Chapter Text
The sky was speckled with stars, the black canvas dotted with silver as it acted as the backdrop of the San Francisco skyline. Below, the streets were still bustling with excitement, likely younger adults as they engaged in various forms of night-life entertainment. Lexa observed all of this as she stood looking out the windows of the apartment. She watched with intelligent, inquisitive eyes. The corners of both shimmering green orbs were slightly wrinkled, the only other obvious signs of age being the few additional frown lines. Her body had maintained its lithe, lean-muscled state, after years and years of rigorous exercise and a career that required both sharp wit and physical prowess.
The summer heat permeated the expanse of the living room, bathing the area with an invisible, roguish tongue that was unrelenting and punishing, even with the air conditioning on full blast.
Her footsteps were quiet as she gently transferred her weight from one leg to the other. She was careful, her ears pricked as she listened. Then the bundle in her arms shifted slightly, and she smiled. Her eyes gazed down at the young, innocent creature in her arms.
Her daughter wriggled in her sleep, her face scrunching up in rebellion, and Lexa gently stroked the babe's cheek with a careful index finger. Silently, she doted on her, rocking gently from side-to-side as she lulled the child to a reluctant slumber that Lexa knew Clarke desperately needed more than anything.
When at last she had fallen into a deep sleep, Lexa returned the babe to her crib. She kissed her on the forehead, her lips brushing smooth, unmarred skin in an almost prayerful manner. Her eyes drifted over her, making sure she was resting comfortably before she finally left her to do that which was her job; to sleep and to grow, to one day become the most brilliant, intelligent individual the universe has ever seen.
The tired woman had just returned home, the door just closing with finality when she had heard her daughter's cries in the darkness of the apartment. Knowing that Clarke would likely be exhausted after a very harrowing few days of graveyard shifts, Lexa had dutifully attended to her little princess without complaint, her black and white uniform chafing her on the neck as it always did.
As she set her daughter down to bed, Lexa dragged her feet at the babe's door, her eyes watching the sleeping child with such tender affection that it almost rivalled her love for Clarke. Almost. With a small smile playing at her lips, the brunette set off to shower, to rid herself of the dirt and grime of the office, of the concrete jungle that she now officially called her home.
Her hair still wet from the shower, Lexa crawled into bed, the mattress dipping under her weight as she joined her wife. She shifted up behind Clarke, who lay on her side, facing the window and the lights below. Her arm looped gently at her waist, kissing her wife's cheek in greeting. "The babe's asleep."
Clarke hummed, her eyes closed. Lexa rested her head on the pillows, breathing in the scent of Clarke's shampooed hair, of the smell that she had identified as inherently Clarke in all its ways. "I love you." She whispered, and Clarke smiled, though her eyes remained shut.
"I love you too, you big softie." Clarke responded, and she turned in Lexa's arms to face her. Lexa made a face at this new term of endearment.
"Excuse me, 'big softie'?" Lexa questioned gruffly. "I am anything but." Clarke laughed quietly, then shifted so that their noses brushed.
"Our daughter has you wrapped around her finger." Clarke said. "Not to mention you would do anything for me."
Lexa scoffed, but there was the glint of a smile in her eyes, though she hid the urge to turn up the corners of her mouth by scowling. "I wouldn't do anything for you." She argued weakly. Lexa tapped an index finger on her chin in thought, then said: "I wouldn't murder for you."
"Really?" Clarke glanced at her skeptically. "Are you forgetting the incident with the Cardassian two years ago?" Clarke countered, her hand resting on the back of Lexa's neck, massaging the worn muscle and tendon there.
Lexa frowned, then the corner of her mouth quirked. "Okay, you've got me there." She conceded, and she closed her eyes as Clarke continued the ministrations on her neck and shoulders.
They existed in this easy, peaceful quiet, with Lexa relaxing completely as Clarke's other hand moved to stroke her cheek gently, tracing the scar that began on her right temple and continued diagonally down her left cheekbone, ending at the corner of her jaw. Lexa tensed at her touch there, but then what fingers began, lips continued the journey, soothing the old wound with a loving, reverent adoration as she admired the evidence of Lexa's love for Clarke.
"How was your day at the office?" Clarke asked quietly, breaking the wordless, peaceful air between them. Lexa sighed at the mention of it, and the tension that had begun dissipating at her neck and shoulders seemed to return with a passionate fury.
