’s very well written,” Lexa responded dutifully, and Aden beamed up at her.

“Great!” he cheered. “I even made sure Roma made his cookies with extra chocolate chips, so that my wish comes true!” Already participating in the act of practical bribery at such a young age. Their parents would be proud.

If they were actually around to be proud of anything.

“Why don’t you go practice piano with Ed?” Lexa suggested gently. “And I’ll go see what Roma’s making for lunch.”

“Ok!” Aden agreed, pausing to hug Lexa tightly before scampering off. “Don’t eat the cookies! They’re for Santa!”

The smile melted off of Lexa’s face as soon as Aden was out of sight.

His little heart was going to be broken the next morning when Christmas dawned and their parents remained suspiciously absent.

Lexa winced at the thought of that Christmas, perhaps the worst one she’d had the pleasure of experiencing yet. True to her younger self’s predictions, Aden had been absolutely devastated .

“Lexie! Lexie wake up!” Lexa frowned into her pillow as a light weight collided with her side, tiny hands poking at her stomach.

“What time is it?” she mumbled sleepily, mind still groggy.

“Lexie!” Aden whined. “It’s Christmas!”

His excited declaration was enough to finally warrant Lexa’s eyes opening, and her heart fell at the memory of what her little brother wanted most for the holidays. Decked out in his finest spiderman pajamas, Aden was grinning ear-to-ear, Santa Hat already fixated prominently on his head of messy blonde hair.

“Ready to go open presents?” Lexa prompted, and he practically leapt out of her bed with the force of his exuberance.

“Yes!” he cheered. He was so happy, so hopeful. It was breaking Lexa’s heart.

The two siblings quickly made their way down the stairs and into the living room, where the large Christmas tree was proudly on display, decorated with brightly shining ornaments and sparkling fairy lights.

A small mountain of perfectly wrapped presents lay underneath it, no doubt the attempt of the Woods parents to placate their children’s disappointment at their absence. Bitterly, Lexa considered the fact that her parents thought the happiness of their own children could be bought with bribes of shining new toys.

Aden busied himself with looking around the room, behind the curtains, a small frown tugging its way onto his previously cheerful face.

“What are you looking for, Little Lion?” Roma yawned, movements still lazed due to the early hour. “All the presents are under the tree.”

His frown deepened.

“All of them?” he asked again.

Roma and Ed exchanged an incredulous look, though the semblance of realization was forming on the latter’s face―he had helped Aden write his letter, after all―and Lexa sighed. Again, the duty fell on her to act as not an eight-year-old child, but a caretaker to her baby brother.

“Aden,” she began softly, “you have to understand―”

She stopped talking at the sound of his first little sniffle, poorly concealed from behind the sleeve of his spiderman pajamas. Baby blue eyes were welled up with crocodile tears, and Lexa’s resolve crumpled.

“Aden―”

“Santa isn’t real, is he?” Aden asked, voice wobbly, the first few tears cascading down his cheeks.

“No,” Lexa responded, truthfully.

It wasn’t right.

Aden should have been able to go a few more years, at least, still believing in the white-bearded, sleigh-riding magic man who was a beacon of hope and excitement for young children. Aden shouldn’t have had to ask for his parents’ return for Christmas.

“I just wanted mom and dad,” he whispered, brokenly, and then he was crying in earnest, burrowing into his older sister’s chest as his little body convulsed with the force of his sobs. “Lexie I just want them to come home.”

“I know,” Lexa said, and she could feel her own tears, hot and persistent, running down her cheeks, “I know, Aden. Me too.”

“Why don’t they love us,” he hiccuped, and Lexa’s heart ached even more.

She wanted to open her mouth, to explain to him the importance of the family business, but the question he’d asked in his fit of sorrow was one she’d pondered upon plenty in her own time. Because, while their business was important, she and Aden were their children . Their greatest legacy.

Surely they had known that having kids meant you were supposed to actually care for them.

And not just with mountains of presents and nannies and chefs―though Ed and Roma were wonderful―but by being there. Raising Lexa and Aden themselves.

“It’s okay,” Lexa said instead, hugging her baby brother closer, “it’s okay Aden, I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

“Promise?” he hiccuped, pulling away for just a moment to look Lexa in the eyes, blue and green meeting one another in a moment of complete and utter vulnerability.

“Promise,” Lexa agreed.

“Lex?” She was jolted from her memories by the voice of the person she’d come to love most in the world. “Lexa baby are you alright? You’re crying.”

“Am I?” Lexa chuckled softly, “I hadn’t even noticed.”

Sure enough, there was a distinctive wetness clinging to her cheeks, and Clarke gently cupped Lexa’s face in her hands and kissed down the tear tracks.

“What’s wrong?” she mumbled, pulling Lexa into a tight embrace. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I’m here.”

“I know,” Lexa answered with a small smile. “Bad memory, I’m alright, promise.”

Clarke hummed in response, linking her hand with Lexa’s.

“If you say so,” she agreed, before tugging Lexa in the direction of the kitchen, “come on, Aden’s making cocoa.”

Though it had been eleven years since that horrible Christmas, not much had changed within the Woods family home.

The tree was just as magnificent, gleaming with reds and silvers and dazzling the eye of whoever passed. Garland was strung along the banisters and balconies, and the soft thrum of Christmas carols echoed through the halls. Roma and Ed, of course, were no longer there, but for the most part, everything was the same.

Except Lexa.

She’d changed considerably in those eleven years, and had often dreaded returning home for the holidays, knowing that the home would be empty save for her and her younger brother. Christmas had been a time usually reserved for sulking.

But now, with Clarke beside her, it was just as though Lexa was a child again, eager and excited and oh so merry .

“Changed your mind, I see,” Aden quipped as the two of them made their entrance, hand-in-hand, “it’s alright, I made you a cup anyways, knew you’d want some.”

Aden had changed, too, but his spirit was more resilient than most people knew, and was almost vibrating with holiday cheer. With a Santa hat firmly in place on his head―propped up by ears that were still too big―and spiderman pajama pants, it was almost too easy for Lexa to remember all the pain and loneliness of Christmases past.   

But her parents were at the breakfast bar, bickering about crosswords over cocoa, and the girl she loved most in the world was next to her, holding her hand, and Aden was smiling, bright and pure and genuine .

And for the first time in years, Lexa thought that Christmas at home might not be so bad.

“I’m taking the girls.” Alexander announced as he slipped into his coat, preparing himself for the biting cold, grinning when he noticed Clarke meticulously wrapping a scarf around Lexa’s neck, so obviously worried about her.

“Why not me?” Aden pouted from his corner of the living room, laying on the carpet and scratching Pauna’s belly, the dog panting with approval.

“Because these two are off in college, they need to learn how to properly shop for groceries, so they don’t starve in college.” Alexander chuckled.

And maybe, he wanted to spend a little time with the two, to try and preserve all the progress he and Alexandria had made in their relationship.

“We’re going out into the city.” Lexa smirked, wrapping her arms around Clarke’s waist. “Civilization.” She enthused.

Clarke rolled her eyes. “You’re a spoiled little princess, you know that? It’s gorgeous up here.”

“It is gorgeous up here.” Lexa agreed, her words breathy as she whispered in Clarke’s ear, sending chills down her spine as her hands just barely grazed Clarke’s chest on their way to cupping her cheeks.

