"Oh my god, I think I know her." Clarke whispered conspiratorially to her girlfriend, Lexa, while sitting in their private box above the public stands. Fight night was always busy in New York City, but tonight was a match up between two close friends. Making the public thirsty for blood and drama. As they usually were.
"Who are you talking about, babe?" Lexa absently replied, focusing more intently on the ring than what the woman beside her was talking about.
"That brunette, the one three rows down." She vaguely explained, just now noticing that her fighter wasn't really interested in what she was saying. Getting a devious idea, she leaned in closer making sure to use her husky bedroom voice "I'm not wearing any underwear."
"Oh that's nice, Princess."
"For the love of God, what is so interesting?"
"Sorry, I'm just worried about Raven. You know she's still trying to prove herself, and Lauren is not going to take it easy on her. I mean, she can hold her own, but she's still like my baby sister." Her apology was hard not to accept, considering she wasn't really trying to ignore Clarke. Why is she so damn cute all the time? Clarke thought to herself.
"She'll be fine. Like you said, she can hold her own. And she's been training non-stop for two weeks now. Let her fight. You have the night off for once, and I'd like to have some quality Lexacoon time." She reached over for Lexa's hand and started to play aimlessly with her aged, calloused fingers. "Here, I bet you ten bucks that Raven kicks Lauren's ass tonight."
"Raven? Nah, I love her, but Lauren is going to dominate. I know what I said, but still. Lauren is ruthless enough at home and I can't begin to imagine what she'd do to Raven in the ring. She's going to win, but I don't want the kid to get too beat up." Much to her chagrin, she was a lot softer than she appeared. "Just, distract me with something. I don't know." Huffing with a mixture of frustration and anxiety.
"Fine, but don't complain about this later." And before Lexa could ask her what exactly she meant by that, Clarke was already calling out to someone. "Camila! Up here!"
The brunette from earlier turned around quickly, eyes searching for the person who had exclaimed her name. She wasn't aware that anyone she knew was going to be at the fight tonight, other than Octavia of course. After scanning the closer rows, her gaze landed on the boxes above the public seats spying a friend. "Clarke!" She shouted. "Hey! I didn't know that you came to fights! How have you been?" Camila happily asked making her way up to the fellow model.
"Not too bad. Had a photo shoot at Sport's Illustrated the other day, so I can't say I've been up to much other than that. My woman here is a fighter too, so we come often, and the two that are fighting tonight are good friends."
"Oh well, I should introduce myself then." Leaning over to address the green-eyed fighter beside Clarke, Camila extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Camila, Clarke and I met at a modeling gig a few years ago. And you are?"
Without acknowledging Camila's friendly gesture, the fighter simply mumbled a somewhat short "Lexa", and pulled out her phone to check her messages.
Shoving her elbow into Lexa's gut, Clarke smiled at her friend. "You here with anyone? I'd love to catch up since we haven't seen each other in a while. Just come sit with us here. Lexa and I enjoy having company in this isolating box, right babe?" She said pointedly.
After catching her breath in a not-so-subtle way the fighter coughed a "Uh, yeah. That'd be great." begrudgingly. God she hated meeting new people. Or well, other human beings in general didn't particularly appeal to her. It was hard for her to open up to the ones she trusted, let alone get along with complete strangers. Once Camila had gone to fetch the friend that came to the fight with her, she sighed loudly. "Clarke you know I hate new people. Why couldn't you just call her later or something? I thought you said you wanted quality time." Low blow.
"You'll survive. It's good to socialize every once in a while. Just take a deep breath, and try to be a little less insufferable. For me?" The blue-eyed blonde begged with an adorable pout.
"Okay, stop. Fine, I'll be nice. But I'm doing this for you okay? Don't expect me to talk a lot though."
"Whipped." Clarke cheekily replied just before Camila returned, another brunette in tow. Immediately the blonde recognized the photographer. "Octavia, fancy meeting you here."
"Hey friend, how have you been? It's been a few months since we've worked together. Model life still treating you well?" The taller girl asked interestedly.
"For now it is. I still miss being on the field, but at least I still have a foot in the game this way. Other than that, Lexa's been keeping me young and New York always has something fun to offer. You?"