"I swear if I have to sit through another tribunal about some pig-headed cadet without the slightest shred of common sense I'm going to drive Jaha's gavel through my temple." She huffed.
"You big baby." Clarke said in mock sympathy, though she did give Lexa a feather-light kiss on the lips. "I told you not to take that promotion." Lexa only growled in annoyance, her eyes opening to meet Clarke's teasing gaze.
"Don't even go there," Lexa countered, "You were just complaining about your mother's overbearing attitude at the hospital yesterday." Clarke pinched the skin on Lexa's neck lightly, delivering her best disapproving frown.
"Please don't talk about my mother right now." She groaned, and she shuffled to rest her forehead against Lexa's collarbone. Lexa let out a hoarse chuckle.
"Lexa 1, Clarke 0." One of her hands vacated their customary position on Clarke's waist and pumped a fist in the air in victory. Despite herself, Clarke chuckled at her wife's playful attitude.
"It is not 1-nothing, I had won at least 3 rounds of this before you just scored a meager one point." Clarke argued teasingly, her lips brushing the skin at Lexa's sternum as she spoke.
Lexa blew the air from between her lips noisily, and she rolled them both so that she was hovering above Clarke, fixing her with an imperious gaze. "Clarke, are you challenging my reputation as an honest person?" She asked in a serious tone. Clarke saw right through it though, and the grin on her face only widened.
"Yup, what are you gonna do about it, punk?" Clarke tilted her chin upward in a challenging motion, and Lexa fought hard to maintain a serious expression. The blonde's hair was splayed out haphazardly on the pillow, the lights of the neighboring buildings illuminating the mischievous smirk on her face and the twitching of her nose in amusement. She was breathtaking, and she was Lexa's, just as much as Lexa was powerless as she met Clarke's playful blue eyes.
"Guess I'm going to have to teach you a lesson." She finally murmured, and Clarke's eyes only shone brighter at the declaration of war.
"I hope you brought your A-game Admiral Woods, I haven't been taught anything in ages." She flirted, winking at the woman whose face only hovered centimeters above her own. Lexa rolled her eyes at the comment, dipping down to connect their lips.
When she pulled away slightly, Lexa cocked an eyebrow at her. "Don't exaggerate, it hasn't been ages."
"Lexa, please, it's been days since we've even, you know," Clarke wiggled both eyebrows. "And especially with Tris's new sleep schedule-"
"Okay fine." Lexa said, resigned as she knew that she simply would not win this battle. Instead, she concerned herself with her current situation, with the placement of her hands, which drifted down to the waistband of Clarke's underwear, finding her wife more than ready.
----
Lexa watched with amusement as Raven held Tris up to her face, inspecting her with squinting brown eyes as she stood stock-still in the middle of the living room. The engineering officer seemed to be looking at the baby as a curator would an old historical artifact, as if searching for the slightest sign of imperfection. Raven even held her delicately, as if she was unsure, afraid she would damage the child that she held between her two mortal hands.
"Raven, are you done manhandling my grandchild?" Abby asked from her seat at the dining table. Octavia and Lincoln at Abby's side of the table, while across from the trio were Anya and Bellamy. Lexa occupied the third seat, while Echo and Costia occupied the leather couch awaiting their turn to fawn over the six-month-old baby.
"Mom, you were just holding her for the past two hours." Clarke said as she returned from the kitchen island, handing Abby the glass of wine the older woman had requested.
"Yes, but that's because she's the fruit of my fruit, and she's adorable." Abby sniffed. Lexa, who sat across from her mother-in-law, smiled at the metaphor, while her wife cringed in opposition.
"Fruit of my fruit?" She repeated almost disbelievingly as she reclaimed her spot beside Lexa, who casually draped her arm over the back of Clarke's chair.
"Yes." Abby affirmed, and Clarke just sighed, leaning against Lexa's shoulder in defeat.
"I think that's a great title." Octavia piped up with a shit-eating grin, and Lexa knew that her wife was fighting the urge to flip off the other woman. Lexa placed a calming hand on Clarke's thigh, and the blonde visibly relaxed. Clarke smiled tenderly at Lexa and peppered the brunette's jaw with two hasty kisses.
"Octavia, stop starting fights you won't win, especially now." Lincoln reprimanded her casually in his long-suffering tone.