“Alexandria.” Lexa’s mother called as she walked by, pressing a shopping list into her husband’s hand, smirking at her husband’s thankful look of relief. “Remember to pick up extra cinnamon. For those cookies you and Aden love.”

Lexa’s eyes lit up, and Clarke blinked in wonder. What just happened?

“Okay.” Lexa nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “Sure.”

“Splendid. You two have fun.” Anastasia winked as she passed.

Clarke glanced at Lexa with a questioning smile. “You good?” She whispered, locking her arm with Lexa’s.

“Yeah.” Lexa chuckled to herself, a small grin on her lips. “I just...can’t believe she remembered.”

“What? The cookies?” Clarke asked.

“Yeah.” Lexa nodded. “I haven’t had those since...Well, a long time.”

“Alright, ladies.” Alexander put a hand on each of their shoulders. Clarke glanced up at him, taking in his crisp look, clean shaven and hair combed, long black coat and gloves, making him look like someone entirely too important for her to be acquainted with. She then glanced at Lexa, taking in her Burberry coat, her hair softly parted, tossed over one shoulder, and her boots making her legs look endless.

They both looked entirely too important. With some damn good genetics.

“Let’s go on an adventure.” Alexander enthused, freeing the car keys from his pocket as they made their way to the door.

“Wow.” Clarke fought the urge to whistle as she peered out the window of Alexander’s plush car interior, glancing past the frost to take in, with great amazement, the city lights. Everything was lit, a beacon of beauty in the dim winter. The trees had lines of swirling lights around them, and the light powder that coated the ground only reflected their golden glow.

Clarke felt Lexa’s arms tighten around her, the two of them in the back seat as Alexander cruised on through the streets. Clarke leaned her head on Lexa’s shoulder, breathing in the scent of her sweet perfume with delight.

“You’ve never been to this kind of town during the holidays?” Lexa queried softly, pressing her lips to Clarke’s temple.

“No. Because I didn’t grow up a billionaire. Or a celebrity.” Clarke informed her with a cheeky grin.

“Yes, Lexa, stop throwing your wealth in other people’s faces.” Alex chided from the front with a grin at Clarke in the rearview mirror, laughing at Lexa’s astounded face.

“That’s not what I-” Lexa’s protests were cut off by Clarke.

“I know, babe, we’re teasing.” Clarke laughed, settling a hand on Lexa’s thigh.

“Very cute.” Lexa muttered, but she made no move to put any distance between herself and Clarke, in fact, leaning closer.

“So…” Alexander began gently. “I figure I’ll drop you two off at the market, go and pick up your mother’s gift from the jewelers, and meet you here when it’s time to pay. Sound good?”

Lexa nodded, eager just to be with Clarke. She made everything fun.

“Alright. This is your stop, then.” Alexander announced as he pulled over. “Any requests from the jewelers, Lexa? An engagement ring, perhaps?”

Lexa rolled her eyes as her cheeks turned bright red and Clarke giggled. She shut the door with an unintelligible grumble that sounded a lot like “I don’t need help proposing, I’m just waiting for the right time-”

“They’re just teasing you.” Clarke supplied as they joined hands, hurrying out of the cold to the sliding doors of the market, welcoming the warmth.

“Well, that’s part of it. They’re also probably worried I’ll do something to scare you away, and they love you.” Lexa informed her, curling a stray hair behind Clarke’s ear. “I mean, not as much as I do, but…”

Clarke grinned into their ensuing kiss, mindful of the old lady who was staring at them disapprovingly by the shopping carts.

“So.” Clarke breathed as she fished the crumpled shopping list out of Lexa’s pocket, whistling as she took in the sights of the store. “This is...where the celebrities come to shop.”

“Oh my god, Clarke. It’s not like that.”

“I literally saw two pop stars on our way here.”

“That was just a coincidence.”

“Lexa, your jacket costs more than my tuition.”

“Would you like it? God knows you’d make it look beautiful.”

“I hate when you deflect with your charm.”

“Really?”

“No. Now go fetch me some gingerbread samples while I do the heavy lifting.”

“Yes, my love.”

Clarke was in the middle of comparing two brands of cinnamon when she heard it.

The subtle, but very clear, click of a camera.

She frowned and looked around. Lexa was a few aisles down looking for icing, and while Clarke would usually brush off the noise as someone taking a poorly-lit puppy filter selfie on snapchat, she figured that such luck wasn’t on her side in such a high-profile place. Especially after she’d seen a few people with cameras hounding a teenager she vaguely recognized from YouTube.

Mentally, Clarke counted to ten before she just placed both jars of cinnamon in her basket, knowing that Anastasia would just use the one she preferred and save the other for later, and began her hunt for her ever elusive girlfriend.

She found her a mere five minutes later, chatting with an older woman who Clarke figured she must have known.

“Clarke!” Lexa greeted happily, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend’s waist when she walked up to the two.

“This is Emily,” Lexa introduced, “she used to babysit sometimes, back in the day…” Lexa trailed off as another click resounded, and a frown tugged its way onto her face.

Clarke couldn’t see the self-proclaimed “reporters”―really they were just wannabe internet bloggers funded by trashy media outlets who were desperate for some point of relevancy―who’d spotted her girlfriend in the cookie aisle of a store looking for a story, but she supposed that they were at least doing their job of being stealthy, in that sense.   

Emily sighed.

“They never seem to know the meaning of boundaries , do they?”

Lexa frowned and pulled out her phone, doubtlessly to text her father, who was still at the jeweler's.

“This your first time dealing with them, sweetheart?” Emily asked as Lexa’s fingers furiously typed away.

While Clarke had dealt with some rabid fans on campus who worshiped Lexa, security had done a fairly decent job of keeping the press off of their school grounds and away from their star football player. So she hadn’t been fully subjected to the chaos of cameras and microphones being shoved in your face.

“Yeah,” Clarke nodded, and Lexa sighed, pulling Clarke closer to her.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, “we’ll get this sorted out. They’re rabid dogs, just need a little authority to scare them off.”

This authority , so-to-speak, showed up whilst they were in the middle of checkout, and did the complete opposite of scaring off the paparazzi.

It wasn’t everyday the CEO of a major business corporation was seen coming out of the jewelers with a telltale bag, after all.

Within the store, there was a semblance of control, as the owners were fairly competent with keeping people out, but once they’d left, grocery bags in hand, the wolves were ready and able to attack.

“Mr. Woods!” The reporter was young, and seemed inexperienced, with big blue eyes framed with glasses and a cheerful disposition that was even sunnier than her hair. Behind her, a few photographers loitered, though none of them were brave enough to actually say something. Being in the presence of Alexander Woods tended to have that effect on people. “Do you have a moment to talk about your company’s new green initiative?”

He frowned at the reporter, then looked back at his daughter and her girlfriend.

“You must be new,” he said with a small smile, “I’ve never seen you around before. What’s your name?” He held out his hand for the girl to shake, and she eyed it with complete and utter wonder before accepting it, cheeks flushed bright red.

“Uh, sir, but really―”

“You must be freezing,” Alex cut her off with a frown, “did your boss really send you on a stakeout in this weather without enough time to properly prepare? You’re going to catch a cold.”