Taking a satisfied breath as she sat down beside Camila, Octavia took a minute to take stock of recent weeks. "Life has been slow lately, but I don't mind much. Shorty and I just finished a shoot today, so that was good. I haven't been looking for work really, more focused on personal projects."
The conversation went quiet after that, no one able to think of a topic to focus on. It wasn't awkward, but Clarke hated the silence. She made meaningful eye contact with Lexa, pleading with her to say something. After a bit of light encouragement and a fist being violently shaken in her general direction the fighter gave in. Angling her body towards Camila, Lexa awkwardly asked, "So, what's a model like you doing in a stadium like this?" Face palm. Things officially became awkward. Fuck, this could not get any worse. To top it all off, Clarke gave her a look that could melt the Arctic icecaps.
"Uh, I'm here because one of the fighters is sponsored by the same company as I am. Her name's Lauren I think? Anyway, they wanted the publicity for the event." Camila responded somewhat stunned. There wasn't enough time for anyone to try and selvage the conversation because the announcer came on over the speakers.
"In the blue corner we have, weighting in at one-hundred and forty pounds, at Five-foot-six, Lauren 'The Hellhound' Jauregui!" After a moment of letting the crowd get rowdy, the male booming voice returned. "Aaand in the red corner, at one-hundred and thirty pounds, standing at five-foot-three is Raven 'The Mechanic' Reyes!" Soon after, "Bitch Better Have My Money" by Rhianna started to blare over the sound system signalling the entrance of the Hellhound. The audience became even more excited as she stalked her way slowly to the ring, taking her time to warm up. Once she reached her corner, "We Own It" by 2 Chainz defended the crowd. Raven entered the stadium looking cocky as ever. She quickly hopped to the ring, eager to get the fight underway while she still had the adrenaline from the crowd coursing in her veins. Tonight was important for her.
Both trainers pulled their fighters aside to give them a pep talk. Image was everything, they were reminded, give the public what they want and both of the girls would make more money off of the night. Make the bruises worth your while was the jest of it. After their trainers put their two cents worth in, they made eye contact. Outside of the stadium, these women were basically sisters. But right now, they had to act like opponents. No better way to give the crowd what they want than starting a verbal sparring match just before punches were thrown.
"Eh, Reyes." Lauren called out to the younger fighter.
"What you want Jauregui?" Raven retorted, trying not to loose focus.
"Want to get a gag real going to hype up the stands?"
The lightweight chuckled and smiled evilly, knowing that this would be a fun way to build up. "Sure thing. Want me to start it off?"
"By all means, please, go right ahead." The older of the two said, not phased by the idea of a little teasing between friends. No one needed to know that they practiced insults in their spare time at home on a regular basis. We do it for the money, Lauren reminded herself.
Raising her voice so the first few rows could hear her, Raven began the match, "What's with the entrance song, too cheep for a good one?"
"Funny Reyes, you owe me five bucks from the last fight you lost. Thought I might as well entertain the idea."
"Getting a bit old to be doing this, aren't you? What are you, thirty something Gramps?"
"Did you bring your bib foetus, 'cuz you're going to need it." Adding an ego filled huff to the end of her previously constructed insult. This is when things started to get interesting.
"Might want to take a look at who's watching Jauregui, don't want to embarrass you in front of all your pretty girlfriends." Lauren simply laughed and came back ten times harder.
"Hold on a minute, how's the girl you had last week, or did she fuck off like the rest of them? From what I've heard they aren't interested in little girls."
Obviously rattled by the comment, Raven awaited the bell to ring and she stared viciously at her opponent. Lauren then took a moment to smile to herself in congratulations; she looked up into the stands to find her friends. When she caught sight of her fellow green-eyed fighter she gave her a respectful nod, then moved over to Clarke to whom she flashed a friendly grin at. Then her eyes traveled the brown haired girl next to her that she didn't recognize. And who might you be? she wondered, not noticing that the bell had rung. Without a second of hesitation, the Mechanic swung a hard right hook hitting Lauren square in the jaw.
