Soooo this story is for 93MANIAC who put in a special request. It is based off of a comic on deviantart which you can (and should) google called Clexa AU (Polaris is still the 13th station). Hopefully this lives up to your expectations and let me know if I should continue. Much love to everyone who reads.
Clarke froze in her tracks, her hand hovering mid air. She could not only hear the approaching footsteps but she could feel a suffocating presence behind her. Her mind was buzzing with excuses. Surely she could come up with some reason why she was in the locked supply room on the thirteenth station. Before her brain had quieted enough for her to even turn around she heard the voice behind her.
"So you're the one..." a woman's voice said. Clarke turned around, somehow calmed by the strong yet melodious voice behind her. Whatever her punishment was meant to be, floating probably, at least she got to hear an angel's voice before it happened. The blonde's eyes landed on someone dressed in full gear and she wondered briefly what it would be like to be one of the few chosen to actually go outside of the Ark.
Clarke let out a little yelp as the figure moved closer to her. "Stealing art supplies from the stock room from time to time," the voice concludes. Clarke is breathless just from the voice alone but stunned as her heart beats hard when the woman takes off her helmet. Suddenly she is aching even more for the supplies she came for. Her fingers are tracing patterns in the air, wanting to draw this beautiful stranger in front of her although Clarke is certain she could never do justice to the deep green eyes locked onto hers.
Finally Clarke breaks free of their stare down but as her eyes move lower she sees that the girls suit marks her as commander. Her mind was reeling, unable to process that she had no idea who this was much less that she wouldn't know one of the station leaders considering that her parent's were best friends with the Chancellor of the entire Ark. "Y-you're the commander? It was just one charcoal stick. I can ex-"
She was silenced when the girl before her held up her hand. Clarke found herself obeying with ease but unsure of why. "I've been wondering who's been just as sneaky as me to bypass security." The girl is walking towards Clarke and she finds herself unable to move. She can only look into the green eyes framed by perfect brunette hair before her, imagining this must be exactly the colors of what the forest trees on Earth had looked like. "Nice to finally put a face on you."
Clarke is still frozen. She isn't being reprimanded. No one is threatening to float her. But she can't breathe. The girl before her is stunning and she can't peel her eyes away.
"Relax will you. I'm Lexa from the Polaris station and not the commander," she emphasizes. "Nice to meet you," the green eyed girl says finally with a lopsided grin, her stoic mask disappearing from her face.
The blonde finally finds her words, her anger rising as the adrenaline from being caught begins to wear off. Her blue eyes turn to ice as they stare down Lexa. "Clarke. Never scare me like that ever again," she demands.
Lexa gulps almost audibly as she faces down Clarke's stare. "Cool cool. That'll be the first and the last time," she promises as she reaches out to Clarke in greeting.
Clarke does the same, clasping her hand around Lexa's forearm in acknowledgment. "Also, what's with the space suit?" she finally asks as a laugh erupts from the back of her throat.
"I thought it was a neat disguise," the brunette answers, smiling shyly. Clarke only scrunches her face in distaste and shakes her head. "Too extra?" Lexa asks shyly. She feels warmth spread through her cheeks as Clarke's eyes change from cold to warm before her and she would swear that she could see them lightening just a shade as the mood shifted between them.
"Definitely. Now help me look for some more art supplies 'commander'," Clarke teases as she grabs Lexa's hand and drags her deeper into the stock room.
Lexa is unable to do anything but follow. She is completely transfixed by this stranger that has been sneaking into her station. Sure the Ark was big, but she always felt like everybody knew everybody on it. She couldn't imagine how it would be possible for her to make it to seventeen without having run into this gorgeous girl even once. "So you're an artist?" Lexa asks awkwardly once Clarke stops tugging on her hand.
The blonde just looks at her and laughs. As she shakes her head she rummages through a few crates. "Are any of us anything on this stupid Ark? I just like to create. My body craves it," Clarke confesses, unsure of why she was being so honest.
"Yeah I saw your hand being all twitchy back there," Lexa states but as Clarke looks into her eyes she can see no judgment in them.
"What about you? Aren't you going to get anything?" blue eyes question as the get lost in deep green once more.
"Just one thing I need," Lexa answers as she walks around the corner. A few moments later she pops back into Clarke's sight and holds up a bottle of black paint.
Arching an eyebrow suspiciously Clarke says nothing. To each their own. "We good to go here?"
