Chapter XVI
It's the first dinner party at the house and breaking tradition it's on a Saturday. It's their dinner party, not just Raven's anymore, but some things never change. Raven is in the kitchen ordering the sisters around making sure everything is up to her standards. Lexa can't cook to safe her life, so she's on table-setting duty while Anya cuts vegetables for the salad, not being allowed to touch any other foods because Raven takes too much pride in her cooking. Only Clarke is allowed to help with that still under Raven's supervision.
Lexa circles the table to make sure everything is perfectly placed and when she meets Raven's eyes over the kitchen counter she smiles proudly as Raven gives her two thumbs up. It's not two seconds later when Raven scolds Anya for snacking on the bell pepper she's currently cutting.
Lexa loves watching them interact like this, she loves watching her sister finally feeling comfortable enough to let someone else boss her around. It makes her smile when Anya jumps to dodge the hand towel Raven is whipping at her and then stealing another bell pepper slice, a carefree laugh escaping her body as she meets Raven in a kiss.
She loves watching her sister, her hero, her role model being genuinely happy. She deserves it.
Clarke is about to join them in the kitchen when the doorbell rings. She turns on her heels to go open the door and she swings it open to greet the first guest with a grand smile.
"Niylah. It's good to see you. I'm glad you could make it, come on in." Clarke greets her with a hug. They've known each other for a couple of years professionally and ever since Lexa started working with Niylah at the Kids Center, Clarke has come to know her as a private person as well. She's a really good friend to Lexa and she thinks she'll fit in quite well with the rest of the group.
"Hi Clarke, thank you for the invitation," Niylah says handing over a bottle of wine to Clarke before shaking off her coat, hanging it on the coat rack next to the door. "Oh, hey Lexa," she calls over Clarke's shoulder greeting her with the sign for hello and Lexa greets her back the same way as she walks towards her. Lexa then gives Niylah a friendly hug and it makes Clarke smile to think about how far she's come, how far they've both come since that first dinner party nine months ago. Back then Lexa was hiding in her sister's shadow, hiding inside herself even and Clarke was not really excited about anything, or at least hiding from things that could be exciting.
This day, this moment right here is basically the opposite. It's all the things that defined them as broken people turned upside down. It's good, it's a really good feeling.
Clarke and Lexa gives Niylah the house tour and ends up in the kitchen where Raven and Anya have just finished up on dinner preparations.
"Oh hello, you must be Niylah. I'm Anya, Lexa's sister." Anya shakes Niylah's hand.
"Nice to finally meet you Anya." Niylah smiles politely. "And good to see you again, Raven."
"You too," Raven smiles. "So Niylah, I've got one dinner party rule and that is help yourself to whatever you need, alright? There's beer and soda in the fridge, wine over there if you're into that. Board games over there... if you want music Lexa is your girl." Raven winks at Lexa who returns with the sign for shut up but she's grinning while doing so because she'd play the piano any chance she gets.
"Do you touch Clarke with those hands?" Raven feints mortification.
"In a matter of fact, yes she does," Clarke says taking Lexa's hand to press a soft kiss against her knuckles, "and I'm not complaining. At all." Clarke winks at Raven who smirks back at her.
"Please, no innuendos involving my sister..." Anya complains while covering her ears with her hands.
At first Niylah didn't understand why the four of them had decided to move in together, you would think it'd get too crowded really fast and that it wouldn't leave room for privacy. Lexa once told her the four of them are like a family and watching them interact for barely a few minutes is enough for Niylah to understand it. She couldn't do it herself, but she can tell that it works for the four of them.
The door bell rings again and Clarke runs to get the door this time too. She returns with Lincoln and Octavia who greets everyone with a hug before introducing themselves to Niylah.
"Lexa, we should play chess later, I've been practicing," Lincoln says, taking a stand next to Lexa who smiles back at him, nodding.
"Oh, by the way, Bell is late, he told me to tell you to just start with dinner," Octavia tells everyone.
"Well, okay then, take a seat and I'll throw some food on the table," Raven says.
*
"So Niylah, do you play music too?" Anya asks the newcomer thinking maybe that's the reason Lexa found a friend in her.
"Oh, no no, sadly no. I never had the patience to learn," Niylah smiles at Lexa, "but I admire anyone who does."
"Got any fancy hobbies?" Raven asks.
"Not really, well, I suppose I like to travel. I travel a lot." Niylah says thoughtfully, not sure that was what Raven wanted to hear.
Lexa slips Niylah the top page from her notepad.
'I'm sorry about the third degree. They're nosey. Just tell them to shut up.'
Niylah reads it and chuckles. "It's okay, Lexa, I wouldn't expect anything else."
"Hey everyone." Bellamy's voice interrupts from the hallway. "I hope it's okay I let myself in."
