Say geronimo
“Lexa? Lexa!”
The soccer player didn’t lift her face up from where she had buried it in her pillow, remaining silent until she felt someone poking her in the arm.
“What?” her muffled voice replied.
“Lexa, will you please look at me?”
She sighed, rolling over as she stared at the ceiling. Anya and Lexa had retired to their room after dinner, and Lexa was having a hard time quelling the panic she felt rising inside her.
The article hadn’t been bad—in fact, it had been rather innocent, but it had caught her off guard. The media during the victory tour had been heavy, but after a few weeks off in between the end of the tour and January camp spending time in her hometown with her grandparents and Clarke, she had been able to relax and let her forget about the scrutiny that she was usually exposed to.
But now the Olympic qualifiers were a couple months away, and the focus was back on their team. So wrapped up in this new thing with Clarke, Lexa hadn’t even given a second thought about the fact that more than just their family and friends would be interested in who she was dating. She was a public figure, and she was used to her life being put on display for the world to see. Clarke, however, was not—she was just a girl training to be a surgeon, who loves her best friends and loves soccer.
Lexa hadn’t thought to forewarn Clarke about their relationship drawing public interest, but she wishes she had, because now the two of them were out in the open, and Clarke would be exposed to the public as well. Maybe if they had talked about this being a possibility before it happened, Lexa wouldn’t freaking out as much as she was. But the fact remains that they didn’t, and on top of that, Lexa realized that her and Clarke had never even defined their relationship—were they casually dating? Exclusive? How is it a magazine called Clarke her girlfriend when she herself hadn’t yet?
All of these thoughts had been floating around in her head throughout dinner, resulting in one final conclusion: she had to talk to Clarke.
The only problem with that was Clarke was tied up with the rest of the staff while the team was at dinner, and by the time Lexa had finished, Clarke had gone out with Dawn and Raven and the others for dinner. Lexa knew this was a conversation they needed to have in person, and so she just hoped Clarke hadn’t seen the article before they got a chance to talk.
But that meant Lexa had to wait until after their morning training was over tomorrow, and unfortunately, her brain was in overdrive, thinking of all the possible horrible outcomes that could stem from this.
“Lexa, stop thinking so hard,” Anya said, knocking the other girl out of her reverie. “You’re giving me a headache.”
Lexa just groaned again, before grabbing a pillow and covering her face with it.
“Lexa, seriously,” Anya said, removing the pillow from Lexa’s face. “Why are you freaking out so hard about this? You knew it was bound to happen eventually.”
Lexa sat up, leaning against the headboard as she sighed, looking at her cousin. “It’s just…we’re just starting this thing, you know?” she said, looking down at her hands. “I don’t want to scare her away.”
“Why do you think this will scare her away?” Anya asked, shuffling closer to sit next to her cousin.
“Because those pictures went viral!” Lexa exclaimed. “Because normal people don’t sign up for all of this,” she trailed off, waving her hand in the air. “Normal relationships aren’t mentioned by the media.”
“Lexa, this is a reality of who you are,” Anya said, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. She still wasn’t sure why her cousin was freaking out so badly over this—Lexa often appeared in pictures or little blurbs that floated around the internet. “Why is this really bothering you so much?”
Lexa was silent, fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. She looked up then, green eyes locking onto her cousin. Anya could see the look in Lexa’s eyes—the fidgeting of her hands, the slight furrow of her eyebrows—Lexa was worried.
“Because what if…she decides it’s not worth all the extra attention?” Lexa asked quietly. She darted her eyes back down to her hands, continuing. “What if…what if she decides I’m not worth it?”
“Oh, Lex,” Anya sighed, wrapping an arm around the other girl and pulling her in closer.
“I’m not ready for this to be over,” Lexa confessed. “It’s only really just begun, and it’s…amazing,” she said, looking up again, her eyes shining bright as she thought about what Clarke has brought into her life since she met the doctor only a few months ago—though it felt simultaneously longer and shorter than that. “I’m so happy. Clarke makes me so happy. And I think I make her happy too.”
