Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The village Lexa lived in was…quaint. Having resided in cities her whole life, the move to possibly the quietest village in the UK was a drastic change from what she knew. The main reason Lexa had moved from Manchester to Thornton-le-Dale was because her job had moved to Yorkshire and houses were cheapest in the smaller villages than in the cities. Besides, as a high school teacher, it was often suggested that you should live away from where your school was to avoid bumping into students daily. The school year started a few weeks ago, and – honestly – Lexa loved being in Scarborough, fifteen miles away from where she was living. It was bustling with people from all walks of life and had an incredible beach. It wasn’t Manchester, but it was livelier than Thornton-le-Dale. The reason Lexa adored big cities was because it was easy to drift into the background. She wasn’t really a people-person except when it came to teaching, so city-living allowed her to be practically invisible. Small town or village living meant everyone knew each other. Lexa wasn’t comfortable with that. She preferred keeping herself to herself. Some would call it being withdrawn, and some would even consider it rude, but that was just Lexa.

            However, no one in the village knew that. Once Lexa moved in, there was talk in the local pubs. She’d moved into one of the nicest houses in the village that had cost a pretty penny, so many villagers were expecting the newcomer to be not one woman, but either a young couple or a family. When a singular young woman arrived, it raised a few eyebrows. Lexa had two next-door neighbours either side of her detached house. One was an elderly couple with grown-up children around the same age as herself, and the other house was home to a married couple and their young child. Neither had spoken to the woman. It was rumoured that she was hardly ever home, especially Mondays to Fridays. She would depart between half-past seven and eight in the morning and only return after four-thirty. On the weekends, she seemed to return home from shopping at half-past eight in the morning and after that, she wasn’t seen. There was a whole mystery around her, and it was making some townspeople uncomfortable.

            “We don’t even know her name or whether she has a husband,” said one man as he picked up his pint of beer. He had a huge beard as long as the hair on his head, and covered in tattoos, but his eyes told more of a story about him as a person than any of that. His name was Gustus and once he was old enough, he retired from his job as a policeman. Now he lived alone with his three dogs right next to his local pub. Those in the village would describe him as the heart and soul of the place, having lived there since he was born and work to protect its citizens.

            “We also don’t know how old she is! Has anyone even seen her properly?” asked another patron of the bar, Marcus Kane. He was the sort of person who was very open-minded and kind-hearted. However, newcomers were few and far between in their small village, and if there were any, it had always been courteous to introduce themselves to the rest of the village. Unfortunately, it had been weeks since the new woman’s arrival and she’d made no effort. This type of camaraderie amongst the community had stemmed from hundreds of years ago. To live in a small, close-knit village meant being best friends with everyone on your doorstep. The new woman was an outsider, in more ways than one. Not only did she seemingly ignore everyone, but she was also alone. No partner, no kids, not even any pets.

            “Aye, we saw her when she moved in. Pretty girl. Looks in her late twenties maybe,” another man added. This was her next-door neighbour, Nyko, built like Gustus. He was sat beside his wife, Indra, at a small table in the corner of the pub while the other men sat at the bar.

            “Surely a pretty girl nearing thirty should have a husband,” piped up Indra, watching as she gained a few nods from the other villagers.

            “Unless she’s one of those modern-day women who doesn’t want a man,” said Octavia. She was a feisty woman with beautiful hair and eyes. Her and Lincoln were the youngest couple in the village, both twenty-seven. Octavia was the ballsy one while Lincoln preferred taking a backseat. They were pleasant people and very easy to get along with.

            “Ah, like your friend,” Gustus said, nodding like he was an expert. He took a long gulp of his beer before placing it back on the bar. Octavia gave a bit of a shrug, not wanting to divulge about her friend.

            “Clarke,” said Marcus, clarifying who Gustus meant. He paused before shaking his head as he continued, “Such a lovely girl. It’s a shame she hasn’t settled down yet.”

            “Hmm, she’s just not met the right person,” said Octavia non-committedly.

            “Well, our daughter is still single…” said Indra.