"Of course! Come in, food is still warm, you can get the tour later" Raven offers.
"Sure." Bellamy walks around the high kitchen table to greet everyone. He hugs Clarke a bit longer like always and he ruffles Octavia's hair. He even hugs Lexa saying "Lexa, I expect a performance tonight," as he looks at the piano. Lexa follows his gaze and nods her agreement.
"Oh, hi, I'm Bellamy," he says, his charming smile in place as he offers Niylah his hand.
"Nice to meet you Bellamy, I'm Niylah," she smiles back at him.
"Ooh, Niylah likes to travel, maybe you can share your Europe stories with her instead of me," Octavia grins teasingly, her title as little sister showing its true colors. Her comment is without a doubt an attempt of mocking her brother, just a little, even if she won't admit it.
"What? I thought you liked my Europe stories?" Bellamy looks a bit bewildered.
"I did, but then I heard them all twenty times, Bell," Octavia deadpans.
"Bellamy is Octavia's older brother," Clarke explains to Niylah.
"Ah, well that makes sense." Niylah looks at Bellamy, "Bellamy, it's been a while since I went to Europe. I'd love to exchange stories with you later." She smiles at him.
"I like you far better than the rest already," he grins, looking her straight in the eyes as he takes the empty seat across from her.
*
After dinner Lincoln sets up the chessboard at the coffee table for him and Lexa while the rest are still chatting by the kitchen table.
This game progresses slowly and Lexa can tell Lincoln has been practicing because his tactical choices are much more complex than they usually are but it's still not enough to beat her. Lincoln still sighs every time Lexa takes one of his pieces and Lexa still bites her lip thoughtfully before every move. They're so caught up in their game that none of them notices how the rest of the group slowly finds their place around the coffee table.
Lexa has been staring at the board for a while now and the intensity from it has everyone silently looking at her, following the end of the game.
She doesn't notice.
She looks at Lincoln who narrows his eyes at her, lifting an eyebrow in a threat, but playfully. She smiles innocently back at him.
And he knows.
She picks up her queen piece and moves it slowly towards its end coordinates.
"Checkmate," she says as she places it on the board, ignoring the notepad laid out next to the board for that very purpose.
Lincoln flips his king accepting his defeat and grins back at her. He holds his fist up for a fist bump and says "That was a great game!" when she bumps her fist into his.
It's only when Clarke leans over to kiss her cheek she realizes that everyone is sitting around the table now, clearly having heard that she just spoke. It wasn't on purpose, it wasn't even a thought. It just sort of flew out of her mouth and the many eyes on her triggers an avalanche of panic rolling up her spine.
"I love you," Clarke whispers, placing a comforting hand on Lexa's thigh. The softness of Clarke's voice, the warmth from her hand slows down the avalanche and Lexa almost forgets she was about to turn into a mess of anxiety. If it wasn't for all the eyes on her, Clarke would've probably stopped the avalanche completely.
Then Bellamy, of all people, gives her an out.
"Lexa. I believe you promised me a life altering performance tonight," he says, stealing everyone's attention and for once Lexa is grateful that Bellamy is an attention magnet.
She squeezes Clarke's hand once before taking her seat on the piano bench. She runs her eyes slowly along the row of keys thinking that right here is the only place she doesn't mind being the center of attention, that not even Bellamy can take this away from her.
So she plays.
She woos everyone.
Bellamy wolf-whistles when she's done and she grins back at him. Despite their unpleasant first meeting, this is something she shares with him. Only him. Clarke loves her and therefore she loves her music, but Bellamy is a classical music nerd in the same sense as herself and she's glad she gave him a second chance. He's earned her forgiveness.
She seeks Clarke and the pride in Lexa's heart is mirrored in that spark that shines through in Clarke's eyes. She feels invincible and vulnerable at the same time and for a moment she wishes that they were alone, just the two of them, so she could play Clarke's Song for her.
She will soon.
*
When Lexa wakes up the next morning Clarke has been awake for a while. Lexa blinks a few times to adjust to the sunlight that forces it's way through the blinds.
"Hey beautiful," Clarke hums as she runs her fingers through chestnut hair.
"Sleep," Lexa mumbles into the pillow snuggling closer to Clarke.
"No." Clarke chuckles.
"yes." Lexa grumbles.
"You know, this is the longest vocal conversation we've ever had, right?" Clarke teases as she runs her finger tips down Lexa's back.
Lexa lifts her head just enough to scold Clarke with one accusing eye. It doesn't have the supposed effect as Clarke starts laughing. Lexa tries to stay mad at her but Clarke's laughter is the kind that dissolves any terrible things weighing ones heart down, it brings sunshine on rainy days and it's the tiny marshmallows in a hot chocolate. Clarke's laughter is that thing that makes Lexa smile even when she's sad. It's like medicine curing the worst of deceases and it's the mortar that fixes the cracks in her heart.