Clarke was pretty sure this wasn’t how interactions with the press were supposed to go, especially when they weren’t warranted, but from the small smile on Lexa’s face, this was just Alex’s unique way of ‘scaring people off’.

Mothering them to death.

Or, at least with this specific reporter.

“I appreciate the concern, sir, really, but if I could just get a statement on the green initiative―”

“Really? You don’t want to know about the hot family drama?” he asked.

“I mean, not really, sir, I’m just supposed to ask about the green initia―”

“You must know my daughter, Alexandria,” he interrupted again, “top of her class, the only female football player on her team.” He grinned proudly at her and the reporter sputtered.

“Yes, of course, Mr. Woods, but about the gre―”

“And my daughter-in-law, Clarke.” Clarke’s eyes widened comically at her words, and she knew that the expression was mirrored by Lexa. “Really an astounding girl, top of her class, and some of the best art I’ve ever seen.”

“...daughter-in-law?” the reporter asked.

Lexa opened her mouth to protest but Alex gave her a look .

“Never you mind about that, now, you wanted a statement about the green initiative?”

“Actually,” the girl started, “it’s alright, I’m sorry to have interrupted your days. Have a nice day, Mr. Woods… Mrs. and Mrs. Woods?” The last part was more of a question than a well-wish, and Lexa sighed as the reported scampered off.      

“Really, dad? Daughter-in-law?”

“What?” he grinned. “If it gets published, that just means you’ll have to actually pop the question.”

Lexa groaned and Clarke laughed.

“You’re worse than mom.”

“KOM WAR!”

“Aden Augustus Woods if you so much as―” Lexa’s threat was cut off as a very cold, very wet ball of snow collided with her cheek, and her green eyes narrowed in challenge.

“Oh it is on you little branwada! ” she crowed, kneeling down to gather up some of the readily available ammunition to retaliate.  

“Clarke!” Lexa called. “Come help me show the little twerp who’s the boss around here!”

Her girlfriend in question had been watching Aden and Lexa attempt to shovel snow out of the garden path―and tried to help, but to no avail―from the comfort of the raised porch, clutching a hot cup of cocoa close to her chest.

“Coming, babe!” Clarke called, and Lexa smirked before turning the full force of her attention on absolutely pummelling her little brother. She was in the middle of clumping together another impressively sized snowball when a wave of cold rushed down her back.

Clarke was standing behind her, grinning, as she dumped snow down Lexa’s jacket.

“Traitor!” Lexa accused, but before she could enact revenge, another well-aimed shot from Aden hit her in the forehead and then Clarke was running off to join him.

“I see how much this relationship means to you!” Lexa yelled, ducking out of the way of another snowball.

“All is fair in love and war, Airbud!” Clarke called back with a wild grin.

Even with Clarke and Aden working in tandem―Clarke making the snowballs and Aden throwing them, as he had the better hand-eye-coordination of the two―Lexa was a formidable foe, and they found themselves covered in snow just as often as Lexa.

“Kids! You ready for lunch?”

“We’re a little busy mom!” Aden called from behind his and Clarke’s hastily erected snow fort.

“Lexa?”

“I have to defend my honor!”

Ana, unaccustomed to her children refusing food, ventured to the edge of the porch, realization dawning on her face when she observed the onslaught of powdery snow being hurled across the grounds.

“I will remove your liver and feed it to the crows!”

“You’d actually have to catch me first, slowpoke!”

Aden loosed another snowball and Clarke watched, in utter horror, as the projectile flew past Lexa and collided, almost in slow-motion, with his mother.

There was a moment of complete stillness before Ana’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh it’s on , little man.”

Lexa cheered as her mother moved besides her, and Aden and Clarke soon found themselves in much more trouble than they’d initially anticipated.

In almost a blink of an eye, the snowball fight became a family-wide event.

Abby had―traitorously―joined forces with Lexa and Anastasia, who was her newfound best friend, while Kane and Alex moved to aid Clarke and Aden. Pauna, who Clarke and Lexa still observed with utter suspicion, was running back and forth, trying to catch the snow in her mouth happily.  

“Mom! Traitor!” Clarke jeered from behind a tree. “You’re betraying your own daughter?!”

“For my daughter-in-law-to be!” Abby defended, nailing Clarke in the knee with a snowball.

Abby grinned and Lexa high-fived her, while Clarke rolled her eyes, an undeniable grin on her lips at the interaction between her loved ones.

Alexander raised his arm to hurl one at Anastasia, but she caught his eye at the last second.

“Think hard, dear.” Anastasia spoke, her tone relaxed for the caliber of the battle they were having.

Alex sighed and threw the snowball down, only to have one crumble against his chest just mere seconds later.

“Ana!” He complained, shoulders shaking with laughter.

Lexa was watching their exchange with an amazed grin, so unused to seeing her parents interact in such a fun, lighthearted way that she completely missed the gargantuan snowball Aden had just launched at her abdomen, sending her collapsing into the snow.

Only then, did Aden realize, the core of the ball he’d just sent was purely ice. Oops.

Clarke, with little regard for the war that was still ensuing, darted over to Lexa’s side, dropping to her knees. “You good, babe?” She asked, eyes flashing with concern.

Lexa clutched her stomach, head cradled by Clarke.

“I’m dying.” She announced dramatically, coughing for extra emphasis.

Clarke feigned terror, shaking her head. “You can’t!”

“My...spirit...will move on.” Lexa coughed once more, hand lacing with Clarke’s. “There’s nothing you can do now.”

Clarke shook her head at Lexa’s antics, playing along with her best friend in the most dramatic fashion.

“The next commander will protect you.” Lexa wheezed.

“I don’t want the next commander.” Clarke clutched her chest dramatically, pretending to wipe at her nonexistent tears. “I want you!”

“My fight is over.” Lexa whispered, before tilting her head back into Clarke’s hands, eyes closing, snowflakes settling on her high cheekbones.

Clarke shook her head in mournful disbelief, leaning over to press a kiss to Lexa’s lips.

Lexa grinned against her kiss, and tugged her down, arms snaking around her waist.

The two found themselves in a giggling fit at their own antics, laughing and kissing and separating to breathe. When they glanced up, they found everyone staring at them, somewhat slack-jawed by the sheer...strangeness...of what they’d just witnessed.

The only one still moving was Pauna, playfully burrowing into the snow by Abby’s foot.

“...What?” Clarke asked meekly, cheeks going red as she realized that she and Lexa had put on quite the performance.

They were all gathered around the comfort of the Woods’ home entertainment room. The rows of leather reclining seats put even Indra’s home theater to shame, and Clarke was still marveling at who exactly she’d come to fall in love with.

Abby, on the other hand, seemed right at home- bumping shoulders with Ana and laughing all the while, likely about their daughters.

Lexa re-entered the room, hear forest green sweater matching her eyes, sleeves rolled up in a way that had Clarke swooning. Lexa carried two bowls of popcorn as she greeted Clarke with a smile, settling beside her in the same chair, (if Anya had been there, it would have earned them eye rolls from her).

“Thanks.” Clarke murmured as she took her bowl, leaning into Lexa as she felt an arm wrap around her. “I still want to share, though.”