            “Aye, and so is our son,” added Nyko. Octavia just shook her head, pulling away from the conversation by taking a long sip of her cider. Thankfully, the villagers had been accepting of Clarke’s sexuality. In fact, they’d even put up posters advertising to get her a partner, all good-naturedly of course! As if on cue, the doors to the pub swung open and the blonde casually strolled into the pub as she pulled off her blue scarf. It was the beginning of October and the weather was taking a turn for the worst.

            “Ah, speak of the devil!” said Marcus, raising his glass in her direction. She made her way over to the bar to take a seat beside him, an amused smile growing on her face.

            “Oh God, what’ve you been saying?” she asked. The barmaid, Harper, mixed her favourite drink before she’d even taken her coat off.

            “Just how you’ve not settled down yet. A woman like you should have men and women falling at your feet!” said Gustus. Clarke smiled warmly at the patrons. She knew they meant well, but they were unintentionally putting pressure on her finding the ‘perfect partner,’ and Clarke knew them like they were family. Whoever Clarke introduced to them would never be good enough. Still, she liked humouring them all.

            “Well, if you find a good one, send them in my direction,” Clarke replied.

            “Have you seen the new girl, Clarke?” it was Lincoln who asked her the question. Clarke quirked an eyebrow over the rim of her glass as she took a sip. What new girl? Clarke hadn’t heard about anyone moving into the village in months. However, she did have a vague memory of a house not too far from hers being up for sale. Perhaps it had been sold and she just hadn’t noticed. Her work as a mobile Vet had been hectic over Summer with countless injured dogs, cats and hedgehogs straight after Spring when all the kids, lambs and calves were born. How would she notice a house turning from on sale to sold?

            “She’s moved next door to us. Not spoken a word,” said Nyko. His face appeared free from judgement, but Clarke could tell that he was somewhat offended by this stranger living next door. Clarke was the sort of person to always see two sides of every story and hated judging people without knowing them.

            “Maybe she’s busy,” she said with a shrug. Nyko grunted, dissatisfied with her answer, but after that, the discussion was dropped.

Gradually, the patrons at the bar trickled out until midnight. Friday nights were Clarke’s nights off when her assistant Jackson would take the reigns and run the emergency Veterinary Surgery. She had both the Surgery in the outskirts of the village, and she ran mobile considering a lot of people nearby owned and lived on farms. The Spring Season kept both Clarke and Jackson substantially busy, helping with birth complications in farmyard animals. Autumn was where things began slowing down, giving Clarke some more free time. She grabbed her last drink of the night and sat down with Octavia and Lincoln at their table, her friends since they were children. They made small talk for a short while. Octavia asking how the business was going; Clarke asking about their wedding preparations; and Lincoln chiming in with the odd comment when talk turned once again to the newcomer in the village.

“She just seems like your type on paper, Clarke,” said Octavia while Lincoln nodded eagerly.

“Oh yeah?” asked Clarke.

“Tall, dark and pretty,” said Lincoln, an easy smile on his face. Clarke scoffed but couldn’t help but grin at his giddy expression. He was honestly thinking he was the best matchmaker, signposting Clarke in the direction of the brunette woman who’d moved into their village.

“No one knows anything about her. She could be a serial killer for all we know,” said Clarke. Lincoln hummed in amusement.

“Is she in the house in between Nyko and Indra and Anya and Roan?” Clarke asked, trying to place the exact location of the new woman. She was a bit of a mystery and Clarke was drawn to that. Besides, she might be able to get some information from them if they were her next-door neighbours. Octavia gave a nod as she sipped on her cider.

“Apparently, they haven’t seen her either except when she moved in,” said Lincoln.

“Ah, so she really is a mystery,” Clarke mused.

“Oh, yeah.”

