Lexa had never been very good at holding her breath, but in those next few antagonizing minutes as she stared at a shocked Abby Griffin, she was certain she'd set a new personal record. She looked cautiously from the wide-eyed woman to the nervous blonde a few feet behind her. Clarke caught Lexa's gaze and gingerly took a step forward, reaching out and brushing her mom's shoulder.
"Mom, this is not what it looks li-" she was cut off as Abby suddenly exploded with laughter. Lexa's eyebrows scrunched together as she watched Mrs. Griffin double over, clutching the counter as peals of her laughter sounded through the bathroom.
"Mom?" Clarke was thoroughly confused as she tried to calm her mother down. The two girls stared at each other over the hysterical woman's hunched shoulders, Lexa mouthing "What is happening?"
Abby took a deep breath, somewhat composed herself, and stood to face her daughter. "Oh, I'm sorry Clarke. It's just, I always knew you weren't straight. But this," she laughed, motioning towards a still half-dressed Lexa, "this is one hell of a way to find out."
As she watched Mrs. Griffin attempt to keep herself composed, Lexa could barely stifle her own laughter. Abby was right, this was a pretty amusing situation. Clarke shot her a warning glare the second she giggled, causing her to swallow her laugh and clear her throat.
"Uh, Mrs. Griffin?" Lexa asked cautiously. Abby turned to her, her face now serious despite the amusement left in her eyes. Lexa took in her sharp, authoritative features, noting that she had the same intimidating qualities as her daughter. She slowly offered her hand in front of her, silently begging the older woman to have mercy on her.
Abby grabbed Lexa's hand, shaking it with a warm smile that eased the young girl a bit. "Um, I'm Lexa..." she stated.
Abby nodded her head, "Nice to meet you, Lexa. I'm Clarke's mother, you can call me Abby. And Lexa?" Lexa raised her eyebrows in question.
"You're aware you are shirtless?" Abby asked seriously.
Lexa looked down, having completely forgotten about her lack of clothing. She gasped, reaching a hand up to the front of her bra in a vain attempt to conceal herself.
Clarke quickly hopped in between Lexa and her mom, grabbing the older woman by the shoulders. "Okay, Mom, thank you I'm sure she's very aware of that. Why don't we all go into the living room so we can't talk and Lexa could maybe, you know, get clothed?"
Lexa offered a sheepish smile as Abby looked her over once before nodding at her daughter.
"That sounds like a good idea. After you, Lexa." Abby motioned for the girl to exit before her. Clarke shot an apologetic look at the brunette as she shuffled her way out of the bathroom and immediately towards the laundry room to retrieve her shirt.
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"So, Lexa, would you care to explain why you were hanging out, half-naked, in my daughter's bathroom?" Abby confronted, flopping down in the chair across from Lexa.
The girl, now fully clothed, chuckled nervously, rubbing her palms down her pants. "Well, I, uh..."
"She was here last night for Raven's party. Because she was the only one sober at the time, she escorted everyone out and then slept here so she could help me clean up in the morning. When I woke up, everything was spotless and she'd cooked us breakfast. In my graceful nature, I accidentally spilled coffee all over her shirt, so she took it off for me to wash while she finished the dishes. That was when you showed up, and she had to scurry into the bathroom to avoid confrontation, which, I suppose, ended up being pointless seeing as here we are now, being confronted," Clarke snapped at her mother as she set down her mug of coffee and sat next to Lexa on the sofa.
Lexa glanced at Clarke, noting her tense expression. Clarke could feel her mom glaring at her a few feet away, but she continued to ignore her and stared down at the carpet. Lexa sighed out loud, realizing the women were going to glare at each other until someone intervened. She gingerly rested her hand on Clarke's knee, not wanting to be disrespectful of Abby's presence but still wanting the blonde to know it was all right.
