Chapter Text
Clarke watched as the minute hand ticked on the clock. She wanted to make the most of her session with Jennifer, her wedding planner. She had blonde hair and blue eyes just like her. Clarke was finally going to get married and she was aware she was acting like a crazy person but everything had to be perfect for the big day. Clarke was excited to get married, as she felt like she finally found that person she wanted to love forever.
Clarke loves Finn, she does, but she loved planning for her wedding more. She cared about what flowers she wanted at each table. She cared about all the little decorations and the big, fancy decorations around the room. She cared about who sat where and she knows Finn just asked her to marry him a couple of weeks ago, but she was crazy and wanted it all to be perfect.
Clarke saw a flaw in the table arrangements- Jennifer said something along the lines of: we don't need to focus on the table arrangements now. You still haven't decided what flowers you wanted. There were so many flower options, Clarke couldn't choose. She had to have the right ones or the wedding would be ruined.
Clarke's eyes widened when she saw what Jennifer did with the seating arrangements.
"No, Jennifer. My aunt Janice and Sherry can't sit together, because they will fight the whole time." Clarke said as she moved the table piece.
"Clarke," Jennifer drawled out annoyed. "As your wedding planner we have months to figure out who's sitting where. Let's focus on the type of flowers you would like.."
Clarke sighed and obeyed. There were a variety of options from Amaryllis to Tulips to Carnations. Clarke didn't know which ones she wanted, but she still continued to look through the book with Jennifer.
Clarke was Chief Executive Officer of Skai Corporations, a major healthcare organization. She had made a name for herself and had people who respected her. Clarke liked to think she was one of those classy business women she saw on her primetime TV shows. She was classed as a dumb blonde in school, but she made it and she wanted to laugh in everyone’s face, who thought she wouldn't succeed. She was content with her life. Finn was a wonderful man who worked for a Real Estate Company. Clarke was excited and couldn’t wait to get married. She just needed to get through all the wedding planning first.
Her mom, Abby, came to the first planning session, which was last week. They were bombarded with so many questions that they really didn't get that far in the process. However, Clarke was still looking forward to planning her wedding over the next couple of months.
Clarke was lounging around her house with her two best friends, Raven and Harper. It was Friday night and Finn was out with some of his friends. Clarke was sipping on red wine as they chatted. Clarke's three carat diamond ring was sparkling every time she brought her glass up to drink and she couldn’t help but stare at it.
Clarke laughed elegantly with her two friends as they discussed the hassle and workload of their jobs. Raven was a very well known mechanic, who ran her own shop called Sky Mechanic while Harper worked for a law firm called Mountain Corporations. It wasn't long before the conversation focused on her engagement.
"Isn't there always something you wanted to do before you get married?" Raven asked, which had Clarke shrugging. She's done some pretty wild things in her life, but now she was twenty-four years old, she didn't know what else there was to do. She was getting married and that was the biggest thing on her list.
It was so cliché, but she wanted to go to Paris and she had always admired tattoos. She didn't think she would ever get one. She found it was a huge commitment and what if she woke up one day and didn't want it anymore? Clarke wasn't going to go through the pain of getting the tattoo and then getting it removed. She knows it used to be a big thing on her list. She kept putting it on the back burner because she didn't think she could actually go through with it.
"A tattoo,” Clarke said fondly as she stared down at her wine glass. "That's something I could do before I get married."
"That's it? I thought it would be the strip club or something." Harper teased and Clarke gave her a tiny smile.
"I've always wanted one. Why not?" Clarke shrugged. She didn't know if she was trying to humor her friends or if she really wanted to do this. If she did, she knew there was no turning back.
"Jennifer tells me things. We are about a month into your engagement and you can't even pick out flowers, yet you want a tattoo?" Raven cried. Clarke chuckled a bit at her antics. Raven was always one for the dramatics.
"I think it would be something I would want to do before I get married." Clarke answered and Harper nodded in understanding.
"There's a tattoo shop not too far from here, I forget the name. I think it might be called Nightblood Ink or something like that." Harper supplied.
"Thanks, Harp. I mean, I might. I'm not going to talk to Finn about it until I'm completely sure." Clarke informed her two best friends.
"This is exciting. I can't wait to see if you actually go through with it." Raven smiled and Clarke smiled back.
She hoped she could.
Clarke found herself moseying along the streets trying to find the tattoo shop. She was in the right shopping center, so it had to be close. Down in Birmingham, Alabama, there were only so many shopping plazas.
