Clexa One Shots

The Candle Store (AU)

"Truth be told, I know nothing about candles," Clarke admits. "My mom sent me here. She's just moved into a new house with her fiancé and they're having a "get-together" tonight to show off the new place."

"A get-together?" Lexa laughs at the way that Clarke uses air-quotes with the hand that isn't currently curled around the handle of the mug of coffee.

"It's basically a party," Clarke elaborates, rolling her eyes in disapproval of her mother's choice of words. "But she's in her forties and wants to seem sophisticated so she can't actually call it a party. Anyway, I'm running errands and she wants some candles so that it seems more homely. To be honest, I'm not even sure that she wants to light them. They're probably just for show."

"Well, you've come to the right place. I know the right candle for any occasion."

"Okay, so what scent screams "I'm having a mid-life crisis but I don't want you to know that"?"

"How about...?" Lexa leads Clarke around the end of the aisle and into the next one along, scanning the shelves until she find what she's looking for. "Spiced Orange? Just a little bit exotic, so it gives off the impression that your mom is still young and cool. But it's not like really out there, if you know what I mean?"

Clarke raises her eyebrows, impressed with the way that Lexa immediately reads exactly what she's looking for in the space of mere seconds.

"I ... yeah, that's perfect. Wow, thanks."

"That's what I'm here for," says Lexa. "How many are you looking for?"

"Well one or two candles could just have been gifts," Clarke answers with a shrug, "but I think my mom wants people to think that she's the kind of person who actually goes out and buys candles."

"So multiple candles," Lexa concludes with a nod. She grins softly, then adds, "My favourite kind of customer. So how about we pick out a few different ones together."

"Thanks," Clarke says once more. "You didn't have to do this, you know."

"Please," Lexa scoffs. "As if I was going to let you continue to fumble around on your own. No offence, but you would have got the aesthetics of the candles completely wrong."

Clarke raises her eyebrows in amusement.

"Yeah, ten minutes ago I had no idea that candles even had aesthetics."

"And that's why you're the customer and I'm the one who works here," Lexa smiles at Clarke, leading her over to the back wall of the shop and a display of candles in every shade of blue imaginable.

Clarke watches as Lexa expertly navigates the shelf, pulling out candles and holding them up next to each other, then replacing them on the shelf, before finally turning to face Clarke once more with a candle in each hand.

"How about these?"

Clarke squints at the candles in Lexa's hand, reading the names printed onto the labels in a cursive font. Morning Mist. Ocean Breeze.

"Who comes up with these names?" she asks, laughing softly under her breath.

"I do."

Clarke sobers immediately, the smile falling off her face as her insides sink and her brain screams for the ability to turn back time just a few seconds so that she can stop the stupid words coming out of her mouth.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean..."

"It's fine. I know that they're pretentious," Lexa laughs, green eyes twinkling. "In fact, I like to challenge myself to come up with a name even more pretentious than the last."