The more evenings Clarke spent around the villagers, the more she realised that this new woman was no longer a mystery but more of an obsession. Nyko had been walking their dog early on a Sunday morning – much earlier than he usually did – when he ran into his neighbour. She was just coming in from a run. Nyko didn’t recognise her at first with her hair tied back and head-to-toe in workout gear. He nearly leapt out of his skin when an unfamiliar voice wished him a good morning. He managed to offer her a nod and a mumbled good morning back before she’d disappeared into her house. Marcus had practically run his trolley into hers in the local superstore when he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. The woman had muttered an apology at the same time as him before reverting to shopping. It seemed that she creeped up on people and shocked them with a snippet of an appearance. Still, no one knew her name or anything about her. Clarke’s curiosity eventually transpired into boredom. It had been over a week and she was almost sick to the back teeth of hearing the word ‘stranger.’ She knocked the rest of her drink back before standing up from the stool. She was on call tonight, so couldn’t drink alcohol anyway. She’d rather try to get a few hours of sleep than endure another conversation about what sort of job the newcomer had. At her departure, a few of the regulars shouted their goodbyes and she left into the night.

As she stepped outside the warm confines of the pub, she was greeted rather harshly by the chilly night air. It was eleven at night, so the sky was pitch black and some stars were visible. It was the twenty-sixth of October, nearing Halloween, and Clarke had to pull her thick coat tighter around her. She’d parked her van only a minute’s walk away, but it seemed to take forever. Clarke had always felt extremely safe in her village, but she was still glad that the night was clear. Sometimes, foggy Autumn nights would be a little eerie in quiet villages. Not in Thornton-le-Dale where she knows everyone, and everyone knows her.

In less than a few minutes, Clarke arrived outside her house. It was rather small, built more like a two-storey cottage than a house, but Clarke loved how cosy it was. Once she had locked up, she quickly changed into her pyjamas, checked her phone’s ringer was on, and climbed into bed, immediately relaxing into her sheets.

She had no idea how long she was asleep, but it felt like five minutes then her phone started blaring. At first, Clarke assumed she’d accidentally put an alarm on for an ungodly hour of the morning considering she never had callouts in Autumn. As a vet for five years now, not once did anyone ring her at half-past one in the morning in October.

Grabbing for her phone on the bedside table, Clarke blinked her eyes open to check the caller ID. If it was someone in her village or on a nearby farm, their contact details would be there, and she’d have some idea of what she was dealing with. However, it was an unknown number. For a minute, she thought it could be a prank call and wanted to ignore it, but her better (more trusting) nature urged her to pick up.

“Clarke Griffin of The Dale’s Vets speaking. How can I help you?” she asked over the phone, cringing at how groggy her voice sounded.

“Um hello,” shocked Clarke into a fully awake state. She was half expecting a child laughing or asking if her fridge was running or something, so when she heard the voice of a woman, it shocked her a little. She sat upright in bed as the caller continued, “I, um, didn’t know who I should ring about this, and I don’t really know what to tell you about it…Sorry, is this the Vets? I think I should ring the RSPCA or something.” The woman was rambling, and she seemed a little distressed. In Clarke’s sleepy state, she couldn’t keep up with what the woman was saying and with every word, she was getting more confused.

“Hold on,” said Clarke. The woman immediately shut up, allowing Clarke to ask, “What’s the problem? Is there an animal that needs treatment?”

After a moment of silence, the woman replied, “I’m not sure about treatment. Maybe. I just didn’t know who to ring.” Clarke was frustrated that the woman clearly didn’t know what she was talking about, but she felt guilty considering how frantic the caller sounded. Clarke knew that there was something wrong, and the longer she stayed on this phone call, the more danger an animal could be in.

“Okay, just give me your name and address and I’ll come see what’s going on,” said Clarke, scrambling for her notepad beside her bed. She clicked the pen on and positioned it over the paper.

“I really don’t want to trouble you. I don’t know if a vet can help,” said the woman.

“I’m already awake and you rang for a reason. Please, just tell me where you are, and I can help. If we need the RSPCA, we can call them once I’m there, okay?” Clarke reassured, trying to sound sincere and kind. It must’ve worked as the woman said her name and address. “Okay, give me ten minutes and I’ll be there. Don’t disturb or approach the animal. See you in a minute,” said Clarke. Before she waited for a reply, Clarke ended the call and began getting dressed. Only as she sat in her van, turning on the engine did the address hit her full force. The woman who rang her with an issue was the stranger who’d just moved in. The stranger who didn’t even have a pet. What on Earth was going on?