It was nice hot day in the middle of June and Clarke was wearing a knee-length, cream white dress. She was thinking of her wedding and She didn't want it to be in the summer. Clarke was thinking about having an outdoor wedding, which wouldn’t be able to happen with the humidity of the summer weather. It would be way too hot and Clarke knows she would sweat and didn’t want that on her wedding day.
Clarke sighed in relief as she finally stumbled upon the tattoo shop, NightBlood Ink. Harper was right, she thought. It was a nice little shop that sat on the corner of the shopping plaza. Clarke could see a few people inside. She had just gotten off work and Clarke was curious to see exactly how this all worked.
Clarke took a deep breath. Could she really do this? Mark her body forever? She hasn't even talked to her mom or Finn about it. This was a big moment for her, but before she could overthink it, she started walking. She listened to the sound of her heels that usually demanded attention when at work and with her head held high, walked inside.
Clarke had to wait a few moments before anyone addressed her, as everyone seemed to be in their own little world. Clarke could see why, there were a lot of things happening all around her. Clarke liked the splattered black and white floor. She didn't think she would, but she was drawn to them.
"Well, hey there, sweetheart." A brunette haired woman drawled out in a southern accent. Clarke still looked around the tattoo shop amazed. She felt extremely out of place here with her dress on.
"Hi, my name is Clarke and I would like a tattoo." Clarke announced, much like how she talked to her employees, but Clarke wished she would have brought Raven and Harper with her.
Clarke looked up and she was taken back by how pretty the girl was in front of her. She was watching her with expectant eyes and Clarke felt like they were piercing through her soul. They were so bright and green like the leaves of the many plants she has around her house. Her hair was slicked up into a messy bun and she was wearing a red and black checkered flannel shirt. She had a black tank top underneath it and she looked young, about her age. She had a jaw line, Clarke would never admit that she would kill for. Clarke was completely taken back when the girl started giggling.
"That's not quite how this works," The girl started. "My name is Lexa Woods and I'm the owner. I don't do walk-ins, None of my employees do. You have to schedule an appointment." Lexa said simply, which made Clarke nod dumbly.
She was used to being in charge of situations though, so she fought back, trying to get her way.
"Couldn't you make an exception? I'm already thinking of backing out as we speak." Clarke said, as she batted her eyelashes. Lexa looked at her like she’s heard all this before, which she had many times.
"Do you even know what you want?" She asked in a monotone and Clarke stilled, because she didn’t have a clue.
"No," She replied which had Lexa making an annoyed sound. "But I'm sure I can think of something."
"For someone who is having doubts. Last minute decisions never do me or you any good. I bet I'll be removing it in a week tops." Clarke listened to Lexa's soothing southern voice and huffed.
"Could I look around and see what you have to offer?"
That seemed to make Lexa smile and she nodded, "We have a whole room dedicated to ideas. Come on." Clarke was forced to follow Lexa because she was already halfway to the back.
Clarke stepped into the room cautiously as if she were afraid she might break something. Clarke just might, because she was nervous and her hands were itching to do something.
"Some ideas are on the wall. These books on the shelf are full of ideas. I can personally tell you a few.." Lexa trailed off as she handed Clarke a book.
It was thick and Clarke looked at Lexa before she opened it. Lexa gave her an encouraging nod before Clarke held her breath and opened the book. There were tattoo ideas that she wasn't even thinking of just on the first page alone.
A starfish, jellyfish, flowers, hearts and was that a lion? Clarke was stunned into silence as she looked through the book. Lexa stood awfully close to her, watching her. Clarke smirked because she smelt sweet like strawberries.
"See any ones you like?" Lexa asked and Clarke shook her head.
"I'm still looking through." Clarke responded. They were interrupted by a man sticking his head through the door.
"Sorry to interrupt. Gracie is here, Charlotte just dropped her off." A very tall man with tattoos running up his arms and neck said as he walked through the door.
"Alright. I'll be out in a minute. Give her my love, please Lincoln." Lexa said. Clarke watched the scene very confused.
"She's crying." The man said with a grimace and Clarke heard Lexa huff.
"Can you have Octavia get her?" Lexa asked and Lincoln shook his head.
"She clocked out already." The man said again.
"Alright, alright. Send her back here."
The man, Lincoln, was gone in a flash. Clarke didn't need to see whoever Gracie was to know she was crying. She could her the girl wailing from the front of the shop. Lexa prepared for whoever Gracie was. Clarke figured that she was a little girl.
