Chapter 14: Unadorned
"Life is not simple, and people can't be boxed into being either heroes or villains."
Jessica Hagedorn
Lexa and Clarke did not have a hard time in finding Anya's apartment. It was situated in one of the posh areas in the district of Sukhumvit. The cab driver good-naturedly dropped them off at the entrance of the building. Upon reaching the lobby, Lexa confirmed some of information and the security personnel made a phone call to Anya's unit. While Lexa waited at the reception counter, Clarke sat patiently on one of the several plush sofas at the lobby. Lexa noted the cleanliness of the building, the marble floors, the brilliant chandeliers and the travertine counter from where she stood. As Lexa took in more of Anya's living situation, she couldn't help but listen to the conversation that the receptionist was having with the person at the other end of the line.
"I have an Alexandria Woods here for you, she's with company"
"Thank you, just send them right up"
Being quite close to the receiver, Lexa couldn't help but notice that the voice she heard was a little bit less deep than Anya's.
"You may proceed, madam, there's an elevator to your right up to unit 705" the receptionist broke Lexa's train of thought.
"Hey Clarke, we can go up now" Lexa motioned for Clarke to follow.
"Are you sure that's its going to be okay with your friend? I'm a stranger to her you know?" Clarke has been worrying throughout their trip from Cambodia.
"Don't worry, Anya understands and despite the years that we haven't seen each other, we kept in touch. She's more like a sister to me, you know" Lexa explained as they entered the elevator.
Lexa and Clarke approached unit 705 in a slow phase, too nervous of how Anya would react to their current travelling situation. As the door opened, a slim female figure with dirty blonde hair welcomes Lexa with a hug; the hug was a bit lengthy because Clarke had enough time to take in Anya's appearance. She was wearing a white tank top, revealing tattoos on her right arm and a pair of rugged denims. Clarke thought that they looked good together, both physically good-looking and she thought that there must be more to Lexa and Anya's past. Clarke continued to stand awkwardly with her backpack behind Lexa as she waited for the brunette to introduce her. Too overwhelmed in seeing Anya after the long time, Lexa had not made any move to introduce Clarke yet until she caught Anya's eye.
"And you must be…" Anya directed a knowing look to Lexa.
"Oh how rude of me, Clarke Griffin meet Anya Volkov, one of my closest friends" Lexa motioned between Clarke and Anya.
"Best friend, you can say best friend, Lexa. The bald man is not here. Pleased to meet you, Clarke" Anya joked as she shook Clarke's hand.
"She means our other friend, Titus" Lexa told Clarke who was just right behind her.
"So, if you want to find out more about Clarke, I guess it's best that you already invite us inside. This bag is kinda heavy, you know." Lexa kidded as she pretended to struggle with her backpack. "Don't let the rough exterior fool you, Anya can be quite a care bear." Lexa whispered as Anya moved deeper into the apartment to allow her and Clarke to enter.
Clarke realized that if Lexa appeared to be relaxed in Cambodia, she was probably more relaxed amongst friends. Being in Anya's presence made her joke more and less somber.
"Sorry for imposing, I told Lexa that I could stay in a hotel…" overcame by her sudden shyness for her intrusion, Clarke wanted to explain.
"Nonsense, I've been waiting to be visited by friends after such a long time now. Plus, to maximize your stay in Bangkok, I suggest you remain in good company" Anya retorted. "Plus, it's nice to see Lexa being a bit laidback for a while."
The trio sat themselves on Anya's sectional sofa by the living area. The living area opened into a huge picture window that showed the city's skyline at night. The lights coming from the streets and the buildings glowed like starts in a dark canvas. Clarke was in deep thought, probably, after this trip, she should get her life together. She should get her own space, develop her portfolio again and start moving on from the past. Perhaps she'll spend evenings like this, settled in her own space discussing concepts and gossip with her friends as the city's neon skyline starts to set in. Also, she should possibly start treating Marcus better; he's worked hard to be a parent for her after Abby passed.
While Clarke was deep in her musings, Lexa suddenly noticed one detail as she continued to catch up with Anya. Lexa was not mistaken; she definitely heard some rattling at the adjacent kitchen.
"Is someone else here?" Lexa questioned cautiously looking around from where she was seated.
"Oh, that's my girlfriend, Raven." Anya answered casually catching Lexa's wide-eyed reaction.
Clarke's other assumptions of Lexa and Anya's relationship flew out the window.
The two pairs sat opposite each other on Anya's six-seater dining table. They shared a meal of Pad Thai, Tom Yum Goong and Chicken Satay. To Lexa's surprise, Raven was a gracious host; she kept making sure that everyone had their drinks refilled and to explain the various levels of spiciness of Thai food to Clarke.
"You see, I was not really into spicy food until I stayed here but now look at me I usually manage to add some chili into everything I eat." Raven declared.
"As in everything you eat?" Clarke inquired with one eye-brow raised.
