"You promised, Mom," Tennyson cried and couldn't seem to help the whine that escaped. "We've been planning this night for weeks. You promised that you'd take the night off and we'd spend some time together."
"I know, baby," Callie said as she took in her daughter's countenance. "The Chancellor just…"
"Yeah, the Chancellor always needs something," she interrupted angrily. "Is that man capable of doing anything on his own?"
"Tennyson, that's enough," Callie said hotly. "That's no way to speak about the Chancellor. He's trying to get the Council in order after the mess Diana Sydney left."
"It's been a year, Mother! How much of a fucking mess did the woman leave?!"
"I'm not having this argument with you and you will not use that kind of language in this house, young lady. Now, I am sorry that this is not what we planned, but you know very well that I cannot ignore the Chancellor. No matter how much I want to."
Tennyson sighed heavily and plopped on the couch, "I know, Mom. I'm not angry at you. It's just, I was really looking forward to tonight. We've hardly spent any time together since he became Chancellor and I've missed you."
"Oh, baby," Callie replied, sitting beside her and hugging her close. "I was looking forward to tonight, too. I promise that I'll make it up to you. Hey, why don't you get the girls together and have a girls' night?"
"Maybe…it's just that I told them that it'd just be you and me tonight," she replied petulantly. "If I invite them over then they're gonna want to know why and it'll just…"
"I understand, sweetie," Callie said and then saw the time on the clock. "I've got to get going, Tennyson. I'll try to get back as soon as I can and if it's not late, we'll do something. Okay?"
"Yeah, alright," she replied, not really believing that she'll see her mother until breakfast.
Callie kissed her on the top of her head and with one last squeeze, left their home.
"Happy Birthday to me," she said sadly as she hit play on the viewer and started watching Marvel's Black Widow.
Halfway through the movie, the door chime sounded. Tennyson paused the movie and debated on whether she felt like answering the door, but it sounded again and she heard Clarke's tentative mind voice call out to her.
She got up and leaning against the door frame, looked at Clarke and gave her a sad smile, "Hey, Clarke."
"Hey, Ten," Clarke replied, feeling nervous. "You okay?"
"Not really," she replied. "Mom had to go to work."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ten. I know you were really looking forward to spending time with her."
"Yeah," she sighed. "Wanna come in?"
"If you're sure," she said, playing with the hem of her shirt.
Giving her a genuine smile, "I'm always sure when it's you. I was just watching a movie."
Clarke felt a flutter in her stomach at her words and gave her a shy smile, "What movie?"
Ten stepped back and answered as Clarke came in, "Black Widow. There's nothing I like watching more than Scarlett Johansson kick ass unless it's like Jennifer Lawrence. Maybe Kate Beckinsale's Selene."
Clarke laughed, "You got a thing for badass women?"
"Hell yeah," she replied, sitting back on the couch. "Kicking ass better than any man. What's not to like?"
"What about Chris Hemsworth's Thor," she asked curiously, trying to get a feel on the older girl.
Ten made a face and replied, "Nah, if we're going with that storyline than it's Jaimie Alexander's Sif or Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie or even Rene Russo's Frigga. Hell, you know what? Any of the female gods from the Norse pantheon. The Norse created some badass goddesses."
"Don't tell Bell that," Clarke said, flopping beside Ten and laughing. "You know he prefers the Roman pantheon."
"No, he loves the civilization they created, not the gods themselves. I think Alexander the Great was better than any of the Ceasars."
"What makes you say that," she asked curiously.
"He was a brilliant military commander and created one of the largest empires in the ancient world in just thirteen years. Completely undefeated in battle. All before he was 35. I mean, yeah, sure, the Roman Empire lasted 500 years, but still," she answered, grinning.
"Okay," Clarke said, smiling and shaking her head at Ten. "Remind me never to start a conversation between you and Bellamy over the ancient world."
"What? Too dry?"
"Um, yeah and I don't think it would ever end. You two are such nerds," she said laughing.