If one slowed down the hit, they would notice the painful angle that the older fighter's jaw was forced into, blood flying out of her mouth. Damn that kid has been training hard was the only thing Lauren could think of in that moment. Losing focus was so out of character for her that she was thrown off her game for the rest of the short first round. Neither woman got any serious hits in, so Raven had this one small victory. However, the raven-haired fighter was determined to end this match quickly, before her mind ran away from her.
"Distracted are we Jauregui?" Raven jested, looking to get her riled up again. "Or did I really do a number on that pretty face of yours?"
"Haha, very funny smallz. You're about to get your ass handed to you."
"Oh really? You seem too focused on that pretty brunette to give me a proper ass woopin'." And suddenly she felt the older girl's fist connect with her gut.
"You see Reyes, that's the thing. You always talk too much for your own good." Another hit, this time the green-eyed fighter's knee thrust into the younger girls side. Camila's attention was caught; Lauren noticed this as she allowed Raven to catch her breath before flipping her into a hold. Meanwhile, Lexa simply smirked at how easily Lauren was taking this. Usually, her opponent would have been knocked out within the first two minutes of the round. Or would have at least tapped out. But tonight, she knew the raven-haired fighter wanted a real fight. Not one in which she completely dominated within the first round, and left the other girl unable to continue. Before she could examine the fight further, she heard a shrill voice that made her cringe inwardly.
"So I'm guessing, Lauren doesn't usually get hit." The brunette Latina stated rather than asked, as the two fighters went to their separate corners to regroup.
"Raven's actually the first to bring her into round two." Clarke sighed as she felt Lexa's hand on her inner thigh. The bet they had made earlier coming to mind when the blonde turned to meet the 'commander's' smirk. "But from what I can see, that hit earlier, was the only one she's getting tonight."
"How many belts?" Octavia asked quietly, but Clarke smiled at her proving she had been heard. Lexa however took the opportunity to talk up her main bitch.
"She has two so far. But she's going up against Lena King next month for her third." She was proud of the younger girl, which was obvious. However, she'd never readily admit it to the raven-haired fighter. Back in the cage, the youngest threw a punch, then another, and Lauren had dodged the first but not the second. The second punch 'the mechanic' had landed that night was to the older girl's liver. Lauren naturally curved inward, her body trying to protect itself from further injury. Raven, only thinking of her friend, gave her a minute to recover from the blow instead of taking another shot. But just as it looked like she may have a chance, Lauren came back harder and jabbed forcefully straight at Raven's nose.
"So two world champion titles then." Camila breathed out as the bell rung to signal the end of the second round.
"Yeah, two world champion titles." Clarke smiled at how shocked the brunette seemed at the news. Lauren was classified as a top fighter in the UFC, just under Lexa, of course. Trained with world-class boxers and was always at the gym by five o'clock in the morning. Fighting was her life, that was proven each time she won a match. The first time the girls had seen her smile legitimately, was the night she won her first belt.
Raven stepped forward awkwardly exposing her ankle and knee joint, Lauren noticed this weakness and quickly landed a heavy kick to the smaller girl's thigh. Jauregui smirked as she watched Reyes wince at the contact. Lauren stepped forward and brought Raven into a headlock before she could counter, then flipped both of them onto the cage floor. The younger woman struggled, trying not to allow the bigger fighter the upper hand, but was beaten the moment Lauren's fist connected with her jaw once more. What the green-eyed fighter hadn't noticed was that Raven had squeezed her hand in between the hold, giving her a chance to breathe. Once she had enough oxygen in her lungs, the younger fighter slipped her feet under Lauren's arms and broke the hold. In a split second, she was laying on the ground with the seasoned fighter's arm angled painfully towards the mat.
When Raven noticed the older fighter's smirk she realized she had fucked up her hold, and was back underneath Lauren within seconds. This time, she wasn't lucky enough to slip her hand into the headlock. It was only a matter of how long it would take for her to go unconscious, not if. To top it all off, the bigger woman now held her right arm just inches from being dislocated. At this point, Lauren and Raven knew that the younger one was either going to be knocked out with a dislocated shoulder, or to avoid any permanent damage physically, tap out.
