An Afternoon in Town

Chapter 1

Reese

Who would have thought that Lexa's military training would have been most useful when it came to running away from the Castle? As she quietly climbed up the tree and hid for a few seconds in the foliage, she could feel her heart beating slightly faster. Finally, she was able to have some time for herself, away from her duty. She never thought she would have needed it, but it was becoming tiring. She not only had too many things to do to actually have some time to sleep but when she had time to, she couldn't because her mind was clouded constantly by military deployment, economic reforms, and diplomatic treaties. She had had enough of it all. This afternoon she was going to take a break, and do something relaxing, something for herself. Probably eat a slice of pie somewhere, drink a hot chocolate even if winter's cold hadn't hit them yet, and go to the bookstore to buy a book. And maybe read a bit of that book, before she either was caught or forcefully had to return to her duties.

Seeing no one around the garden, she crawled along a large branch until she was on the other side of the large wall. The fall there would be high, but nothing she couldn't take. She sat on the branch, and as it banded under her weight she slid off. She managed a roll upon landing, but the branch swayed suddenly. She heard it rattling behind her, and immediately ran to the nearest shop. A group of soldiers quickly arrived where she had been standing a few seconds ago, checking longly the wall and the tree on either side, before deciding that a squirrel or a large bird had probably jumped off of it. Lexa watched them go with a relieved sigh. She noticed she'd interred an accessory shop, but the shopkeeper hadn't spotted her yet. She relaxed, and began to look around. She would need a good disguise or at least one that was mildly passable. While she had already changed clothes to look less menacing and more civilian, her long brown hair was still flowing behind her. At least she had taken her makeup off.

She searched quickly around the shop until she found a fake pair of black rimmed glasses and a set of colorful bands. She brought her two articles to the cashier, and tried as much as possible to avert the woman's gaze. She looked at the necklaces and found one representing a large blooming tree, attached to a black leather lace.

"Do you need anything else?" the woman asked, obviously noting how Lexa looked longly at the necklace.

Lexa quickly debated whether she should buy it or not until she decided that it would make for a good souvenir.

"Yes. I'll take that necklace."

The shopkeeper untied it from the rack, and placed it in a small paper envelop before she placed it with the rest of her articles in a paper bag bearing the shop's logo.

"And that'll be $31,86."

Lexa took her wallet out of her jacket pocket, and handed the woman two bills. Once she received her change and the woman had given her the paper bag, and wished her a good day, Lexa quickly exited the shop. She walked down the street until she found a bench. There, she tore the tag off the glasses and slid them on, then took out the green band from the small package, and expertly braided her hair, finishing with the green band to keep it all together. Finally, she put the necklace around her neck, barely struggling with the clasp. She hesitated for a minute, before placing the other bands in the pocket inside her jacket, and throwing the bag in the trash.

Lexa took a deep breath, and walked randomly in the next street. While she had technically lived her entire life in this city, between her military training and her recent change of status as Commander, she never really had the time, or the authorization, to visit it. She found that she quite liked what she saw.

In the old part of the city, where the Castle was, most of the houses where only one, two stories high at most. They were all large, with dark blue tiled roofs. Most of what used to be houses had been turned into shops and restaurants, and besides the few that had been renovated they had cracks here and there in their facade. Lexa, however, wanted to go to the newer part of town, the one with tall glassy buildings pointing to the horizon, so tall they seemed to pierce through the clouds. This was what she saw every day from the Castle's window, and what she wanted the most to see.

Not sure which way to take to get to them, she entered an empty street, where restaurants were getting ready for the night service. Just as she passed what looked like a pizzeria, she heard light yapping coming from behind her. She frowned and turned around, only to see a puppy running toward her, dragging a leash behind it. Thanks to her quick reflexes, she caught the puppy as it came running past her.

"Hey there, where do you think you're going?"

The puppy continued to yap and tried to escape her grasp, but she was holding it as strongly as she could without hurting it. The pup was only a few months old, and probably part of the Shepard dog family, with its high pointy ears and long feathery tail. Its fur was a rich brown color, chocolate like. It had a red collar with a small golden tag, and a leash was still attached to it. What was left of it, anyway. Lexa quickly noticed at the leash had been broken, probably from the puppy pulling too hard on it.

"Why would you run away from your owner?" she inquired as she blocked the puppy under her arm, and petted his head with her other hand.

