Clexa One Shots

She got me up all night (AU)

By: mostlyunstablefangirl
Lexa knows the walls of her apartment are thin, but it was never a reason to be concerned. Her first neighbors were an old couple, and the most she heard at a time from the adjacent unit was a short hum as the husband was trying to recall the last task he needed to complete.

So imagine Lexa's surprise when she hauls herself into the bathroom after a grueling study session to hear the soft croon of an older ballad overlaid by a young woman's voice.

She pauses at the edge of the tub, towel still draped over her arm.

This must be the new neighbor. Lexa listens mutely for a few moments before mustering up the courage to turn on her own shower.

It doesn't alert the woman to her presence, it seems. Perhaps her music is turned up too high to hear the squeak of Lexa's faucet.

She's good. Lexa finds the singing a pleasant background to strip out of her clothes and step gingerly into the tub, feeling the warm sluice embrace her eagerly and then leap off the angles of her body.

"...start by saying how much I love you."

The song is familiar. Lexa's lip quirks up when she thinks of her Uncle Gustus singing the same tune. Without thinking, she sings the beginning of the chorus.

"Hello? Is it me you're looking for?"

As soon as she does, the voice stops. The muffled recording is accompanied only by the rush of water.

Nervously, Lexa fiddles with the knob of her shower, though she knows the heat crawling up her neck is not because of the water temperature. Idiot, she reprimands herself. Because that's a bit absurd, singing with your neighbor. While both of you are naked. And complete strangers.

Lexa also reminds herself that she's not even the singing aloud type.

After an awkward silence, it miraculously continues. Her neighbor sings along again and Lexa quietly massages shampoo into her scalp, thoroughly shamed.

Until the singing stops again. "Where'd you go?" the voice asks.

Lexa stiffens. Is she the one being addressed?

She must take too long to respond, because the song ends and there's a metallic sort of squeal as her neighbor shuts off her water.

1. Hello -- Lionel Richie

Lexa blearily wanders into her bathroom the next night to be greeted by a more upbeat song and the same voice rising above it all.

"We are young! Heartache to heartache..."

Lexa feels the corner of her mouth quirk up. Emboldened by what she hopes was an offer to join yesterday, she jumps in, as loudly as she dares. "No promises, no demands?"

"Hey!" the neighbor laughs in recognition, then has to regroup and rush to meet Lexa at the tag line. "Love is a battlefield!"

2. Love is a Battlefield -- Pat Benatar

Lexa finishes her homework earlier the third night of her neighbor's arrival.

Biting her lip, she stands holding her towel for a moment before she swipes her iPod from her nightstand and pads into the bathroom.

She was right -- the bathroom next door is completely silent. Their showering times must be fairly consistent, because the neighbor hasn't begun yet.

Feeling utterly ridiculous, she leans against her counter to scroll through songs on her iPod, bypassing the most obscure. Ah. There.

She's already wetting her hair when the water starts up and a delighted voice, initially loud with excitement, picks it up at a crucial moment.