Up in the private box, Lexa and Clarke were passing a ten-dollar bill back and forth. It was quite hilarious to Octavia, silently observing the cute couple. She then turned her attention back to the ring. The younger fighter, Raven was her name right? Anyway, she seemed to be a tough little cookie. Maybe she'd make an interesting friend. Hopefully they would all go out for drinks after the fight, and get to know each other better. The blue-eyed brunette was looking to make some new friends; life was always more interesting that way.
Meanwhile, Reyes was convinced that Lauren was going to do as much damage as possible, knowing that she never took it easy on her opponents. She hated being treated differently just because she was the youngest and smallest. Expecting that Lauren understood that after years of friendship, she was prepared to tap out. Jauregui on the other hand, wasn't interested in harming the other fighter. It was more appealing to her for the younger fighter to just give in. She'd never admit to taking it easy on her, but Lauren didn't want to put her through that kind of humiliation and pain. Not too long after both inner monologues, Raven tapped out, eager to be able to breathe properly again.
Lauren immediately released her, and called over the doctor that was on standby to make sure the smaller woman was okay. The older fighter was toeing the line of being professional. On one hand, she wanted her close friend to be able to make a name for herself in the industry. On the other, she needed to preserve her title as an undefeated, hardass, champion.
When the doctor had finished his assessment of the brown-eyed fighter, Lauren leaned over her and extended a friendly hand to help her up. She patted her back and smiled. "You did good Reyes. I'm proud of you. Gave me a scare for a second, thought you might have actually had the drop on me. Better luck next time kid."
Coughing a bit before replying, Raven smiled, "Thought I'd give you a run for your money. Thanks for not taking it easy on me though. I'm glad that I was beat properly."
They both made their way out of the cage, heading to the locker room. Each had their own wounds to treat.
"Hey, quit staining the floor Reyes!" Lauren quipped playfully, reaching for some steri-strips for her split lip.
"Could say the same to you Jauregui, looks like someone got a pretty good punch in tonight." Meanwhile, her trainer was stuffing a roll of gauze into her probably broken nose. "Ouch, fuck, you don't have to shove the thing in so hard!"
"That's what she said." The older fighter mumbled to herself comically, completely aware that her friend was born shitting rainbows.
"I heard that you shit. God, did you have to mess up my face? I mean, how am I supposed to get the ladies now other than with my sly charm?" She countered with a smirk on her face.
"I'm sure you'll manage, slick."
"Well, I did learn from the best." Raven commented, implying that her friend also had game. Lauren smiled proudly, sending a famous 'Jauregui Smirk' her way. "By the way, you are buying me a beer for payment." Giving no explanation to the raven-haired woman.
"Um, for what exactly?"
"'Cuz I made you look good in front of that girl who caught your attention. You're buying me a beer, and then you're going to ask her out for drinks." She stated, rather than asked.
"What girl?" Lauren asked as the doctor brought some ice to her jaw. "Jesus Doc, that's fucking cold." He made a face indicating he was sorry then continued dressing her wounds.
"Oh please, you can't fool me Jauregui. She had you tongue tied and stunned before she even made eye contact with you. So yes, drinks, beer for me, and a good fuck for you. Alright? Alright." She matter-of-factly announced. There was no arguing at this point. Though Lauren wanted desperately to deny any feelings she could possibly have for the brunette Latina in question. She's just another body, the fighter affirmed. Only to be interrupted by the entrance of her friends and a few unfamiliar faces. And oh great, there she is.
Clarke, catching sight of little Raven, rushed over the check her nose. "Oh baby, are okay? Let me check your nose." She grabbed her chin in a motherly way, turning her face from side to side. "Is it still bleeding? Did you get some ice for it? It looks like it's broken, I'm just going to put it back, okay?"
"It really hurts, Mum." The smaller girl answered using a nickname, looking to get some attention. She liked it when Clarke took care of her, though she'd never say it out loud. "Please, just be careful. Lauren hit me really hard."
Gently pushing her pointer fingers into either side of the younger one's nose, Clarke pushed hard and quick, repositioning it painfully.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" Blood started to pour out of both nostrils, covering her chest. Just as she was about to start playing the wimp game with the blue-eyed blonde again, she spotted Octavia. Shit, that's one fine looking lady. "I mean, I'm cool, I'm good. That didn't hurt one bit. Thanks friend, but I can take it from here." Clarke gave her a confused look, not used to Raven brushing her care away. Then she followed the girl's gaze behind her, noticing it was on Octavia of all people.