“Oh.” Lexa pouted. “I thought you said to me, quite clearly, ‘Alexandria Woods- I will NEVER be one of those couples where they go to a restaurant and share a meal. That’s ridiculous’ I was just following your direction.” Lexa chuckled at her own imitation of Clarke.

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but popcorn is different.”

Lexa quirked a smile at her girlfriend’s logic. “How so?”

“Because, with popcorn, you do the thing where we both reach at the same time, and our hands accidentally brush, and we both turn away blushing-”

Lexa grinned, pressing a soft kiss to Clarke’s cheek, moving her lips to graze over her ear. “Isn’t that for new couples?” She whispered, sending shivers down Clarke’s spine. “Not couples who have kissed and licked and sucked every inch of each other’s bodies?”

Clarke realized what she was doing and pulled away slightly, slapping her arm. “Down, girl.” She hissed, playful in tone. “We haven’t even started the movie, I can’t sit through it with those kind of thoughts.”

Lexa laughed, hugging Clarke apologetically. “Have they even decided what we’re watching?”

At that, the two mothers in the room perked up. “Yes, Abby has to go get her film from the car. While she does that, here, Clarke- I have a little surprise for you!”

Abby darted out of the room rather suspiciously, and Clarke grinned. “A surprise?”

Lexa froze, biting her lip. She knew how evil her mother could be. “...What kind of surprise?”

Anastasia turned and accepted something hefty looking from Alexander, bringing it forward to Clarke’s arms.

A thick, filled picture album, with baby pictures of Lexa on the front.

“Oh. my. God.” Clarke squealed, as Lexa stared on in horror.

“I know she’s probably shown you some and called it a day, but these ones here are the real gems.” Alexander chuckled, going to sit beside them.

“Won’t you two go back to Paris?” Lexa grumbled.

“Be nice.” Clarke whispered, fingers grazing the cover photo of a young baby, no more than six months old, sitting on a blanket. She was smiling, laughing almost- a thick set of light brown curls on her head, eyes that looked almost blueish-green, as they hadn’t fully developed yet. “Oh my god.” Clarke felt something tugging at her heart. Lexa was adorable.

Lexa was looking away, her hand still around Clarke’s waist, comically pretending not to care.

“Turn the page- I think her toddler years are there. That’s her best age, if you ask me.”

Lexa bit back a reply. So many babysitters and hired photographers to take her “best age” and document it, but never her parents.

“Oh my god!” Clarke cried as she flipped the page, revealing Lexa at the top of a treehouse that she clearly needed help climbing. She was the image of curiosity- her brunette curls grown out, wearing nothing but overalls, her bright green eyes shining as she grinned, her chubby little arms holding a miniature football. “You, Alexandria Woods, were round?”

“She wasn’t born with a four-pack.” Anastasia chuckled.

“Six pack.” Lexa corrected pettily, and Clarke snorted a quiet laugh.

“Look at you.” Clarke breathed, running her hands over Lexa’s picture, and then turning to cup her cheeks, Lexa’s eyes glittering with the same happiness in the picture as she did then in Clarke’s arms. Only Clarke had that power over her.

Anastasia and Alexander glanced at them, their hearts filled with some indescribable love for Clarke, who’d healed the wounds they’d unintentionally inflicted on their own daughter.

“You’re still her.” Clarke chuckled when Lexa grinned, leaning into her touch. “I still see her in you sometimes. Like, when the game is getting heated. And when I come home with quinoa and kale salads for you.”

At that, Lexa let out a soft laugh, and Clarke was swooning, seeing the careless, loving little girl in Lexa’s eyes. Oh, how Clarke loved her.

“You’re still just as cute.” Clarke promised in a soft whisper, forgetting everyone in the room as she nuzzled Lexa gently.

“I love you.” Lexa murmured, leaning forward to drop a chaste kiss to Clarke’s lips.

Clarke pulled away, blinking hazily and blushing furiously as she remembered Lexa’s parents in the room. “Ahem.” She cleared her throat. “Uh, right, so- is that treehouse still in the yard?”

“Yeah.” Lexa nodded. “You probably haven’t seen it because of all the snow. But I can take you there, if you’d like?”

“Yeah.” Clarke nodded with a curious smile. “I want to see it.”

“It’s a date.” Lexa promised.

“Turn the page!” Alexander gushed. “I just remembered, Lexa decided to take a bike ride, right into a thorn bush.”

Clarke stifled a laugh, stroking Lexa’s cheek. “Poor baby.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and let out a huff. “There was a thorn in my butt, Clarke.”

Clarke gave her a sympathetic pout, and when no one was listening, quietly murmured, “I’ll kiss it better tonight.”

And despite the fact that it was nearly fifteen years after the fact- Lexa did nothing to protest.

By the time Abby had returned, Clarke had gone through the entirety of the album, laughing and crying slightly, falling in love with miniature Lexa, and kissing her Lexa every two seconds.

“Thank god this is over.” Lexa mumbled as she moved to set the album aside.

“Hold on!” Clarke frowned. “I want one of those pictures!”

“For what?” Lexa demanded warily.

“The fridge, or my desk or something!” Clarke pouted.

Lexa snorted. “That’s for your own children, Clarke.”

Clarke gave her a little smirk, leaning over to whisper, “Wanna go make some?”

Lexa gave a soft growl at Clarke’s teasing, and the two began playfully shoving each other while Abby and Alexander knelt by the TV console, working on something.

“Mom, can Pauna sit on the chair?” Aden called, the Rottweiler panting by his side, while Clarke and Lexa glared at the feral beast.

“We let Clarke and Lexa do god knows what on the couch, I don’t see why not.” Anastasia quipped, sending both girls into a coughing fit while Abby snorted a laugh from her kneeling position.

“Okay, got it.” Alexander grabbed the remote, leaning back as the image began to fill the screen. Anastasia went to dim the lights.

“Okay, so what are we watching?” Clarke asked aloud, and received no response.

Suddenly, the screen filled with a somewhat grainy image of Clarke’s back yard, lawn chairs out, music playing, several adults walking around with drinks in their hands.

“Oh my god.” Clarke gasped. “Is this…”

Abby nodded, grinning at Clarke’s reaction.

“Is that your house?” Lexa murmured quietly, Clarke’s fingers lacing with hers.

“Yeah, it’s-” Clarke was cut off by Lexa’s gasp.

There, in all her glory- was four year old Clarke, in a pink princess dress, complete with a crown. She grinned as she ran towards the camera on her short little legs (it really was more of a waddle). Her blonde hair was bouncing, and she looked up into the lens, looking exactly like herself, with her beauty mark above her lip.

“Is that…” Lexa trailed off, subconsciously squeezing Clarke’s fingers. “Is that you?”

“Clarke!” Abby’s voice, full of amusement, rang out. “Baby, who are you running from?”

Clarke reached up, chubby hands making a desperate grabbing motion as she begged to be lifted, throwing a desperate glance behind her. “Up, momma, up!” Clarke whined.

Abby chuckled. “Baby, I can’t, I’m holding the camera.”

“I am in love.” Lexa whispered so softly, and Clarke smiled at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Look at you, Clarke. So adorable. I want our baby to look just like you.”

Clarke got chills at that. Our baby . They both wanted that ultimate form of love with each other.

“Bell!” Clarke cried out. “Bell!”

