Clarke Griffin would be the death of her, Lexa was certain of it. It had been twelve days since exam period started, and the blonde had stopped by her dorm at least once a day. The side of her that was Anya's cousin loved that her roommate would leave each morning with a smile on her face, only to return with cheeks reddened from the cold, and a bigger one aimed at her newest friend. Anya deserved steady companionship, and knowing that Clarke enjoyed the simple company her cousin preferred was something that warmed her heart. And Anya deserved Lexa giving the blonde a tiny bit of a chance in terms of friendship as well, or at least a token attempt at playing nice.

Of course, the side of her that represented the competitive hockey player who may or may not be dealing with a festering attraction to the blonde, that side was less than content. It was frustrating enough to spend so much time with her rival, it was made even worse that Clarke seemed to actively try to dismiss that rivalry in ways which often left Lexa feeling flustered and off-balance.

The worst of it had started seven days ago...


Seven Days Ago, Light Hall

Lexa could hear the laughter before the dorm's door opened up, Anya squeezing through first with a coffee in hand, taking hold of a second temporarily as Clarke removed her boots. Both of them looked wind-burnt from the stormy weather outside, and it certainly couldn't have helped that they had been out on their walk from eight until, as she checked her computer's clock, twenty after eleven.

The only reason Lexa's attention hadn't swiftly returned to her videogame was because Clarke was crossing the dorm room with two cups in hand, Lexa watching as the blonde set one down on her desk with a smile. She eyed the beverage warily for a moment before watching the blonde retreat and flop backwards onto Anya's legs, her cousin having settled onto her bed for some late-morning reading.

"If you're so exhausted, Clarke..." Anya began, taking hold of a pillow as Clarke and her ceiling-bound gaze remained oblivious to the danger. "...then please, let me help you rest." Her cousin finished with a hard thwap to the blonde's face, sending Clarke rolling off the bed and onto the floor to protect herself from a second attack.

Lexa just grinned and unpaused her game, deciding to drown out whatever ensuing bickering went on between Anya and the blonde. Just by the tone of Anya's deadpan sarcasm and Clarke's playful comebacks, it was clear that they were just enjoying riling the other up.

Fifteen minutes later, though, the damn Drengin Empire kept milling away at her with attacks in Gal Civ, and when one of her colony shifts was intercepted, she couldn't help but groan in frustration. "Oh come the fuck on, what are the odds?" She asked no one in particular as she scrapped a good portion of her plans, and got started on some to confront the increasingly annoying Drengin threat and crush them.

"Lexa, no one needs to hear you whining about imaginary alien armies whooping your ass." Anya sniped from across the room, gaze still locked onto whatever dystopian novel she was hooked on these days.

Lexa planned on ignoring her cousin's response to her accidental outburst, she really had, and was doing well at sticking to that plan. Clarke Griffin had to screw it up, of course.

"At least she's cute when she gets angry. You just get scary, Anya." Clarke noted offhandedly, Lexa's eyes immediately darting to the blonde who, one again, was resting on Anya's bed, with her back to the wall and her cousin's legs in her lap. Not at all a position she envied Anya over, even if Clarke could certainly fit on her bed, and Lexa's legs were feeling a bit stiff. Even if she might have been able to admit, in return, if just in her own head, that a bundled up, red-cheeked Clarke was a little cute as well.

"Now, Clarke, is this you finally confessing that I scared you that first time we met? Were you shaking in your Nine West knee highs when I got up in your face?"Anya teased with a smug grin, voice full of mirth as she peered over her novel.

Clarke just laughed, though her deep blush was a bit of a dead giveaway. "I'd like to think it was a character-building moment for the both of us. I learned that you can activate my fight or flight response, and you learned that having your breath smell like lemon drops sort of dulls the impact of that homicidal aura you use to your advantage."

"Would cherry be more menacing?" Anya asked flatly, returning her focus to the book once more.

