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Clarke and Lexa have known each other for as long as they can remember. Their dads served in the Navy together and stayed close friends after Lexa’s father retired to settle down with his fiancee. So naturally, when Clarke’s father wanted to settle down with his wife and one-year-old daughter, he chose Arkadia. Which was where his best friend had settled down as well.
The two families were neighbors and when Jake Griffin was deployed and Abby Griffin was working overnight at the hospital, Clarke would stay with the Woods’. The two girls became close fast, having playdates every weekend and hanging out together whenever they could. In the fall they played soccer together and in the spring they played basketball. During the summer, they basically lived at each other's house. The two girls were inseparable.
Clarke was one year older than Lexa so when Lexa was a first-grader Clarke was a second-grader. The two found it tough because they couldn't see each other all day every day. But luckily for them, they had the same recess. Where you could find them swinging together or playing wall-ball together.
One day, Lexa was standing and waiting for Clarke to come out from the restroom when Roan Winter came over to her. He was a third-grader and also a whole head taller then Lexa was.
He towered over her with a gleam in his eye. He was known to be mean but Lexa never had a problem with him before.
“Well, well, well. Little Lexa without Clarkie.” He sneered at her.
“Go away Roan,” Lexa huffed. The boy’s smile dropped and his eyes looked cold.
“I just wanna play.” He said as he shoved her against the brick wall. Lexa fell to the ground from the shove as she wasn't very heavy. Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled.
“Get away from her!” Came a shout from somewhere behind Lexa. Roan looked up and he saw fury in the blonde girl’s eyes.
Roan rolled his eyes, “Whatever Clarke, I was just playing around.”
“No you weren't, you were being mean and a bully.” She spits the words at him, fists clenched. No one was going to shove her best friend and get away with it.
“Clarke..” Lexa looked up at her friend and saw her hand up cocked above her shoulder, she was going to punch the icy blue-eyed boy. “Just leave it, I'm fine.” Clarke looked down at her friend, her eyes softening. She nodded and lowered her fist.
Roan laughed as he was turning to leave. And then before anyone could register what was happening, Clarke’s fist collided with the boy's jaw.
The boy crumpled to the ground which finally caught the attention of the teachers on the playground, and one of them rushed over. “What’s going on here?”
“Sh-she hit me,” Roan whined from the ground.
“Miss. Griffin is that correct?” The aid looked at the standing blonde girl.
“Yes, Ms. Vie.” Clarke looked down, ashamed that she let her emotions get the best of her. “But only because he shoved Lexa.” She gestured to the brunette who was now standing too, dusting off her pants. The brunette girl nodded in agreement with Clarke when the teacher looked at her.
“Very well,” the teacher said. “All of you will come with me to the principal to sort this matter out.” She turned on her heel and walked back to the building. Roan stood and followed with Lexa and Clarke following from a distance away.
“Thanks,” Lexa whispered to Clarke. Clarke looked over and nodded.
“Anytime”.
Clarke sat on her bed after school one day reading a book about space, one of her favorite past times, when Lexa barged in and flopped onto the end of Clarke’s bed.
“I'm in love Clarke.” Lexa swooned as she draped an arm over her forehead in a dramatic way.
Clarke rolled her eyes, “Oh really?” She didn't close her book because she knew Lexa was just being her dramatic self.
“I'm serious Clarke, there is a new kid in class who's super cute. And I think I love them.” Lexa said scooting to sit by Clarke.
“Have you even talked to this person?” Clarke questioned finally closing her book to look at Lexa.
Lexa sighed and huffed while crossing her arms over her chest, “Well no, but..” She trailed off unsure how to finish.
“Okay, tell me his name? Do you even know it?”
“Umm, well first off it's not a boy.” Lexa looked away from Clarke, a blush coating her features unsure how the blonde would react.
Clarke’s eyes widened at her news. Lexa, her best friend, had feelings for a girl. And those feelings were for another girl, and not Clarke. Clarke cleared her throat, but her voice was still raspy as her words passed the lump in her throat, “That’s perfectly fine Lexa, you don't have to be ashamed of your feelings.”
Lexa smiled wide, “Good because she is so beautiful and her eyes are so brown like chocolate and her hair is curly and..” Lexa rambled on for thirty minutes while Clarke nodded along trying to focus on Lexa’s big news and not on the fact that Lexa most likely would never have feelings for her.
Over the years, Saturdays became Clarke and Lexa only days. This Saturday, in particular, had started a bit differently, however. Lexa had been feeling under the weather all week and really didn't want to come over. But Clarke asked nicely, so she bent and came over. Even though her stomach had felt like someone was stabbing her since Thursday.
They started with Mean Girls, Clarke had already seen it, since at this time she was 14. But Lexa recently turned 13, so her parents finally would let her watch the movie.
The movie was pretty good, but halfway through, Lexa’s pain worsened. She realized that the fetal position made the pain better so she laid her head on Clarke’s thighs and scrunched her legs up into her torso. Lexa sighed, finally some relief from the pain.
Clarke was surprised when Lexa did this, of course, they had cuddled before. But this felt different for some reason. Maybe it was because this was on purpose and not on accident. Which had happened a few times when Lexa would fall asleep. Or maybe it was because they were both hitting puberty and Clarke’s hormones were running rampant through her body.
After a minute of staring shocked at her best friend, Clarke carefully shifted and rested a hand on Lexa’s shoulder. She swirled her fingers around the bone in a soothing way she knew made Lexa feel better.
She thought that Lexa was fine with this motion until the brunette girl jumped up suddenly and ran to the bathroom. Clarke was left on the couch alone, the movie playing in the background. Had she crossed a line Lexa had not liked? Of course, she had, Lexa didn't know about the blonde girl's feelings for her and she clearly didn't feel the same feelings toward Clarke. Maybe the touch was too intimate too fast and Clarke had scared her off.
