Sorry this took me so long to update! It's summer time now and basically I'm a water baby that never leaves the pool/lake so I haven't had much time for writing. But I plan on wrapping this one up by the end of the week, hopefully. Thank you for everyone who is still reading this and stuck it out. I've been reading so many amazing things and really, I'm humbled that anyone would even bother with this.
Clarke awoke the next morning to hear her phone vibrating on the nightstand next to her side of Lexa's bed. When she managed to open her eyes she wasn't surprised to find Lexa smiling at her. "I could get used to this you know," Clarke murmured as she pressed her lips to Lexa's.
"Me too," Lexa replied as she lifted her hand to brush the stray hairs back from Clarke's face. "Don't you think it's kind of strange though?"
"Hmm?" Clarke hummed as she snuggled against Lexa's side.
"Everything? We barely know each other... then it also feels like I've never known a time when I didn't know you," Lexa admitted before pressing a kiss to the top of Clarke's head.
"Maybe it just feels that way because I've been a creeper in your class for so long?" Clarke asked as she rolled away from Lexa for a moment to grab her phone when it vibrated again.
"My creeper," Lexa agreed as Clarke snuggled back into her and unlocked her phone. "Do you think the girls are still here?"
"I'm sure Rey is still passed out. She's the worst after drinking. Also..." Clarke started before pausing. "It's my mom that's been blowing up my phone."
"Good news or bad?" Lexa tensed, ready to comfort Clarke if necessary.
Clarke handed her phone over to Lexa so her girlfriend could read the message.
I'm not surprised you didn't answer the call. Just wanted to make sure that you and your girlfriend were still doing ok after the accident.
"Wow. That's unexpected. But nice, right?" Lexa ventured, unsure of what was going through Clarke's mind.
"Yeah. She actually called you my girlfriend. Maybe she's coming around," Clarke shrugged as she sat up and took her phone back from Lexa. She typed out a quick reply thanking her mother for the concern and reassuring her they were okay. She was short and to the point, not entirely trusting her mother's motives but also not forgetting how their last conversation had gone.
Clarke was surprised by the almost immediate response from her mother, asking her and Lexa over for dinner that night assuming that Lexa was healed enough for travel. "Maybe you should go alone?" Lexa asked after Clarke asked her opinion. "Try to make things better first?"
"No way am I going without you. I mean, well you don't have to go. You have no reason to like her or want to go. And I should try to make things better so I'm not here mooching off of you even though I really like waking up to you and..."
Lexa's soft laugh stopped Clarke's rambling and the blonde felt her cheeks turning pink. "I will go with you if that's what you want. And maybe moving home would be a good thing so I could court you properly. Not that you aren't welcome here Clarke. I love waking up to you too."
Clarke felt her heart swell at the words, her breath getting caught in her throat. She leaned down to press a chaste kiss to Lexa's lips. "I guess it would be good to avoid the whole u-hauling thing," Clarke admitted with a smile teasing the corners of her mouth.
"Pfft. We haven't even had sex. No u-hauling about this," Lexa complained before she could really think about what she was saying. As soon as she did her face went red and Clarke began laughing at her. "Totally blaming that on the pain killers," Lexa grumbled as she watched Clarke slide out of the bed and make her way to the bathroom.
"Uh huh. The ones you haven't had since before falling asleep that are out of your system by now?" Clarke called out from the bathroom with amusement.
"That's my story and I'm sticking to it!" Lexa huffed as she pulled herself up into a sitting position.
Just then her bedroom door swung open and she was surprised to see Raven standing there. When Raven noticed the look of perplexion on Lexa's features she just shrugged and walked over to the bed before collapsing next to her. "I heard yelling and it didn't sound sexy at all. Figured I was safe," Raven mumbled as she buried her face into a pillow.
"Good morning to you too Raven," Lexa sighed as her new friend got comfortable in her bed.
"I think I'm dying," she complained just as Clarke was walking out of the bathroom.
"Your best friend is dying in my bed. What do we do?" Lexa asked as she pointed at Raven while locking eyes with Clarke.
"Maybe if you ignore it it will go away?" Clarke joked as she helped Lexa stand up from the bed so as to put as little strain on her injuries as possible.
"I can hear you," Raven said, trying to sound angry but failing.
"So I take it Anya won?" Lexa asked as she took in Raven's sad state and pitiful face.
"Oh hell no, I won! No one beats Raven!" she replied indignantly. "Well, I think it was a tie actually but I still so won."