By this time, the photographer had turned her attention to the smaller woman. She looked to be in pain so she asked, "Hey, you okay? That looks like it hurt."
"Oh, this? Nah, I've had worse. Clarke just likes to baby me. You know, youngest of the group. But I'm tough. Nothing to worry about."
"Raven honey, I think you seriously fucked up your shoulder." Clarke chimed into the photographer and Raven's staring match.
"I what?" Raven asked unaware of just how much damage Lauren had done.
"Your shoulder." Octavia pointed out worriedly. "I think it's dislocated."
Clarke looked up at the blue-eyed brunette with a confused look. "No, not dislocated, but pretty god damn close." The blonde grabbed the athletic tap before motioning to Raven to sit up on the bench. "Alright, I'm going to tape it okay?"
"Um, yeah I guess-" The moment the older woman touched her shoulder Raven winced in obvious pain. "Fuck." She did her best to suppress her agony and looked to the heavens above, praying she wouldn't pass out in front of the pretty girl. Octavia however, looked like a worried girlfriend and suddenly grabbed the fighter's hand in her own.
"Here, just squeeze my hand." She smiled softly to the smaller girl and took a seat beside her on the bench. Clarke chuckled to herself as she watched the two's exchange.
"Oh um, thanks." Raven smiled to the blue-eyed photographer before Clarke moved the muscle the wrong way. "WELL JESUS OKAY."
"Sorry, sweets." Clarke winced as the younger girl yelled beneath her touch. Meanwhile, Lauren's lip was still bleeding profusely. Though she had dismissed the man who had been taking care of her a few minutes prior to the girl's entrance. Lexa reached her hand out to initiate their famous handshake and the raven-haired girl quickly obliged to the series of hand movements.
"Nice fight, Squidie." Her fellow green-eyed fighter smirked. "You really kicked Raven's ass." Saying the last part loud enough for the youngest of their group to hear and chuckled when she spoke up.
"SHE DIDN'T KICK MY ASS!" The mechanic yelled from across the room. Then the two heard the sound of a slap and laughed again. "Ow, Clarke what was that for?"
"Can you just shut the hell up and let me tape your shoulder? Stare at the pretty girl and keep still." Both of the youngest of the five in the room blushed at how Clarke had called them out.
"Uh, um, uh, what?" Octavia asked shyly. Clarke just glared at her knowingly before going back to work on Raven's shoulder. Lexa and Lauren continued laughing at the smallest of their group. However, that quickly came to a stop when Camila came up to them with a smile on her lips, and Lauren swallowed harshly.
"Are you unaware that you're still bleeding there, big shot?" The small Latina asked mater of factly before taking a seat next to the raven-haired girl. Lauren felt her body heat next to her, but made no move to look up at her face from her current position. If she looked into her eyes and they were brown, she'd definitely be in too deep already.
"I'm bleeding?" Lauren asked lightly. "Where?" Then the unexpected happened and the brunette's hand was on her forehead, her thumb caressing the split eyebrow.
"Right here," then she moved her hand lower and used her thumb to wipe the blood away from Lauren's lip. "and here." This girl made it nearly impossible not to look up, didn't she? Needless to say, the fighter's green eyes were met with unmistakable chocolate brown ones. She felt her breath catch in the back of her throat and struggled to find her words. This never happened. Ever.
"Oh." Was all the raven-haired fighter could manage as she scanned the girl's face more closely. She had what looked to be soft pink lips, warm tanned skin, and beautiful facial features. Her eyes though, that's what did it for Lauren. "Uh, um." She felt herself growing vulnerable under the girl's touch. This wasn't how she played; this wasn't her. She cleared her throat audibly then brought herself back to her badass façade that every other woman had encountered. "What's your name?"
"Camila," The brown-eyed beauty answered the fighter simply before removing her hand from her face. "Cabello. And you're Lauren, aren't you?"
"So you've heard of me then." The older girl smirked to herself then allowed her eyes to meet the brown ones once again in a heated gaze.