"Clarke, it's okay. If I were your mom, I'd be a bit confrontational as well" Lexa spoke softly to Clarke, calming the girl's nerves. Then, she turned to Mrs. Griffin, who, amazingly, still managed to have a smile plastered on her face despite the tenseness of the atmosphere.
"Lexa, I really appreciate you helping Clarke out last night, especially taking into consideration how intoxicated she probably was.." Lexa barely refrained from laughing when Clarke rolled her eyes at her mom like a teenager.
"Okay, you know what, Mom? I'm of-age. I'm an adult. I'm allowed to drink. You don't need to act like I'm some irresponsible child who needs baby-sat all the time. We can't all be perfect like Lexa." Clarke spat, though she immediately regretted saying it when Lexa stiffened and pulled her hand away from her knee. She remembered what Lexa had previously said about herself, "I'm broken." Lexa wasn't perfect, she was scarred.
Clarke exhaled loudly and tried to look over at the brunette, though she was just staring politely at her mom. She groaned, lolling her head back on the couch. "Okay, I'm going to use the bathroom. I'll be back" Clarke sighed, pushing herself up off the couch. As she passed her mom, she whispered, "Be nice."
As the door shut behind Clarke, Abby grinned at Lexa, who mirrored the warm smile. "So, you weren't drinking last night?" Abby inquired.
Lexa shook her head slowly, "That's correct. I don't drink, like ever, actually." Please don't ask why, please don't ask why...
"Hmm, wow. That's pretty respectable. May I ask, why?" Lexa inwardly groaned. She had two choices: Tell the truth, or be dismissive of the question like she usually is. She considered the fact that she really liked Clarke, and she wanted to make a good impression on her mother. That in mind, she took a deep breath and leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees.
"I usually don't tell people this straightforward, but I want you to feel comfortable with me because, honestly, I really like Clarke and I want you to trust me with her, so, here we go. Basically, I lost my dad at a young age and my mom was supposed to take care of me. But, she was an alcoholic and usually found a fifth of vodka more valuable than me. Eventually, I was taken from her, put into the foster system, and never saw her again. After bouncing through multiple homes, I landed in one that was temporarily stable and I was able to try and track her down. I found out she'd been driving home one night, drunk out of her mind, had gotten into an accident, and died on impact. So, basically, I have addiction in my family and I don't want to end up like her. I want to amount to something, you know? Be successful. I don't want to drink my life away."
Abby listened carefully, nodding her head as she watched Lexa talk. She could see the passion in her eyes when the girl spoke of her future and doing something with her life. This was definitely a girl Clarke could learn a few lessons from.
"You know what, Lexa? I like you. I hope you and Clarke grow close because I think you two could really benefit from each other" Abby said with a smile.
Lexa beamed at Abby, glad to be making a good impression. "Thank you, I hope so too, honestly" Lexa laughed.
Abby nodded again, studying the girl in front of her. She checked over her shoulder to see if Clarke was still gone. Upon noticing the still-closed bathroom door, Abby leaned in closer to Lexa and dropped her voice to a whisper.
"Do you mind me asking, what type of relationship, exactly, is going on here because I was never able to truly decipher when Clarke liked someone, so..."
Lexa laughed quietly then realized she didn't really know what to answer. They weren't dating. They were just...good friends? Who occasionally made out?
Lexa sighed and ran a hand through her dark curls, catching it in the hair at the back of her neck where Clarke's fingers had tangled it just that morning. Yeah, good friends.
"Honestly, Mrs. Griffin, I'm not sure yet. We haven't known each other for a very long time, so it's hard to tell just yet, you know? All I know is this: I see something in Clarke that I've never seen before. I see an empowered, confident, somewhat naive young woman who isn't afraid to say what she thinks. Clarke is one of those rare people who just makes my day that much brighter and, in my life, it's usually pretty dark all the time. So, whatever happens here, with us, I hope it's good because I feel like Clarke just makes me a better version of me, and I happen to like that version a lot better than the old one."