It seemed to calm down a bit, as it stopped struggling to get out of her grasp. Lexa took the opportunity to look at its tag. One side indicated its name, Reese, and its other side had been engraved with a phone number. Lexa smiled, but hesitated to use her phone. It would make it easier for her to find Reese's master, but it could also be a dead give away of her position. She had turned it off but still taken it with her just in case of grave emergency, and finding the master of this puppy really wasn't one.

"Alright, let's try to find your master."

The puppy yapped and lolled its tongue out as Lexa lowered it to the ground. While the leash was a bit short, she still used it to refrain the puppy from running away without it being too awkward. The puppy pulled on the leash, but she must have been stronger than its master, as the puppy got quickly fed up of being held back. He walked closer to Lexa, which the young woman approved with a smirk.

While she wasn't really good at tracking people down, not in the middle of a city anyway, she pretty much picked which street to follow on pure logic. She almost wished the puppy could have been a good hunter, so it could lead her back to its master, but this whole thing wouldn't have happened if it was a good tracking dog to begin with.

She decided to turn left at the end of the street. She had come from the right, and she knew she would have remembered if she had seen a master struggling with its puppy. She walked slowly through the shops, looking around for anyone who would look panicked because of their hyper-energetic puppy.

At the end of the street, just as she was at a lost for luck, she saw a few feet away a bench on which the other side of the leash was still attached. It was undeniably his, and the fact that Reese even began to play with it told Lexa that he recognized it. Lexa looked at the female clothing shop behind the bench. She picked Reese up, and tugged it under her arm like before. She then entered the shop.

Inside, three women were behind the counter, taking care of a queue of women Lexa found actually quite long. As she approached them the one closer to her declared:

"I'm sorry ma'am but dogs are not allowed in the shop."

"Yeah, I could have guessed that. I'm actually looking for its master. I believe it tore its leash when it was attached to the bench in front of your shop. The other side is still on the bench. Maybe you've noticed one of your customer leaving in a hurry."

The woman shook her head as she folded a shirt before sliding it in a bag.

"I'm sorry but I haven't seen anyone like that."

Just as Lexa was about to leave, the second clerk looked up to her.

"Hey, I recognize that dog."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I had to tell its master to leave him outside."

"What did she look like?"

"Hum... blond, I think she had a black leather jacket. I'm sorry I didn't pay much attention to her. I just remember she had this dog."

"It's okay, it's already something. Thank you."

"I hope you find her. Goodbye."

Lexa exited the shop and let Reese down once again. The puppy seemed always happier to be walking, rather than carried around, but at least it had stopped struggling.

"Alright, let's keep going."

Lexa navigated a few more streets, her eyes scanning the crowd for a blond with a leather jacket and looking panicked, but she didn't see anyone fitting that description. Finally, she arrived on a large square with two large fountains on either side, and multiple stone blocks placed symmetrically in the center, mostly used as benches by the people coming and going here. On the other side, separated by a line of large trees, Lexa finally saw the base of the glass buildings she'd wanted to see for such a long time. She found a block to seat on, and brought Reese beside her. He laid on his belly as she began to pet him.

"Can you believe it? I was supposed to have an afternoon just to me, and here I am, looking for your master."

The puppy whined as if it understood that it was partially its fault that Lexa couldn't do what she wanted for this afternoon.

"At least my disguise works, don't you think?"

The puppy looked up, and suddenly one of its ears began to move around as if it had heard something. It stood up, lolling its tongue out almost happily. Lexa followed its gaze, until she saw what Reese was focusing on. A blond woman was standing by the fountain, scanning the crowd. She indeed wore a black leather jacket, but from this distance, she would have to be a hawk to see if the girl really was panicked or not. Reese, however, jumped from the bench and ran in her direction, it's half-leash flapping once again behind him. Lexa sighed and followed it quickly, just in case the puppy wasn't aiming for its master, but rather running in the opposite direction.

Reese reached his master first. The blond was more than relieved as she picked her puppy up.

"Oh thank god! Where have you been?!"

The puppy yapped and tried to lick her face, but the blond resisted his assault.

"Hey, it's not okay. Why did you run away?" she asked, as if expecting an answer.

She looked up, only to see Lexa standing in front of her. Her skin was tan from all the time she spent training outside every day. Her piercing green eyes were easy to notice, even behind her black-rimmed glasses. Her long brown hair was still tied in a braid, and resting along her spine. She wore a khaki military jacket and a plain tee-shirt, with blue jeans and combat boots.

