Chapter Text
ONE | Instantly Smitten, Viciously Protective
She stared at the “Unity for Youth Camp 2020” banner above a large white erase board and wondered how she hell she had Costia talk her into volunteering at a summer camp for three months.
Lexa Wilde sat back at in a beanbag chair, observing the other camp counsellors around her. No one paid her any mind so she was free to just take it all in. Her bright green eyes shifted to a group of three friends occupying a small table full of craft supplies. It seemed that they were sorting out different materials, while getting along with each other, no effort needed - or maybe they were already friends from previous camp programs. The blonde in the middle was quite beautiful as she tossed her head back and laughed at something one of the brunette’s said.
Lexa swallowed the jealousy down and cursed herself for talking Costia out of joining her. She wouldn’t make friends that easily, if at all. She told the girl she’d be fine on her own but in all honesty, she wasn’t so sure if she could survive three months without her.
One of the other camp counsellor’s walked up and stood beside her, smiling down at her. She caught the ending of reading his lips but furrowed her brows because she didn’t quite catch what he said. When he gave her a raised eyebrow and repeated the question “can I get you a drink?”, she quickly shook her head no and jumped up off of the beanbag chair knowing all eyes were on her.
That could only mean that the boy had spoke very loud and clear the second time, causing her embarrassment as she bolted out of the staff cabin and towards her own.
Why had she even bothered to volunteer? She should just get used to spending the majority of her time by herself and the small group of deaf children she would be guiding. Sure, she had Anya but Anya was running the whole thing solo for the summer so she wouldn’t be around as often as she’d originally thought.
Later that night, they had called a staff meeting and much to Lexa’s relief, there was a fellow counsellor that would be helping her with the group of children she’d be responsible for during the summer. She seemed pretty intense but Lexa wasn’t intimidated when Indra introduced herself in sign language. “It’s nice to meet you, Lexa. My name is Indra.”
With a smile, Lexa signed back happily. “Nice to meet you as well, Indra. I don’t feel so alone knowing you can understand me.”
“You’re the one in charge here so I’ll follow your lead.” Indra smiled back lightly, “I’ve got your back, Commander.”
“Hi.” The same blonde from earlier came up to the pair after noticing the two were communicating with sign language. She gave Lexa a warm smile with a small wave. “Are you her interpreter?” She asked Indra.
Indra stood up straight and shook her head, “not officially.” Then she looked at Lexa and signed to her. “She wanted to know if I was your interpreter.”
Lexa smiled and shook her head while looking at the blonde before signing her name and holding her hand out to the newcomer in front of her. She swallowed when the hand in her own gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Her name is Lexa.” Indra politely told Clarke.
“Clarke.” The blonde spoke softly while looking at Lexa and watched as the brunette signed something back quickly.
“Seems she caught your name by reading your lips.” The darker woman smiled and nodded toward Lexa, who sat there with a smile on her face. “Here,” Indra dug out a device and handed it to Clarke, “there’s no WiFi out here but Anya, Lexa and I are the only ones allowed to use these for communication purposes. I’ll come get it after I’m done introducing myself to the other counsellors.”
Lexa watched as Indra disappeared into the small crowd from across the same room they all occupied earlier. She felt a tap on her hand and noticed Clarke was holding out the phone Indra had given her with text on a notepad app: Are you having fun so far?
Clarke watched as Lexa quickly tapped out her response and handed the phone back. Not really.
A frown appeared on the blonde as she bit her lip, thinking on how to respond. Before she got the chance, she was bombarded by her two best friends. Sorry, these are my friends. Raven and Octavia.
“Are you two sharing secret sexy texts?” Raven asked, peering over Clarke’s shoulder. “Where’d you get the phone anyway?” She tried to snatch the device away.
“It’s Indra’s.” Clarke clutched onto the phone, away from her friend’s grabby hands. “This is Lexa.”
“Hi!” Octavia waved enthusiastically and sat down on the empty beanbag chair beside the quiet woman. “Which cabin are you in?” She asked Lexa.