Hesitantly, Clarke pulled up outside the house, noticing that the outside light, illuminating the front of the house, was on. Clarke thought that it cast a bit of a spooky glow over the front garden. The only thing that gave her the guts to get out of her car was the fact that she could see that the living room light was on through the curtains. This woman was frantically ringing about a potentially injured animal, so why was Clarke so apprehensive? Perhaps it was because it had suddenly turned foggy, or perhaps it was because this stranger had been hyped up so much, and Clarke knew nothing about her except her name. She grabbed her emergency vet bag and made her way to the front door. Before she could second guess her decision, she rapped on the door, praying that it wouldn’t wake the neighbours. The last thing she wanted was the gossip around the village that she was visiting the mysterious stranger in the dead of night. In less than a few seconds, the front door swung open, and Clarke was lost for words. The woman was beautiful. Clarke suddenly forgot every word in the English vocabulary.

“Hi, you must be Clarke,” said the woman.

“Uh, hi yeah. Alexandria, right?” Clarke answered, her brain finally catching up with her.

The woman gave her a small, bashful smile as she corrected, “Just Lexa is fine.” The woman was dressed very casually in a pair of joggers and a thick jumper, her dark brunette hair pulled up into a messy bun on her head. Her eyes – though a vibrant green – looked tired, like she’d been kept up for the past few nights. Nevertheless, Clarke finally understood why Lincoln and Octavia had agreed that Lexa was typically her type.

After some prolonged ogling, Clarke cleared her throat as she asked, “May I come in?” Lexa side-stepped, giving Clarke ample space to walk through the door. However, she was still apprehensive. This woman seemingly had no animals, thus no reason to contact a vet, and it was the middle of the night. Everything about the situation felt odd, especially considering no one else in the village had spoken more than two words to her. Clarke felt a little on edge, clutching her emergency bag tightly in one hand.

As Clarke took her first few steps into the house, she was pleasantly surprised. Its previous owners were a couple that had lived there practically their whole lives. They’d recently passed away and the house was up for sale. Before they died, they had a cat that Clarke had removed a tick from in the house. Back then, it was old-fashioned and a little musty. She had no idea what she was expecting now that a young, seemingly single woman had moved in, but the place looked completely transformed. The furniture looked all relatively new in the front room, new carpets had been put down throughout, and every room had been redecorated to a modern, stylish standard. In fact, everything in the house looked perfectly…normal.

“So, what’s the problem?” asked Clarke. She’d inspected the living room and some of the kitchen and was certain that there were no pets in the house.

“Oh, um, follow me,” said Lexa. The woman led the way into the kitchen then stopped by the patio doors. Clarke stopped just behind her, wondering what on earth was going on. “Let me just turn the lights out,” said Lexa in a quiet voice. This time, Clarke felt her heartrate skyrocket. This was weird.

As the lights were switched off, Clarke felt panic rise in her gut. She’d never been in this situation before. If something happened to her, no one would know where she was. Jackson might be able to trace her call back to this property, but she could go undiscovered for days. Clarke knew she was getting ahead of herself, but she couldn’t help the anxiety that was coursing through her. She felt the brunette sidle up beside her again and Clarke froze. The woman stopped in front of the patio door and looked out onto the back garden. Clarke was about three seconds away from screaming and making a beeline for the front door when she heard something rather strange coming from outside. Her eyes were drawn to the patio doors. In the darkness, nothing was visible. She could only just make out the grass blowing in the light wind, something at the back that looked like a shed, and then a large lump at the very back that was a hedge. From beside her, she saw Lexa’s arm move slightly.

“Just over there. You can make them out,” Lexa whispered. Clarke followed the direction her finger was pointing and felt her breath catch in her throat. Down near the shed were small animal figures moving ever so slightly. Clarke squinted, trying desperately to figure out what they were, but they were too far away, and it was too dark. There was one thing that was indisputable though. They were animals, and not just something as common as pigeons.

