A/N: Okay it's 3:30 am my time so I have not even read this over so hopefully it's fine. Also it's shorter than normal but I wanted to get something out at least and felt this was a good place to end the chapter anyway. And you get some of Lexa's back story.
Also if anyone knows any good Clexa youtube videos or Clexa plus Madi send them my way. I think I've mentioned before I play them while I'm writing for inspiration.
Chapter 28
Clarke couldn't believe how good it felt just to be within touching distance of Lexa again. She hadn't realize how much of the simple things she'd missed. She hadn't realized how often they simply touched even when they were just talking.
"Something we should probably talk about. Avery was a little worried you wouldn't be excited to see her."
"What? Why would she think that?" Lexa almost seemed angry at the very idea and it made Clarke smile. It only proved how much Lexa did care.
"Another girl at her school was having such a problem with her mother's boyfriend, I guess. It just made her question things."
Lexa threw the blanket off her legs and jumped out of the bed. She made her way around the bed and towards the door, but before she could make it there, Clarke grabbed her wrist softly and stopped her. "Where are you going?"
"To talk to Avery. I don't want her to think I don't care about her. I love that little girl. I've been so excited to spend more time with her."
Clarke grinned. "She knows. We already talked about it. And well you did hug her first and longer when you got home. She bragged about." Lexa smirked. "Besides she's sleeping. If you still feel the need to talk to her, you can do so later."
The other woman nodded, knowing her girlfriend was right. Avery had, had a long day. It wouldn't be nice to wake her up now.
"Get back in here and cuddle with me," Clarke teasingly ordered.
Lexa rolled her eyes but did as she was told. The two laid facing each other with arms wrapped around the other. "I've missed this, missed us," Lexa admitted quietly.
"Me too." Clarke remembered their conversations back in California and knew Lexa wouldn't make the first move in fear she was pushing Clarke. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Lexa's lips. Then another one, just a little longer than the first. Then a third. Finally, Lexa took the bait and pushed back.
"I love you, so much," Lexa moaned as Clarke pushed her back and laid down on top of her. "It's gonna be that way, huh?"
Clarke smiled and nodded, before kissing the other girl again. Still when Lexa reached for the hem of Clarke's shirt to pull it off, a hand stopped her. "Not that I don't want this. I really, REALLY do. I'm feeling like my old self again," she added, so that Lexa did understand. "But, it's Avery's first night here, and knowing my daughter, she's going to find her way in here eventually."
Lexa didn't know Avery as well as she wanted to, yet. But she knew Clarke was probably right. The younger girl seemed to have a hard time sleeping and needed some comfort when she was thrown off her axis. "Teenage make out it is."
Clarke would never be able to find the words to how grateful she was for Lexa. The other girl just understood her in a way she never thought anyone ever wood. And she made Avery's needs a priority. She always wished she'd find a significant other who would do that, but she never dared hope.
~CL~
The next morning Clarke woke up to find Avery sound asleep between them. Lexa's arm was thrown over Avery's waist as she held her protectively. She vaguely remembered her daughter coming in the night before. She was still trying to get a grasp on this full-time parenting thing and wasn't sure if she should still allow Avery to sleep with her or not. She had a hard time telling her no, unless it was necessary.
One thing she did know, however, was that a full breakfast was always good. She slipped out of bed without either girl being the wiser and headed into the bathroom first before heading towards the kitchen to get things going.
Lexa woke up not long after to blonde hair in her field of vision. She knew instantly that it wasn't Clarke's though. They were almost identical but Avery's had a natural curl that Clarke's didn't have. She placed a kiss into the girl's hair, just glad she was here and safe.
The case she'd told Clarke about the night before had been hard on her. Having Avery in her life now changed the way she looked at the world. She couldn't help but think of Avery when she thought about that young boy.
Avery rolled over and opened her eyes. She smiled when she noticed Lexa looking at her in deep though. "Morning."
"Good morning, sweet girl. Did you sleep well?"
"I did once I came in here," Avery admitted shyly.
Lexa put a hand on the young girl's cheek and gave her a smile. "You are welcome, anytime. You know your mom is here for you, always and I hope you know you can come to me too."
Avery nodded. "I like it when you're here too. Makes me feel safer."