Just then, in the corner of the screen, a dark haired boy, unfairly taller than Clarke, stormed out into the yard. “Princess!” He called tauntingly. “Gonna get you!” His mop of curls bounced as ran towards Clarke, who shrieked in despair.

“I’ll kill him.” Lexa growled lowly and Clarke laughed softly, leaning her head on Lexa’s shoulder.

“If only you were around to protect me.” Clarke whispered affectionately.

“Is that why you hate being called princess?” Lexa asked suddenly.

Clarke nodded. “Ever since we were little.”

Lexa smiled, pressing a soft kiss to Clarke’s forehead, unaware of Abby’s loving gaze upon them.

The camera panned and followed Clarke as she ran, looking for any sort of protection, until she stumbled into long legs that extended out of the frame. Right as Bellamy moved to snatch Clarke, two strong hands lifted her up, out of his reach, and a deep baritone chuckle filled the silence.

The camera panned upwards (Abby had prided herself on her professional filming style) and revealed none other than Jake Griffin, alive and well.

“Daddy!” Clarke’s excited shriek of relief was comical as she put her tiny hands on either side of his cheeks, causing him to grin.

“Hey, angel.” Jake chuckled once more.

Clarke tore her eyes away from the screen to take in Lexa, who was studying the screen intently, curious forest eyes drinking in every detail of Clarke’s father. She longed to know him, to know what he wanted for Clarke, if it could make her girlfriend happy.

“Do you...remember?” Lexa murmured, eyes not moving from the screen.

“Yeah.” Clarke nodded, her mind racing. “Yes.” she repeated once more, slipping away into the memory.

Jake was laughing as he held Clarke against him with one arm, the other ruffling Bellamy’s hair. “Bellamy Blake. Are you harassing my baby girl?”

Bellamy looked terribly confused, his freckled face forming an unsure look. “Umm…” He kicked at the grass beneath his shoe guiltily. “I dunno.” He shrugged. “She’s the princess. I’m the kidnapper. I have to take her back to my tower.” He pointed to the treehouse in the background.

Jake smirked. “What is this game, Mario or something? Why do you want to kidnap her?”

“Yeah.” Clarke called out cockily, now that she was safe in her father’s grip.

“To make her eat worms.” Bellamy rolled his eyes as if it were obvious.

“What?!” Jake feigned offence, and Bellamy grinned mischievously. “Bellamy, you better run away before I tell your mother!”

Bellamy laughed gleefully and dove away, likely to go and attack his poor twin, who was picking flowers (from Abby’s carefully planted garden) on the other side of the yard.

Jake, seemingly unaware of the camera, sat down in his favorite lawn chair, bouncing Clarke on his lap, who was grinning just at the sight of him.

“Hey, kiddo.” Jake chuckled when Clarke glanced at him expectantly. “How’s my beautiful birthday girl?”

“Good.” Clarke answered, smushing his cheeks together and laughing at his puckered lips.

“Hey…” Jake pretended to look around, left and right, before proceeding. “Wanna hear a secret, champ?”

“Yeah!” Clarke all but yelled. Eyes widening, blue as the clear skies above them. Skies that held no sign, no warning of what was to come, for the two of them.

“Okay.” Jake laughed. “But don’t tell your mom.”

Abby’s mutter of “Jake, you and I will have a talk tonight.” wasn’t heard by the two, but it certainly was heard on the tape.

“I got you a bunch of presents, but there’s one I kinda want you to open now.” Jake smiled, tapping Clarke’s nose.

“Really?!” Clarke grinned. “Really really really?!”

“Really really really.” Jake laughed, setting Clarke off his lap, and moving out of the frame momentarily. He came back with a wrapped present, kneeling before Clarke, who excitedly sat on the edge of her chair.

“Princess, I have-”

“No.” Clarke hummed.

“No what?” Jake paused.

“I’m not a princess.” Clarke huffed.  “I don’t like it anymore.”

Jake smiled, shaking his head. “Of course you’re not. My apologies. We’ll have to get you a new costume, huh? After this.”

Clarke nodded her approval petulantly.

“So….Clarkester.” Jake corrected, and Clarke grinned once more. “I got this for you because I noticed how much you like drawing on my bathroom wall with sharpies.”

Clarke giggled guiltily. She loved doing that. Especially drawing stars, and earth, and spaceships! Jake built spaceships, she was pretty sure. She hoped he’d love them.

“So anyway, I got you this. I think, maybe, we found the thing you might be best at in the whole world.” Jake grinned.

“Like you and building rockets?” Clarke gasped.

Jake laughed at Clarke’s very very basic understanding of his job. “Yeah. But better.”

Clarke’s eyebrows lifted as he handed her the box. She tore into it hungrily, destroying the elegant wrapping in the process as she let out a shrill squeak.

There was a full art set. A couple of canvases, brushes, paints, markers, and even a few blocks of colored clay.

All for Clarke to play with.

“I think you like art.” Jake nodded to himself, watching as Clarke’s eyes glazed over and she practically drooled over the monstrous gift. “I think you might even be an artist one day. You might have trouble paying the bills, but heck- marry rich.”

“JAKE.” Abby scolded, walking the camera over, exposing her hiding place. “She’s too young to get your humor. She’ll take everything to heart.”

“It’s not bad advice.” Jake chuckled, turning back to Clarke. “I’m kidding, honey. Can you do daddy a favor, and remember something?”

“Yes!” Clarke nodded with a salute, sitting straight.

“Okay, Clarke. You remember that if daddy says it, it must be true: You, Clarke, can be anything you want to. You can do anything you put that big creative mind to, okay? You should follow your dreams, no matter what.”

“Okay.” Clarke nodded, mind more focused on the toys rather than his wisdom, at the moment. “You can remind me right?” She asked absently, already opening the box.

“Yeah, daddy will remind you.” Jake ruffled her hair before standing up. “Just remember this in case he’s not around sometimes.”

The entire room seemed to be holding back tears, and Lexa was clutching Clarke so tightly, as if she might turn to dust if she’d let go.

“You’re doing it, Clarke.” Lexa whispered in her ear as her girlfriend held onto her, head in the crook of her neck. “He’s so proud.”

“What are we looking for, again?” Clarke asked, rifling through the old trunk in the corner of Lexa’s room, the paint peeling and the wood faded with age.

“I had a copy of this book. It has a football on the cover. Can’t miss it.” Lexa replied, sifting through a drawer across the room. “Clarke?” Lexa questioned, frowning when her girlfriend didn’t respond. “Clarke?”

“...Is this a diary?!” Clarke blurted, staring at an old leather bound notebook. It had Lexa’s name engraved on the front, in unmistakable cursive lettering.

Lexa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I knew this day would come. Anya told me it wasn’t cool to keep a diary.”

Clarke grinned, leaping over onto Lexa’s bed. “Can I read it? Please?”

Lexa grumbled a response of, “You’re going to be mad if I say no, right?”

Clarke shook her head. “That’d be invasive. I just...I love baby you.” Clarke sighed adoring, beckoning Lexa forward just to pinch her cheeks. “You’re so cute and you were so full of wonder and god I would have given anything to have known you!”

Lexa chuckled. “Alright, fine. But you can’t break up with me after.”

Clarke laughed, Lexa snuggling into her embrace. “Nothing could make me do that. But, uh, speaking of which...how far does this thing go? Am I going to be blindsided by your first sexual encounter with Costia? Or-”

“Age thirteen, so no.” Lexa rolled her eyes.