"I hate to break it to you, girlie, but we're all nerds."
"I am not a nerd," Clarke said, leaning back and feigning offense.
"So, if we started discussing stem cell regrowth and DNA manipulation, you wouldn't have a word to say," she teased.
Clarke blushed, "Um, no. Nope."
"Oh, that's right…we would have to talk about using lasers during surgery for you to start talking."
"I never understood why we don't have that kind of technology onboard the Ark. I mean, come on, much more efficient than scalpels and nervous hands."
"And there comes out the nerd," she laughed.
Clarke slapped Ten on her chest and they broke out in laughter. When they calmed down, Ten leaned her head against the couch and said, "Thank you, C. This is much better than moping and pouting on my birthday."
"Of course, Ten. I hate seeing you sad," Clarke replied. "You're my best friend and I know you'd do the same for me."
Ten rolled her head to look at Clarke and once more found herself breathless. Enraptured, she lost herself in the deep oceanic blue of her eyes and couldn't have thought of a more perfect moment. Even though they were both at the age where they were just beginning to develop physically and both awkward, she found Clarke beautiful.
Breaking her thoughts, she said, "So, how'd you know that I was alone?"
Clarke blushed and replied, "Your mom stopped by."
She chuckled, "Ah. I guess that was okay. I'm not complaining. You're much better company than me, myself, and I."
"I should hope so," Clarke teased. "I mean, the conversation is, like, a hundred times better."
"So, you're saying I'm boring. I'm hurt."
"As if. But talking to yourself has to get pretty boring, pretty quickly."
"Oh, I don't know. Sometimes those are the best conversations."
"You know what," Clarke said, sitting up straighter. "We are not going down this road. Enough introspection. Take a walk with me."
Sitting up, "A walk?"
Clarke nodded, "Yeah. Come on, there's somewhere I wanna take you."
Ten raised an eyebrow in suspicion, "Oh, really?"
"Yes," she replied, standing up. "Come on. It'll be worth it. I promise."
"Um…"
"Oh, come on, Ten," she said, holding out her hand. "Please. It'd make me happy."
Ten took her hand and Clarke pulled her up as she said, "I thought this was about making me happy, not you."
"Well, of course. A happy Tennyson makes me happy," she replied, tugging her out the door. "And you want to make me happy, don't you?"
You have no idea, Tennyson thought to herself but followed Clarke out into the Ark.
Clarke was intimately aware that Ten still held her hand. She couldn't help but admit that she liked the feeling of their fingers entwined. Looking over at Ten, they shared a small smile before Ten leaned over and nudged shoulders with her. They were quiet and it was an easy silence, neither one of them needing to feed the space with words. Clarke felt nervous. She hadn't planned on this walk, but she suddenly wanted to share someplace that was special to her. A place her father had shown her and it was probably her favorite place. A little known observation deck that faced Earth. She just hoped that Ten would like it.
Ten could feel Clarke's nervous energy through their joined hands. She was aware that they were still holding hands and she had no problem continuing to do so as long as Clarke wanted to. All she knew was that her birthday was turning out a lot better than she had thought it would be as soon as her mom had told her she had to go to work. Quite frankly, any time that she got to spend with Clarke away from the others was something she looked forward to. It wasn't just because she suddenly noticed that she was attracted to Clarke or that they'd been friends pretty much since birth. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were leaders of their pack or that they worked well together. It was all of those things and so much more. Being around Clarke centered and kept her grounded.
Fuck, she thought to herself, I just like being around Clarke. I like the way I feel when I'm around her. Now, if only I could actually tell her that. Shit, what if she doesn't like girls? Have I told her that I like girls? Fuuuuck…
To keep herself from rambling in her head, she forced herself to pay attention to where they were walking. It looked like Clarke was taking her into the Go-Sci section of the Ark. This piqued Ten's curiosity and at the same time she hoped that Clarke's destination wasn't one of the many science labs because there was some weird shit in some of them. She shuddered at an image of the germ lab that she'd accidentally found herself in a few years ago. That had been nasty and given her nightmares for weeks after that visit. It also made sure that she only ever went into the science labs if she was invited and knew exactly what she would be seeing.