"Hello. I found Reese running down the street. We've been looking for you."

The blond smiled. She had marked a pause when she had first noticed Lexa, as if she were staring at her. Lexa, however, was able to speak and focus on people's physical appearance at the same time. The blond's hair was loose, and her blue eyes were like two sapphires. She indeed wore the black leather jacket the saleswoman had said she wore, with a dark blue tee-shirt on which a lion had been drawn.

"Thank you, really."

Lexa nodded, and seeing as Reese was still trying to escape the blond's grasp, she wondered:

"Have you tried obedience lessons?"

"Hum... yeah... But he's not there yet."

Lexa smiled genuinely.

"I can see that."

"Anyway, thank you, I hope he wasn't too much trouble. Can I buy you something, coffee maybe, hum..."

"Lexa. Sure, I wanted to get a slice of pie somewhere."

The blond smiled.

"Not from here, are you?"

"Not exactly."

"Then follow me, I'm going to show you the best pastry shop in the entire city. I'm Clarke by the way."

"Clarke. Alright, I'm right beside you."

The blond seemed to shiver as Lexa pronounced her name. She smiled, and took a tight hold of Reese's leash, or what was left of it, before she placed the puppy back down. Instantly it forcefully tried to run, and Clarke had a hard time keeping the leash in her hand, or not being dragged away by her puppy.

"You sure you don't want any help?"

"No, no, I'm okay! Let's go!"

Lexa smiled before she followed Clarke toward the old side of town. She glanced once more to the large buildings but decided to ignore them altogether.

As the two women walked side by side, Lexa had to hold her smile every time Reese's pulled on Clarke's arm or deviated from his path. Obviously, the blond was not used to having an energized dog, who would probably grow three times his size by the time he reached adulthood.

"Is he a German Shepard?" she asked.

"Hum, not quite. He's an Australian Kelpie. It's like a Shepard, except that he's Australian..."

"You are not used to big dogs, are you?"

"More like dogs in general! I never had a pet growing up. Since I was spending so much time at home recently my friends thought I needed a dog, so I could, you know, walk him at least twice a day. What I hadn't expected when I agreed to that was that they had found the biggest dog they could find. And the more energized, for that matter."

"Maybe a stronger leash could help."

"Ah that... It was a second hand, blame it on my friends, once again. And you, do you have any animal?"

"Not really. We see a lot of dogs coming and going, but I never had a real pet, per say."

"You're talking about military dogs, right? You have military training?"

"How did you guess?" Lexa asked a bit surprised.

Clarke shrugged.

"Lucky guess. The combat boots maybe?"

While Reese was still pulling on his leash, Clarke stopped in front of a small shop, with a few metal tables and chair placed in front of it. The window adorned the shop's logo, and beautifully decorated cakes rested behind.

"Alright, we're here!"

It was Clarke's turn to pull on Reese's leash, until she could pick up the puppy. She walked in, Lexa behind her. The inside of the shop was cozy. It was mostly empty, as it wasn't snacking hour just yet. More metal tables and chairs had been placed along the wall, as well as on the first floor, up a narrow set of stairs. More cakes were in showcase, and a big board on the wall above the counter indicated their prizes, as well as the beverages they served. Lexa was happy to see they served hot chocolate.

"Alright, I'll find a place to attach Reese and then I'll order. Order what you want in the meantime, it's on me."

"I can't..."

Lexa's protest was cut short by Clarke's smile.

"Please, it's the least I can do. You brought me Reese back, which saved me hours of panic."

Lexa nodded with a small smile, and Clarke walked up the stairs, Reese still trying to escape her grasp.

Once Lexa had ordered a slice of apple pie and a hot chocolate, Clarke came back down and asked Lexa if she could go and watch over Reese while she ordered. Lexa nodded and walked the very slender set of stairs. The first floor looked like it had been built from an old warehouse. Old dirty window pierced the exposed brick walls and the ceiling. The metal structure holding the roof was just high enough that Lexa didn't bump her head on her way to the table. Obviously, it had moved a few feet and had gotten stuck against two other tables and a set of chairs. At least it was still standing, Lexa thought. She kneeled in front of Reese and the puppy eagerly tried to lick her hand.

"Sit."

Her voice was just commanding enough that the puppy obeyed, without it sounding harsh. She undid the knot Clarke had made around the table's leg and cleaned quickly Reese's mess, placing tables and chairs back into their initial position. She then picked Reese up, who had only moved to watch her move the furniture, and sat in one of the chairs. Reese lay on her lap like a cat, his tongue out. Lexa petted him slowly.

