Chapter Text
Today, Clarke is coming out of a 5-year gap, the first time since the most tragic life experience she ever had. It’s not that she was very torn, just when you are in the process of divorce, willy-nilly you start to think about the future. A few times ago, she lived a happy family life. They were the perfect couple, it seemed their relationship was so strong that nothing could break them. And here she is standing in the bathroom alone, squeezing toothpaste out of a tube.
They met at university. The blonde studied at the Faculty of Philology, and the second at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. Their first meeting happened in the lobby of the campus, young Woods made herself strong coffee and brought a croissant, it was her daily ritual, a light snack before brainstorming. She sat at a table in the corner, a picture of the coast of Santorini was cheerful from above, there were a lot of students around, usually, it’s quiet here, but today someone apparently had a party and most of the guests came from other campuses.
And so, the culprit of all this entered the door, a spectacular blonde, a loud, defiant, self-confident beauty, a girl who won the heart of Woods at first sight. In the company of no less loud Raven Reyes and other classmate Octavia Blake, sister of graduate student Bellamy Blake, university handsome and main heartthrob. Everyone around began to greet them and clink glasses with them. Reyes was the soberest, holding Octavia's arm to make sure she didn't do anything crazy or collapse right there on the floor, and Clarke was still able to move around on her own. She was having fun and didn’t care at all that in the morning she needed to be in class, that she would be reprimanded for absenteeism, just didn’t care, alcoholic euphoria won her mind. All this time, Lexa did not take her eyes off her and Clarke noticed this.
"Hey, you! Yeah! With book!" The girl approached Woods and addressed her as if with a mockery.
Lexa got nervous and looked down at the floor, by which point Raven and Octavia had arrived.
"Come on…" Drunk Blake, took a croissant from the table and bit off half of it, seeing the laughing expressions on her friends' faces, she almost choked. “Having fun, though?”
"Could you leave me alone; I'd like to just read." Lexa politely asked the girls, but her request only caused laughter.
"Alright, let's go, there's nothing to do here."
“Wait, Raven, take your time. I wonder why the hell is she staring at me like that?” Clarke continued.
“You just walked in so spectacularly… I noticed.” Woods blushed visibly and mentally scolded herself for what she had blurted out. This proposal caused even more laughter from the opponents.
"Do you like me? My boobs, huh…" The blonde straightened her bust, which was gorgeous. Truth. Any guy in this uni wants to touch them or fuck that damn Griffin, now Lexa has joined them. "I'm sorry baby, I'm not a lesbian." Clarke turned on her heel and walked away, wiggling her hips as the other students "BOOs".
Overwhelmed by the sting of public humiliation, Lexa made a hasty retreat from the cafeteria. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, a sensation she hadn't felt so acutely before. The incident, seemingly minor to an outsider, felt monumental to her; it wasn't just the laughter of her peers echoing in her ears, but the realization that she was vulnerable in a way she had never allowed herself to be. Tears, unbidden and unwanted, blurred her vision as she fled, her heart pounding not just from the rush of her escape but from the shock of being so openly demeaned by Clarke, of all people. No one had ever made her feel so exposed, so diminished. The incident wasn't just a blow to her pride; it was a reminder of how deeply words could cut, especially when they came from someone she liked.
It was always a complicated topic, especially when she perceived her orientation and realized that she liked girls. Woods hid this for a long time, because people are cruel, if you are different from the masses, if you have other preferences, you are an outcast. At school, she had to lie to everyone and even date a guy so she wouldn't get bullied. The family soon found out anyway, and accepted the news calmly, they guessed. The mother said that no matter who Lexa likes, they still love her for who she is.
Lexa treaded softly along the winding path, her steps echoing quietly against the cobblestone. The courtyard was a place of tranquility amidst the campus bustle, dotted with ancient oaks and maples that cast a mosaic of light and shadow onto the ground. Benches, worn by time and weather, offered rest to students, but Lexa found solace under the monument to Plato, a testament to wisdom and contemplation amidst the greenery. As she settled beside the stoic statue, she brushed away tears, a stark contrast to the facade of strength and seriousness she usually presented.
“That’s it, my friend… I even can’t look at her; you look at Her Majesty!” The stone philosopher did not answer, but he was an excellent listener. "Yes. Her boobs are great, but that doesn't mean, she can be such a bitch!" It was like a monologue of a madman. "And don't look at me like that! You’re maybe wiser, but I’m not going to change my mind about her!”
Raven broke through the crowd, to the cheering Clarke. She danced, raising one arm, swinging her hips from side to side, to the cheers of the standing students around her.
“You are in vain with her like that. She seems pretty." Step-sister served a glass of beer to a friend and settled down to dance nearby.
"She's nice, yeah... But not fun. Sitting coffee drinking in the middle of such a party! Even with a book!”
“Obviously… Sick or what?” The younger Blake joined.
“And your brother? Where is he? I actually invited him too.” The blonde turned to her friend.
"He's got an important class tomorrow…" Significant oohs and aahs followed the twirling brunette back.
"Oh Gosh… This idiot starts to think!"
Not the best part of her biography, but youth is youth. Clarke spat her toothpaste down the sink, washing the rest of her face, wondering what the flashback was about. She washed her face with micellar water and carried out her daily ritual, as her ex-wife used to say, "all sorts of masks, creams, and some other garbage…". She lined her eyes with a liner and tinted her eyelashes, this make-up always emphasized her bright blue eyes, which seemed to become even larger. The blonde looked at herself in the mirror and smiled defiantly.
“Well, Mrs. Woods. You're almost official, Griffin again. You can also make up your lips brighter. She used her favorite purple lipstick from Max Factor, shade 825. It turned out quite bright, but not defiant. "Thar`s all that you need, babe."