Clarke felt Ten shudder and asked, "You okay?"
"Hmm," Ten said, startled out of her memory. "Oh, yeah. I was just remembering a bad experience walking into one of the labs. We're not going in one of them, are we?"
Clarke laughed because she remembered Ten's aversion to some of the more practical science experiments that were done, "No. I promise. I'm not taking you to see a weird new strain of virus or something. It's way cooler than that."
Ten looked at her skeptically, "I'm trusting you, C, but if I have nightmares, I'm gonna kick your ass outta the Ark."
"When you see what I want to show you, you'll be singing my praises. Not cursing my existence," she replied, stepping closer to Ten and leaning into her.
Ten felt an odd sensation build in her chest when Clarke leaned into her, but she quickly suppressed it. To hide her nervousness, she smirked and said, "You think mighty high of yourself, C. Maybe Princess is an appropriate nickname for you."
Clarke snorted, "I hate that nickname. I mean, I get it. I live on the privileged section of the Ark which is the equivalent of the old world's rich people's neighborhood, but come on. It's ridiculous. I'm not spoiled."
She barked out a laugh, "It's not just because of that…well, okay, it has a lot to do with that, but it's also because you're blonde and have blue eyes. You look like those old images of Cinderella or even Sleeping Beauty. I mean, you have to admit that you and Wells have it a lot easier than the rest of us. Yes, I admit, that given my mom's position working with the Council and who my sire is, I have advantages too. They're just not to the extent that you have."
"It's not fair that we have it better than the others, Ten," Clarke said, looking at her suddenly serious. "Their families work twice as hard and they don't get nearly enough to barely survive."
"Yeah, and we'll change that when it's finally our turn," Ten replied. "We just have to hold out for a little bit longer."
"Waiting was never one of my strong suits," she said, chuckling ruefully.
Ten smiled at her and replied, "That's why you have me."
Clarke returned her smile, "I'm glad. Oh, look, we're here."
They had slowed to a stop and when Ten stopped staring at Clarke and looked to where they were, she was met with a large window. She could make out the stars but saw that Earth dominated the space. Ten stood there taking in the view as Clarke reluctantly let her hand go and walked closer to the window.
"Dad showed me this place when I was little," Clarke was saying, not bothering to look at Ten. Her focus was now on the planet, "I had a nightmare one night and he brought me here thinking I would find it calming. I did. We come out here every once in a while just to take a moment and breathe. Sometimes I come here by myself because it always brings me a sense of peace. Like I have to see Earth to let the pressures go. What do you think, Ten?"
"You're beautiful," Ten blurted out and then backtracked as she walked closer, "I mean, it's beautiful, Clarke. Not that I'm saying you're not, but the Earth is, too. Um, so, your dad showed you this place?"
Clarke stood still, frozen in shock, hearing Ten calling her beautiful. Her mind suddenly incapable of forming thoughts except for, Ten thinks I'm beautiful. Then her mind snapped and it was suddenly going at the speed of light as she realized, hoped, that maybe Ten felt the same way she did. That maybe Ten liked her. That maybe it wasn't just one-sided.
Ten was freaking out. She was berating herself for blurting those words out. She hadn't meant to, but with Clarke standing there in the window with the Earth as a backdrop, that was the only thought in her mind. What had she been thinking? Well, that was the problem, she hadn't. It was like the part of her brain that told her to think before she spoke, had somehow malfunctioned and now Clarke knew. She knew Clarke had heard her. How could she not? And now, she was just standing there. Not speaking. Not looking at her. Had she ruined their friendship? Was this going to put a strain on the pack?
While she had been thinking, Ten had continued walking towards Clarke and now found herself next to her.