A few seconds later, Clarke walked up the stairs with a plastic tray in hands. She quickly joined them and sat opposite Lexa.

"Thank you for taking care of his mess."

Lexa frowned, not sure what Clarke meant, until the blond placed her cup of hot chocolate in front of her and declared with a smile:

"I have an eye for details, and those tables were not there when I left. Let me guess, he dragged the table with him?"

"Yeah. It happens often?"

"More than I can count."

"I think he may have trouble being separated from you," Lexa suggested as Clarke emptied the tray, placing the slice of pie and a piece of chocolate cake on the table, in front of their respective owner.

"Oh, I don't know. He seems to like you."

Reese was still napping on her and had made no attempt to move to Clarke since the blond had arrived.

"I don't know why."

"It's your commanding aura, I think."

Lexa froze with her spoon in hand before she could even take a bite of the pie. Her heart stopped then began to beat way too fast.

"What do you mean?"

Clarke gave a look to the stairs, then leaned forward.

"Frankly, glasses or not, I can recognize the leader of my country."

Lexa felt her cheek grow hot. Was her disguise really so bad? How come no one had said anything then?

"How did you know?"

Clarke tapped playfully her lips with her spoon before she replied:

"It's the jaw. You have a very defined jawline."

Lexa's hand ran almost self-consciously along her jaw, before she smirked.

"You sound like you've studied it."

It was Clarke's time to blush, although it was more apparent on her pale skin.

"I... hum..."

She took another bite of cake and replied:

"Okay, this is going to sound really weird, but when I was in college our teacher always said to train ourself to draw people by using pictures. And I would always take yours, because you are very picturesque."

"I'm picturesque, hum?"

Clarke pursed her lips. Lexa took a bite of her pie and blew on her hot chocolate to cool it down before she took a sip. It as still mildly burning, but she didn't let the discomfort grace her features.

"So, what do you do with your eye for details and drawing talent? Are you an artist?"

Clarke seemed grateful for the change of subject.

"Actually I am. I just exposed my first few pieces in a gallery in town."

"Really, well, I'll have to check that out then."

"Do you really have time for it?"

Once again Lexa frowned in confusion. Clarke sent another look to the stairs before she replied.

"One of my friends is a soldier, she works at the castle. We were supposed to meet this afternoon but the Commander disappeared suddenly, and everyone is freaking out..."

Lexa sheepishly smiled.

"Yeah, I just needed a moment for myself. I'll go back by the end of the afternoon."

Clarke finished her cake, and after cleaning her lips with the paper napping she declared:

"Alright, so, what do you want to do this afternoon?"

"Why?"

"Because the faster you're done the faster you can go back to the castle and they'll stop freaking out."

"Am I dreaming, or are you trying to get rid of me?"

"What? No! Never! Just..."

Clarke's face once again grew redder than it should. Lexa chuckled.

"A slice of pie. A hot chocolate. A book. And now I want to see your paintings."

"Excuse me?"

"These are my afternoon plans. I wanted to relax, eat a slice of pie, drink a hot chocolate, buy myself a new book. And I just added to that list going to that gallery to see your paintings."

"Oh."

Lexa gulped down her hot chocolate in just a few seconds, ignoring the burning feeling in her throat. She placed the cup back on its saucer.

"Will you come with me?"

Clarke was about to answer, but her gaze was locked on Lexa's lips as she licked them, and the chocolate coating the skin she couldn't reach with her tongue. The blond cleared her throat.

"You have... hum, some chocolate above your lips."

"Oh." Lexa quickly cleaned it away with her own napkin. "Thanks. Anyway, will you come with me?"

"Really? Why?"

"Well, as you may have noticed, I don't know the city as well as you do. If you want to send me back to the castle quickly, you're going to have to guide me."

Clarke sighed.

"Sure, why not. But first, let me find a new leash for mister here, one that he isn't going to break."

"Deal."

A/N: Hi everyone! I have noticed that if you want to grow a certain following in a fandom, you logically need to post more than one story about said fandom. Which is why, after the kind of success that was "Dear Mum", I have decided to write more Clexa stories. This is a two-parter, I will be posting the other chapter tomorrow, so don't worry, you won't have to wait a week or something. Anyway, please, leave a review, tell me what you thought of this first part! See you guys tomorrow!