Forest Green
Aden hung up and turned to face his mom with a slightly wider smile plastered on his face. He stood proudly and looked at her before engulfing her in a hug, his arms not reaching all the way around her torso. His mom, slightly taken back by the action quickly regained her thoughts and immediately hugged her son back. This would’ve been one of the most sentimental action that the two would’ve shared in their home since Costia. Would’ve. The silent room was suddenly filled with laughter and Aden pulled away, but not before grabbing his mom’s tablet and running out of the room yelling, “Bye Lex”
When the shower started and she heard splashing, it didn’t take her long to find out where he went. She turned back to the counter and examined everything. The cake that Aden and her had started earlier, before he texted Clarke. Lexa turned to a bowl where she was having Aden crush cookies. Most of the contents were outside of the bowl, leading all the way to the floor. Every year she would make the same cake, cheesecake. The tradition started years ago when it was the one year anniversary of having Aden and Costia had convinced her that he would love the cake. Needless to say, she was right, like she always had been. She continued baking, not wanting Aden to go on his mantra of “When will you get on it mommy?” and attempting to snap despite the smile it brought her.
Maybe it was 15 minutes by the time Lexa heard small patter of feet running and looked up from the fridge then turned to see her son with wet hair, his pajamas, and tablet raised above his head.
“MooOOOMMM”
“AdeeEEENNN
”
“LOOK”
Her tablet was shoved in front of her, it was turned to Clarke’s twitter. More specifically, the last recent tweet. A small smile graced her lips as she eyed the jumping boy next to her and who said “I can beat her do you think I can beat her we need medals” She ruffled his hair then handed the tablet back to him. “You can make macaroni necklaces” As Aden looked at her with eyes wide and about to reply, only to be interrupted by the doorbell. Lexa stood there stared in amusement as she saw the young boy suddenly turn into Speedy Gonzales as he ran to the door before following suit.
“Hi Clarkie!”
“Hey Aden, how are you buddy”
As she turned the corner to the door she saw Clarke looking down at Aden hugging her waist and stroking his hair, only to look up and lock eyes with Lexa.
“Hi” Clarke hadn’t been running or done any kind of physical activity in the past 5 months besides giving adamant 5 year olds piggy back rides, and yet here she was. Saying hello like she just ran 3 miles.
“Hello Clarke” Lexa gave a small wave and smiled “Please, come in”
Aden took the blonde’s hand and dragged her in, and then eagerly waiting to see what she had. “I got this kiddo some coloring stuff, I hope that was okay”
“Yeah, that’s great, thank you so much. How much do I owe you?”
“You could color with us”
“Yeah Mom!”
Lexa put her finger up to her chin and stared point blankly at the wall before replying, “I’ll think about it, but right now I need to change out of these clothes that SOMEONE made me get dirty” Sheepishly, Aden shuffled behind Clarke where his mother’s stare couldn’t reach him before watching her jog up the stairs.
The young boy glanced up from his drawing and looked at the author who held a green colored pencil and had it placed on the paper but kept her focus on her phone along with the stair case.
“Hey Clarke”
Her eyebrows furrowed as she eyed Aden. Hearing him say “Clarke” made her stomach twist.
“Yes Aden?”
“Why do you keep looking at your phone”
Clarke looked down at her colored pencil as her mind raced for an explanation.
Forest Green.
Her finger traced the gold letters and she looked back up at the boy who had his head tilted.
Like a cat, she thought to herself.
“My uh, manager was going to call today to um work out some last minute scheduling.” She cleared her throat before she looked up at him once more.
“Oh. That makes sense! Are you going to be in town for my birthday?”
“I do-”
“She’s probably busy buddy”
Lexa walked down the stairs, looking over the railing to see Aden on his tummy with his feet kicking behind him and Clarke fiddling a colored pencil before looking at her. She went over to them and laid the same way between them.
“Clarkie! The clouds aren’t white, they need to be purple”
“Gosh Clarke it’s like you’ve never studied clouds”
“WELL I’M SORRY I’M SO UNCULTURED”
Aden’s smile seemed to be plastered on, never leaving his face as he rolled around on the floor from laughter. Though it had felt like 5 minutes, it had already turned into 3pm and it wasn’t long before both Clarke and Aden started whining and somehow decided that ordering pizza was the best choice of food.
“Go get cleaned up while we, you have crayon all over your face”
As Aden ran away toward the restroom, his voice yelling “No olives!” echoed the halls.
“I always thought he was a smart kid” Clarke smiled to herself and followed Lexa to the kitchen.
“Thank you a lot Clarke, for agreeing to this, Aden really appreciates this”
“Anytime Lex, it’s my pleasure”
A small nod came in reply as she reached for laptop to order. The author stood behind her and watched as the same woman who was in portraits all around the house appear on her screen. She also watched the laptop open and happen to be on her website.
“Die hard fan huh?”
This time, Lexa wasn’t so lucky. Her hair was up and she was pretty sure they were blazing red.
“I don’t wanna hear it Griffin” She gave her a playful push and she clicked out of the page.
They finished not long after and they stood there in the kitchen until Clarke tapped her and ran away. It didn’t take Lexa to figure it out and chase after the laughing woman. Her laughter was infectious, leading its way to her mouth as they circled the couch in standoff like an old western movie.
“Time to find out if you’re as bad as playing tag as you are coloring Clarkie”
“Hey! I wasn’t that bad Woods, you’re just jealous”
“Mayb-”
Lexa ran around the couch and tapped the woman trying to avoid her touch. Clarke on the other hand, had other ideas. She attempted to jump the couch to get the green eyed woman though in the process, managing to trip on her own feet, taking Lexa down with her. Clarke lifted her head and looked at the woman underneath her, both staring at each other.
Forest green?
Ocean blue?
“Well this is a new take on, if I’m going down you’re going down with me”
Lexa’s laughter died down as she intently began staring at the blonde’s moving lips. Clarke hovered over her patiently, trying to see if Lexa was looking at what Clarke thought she was. And then Lexa’s head lift subtly. If she hadn’t been paying complete attention she would’ve missed it. In one swift movement, Clarke leaned down and caught Lexa’s lips with her own, both moving in perfect sync with one another.
Clarke’s stomach did flips and her entire life suddenly seemed irrelevant, everything seemed to just disappear and all she thought about was her. She felt Lexa smile against her kiss and holy fuck, she knewshe was done. Clarke knew that the woman under her, and the young boy who says clouds are purple, owned her bisexual ass.
When they pulled away, Lexa released a contented sigh, soft smile on her face and kept her eye contact. Clarke gave a smile, that Lexa had yet to see. She’d seen the smiles to the kids at the tour, but this smile was shy yet she still managed to understand. Her pupils were blown and that seemed like an understatement. The tip of her nose and cheeks flushed. Clarke continued to look at her and then whispered,
“Forest green”