“I need to go outside to see them,” said Clarke. She turned away from the patio door to Lexa. The woman whipped her head around, wide-eyed. Clarke felt mesmerised by her green eyes that even seemed to twinkle in limited lighting.

“You can’t! What if they’re dangerous or rabid? We don’t know what they are or whether they’ll attack or something,” Lexa rambled. She strode over to the light switch and the room was bathed in golden light, shrouding the small creatures from view.

“I have to go see what they are! I mean, they’re in your back garden so they can’t be too feral,” Clarke replied. Lexa paced towards her kettle, shaking her head.

“I can’t let you go out there in case you’re attacked,” said Lexa. Clarke stood, open-mouthed.

“Then why did you ring? What do you expect me to do?” Clarke countered. This seemed to stump Lexa. She flicked the kettle on, placing her hands on the counter to think.

Her voice sounded small as she said, “I don’t know. I just didn’t know what to do.” Clarke could at least understand this. The woman had moved into a house in the middle of a close-knit village where she doesn’t know anyone and found something odd in her garden. Who else was she turn to rather than someone who could help with animals? Clarke let out a small sigh.

“Look, Lexa,” Clarke began, tasting the woman’s name in her mouth, “I’m the vet and I can assure you that those creatures will be more scared of us than we are of them. Just…let me handle this.” Lexa seemed to consider this for a while, rolling the idea over in her head. After a moment, she gave a hesitant nod.

“Okay. Do you take tea or coffee?” she asked, and Clarke smiled.

Clarke had no idea what she was expecting as she tentatively made her over to the shed in the corner of the garden. That was where she’d spotted the movement of the creatures. All the lights had been turned off, allowing Clarke to rely on the darkness to cover her. Thankfully, her eyes adjusted to the blackness and she stepped quietly over. As she got closer, the figures seemed more defined. They were small, about the same size as a small to medium dog, and slightly bigger than a cat. She was able to count four.

When she was about two metres away from them, she picked up on a few defining characteristics of the creatures. Long snouts, small pointy ears, and bushy tails: Foxes. However, they were very small, only a few months old. Usually, this wouldn’t concern Clarke at all, but they were making small noises like they were crying. Not one of them was led down or looked injured in any way, but one thing really stood out to Clarke. There was no larger fox. There was no mother fox.

Slowly, Clarke made her way back to the house. She’d not encountered a fox cub in so long, never mind a full kit, so she had some mixed feelings. She was completely dazed by the kit and how cute they were, but on the other hand, she was worried. A kit was never seen without its mother before they were much older than the ones in Lexa’s garden. Besides, Clarke had been there for almost twenty minutes, and a mother fox would never leave her pups alone for longer than fifteen. That meant there was usually a problem.

Lexa slid the patio door open, letting Clarke back into her warm house. She passed her the hot cup of coffee, but Clarke placed it back down on the dining table.

“They’re fox cubs with no mother. I need to find the mother. There’s a chance she’s injured and can’t get back to them,” Clarke explained. Listening intently, Lexa nodded along.

“Okay, can I help?” she asked, but Clarke shook her head.

“No, I need you here in case the mother comes back for them,” Clarke instructed. She grabbed her phone and made her way to the front door before she said, “If she does come back, just text me. I’m going to go down a few streets looking for her, so I’ll be back in ten or fifteen minutes.” Lexa nodded once more.

She leaned against the counter facing the back garden, her cup of tea cradled in both hands. Lexa was conflicted. She’d rung the vets because she genuinely didn’t know what else to do. She’d heard the foxes’ cries since ten o’clock that night, and – after trying to find out what she should do – the mobile vet’s number had popped up in her searches. With all fantastic reviews and out-of-hours services, it had been almost a no-brainer to ring the person on-call. She wasn’t expecting the blonde who turned up to be one of the most stunning women Lexa had ever laid eyes on – even in her leggings, scrubs and her hair thrown up in a ponytail. Also, Clarke was the one person in Thornton-le-Dale who’d had a conversation with her, and she seemed nice. It was clear that she was a warm person. Before she left Manchester, her friends had told her how important it was for her to make friends in a new village. Lexa had tried, but she just wasn’t great at it. People saw her resting Bitch face and never approached her. Clarke could be her gateway into the community in the village. She’d considered heading to one of the locals for a drink one night in hopes that she’d gel with some villagers, but she was scared they’d reject her, and she’d end up sat on a barstool on her own. Maybe she could invite Clarke out for a drink at some point. She’d feel more comfortable if she went accompanied.