Anya smiled, her heart filling with love and pride for her cousin, who for a long time thought love was a weakness. Anya patted Lexa on the leg gently, as Lexa rested her head on her cousin’s shoulder.
“I could really fall for this girl,” Lexa said quietly. She was silent for another beat, before confessing quietly. “I think I already am.”
Anya nodded her head, resting her chin on the top of Lexa’s head. “I know, Lex,” she said softly. “But Clarke is a big girl, and she can make her own decisions. Just talk to her, before you convince yourself that you’re not worth all of the attention being in a relationship with you will bring.” She pulled away from her cousin in order to look her in the eyes, wanting to make sure Lexa took this to heart. “Because you absolutely are worth it, Lexa. And from what I’ve seen, Clarke will think so as well. She’s just as infatuated with you as you are with her.”
Lexa smiled at her cousin’s words, know that Anya always told her the truth. She wasn’t one to mince words, and so if Anya said Clarke was just as into Lexa as she was into the doctor, then Lexa hoped that it was enough to keep Clarke around.
Her phone chimed, and she reached for it on the nightstand, hands fumbling to unlock her screen when she saw there was a new message from Clarke.
Clarke Griffin: I hope you had a good night. Sorry we didn’t get to see much of each other today.
And then another one that had Lexa’s heart pounding.
Clarke Griffin: I think we need to talk tomorrow after your morning session.
* *
“Ok, we’re here,” Clarke huffed out, looking up and seeing they were only a few feet away from their room. She took those last final steps before bending down to let Raven hop onto the ground.
“Thanks for the lift, Clarke,” Raven said, sliding the card key into the slot and opening the door.
She gave her friend a pat on the cheek before entering the room, Clarke trialing behind her. The two had just gotten back from dinner with the rest of the staff, and Clarke had a great time getting to know her coworkers better. She flopped down onto her bed with a sigh, closing her eyes as she was finally able to lie down after a long day of paperwork. Clarke and Raven had spent most of the day cataloguing the player’s physical fitness tests so the next day they could adjust each player’s nutritional plan accordingly.
“Oh shit.”
Clarke opened her eyes, tilting her head up to look at Raven standing at the end of her bed. “What?”
“Monty just sent me a link to an article,” Raven said. “You might want to take a look.” She handed her phone to Clarke, who furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before she looked down at the scream.
“What the…why is there a picture of me in people magazine?” Clarke asked, zooming in on the picture. She scrolled down, eyes widening when she saw there was an actual article accompanying what looked like even more pictures. Pictures of Lexa and her, pictures of just Lexa, and even a picture of her, Raven and Octavia laughing about something—her and Raven in their training staff jackets, and Octavia in her training kit.
Raven was silent as Clarke continued to read the article, unsure of how the doctor was going to react. Clarke read the article, making comments every once in a while, though it seemed like just for the sake of making a comment.
“…viral…personal life…girlfriend!?”
Clarke looked up when she was through, her eyes meeting Raven’s, still wide with shock.
“Umm…Clarke?” Raven prompted, taking a seat next to her friend on the bed.
“Viral…a picture of us went viral? What does that even mean?” Clarke asked, turning to look at Raven.
Raven shrugged, plucking her phone from Clarke’s stilled hands. She typed in Lexa Woods to the search bar, and multiple articles came up, the headlines all saying a variation of the same thing: the usually very private Lexa Woods has a new girlfriend, and they were spotted in downtown LA over the past week.
“Oh fuck,” Clarke groaned, flopping back onto the bed. She covered her eyes with her hands, her mind racing.
Lexa was famous.
Lexa was famous, and people were actually interested in what was going on in her life.
How had she forgotten that Lexa Woods was a famous international soccer player?
