Progression
Lexa wakes up to find that she's holding Clarke quite closely, she almost reels back but quiet murmurs from the sleeping blonde next to her halt her actions and she instead chooses to wait it out for a little while. Twenty minutes later Clarke starts to stir and Lexa closes her eyes and pretends to even out her breathes. She's not used to being in these situations so to avoid any awkwardness she simply feigns sleep to see how the younger girl reacts, letting things play out however Clarke wants.
When all Clarke does is nuzzle into her more closely Lexa finds herself instinctively pulling her closer. Once realizing her reaction she quickly composes herself and attempts to act as though she's just now waking up; blinking her eyes a few times and retracting her arms to stretch. She misses the slight pout on Clarke's face. The brunette groans as she stretches and starts to sit up, when Clarke follows suit she chances a glance in the blonde's direction seeing that blue eyes are already on her she looks away before standing and finding Clarke's eyes again. "Morning." She says in an attempt to break the silence that feels awkward to her.
"Good morning." Clarke says with a brilliant smile. The blonde notices that they're the first ones awake in the apartment "Do you want some coffee?" she says as she gets up and makes her way to the kitchen to start get some caffeine.
Lexa sighs in relief that the way they woke up didn't make things awkward between the two, they are still nearly strangers to each other after all. She follows Clarke to the kitchen and takes a seat on a stool at the island "I would," she starts before glancing at the watch on her left wrist seeing that its almost 9 a.m. "but I've got to get going. I made plans with a friend for about an hour from now so I've got to go get ready."
Clarke just barely is able to hide the disappointed look from her face "Oh, ok no worries." she smiles as she turns around to start the coffee "Thank you for bringing me home last night, and for bringing my things back to me."
"It's not a problem, Clarke." A small smile graces Lexa's lips.
Once the coffee is started the blonde turns around to see Lexa getting up from the stool she was sitting at and making her way to the living area to put her shoes on. Clarke can't help but watch the subtle sway of the other girls hips and be entranced by her. Shaking her head of the dirty thoughts that threaten to creep into her mind she follows and grabs her phone frowning slightly as she reads the messages from her roommates from the previous night.
"Something wrong?" Lexa asks inquisitively.
"Hmm? Oh nothing, just Raven and Octavia decided to crash at the frat house last night."
"Is that okay?"
"Oh yeah, they do it occasionally when they know they're too fucked up to drive home, which is good. I guess I just feel guilty for not being there to bring them home."
Lexa just gives a slight nod before standing and she realizes she doesn't know how to end this conversation or how to say goodbye. "Oh. Do you wish you had went then? Instead of going home?"
The blonde mulls the question over for a moment before. She's not sure, honestly. She had a good time with Lexa, but she feels a little guilty for not having been there for her friends. "Not really, I know they're safe, I guess I feel more responsible than guilty. Plus I had fun last night." Clarke says with another smile. When she looks up at Lexa she can see that the girl feels awkward, assuming it's about how they woke up she decides to put the older girl out of her misery. "You don't have to look so uncomfortable, I'm a cuddler. Plus I honestly didn't expect to fall asleep last night. It's no big deal."
The brunette lets out a sigh of relief at this and nods again before making her way towards the door slowly. Clarke gets up and follows her, Lexa turns around once she's past the threshold and into the hallway "It's just that I know we've only known each other for about a day so I didn't want things to be weird. Like you thought I was making a move on you or something. I know that's how most girls would react but you seem like a pretty chill person."
Clarke's been wondering Lexa's sexuality for the better part of a day since she met her sober so she acts innocent in what she says next "What do you mean? Friends cuddle sometimes."
Her plan works out when after Lexa flushes slightly she says "Well yeah but when you're gay," the brunette gestures to herself with her hand "girls tend to react poorly. In my experience at least." Lexa looks almost hurt at the memories she's recalling, Clarke can tell by the look in her eyes. It's then that she realizes what people mean when they say that the eyes are the windows to the should because Lexa's green orbs always say more than she does and more than the rest of her body-face included-lets on.