“Tave, she can’t hear you.” Clarke smiled apologetically at Lexa, who was increasingly looking uncomfortable. I’m sorry, Lexa.
Lexa watched as a look of sympathy fell onto Octavia’s face and she huffed, grabbing her own phone and typing something out, shoving it in Clarke’s hand. I don’t want sympathy from anyone here, Clarke, so can you please take your friends and leave me alone?
Clarke stared at Lexa for a long moment. She studied the hardened features and the tight jaw and knew the woman meant business. She was respectful enough to nod without getting offended and handed Lexa’s phone back to her.
Clarke found Indra in a small group and handed her phone back. “Thanks for allowing me to use this.”
Indra nodded and looked back at an empty space where Lexa once occupied. “Where is Lexa?”
“She was upset when my friends cam-” The blonde was interrupted by a cold look from the woman standing a foot away from her.
“Clarke, I really wanted to like you but if you give any reason to hurt Lexa, I will destroy you.” Indra said lowly and kept her cold stare on the woman in front of her. “You understand?”
“Okay, whoa. No need for such threats, Indra.” Clarke straightened up and squared her shoulders back. “Lexa asked us to leave her alone so we did. I did nothing wrong.”
“Lexa isn’t like me, Clarke. She can’t hear anything. I’m here to keep an eye out on her but she just thinks I’m another camp leader and I need her to keep thinking that. Understand?” She watched as Clarke nodded. “So if you ever make her upset again and have to give me a reason to blow my cover, then yes, there is need for such threats.”
“She’s intense.” Octavia whispered as they watched the woman walk away, on her way to find out where Lexa ran off to. “I like her.”
Clarke nodded with a small smile. “Me too.”
About thirty minutes later, all of the counsellors were gathered around a large table and Lexa was present once again with Indra by her side as the head leader spoke about the rules that will be carried out during the remainder of the summer.
“Okay, listen up leaders!” Anya spoke out as she stood on a chair to get everyone’s attention. She even used sign language for Lexa’s benefit. “My name is Anya and I will be the one person you bring all of your complaints to. I’d advise you not to though if you want to remain on my good side.”
“Can I get a phone as well?” A boy yelled while pointing to the one Lexa had in her hand.
“No.” Anya sneered without further explanation. “The kids will be rolling in tomorrow afternoon. You will get a list of the children and cabins you are responsible for during breakfast in the morning. I suggest you learn their names because these little humans are yours for three months. Bond with them, teach them good morals and have fun. Each week, your group will be responsible for running an activity that everyone can enjoy so please be creative. I cannot express to you how much responsibility you have this summer, please take this seriously. Also, I hope I don’t need to express that your private life is yours. Keep it that way. If you’re hooking up with another counsellor, don’t.” She threw a look toward Clarke’s group and shook her head when Raven and Octavia burst out in laughter.
After all, Raven and Octavia met at this same camp the previous summer and had been inseparable ever since. They made Anya frustrated with their constant gross yet cute romance that bubbled that year.
The meeting ended and the large group broke off into smaller ones before some started to head to their cabins.
“This is almost way too intense for me.” A fellow counsellor came up to Clarke’s small knit group of three. “Hey, my name is Finn.” He winked which caused all three ladies to laugh.
“Sorry,” Clarke waved her hand and stuck it out to shake the young man’s hand, “I’m Clarke.”
“Raven,” the dark brunette nodded toward him and nudged the girl on her right.
“Octavia.” The youngest one of them all stood tall, her shoulder pushed against Raven’s protectively.
“Is this your first year too?” He asked, trying to show off his charming smile but failed as the girls laughed again.
“No, our second actually.” Clarke took lead once again and noticed his eyes shift to leer at Raven after sweeping over her own body with his eyes. “You’re not seriously checking us out right now, are you?”
Octavia clutched at her girlfriend’s arm and stepped forward, eyes nearly blazing. “You need to back off.”