"Well, I did just watch you fight." Camila stated mater of factually then rested her hand on the fighter's thigh. "But yes, I have heard quite a lot about you."
"FUCKK, CLARKE WHAT THE HELL!" Their moment was interrupted by the younger fighter's scream. They both turned their heads to take a look at what exactly was going on. Octavia was still sat next to Raven, but had a pained look on her face, probably from allowing the mechanic to hold her hand. Clarke looked like a scornful mother as always, while Lexa simply stared down the brown-eyed fighter, and Raven looked like a wounded puppy. The two Latina women laughed at the brown-eyed fighter and Lauren moved from the bench in order to grab a quick shower.
"I'm going to grab a shower, I'll see you guys outside alright?" Lauren yelled across to Lexa and Clarke who were in a struggle with holding Raven down as the blonde played doctor and taped her shoulder. Lexa gave her fellow green-eyed friend a thumbs up and Lauren took that as a sign that she was understood.
"Ou, mind if I join you big shot?" Camila's raspy voice filled her ear as the warm breath hit her neck. Once again, Lauren found herself speechless, and was caught completely off guard by the younger woman. Her small hand was on the fighter's broad shoulder and for a moment the raven-haired girl froze. But before Camila could catch herself, Lauren's muscles tensed as she turned to face the small model.
"In your dreams sweetheart." She flashed her famous smirk at the doe eyed brunette, than grabbed a towel on her way to the showers. "Tell you what though, I will buy you a drink."
"Sounds good." The youngest smiled, seemingly un-phased and watched as the fighter disappeared behind the brick walls of the dressing room. In all honesty, she was nervous as a hell. The green eyes of the taller fighter had burned their way into her mind and she couldn't begin to come up with a reason why. There was a harsh ripping sound that echoed through the room and Raven's voice made another appearance through gritted teeth.
"FOR FUCK SAKES CLARKE."
"Sorry, smol bean. I just realized I put the tape the wrong way, and your constant pussy ass squirming didn't help either." There was a look of pure terror on the poor girls face once the words left the blonde's lips and she quickly looked to her side. There, Octavia did her best to muffle her laughter and Lexa simply looked at her with a cocky smirk that said 'I told you so'. She motioned for Clarke to come closer so she could speak to her.
"Okay there, Mum, if that's even your real name. I need to look good in front of this beautiful woman, and right now you ain't helping any. I already lost the fight, don't make me lose the war." She whispered quietly, with fiver, in the older girls ear. Clarke chuckled to herself then preceded to be her usual wing-woman self.
"So, Octavia, we were debating maybe going out for drinks, but now I'm thinking we'll just have a few at our house. Would you and Camila like to join?" Before Octavia made a move to speak, Camila's shrill voice boomed in.
"Yes, one hundred percent yes." Camila smiled brightly at her friends and the two fighters who accompanied them. Octavia's blue eyes looked at her with a pure 'wtf' look and she simply shook it off before answering herself.
"Yeah, that'd be great!" She answered through an awkward smile at the blonde, than silently scolded her friend for her obvious expression of excitement with a venomous side eye.
"Awesome, Lexa, the kids and I will go to the liquor store and meet you back at our place for, um," The blue eyed blond lifted her girlfriend's wrist to look at her watch. "ten, is that okay?" Lexa rolled her eyes at the enthusiasm her significant other oozed.
"Sound's great, what's your guy's address?" The photographer asked politely before looking back down at Raven who had just taken two T-3's. "Watch it there slick, if you mix alcohol with those, we'll be in some real trouble."
"You're pretty." Raven stated, the pills taking their course. Clarke, and Lexa, both put a palm to their forehead and they heard a small slap sound from the shower indicating Lauren also heard Raven's lazy line.
"Oh, am I now?" Octavia blushed but also chuckled at how Raven's eyes had easily glazed over within minutes.
"Yup, I only speak the tru-trith."
While Octavia continued to entertain the very high little fighter, Clarke copied down their addresses and handed it to her friend. Meanwhile, Camila simply sat patiently and waited for the fighter to immerge from the showers. When Lauren finally did make an appearance, she had a button up forest green flannel that was slughtly open, exposing her white Nike sports bra, and a pair of light washed ripped jeans. Matched with her timberlands, of course. "Shit." Camila muttered. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Just a slight reminder. Jet-black locks flowed freely down Lauren's front and she ran a towel through her hair, then made eye contact with the model and smirked.