Clarke chuckles "I know what you mean, when I came out as bisexual some of the girls I thought were my friends started to avoid me. I couldn't help but think 'Girl, please, just cause I like girls too does not mean I'm attracted to you!' you know?"
Lexa's whole face brightens at that and just gives another nod, she's happy that someone else understands and doesn't judge her for liking the same sex. Another minute passes in comfortable silence before Lexa remembers that she has plans "Alright, well I'm gonna head out. I'll see you later Clarke." She turns on her heel after another glance at Clarke and makes her way down the hall.
"Don't be a stranger, Lexa." Clarke calls after her and the brunette just throws a small toothy smile over her shoulder before she disappears down the staircase. Clarke closes the door and leans against it before letting out a sigh Don't be a stranger?! she scolds herself What kinda fucking bullshit is that?! She just shakes her head at herself before moving to the coffee maker and pouring herself a large mug of the much needed caffeine.
Deciding that a shower is in order she makes her way to the bathroom and starts washing herself, letting the hot water wash away the strange feelings she's having for Lexa. After an elongated shower she wraps a towel around herself and makes her way into her bedroom in search of clothes before remembering that she did laundry the night before and groans as she gathers the things from the dryer and dumps them on her bed. She selects some garments to wear and starts to fold the laundry, it's not long before she finds Lexa's clothes among them and brings them to her nose to see if they still smell like the other girl. Sadly, they don't and she decides to wear the tank top before finishing folding the clothes.
When she's done with the task at hand she pulls out a book from class to study but doesn't make it far before her phone distracts her. Forty-five minutes later when she's gone through all of her social media she decides to send Lexa a text, hoping that it's not too soon and that she doesn't seem clingy.
Clarke: Hey, it's Clarke. Just wanted to let you know that I forgot to give you your clothes before you left.
She sends it, silences her phone, and sets it down telling herself that after an hour and a half of studying she's allowed to look at it hoping that will be enough incentive to hit the books like she needs to. But almost an hour later she can hear the front door open and her roommates stumbling in; she's about to go out to greet them when she remembers that she's still wearing Lexa's shirt and quickly changes folding the tank to she was previously wearing and setting it on top of the shorts on her dresser next to Lexa's shoes and socks.
When she makes it to the main part of the apartment she sees Raven and Octavia slumped over the island with steaming cups of coffee in their hands and she chuckles at the sight "Rough night, guys?"
Without lifting their heads they both give her the finger likes it's rehearsed and Raven grumbles "Shut up, Princess. You're being too loud."
"You're awfully chipper this early on a Sunday morning." Octavia chimes in.
The blonde recounts the events of last night (leaving out the cuddling, obviously) and her friends exchange a knowing look before launching into more teasing; although their hearts aren't in it today as their hangovers seem to wear them down.
Unknown Number: Hey, it's Clarke. Just wanted to let you know that I forgot to give you your clothes before you left.
Lexa looks at the text before locking her phone and placing it in her pocket as she walks up to the coffee shop where she was preparing to meet up with her friend that she hadn't seen since she got back. Partially because she's been settling back in to life stateside and partially because of the slight falling out they had before she left.
When she walks inside she sees that the girl is already seated at a small table secluded from the rest of the customers in the shop and she smiles at the dirty blonde sitting there remembering how the girl hates people. As she walks over to the table the girl stands up and holds out her right arm to Lexa "Leksa." She says warmly with a small tight lipped smile before the brunette grasps the other girls forearm and they stay like that for a moment before breaking and taking a seat.
"It's good to see you, Onya. You look well." It felt like it should have been strange to Lexa to see her longtime friend after all this time of barely speaking. But it was strange that it didn't feel strange. "How've you been?"
Not one of many words of one for emotions Anya just shrugs "Same old, same old on this side of the pond. Do you feel better?" She asks not beating around the bush.
