Chapter Text
Anya was having an ordinary but pleasant evening, tucked in bed reading, close to falling asleep; when the first surprise of the night occurred. It came in the form of her bedroom door being roughly pushed open. She jumped, startled, a hand flying to clutch at her chest.
“Jesus Lexa, would it kill you to knock?”
“I want to go to the park. Please” Lexa said, standing in the doorway.
“What? The Park? Lexa, it’s almost midnight, are you serious?” Anya didn’t know if she was more shocked by Lexa’s sudden need to go to the park or her use of the word, please. That was the second surprise of the night.
Lexa pushed the cuff of her coat out the way and glanced at her watch “Correct it’s currently 11:58 pm.”
“What? And you just suddenly thought that midnight on a Friday would be the perfect time for a stroll in the park?” Anya took in Lexa’s appearance; she was wearing a thick coat, fingerless gloves and her black Doc Martens. So apparently she was serious about going out. Anya should have known. Lexa was always serious.
“There is a Magmar at the park, and I want it. Let’s go.” Lexa turned and left the room like her explanation had been entirely clear as if she hadn’t left Anya still confused.
Anya jumped from the bed following Lexa, grabbing her coat from the hook on her door. She might not understand what Lexa was talking about, but she definitely wasn’t going to deny Lexa’s odd request. She couldn’t remember the last time Lexa asked to go somewhere that wasn’t the library.
“Lexa? What even is a Magmar and why are we going to get it in the middle of the night!”
“It’s a Pokemon, and it’s only going to be there for a six more minutes, so hurry up.”
“Oh, that game everyone’s been talking about?” Anya asked pulling on her right boot, Lexa stood impatiently at the door, facing away from Anya.
“Yes. I downloaded it yesterday, someone on Facebook said there is a Magmar at Polis Park right now.”
“Okay… sure.” Anya pretended to understand the significance of a Magmar as she struggled with her left boot.
“Five minutes left, hurry up.”
“Okay, okay I just need my ca—.”
“Here” Lexa tossed Anya the car keys, Anya caught them mid-air.
“Thanks.”
“Four minutes!” Lexa huffed.
“I’m ready, calm down, let’s go.”
Lexa was already out the apartment and jogging down the stairs before Anya could even finish her sentence. She sighed. It could be a long night.
During the short drive to the park, Lexa bounced her legs impatiently. When Anya pulled into the parking lot, Lexa was out of the car before Anya could put the handbrake on. Anya got out quickly too, she walked around to the passenger side, sighing as she closed the car door Lexa left open in her haste. When Lexa’s mind was preoccupied it wasn’t unusual for her to forget the little things, like closing doors, or saying hello and goodbye. However, normally the thing preoccupying Lexa’s mind was some sort of mathematical problem that Anya couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
Lexa weaved through the mass of people, eyes glued to her cell phone. Anya walked behind her, marvelling at the crowd of people who all appeared to be playing the same game as Lexa. Anya had never seen the usually quiet park, buzzing with so much life.
Lexa stopped abruptly. Anya almost smacked into her back.
“Jeez, Lexa you don’t have break lights.”
“I got it!” Lexa exclaimed, actually smiling. “Anya I got the Magmar!”
“Awesome that’s great.” Any wrapped her arms around her body, the cold night air getting to her.
“There’s so many here Anya, on the radar it says there is a Bulbasaur, Oddish, Rhyhorn, Clefairy and a Ponyta!”
“That’s great Kid.”
“I’ve got to find them all,” Lexa said and then she was off again.
“That’s alright ill just be here, waiting, by myself, in the cold” Anya called after Lexa.
“Okay,” Lexa replied as she disappeared into the crowd, leaving Anya to take a seat on one of the wooden park benches.
Lexa walked with her elbows tucked tightly against her sides, trying to avoid making contact with any of the other players. Lexa quickly caught the Bulbasaur and Oddish; the Rhyhorn was trickier, but she eventually caught it too. She kept walking around the park, the frost-coated grass crunching under her boots until her phone buzzed and the Ponyta appeared on her screen. The first ball she threw went sideways, her excitement was making it hard to concentrate. She breathed deeply before throwing the second ball, hitting the Ponyta accurately.
“Got you” Once she was sure the Ponyta wasn’t going to escape she continued forward, only stopping when she collided with something, something soft that smelt remarkably good. She looked up to see a group of girls and quickly looked down again, mumbling an apology.
“That’s okay, hazard of the game” One of the girls replied. Her voice was deep and husky. Lexa glanced up from her phone again to find a pretty blonde smiling at her. She looked away quickly, feeling her cheeks flush with warmth.
“Come on Clarke its cold can we go,” a brunette girl spoke, she was bouncing on the spot to stay warm Lexa suspected.
“No Octavia, I really want to find the Ponyta before we go.” Lexa overheard the blonde say.
“But it’s freezing!”
“The Ponyta is next to the swings,” Lexa said, surprising herself.
“Oh really? Awesome thanks!” The blonde beamed. Lexa watched as she grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her over to where she had caught the Ponyta moments earlier.
Anya had been watching Lexa as she scurried around the park, abruptly stopping periodically. She watched her dodge all the people, continuing to play her game as if no one else existed. Anya’s brows furrowed when she saw her bump into some girls.
The third surprise that night came when she saw Lexa actually look up from her cell phone and speak to one of the girls. She didn’t miss the small smile on Lexa’s face as she stared at the girls as they walked away.
Lexa jumped when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Lexa recognised the voice as the girl from earlier. She turned around looking straight into blue eyes. She quickly looked away not letting her gaze linger.
“I’m Clarke by the way, thanks for helping me find the Ponyta, it was one of my favourite Pokemon as a kid, I was a bit horse crazy”. Clarke explained. She didn’t miss the way the other girl avoided making eye contact.
“You’re welcome.” Lexa’s reply sounded scripted.
“I caught a Snorlax on the other side of the park a few minutes ago; it might still be there.”
“A Snorlax? Really? Where?” Lexa looked up, finally giving Clarke her full attention.
Clarke was momentarily stunned by the other girl’s sharp jaw, full lips and high cheekbones, illuminated by the light of her cell phone.
“Ah Yeah! Look.” Clarke tilted her screen towards Lexa, showing her the high CP Snorlax she’d caught on the way back to the parking lot. “My friend’s disappeared before she could get it but somehow I managed to catch it with one ball! I could show you where if you want?” Clarke offered.
Lexa nodded.
“It’s just this way.”
Anya was still watching her sister as she followed the beautiful blonde girl. Anya decided to follow behind. Just to keep an eye on her. It was dark, and Anya knew how absorbed Lexa could get, she didn’t want her accidently walking into the road.
“What’s your name?” Clarke asked.
“Alexandria Woods, Lexa for short.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Alexandria Woods. Lexa for short,” Clarke smiled.