"You need some water there, Princess?"
"What?" Clarke asked before she realized she hadn't been spoken to. Lexa raised her hands defensively and pointed to Lauren.
"Excuse me?" Camila questioned still somewhat in a daze.
"You look a little thirsty." Lauren countered and continued to towel dry her hair. She'd never admit it out loud but she always loved pulling people's chains. Especially when they looked like Camila.
"Oh, fuck you." The model spat before swatting the taller woman's shoulder.
"When and where baby?" Lauren now brought out her A-game, using her raspy voice to her advantage. Camila stood dumbfounded with her mouth agape.
"Oh, close that mouth before I put my tongue in it."
"LAUREN MICHELLE SQUDIE-JAUREGUI." The blue-eyed blonde admonished. "I taught you better manners than that."
"Shush, Mum, don't mess with my game. That's what Raven is for." Lauren grinned knowingly. This was her usual game plan, however it always involved a lot more alcohol, and girls who would submit to anything she said in that tone of voice.
"You're relentless aren't you?" Somewhere in between watching the exchange between the blonde and the fighter Camila had found it in herself to speak up.
"What can I say, my Father always told me to go after what I wanted." It was odd for her to even speak of him, or either of her parents for that matter, which earned a questioning look from her roommates.
On that note, the room was drowned in silence. The only sound being the erratic breathing of the youngest fighter while Clarke finished checking over the last of her injuries. Everyone felt the weight of the last spoken words, and it dampened the playfulness of the last half hour.
Lexa, fed up with the seemingly limitless weirdness that had plagued the night, shot up off the bench and started to march toward the exit of the locker room. "If any of you dumb people plan on getting home without having to call a cab, you'll be out front in five." Without bothering to wait, she stormed off, ready for this night to be over immediately. New people drive me...nuts. Not a minute later the love of her life came up behind her, grabbing her hand as she fell into step.
"You okay babe? Seemed kinda tense back there." The blue-eyed woman pointed out. "I know you're not exactly comfortable with Octavia and Camila yet, but you'll warm up to them. I'm not asking you to trust them with your deepest secrets or anything, okay?" The sports model jested.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Lexa looked at the woman beside her. Reminded that she was the light of her life, and before they had met, her world was decidedly less wonderful. Rolling her eyes for the nth time that evening, she gave in. "Sure, okay. But I'm getting plastered as payment for this torture."
"Fair enough, I love it when you have no inhibitions." Laughing easily at her girlfriend. "You act less like a bottom when you get some liquid courage in you."
At this, the fighter blushed slightly. Clarke wasn't wrong, it just bugged her that it was such a bad thing to want her woman to take charge. In everyday life, Lexa protected the blue-eyed beauty, and did everything she could for her to let her and everyone else know that she loved Clarke with her entire being. But when it came to the more intimate part of their lives, she longed to be taken care of by one of the only people she trusted. Trust was hard, the idea of it incredibly unappealing to the older woman. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for your love."
Such a bottom, Clarke silently thought. God did she love it though. It balanced their relationship well. She wasn't helpless when it came to difficult situations; she just knew that it made Lexa feel more comfortable if dealing with it. As a result, it was more natural for Clarke to take the lead in their more private life, or in this case, social situations. No more words were exchanged between the two as they made their way to their car.
Back in the locker room, Octavia was having a little trouble keeping the smaller Raven upright. She had little coordination due to the painkillers she had taken a little while ago, and by now they had become more potent. "Hey, you need to help me out here birdie. You're a lot heavier than you look with all the amazing muscle and stuff." She took a second to look at Raven's face, only to be met with her piercing eyes. Unable to catch her breath, or break the stare, she resolved to force out some words. "You should, uh, maybe pay more a-attention to your, um, feet. D-don't want to having you t-tripping, and f-falling." Smooth, O, real smooth.