The reason for their fight a little over a year ago had to do with Lexa's ex and how the brunette handled the situation. Costia cheated on Lexa and when she found out Lexa was angry, but they talked it out and Lexa took the other girl back. Anya was Lexa's childhood best friend and was practically raised by Lexa's parents so she knew that Lexa deserved better than to be walked all over. Lexa, having only ever known love being associated with Costia, was mad that her friend couldn't just support her or her happiness. 'Sometimes people fall out of love and that's ok, just because she's all you've known doesn't mean she's all that'll ever be' the dirty blonde had said before Lexa walked out.
That, however, planted the seed that perhaps settling wasn't her best option and a month later Lexa ended things civilly. That was less than six months before Lexa left the country and after she left it came to light that Costia had never changed her ways after they made up, Lexa was grateful to her friend for knocking some sense into her and helping her dodge a bullet; but she never liked to admit when she was wrong. Costia would always be important to Lexa, first love, first kiss, first everything; firsts stick with you, they come with emotions even if you don't want them too. Just because virginity is a social construct doesn't mean everyone is immune to the emotional baggage that comes with it. While Lexa knew she would aways love her ex on some level she had fallen out of love long ago.
"I'm better." she said before setting the menu she was looking at down and making eye contact with Anya "I never thanked you. I know it didn't seem like it but what you said really helped."
Neither girl was one to show much emotion, let alone have deep conversations, so Lexa wasn't surprised when Anya's reaction was "Pft, it's about damn time." Lexa just smiled softly to herself, she knew that this had at least started to fix things in their estranged friendship, since the majority of the rift was her fault, admitting she was wrong was a big step.
They went on to order their coffee and brunch making small talk and catching up on the past year of each other's lives. When they parted two hours later they made promises to meet up again for lunch later that week to continue catching up and more plans to have dinner at Lexa's house the coming weekend.
Lexa made it home by 1 p.m. and quickly changed into some workout clothes so she could go for a short run. Once changed she pulled her phone out again and saw Clarke's text that she had sent nearly 3 hours ago and decided to respond.
Lexa: Hello, Clarke. I'll just grab them when I see you next.
With that she set her phone down, pulled on her running shoes and made her way out the door for a run that would give her the time she needed to clear her mind before she started some work when she got back.
Clarke heard her phone vibrate on the counter as she was making a sandwich for lunch and tried not to react like she was waiting on a text that would save her life as her roommates were right there and they would surely judge her if they knew she was just waiting on a text from Lexa. She waited until she was done making her sandwich (and honestly it was the longest 45 seconds of her life) before nonchalantly grabbing her phone and making her way to the dining room table to read it.
Lexa: Hello, Clarke. I'll just grab them when I see you next.
Clarke stared at her phone trying to decipher what the other girl could have meant by the text. Could she mean that she wants to see me again? Clarke thinks to herself trying to decide if thats just wishful thinking. She could just mean that getting her clothes back isn't a pressing matter and that she isn't too worried about it... she reasons. The blonde decides to just send another text and see how the brunette responds.
Clarke: Are you saying you want to see me again?
Once the text is sent she almost regrets it, she's always been bolder through text (or when there's alcohol involved) but she decides maybe some flirting will settle the confusion in her mind. Shaking her head to focus back on studying she gets up and puts her phone on the charger in her room to keep it from distracting her; she has a test on Tuesday and she desperately needs to study for it.
Two hours later and she's studied out, she can't even comprehend what read in the last ten minutes so she closes her book with a huff and makes her way to the chair next to the couch where her roommates are lounging around playing a video game after retrieving her phone from her room.
"So..." Octavia drawls out "have you talked to Lexa?"
Raven perks up at the mention of gossip and focuses part of her attention on the conversation between her roommates while still playing her game (she refuses to lose).
Clarke just rolls her eyes and groans knowing that even if she just got up and went to her room to take a nap that her friends wouldn't stop. "Yes. No. Sorta." This earns her some confused looks attempting to coax the rest of the truth out of her. "I sent her a text telling her that I forgot to give her back the stuff she leant me the other day and she just said that she'd get it when she saw me next."
Raven speaks up this time "Aaand?"