Well actually, she knew exactly how she had forgotten—Lexa was a world-famous soccer player, that is true. But she was also the Lexa who she poked in the arm until the other girl eventually laughed and sang along to the radio with her.
And the Lexa who told her cheesy jokes, a proud smile on her face whenever she made Clarke laugh.
And the Lexa who had spent a day baking pies with Abby while Clarke and Indra had gone to a signing by the author of the new self-defense book they had both read.
And the Lexa who pouted adorably whenever they had to say goodnight at the end of a date, before Clarke would kiss the pout off of her face.
Lexa Woods the soccer star was the same as Lexa Woods, the girl she had been dating for the past month or so.
Obviously Clarke knew that the media was interested in Lexa, but she had expected sports media outlets to be the ones who were the most invested. That’s what it was like with Octavia, anyways—her best friend was an up and coming star forward, vetted to be the next Alex Morgan.
Octavia had dealt with her fair share of interviews and stories written by her, and Clarke had always felt so proud to read about her best friend. But Octavia’s personal life had never been discussed—perhaps it was because she was still fairly new on the senior national scene, but she certainly didn’t have any pictures of her holding hands with her date in Sports Illustrated.
Clarke had assumed Lexa received the same kind of attention, just at a more heightened level—but she hadn’t imagined that Lexa was discussed in a magazine that had nothing to do with sports, and everything to do with reporting on people’s personal lives because the nation was so invested in it.
“So…at least you look pretty in these pictures?” Raven asked as Clarke sat, leaning against the headboard.
Clarke was silent as Raven continued to scroll through the pictures. “Are you upset?”
Clarke searched her feelings, eyebrows furrowing as she thought about her best friend’s question. “Not…upset? Just…I guess I hadn’t realized how much all of this was,” she finished slowly.
“How much all of what was?” Raven asked, turning her attention to her friend.
“Dating Lexa. And what comes with it. The fans, the media, the pictures in magazines,” Clarke said. “People asking about her love life. Making assumptions. They called me her girlfriend,” she continued, trying to organize her thoughts by speaking them out loud. “We haven’t even had the girlfriend talk yet. It’s just…weird. I don’t know how to feel about it. I’m in a magazine?” she finished, rubbing the back of her neck, turning to look at her friend. “What should I…I mean, I’m not mad? But what should I do?”
Raven took note of the confusion that tinged Clarke’s voice, and the furrow of her eyebrows meant she was thinking hard about the situation. She knew that she should step in before Clarke started to spiral, imagining all the ways being with Lexa Woods would bring unwanted attention to her own life.
“Well, what do you wanna do Clarke?” Raven asked seriously. “I think this article means you have to decide.”
“Decide…?”
Raven put her phone down on the bedside table before turning back to Clarke. “Decide if you’re all in, Griff. There’s no half ass-ing this thing anymore,” she said, holding her hand up to stop Clarke’s protests. “I don’t mean you were half ass-ing your feelings for Lexa. I mean now that you have an idea of everything that comes with being in a relationship with a professional athlete, you have to decide. I don’t think casual dating will work in this situation,” she continued. “She’s a professional athlete, which means she’s traveling all over the world. You won’t always be in the same place, especially once you go back to work at the hospital. So you have to decide: all in or all out?”
Clarke was silent still, thinking about what Raven was saying. It was true—Lexa and her had so far remained untouched by outside factors, but this article served as a reminder that Lexa wasn’t someone who could live her life under the radar. Not to mention Raven’s last point—her and Lexa wouldn’t always be in the same place. Lexa was always traveling with the National Team, and when she wasn’t, she played in the NWSL for FCKC, which meant she lived in Kansas City for a good chunk of the year.
“What…I mean, what do you think I should do?” Clarke asked, all of these points floating around in her head.
Raven took in her friend’s demeanor, staying silent before taking a deep breath. “Ok, do you remember when we were in high school, like a year after my accident, when we went on that vacation to Hawaii?” Raven asked.