Clarke and Lexa both noticed the grin that came over her face and descended upon the hungover girl quickly. "You two totally hooked up didn't you?" Lexa asked almost in disbelief while Clarke hi-fived her best friend.
"No laid. Your couch is safe," Raven reassured the other brunette. "But at least I didn't have to stalk her for over a year just to get her to kiss me so there's that."
Clarke gave her a playful shove as Lexa laughed at that. "Yeah, creeper," she joined in teasing her girlfriend.
"Why do I love you guys?" Clarke groaned before walking out of the bedroom and heading towards the kitchen to start her morning coffee.
Lexa and Raven's eyes locked once she was out of the room and Raven noticed the small upward turn of Lexa's lips. When Lexa caught Raven grinning at her she broke into an all out grin herself. "You think she meant that?" Lexa asked in wonderment.
"Clearly I'll have to teach her how to work on her romance," Raven rolled her eyes as she pulled herself from Lexa's bed finally. "But Clarke doesn't say anything she doesn't mean. Now wipe that dopey look off of your face and lets go get her to prove her love by making us breakfast."
"I like the way you think," Lexa nodded as the two of them walked out of the bedroom to find the blonde.
Clarke was in the kitchen fussing over the coffee pot when Lexa approached her from behind and wrapped her arms around her.
The grin returned to the brunette's face as she replayed Clarke's words in her head. Even if it wasn't that kind of love, it was still love. She still had let it slip first and Lexa knew without a doubt that she returned the sentiment. When Clarke turned in Lexa's arms the older woman let out a contented sigh as she moved to rest her head on the blonde's shoulder.
"Your clingy koala over there said she would really like it if you made her breakfast. She's trying to butter you up," Raven commented as she slid onto one of the stools at the breakfast nook.
"And here I thought you were just being sweet," Clarke scoffed in fake displeasure.
"And here I thought you loved me?" Lexa retorted as she looked up into Clarke's blue eyes.
Clarke's mouth hung open for a moment before she managed to regain control over it. Unfortunately her control did not extend to stopping the red warmth filling her cheeks as she realized what she had said without realizing it. Unable to speak Clarke managed a scowl that did nothing but goad Lexa into giggling at her.
"And this round goes to the hot teacher. So how about it? Pancakes?" Raven asked hopefully as she watched the exchange. The couple made no sign of breaking apart from each other and Raven coughed loudly to get their attention. "The sooner you feed me the sooner my hungover ass will leave so you two lovebirds can ogle over each other for the rest of the day."
Lexa smiled sheepishly as she released her arms from around Clarke's waist. "I'm gonna go take my medicine and lay on the couch," she said before pressing a kiss to Clarke's lips.
Raven watched her walk away before turning her attention on Clarke who was already rummaging around for a pan and spatula to make breakfast for everyone. She couldn't do much cooking wise but adding some water to pancake mix and flipping them when they were bubbly enough was one of the few things easy enough for her to manage without screwing it up.
"So I guess we won't be apartment shopping anytime soon huh?" Raven asked quietly. She was disappointed but not upset like she had expected to be.
"What do you mean?" Clarke asked as she spun around with a hand on one hip and a spatula in the other.
"Well you're really at home here..." Raven said trailing off. She watched as a frown spread over Clarke's features and jumped at the chance to reassure her best friend. "It's okay Clarke. I get it. Life happens. Better you fall in love now than after signing a lease and being stuck somewhere you don't want to be."
"We're having dinner with my mom tonight," was Clarke's reply. Raven gave her a look of puzzlement, wondering where this topic came from out of left field. "I mean, if we work things out, I'm thinking about going back home. I can't just stay here and impose on Lexa and she keeps talking about wanting to court me properly and we can't really move in together and just start dating and what if she feels stuck with me if I'm here all the time you know?"
Clarke was rambling again but Raven just listened and nodded her head at the right moments. She knew her best friend only did that when she felt vulnerable and this was the best way she knew how to show support. Quiet stoicism and sarcasm were the only two modes Raven really knew. Not wanting Clarke to dwell on feeling like she would be letting Raven down if they didn't live together the dark haired girl steered the conversation to Abby instead.
They mused over the different ways the night could play out as the stack of cooked pancakes grew. When she ran out of batter Clarke took a stack out to Lexa before returning to split the rest between herself and Raven. The trio ate in the living room together in a comfortable silence while Lexa watched the morning news on television and making good on her word Raven said her goodbyes after filling her belly and dropping the plate into the sink.