Lincoln walked through the door with a crying little girl on his hip. She had curly brown hair and she had fairly light skin. But anyone could tell she was mixed. Her eyes were big, brown and sad.
Lexa immediately reached her hands out for the girl. Gracie instantly leaned over to her.
"Hey, what's wrong, sweetie? It's okay, mama's got you."
Clarke watched the scene in front of her awkwardly. She wasn't sure if she should interrupt the moment or not. She shifted her weight from leg to leg waiting impatiently. She swears she was standing there for a good five minutes just listening to the little girl cry. She finally had enough.
"So, are we going to plan this tattoo or..?" Clarke trailed off as she cleared her throat. Clarke swears Lexa just glared at her like she couldn’t believe her.
"Can I console my daughter first?" Lexa sneered making Clarke's eyes widen a bit. She had never thought much about kids. In fact, her and Finn had a talk that they never wanted any. Clarke's been around children before, but goes out of her way to not surround herself with them.
Clarke huffed, but she stayed silent as Lincoln silently left the room. Gracie was still crying with her face buried in her mother's shoulder.
"Do you want to stay with me?" Lexa asked into her hair and the girl nodded.
"Okay. Mommy has some business to take care of, so can you sit on the couch please?" Lexa asked in a sweet voice and the little girl nodded again. Lexa gently lowered her to the ground. Clarke guessed that she couldn't have been more than two or three. She hopped up on the couch, but she kept her eyes on her mother the entire time.
"I'm sorry. Where were we?" Lexa looked like she was trying to focus on Clarke, but was failing miserably. She kept looking back to make sure her daughter was safe. Clarke frowned a bit. She couldn't imagine having that lifestyle.
"When should I come back to schedule an appointment." Clarke said slowly which made Lexa jump back into job mode.
"Right. Just give me a call and we can schedule this appointment of yours. Did you figure out what you wanted?" Lexa asked and Clarke couldn't help but notice how soothing her voice sounded. It was soft, but loud enough that Clarke could hear her. Clarke wasn't sure what she wanted and honestly didn’t know why she was here.
Maybe this was a sign?
"Um.. no. I don't know yet, but I'm sure I'll figure it out before I call you." Clarke found herself saying. She should've just said no in the first place.
"Alright. Sounds like a plan." Lexa said as she inched back over to her daughter. Clarke looked away as Lexa picked her up and the girl buried herself in her mother again.
"Alright, well. Thank you for your time." Clarke muttered and looked over to Lexa. She was gently swaying her daughter back and forth.
"Yeah, of course. Call me whenever, sweetheart." Lexa said smoothly and Clarke nodded dumbly. Lexa's hospitality was a little too much, but Clarke didn't say anything.
"She's adorable." The second that came out of Clarke's mouth, she wanted to take it back. Kids weren't her thing at all. They were like little monsters always running around and getting into things. Clarke couldn't take it back though, not after looking the little girl in her eyes. They were so big that Clarke found herself so mesmerized that she couldn't look away. Gracie was staring at her oddly, but Clarke for once, didn't mind.
"Thank you." Clarke watched Lexa before she smiled wide and Clarke found herself smiling too, before she snapped out of it.
"Alright, well. I'll give you that call. Bye, Gracie." Clarke said sweetly. What the hell was wrong with her? She wanted to be polite, but a part of her actually wanted to say goodbye to the little girl.
"Can you say bye, sweet pea?" Lexa asked her daughter and the little girl nodded, but she didn't remove her head from her mom's shoulder.
"Bye." The little girl said quietly and Clarke nodded. Lexa gave her a sheepish smile and Clarke waved her off.
"Bye, Clarke." Lexa said and Clarke was drawn to her voice just like she was drawn to the little girl's eyes.
"Bye, Lexa. Hopefully I'll see you soon." Clarke said as she finally left the room, hearing Lexa hum in agreement before she finally left the tattoo shop.
What on earth was she thinking? Clarke didn't know if this was a good idea or not. She knew only a couple of people at her job that had tattoos. Could she really go through with this? She knows she's thinking way too much about this, but this was huge for her. She wouldn't be able to take this back and she wanted something sacred on her body.
Clarke shook her head. She was going to do this. She was going to find a tattoo, maybe she could call Lexa and they could discuss some of the possibilities before she scheduled the appointment. Clarke smiled triumphantly as she walked to her car. Clarke Griffin never backed down from anything and she was finally going to check something off her wish list.