Finn moved back with his hands up in the air. “I didn’t know you were taken, I’m sorry.” He was looking at Clarke while speaking.
“I’m not taken,” the blonde shrugged innocently, “I’m just not interested in you. These two however,” she pointed to her best friends, “they’re together and very territorial so I suggest you back off a bit, yea?”
Finn shrugged and waved them off, his eyes clearly scanning for his next target before landing on a quiet Lexa sitting back in the same beanbag chair. Just as he stepped forward to make his move, a hand grasped the back of his shirt and tugged him back. He turned to find Clarke shaking her head no.
“No way you’re going anywhere near her,” Clarke nearly hissed.
“You just said you weren’t taken.” Finn shrugged her hand off, glaring at the blonde. “She seems fair game to me.”
“Did you come here to be a counsellor and teach kids or hit on women?” Clarke frowned. “Lexa is a definite no, so fuck off and get the right head thinking.” She tapped the side of his head roughly before shoving him in the opposite direction of the other woman.
“Jesus Griffin,” Raven whistled and threw an arm around her friend, “here I thought my Tave was a protective badass but you…damn.”
“She’s alone, why don’t you go keep her company?” Octavia smiled and grabbed Raven’s hand. “I’m thinking we’ll turn in early…”
“Why did I talk you two into getting a three bed cabin?” Clarke groaned.
“We live together, Clarke. It’s nothing new.” Raven laughed. “Well, except that we have no walls to hide behind here.”
“My point exactly.” The blonde whined and sighed. “Fine, go. Get it out of your systems now. I’ll be there in about an hour so you better be done.” She watched as Octavia and Raven left, both of them throwing a wave to Lexa, who smiled and waved back while they exited. Clarke caught the eye of woman and made her way towards her.
Indra stepped in her way and shook her head. “Where are you going?”
“I just want to say good night and apologize.” Clarke said honestly. “Come on Indra, she’s an adult. If she doesn’t want to see me, she can tell me and I’ll listen.”
Indra tightened her jaw before handing Clarke the phone. “I need that phone back in about twenty minutes.”
“Thank you.” Clarke sighed gratefully. “Wait, how do you sign ‘good night, Lexa?’”
Indra showed the blonde quickly before excusing herself to talk with Anya, a mutual acquaintance she had shared with Lexa and Costia.
“How is she settling in?” Anya asked when Indra approached her.
“She’s relieved that she has another leader that can and will sign.” Indra nodded. “Though I noticed I have been assigned to actually lead a group of children. That wasn’t part of the agreement.”
Anya chuckled and shrugged. “Costia said make it believable. It wouldn’t be so believable if you were the only one without a group, right? Plus, we have about 4 more hearing impaired kids than expected. Lexa and I could use the help.”
“Why did Costia push her to do this if she knew Lexa would be uncomfortable?” Indra shook her head.
“Costia was supposed to join us this year but Lexa didn’t want to feel like she was being babysat by her best friend.” Anya looked up from her clipboard and eyed up a blonde sitting down next to a silent Lexa. “Griffin looks like she’s pretty interested.”
“We’ll see.” Indra watched on as the woman she was looking out for, smiled and read something from the phone Clarke had.
“Indra, Lexa is an adult and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t need you 24/7. Costia just asked if you’d keep an eye out on her when it comes to large group settings. Other than that,” she motioned her hands towards the pair communicating, “you don’t need to be monitoring her making friends.”
“Costia is your girlfriend, why didn’t you volunteer to look after her best friend if you knew she was coming here alone?” The older woman raised an eyebrow.
“You just answered the question.” Anya drawled out while going back to her checklist. “I’m Lexa’s best friend’s girlfriend. I can’t hover over her without her getting pissy and if I get her pissy, I don’t get laid. Besides,” she held up a clipboard full of things that needed to be done on a daily basis, “I’m in charge of Unity for Youth, do you really think I have time to keep an eye out as often as you?”