When there was a knock at her door a short while later, Lexa found Clarke on the other side, her hair whipped by the wind. She looked exhausted and Lexa felt guilty that she’d dragged the vet from her bed. It seemed clear that she’d had no luck with finding the mother fox as her eyes were downcast and lips pursed like she was disappointed.

“Any luck?” Lexa asked. Clarke shook her head and Lexa took it as her cue to move out of the way to let Clarke in. She picked up her coffee from the table, relishing in the fact that it was still warm. After taking a long sip, she faced Lexa, her back leaning against the counter.

“The mother is nowhere to be found. It means one of two things and neither of them are good,” Clarke began. Lexa nodded, urging her to continue, “One – the mother has abandoned them. Two – she’s injured or dead too far away from the kit. Either way, the pups are orphans.” Despite Lexa not even knowing anything about the fox cubs in her back garden, she felt her stomach drop.

“Oh,” she managed. After taking a sip of her tea, she asked, “So, what can I do now?”

Letting out of a sigh, Clarke said, “There’s not much. If you want them moved, you can ring the RSPCA and they’ll re-release them somewhere else, but they will eventually move on. While they’re here, they’re obviously only young and can’t do much of the hunting themselves. If they have shelter, food and water, they’ll survive until they’re big enough to move on without their brothers or sisters.”

“Okay,” said Lexa. She had an internal debate about what she should do. Her head was telling her to ring the RSPCA to move them on then they wouldn’t be her problem anymore, but her heart was telling her to keep them. It had been a good thirty seconds of her not saying anything, still deciding what to do when Clarke spoke up.

“If you don’t want to ring RSPCA, I can come round every couple of days to feed them and check on them. It saves you doing it,” Clarke offered. Lexa knew that looking after them wasn’t the problem at all. She’d happily do that, but she certainly wouldn’t mind the blonde coming to her house frequently – even if it was just to feed the creatures in her back garden. That made up her mind.

“Okay, they can stay. Just give me a list of what I need to do,” said Lexa.

The following day, Lexa finished work at the high school, carefully placing her students’ folders into her satchel. It had been a productive day, but Lexa was anticipating her return home to the fox cubs. She’d popped to the shop super early to grab some raw meat for the kit to eat that was sitting in the bottom drawer of her fridge. She was going to drop it round the garden while they were sleeping. Her project for the evening was constructing a small hut for them to stay sheltered from the elements as the nights grew colder and wetter. She hopped into her car and made her way home.

It felt that as soon as she stepped into the kitchen to grab the raw meat, there was a knock at the door. She’d not even had time to change out of her workwear. Confused, she walked over, pulling the front door open to reveal the familiar blonde. Clarke had debated nearly all day whether she should pop round to check on the pups. Of course, she had wanted to see the stunning brunette again, but she wasn’t sure if her presence would be uninvited. Still, if she went under the guise of looking out for the animals, it would give her a good reason to be there. Clarke found herself parked outside of Lexa’s house once her shift had ended. Seemingly, her subconscious had made the decision for her.

As Lexa let her into her house, a confused expression on her face, she took in what the woman was wearing. A pair of black, tapered trousers with a white shirt tucked in, and a longline grey, stylish cardigan over the top. Clarke figured that she’d just caught the woman as she returned from work as she was still in a pair of black brogues.

“Sorry for barging in; I just wanted to check up on the kit,” said Clarke. It was even a reason that checked out as she was still in her vet scrubs over a pair of gym leggings.

“Yeah, of course. Sorry, I’ve just got back from work, so I’ve not seen them yet,” Lexa replied. She made her way towards the kitchen with Clarke trailing behind.