"Well, hard liquor would probably bring out that essence of 'Potential Loose Cannon' that could make grown men piss themselves, but I'm sure cherry would work just fine if you're looking to kiss girls to the soundtrack of Katy Perry. Both equally intimidating, for different reasons." Clarke shot back with a wide smile, which only descended into laughter when a pillow smacked her in the face again. "Oh come on, half the girls on my team would piss themselves if they had a shot at kissing you. You bring out some interesting desires in my fellow Eagles, I'll have you know."

"I...would rather not have known that. Thank you, Clarke." Anya let out, posture stiffening slightly as her cousin shook her head.

Lexa watched Clarke's hands move to Anya's feet for a massage as the blonde just smiled all bright and happy, as if the verbal exchange had made her day. "You're welcome."

She shook her head and returned to her game, deciding Clarke was complicated, and it was much better to spend her designated recreation time on something enjoyable like Galactic Civilizations than wondering about why Clarke thought she was cute, or what she could do to make Clarke smile like that.


Six Days Ago, Light Hall

It hit below zero without wind-chill for the first time that season, and Lexa could admit that the insulation in Light Hall was definitely lacking. She and Anya had a nifty little space heater that managed to curb some of the chill, but it was hard to take notes when the chill had her fingers feeling like icicles.

With the space heater positioned in a way that would best heat the whole room, instead of just Lexa, she knew there was only one realistic way to get warmer: bundle up. Anya was under the covers and had her headphones on, eyes closed as she relaxed. A state of being that Lexa intensely envied, given that it'd be over a week until her own finals were over.

Still, it provided a nice enough distraction so Lexa could carefully and quietly sneak down the length of her bed, arm blindly reaching down to where she knew the oversized hoodie was. She wouldn't risk the extra time tracking down the fingerless mittens that had been left there on accident, knowing that the discarded hoodie looked a lot like one of her less warm ones, whereas she didn't own a pair of mittens. The last thing she needed was Anya getting on her case about wanting to be warm.

With practiced ease, Lexa pulled the hoodie on over her head and carefully made her way back to where she'd been working on her notes, a small smile on her face at how much warmer she felt with the big sweater on. It had everything to do with how well it trapped air and insulated her body heat, and nothing at all to do with the fact that it was Clarke's, and still smelled like the blonde's signature jasmine vanilla mixture.

In minutes, she was as warm as she could want in a cold, wintery study session, a pleasant aroma calming her nerves and helping her focus.

When Anya got out of bed an hour later and immediately left the room, Lexa thought nothing of it. When Anya returned and stopped by her own desk, and hovered there for a little bit, Lexa figured Anya was just looking for something.

It was Anya's hand striking out like a python, fingers smearing something across her cheek, that caught her off guard and had her reeling away in response, hand lifting to touch whatever she'd been attacked with.

"There, now you're covered in her paint, too. Perhaps one day, she'll draw you like one of her French girls." Anya spoke with that annoyingly devious smirk of hers, hand raised to reveal the teal paint that Clarke had used earlier in the day.

Decidedly caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar, Lexa hopped off her bed and stormed off to the bathroom to wash her face of the paint. Still, as she looked at her freshly washed face a minute or so later, she knew Anya had made her point. It would be safe to keep wearing the warm garment.

And as much as she was embarrassed to have been caught wearing it, she really did value warmth and quality studying over the alternative.


Four Days Ago, Render Coffee

Lexa was exhausted as she left the train car, feeling a little embarrassed that she'd walked the short distance from Snell Library to the train, only to take a remarkably short trip and save a few minutes of walking. Indra had held a final practice the previous night, and combined with an early morning exam and a study session shortly after to prep for her next one, she was physically and mentally exhausted. All Lexa wanted to do was grab a hot chocolate and get home so she could at least relax in bed and maybe have a nice mid-afternoon nap.

The fact that the biting cold from a few days ago had been replaced by a warmer, wetter blizzard only made her day that much more exhausting, knowing the ten minute walk home from the coffee shop would feel much longer than it actually was.