Abby smiled at Lexa and nodded. She didn't know the girl that well, but she could already tell this was someone Clarke needed in her life. And she was ready to give any support needed to make sure that happened.
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"Clarke just makes me a better version of me, and I happen to like that version a lot better than the old one."
Clarke stood, ear pressed up against the bathroom door, suppressing a squeal. She hadn't even needed to use the bathroom, she just wanted to test Lexa and see how she handled her mom one-on-one. From what Clarke just heard, she not only passed, but just earned herself a spot on Abigail Griffin's V.I.P list.
At this point, Clarke assumed she'd been in the bathroom for an inappropriate amount of time and someone was going to notice soon. She rubbed her palms on her cheeks where they hurt from smiling and slowly opened the bathroom door, plastering her signature indifferent expression back on her face.
It was hard to remain indifferent, however, when she saw the grin on Lexa's face. She wanted to freeze time and keep that smile there forever. Or, at least, long enough for her to sketch it out in her notebook to look at all the time.
Clarke cleared her throat as she approached the two women. Lexa smiled up at her and Clarke gave up on acting indifferent. The light in Lexa's eyes was so bright Clarke thought she must be looking at the stars themselves, because she was sure nothing could ever be brighter. She silently apologized for what she'd said about her being perfect, and either Lexa didn't notice, or didn't care because she stood up and reached out for Clarke's hand.
The blonde grabbed Lexa's small hand in her own and pulled her a bit closer so their shoulders were touching as they turned to see a smiling Abby standing before them.
"Well, girls, it's been eventful. Sadly, I have lunch plans to attend to. Clarke, it was nice to see you again and, please, call more often, would you?" Clarke laughed and pulled her mom in for a warm embrace.
"I will, Mom. I love you," Clarke whispered into her Mom's hair.
"I love you too, honey. And of course, Lexa dear. It was so nice meeting you. I expect to be seeing you soon, okay?" Abby smiled, pulling Lexa in for a tight hug, as well.
Lexa laughed into Abby's shoulder. "Okay, Mrs. Griffin, I promise. It was nice meeting you too."
"Alrighty then, I'll be going," Abby called as she pulled away and made her way down the hall, grabbing her belongings as she went. Lexa and Clarke followed behind her, smiling as Abby held open the apartment door.
"Bye girls!" Abby exclaimed as she closed the door behind her. Clarke chuckled to herself as she locked the door behind the woman, turning to Lexa.
"Well...that was, interesting," Lexa laughed as she bent over and readjusted the shoes by the front door, arranging them in a perfectly straight line.
Clarke watched Lexa's chocolate hair fall over her face as the girl bent down. The sunlight baked the brunette's skin, giving her a celestial glow. Clarke couldn't stop staring at the girl, taking in every feature and curve of her body. She didn't even hear what Lexa was saying, all she could focus on was just how beautiful she was.
"Hey Lexa?" Clarke asked absently, staring into the girl's deep green irises as Lexa looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Hmm?" the brunette asked. Her question dragged out into a hum as Clarke pressed her lips against Lexa's roughly. She grabbed the taller girl's hips and pulled her in as close as possible until they were pressed up against each other. She still wasn't satisfied, though, and decided on backing Lexa up against the wall to push herself even father into her.
Lexa rested her hands on either side of Clarke's face, holding on tightly as their lips pulled and pushed against each other. This wasn't a desperate, heated kiss. This was a passionate, loving kiss. This was the the kind of kiss that two people shared when words couldn't do justice to their feelings.
Clarke wasn't sure why she kissed Lexa like that, and Lexa wasn't sure why she kissed Clarke back in the same way. Though it terrified both girls to be so vulnerable and open with another person, all they wanted to do was keep kissing each other that way, so deeply, so passionately, so gently.
And so they did, for several minutes following, they remained that way, open and vulnerable in each other's arms.
Little did they know, Abby Griffin was on the other side of the door, grinning to herself as she walked away from her daughter's apartment, deciding to let the two girls be in their own moment just for now.
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