"Sure, from fruit snacks to ice cream, I get to add a bit of spice" Raven motions Clarke to look into the small bowl that she has beside her. "This is what people would call as 'mouse dropping chili', well, mainly because they are so small they look like mouse droppings but never underestimate this little fella" At this point, Raven bit the tip of the chili that she held and this has solicited no reaction from her. "Wanna try it?" Raven urged Clarke to take a piece from the small bowl of chili.
"I suggest you don't give into her chili challenges, Clarke." Anya warned.
"I got through the soup, maybe I can manage" in a flash Clark took one piece of chili from Raven's bowl and decided to bite the tip off it like how Raven showed her. Lexa and Anya watched in dread for they had already predicted the outcome in their heads. Also, in a flash Clarke regretted her actions and Lexa was already prepared to go to the kitchen to look for a glass of milk.
"I told you not to give in" Anya laughed as she watched Clarke gulped down some water and later on accepted the milk that Lexa found.
"How did you survive that?" Clarke asked in between coughs.
"Some way to break the ice, eh, Clarke, thank you for trusting me, I think we are going to be fast friends" Raven joked.
After their eventful dinner, Anya decided to take Clarke and Lexa to venture some bars in the district. It was over 34 degrees centigrade outside and the women were dressed for a humid weather. Raven was in a white graphic tank top and acid washed shorts. Lexa decided to change into a cotton graphic band shirt and some tight dark jeans. While Anya still wore her rugged jeans and simply changed into a fresh tank top. Clarke, on the other hand, has managed to change into a casual ethnic print dress and some flat sandals. Walking around the busy streets of Bangkok, Lexa noticed how Clarke's hair glowed beneath the neon lights of the various establishments. Anya and Raven walked ahead, looking once in a while to check if Clarke and Lexa were walking at a close pace behind them. Lexa observed Clarke was probably taking in most of her surroundings; therefore, she was not really paying much attention to where she was walking. As not to lose Clarke along the busy street, Lexa decided to grab her hand to guide her and this has caught Clarke's attention.
"What are you thinking?" Lexa whispered as she paced slowly beside Clarke.
"That maybe travelling alone can be a bit liberating?" Clarke asserted.
"I see, I guess that's because you're amongst strangers?" Lexa countered.
"Well, not really, I've known you for a few days now" Clarke beamed.
"And you think that's enough time to get to know me?" Lexa teased. "Have you seen Taken? Maybe my colleagues and I are just waiting for the exact time to get you into a human trafficking situation?"
"Yeah, says the human trafficker who uses the word 'colleague'!" Clark snapped back.
As they chuckled in amusement; Lexa spotted Anya and Raven already seated in the al fresco area of one of the bars. Anya motioned for Lexa and Clarke to join them and Lexa forgot that she was still holding Clarke's hand as they approached the couple; Anya unwarily took in the minute detail.
Anya excused herself and Lexa from their table for a smoke not too far away from the bar's al fresco area. Raven took the hint that Anya simply wanted to talk to Lexa alone, so she continued to divert Clarke's attention by sharing some amusing anecdotes about her first year in Thailand.
"I see that you took up smoking again?" Anya inquired as she took a hit from her cigarette.
"It's easier to quit now, I could just turn my system on and off again" Lexa explained.
"Good for you, so enough small talk" Lexa noticed that Anya's expression became sterner now "What's the deal with Clarke?"
"Oh, Clarke, so we met at this puppet theater in Hanoi…" Lexa was starting with the same narrative that she shared over dinner earlier.
"I'm not asking about how you met, I already know that." Anya took a deep sigh "What I'm saying is, are you into her, Lexa?"
"I don't know, An. I've only met her and things are a bit spontaneous and actually, she just broke up with her boyfriend" Lexa elaborated, Anya noticed that Lexa was now on a defensive mode. She would always cross her arms over her chest when she's self-protective.
"C'mon Lexa, growing up, I know that you we're always a sucker for those romantic comedies. Look, coming from me, this is quite a meet-cute waving it's cute face in front of you! What are you afraid of?" Lexa almost laughed, she could not believe after long years of knowing the hard-headed and unyielding Anya, she would hear her utter words such as 'meet-cute'.
Eliciting a confused stare from Lexa, Anya decided to proceed with her ramblings. "You see, among the three of us, I always thought that you were some sort of silver lining upon our dark clouds. Titus usually never identifies the good thing that's in front of him because he's always looking for more. In my case, I looked at love as some fragile thing that if I manage to get a strong grip on it, it would suddenly break. But you were always different Lexa, you never measured what you could give, you never doubted people at first glance" Lexa remained silent. "I knew that I wasn't around for most of the time, especially with what happened with Costia. But that's just one girl Lex, your only mistake was to pour out everything to her all at once, you never held back. There's nothing wrong with you, it's just, she doesn't deserve you, and she doesn't deserve any of it. You owe it to yourself, you deserve a chance." Anya paused while Lexa stayed quiet, pondering on Anya's words.
"I'm taking a chance with Raven, I guess I'm old enough to do that, right?" Anya joked.