“Nice.” Clarke hummed. “Would you write about our sex in your diary?”

“I don’t keep a diary, Clarke.” Lexa replied with mirth.

“If you did.” Clarke prodded.

“Then yes, I would.” Lexa smirked.

“Good to know. Sometimes a girl needs a progress report.”

“Clarke, we’ve had sex nonstop this week. Don’t you think, if i didn’t like it, I would avoid it?”

“No, you’re selfless like that.”

“Oh my god.” Lexa laughed, feeling Clarke’s arms tighten around her. “Anyway…”

“Read the page aloud.” Clarke commanded as Lexa opened up the first page.

The scrawl was almost childish. Eight year old Lexa had an amazing ability to seem as if she were trying to give off mature vibes, through her print alone. It made Clarke feel giddy inside. She tried to imagine her girlfriend, young, with fuller cheeks and soft brunette curls, writing at the desk across the bed.

Dear Diary,

Today I got dared to hug Andrew, from the boys academy across the street. He hugged me back kinda. So I think I have a crush on him. I don’t know what that means. I have to go to soccer practice. I miss mother and father. Aden keeps crying and I don’t know what to do! I gave him candy but he wouldn’t sleep after and cried almost all night! I have to go now. Bye.

-Alexandria

“Well, that was succinct.” Clarke laughed softly. “I like the way you ended that. Bye.”

“I was eight.” Lexa defended.

“I’m sorry you had to take care of Aden like that.” Clarke murmured, pressing a kiss to Lexa’s head. “You were so young.”

“That’s alright. I know you’re just dying to know what happened to Andrew.” Lexa changed the subject, squeezing Clarke’s hand.

“Do I need to be jealous?” Clarke smirked.

“Perhaps.” Lexa drawled. “I mean, I hadn’t really figured out the whole idea of being a lesbian, just yet.”  

“Carry on.” Clarke nudged her.

Dear Diary,

Andrew asked me to be his wife. I said yes. I’m pretty sure we’re in love and married now. He said we have to kiss soon...But I don’t like that. I don’t want to have babies, or anything. I have to go now- Mother’s concert pianist is coming to teach me and Aden.

-Alexandria

Clarke was shaking with laughter, while Lexa buried her face in Clarke’s arm, leaning back into her.

“Shut up.” She warned, without any bite.

“I’m sorry...how far apart were these?” Clarke snorted.

“...Two days.”

“You got hitched in two days!?” Clarke gasped in faux shock. “Oh my god! And what about that kiss, huh? Oh, baby, you had no idea how pregnancy worked, did you?”

Lexa shrugged nonchalantly. “I was taking precautions.”

Clarke grinned. “Oh, this is too cute.”

Lexa laughed gently as Clarke pressed an adoring kiss to her shoulder. “Can we fast forward to middle school? I need to redeem myself.”

Clarke nodded. “Hit me with it.”

Dear Diary,

I’m twelve now, and I know things. Everyone always wants to hang out with me-

“-that face and this mansion probably didn’t help.” Clarke enthused sarcastically.

Lexa blushed slightly and continued on.

Everyone wants me to like Will, this boy in my grade. He told me he liked me, and he even got me candies. But I don’t like Will. I like his sister, Lisa. And they’re both coming to my

Birthday party on saturday. I know it's not right to like girls, but she’s so pretty and clean

And she’s a year older! I wish my mother were here so I could ask her what is going on.

-Alexandria.

“Uh huh.” Clarke breathed, stroking Lexa’s hair. “So, you were figuring it out all by yourself? Why am I surprised.”

Lexa sighed in response, leaning back into Clarke’s warm embrace. Oh, how she wished she could show her twelve year old self that everything would be alright. That seven years later, she’d be a national success on a highly competitive collegiate team, that her parents would return, that the girl of her dreams would be equally as in love with her.

It seemed surreal.

Dear Diary,

LISA KISSED ME! It was so good. Her lips were so soft, and she told me she thought I was pretty! I can’t believe this! We’re probably going to be married! I can’t wait to call her again!

-Alexandria

Clarke squeezed Lexa’s bicep. “Congratulations, pretty girl.” Clarke whispered softly.

Lexa laughed gently, the laugh of someone who’d grown immensely over the years. “I’m afraid it didn’t work out like that in the end.”

The handwriting on the next page was shaky, and the pages crinkled where they’d been wet in little droplets. Clarke knew they were from tears, and her heart sank.

Dear Diary,

...Lisa doesn’t like me after all. When I asked her about our kiss in home room, she called me a “dyke”. I don’t know what that is, but everyone laughed at me. I never get laughed at. I’m a Woods. I know I’m supposed to be strong, and not cry but….I really really wish my mom and dad were here. I need someone to talk to, and Aden doesn’t understand. Should I not like girls? I can’t help it. I’m so confused-

Clarke was suppressing her tears, leaning forward to line Lexa’s neck with gentle kisses. “Oh my god, this hurts so much. Why are we doing this?”

Lexa, however, remained unfazed. “It’s alright, Clarke. It happened.” She replied, more brightly than Clarke had expected. “You have to see the monster I’ve become…” she chuckled, turning ahead several pages.

Dear Diary,

Everyone loves me. I kissed three girls at Sarah’s birthday party. Girls always slip notes to me, and everyone wants to be my friend. Lisa tried to ask me out. I laughed at her, and everyone else did, just because I did. Things are different now. I won three piano concert competitions, and I’m getting really good at football. I should probably play when I switch to Mt. Weather next year. I don’t even miss my parents anymore, not really. I don’t even know why I waste my time with this stupid thing.

-Lexa.

“And thus, my arrogant crush was born.” Clarke smirked into Lexa’s shoulder. “Ah. So you were broken and bent until you lashed out and became an arrogant sexy goddess?”

“So it seems.” Lexa chuckled, reaching for the side of the book, where a pen was attached. She pulled it free, uncapping it with gusto.

“What are you doing?” Clarke questioned curiously. “Don’t cross anything out, Lex, these are memories.”

“I’m not.” Lexa replied. She pressed her pen to the paper.

Dear Diary,

Today, I sit here in my room, with the girl of my dreams. She is the woman I love, and hope to marry soon. She’s Clarke Abigail Griffin, I met her in high school, and she’s been my sweetheart ever since. I spent half the time I had with this diary explaining how alone I felt. Clarke ameliorates that. With Clarke, I’m never alone. With Clarke, I can face entries and memories that used to haunt me, and laugh at them. With Clarke, I am truly, utterly happy. I wish I could describe her to you, but words elude me when I look at her. She is art, and her words are poetry. All I can say is that I will love her until all the stars fall out of the sky. She is everything.

-Alexandria Anastasia Woods.

When Lexa turned around, Clarke was crying. Lexa chuckled and pulled her in for a hug, feeling both her comfort as a best friend, and her astounding love as a girlfriend, and Lexa had never felt her heart more full in all her life.

Christmas morning was something of a marvel.

The spirit was almost tangible in the air. Everything smelled of peppermint and fir.

Laughter was abundant, the fire was crackling away in the fireplace, Pauna was chewing away at a brand new bone gifted to her by Abby, and Aden was doling out the presents he’d spent hours buying for everyone.