Clarke was fine being just friends, they'd been just friends for years. But in the last year or so she had thought Lexa was sending little messages of love back to her. But Clarke knew now she was wrong. Lexa saw her as a sister, not a girlfriend.
In the bathroom, Lexa had other thoughts on her mind. Like the fact that something wet was in her pants and she certainly hasn't peed herself.
She half expected to see nothing on her undergarment, maybe she was going crazy. But what she saw instead of nothing slightly scared her. Blood.
There was blood on her underwear but she hadn't fallen on her bed frame like she had one time when she was younger. (She had been reaching to show something to Clarke off a higher self and lost her balance and fell privates first onto the end of her bed.)
She took a moment to think, right, her mom had told her this would happen. They also had learned about it in school. It was just her period. Nothing was wrong with her. She sighed a sigh of relief.
But then she realized, she had no change of underwear or pads or anything. Her mom hadn't got hers until 15, so Lexa wasn't prepared, assuming hers would follow suit.
Oh god, she’d have to ask Clarke. How embarrassing.
Lexa steeled herself pulling her lower clothes back up and opening the bathroom door a bit. From there she could see Clarke staring at the movie still playing. “Umm. Hey Clarke?”
Clarke’s eyes snapped over to emerald green ones, she had become good at reading Lexa through her eyes and she had none of the emotions Clarke thought she would have if Clarke had overstepped their friendship boundaries. Instead, she saw the slightest bit of fear.
“Yeah, what's up,” Clarke answered.
Lexa bit her lip nervously, “Do you have any feminine products in here?” The younger girl blushed and averted her eyes nervously from Clarke's gaze.
Oh, of course. The pain Lexa had was cramps. Why hadn't Clarke realized sooner? She’d had her “aunt Flo” since 6th grade. “Of course, let me grab them for you.” Clarke stood and slipped into the small room with Lexa. After Clarke had handed Lexa the products she turned to leave.
“Need anything else?”
Green eyes met blue, and Lexa took a deep breath, “No I think I'm good. Thanks for coming to my rescue again, Clarke.”
“I’ll always be here for you Lexa.” Clarke smiled and then slipped out of the small room.
Today was the day, the day Lexa and her fellow seniors had been waiting for all year. Graduation.
Lexa was so excited, she’d worked so hard to get here.
Except, the one person who said they'd always be there for her, wouldn't be here on her big day. Clarke was on deployment and couldn't get the leave request accepted. She’d been devastated she couldn't come to watch Lexa graduate, but Lexa had played it off cool as a cucumber. “It’s not really even that big of a deal,” She had said. Except it was.
Of course, she loved that Clarke followed her heart. The older girl had wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps since middle school. The navy was always what she would do after high school. Lexa had begged her to wait one more year, but the sea was calling Clarke and she couldn't say no. And Lexa wasn't ready to tell the girl she loved her. Because Clarke clearly didn't love her more than with sisterly love.
Lexa took a deep breath, straightened her cap and left her room. As she walked down the stairs she met her mom’s eyes. She was crying, already. “Ugh, mom don’t start now! You know once I start I won't stop and I just did my makeup.”
“I know, baby. I'm just so happy for you.” Indra, Lexa’s mom said, pulling the slightly taller than her girl into a hug.
Lexa rolled her eyes and leaned into the hug. When her mom finally let go she looked to her dad. “You gonna get all sappy now too?”
Her dad shrugged, “I'll save my sap until later,” he replied with a smirk.
Lexa smiled back at him, “Ok, I better get going. I'll see you guys there!” She said and slipped out the door before her mom could hug her again and make her cry.
She lived close to the school so she walked there and on the way, she texted Clarke.
Wish you could be here :(
Her phone buzzed a second later, with Clarke’s reply.
Me too, but I’ll see you in a month!
Lexa sighed and put her phone away seeing her group of friends standing by the front door. “Hey, guys.”
“Sup Lexa, lookin’ good,” Raven exclaimed and winked.
Lexa shoved her friend and blushed, “Whatever.”
“Ready to go in?” Octavia asked. The two other brunettes nodded, and the three of them set off into the school to get ready for graduation (finally).
The ceremony was long. So. Very. Long. Their school wasn't very large but there were at least 300 people graduating today. Lexa was getting restless, she looked around hoping to see Clarke. But she was nowhere to be found.
Finally, after what felt like a million years, Luna Waters’ name was called which meant Lexa would be next.
“Lexa Woods,” The principal called. Lexa stood and walked up to the podium, carefully to not trip over her long gown. She shook the hands of the two assistant principals and then the principal who handed her her diploma and said “Congratulations.”
Lexa finished her walk across the stage, waving slightly to her family. And then as she walked past the school’s hired photographer, she saw a glimpse of blonde hair out of the corner of her eye.
Clarke.
Holy shit, Clarke was here. And she was smirking smugly, standing in the doorway of the auditorium still in her Navy uniform. Lexa felt her heart speed up and her breathing stopped. And then she was running. Past the aisles of confused people, past her classmates and into the arms of Clarke Griffin.
“You’re here.” Lexa sighed into Clarke’s shoulder.
“Of course I am. I told you I'd always be here for you.” Clarke whispered back.
Then Lexa was crying. Okay, she was sobbing. Clarke was here and oh lord her eyes are so blue and her lips are chapped but still their lovely pink shade. Lexa’s eyes flicked back up and she bit her lip. Clarke’s hands were on her cheeks the next second, wiping Lexa’s tears and pulling the younger girl in. Their lips met and Lexa could swear fireworks went off around them.
Oh boy, they should have done this ages ago.