Lexa nods before instinctively taking her hand to lead her out. Clarke was curious, but didn't question the action. If the beautiful girl wanted to hold her hand she certainly wouldn't complain. More fuel for her artistic fire. "Wait here a sec," Lexa whispers before cracking the door open just enough to peek out of it. Upon seeing no bodies and not hearing anything she hesitantly slips out and checks around the corner before opening the door for Clarke. "All good Picasso," the brunette confirms.
Clarke slides out of the room but Lexa doesn't fail to notice the slight crinkle in the blonde's nose as the door clicks shut behind them. The brunette cocks her head to the side, the question evident on her face. "He's a little too abstract for me. I'm more of a realist. I like still life," Clarke explains though she's unsure of why she's saying so much to this stranger.
"So you like dead things? Lexa asks confused.
Clarke can't help the laugh that escapes her lips. "I said still life, not still death. I paint or draw what I see," she explained. "What do you do with that black paint?"
Lexa smiled shyly and averted her eyes but Clarke's gaze was relentless and she finally caved. "Do you have some free time? I know you're all twitchy to draw or whatever but I think it would be easier to show you instead."
Clarke really was itching to get to her sketchpad. She wanted to capture the beauty standing before her and the perfect symmetry of her jawline and cheekbones. She also knew that no matter how good she recreated the girl it wouldn't compare to the true depth behind her green eyes so she simply nodded to indicate that she had free time.
"Fantastic. Come on," Lexa said excitedly as she grabbed Clarke's hand once more and drug her deeper into the thirteenth station. She led the blonde into a fairly large room with a few young kids in it. As soon as they saw Lexa they ran over to her excitedly, tackle hugging her.
Clarke watched in fascination as she saw the mesmerizing green eyes come to life. She stood on the sidelines curious to see what type of scene was going to unfold before her. "Alright kids, this is my buddy Clarke. She's going to be joining us for today's match." Lexa only smirked as she saw the blue eyes darken once more but this time with a different type of fear. She had no idea what she had gotten herself into.
Lexa didn't bother to explain. She would let Clarke watch and if she decided to leave then that was on her. The children formed a line in front of her and she pulled out the black paint along with a brush that had been in her pocket. "It's face paint," was her only explanation as she dipped her brush into it.
Clarke's confusion turned into pure fascination as she watched Lexa apply it to the kids. Each one got a different design, painted with ease and perfection. She hadn't even noticed that her feet had moved her closer to the brunette to watch. Finally when the paint had been applied to the last little face Lexa stood and turned to Clarke. "Your turn Wanheda." Clarke's face scrunched again and Lexa laughed. The blonde was breathtaking even when she was making weird faces. "It's warpaint for our battle. I am the Commander, or Heda. Don't you want to rally your troops against me?"
A few of the children cheered their excitement, wanting to be on the new girls team. Clarke couldn't help but catch their enthusiasm and smiled. "I have no idea what's happening but if it means I get to kick your butt for scaring me like you did then I'm totally in," she grinned mischievously.
Lexa couldn't stop the grin that took over her face as she looked into the blue eyes before her, once more gentle and calm. She raised the paintbrush to apply the warpaint to Clarke before handing the supplies to Clarke. "As a treat I'll let you pick my warpaint today, Wanheda."
Clarke obliged immediately. In all of her art she had never created it on another human before. She didn't take long, sliding the brush up and down in long strokes alone the brunette's face almost like bat wings dipping down and up again, making her look fierce. When she finished with the paint she ran her thumb over Lexa's cheek, rubbing away a slight mistake on her creation.
Lexa's breath hitched in her throat as her eyes involuntarily closed at the contact. She yearned to lean into the touch. She couldn't remember the last time she had been touched like this. Like someone actually cared about her. When Clarke pulled her hand away she came back to reality.
"What if we get caught all painted up?" Clarke asked finally. "I mean you seem cool and all but I'm not sure if I'm ready to get floated for you."
Lexa let out a laugh and shook her head. "Don't worry we do this every week. We have a perfect window of time when they adults on the station are all busy with their meetings. We've been doing this for years."
Clarke nodded though she didn't know why. She just met this girl. It was reckless to trust her with her life. She knew the punishment for breaking the rules. She could be jailed for two years before getting floated on her eighteenth birthday. For some reason though, she didn't want to walk away from this stranger in front of her. She was so full of life and the children clearly worshiped her. At least someone was doing something positive on this forsaken Ark. "Alright so what are the rules Heda?" Clarke asked with emphasis on the title.