Lexa sighs, giving in to Clarke's joyful mood. She rolls over onto her back and smiles sleepily at Clarke. Her chestnut hair is splayed all over the place, her green eyes sparkles in the morning light and Clarke runs her finger tips along her jawbone and continues to entangle her fingers in Lexa's hair.
"It's Sunday," Clarke points out.
At that, Lexa's smile grows bigger and Clarke leans down to steal a kiss.
*
Clarke wraps a scarf around Lexa's neck pulling her in for a kiss before wrapping it around her one more time and then Lexa pulls a beanie over Clarke's head, maybe a bit too far, on purpose of course, because she loves Clarke's pouty face, because it's another perfect excuse to be kissing her.
They walk in peaceful silence, hand in hand, towards the park. Lexa left her notepad at home on purpose and when Clarke found out, she left her sketchbook at home too.
Today is different somehow. They both feel it. Since their last Sunday tradition walk, Lexa has spoken in front of others twice. Clarke loves watching Lexa grow like this. At her own pace. It's beautiful.
Clarke stops as they enter the park gate. Lexa looks at her with a questioning look and Clarke answers by pulling her into a hug. For some reason Clarke thinks back on that day she told Lexa about her sleep talking. Come to think of it, Lexa hasn't done that in a long time.
"Remember that day I told you about your sleep talking?" Clarke says, meeting Lexa's eyes. "It feels like such a long time ago."
Lexa kisses the tip of Clarke's cold nose and nods in agreement.
"I don't remember the last time you had a nightmare, Lex. I don't even remember the last time I had a nightmare."
It's true. Lexa can't remember either. All she knows is that Clarke loving her is the reason that many great things have happened to her the past couple of months. She doesn't know how to explain that, so she pulls Clarke closer and presses her lips against her forehead and they stay like that until Clarke softly begins to whine about being cold.
Lexa chuckles as she softly tugs Clarke along the gravel dirt road and into the park.
It's the end of Fall and most trees are naked now. Today is rare, sunlight bursts through the clouds, bright beams brightening up the world around them and it's almost enough warmth to ignore the chill factor of the biting cold.
They walk through the park, they walk past Costia's bench and they walk past their bench. Both want to keep walking, too restless to settle on any bench, too driven to continue.
Lexa is subtle when she starts tugging Clarke towards the ice cream shop and it takes Clarke too long to realize where they're going.
"Ice cream, Lex? Really? But it's cooold," Clarke whines. Lexa shrugs and gives her that half smile Clarke loves. She agrees with Clarke, though. It is too cold for ice cream right now, but that doesn't mean they can't bring some home for later.
*
It's dinner time when Anya and Raven comes home.
"Rae..." Anya nudges her head towards to couch as she places the chinese takeout bags on the kitchen table.
"Shit, they're so cute." Raven smiles looking at the scene in front of her. Empty ice cream containers on the coffee table, some movie playing on the TV and Clarke and Lexa asleep and cuddled up on the couch. Lexa is on her back and Clarke is lying on top of her, her head on Lexa's chest, a blanket over Clarke and Lexa's arms protectively encircling her.
"Dinner is getting cold.. should we wake them?" Anya asks, hugging Raven from behind.
"We might as well... Clarke has the night shift, she needs to get up soon anyways," Raven adds.
As if on cue, Clarke wakes up. She yawns and snuggles closer to Lexa, burying her face in the crook of her neck. Lexa subconsciously hugs Clarke closer.
Clarke sighs, wishing she didn't have to go to work. She's come to like her Sundays with Lexa quite a lot.
"I wish I could stay right here," she whispers, like a secret she can't keep any longer or it would explode in her chest.
She hears someone, Raven and Anya, shuffling about and setting plates on the kitchen table. Clarke sighs again, she knows it means she has to get up soon anyways, so she wakes up Lexa with kisses to her jaw. She watches as a lazy smile spreads on Lexa's lips.
"Another ten minutes and there will be no food left for you," Raven threatens playfully.
"Okay..." Clarke reluctantly moves to get up from the couch.
"No." Lexa says, holding Clarke down.
"Yes." Clarke chuckles as she gets up, laughing when she sees the pout on Lexa's face. "Come on, beautiful, I'll safe you a seat next to me." Clarke steals one last kiss before getting up.
Then Lexa chuckles too. She gets up to take a seat next to Clarke wishing Clarke didn't have a night shift so they could continue their cuddles later. For now though, she'll take all she can get, placing a hand on Clarke's thigh any chance she gets.
Lexa smiles at nothing in particular thinking that this weekend has been a really good one, that she could get used to this.