Thankfully, the walk to Render Coffee from the train stop was a brief one, and soon enough, she was entering the small hole-in-the-wall café, shoving her gloves into her pockets, and getting in line. And maybe she allowed herself a small smile, knowing some chocolatey goodness was on its way.

It was when she was two back from the counter that she found herself digging around her bag and finding nothing but a few quarters for currency. A small bit of shock and frustration kicked in before she remembered her pre-exam rituals, how she cut herself off from vending machines of any sort before exams to keep from distracting herself with food when she could be studying or resting.

Checking her theory, she did a more thorough check and found seventy five cents, no bills of any sort, and no cards she could make payment with. Lexa cast a yearning glance at the menu a few feet away and stepped out of the line, allowing herself a frown over her misfortune.

"Hey...Lexa? Is everything alright?" A familiar voice froze Lexa in place, Clarke Griffin leaving the line to join her a few feet off to the side where she'd been momentarily pondering her lack of luck. Which, really, just had Lexa feeling exponentially less lucky.

"I'm fine, Clarke. I just forgot my money at home today." Lexa noted quietly, her mind calculating how best to end their interaction and leave the shop as soon as possible.

"Well, it's crappy out, and I heard you had an exam today, so it wouldn't be right for you to head home empty-handed. I came in for a hot chocolate, why don't I grab one for you while I'm up there, my treat?" The blonde asked, one of those infuriatingly pleasant smiles blazing across her face, turning Lexa's insides to goo for about the millionth time that month so far.

How Clarke could be so nice to her was a puzzle in and of itself, especially since Lexa knew she'd given the blonde no reason to be. Since Octavia's party, she'd largely avoided her, and rarely spoken to her despite her rival being around far more often than before. Still, she was exhausted, and cold, and she had really been looking forward to some hot chocolate.

Maybe she could carve out a bit of leeway in her strategy of coping with her feelings, if it would allow her to enjoy some post-exam chocolatey warmth, and to try and accommodate Anya's friendship with Clarke.

Feeling a little more resolute now, Lexa pulled her bottle from her bag and handed it over to Clarke, hoping the half a dollar expense for using something not store-sponsored to fill up was something the blonde could stomach.

Thankfully, Clarke just accepted it, offered a parting smile, and got back in line, leaving Lexa to find somewhere to wait. It took a few moments to realize there was an empty table at the back of the shop, and only a few seconds more for her to plant herself down on a chair and claim it for herself, deciding a walk home can wait for a little bit while she took a well earned rest.

One she had little reason to take if not for Clarke Griffin. Maybe...maybe I'll be nicer when she returns. If Anya is trying to be friends with her, then...then maybe I can find a middle ground for her between rival and...well, an impossible title. She doesn't have to be my friend for me to be friendlier with her, I don't think. I don't have to give in to fantasies of her bundled up in wintery clothes, holding my hand as we take an early evening stroll, cheeks pink from the chill and perhaps from something idiotic that's spilled from my lips, those blue eyes shining with all the warmth and light of summer in the frigid darkness of winter. I can just...appreciate how...

The sound and sight of a black and red thing being set down in front of her with enthusiasm startled her from her thoughts, arm flailing slightly as she turned to face the intruder. It was the sight of Clarke that immediately had Lexa feeling sheepish for letting herself be so tired as to be caught off guard by the blonde.

"Uh...Lexa?" Clarke asked with a mix of confusion and concern, blue eyes darting between Lexa and the table.

It was then that she realized Clarke had indeed filled her bottle, but in her brief moment of being startled, Lexa had knocked over her supposedly topple-proof bottle, a slow stream of hot chocolate escaping its spout as a defining measure of its betrayal.

She could feel her cheeks flush red, hot with embarrassment over the fact that she'd spilled the hot chocolate she'd been given so kindly, despite her bottle claiming to protect against such egregiously embarrassing incidents. There was no coming back from this, for surely this was the valley of death and she had dug herself a deep enough hole to at least hide in.

"Um...why don't I...just..." Clarke noted hesitantly as the girl's hand took hold of her mutinous bottle and set it upright, though its betrayal had more than earned a sustained death glare. She had planned on being nicer, friendlier to Clarke, not making herself appear foolish in front of the blonde.