Once she was gone Clarke cleaned up their breakfast dishes before returning to the couch and cuddling up as gently as possible to her girlfriend. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to work?" Clarke asked as she breathed in Lexa's scent. "I really don't want Jaha grading my final."
Lexa let out a little chuckle before pressing her lips to Clarke's forehead. "I have the sick time and a doctors note. I might as well use it. Better for us to be safe than sorry, Clarke." Lexa reminded her.
Clarke huffed but nodded against her girlfriends chest. The two enjoyed their comfortable silence for a while; Lexa watching the television while Clarke was content just to close her eyes and listen to the sounds of her girlfriend's heart beating. Eventually the blonde reluctantly extracted herself from Lexa's embrace and went to get ready for another day of classes.
Before she left for the day Lexa reassured her that she would be dressed and ready for their dinner by the time Clarke returned from school. They exchanged several kisses and eventually Lexa pushed Clarke away, realizing that the blonde was just trying to stall from going to school. "Get your ass to school Griffin," Lexa demanded in her best teacher voice.
"And what are you going to do about it if I don't, Miss Woods?" Clarke gave her a predatory grin before pressing their lips together once more. "Gonna punish me?" Clarke murmured against the brunette's lips before flicking her tongue over them. Lexa couldn't stop the moan that escaped from the back of her throat as she accepted Clarke's tongue against her own. "You know it would really be good for me to practice my doctor skills by taking care of you," Clarke went on as she slid her hand under Lexa's shirt and ran her fingers delicately up her girlfriend's taught muscles.
It took Lexa all of her willpower to not cave, but she didn't want Clarke to slip any further in her studies and mess up her dreams. Lexa knew she could easily take care of Clarke no matter what profession the blonde decided to go into but they had only just begun dating and she couldn't let herself come in the way of her girlfriend's academic life in case they didn't work out. She grabbed Clarke's wrist reluctantly and tugged it away from her body. She recognized the hurt flash in Clarke's eyes at the rejection and was quick to press another kiss to her lips. "Tonight," she breathed out shakily. "Class now. You can have me tonight when all of this is over," Lexa promised.
The reassurance was enough for Clarke who gently pulled away and nodded. "I'll see you in a few hours then," she said eagerly, ready for the day to be over so she could find out her mothers intentions as well as finally quell the physical frustration that's been building in her body since her and Lexa had first kissed.
Clarke grabbed her keys, as well as Lexa's for the house key, and headed out the door to face the day. She was determined to focus as much as she could in the hopes that it would make her lectures pass quickly instead of dwelling on the things that would come afterwards. She wasn't sure if she was more nervous about facing her mother or more excited about the promise Lexa had made.
More than once she caught herself daydreaming about finally getting to feel Lexa's body, wondering what it would feel like to be inside of her or to taste her. Every time she felt the heat pooling between her legs she would snap back out of her thoughts and look around the class to make sure she wasn't giving herself away before returning to her note taking.
While sitting in her last class of the day Clarke felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and pulled it out to check the notification. It was a text from Lexa.
Hey babe. Apparently Anya is supposed to ask Raven on a date but she was too drunk to get her number. Can I have it so I can pass it on?
Clarke quickly typed out her best friend's number and hit send before sliding her phone back into her pocket. She couldn't help the smile that spread over her features. It was the first time Lexa had used any sort of pet name with her and she couldn't help but feel excited that their relationship was steadily deepening.
Despite her nerves about whatever dinner with her mom would bring, Clarke couldn't help but feel that everything was working out exactly how it was meant to. She had adored Lexa since the first time she laid eyes on her and now she had everything she had fantasized about for so long. Even her best friend had found a potential love interest out of the situation. If Abby didn't accept her it would hurt but she knew she had the support system around her now to survive it.
The blonde was so distracted by her thoughts she hardly noticed when her last class ended. As soon as it did the nervousness of her impending dinner with her mom hit her like a ton of bricks. As she made her way to her car and back home she felt it settling within her as it knotted in her stomach. She kept reminding herself that she had Lexa to be at her side. Lexa had promised her tonight. Lexa would catch her if everything fell apart again.
And again the voice was there. Telling her how much she already loved this woman that had walked into her life and so quickly became more than just a crush. It finally dawned on her what a risk Lexa had taken by letting her into her life. The comfort of the knowledge, of knowing she meant that much to someone, wrapped itself around her and lifted the weight from her stomach ever so slightly. She had Lexa now and she would be okay no matter what happened at dinner.