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Clarke Griffin-Woods was having a headache. At eight months, Madi is crying because she wants to sleep, and four year old Aden is throwing a tantrum that doesn’t help Madi’s sleep whastoever. She winces as Aden flings his toy Thomas the Train.
“Aden!” she scolds in an exasperated tone.
“Noumon pwomised me a stowy!”he shrieked. Goddamnit. Of course she and Lexa only had the most stubborn kid that took after them. Lexa usually took special care to keep her promises to her kids. You could say it was a byproduct of her own childhood experiences. Except, tonight she had been called out to cover a shift at the fire station on Christmas Eve. Of course, Aden loved Lexa; he was only four but he practically idolized her, and still did not understand that sometimes promises could be broken.
“Aden”, she started to say as she dropped to her knees and attempted to grab his little hands, but they slipped out of her grasp and pummeled her arms instead. She tried again and finally was able to gather him into a hug. He squirmed in her grip and screeched in her ear. It rattled her head. This was definitely not the ideal Christmas Eve. She was reaching her limit with the twin choruses of wailing from Aden and Madi.
Then familiar and strong arms wrap around the both of them. It was insane how quiet Lexa’s footsteps could be. “Shhh…shh... I’m here now”, her familiar, melodic voice soothes. Clarke almost thinks it’s a hallucination that’s a byproduct of her headache, but she knows better because the warmth of Lexa’s arms and her front against Clarke’s back is so familiar and real.
Clarke feels Aden wiggling out of her arms and squealing, “NOUMON!!!” Tears are still visible on his cheeks, snot still running out of his nose as he leaps towards Lexa. Lexa pulls herself away from Clarke to catch Aden. In a swift move she swings the boy onto her shoulders.
“Did you miss me?” she asks the boy with a hearty laugh. The world is suddenly fixed and whole. Clarke takes a step back and runs her hand through her hair. Then she turns to the cradle situated in the living room to pick up Madi, holding her close and rocking her.
Aden squeals in glee as Lexa bounces him on her shoulders. “Iss da best when noumon is home for Chwistmas!”, Aden declares, and Clarke can’t help but agree with her son.
“Let’s get you to bed with a story, shall we, buddy?”
“Yes noumon, yes yes pwease!” he says with his puppy dog eyes pleading.
She watches as Lexa and Aden disappear up the stairs. After a moment, she realizes Madi has fallen asleep against her bosom. She smiles and smoothes down the small tuft of brown hair growing on Madi’s head, so much like Lexa’s. Her life had been amazing with Lexa before, but the birth of Madi and Aden had completed their world. To bring two innocent lives that didn’t know how cruel this world could be was incredible. She could easily give up the world for them.
She carries Madi carefully up the stairs to her room, decorated with little stars and stuffed animals and a nightlight and carefully places her in the crib. God forbid she wake Madi up again now.
In a practiced routine, Clarke and Lexa switch rooms to kiss each of their respective children goodnight before heading to the living room. Lexa takes a stop in their room to change into her pajamas. Within a few short minutes, Clarke ends up in Lexa’s lap, situated in an armchair cozily. Clarke’s cheek rests against Lexa’s chest, inhaling the smoky smell of Lexa.
“So how’d you get home early?” Clarke murmurs softly, tracing patterns with her fingertips lazily on Lexa’s collarbone.
“Uncle Gus found out I was taking an extra shift and he came charging in, demanding that I go home to my wife and kids and enjoy my youth”, Lexa explains. “So now he’s at the firestation instead. You know how he gets.”
Clarke chuckles, very familiar with the antics of the man who helped raise Lexa. He was a loud and boisterous man, often one of the most understanding as well. He encouraged Lexa to live more, instead of being so uptight. “I guess I have to find a chance to thank him, sending my wife back to me on Christmas Eve.”
Clarke looks up and feels victorious to see Lexa’s face flush at the title, despite being married for a few years now. Lexa’s hands wander to her scalp, massaging it with just the right amount of pressure. “Mmm…” Clarke hums, letting her eyes close. “How’d you know I have a headache?”
“With a kid and a baby screeching in your ears for more than a hour, anyone who doesn’t have a headache is inhuman. Plus you get headaches from all your long shifts at the hospital”, Lexa explained with a shrug, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to tell that Clarke had a headache. For her, it was probably true. She could read Clarke like an open book.
Then the music playing in the background changes to a familiar song. Clarke’s eyes pop open and she slips off Lexa’s lap. She grins at Lexa and cocks her head. “You up for a dance?”
Lexa stands up and grabs Clarke’s hands to pull Clarke in so she could lead. Their foreheads end up against each others’. “With you, my love? Always.” Clarke smiles at her cheesy romanticism. Normally it would be too much, but somehow with Lexa it just worked.
Quietly, they sway around the living room. Time was a lost concept to them. Small moments like these where she got Lexa to herself and her kids were content were the best of all. They were indeed the most wonderful times of the year.