Of course, being the teenagers they were, Clarke and Lexa woke up far later than everyone else. By the time they’d stopped making out in bed and got up to change into Christmas sweaters, it was nearly ten.

By the time they opened every present gifted to them (mostly just items for their apartment), it was eleven.

And then, everyone trickled out to watch some movies in the spirit of Christmas over in the theatre.

Clarke and Lexa were finally alone, ready to unveil their gifts to each other, the last two under the tree.

“I love this.” Clarke murmured as Lexa handed her a mug of cocoa, standing beside her as Clarke reveled in the warmth of the fire.

“Love what?” Lexa asked.

“Being here. For Christmas. This group of people. It’s not too crowded, it’s so comfy and cozy and personal. I love it. We should make it an annual tradition, coming here for Christmas, and the holidays.”  

“Then we’ll come every year.” Lexa promised. “Whatever you like.”

“Well aren’t you feeling soft today?” Clarke smiled up at her, setting her mug down to cup her cheeks.

“Well, today’s about family. And you’re my family. And my home.” Lexa shrugged, and Clarke wrapped her arms around her waist.

“Sap.” Clarke replied teasingly.

“Fine, no presents. I take mine back.” Lexa smirked.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Watch me.” Lexa jokingly turned to snatch her present from under the tree, and Clarke jumped on her back in efforts to prevent her.

Lexa laughed uncontrollably as Clarke squirmed along her back, trying to reach for the gift wrapped box in Lexa’s hand. “Airbud, give it back,” Clarke growled playfully.

“It’d be a shame if my hand slipped and…” Lexa feigned tossing it into the fire.

Clarke grinned. “Fine, fine. I give.”

“Excellent.” Lexa nodded in approval. “Now kiss your heda’s shoe.”

Clarke smacked her arm and Lexa chuckled, reaching for her own gift, then pulling Clarke into her lap on the couch.

“Open yours first.” Clarke instructed.

“Bossy. I’m older. Shouldn’t I be the pushy one?” Lexa chuckled.

“Ugh. Do you love me?”

“With my heart and soul.”

Clarke couldn’t help her grin. “Great, then do as I say.”

Lexa planted a soft kiss to Clarke’s cheek. “Okay.” She murmured, glancing at the box in her hands.

“I’d like to preface this by saying, Alexandria Woods, you are incredibly hard to shop for.” Clarke announced.

Lexa cracked a smile at that. “Yeah? How so.”

“You’re the richest person on the continent, and nothing wows you, and-”

“You wow me.” Lexa breathed, leaning forward to kiss Clarke’s lips.

“I uh…” Clarke paused, blinking to regain her train of thought after Lexa’s kiss. “...Yeah. I don’t really remember what I was gonna say. But anyway I wish I could shower you with sweet things you give me. I really do. I tried my best.”

Lexa’s heart melted. She adored Clarke’s amazingly big heart, her constant need to try, to impress Lexa, to love her as much as she loved Clarke. It was touching. “Clarke, I love you, and by extension, anything you give me.” She glanced down at the medium sized box, fingers slowly tearing the wrapping paper off, along with the bow.

She took the lid off, grinning immediately at what she found inside. Lexa’s favorite chocolates, only found in Switzerland. She glanced up at Clarke with wide eyes and a shocked smile.

“Before you ask- Yes, shipping was a bitch, and yes- I know how your cute, pretentious ass only eats swiss chocolate.”

Lexa laughed, shaking her head. Clarke was too much.

“Keep going.” Clarke nudged her.

“More?” Lexa blinked. “You got me more?”

“Says the girl who gets flatscreens and ferraris on her birthday.” Clarke rolled her eyes. “Of course I got you more.”

Lexa dug her fingers in once more, finding a single video game inside.

“Mario Kart?” Lexa asked amusedly. “Clarke, we don’t have a console at the apartment.”

“...We do now.” Clarke puffed her chest out proudly. “All it took was two cleavage filled trips to the store to get a discount. Prepare to have your ass handed to you, Woods.”

Lexa laughed out loud at that, pulling Clarke in for a kiss that they both destroyed by laughing into.

“Keep going.” Clarke prodded once more.

“More?” Lexa blinked. “Clarke, I-”

“Last time.” Clarke promised, as Lexa reached in once more, pulling out a simple leather bracelet. Lexa blinked as she read the engravings on the inside. One read: 32, another: Abby, another read: Clarke, and then finally, 13.

“This old thing was my dad’s.” Clarke explained in a much softer tone. “I know you’re used to Rolex’s and...diamond bracelets, and I want to give those to you...but I also kind of wanted you to have this. My dad got an engraving for every milestone in his life. He got the bare bracelet when he was seventeen. In high school, his football jersey number was 32. And then he married my mom, so, Abby. And then he had me, so he got my name. And now...Well, there’s your jersey number on there.” Clarke explained.

“....Put it on me?” Lexa’s voice was shaky as she requested it, sounding so small. Clarke blinked in surprise.

“Oh, uh...sure. Yes, of course.” Clarke smiled awkwardly as she closed the band around Lexa’s wrist. “I’m sorry it’s not amazing like you’re used to, but-”

“Clarke.” Lexa cut her off with the most serious tone. “This is, bar none, the most meaningful, beautiful gift I have ever received. Thank you.”

Clarke stared at her, jaw agape as Lexa leaned forward, pressing their lips together, feeling Clarke sigh blissfully into the kiss.

She vowed, in that moment, silently, to take care of Clarke, and Abby, as long as she lived. Jake would have wanted that, and she bore something of his, now.

The two sat in silence for nearly five minutes, leaning on one another, soaking up the magic, the sheer warmth of the moment, whispering their “I love you’s” like prayers.

Finally, Clarke decided, the moment could pass. Wherever Jake was, she could feel his happiness, perhaps in the form of a memory, radiating upon them.

“Okay, Clarke. Open yours, now.” Lexa handed her the smaller box, slinging her arm around Clarke as they leaned back on the couch.

“Is it….the deed to my very own private island?” Clarke teased as she shook the box.

“Don’t tempt me. Maybe next year.” Lexa deadpanned, pressing a quick kiss to Clarke’s temple.

“It is….light.” Clarke noted. “So maybe a check for 3,000,000 dollars and a note that says “we had a good run?”

Lexa rolled her eyes, arm tightening around Clarke in a form of protest. “Open it, sunshine.”

Clarke smiled and undid the bow, sliding off the top of the box. “I’m puzzled.” She admitted, opening the gift with care. She blinked when she looked inside, pulling out a white slip of paper.

“Back side.” Lexa chuckled as Clarke turned over what appeared to be a photo of the living room of their apartment.

Clarke hummed in thought. “You got me a picture of home to remind me how great it is?” She guessed.

Lexa leaned forward, curling a lock of hair behind Clarke’s ear. “Look at it.” She murmured.

Clarke leaned forward, eyes studying the picture. And then she noticed it.

“No.” She gasped, comically slapping Lexa on the arm in disbelief. “No way.”

“Way.” Lexa smirked, cocking a brow.

“How the hell did you remember?” Clarke all but shrieked.

“How did you remember my affinity for swiss chocolate?” Lexa winked. “Same idea.”