"I'm pregnant, not dead." Octavia huffed, and Lexa chuckled.
"Yea sis, listen to your husband, you don't want to unintentionally hurt my little nephew." Bellamy added placatingly, a gleeful expression plastered on his face even as he spoke of his soon-to-be-coming kin. Octavia's irate gaze swiveled to her brother, and she cracked the knuckles of her left hand menacingly.
"You know what, maybe you should shove it up your –"
"Okay!" Lexa intervened loudly, though her green eyes glittered with amusement at the exchange. "Why don't we all take it down a notch, try not to upset my girl." Octavia grunted in acknowledgement, and instead leaned back against her chair, with Lincoln kissing her cheek in a soothing manner.
Anya decided to speak up then, and she turned to Clarke. "So how are things at the hospital? Must be quite the change of scenery since the promotion." The blonde smiled and nodded, also willing to change the subject.
"Yes, I guess it is." She grinned at Anya. "But then again, being head of trauma only brings you up once floor in the building."
"And closer to me." Abby added, and Lexa coughed into her fist as she felt Clarke's posture tense up minutely and her hand dropped down to grip the brunette tightly on the leg. The action did not catch the attention of the rest of the group, but Lexa gave a low whine of pain that certainly had Lincoln flit up to her face in question. She shook her head ever so slightly, and he directed his gaze away to Abby once more.
"So what is your title, now that Clarke has taken over trauma?" Anya turned to Abby with interest.
"Chief of Surgery." Abby stated casually. "It was only a matter of time until I got the job." She said nonchalantly.
"And no one is more deserving of it." Lexa commented casually, through gritted teeth as she attempted to pry Clarke's hand off of her thigh.
"Hey, Admiral hot-shot!" Echo's good-natured voice cut through the tension at the dining table, with all gazes directed to the living room where the woman held Tris out towards her parents. "Tris needs to be changed." She announced with all the pomp that came typically with royalty or old money.
The dramatics certainly had Lexa and Anya rolling their eyes, but before Clarke pushed up from her chair, Costia stood from the couch. "It's okay, let me." She offered, and when Lexa shot her friend a grateful look, Costia did well on her suggestion, taking Tris from Echo's outstretched arms.
Raven and Echo made their way back to their previously abandoned chairs at the table while Costia disappeared into the nursery, and Clarke settled back against Lexa's warm shoulder.
"I forget that she's already done this several times." Echo said conversationally as she reached out to take a gulp of her beer.
"Well she's certainly much more comfortable around small children than you and Raven are." Clarke agreed, and Lexa nodded.
"Yup, Costia's basically been here ever since we brought Tris home." Lexa confirmed. "She's the godmother, she's got to be familiar with this by now, and if not, we might be looking for a replacement." She added jokingly, and Clarke nudged her on the ribs with an elbow.
"Yea I'm still pissed about that appointment." Anya interjected, though her voice had a line of teasing as she crossed her arms in mock-anger.
"You don't even like children." Lincoln snorted, and Anya cracked a smile.
"Fine, you raise a valid point." She stretched out her arms to the sky, yawning. "Well, look at that," She gestured out towards the dark night sky. When they had all arrived it had been midday. "Guess I should be going, got a lecture to teach bright and early tomorrow."
"We should probably head home too." Lincoln added, standing from his chair and shuffling to Octavia's side, in preparation to aid her in rising. "This one gets cranky when she doesn't have a full nine-hours." He reported in a teasing voice.
"You're going to pay for that later." Octavia warned him, though she took his offered hand anyway as she stood, struggling around the swell of her belly.
----
Abby, Bellamy, and Raven later joined the others in the journey home, though theirs were much later, after assisting Clarke and Lexa in cleaning up. Meanwhile Echo had wandered off to the nursery to check on Costia and the baby.
Clarke finally sat down at the couch, exhausted from all the company. Echo and Costia played with Tris a few meters away, having pushed the ottoman out of the way. Lexa joined her a few minutes later after seeing off Abby, then Bellamy and Raven.
Abby had kissed Tris on the forehead, then her own daughter before she left. "I'll see you at work next week hon." She said, and Clarke had nodded stiffly. At the conclusion of their conversation, Lexa had walked Abby to the door, and as they stood at the threshold Abby had turned to the younger woman.
"I assume you remember our conversation in the hospital," She began, and at Lexa's nod, she resumed her sentence, "Then in light of your recent parenthood, do you understand now?"