"Okay...anyway, I'm heading out, so take care, alright?" Clarke continued, and while Lexa knew she had every right to just ignore the world around her when she was embarrassed, she knew that Clarke was trying. In Anya's words from that party over a week ago, Clarke was putting in the effort to be friendly with her, and despite the minor catastrophe with her bottle, she could do the same.

So she turned her head, met Clarke's entirely perplexed and oddly worried gaze, and offered as much of a smile as she could muster. "You too, Clarke. Thank you."

Watching Clarke's face light up from her small bit of kindness was a little confusing, but it had her insides feeling all warm and gooey again, and that wasn't particularly a bad thing. It's just that when she chased those feelings with a long sip of hot chocolate, she knew she couldn't chalk it up as 'pre-emptive joy from tasting a delicious chocolate beverage'. That simply wasn't a real thing, or at least not strong enough to inspire what Lexa felt as Clarke beamed back at her, offered a cute little wave, and practically bounced out of the café.

Lexa knew she could be treading into dangerous territory, and she'd need all the help she could get. And certainly more hot chocolate.


Three Days Ago, Light Hall

Lexa was in a pretty great mood, all things considered. She'd spent most of the morning studying for her last two exams and revising her study guide, and then she'd split the afternoon between a solid workout at the gym and getting some shopping done for the holidays.

And though her brain felt like mush, and absolutely incapable of harnessing the focus necessary in playing her beloved strategy games, doing a mini marathon of an old favourite on her laptop was more than entertaining enough for her to relax to. Especially since she had a bag of gummi bears hanging around as a reward for her efforts in academia, and while she'd meant to make them last over the final few days of exams, it wasn't like she hadn't already deserved them, having aced the three exams she'd written thus far.

And so, a few hours later found Lexa curled up in bed, a bowl of gummis at her side, and her laptop displaying the ninth episode of Supernatural, a bit of a guilty pleasure of hers. While she adored seasons four and five the most, the first one was often the most cathartic to watch, and she felt tremendously fortunate that Anya wasn't there to give her an amused smirk at the stray tears rolling down her cheeks.

Her psych prof would probably call her emotions projecting, and perhaps he'd be right in that assertion, but it didn't make the episode any less emotional for her. It always brought back memories of her own mother, before the car accident took her parents away from her, leaving her in the care of Anya and her cousin's largely absentee parents. Of course it wasn't remotely the same, but she'd always felt some empathy with the Winchester boys, relying on each other and wishing their dad was around more had reflected her and Anya's familial relationship, at least on a base level.

After all, Gus and Luna weren't her real parents, but they were Anya's, and Lexa would have to be blind to miss how the weight of their absence affected her cousin who, more or less, became a second mother to her, even if their ages were more sisterly than anything. And so, as she watched Sam and Dean fumble around their childhood home, hope and fear in their hearts over the possibilities the haunting offered, she saw a lot of Anya in Dean's bitterness, his tight grasp on the good memories of his mother and the trauma over her loss and having to start a brand new life suddenly. Lexa knew that when Luna returned to her job in D.C. as a publicist, Anya had gone from having a stay at home mom and a father who was eager to get home to his family, to a mom that was rarely ever home and a father who needed increasingly dramatic excuses to come home from work before her bedtime. And, soon after, having to grow up far too fast, far too young, to take care of her little brother and cousin.

And in Sam's yearning for answers, to know his mom, she saw herself. Certainly not a direct parallel by any stretch, but she'd been ten when she'd been shipped off to live with Anya, and she'd changed tremendously as a person since then, to the point where she often wondered what her mother would think of her. If her mother would recognize her, even. Where Anya was happy to cherish the good moments in the past and deal with the present, Lexa so often found herself looking back, wanting answers to a slew of 'what if's, simply wanting more of what she'd lost, two parents who she never truly knew due to her age obscuring the intricacies of their character and personalities and histories.