“You mean that vacation where my mom got so sunburned she couldn’t leave the hotel room for an entire day?” Clarke asked, snorting at the memory.
Raven laughed, nodding her head. “And Mama B stayed with her, so Bell took us cliff diving even though we weren’t supposed to?”
Clarke smiled, thinking of the memory. It was a great trip—the beach, the sun, and her best friends. It was one of the last family vacations all of them had been able to go together, the one before Octavia started to get serious looks from the national teams, and Clarke became more invested in studying medicine, and Raven delving deeper into engineering.
“And we stopped at that stand on the side of the road to get banana bread,” Clarke remembered. “Best banana bread.”
“Best banana bread,” Raven agreed. “Wait, but that’s—ok, we’re getting off track. So the cliff, right?”
“Right, the cliff. Go on,” Clarke said, nodding her head.
“We got there and Octavia immediately ran the whole way towards the edge before just leaping off,” Raven continued. “And then Bell went, and it was just me and you. And you told me to go next, remember? But I didn’t think I could, because of my leg?”
“You can do anything you want, Rae,” Clarke interrupted, placing her hand on top of the other girl’s and lacing their fingers together.
Raven smiled softly, giving Clarke’s hand a squeeze. “We both know that’s not true, but I appreciate you saying that,” she said, knowing that Clarke believed in her unconditionally.
When Raven had first woken up in the hospital, the day after her accident unable to move her leg, she had immediately begun to freak out. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten there, or why she was hooked up to an IV, a cast on her arm and her leg immobilized. And then everything had come flooding back to her at once, and she felt overwhelmed, unable to comprehend what was going to happen next.
But before she could shed a tear, Clarke and Octavia were there, on either side of her. Octavia had held her hand, stroking her hair away from her face while Clarke had climbed onto the bed and held her loosely around the waist. The two of them had held Raven together as she fell apart, crying for the tough road she knew was ahead of her. They had been by her side since they were ten-years-old, and had been by her side ever since.
“Anyways, I wanted to turn back around and wait for you guys to get back, remember?” Raven said. “But you wouldn’t let me. You grabbed my hand, and said we would take the leap together.” She leaned her head against Clarke’s shoulder, taking a deep breath. “I was scared, but you said to think of it as a leap of faith. So we took a few steps back from the edge, and right before we took that running start, you turned to me. And do you remember what you said right before we jumped?”
“Hmm?” Clarke hummed, resting her head on top of Raven’s.
“Say geronimo, babe,” Raven answered, smiling softly. She took Clarke’s hand in both of hers, bringing it up to her chest. “And then you held my hand when we went over the edge of that cliff, and we screamed the entire way down. But it was one of those moments that made me realize that just because I’m in a brace doesn’t mean I should limit myself before I even try.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Clarke asked softly, turning to look at her best friend.
Raven smiled at her. “Because you’re standing on another cliff, Clarke. You can either take the leap, or turn around and head back the way you came,” she said. “And if I know my best friend like I think I do, then I’m pretty sure I know what you’re gonna choose,” Raven said, standing up and stretching.
She shuffled over to her suitcase, pulling out her pajamas before turning back towards Clarke. “So, you like this girl, Griff. What are you gonna do about it?” she asked.
Clarke sighed, taking in Raven’s words. Her best friend was right—she needed to take a leap of faith. She reached for her cell phone lying on the bedside table.
It was time to be bold.
She unlocked her phone, typing out a new message. She paused, her thumb hovering over the send button.
Yes, she could be bold.
She hit send, before turning her attention back to Raven, who had plopped down on her own bed, television remote in hand.
“I’m about to do something really fucking cheesy,” Clarke stated firmly, watching as a smile grew on her best friend’s face.
“Now that’s what I like to hear, Griff,” Raven said, smirking at her friend. “Say geronimo, babe.”
* *
“Ok, great job today, everyone! Make sure to double check your cool down schedules!”