“No, my fault. I should’ve checked ahead before calling round,” said Clarke, immediately regretting popping around. Lexa brushed her concerns off. Clarke followed up with, “What is it that you do? Your job, I mean.” She watched as Lexa clicked the kettle on, pulling out two mugs from her cupboard.

“I work at the secondary school in Scarborough,” said Lexa, piquing Clarke’s interest immediately. This was not what she was expecting. She didn’t know why but she imagined Lexa working a boring corporate job or behind a desk.

“Oh,” said Clarke, raising her eyebrows, “What do you teach?”

“German and French,” she replied nonchalantly. Clarke’s eyebrows shot even higher.

“You speak three languages?” Clarke questioned. She didn’t realise how high her voice had sounded, like she didn’t believe her. Lexa turned to face her, a smile playing on her lips.

“No, I speak five languages. English, German, French, Spanish and Italian,” said Lexa. She quirked an eyebrow, almost challenging Clarke to question her again. Clarke had never been more interested in someone’s seemingly secret side to them.

“Why did you learn all those?” Clarke asked.

“I did German and French at school, then started Spanish at college. At Uni, I continued with all three languages then applied to a teaching graduate scheme. I’ve taught all three at different schools. Spanish is my weakest to teach, but my weakest overall is Italian. I only know that one because my ex-girlfriend was Italian and her whole family spoke their language,” Lexa explained. Clarke felt her heart leap into her mouth at the mention of an ex-girlfriend. That confirmed that Lexa wasn’t straight.

“Learning a language for someone. That’s dedication,” said Clarke. Lexa passed her the cup of coffee that she’d perfected to Clarke’s tastes and felt her anxiety around coming out to a stranger subside.

“Well, we were engaged at one point,” said Lexa. Clarke sensed a history there and some hint of sadness, so she brushed past it. They talked mostly about their jobs for a few minutes until Clarke’s drink wasn’t too scalding to sip. For a good while, both women forgot about the kit in Lexa’s garden and felt like they were two friends catching up, or maybe even two people on a date. When Clarke did turn around to face the window into the back garden, she reflexively grabbed hold of Lexa’s forearm.

“Do you see them?” Clarke asked, her voice no louder than a whisper. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the scene unfolding outside, but she could feel sparks flying through Lexa’s arm to her own fingertips.

“Yeah,” Lexa’s voice was so quiet, Clarke only just heard it.

Outside on the grass were the kit of fox cubs, but they weren’t curled up asleep like they were when Lexa left them this morning. Instead, they were all awake and hopping around the garden joyously. Clarke felt the wind get knocked out of her chest as she watched the scene with awe. Lexa was fairing the same. The brunette had never seen foxes in her life due to living right in the middle of cities, and – although Clarke had come across a few in her occupation – nothing compared to watching the cubs in their natural environment just playing. They were rough for small animals, tumbling over each other as they scrapped in the back garden. The two women could do nothing but observe.

The same thing happened a day later. However, this time, Lexa managed to escape work earlier, breezing through light traffic and arriving at her house in time to change into some more casual clothes than the previous day. She immediately ventured into the kitchen, eyeing into her back garden as she spotted the lively cubs up early and playing around. While Clarke had been at her house yesterday, they’d opted to open the patio door to try to feed the kit. Thankfully, the pups didn’t seem scared or threatened by them opening the door and were largely receptive to the food they received. This time, Lexa was hoping to get a little closer to them. She had a small patio beside the kitchen then a long stretch of grass to the back of the garden where the hedge stood. If she remained on the patio, the fox cubs would still be a good distance away from her, but she’d have a greater vantage point for watching them play. It was certainly a sight to behold.