Not that she'd ever put her yearning to words. The tears were enough of a mourning process for that fantasy.

A knock at the door, however, immediately had Lexa's heart stopped, hoping and praying that it was just Sofia from down the hall asking to borrow something. She could ignore Sofia.

Instead, the door creaked open, a familiar blonde head peeking in, the intruder's face twisting in confusion just as Lexa wiped at her eyes. "Anya? Are you..." Clarke started, before her eyes locked onto Lexa, and all of that confusion fell away to a heap of concern. "Oh my god, Lexa, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Clarke Griffin. Lexa had thought she'd seen the last of her rival that day after the blonde only stuck around for a few minutes after the usual morning walk. As Clarke ventured closer cautiously, Lexa's brain raced through her memories to try and understand why the blonde had shown up so uncharacteristically late, eventually pausing a bit on a vague recollection of Anya asking Griffin to stop by later to point out what art supplies Lincoln might like.

Except, Lincoln had called Anya away an hour ago, complaining about his apartment's recurring plumbing issue that Anya always seemed to have the magic touch for.

"Anya's at Lincoln's to deal with a minor emergency, but she should be back soon." Lexa spoke, barely stifling her anger at her voice for sounding so hoarse and thick, absolutely betraying her emotional state and casting aside any and all doubts that she was a little emotional at the moment.

"Okay, that's alright, I can wait." The blonde noted with an entirely annoying softness as Clarke inched ever closer, entirely misguided in her worry. "But...are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Clarke." Lexa forced out as Clarke moved to her side, close enough to see and hear what she was watching, to catch her red-handed as she enjoyed a guilty pleasure. Silently, she waited for the jovial feedback she'd seen Clarke give Anya when the younger girl would tease her cousin over musical tastes.

Instead, she was met with a gasp, one soft-looking manicured hand of Clarke's moving to cover the girl's mouth in surprise. "Is this the episode that Sam meets his mom for the first time?" Clarke asked in a hushed, perhaps conspiratorial whisper, the girl leaning closer to get a better look. "Oh no, Dean's calling his dad! This part always makes me cry."

Lexa clicked pause on VLC and dared a glance up at the blonde and was stunned to see Clarke's eyes had already welled up with tears, mouth quivering just enough for her to tell that the girl was definitely fighting emotions. Well...maybe this doesn't have to end up in my absolute embarrassment like what happened yesterday. Maybe...maybe I can try to be nice like last time, without betrayal and catastrophe striking me down...

"If you'd like...you can watch the show with me? While you wait?" Lexa asked, letting herself be a little brave, knowing that while she had limits, this was within them. At least, she imagined that watching a TV show with Clarke wasn't too much. She'd certainly healed enough after Costia to manage something as simple as that, she figured.

"I'd like that, thanks. I love this show." Clarke offered alongside another trademark smile that had Lexa feeling fortunate that the lights were off, so that Clarke couldn't witness her blush so easily.

Lexa shifted over on her bed, making room for the blonde, who sat directly beside her, thigh to thigh. Not that she blamed Clarke, given how narrow her bed was. Still, it meant having to remain vigilant so as to not fall victim to the blonde's alluring and ever present fragrance. It also meant picking up her bowl of gummies and trying to figure out a good place to put them.

"Sorry if I'm being nosy, but do you not like the red ones, or are you just saving them for last?" Clarke asked, gesturing to the bowl that had largely been picked clean of the good flavours, leaving all the undesirables to collect in a disappointing heap. Usually, she got a smaller amount of them, but to her dismay, her bag had been half filled with red gummies.

"I'm not a fan." Lexa answered simply, wishing she'd gotten more pineapple, orange, lime and lemon ones instead of the mass of gross artificial strawberry and cherry-flavoured ones.

Lexa watched Clarke rummage in her bag for a few moments before the blonde pulled out a bag of skittles, promptly tearing it open and pouring them into Lexa's bowl. Though she knew that she'd probably already had her fill of sugar for the night, the fact that the bag had been mostly full of her favourite flavours was a little enticing.

