Head Over Boots (Clexa AU)

Chapter 11: Testing time

"I know. You're right." Clarke rubbed her eyes, wishing that they could skip ahead to the part where they were a family. "I just... what do we talk about? What do we say to them? 'Hey, kid. Do you want to live with us for the rest of your childhood and accept our love and support forever?'"

"Maybe you shouldn't say it like that," Lexa said, squeezing Clarke's hand slightly. "Just pretend they're kids on the ranch that you're meeting for the first time. Encourage them to talk about themselves. Let them know that you're interested. Make them feel safe."

"Ugh, you make it sound so easy." Clarke took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm glad I'm doing this with you. Starting a family. Maybe starting a family."

"It may not be today, but we will." Lexa spoke so confidently. "When the time's right."

Clarke began to feel a little more of that confidence too. She leaned over and placed a kiss on Lexa's cheek before turning up the radio a little louder, letting the crackling country tunes bring them the rest of the way.

**********

It was a little weird, there was no getting around it. She and Lexa walked around the community center hand-in-hand and watched the children getting their faces painted, making crafts, playing with train sets and dolls. They approached social workers and chatted with a few children, Lexa taking the lead, as she asked them about whatever they were playing or drawing.

But when Clarke saw a boy with brown hair, maybe eight years old, playing with Lego's by himself at a table, she wrapped her arm around Lexa's waist. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. "Can we go talk to him?" she whispered.

Lexa watched him for a long moment before leading them over to his table. He looked up at them with a mixture of curiosity and resignation. "Do you mind if we play Lego's with you?" Lexa asked, as soft and encouraging as could be. The boy just nodded, his hair bobbing down into his eyes. "What's your name?" Lexa asked.

"Aden," the boy answered, continuing to place the pieces together on the table.

Clarke tried her best to make small-talk and commented on Aden's building, all the while making her own creation: a ridiculously tall structure that was at risk of falling over at any moment.

Finally, Aden looked over to it, clearly curious. "What are you making?"

"This?" Clarke motioned at her tower, a little pleased with herself. "Just the tallest skyscraper in the world. Unfortunately, there's about to be an earthquake."

"Really?" Aden's eyes lit up a little. "Can I help?"

Together, they placed a few more bricks onto the structure, but it was so unsteady that it crashed off the table and burst into pieces on the floor. Everyone in the room looked over to them (many of the social workers with disapproving eyes), but Clarke could only focus on Aden's smile--the first she had seen from him since they had walked in.

It only took the three of them a few minutes to clean up the pieces and return them to the bucket, but the ice--just like Clarke's skyscraper--had broken. Lexa asked him about what he was making (a secret Resistance base with Rey and Finn, he said), what he liked to do (run and draw), whether he enjoyed school (recess and science class).

But after a while, Lexa motioned to her that they should leave. Clarke almost argued, but she remembered what they had been told: not to spend too much time with any one child, to prevent anyone from getting too attached and have too high of expectations.

Lexa handed Aden what she had been working on. "It was really nice to meet you, Aden. Could you take care of my spaceship for me?"

Aden just nodded, and Clarke swore that Aden watched them all the way to the door.