Huffing, Indra stood back and rolled her eyes because the last thing she wanted to do was spend her summer surrounded by children. She could’ve been out hiking the great mountains with her boyfriend.
I’m in cabin 3 if you need anything. Clarke smiled when Lexa nodded and then continued to type out something else. A few of us are having a small fire on the beach area this Friday night after the kids are tucked in. Would you like to join us?
Lexa read the message and bit her lip before shaking her head. I’d much rather read a book instead but thank you.
If you change your mind… Clarke looked at Lexa with a soft expression and stood up. She noticed Indra was making her way towards them and took a deep breath before signing “Good night, Lexa.”
Lexa’s eyes brightened up before signing her good night back and watched as the blonde handed Indra her phone and left the cabin but not before glancing back and waving one last time.
“Anya will not be pleased if she has to deal with another blossoming romance, Commander.” Indra teased and held her hand out for Lexa to grab. She watched the younger woman blush and pulled her up off the beanbag that Lexa had silently claimed as her own.
“Be quiet, Indra.” Lexa sighed but smiled a little. “There wasn’t even any flirting happening.”
“Yet.”
Lexa fixed the woman with a stern glare before shaking her head. “I’m going to go say goodnight to Anya before going to my cabin.”
“See you bright and early.” Indra managed to sign before Lexa left her alone.
Lexa walked up to Anya and was embraced into a hug. “I would’ve said hi to you earlier but you have a lot going on.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” Anya smiled sadly before her lips curled into a smile. “I see Clarke Griffin kept you company though. Costia would be so proud that you found a girlfriend on your first night here.”
“There is no girlfriend status!” Lexa signed dramatically with her hands, huffing. “You of all people shouldn’t be encouraging relationships here anyway. Your rules, remember?”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t favour some people.” Anya wrapped an arm around her friend and pulled her close. “Besides, if Costia found out that I kept you from finding a hot girlfriend, my ass would be thrown out. And Lex, I just bought a really expensive ring for your best friend and if I have to pawn it because I pussy-blocked you, there is no going back from that.”
“You’re asking Cost to marry you?” The shorter brunette grinned widely and pulled Anya into a tight hug. She pulled back with a threatening look, “You break her heart…”
“I’ve heard it before, don’t worry. I know you’ll kill me and bury the body where no one will find it.”
“Damn straight.” Lexa tilted her chin up and glared at her friend before breaking out into a smile. “See you tomorrow morning.” She moved back and bumped into someone behind her. Hands on her waist steadying her felt foreign and she tensed immediately, turning to find a shaggy haired boy grinning at her. Strong hands gripped her and failed to let go.
“Hey, my name is Finn.” He said and Lexa quickly looked to Anya with confused eyes.
“First of all, I said she was off limits.” Clarke appeared out of nowhere and dragged the boy back. She stepped between Lexa and Finn, shoving her finger into his chest. “Second, you don’t put your hands on her and third, I said to fuck off and I meant it, Spacewalker.”
“Spacewalker?” Finn asked confused.
“I’ll kick your ass so far away from this place, earth will be just a speck on your radar.” Clarke warned lowly. “Now, fuck off. Are we clear?”
Anya stood back impressed and signed everything that was going on to Lexa. “Costia would be shedding tears of joy right now.” She added.
Lexa grabbed Clarke’s hand and spun her around so they stood face to face. “I thought you were going to your cabin?” She signed, knowing Anya would happily relay the message.
“Um,” Clarke gave Anya a sheepish grin before looking at Lexa, “my friends aren’t really done...with each other. So I decided to come back in hopes that you were still here. Maybe I can walk you back to your cabin?”
“Of course Octaven can’t untangle themselves for one night.” Anya was disgruntled but relayed Clarke’s dialogue to Lexa anyway.
Lexa raised an eyebrow and dug out her phone. You stopped the one you call Finn, from hitting on me earlier? She turned and thanked Anya and said goodnight before steering Clarke back out into the calm night air.