Lexa explained that they were basically playing tag. Clarke was to stay behind her line of children, or warriors, who were meant to protect her and Lexa would be behind her own little warriors. When finally Heda or Wanheda were tagged then the tagging team won.
Clarke allowed herself a cocky girn and Lexa returned it with one of her own. "You're doing down blondie. I've been doing this for years. My warriors are mighty," Lexa claimed as she rallied her little troops.
The children that had cheered for Clarke earlier now booed at Lexa's speech and went to stand by their new leader. "You may have mighty warriors Heda, but my warriors have heart!" Clarke said with confidence, feeling her heart swell as the kids around her cheered once more.
Clarke and her troops moved to one side of the room while Lexa took hers to the other side. When she saw Lexa bending down to talk to them she decided on a little strategy herself. Instead of pumping them up with words Clarke decided to hug each of the children and told them to do the best they could. She knew the way to win was always through the hearts of others not mindless attacks. As the kids looked up at her with adoration she knew they would give it their all to take down Lexa.
"Ready?" Lexa called out from her side of the room. Her little troops formed a protective line in front of her.
Clarke simply nodded and suddenly the game began. She watched as Lexa's children formed a defense and an offense. She admired Lexa's strategy but wasn't afraid that she hadn't given her team any instructions. As they ran wild and full of the need to prove themselves to their new Wanheda they quickly ran circles around Lexa's troops. Since there was no detectable strategy or plan Lexa was helpless to direct them instead she was forced to just settle on yelling out "Get them!"
The match was a close one but despite all odds the smallest member of Clarke's team managed to push forward enough to tag Lexa, thus ending their battle for the day. Team Wanheda cheered victoriously and ran over to hug her once more. Clarke was certain she had never been hugged so much in her entire life as she glanced up to lock eyes with Lexa who was also being wrapped in hugs. The two locked eyes for a moment and Clarke could feel herself blushing. Somehow this strange girl who she had just met brought her into a whole new world she never imagined could have existed on the Ark. Suddenly her mundane life didn't seem so awful anymore.
After a few minutes Lexa made her way to Clarke and offered her congratulations. "Let's get everyone cleaned up?" she asked and Clarke nodded in agreement. As much fun as that had been she still didn't want to be caught.
They two worked in silence for a few minutes, each gently removing the face paint from their teams. "Want me to do you?" Lexa asked after the kids had left and the two were alone. "I mean your face that is. The paint," Lexa stumbled over her words and both girls averted their gazes as they tried to get the butterflies in their stomachs to shut up.
Lexa wanted to claim that she had no idea why she invited Clarke to join and risk herself getting in trouble but she knew from the second she laid eyes on the blonde that she was attracted to her. Knowing they had both been sneaking around also gave her leverage, just in case Clarke had decided to rat her out. After all she was the one on another station.
"Sure," Clarke answered after a few moments.
Lexa was pulled from her thoughts and it took her a few seconds to realize why Clarke was saying sure. Once she remembered the question she had asked she made quick work of removing the paint from the blonde's face. Although she worked quickly she made sure her fingers brushed against Clarke's skin, the need to touch it too great for her to resist.
When she finished Clarke insisted she get to do the same for Lexa. The brunette was pleased to feel Clarke's fingers brushing over her skin as well but once more fought the urge to lean into them. By the time Clarke was finished Lexa's throat was constricted and her breathing labored. She could only hope that Clarke didn't notice.
"Thank you for the fun Lexa," Clarke said as she stepped away from the brunette. "That might've been one of the most exciting ways I've broken the rules so far."
"Oh? You break the rules often?" Lexa replied with the grin back on her face. She wanted to know everything about this girl that had snuck into their store room and her life.
"Maybe next time you can come to my station for playtime," Clarke answered with a grin of her own. "But for now I've got to get going. I've been away way longer than planned. For all I know I'll get floated just for being gone," she said with an eye roll.
Lexa chuckled but nodded her head. "May we meet again?" she asked before the blonde could leave.
Clarke surprised her with a very unexpected hug. "We will. You showed me your art. I'll show you mine next time. Thank you for a lot of fun. See you around, Lexa."
Lexa didn't trust her voice but managed to get out a goofy sounding goodbye as she watched Clarke walk away. She hoped that they would be meeting again. And soon.