Lexa stood up straighter, resting her hands on top of her head before walking to the sideline to grab her water bottle. She plopped down on the ground, staring at the laces on her cleats, but not making a move to untie them.
“Why the long face, Lex?” she heard, and saw Anya standing above her.
She held her hand up, blocking the sun as she squinted up at her cousin. She sighed, taking a sip of her water.
“I’m supposed to have my talk with Clarke after training,” she explained, lifting up the bottom of her shirt to wipe the sweat off of her forehead. “But she hasn’t texted me since last night, and I only caught a glimpse of her while she was taping up Alex’s wrist earlier.”
“So…what’s the problem?” Anya asked, crossing her arms.
“I can’t get a read on her,” Lexa groaned. “For all I know, she could be coming out here to break off whatever…this thing is that we’ve been doing.”
Anya snorted, lightly kicking Lexa’s foot with her own. “If that girl breaks up with you, I’ll eat my socks.”
Lexa frowned, looking up at her cousin again. “That’s a weird thing to say.”
“Shut up,” Anya replied. “Look, everything is going to be fine. And if it’s not, then…well…we know where she works.”
The goalkeeper let out a chuckle, and Lexa cracked a smile. “You’re an idiot.”
“You’re an idiot,” Anya fired back. She bent down slightly to pat Lexa on the head. “Everything will be fine, Lexa. Don’t worry.” She straightened back up, gesturing towards where the rest of their teammates were making their way off the field and to the locker room. “Meet you in there?”
Lexa nodded her head, watching Anya walk away before turning her attention back to her cleats. She let out a sigh, reaching down to slowly untie her laces. Once she got them loose she took her boots off, slipping on her tennis shoes instead. She slowly stood up, grabbing her cleats and water bottle before stretching her arms above her head.
“Hey Woods!” she heard from behind her, and quickly turned around, dropping the items in her hand when she spotted Clarke, ball at her feet.
She watched, face set in confusion as Clarke kicked the ball (in pretty good form too, Lexa would note later) towards the soccer player. Lexa automatically brought the ball down, as was her instinct, in one touch. She glanced down at the ball at her feet, but did a double take when she noticed what looked to be letters written on it. She picked up the ball, spinning it around until the words, written in block letters with a sharpie, were facing her.
I BET YOU PLAY SOCCER BECAUSE YOU’RE A KEEPER
Lexa burst out laughing, holding the soccer ball with both hands.
“Did you know there’s a severe lack of soccer related pick up lines?” Clarke shouted from her spot where she had kicked the ball.
Lexa just continued to laugh, tucking the ball into her side as Clarke jogged over to her, smile on her face. “This doesn’t even make sense, Clarke. I’m a midfielder.”
“Yeah, well,” Clarke said, shrugging. She stopped in front of the soccer player, reaching for the hand that wasn’t holding the soccer ball. “Hi,” Clarke greeted as Lexa chuckled, before capturing the soccer player’s lips with her own, Lexa’s chuckles fading away as she lost herself in the sensation of Clarke’s lips.
Clarke broke away with a soft kiss to the corner of Lexa’s mouth, grinning as the soccer player smiled back.
“Hi,” Lexa offered back, smiling as Clarke let out a soft laugh. “What’s this?” she asked, holding the soccer ball up between them.
“Well, I thought it was about time I asked you properly to be my girlfriend,” Clarke said, bringing her arms up and linking her hands together behind Lexa’s neck.
“Girlfriend?” Lexa asked, eyes widening.
“Yeah, I thought, ‘What’s the absolute cheesiest way I can ask?’ and then well,” Clarke continued, gesturing to the soccer ball. “Raven and I might have taken this one from the equipment room.”
“You know the equipment team keeps track of the number of soccer balls they have, right?” Lexa asked, grinning. She dropped the ball, letting it rest in the space between her feet before placing her hands on Clarke’s waist.
Clarke just shrugged, grinning. “I can be very stealthy,” she answered easily.