Nervously, she reached out and tentatively touched Clarke on the arm, making the girl jump, "Clarke? I-I'm sorry?"
Clarke stared wide-eyed at Ten as she thought to herself, She's apologizing? Why's she apologizing? She did nothing wrong. Oh…wait. She called me beautiful. Have I just been standing here? Have I said anything? Must not have if she's apologizing. Gotta fix this. How do I fix this? Okay, Clarke, just breathe. You can do this. You can tell her how you feel. Come on, dammit! Speak! Say something cool. You can do it. No, I can't! Shit! Breathe. Take a deep breath and just tell her you like her. Say something, you idiot!
She let out a slow breath, looking down she noticed that Ten was fidgeting with her hands in nervousness. So, she took a chance, reached out and took one of her hands before looking back up and said, honestly, "You, you don't have any reason to be sorry, Ten."
Ten looked at their joined hands and then back to her, "I, I don't?"
Clarke shook her head and gave her a small smile, "No." She took a step closer, "I like you, Ten, and if you calling me beautiful means that you like me too, then that's okay."
Ten felt relieved and like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. Her face transformed as she smiled and said, "I like you, Clarke. More than a friend, I mean. I, um, have for a while now. I just…"
"Didn't know if I felt the same way," Clarke finished, tilting her head slightly as she continued to smile. "I do."
Ten chuckled, feeling giddy and suddenly courageous, asked, "Clarke, will you go out with me? Be my girlfriend?"
Clarke beamed at the older girl and nodded, "I'd like that, Ten."
"Cool."
That made Clarke laugh and she said, "Cool? I say yes to being your girlfriend and all you can say is, 'cool?'"
Ten laughed, shrugging, "My brain is kinda malfunctioning at the moment. It's the first word that popped in my head. You have no idea how happy you've just made me."
She raised an eyebrow and a smirk appeared, "Oh? I think I have a pretty good idea because I'm just as happy."
Ten nodded and taking a chance, tugged Clarke's hand until she could embrace the younger girl. She circled her arms around Clarke's waist, standing behind her as they faced the window together. Ten was just tall enough to rest her chin against Clarke's shoulder and as she did that, Clarke leaned against her and they both let out a sigh of contentment.
"Thank you for showing this to me, Clarke," Ten said softly. "It's a beautiful view."
Clarke only hummed in acknowledgment as they lapsed into silence and just enjoyed being together. They stood there lost in the moment until a distant P.A. announcement.
With a sigh, Clarke said, "We should be getting home."
Ten nodded and reluctantly let Clarke go, "We should. Wanna just spend the night at my place?"
Clarke looked up at her in surprise and stammered, "Y-you sure?"
Ten smiled and shrugged, "I really don't feel like being alone right now and since your parents know you were coming over to my place anyway…"
Clarke smiled, "I'd like that, but no monkey business."
She barked a laugh and wrapping her arm around Clarke's shoulders to begin walking back, "Take away my fun, why don't you? No, I figured we can just watch movies until we fall asleep. The nice thing about having my birthday on a Friday is that we don't have to worry about waking up to go to school."
Clarke hipped checked Ten, but snuggled into her shoulder, "God, you're going to be unbearable when you present, aren't you?"
"That's what I have you for," Ten said with a grin. "You'll keep me on the straight and narrow."
"So, what? You're going to deprive me of my fun by making me babysit you?"
"Nah," she replied. "You'll be there right alongside me. Like always."
"Like always," she agreed.
The rest of the walk back to Ten's home was spent teasing one another. When they got there, they did exactly what they planned, watching movies until they fell asleep. Only this time, Clarke was curled up against Ten as the girls acquainted themselves with their new relationship.
Coming home after long hours pouring over reports, Callie entered their home to find the girls asleep on the couch with a movie playing on the screen. She smiled as she took in their appearance before she gently woke them up and encouraged them to find Ten's bed. Giving sleepy goodnights, the girls cuddled up in the bed and fell asleep. Both bearing smiles as they chased their dreams.