"I think I understood years ago." Lexa answered quietly, her hands in her pockets as she met Abby's gaze. Abby stared long and hard at her for a few passing heartbeats, and then finally she nodded at the steadfastness, of the steely gaze that met hers evenly.
"I never liked you when you first started up with Clarke, but now," Abby paused, glancing towards the living room where her daughter laughed at Costia and Echo's antics as they made Tris giggle with elation. "Now, I think you might be the only one who was ever worthy of my daughter." She offered the younger woman a small, tentative smile, which Lexa returned.
"Thank you Abby." Lexa held out her hand for the woman to shake, but she was surprised when Abby moved forward and embraced her. It was not a bone-crushing hug, nor was it a friendly, warm embrace either. Rather, it was light, cautious, and when the other woman moved away, Lexa accepted it and nodded.
"Goodbye Lexa." Abby said before turning on her heel, exiting as quietly as she had first came.
"Well that's an interesting development." Bellamy said at Lexa's left. She chuckled and nodded.
"Yes it is." She turned to him. "Are you heading out now then?"
"Yup, Raven's raring to get home." Lexa grinned as she glanced at the man.
"You know, I still don't get how she's with you." She commented, and he punched her on the shoulder.
"Hey, I am attractive you know."
"A man who is confident in his physical appearance would never have to defend themselves." Lexa jibed, and Bellamy rolled his eyes.
"Okay smart-ass." He said gruffly, though he could not stifle the grin tugging at his lips. It was at that moment that Raven walked up behind him, jabbing him hard in the small of his back.
"Hey dork, ready to go?" Bellamy scowled, but then she kissed his cheek, and he glanced sheepishly at Lexa, mollified. The brunette, who stood leaning against the walls of the hallway, chuckled.
"Get out of here you two, and get a room that isn't mine." She quipped, and no sooner had those words been loosed from her jaw had the couple bolted from the apartment with an electricity and an urgency that left little to the imagination.
Lexa shook her head, closing the door with a click before she made her way back to the living room. She collapsed next to Clarke on the couch, leaning against her wife with a loud exhalation.
Tris, who had been lying prostrate on her back, giggling as Costia rolled a small replica of a Hyundai Veloster up and down her stomach, caught sight of her mother. Both of her chubby arms reached out in the air towards Lexa, making grabbing movements with her little hands.
"Aww she wants her mom!" Echo said, her voice high-pitched in excitement. She fixed Clarke with a teasing gaze. "She didn't do that to you when you sat down."
"Shut up." Clarke said good-naturedly, running her hands through tangled strands of blonde hair. "Besides, she knows Lexa will let her do whatever she wants." She added in an almost disapproving tone as her wife moved from the couch to join the other two women and her daughter on the hardwood floor.
"That's not true." Lexa protested as she tickled the child on her stomach with light fingers. She knew the instant the words flew from her mouth that her defense was in vain, and Echo confirmed it.
"Please girl, you're whipped!" She cackled, and Costia and Clarke joined in her laughter while Lexa made a face. Instead, the brunette looked down at her daughter and bopped her gently on the nose.
"Don't pay attention to the present company princess, they're nuts!" She said to Tris, who giggled.
"Nope, don't listen to your mom." Costia interjected. "Lex, even before Tris was born you were whipped." She dipped her chin towards Clarke. "Except it was to blondie over here."
Clarke chuckled at the expression of mock-outrage on Lexa's face, and she couldn't bear it anymore; she was not quite sure if it was the hormones talking, but her loving, doting wife was getting more and more attractive by the second, and she just had to pounce. She shuffled forward from the couch and kissed Lexa heatedly on the lips, then again, taking her bottom lip between her teeth and nipping it before the brunette could even react.
When she finally shifted backwards, Lexa's eyes were shut as she reveled in the feel of Clarke's lips on hers, frozen in place at the sudden loss of contact. When she definitively seemed to come to her senses, with her eyes still closed, Lexa announced: "Costia, Echo, please go on a walk, and take Tris with you." She said in a low, lust-filled voice.
Echo and Costia were already scrambling to their feet, with Costia scooping up the child in a mad frenzy to avoid seeing what carnal acts were about to take place.
They had only just skirted it, for as the door closed loudly, Clarke had already freed herself of her clothes, feverish hands reaching out to Lexa to help her do the same.