"Well, if you can handle everything that's not red, maybe I can take care of the ones you don't like?" Clarke asked with hope blooming in her eyes.

"I can't fathom how you enjoy the red candies, but...by all means, eat the bad ones." Lexa shot back with a bit of playfulness, hoping that maybe Clarke might be alright with that.

"Hey now, I'd like to think this is a mutually beneficial bit of diplomacy. I eat your rebellious reds, and you eat my insurrectionist grapes and lemons, we pick off the rest, claim a stalemate when we're done, and continue on as feared rulers of our respective domains. Nothing goes to waste, and it's a win-win." Clarke spoke, voice taking on a particularly regal tone, blue eyes twinkling in amusement as the blonde pretended to conspire with her.

"Well, if sending our dissidents to a chewy, delicious death is the price to secure the prosperity of our domains, then I suppose I will have to make that difficult decision." Lexa shot back as she got settled and comfy again, wishing her warm spot was still entirely hers, but sharing it with Clarke wasn't terrible.

"We bear it so they don't have to." Clarke returned with a bright smile, a brief laugh escaping her before the blonde practically snuggled up beside her. And sure, Clarke was on top of the covers rather than under them like Lexa was, but it didn't change that her heart was very intent on pumping as much blood through her cheeks as possible because of it all.

Happy to have enjoyed a little reprieve from the emotions of the show, Lexa started the episode up again, happy to be able to continue her mini-marathon unopposed. Having company who also enjoyed the show turned that guilty pleasure into something a little less guilty, and a little more pleasurable, even if it was involving her rival of sorts. Her rival who was also becoming one of Anya's closest friends.

Over the course of the next hour or so, they watched on in silence, more or less, hands only occasionally touching when they dug around for their preferred candies. And maybe their shoulders had been touching since about ten minutes into watching together, but it's not like Lexa was at all distracted because of it. She certainly hadn't spent half of the asylum episode wondering about what going on a road trip with Clarke would be like. Perhaps during the spring, windows down, Clarke's blonde tresses blowing in the breeze as they made their way down some less-traveled road, skin sunkissed from the hiking they'd done during their adventures.

So it was definitely understandably surprising when, after being entirely alert and aware since the blonde had curled up beside her, she suddenly found Clarke's head slumped against her shoulder, and an arm loosely wrapped around her own. How Clarke had gone from awake to asleep in a split second, Lexa couldn't say, or even guess as to how it was possible. After all, it definitely wasn't possible that Clarke had fallen asleep minutes ago, since Lexa most certainly hadn't been daydreaming. At all.

It was all so disorienting, but Lexa was a trooper, she could improvise and handle such surprises with grace and tact.

Which is why she held the line and continued watching the show as Clarke used her shoulder as a pillow.

It was the only right thing to do; Clarke, after all, usually seemed tired more often than not, and who was she to deny the girl at least a brief nap? And, of course, if she took some enjoyment in the situation, well, she couldn't at all be blamed. Not when she was prioritizing Clarke's sleep and comfort.

It was an hour or so later when Anya finally returned from the mini-emergency at Lincoln's, where apparently his plumbing situation had been more serious than thought. Anya looked absolutely wiped and annoyed and all sorts of grimy from her work.

On the plus side, though, her cousin seemed too worked up to poke fun at her for her current situation. Anya just let out a brief sigh, shook her head for whatever reason, covered Clarke with one of the many hoodies that the blonde had accidentally left in their dorm, and kissed Lexa's forehead before grabbing some clothes from her dresser.

"I'm taking a shower, then I'm waking Clarke up. You can enjoy your cuddle buddy for a while longer, little one." Anya spoke, exhaustion dripping from each syllable, before the woman promptly left the dorm room. In terms of parting shots meant to fluster her, that one was a bit weaker than usual, so Lexa made a mental note to text Lincoln later about what had gone on.

In the meantime, she'd finish episode twelve and let herself relax for a little while longer. Clarke was warm, and jasmine-vanilla was such a wonderful scent, so she just turned her focus back to her laptop and continued her mini marathon, fighting each and every impulse to rest her head atop Clarke's.