"But I like looking at your face. It's ass- asstet-"
"The phrase goes 'aesthetically pleasing' num nuts." Lauren interrupted. Tired of watching the nauseatingly cute exchange between the younger girls. Making a vomit action using her hand, and sound effect with her mouth. "And would you get out of here before I scoop your lazy ass up and drop-kick you to the car? You're giving me a headache with all the clumsy flirting and goo-goo eyes."
"She seems to be getting more than you are hellhound." Camila stealthily commented. At the moment, it was amusing to see the fighter's reaction to the affectionate show between Raven and Octavia. Outwardly she had just claimed that she hated it, but Camila would bet the she was actually enjoying it. Lauren seemed the type to want to be surrounded by happiness, even if she would never admit to it willingly. What a mystery you are. Maybe she would be able to figure her out someday. The idea of that possibility brought a shy smile on her face.
"See you're wrong there pretty girl number two," Raven started. "Green eyes has a new girl every week."
The taller fighter shot a seething death glare at the shorter one. If looks could kill, Raven Reyes would be very dead. Now Camila was going to run for the hills. It wasn't exactly untrue, but that didn't mean she wanted the brown-eyed girl to know about it. Better to keep that fact to herself. She didn't make it a habit to share her tendencies with potential conquests. Because she's just a body, just like every one before her and every one after, just a body. Man this was tiring, and they hadn't spent an entire day together yet. Now she wasn't sure if she was ready for such an undertaking. Don't fool yourself Laur, you want her bad. Fucking hell.
"What's that you said Raven?" Camila asked, genuinely not having heard the smaller girl.
"Lauren over he-"
"Shorty was just rambling. She has no filter once the T3s get into her system. Don't worry about it." Lauren shot a meaningful look at the younger fighter, urging her to keep her yap shut. There was no need to imply that there would be physical consequences for any further infractions. Thankfully, the message was received without any need for more threats of violence. Being surrounded by so many people was exhausting on the best of days, tonight was a whole other ballgame.
"Well, we're just going to leave you two to it." Octavia said to both the other women, hoping to get out of the room before the girl draped over her said anything else to get her in trouble. Addressing Camila Octavia reminded her that she would be out front in about fifteen minutes with her car. Shortly after, with a few stumbles and grunts of exertion, the photographer and the smallest fighter had exited the sexually charged room.
"What a group of friends we're going to make." Camila quietly commented, probably meaning only for her to hear. Of course, being confined in a relatively small space with great acoustics, the green-eyed woman heard every word. How wonderful. Might as well go all the way now. "I'm pretty sure after that interaction that Clarke, Octavia, and Raven are the only people of this little family that aren't annoyed by me." Great, had to go with your insecurities. Could you get any less smooth?
"I wouldn't say that. I mean, no doubt, Lexa hates your guts. But you're a lucky human being if that girl doesn't want to kill you on site when she first meets you. So, you did pretty well with her. As for me, I'm not too appalled by your presence. Actually, your playfulness is refreshing. Plus that smile could make me less of a cynic if I keep seeing it." Whoops. That last part came out of it's own accord. At least she didn't say anything about her mesmerizing cocoa eyes. They were her real defining physical feature. Lauren couldn't bring her self to keep steady eye contact; it was more like fleeting glances in her general direction. She didn't want to come off as rude, but the fighter had difficulty being in the other girl's company.
"That makes me feel better about myself. I'm usually super awkward, and weird, and it scares people off pretty quickly. Making friends isn't my forte. Nor is confidence... So, thanks I guess." The younger Latina wasn't sure what else to say. She meant every word, but it was like it came out of her mouth before she could censor herself. You don't say things like this to people you've only known for an hour, tops. And yet, Lauren felt so familiar. Her smile, the way the raven haired woman couldn't look at her for too long, the slight huff she let out when one of her friends made a crack at her expense. All of it was so warm, and Camila felt safe. She thought to herself happily, you feel safe. What a great feeling it was too.
A/N: HELLO BABIES,
I've been trying so hard not to spill the beans about this for the past week, but the time has come. This is our, yes our, coping mechanism for Jason's betrayal to our SMOL BEAN Lexa. Also Camren and Octaven are in here too so that makes the world that much brighter.
Cute times to come <3
-Chantelle and Ocean