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The smell of christmas cookies and other sweets filled the air. Christmas music played softly in the background. The main party was situated around the coffee table, playing some version of a drinking game.
They were rowdy and Jasper was chugging a beer for having lost a round. Lincoln sat on the floor with Octavia possessively sitting in his lap. He catches her every time he almost falls out of her lap. Raven, of course is one of the rowdiest, egging everyone on.
Lexa sits a good distance away, sipping on a glass of wine at the bar that separates the small kitchen from the living room. Luna plops down in the bar stool next to her and leans back to rest her elbows on the countertop. “Had enough of the games?” Lexa raises a brow and asks her sister.
A small smirk graces Luna’s lips, but she doesn’t look up at Lexa, intently keeping an eye on Raven. “You’re one to talk, you’ve been sitting here for a solid half hour now.”
Lexa snorted, rolling her eyes. “You’re so reclusive, if it weren’t for Raven you wouldn’t even be here. Plus, I have to drive home after this.”
Apparently satisfied that Raven was relatively safe in the hands of their friends, Luna finally turns to look at Lexa. She contemplates Lexa’s words for a few seconds as if wondering if it is even worth refuting them. Then she shrugs and hums in agreement, “Yeah.”
“I miss Anya on days like this. I wonder what she’s doing right now. Maybe she’s partying with her comrades. She was always the party animal between us”, Lexa admits with reluctance. It wasn’t often that Lexa showed her sentimental side. That wasn’t to say she didn’t have one. In fact she was probably one of the most sentimental people ever. She just never let it show.
Luna nods understandingly. “Yeah, but I enjoy being able to be here with Raven on the holidays.” Neither of them mentioned the real reason they didn’t miss being in the barracks with Anya. What they had seen in war was beyond what anyone could experience and come back whole. Plus, Luna was quite right indeed. The holidays with Clarke were always the best. She seemed to radiate holiday cheer and Lexa couldn’t help but get swept up by it every year.
-0-
“Have a safe trip home!” Lexa called down the hall after Octavia and Lincoln. Lincoln shoots her a smile and mouths a merry Christmas, before he gets distracted by Octavia stumbling once again. Lexa retreats into the apartment and closes the door.
The Christmas tree lights the living room in a soft and warm glow as she walks in, avoiding the trash littered throughout. She made a mental note to help Clarke clean that before she left.
Clarke herself is slumped on the couch with her eyes closed contentedly. Her cheeks are flushed from generous amounts of alcohol. Lexa smiles at the sight of her girlfriend looking so happy and relaxed. It wasn’t often that Clarke was so laid back. The world often saddled her with too many responsibilities.
Lexa stepped into the space between Clarke’s legs and leaned over her, putting a hand to Clarke’s cheek. Without opening her eyes, Clarke nuzzles her cheek into Lexa’s hand. “Clarke, my love.”
“Mmm?” Clarke responds sleepily, not quite awake yet.
“I’m going to clean up for you before I go home. Can you walk to your bed or should I carry you?” Lexa’s thumb caresses Clarke’s cheek as she asks this. Part of her hoped Clarke would ask to be carried so that she could romance Clarke a little.
Clarke’s eyes cracked open and her arms snaked around Lexa’s neck, tugging her so that she fell with an “oomph”.
Lexa’s heart warms when Clarke buries her face into Lexa’s hair and murmurs, “Don’t go. It’s too cold outside.” She chuckles and plays with Clarke’s silky blond hair. A moment is taken to revel in Clarke’s warm embrace, the smell of Clarke and the beautiful smell of her perfume mixed with a hint of fruity wine. She takes so long to enjoy the silence that she almost thinks Clarke has fallen back asleep, but then Clarke continues her argument. “You’re going to come back here in a few hours to celebrate Christmas with me anyway. There’s no point in going out in the cold. So just come to bed with me.”
Clarke’s stubbornness was endearing. However, there was no way Lexa was about to sleep in this filth. “Let’s get you to bed, my love”, she answered without truly answering anything at all. In a graceful motion, she sweeps her girlfriend up into her arms.
Clarke giggles, snuggles into her, and says teasingly, “Thank you, commander.”
Lexa groans at the nickname as she starts to move them to the bedroom. It was an unfortunate casualty of her days as the captain of their highschool’s infamous baseball team. Her extravagant mask of eye black and impressive skills had earned her the nickname. “Only you, Clarke. Anyone else and I would strangle them.”
“What’s the big bad commander gonna do, punish me?” Clarke’s words lacked bite. The double entendre meaning was lost to them in the sweetness of the moment as Lexa nudged the door of Clarke’s bedroom open and pulled the covers out of the way to lay Clarke down. The room was as typical as possible. A picture of Lexa and Clarke from highschool with Lexa in her baseball uniform after winning a game sat on the bedside table. Placed strategically around the room were unlit candles.
Just as she does, the bells outside in a nearby church tolls twelve o’clock. Clarke gives Lexa the most brilliant smile. “Merry Christmas, babe.”
Lexa’s heart melts at the sight. Suddenly the idea of getting into bed and cleaning up in the morning sounded wonderful. “Merry Christmas, Clarke. I love you.”
As Lexa moves away to light the candles in the dark room (she never seemed to sleep without candles). Even with modern lighting available, she had always preferred candles. “I love you too”, sounded from behind her. She could hear the shifting of the covers as Clarke snuggled deeper into the sheets.
Lexa stepped back and spun in a circle to observe her handiwork. Then finally she crawled into bed with Clarke and pulled her girlfriend close to her. Clarke immediately clung onto her like a koala. “Goodnight, Clarke”, she murmured as she drifted off to sleep.