Lexa let out a laugh, slowly closing the gap between them. “You know, I very much believe that,” she replied, before connecting their lips once more.
Lexa felt a surge of affection well up inside of her for the girl in her arms, and she moved her hands to the doctor’s back as she pulled Clarke closer, deepening the kiss. She felt Clarke open her mouth slightly, and their tongues met as she lost herself in the kiss. One of Clarke’s hands cupped Lexa’s cheek, while the other slid behind the soccer player’s neck, keeping her in place.
They broke apart as Lexa placed a series of softer, gentle kisses against Clarke’s lips before pulling away, but instead of taking a step back, she rested her forehead against Clarke’s.
“So, you still haven’t answered me,” Clarke breathed out into the small space between them.
“I’ll be your girlfriend if you’ll be mine,” Lexa said, grinning. She placed another kiss on the corner of Clarke’s mouth, moving across the other girl’s jaw before peppering Clarke’s face with kisses until the doctor began to giggle. She wrapped her arms tighter around Clarke, picking the girl up, spinning the two of them around, their laughter mixing together.
When she put Clarke down, she reached down and grabbed both of Clarke’s hands in hers, linking their fingers together. “I thought you were coming out here to break up with me,” Lexa confessed, almost breathless from how happy she felt that the exact opposite had happened.
Girlfriend.
Clarke Griffin was officially her girlfriend.
She was Clarke’s girlfriend.
She grinned again at the thought, Clarke’s hands giving her own a light squeeze.
“Because of the article?” Clarke asked.
Lexa nodded her head, looking down at the soccer ball that rested near their feet before looking back up, meeting her favorite pair of blue eyes. “I thought it would scare you away,” she said.
Clarke smiled softly at the other girl. “Honestly, it did freak me out a little bit. But Lexa,” she said, releasing one of Lexa’s hands and bringing her hand up to cup the soccer player’s cheek. “You’re so worth it. We’re so worth it. I like you, Lexa.” She shrugged, grinning. “So you come with millions of adoring fans and the paparazzi every once in a while? I’m a big girl. I can deal with a few photos being taken.”
Lexa let out a breathe she didn’t know she was holding.
Clarke hadn’t been scared off. She thought Lexa was worth it.
Clarke still wanted her.
Clarke was her girlfriend.
She let out another grin, giving Clarke a quick kiss before tapping the ball over to the bench, leading the doctor over to where her bag was sitting. She rummaged through it before finding her phone, turning back to Clarke.
“Wanna really give them something to write about?” Lexa asked, holding her phone up.
Clarke just laughed before nodding her head, plucking Lexa’s phone out of her hand and pulling up the camera. Clarke held the phone up as Lexa looked at the camera. Clarke kissed her cheek, and she smiled as she felt something in her chest warm at the simple act of affection.
“You’re so cute,” Clarke commented, and Lexa rolled her eyes, smile still on her face as she grabbed the offered phone.
Lexa looked down at the picture, heart pounding. It was a simple picture, really—she was smiling at the camera, Clarke leaning in close, kissing her cheek. The doctor’s blonde hair seemed to shimmer under the LA sun, both of their eyes sparkling with happiness. She pulled up her instagram app, typing out a caption before posting the picture, knowing the next time she looked there would be an insane amount of likes.
“We have tomorrow off,” Lexa said suddenly, looking up.
“Oh yeah?” Clarke asked, watching as Lexa stuffed her shoes and water bottle in her bag, slinging it around her shoulders before reaching for Clarke’s hand again, intertwining their fingers once more.
The two started walking towards the locker room, Lexa tapping the soccer ball lightly in front of her.
“Can I take you out on a date?” Lexa asked.
Clarke smiled, leaning over to place a soft kiss on Lexa’s cheek. “I would really love that,” she answered.
Lexa grinned in response, and the two entered the locker room, riding a high of happiness and something that was suspiciously feeling more and more like love.
* *
@LexaWoods: She doesn't play soccer, but she's definitely a keeper.