Yeah, he hit on me and Raven at the same time. Clarke shrugged. Then he zeroed in on you.
Clarke, you’re sweet. Lexa blushed a bit before furrowing her eyebrows. He didn’t try to hit on Octavia?
Nope. The blonde handed the phone back and watched as Lexa both typed and kept them on the path toward an upper cabin.
Stupid boy. He’s smart for hitting on you, at least. The brunette boldly gave Clarke a smile then ducked her head slightly, blushing.
Clarke bit her bottom lip and grinned. They came to a stop in front of a smaller cabin, the front porch light on. Can I sit with you for breakfast tomorrow?
Lexa nodded and tucked her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. She found herself staring into the most beautiful eyes and before she allowed herself to get lost in them, she leaned forward and kissed Clarke on the cheek gently. “Good night, Clarke.” She signed slowly.
“Good night, Lexa.” Clarke smiled shyly and watched Lexa move up the steps to her porch before stepping inside.
Clarke spun around and skipped down the path toward her own cabin. She needed to get some sleep because ‘learn sign language’ had just been placed on the top of her priority list of things to accomplish as soon as she could.
Early the next morning, Clarke was up before the sunrise and found herself in the library cabin.
“What are you doing here so early?” Anya said from a comfy chair beside a huge stack of books. She chuckled when she noticed she scared the hell out of the blonde.
“Jesus Anya, what the hell are you doing here?” Clarke held a hand against her chest, trying to catch her breath. It was too early to have her heart beating that fast, damnit.
“Work.” The taller woman shrugged and closed the book she was reading. “Plus I miss my girlfriend and couldn’t sleep.”
“Costia, right?” Clarke remembered the two sneaking glances at the camp the previous summer.
Anya nodded and smiled at the name. “She’s practically Lexa’s girlfriend but my soon-to-be wife,” she teased.
Clarke furrowed her brows in confusion. “Lexa has a girlfriend?”
“I’m teasing Griffin,” the woman threw her a wink, “Costia and Lexa are best friends, that’s it. I won’t share my girl, not even with eye-candy like Lexa.”
“She’s more than just eye-candy.” Clarke huffed and began to look around the shelves for certain books. “Do we have any books on sign language?”
Anya was standing beside Clarke in a flash with two books in her hand. She had a soft smile on her face when the blonde took them eagerly. “I can teach you a few things, if you’d like?”
The blonde nodded and hugged the books to her chest, looking for a comfortable chair to settle into for a few hours before breakfast.
“You really care about her, don’t you?” Anya asked softly and tucked herself back into her previous spot, wrapped a blanket around her legs. “I just hope it’s not out of sympathy. Lexa will never forgive you if that were the case.”
“It’s not out of sympathy.” Clarke answered truthfully. “Have you ever just looked at someone and knew there was more to their story? Like you were meant to be a part of it somehow?” She laughed at herself and blushed a bit. “Sorry, that probably sounded super cheesey.”
Anya tossed her head back and laughed. “Yeah, it was. But Lexa deserves that type of attention, as long as it’s honest.”
“Speaking of honest,” the younger woman cleared her throat and cracked open the first book that Anya gave her to study, “what would happen if Lexa found out the real reason why Indra is here?” She peered over the book to gauge Anya’s reaction.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The lighter brunette tightened her jaw and shook her head.
“Indra told me, it’s okay.” The blonde shrugged and squinted at her fellow leader. “Will Lexa be okay?”
“Indra is just an extra set of eyes and a pair of ears for us, Clarke. Costia wanted to make sure Lexa could enjoy her summer but she doesn’t do well in large crowds. She’s profoundly deaf, you know? We just worry about her.” Anya sighed heavily. “I’m going to tell her the truth anyway, just not yet. Let’s see how she does first.”
Clarke smiled with a sort of understanding then turned her attention back to the book with fierce determination. If anything, she could be a really good friend of Lexa’s and make sure she would be as comfortable as possible during her summer at the camp.
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