Present Day

The past seven days had certainly ramped up her frustrations with Clarke's new presence in her life, especially that evening where Clare had fallen asleep on her. That showed, to some extent, a level of trust that Lexa wasn't sure she'd deserved, and a level of intimacy that was seductive just thinking about it. She'd gone years without anything sexual, and she was comfortable continuing that way, but the past few days had stirred up a yearning inside of her for something involving that particular kind of intimacy, perhaps to a slightly greater magnitude, even. Lexa wasn't certain how comfortable she was with those newly resurfaced desires, especially given how unlikely they were to be fulfilled any time soon.

Which, of course, wasn't unreasonable at all to feel concerned over, but Clarke Griffin was frustrating the hell out of her in providing instances where such a possibility seemed as if it was within reach. Like how ten minutes ago, Clarke had bumped into her as she'd been leaving Render Coffee, and Lexa could barely process that the blonde was wrapping a scarf around her neck before it was all over and done with. Certainly, the offer was thoughtful, given the temperature had unexpectedly dropped a few degrees over the past two hours, and she'd dressed a little lighter than she should have. And, as with seemingly everything the blonde owned, it smelled tremendously wonderful, which made the walk home rather fantastic, but Lexa knew Anya was home.

And Anya would absolutely go to town on her accepting another gift from Clarke.

So it was that thought in mind that Lexa ascended into Light hall with a little trepidation. Anya had been giving her strange looks the past few days, and she knew it was building towards something. What, she wasn't sure yet, but Anya rarely did anything without a reason.

Lexa kicked the snow off her boots and headed into her dorm, immediately spotting Anya on her respective bed, nose buried in another book. She stripped her boots off and grabbed one of the thicker sweaters on the floor by her bed, swapping her winter coat for it, not wanting to lose the warmth she'd manage to maintain on her walk home to the chilly confines of her dorm.

She'd just plopped down on her bed when Anya set her book down and gave her a careful look over. "You were wearing Clarke's scarf." Her cousin spoke flatly, expression absolutely blank and frustratingly impossible to read.

"I was." Lexa responded carefully as she flipped open her laptop and powered it on.

"You're wearing her sweater." Anya continued in the same tone, clearly prodding for something; what, Lexa wasn't entirely sure, so she decided to keep her own responses similarly simple.

"If it's hers, then yes, I am." She admitted, knowing Clarke had a tendency to leave a bit of a mess each time she visited the dorm. There was always something left behind; usually clothing, but sometimes paints, or cookies, or whatnot. Lexa didn't feel that it was too terribly bad if she mistook an article of clothing for her own from time to time.

"You're smarter than to try and fool me, little one." Anya offered in a low, warning tone, eyes narrowing at her. It wasn't often at all that Anya would use that nickname in a way that wasn't positive or playful, so Lexa was immediately alert and trying to figure out what this was all about.

"Okay, so I might have been aware that the sweater was probably Clarke's when I put it on. Maybe if your newest friend wasn't so flighty, she'd remember to take her clothes back with her when she leaves." Lexa shot back, knowing that saying more than that first sentence was probably a bad idea, but she really didn't like being put on the defensive about Clarke Goddamn Griffin after a long day of studying, writing an exam, and running into the blonde yet again on her way home.

Lexa braced herself for a sharp retort, knowing how quick Anya could be at shutting her down when her cousin felt she needed to learn something. Instead, Anya's laugh filled the room, though it was capped off with a disbelieving scoff and a shake of the head.

"Are you really that dense? Did I not rai...Lexa... you're certainly capable of understanding why Clarke just happens to leave her things behind, especially after today, if you took her scarf." Anya asserted, amber eyes boring into her own with a clear mix of confusion and concern, especially as Lexa remained silent, not entirely certain about Clarke's motives. "Lexa, why did she give you her scarf, today?"

Lexa's brow furrowed in confusion because that answer was obvious. "Because I was cold."