“Lexa. This is the painting I liked from our date to the art gallery. The four-thousand dollar one.” Clarke breathed in amazement.

“It’s now hanging in the living room. By the way, I showed the artist your work. She was amazed.” Lexa smirked.

Clarke’s jaw dropped. “Lexa Woods, you sly little shit, I love you so much.” She turned and practically jumped into Lexa’s lap, peppering her face with kisses. Lexa let out the most adorable giggle and then snort, surprised by Clarke’s sudden onslaught of affection. “Marry me.” Clarke teased, just as Lexa would blurt out in moments of extreme happiness.

“Oh, I will.” Lexa assured, hands sliding to Clarke’s butt.

“Clarke?”

“Hmm?”

“Why is your butt rectangular?”

“What? Oh! Your other present.” Clarke smirked, reaching for her back pocket, never leaving Lexa’s lap.

“My….wallet?” Lexa blinked, glancing at the black Chanel wallet in Clarke’s hand.

“Open it.” Clarke nudged her.

“Okay.” Lexa chuckled, reaching inside. She pulled out a few crisp 100 dollar bills.

“...Sadly, I didn’t put those there.” Clarke teased as Lexa kept digging. She stumbled upon a small, wallet sized photo. She pulled it out, marveling at the picture of her and Clarke, kissing after Lexa had won a major nail-biter football game. Lexa loved that photo.

“Oh, Clarke.” Lexa murmured. “This is so sweet, I-”

“Unfold it, dork.” Clarke smirked.

Lexa frowned in momentary confusion, unfolding the squared photo. Down dropped two more, this time, much less friendly. Lexa couldn’t imagine showing these to anyone else.

Clarke had gifted her with the most deliciously sexy photos she could imagine.

“...For when you’re at an away game and you can’t facetime me.” Clarke shrugged, watching Lexa’s blush grow.

“My god, I am the luckiest woman alive.”

“So, new year’s eve, and we find ourselves on a rooftop. A much cozier, treehouse rooftop...But still, I’m enjoying this.” Clarke commented as Lexa handed her a glass of champagne.

“Your mom let you drink tonight?” Clarke asked, as Lexa sat on the edge with her, their feet dangling. The two were bundled in heavy coats and jackets, Lexa even resorting to wearing a scarf, as the powdery snow sparkled and flitted in the air before them.

“She lets me drink whenever.” Lexa shrugged, sliding her arm around Clarke, so she could lean into her. “Here, let me warm you up.”

Clarke snuggled into Lexa’s embrace, grinning at the overwhelming wave of nostalgia she was feeling. “So no body shots this year?”

“ ‘fraid not.” Lexa answered amusedly. “We can go back to my room and do some, if it makes you feel better.”

“No. I came for the fireworks, and our unofficial one-year anniversary.” Clarke decided, and Lexa laughed at her stubbornness. “Speaking of which, how much longer ‘till those fireworks?”

“Five minutes.” Lexa replied with a glance at her watch, her leather bracelet exposed when she went to check, causing Clarke to inwardly grin. Lexa was always so thoughtful.

“Do you remember last year?” Clarke queried thoughtfully.

“Clarke, that night will stay with me for the rest of my life.” Lexa promised softly. “You wore my jacket. You sat on my lap. We kissed, for the first time. And god, I’d tried to get you to kiss me so many times before. And then you fell asleep right on my shoulder. God, I was in love with you way before then.”

Clarke was blushing heavily as she recalled all that had happened. “I knew, from that moment, that I wanted to fall asleep beside you every single night for the rest of my life.” She admitted with a chuckle. “I wish we hadn’t been such idiots about it.”

“That’s what made it special. The process.” Lexa reminded, pressing a kiss to Clarke’s temple. “I was so excited to go, just because you were going. I never thought we’d be here.”

“And...where is here?” Clarke asked with a wry smile. “I love hearing it.”

“I can’t answer that.” Lexa explained, and Clarke furrowed her brow, frowning suddenly.

“What? Why not?”

“...Because I’m about to go and change the rules again.” Lexa murmured.

Clarke blinked, heart dropping. What was Lexa talking about?

“You know…” Lexa drawled, eyeing the stars in the night sky, almost invisible due to the powdery snow that fell, frosting the tips of their hair and their coats. “I hardly knew my grandmother. My mother’s mother.”

Clarke cocked a brow. This was certainly unexpected.

Lexa chuckled to herself. “I mean, I hardly knew my own parents as a child, and my grandmother passed away earlier on. But from what I heard, she was...interesting. Self-righteous, a bit stubborn, an activist, a dreamer, a poet...somewhat of a hit with the ladies.”

“I see where you get it from.” Clarke laughed quietly, and Lexa wanted to lose herself in the warmth of that sound.

“Actually, that all reminded me of you. And…” She dug into her pocket, reaching out with a closed fist. “When my mother gave me this, I didn’t know you. But the description, the memory-it’s all apropos. It’s you, Clarke. You’re the one.” Lexa opened her hand, revealing a simple, gorgeous emerald ring, with two small, inconspicuous diamonds on either side. “Everything my parents have said, have gotten me thinking about us…” Lexa began once more, licking her lips against the chilling wind, snowflakes settling on the edge of her hair.

“Lexa….” Clarke breathed, her heart racing a mile a minute, her adrenaline and Lexa’s arm around her the only thing keeping her from going slack and falling off the treehouse.

“...This is no proposal, but I want you to know, Clarke, it’s a promise. It’s an incredibly outdated, odd cliche that I want to fulfill. I want to promise you that I will do everything in my power to love you, to protect you, to keep you happy- to be your best friend, until we finish college, find stable jobs, and I can finally slip that ring on your finger. Things might change, around us, Clarke, but not between us. That is my promise.” Lexa finished on a bold note, reaching for Clarke’s hand. “....I don’t even know which finger I’m supposed to put this on.” Lexa chuckled, glancing into Clarke’s cerulean gaze, quickly reaching to wipe the tears she’d caused.

Clarke bit her lip to keep from crying. “The left ring finger.” She croaked with a laugh. “It’s good practice.”

Lexa grinned at that, sliding it onto Clarke’s finger, giving her finger a kiss. “...To be clear, this is not an abstinence promise.” She clarified, and Clarke burst out laughing.

From down stairs, outside, the family could be heard, chanting: “10! 9! 8!”

“7!”

Lexa laughed as Clarke’s eyes widened with the realization that it had been a complete, full year, since she’d kissed Lexa on the rooftop.

“6!”

Clarke glanced down at her ring, the emerald glinting under the roof lights. This was more than she’d ever hoped for. It was a promise.

“5!”

Lexa glanced down at her childhood home, the place she’d once hated. Now her parents were here, Aden was here, Abby and Kane were here...Clarke was here. Clarke.

“4!”

“I love you.” Clarke whispered as she leaned forward, memories of all their time surging through their minds.

“3!”

Together, they were able to acknowledge the past, the pain, to look forward to the triumphs, together, inseparably bound.

“2!”

“I love you too, Clarke.” Lexa whispered, her heart pounding with each word she breathed out into the frosty air.

“1!”

Clarke grabbed either side of Lexa’s scarf, pulling her in for the most passionate, loving kiss she could muster.

“Happy new year!”

Lexa melted, forehead pressed against Clarke’s, ready for the next chapter of their lives to come.