Clarke stepped out of the bathroom, where breakfast awaited her. Her son is just a gentleman... Fluffy pancakes with wedges and cream, are their favorite family breakfast, especially for Aden.
"Good morning, mom." The high and handsome guy turned from his seat and was a little surprised, the last time his mother looked like this was at her cousin Ontari's graduation. "You look… awesome."
"Thank you, dear." Clarke took his face and looked into green eyes, sometimes it seemed to her that she could drown in them. She never loved anyone as much as her son. “You too… My beloved boy.”
“Maaaaam.” He tried to escape from her kiss, but it was too late, he could only roll eyes and wipe the lipstick off his cheek.
“What? And when you started treating me as if I were your fan girl, whose love you don't share?”
Aden Woods. True love's child, Lexa, and Clarke. He took all the best from his parents, at the same time he was like one and the second mother. Tall, curly blond with deep green eyes and such a wise and serious look beyond his years. The main handsome man of the district, schools, girls follow him in droves, there is something so attractive in him, he is like a magnet, like Clark's mother, but at the same time as serious and reasonable as Lex's mother.
“Well, mom. Are you ready for your first lesson?"
“Given that this is my first lesson after a huge gap, I am worried but generally confident.”
“Why did you choose this particular school?” The question was quite logical.
"How is that why?" Clarke smiled in her usual way. “It is not far from our home, and there is a comfortable atmosphere for me. Aunt Harper is a nurse there, have you forgotten?”
"I remember. This is my school too.” Aden took a bite of his pancake and stared at his companion. “Comfortable atmosphere you say? Doesn't it bother you that mom works there too?"
"WHAT!?" The blonde spat out her tea. “She worked at Triston!”
"Yes. But in September she transferred.” The son looked at her as if it was such a well-known fact that there was nowhere to go.
“Why am I only finding out about this now? Why Harper didn’t tell me?” Clarke clenched her fist and was ready to release a couple of unflattering expressions towards her friend, but she realized that she was to blame. "The day promises to be interesting…"
“By the way, today I’m going to mom Lexa for two weeks, remember?”
Aden lived alternately with each of the parents so as not to offend either one or the other, and they understood this, with all the arguments that happened between them, most of all they wanted their son to feel comfortable with each of them and did not want to lose connection with him.
"Certainly." She smiled, picked up her thermos of coffee, and headed out the door. "Don't forget to call me when you get to school."
“I will be where you are. We will meet…"
“Oh, right! I've already forgotten." The blonde shrugged and walked away.
"Mom is such a mom…"
"Lex, just don't worry too much." The sound from the car's dynamic echoed in Lexa’s eras.
"Do not worry? Gaia! My ex got a job at my school!” She answered angrily to her sister
“Calm down, don`t think about it, it isn`t the problem… Don't you know Clarke? Surely she even won`t notice you."
"Anya! She will be in the next class. Directly against me!” Lexa stormed on her eldest sister.
“Whoa, Lex! Calm down a little, none of us are guilty in this…”
“Shit…” The brunette rubbed her sweaty forehead. “I’m sorry, girls… You’re absolutely right, I shouldn’t.”
Her family certainly supported her, and each of her siblings tried to help. Lately, Lexa hadn't been herself, and they all understood why the once calm and reasonable sister had become so abrupt and irritable.
Students, passing by the car looked sideways at their mathematics teacher, who gesticulated sharply and almost screamed while driving. Lexa's emotions were understandable… Understandable only to her and her interlocutors, the sisters who tried to listen and support, not everyone, of course, succeeded.
"Maybe it's for the best?" Luna's voice silenced everyone. "I mean… Maybe you can reconcile."
Everyone just went silent. Gaia sighed into the phone, Anya burst into laughter, and Lexa tried not to burst into anger again. What a family. But Lexa did not have time to say anything, Lincoln, her older brother, and part-time physical education teacher, knocked on the car window.
"Lady." He called, smiling through all his teeth, “Are you going to go out? The bell in 15 minutes." Lexa showed him the direction where to go. “Are you the one who sent me the fuck out of here?”
The girl passing by laughed and immediately covered her mouth with her hand, the parents following behind looked at these two, which angered the woman even more. She quickly ended the conversation and abruptly got out of the car, by one of her murderous glances one can understand that Lincoln was in trouble and everyone in general.
“Mr. Woods, are you an idiot? Or are you pretending?" The brunette hissed at her brother. “There are a lot of our students around! In addition to being familiar at work, you also swear! Around our students!"
“I'm sorry, Miss, but I don't see anyone here but us. And anyway, what about you? Not yourself, because of Clarke?”
“God, why am I doing this!?” Lexa raised her hands to the sky and walked in front of the entrance to the school. "First girls, now you!"
“Oh, are you complaining? Are you complaining? I hasten to remind you that I have four sisters, FOUR” Link followed, “I endured this nightmare all my life. First you and the other gang of ladies in our house, including mom…”
“I think she would be glad to hear it, from her only son.”
“Shut up, Lexa.” She laughed at her brother's irritation. “Then Octavia bore me a daughter. But I'm not shaking! I thought at least I would be lucky with my nephews, but no! My sisters gave birth to girls too. I have two nieces..."
"I gave birth to a son!" Lexa objected.
“Technically, Clarke delivered him…”
“Technically, if I hear that bullshit again, I'll knock your teeth out. Aden is my son as much as Clarke’s.”
"Brrrruh. You’re so cruel. But still… I won't be surprised if Robin gives me granddaughters.” The verbal fight between the siblings continued right up to the door of the school.
"Are you out of your mind, idiot!? She's 17!"
"I agree... too early." He made a serious face. "Maybe next year." Lexa hit her brother over the head with her bag while he laughed like crazy.
“And he is complying about how hard it is for him with his sisters…”