Anya's head dipped forward, an expectant expression taking over her cousin's face as Lexa's brain reluctantly decided to put the final pieces to the puzzle together. "She leaves her clothes behind...because she wants me to be warm." Lexa continued as the simple truth came to her, knowing if she'd voiced her conclusion as a question, Anya would probably smack her in the face with something. Probably the salsa on her desk.

"She affectionately calls our dorm the 'Ice Box', and since I bundle up here, and you rarely do, she leaves shit around your bed all the time in hopes you'll wear it." Anya clarified, and Lexa could only nod, having recalled Clarke taking about how cold their dorm was from time to time. "Point being, she's my friend, and since you're important to me, you're important to her. But we both know she genuinely likes you regardless, and you can coexist with her without imploding from UST, so maybe you keep up the whole friendly attitude with her? I just don't want you bristling around her because you think you can't be her friend, even though you can clearly get along with her."

Lexa sat there as she digested Anya's words, finally realizing what the tension and teasing over the past few days had been about. Anya had seen her and Clarke curled up in bed and made the call that she and Clarke could probably manage to at least be friendly, as a rule. And perhaps Lexa was already heading in that direction willingly, but she didn't understand why Anya was making such a big deal about it.

"You just started being friends with her late last month. Isn't it a little much to ask me to be friends with a rival of mine?" Lexa asked, knowing she was bullshitting a little, but wanting to get closer to the root of why Anya was doing this, and a little bit of hostility tended to do the trick.

"Oh cut the crap, Lexa, she's hardly your rival, and you've hardly acted like she is. You wear her clothes, accept her gifts, you watched TV together. Hell, Clarke refuses to talk about it, but I know you two talked for a while in the washroom at Octavia's party, and neither of you left worse for wear." Anya railed off, frustration simmering with each word. "She's the first genuine friend I've found outside of hockey since freshman year that I can see sticking around, who actually likes me, and not the reputation I carry around. She's..."

Lexa waited for Anya to finish her sentence, but her cousin's jaw just clamped shut in frustration, probably that she'd been so open. She knew that Anya hated the mere thought of burdening Anya with her own baggage, and while Lexa was perfectly happy and willing to help with it, she knew it made Anya uncomfortable.

Still, she knew it was important to insert herself enough to let Anya know her point was made. "She's important to you." Lexa noted softly, watching as tension slowly left her cousin's posture. "I'll be better around her, then. If she's really earned your stamp of approval, then I can manage that, at least. I can make the effort."

Anya got up from her bed and slowly made her way to Lexa, leaning down enough to touch forehead to forehead. "That's all I ask." Her cousin whispered, a smile stretching across her lips. "I knew there was a reason why you're my favourite."

"I always thought it was because I don't drag you around for plumbing related emergencies late at night." Lexa joked, startling when she felt something soft and slightly fuzzy make impact with her cheek as Anya stepped away, holding a pair of fingerless gloves that could turn into mittens. "Seriously?"

Anya just laughed and casually lobbed the gloves at her. "To keep your hands warm while you're on the computer getting pissed off at imaginary alien invaders."

Lexa just rolled her eyes and slipped the gloves on as she returned her focus to her laptop, liking how lightweight and soft they were. She only stifled a smile because she was certain Anya was watching. And while she loved her cousin, she just could not encourage the woman's love of smacking people in the face with random things.

But she would make an effort to be friendly with Clarke, and cast off her frustrations to the best of her ability. Perhaps there wasn't a need for a rivalry between them in order to keep her feelings and attraction in check. Perhaps she and the blonde could be friendly, and get along, especially if Anya found such value in Clarke's friendship.

Lexa was pretty sure she could manage that. She certainly hoped she could.


A/N: Well, I'd initially planned on having a lot more content in this chapter, but the minor instances of Lexa's run-ins with Clarke kind of got away from me in spots, and expanded a bit too much for me to feel comfortable with my original plans for the chapter. So instead of a massive double-size chapter, here's a regular sized one to whet your whistle until the next installment.

I hope you enjoyed the generally lighthearted silliness this time around