"Yes, An, you're old enough to do that. Are you giving me the pep talk or do you need a pep talk from me, now?" Lexa tried to joke around but she knew what Anya wants to hear. "Alright, I think I'll just see where this goes with Clarke. It's actually weird to hear you give me some sound advice after such a long time!" Lexa recounted.
"Don't think I didn't notice that hand-holding a while ago!" Anya teased. "I know when you are into deep, Lex. You're a believer in destiny, in some girl meets girl chance encounter or cataclysmic phenomenon and you get caught in the crossfire and then boom, it's her! You've even fallen for made-up signs since Costia but now, with Clarke, you need to read in between the lines here."
"Wow! That's some deep monologue coming from you. But you don't get to be a seer one moment and then suddenly turn into an ass at the same moment!" Lexa counteracted, playfully pushing Anya by the shoulder.
"That's because we're missing the real ass, here. How is Ty, anyway?" Anya bantered.
"Last time I checked, he was sleeping with my real estate broker." Lexa answered nonchalantly.
"I just hope he finally gets tired of his lifestyle and starts taking things seriously." Anya contemplates.
"Yeah, I do hope so. Hey, I saw Gus before I left."
"So how is he? Does Titus know about his vampire metaphor, already?"
"He's fairing well and Ty knows about the metaphor, I told him" Lexa takes a deep breath. "Gosh, An, have you imagined that we'll go this far since we've met?"
"What? This?" Anya motioned her hand in between her and Lexa. "Well, it was a long shot from an angsty and horny teenagers to finally finding someone who could talk me seriously and for you to finally find your 'soul mate'" Anya emphasized the air quotes. "No, Lex, never in my wildest dreams."
"Don't keep your hopes up, Clarke may just see me as friend and nothing more, I don't want to abuse that" Lexa warned in a somber tone.
"Well, friends can be soul mates, right?" Anya joked.
"Whatever you say, An" Lexa smiled, realizing that she was caught in one of Anya's traps again.
The duo shared some momentary laughter and gave each other meaningful stares.
"I missed you, An. I missed this." Lexa uttered.
"I missed you too, kid. Don't worry, I'm not trying to make up for lost time but believe me when I say that things will start to shape up soon, okay?" Anya held Lexa by the shoulder.
"I hope so, An. Now, let's go back to your girlfriend before she suspects that we are having an affair" Lexa mumbled as she broke away from Anya's grip to motion them to head back to Raven and Clarke.
"Good talk, kid, good talk" Anya kept muttering as they headed back.
As Anya and Lexa were talking nearby, Raven tried to engage Clarke in some serious conversation, after she has realized that she has already shared so much about herself. They were taking shots and they were already on their third beers but Clarke still felt pretty clear-headed, probably because of the pace that they were at. With such a humid weather, Clarke was actually enjoying how icy cold their drinks were.
"Hey Clarke, from one stranger to another, this could be a vague question. But what are you afraid of as of the moment?" Raven raised the question casually.
Without much thought, Clarke decided to answer Raven's question. "Hmm, okay, from one stranger to another, I'm afraid of loss, I'm afraid of losing people in my life, how about you?" Clarke countered.
"So, that goes without saying that you've loss someone very dear?"
"Well, I lost my mom to the "Big C" and then someone very special in an accident."
"I'm sorry" Raven realized the gravity of her question.
"But I'm getting there; I guess it was because I was so unprepared at that time. But it made me realize that we should not take time for granted, so do what you have to do and say what you need to say" Clarke spoke with a smile.
"That's a good point; I wish the best for you".
"How about you, Rae, what are you afraid of?"
"Probably, I'm afraid of giving myself away completely to someone and not getting the same thing in return." Raven answered immediately.
"Wow, that's quite specific, I guess I know what you mean. Sometimes we just give away everything all at once, not realizing that some people just end up getting overwhelmed".
"Yeah, but I guess, I may be wrong sometimes" Raven pauses realizing something "You see what's happening here, Clarke. This confirms my idea that sometimes it may be just so easy for us to talk to strangers because we start off with no biases" Raven points out.
"Indeed, now that we both know our fears, probably we are no longer strangers, Raven Reyes!" Clarke raised her beer bottle to motion a toast towards Raven.
"Amen to that Clarke Griffin!" and with that they shared a toast and drank simultaneously from their beers.
"But I hope that's not the case with Anya" Clarke suddenly realized.
"No, I think she loves me too. But she's never the first one to initiate anything; I just learned how to be patient as time goes by. Well, she has taken baby steps, just this morning, she asked me to be her girlfriend" Raven validates.
"Well, good things come to those who wait" Clarke pronounced.
"That's the most cliché thing that you've said the entire evening!" Raven expressed her amusement.
"I see you guys are having fun" Anya finally interrupts as they return to their table.
Clarke and Raven share a knowing look as Anya and Lexa position more beers in front of them.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will continue to work on updating regularly, I just had a very bad flu hence the delay for this week.