"Good, I'm glad." Lexa gave her a smile and a kiss on her forehead. "You are a very special young lady who I have come to love, and not just because I love your mom."
"She told you," Avery guessed.
"She did." Lexa gave her a hug and as she pulled away she happened to notice the small stuffed animal Avery must have brought in with her. "Do you know where that bunny came from?"
Avery looked down at the item in her hand and nodded. It was definitely older and had been loved by someone before.
"My mom was really young when she had me."
"Like my mom?"
"Yeah just about, but she wasn't anything like your mom. She didn't really know what to do with a kid. But when I was probably about six, she gave me that bunny for my birthday. I loved it so much, because she gave it to me. I took it everywhere I could."
Lexa paused. She hadn't thought about this time in her life for a while. "One day she dropped me off at school, but then when school got out, she wasn't there. They took me to the office and tried to call her, I don't know how long I was waiting, but finally some cops came and took me to the police station. They had tried to find my mom, and no one could find her."
"Did they ever find her?"
"No, they didn't. In fact, I never saw her again," Lexa told her. She was pretty sure her mom died that day, be it killed, or overdosed. Her body was never found though, so she'd never be sure. She wasn't going to tell Avery that, however.
"That's not important to the story though," she continued. "A social worker took me to my first foster home that day. I was really sad, because I had no idea what was going on. My mom wasn't the best, but I'd never slept a night away from her. I stayed awake most of the night."
The next morning, a couple of cops came to my foster home. They had been to our house to see if they could find my mom and the female officer, Luna, she had grabbed a couple of my things, including that bunny, and gave them to me," she pointed down at the animal in question. "I slept much better that next night."
Avery held the bunny a little tighter. "Why did you put it on my bed then?"
"Because I wanted you to have it. I don't need it anymore because I have you, and I have your mom. That's all I need now."
Someday she'd tell Avery, and Clarke, because she hadn't told her yet, all about Luna. The young cop had stopped in and checked on Lexa through a good portion of her childhood. Lexa sometimes wished the other woman would have adopted her, but it had never happened. Still, she was the reason Lexa wanted to be a cop. She wanted to help people the way Luna had helped her.
Even though she'd never adopted her, she'd been there for a lot of things over the years. She'd even come to Lexa's graduation, which she'd be forever grateful for since her foster parents hadn't cared.
She'd asked her once why she'd stayed in her life but never gave her a home. The other woman just told her that her home was not a good place for a kid to grow up. She hadn't elaborated, and Lexa hadn't pushed, but she often wondered what that meant. She also hadn't heard from the woman in years and hoped she was okay.
"You'll take good care of her right?"
Avery nodded vigorously. Knowing this was something Lexa loved, she'd protect it with her life. "Of course. Does she have a name?"
"I always just called her bunny." She had only been six after all. Not like she was that clever.
"That's boring. I'm going to call her Lexi."
Lexa laughed. She was honored that Avery would even think to name it after her. Even if it was an inanimate object. Avery probably would even care about stuffed animals soon, but she was glad it was at least a good gift for now.
"I can smell food. Should we go see what your mom is making for breakfast?"
Avery didn't verbally respond, instead she jumped out of bed and headed for the door. Lexa was only a step behind her and when they made it to the kitchen, they found the full spread. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit all ready for them.
"Morning ladies."
"Morning Mom," Avery walked over and gave her a hug.
They all sat around the table and began to dig in. "I need to run a few errands today and take care of a few things, but I think Avery would be bored," Clarke said.
"She can hang with me, right?" Lexa asked the girl. Avery nodded. "With my case wrapped up I'm officially off for a few days at least. I tried to take the whole week off, but they may need me back later this week. We'll see."
"If you are fine with it, I'm fine with it," Clarke agreed. She trusted Lexa.
"Want to see where I work?" Lexa asked Avery. She wouldn't admit it, but she kind of wanted to show Avery off to a few of her co-workers.
"Yeah, I want to see it." She'd seen a police station before on a field trip, but this was Lexa's police station. It was totally different. Lexa was like her very own superhero.
"Alright, ladies, finish your breakfast. We got things to do today," Clarke ordered and smiled when they both did as they were told.