"And nothing, Rae. That's it, no smiley faces, no emojis, no flirtatiousness. I think it's safe to say she's not interested." Clarke purposefully leaves out her own semi-flirty response.
"Clarke." Octavia deadpans "Come on, you're leaving something out. What'd you say back to her?"
The blonde flushes slightly before surrendering her phone over to her friends so they can see for themselves, the game completely forgotten at this point.
"Bold move, Griff." Raven says with a smirk on her face "I'm so proud." she says while wiping a fake tear from her eye before turning her eyes back to the screen "Well, I guess we're about to find out."
Clarke looks confused before Octavia turns the phone towards her so she can see the three little dots indicating that Lexa is typing and she nearly trips with how fast she launches out of her chair to grab her phone back. She's not quick enough though and Raven grabs her middle holding her just out of reach as Octavia extends her left arm to keep the device as far away from the blonde as possible. They're all struggling for a moment until they hear the familiar ping of a new message and all movement halts as they maneuver so that they're all sitting on the couch and can read the message; like they weren't just moments away from eye-gouging.
Lexa: Well, seeing as you're holding my clothes hostage I don't have much of a choice do I?
They all sit there in silence staring at the screen, the two brunettes not even saying anything as they don't know how their friend will react.
"It's fine guys, I knew it was a long shot that she would like me anyways. I'm fine." Clarke internally flinches as she realizes she just said 'fine' twice and that's probably not too believable. She was fine though, it's not like she was in love with this girl or anything, it'd just be nice to feel wanted again. It didn't hurt that Lexa was drop dead gorgeous, especially last night in her outfit which Raven had fondly dubbed 'fine stud' style.
"Princess, I'm sure she just doesn't text much and she doesn't seem that great at communication anyways. Maybe she jus-" Octavia's attempt at comforting her friend was cut off by another message ping and everyone assumed the position again to read the words on the screen.
Lexa: But yes, I wouldn't mind seeing you again, you're a very good cuddler.
Raven and Octavia's eyes widened comically at that and while they were distracted Clarke snatched her phone back and sprang up before sprinting to her room and jumping on her bed to hide under the covers. Her roommates weren't far behind and as soon as they got in the room the piled on top of her.
"Clarke Abigail Griffin!" Octavia shouted and everyone flinched at that. Clarke at not taking kindly to being called by her full name, and the other two at the volume of it that was splintering in their heads with the hangover. They quickly recovered though and it was Raven's turn to speak.
"You little cuddle slut!! It seems as though you forgot to mention that very important detail." she said a little quieter than Octavia.
Clarke peaked out from under the covers with just her eyes and part of her nose sticking out attempting to hide the blush on her cheeks from her roommates. When all she received was glares from the two she crawled out a little more and sat against the headboard "Ok. One: O, you've gotta stop using my full name like that it freaks me out. And two: I didn't think it was an important detail is all." She mumbles trying to sound convincing and failing. She could tell neither of them bought it with the bitch please look she was getting from them.
They proceeded to go over the previous night in detail once again analyzing if perhaps Lexa could be interested or if it was just a freak accident that it happened; or if cuddle slut was to blame. They wound up blaming cuddle slut.
When Clarke was finally able to kick her roommates out of her room she tried to decide how to respond to Lexa. Figuring she would just wing it, she sent the first thing that popped into her head.
Clarke: Court a girl first why don't you? And yes, I'm holding your clothes hostage until then ;)
Hoping the wink wasn't too far she laid on her bed and prayed to whoever was listening (although she didn't believe in that) that she didn't come off as too thirsty or too creepy.
Worst case scenario: Lexa gets creeped out and never talks to her again.
Best case scenario:Lexa finds it cute and asks her out on a date.
Healthy middle ground: Lexa finds it cute and they become friends.
Another semi-healthy middle ground: Lexa finds it a turn on and they become fuck buddies.
Clarke was ok with 3 out of those 4 outcomes and hopes she doesn't combust waiting to find out which one it is. She almost does when she doesn't get a response until she's just settling down for bed that night.