Grabbing her pre-chopped raw meat from the bottom drawer of her fridge, she slowly slid the patio doors open. The cubs directed their attention to the noise for only a few seconds before losing interest and continuing with their game. Tentatively, Lexa padded outside in her slippers to stand on the patio. Once again, the pups looked up, but there was no regard of a threat. They even let the brunette sit down on the step near the kitchen door without hardly a second glance in her direction. After about ten minutes, Lexa felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

Vet: Are you free if I come over? x

They’d swapped numbers, both arguing that it would just be easier that way for them to communicate about the fox cubs. Lexa had practically felt her heart leap when Clarke had suggested it. So far, all their conversations had been strictly on the topic of the litter, with Clarke sometimes sending Lexa some news articles or advice pages on wild fox cubs. Lexa had almost beamed at her screen with each one. Seeing Clarke’s contact pop up on her phone gave her a jolt of excitement – even if it was just asking how the cubs were.

Fox Mum: Yeah of course. Doors open, I’m out back x

Clarke had first been apprehensive about simply walking into Lexa’s house considering she hardly knew the woman, but Lexa had sent her the instruction as a request. She checked the cul-de-sac for any prying neighbours before scampering to Lexa’s front door. She wasn’t entirely sure why she hadn’t yet told anyone about her meetings with the stranger in the village. She supposed that if she didn’t tell anyone, it would be hers and Lexa’s little secret. Besides, the other villagers were still largely sceptical of the newcomer, and who was Clarke to change their minds?

When she did push the front door open, she felt a slight breeze coming from the kitchen. She closed the door behind her before making her way towards the back of the house, coming to a halt when she finally located where the breeze was coming from. The kitchen door was wide open and sat on the small step was the teacher Clarke had grown awfully fond of in a matter of days. All Clarke could see was the back of her profile, her long brown hair flowing down her back, and her arms wrapped around herself in a thick black cardigan. The garden in front of her was an array of oranges, browns and golds from all the fallen leaves off the trees, and right at the back was the kit, pouncing at each other on the grass. Clarke felt like she was dreaming. Everything seemed perfect.

Sensing that someone was behind her, Lexa involuntarily turned her head, a warm smile settling on her lips as she met Clarke’s eyes. She patted the space beside her on the step and Clarke took a seat. Foolishly, she’d left her coat in the van and was really feeling the Autumnal chill in the late afternoon air. The days were much shorter now. Clarke didn’t mind. In fact, she loved the month of October. She just wished she’d brought her coat from the car.

Lexa must’ve noticed as she asked, “Are you cold?” Honestly, Clarke tried to play it off that she wasn’t, but let out a shiver that wracked her whole body as she shook her head. Lexa let out a small laugh, not daring to break the tranquillity that had fallen upon them since she’d stepped outside. “Wait there a sec,” said Lexa. She pushed herself up from the cold concrete step and made her way back inside the house, giving Clarke the opportunity to finally take notice of the creatures at the bottom of the garden since she’d arrived. Her attention had been filled with nothing but green eyes, brunette locks, and a perfect smile since she’d arrived, but now Lexa was out of her sight, she looked on at the kit. They were playful and adorable, running around in the grass as they chased each other. What surprised Clarke was how docile they were? Of course, foxes aren’t aggressive and hardly ever attack, but they’re usually more wary of humans. Perhaps these foxes had been exposed to humans before, or maybe they hadn’t been taught by their mother to fear humans. Either way, Clarke felt privileged that they felt so comfortable around them.

Moments later, Lexa reappeared by her side, a jacket slung over her arm. She passed the blonde a faux-fur-lined denim jacket, and Clarke accepted it gratefully. As she pulled it on, she felt encased by the woman’s scent. She couldn’t pinpoint it at all, but she found it comforting and homely, having to stop herself from burying her nose into the fur collar. The jacket offered her so much warmth, she found herself digging her hands into the deep pockets in a desperate attempt to gain more heat from it. It was so comfy, and after a few minutes, Clarke found her temperature increase slightly. It was enough to ensure she wasn’t shivering, but that she could still feel the slight Autumn breeze. It was cosy.

“So, should we handfeed them?” Lexa asked after a long moment. That was something Clarke had noticed about the brunette. She was more than content remaining in silence if it was comfortable. There were never any awkward silences or forced conversations between them. If they wanted to just watch the fox cubs and enjoy each other’s company, that’s exactly what they would do. Clarke had never been around anyone like that. It was refreshing.

“I forgot to forward the article to you,” Clarke began, digging her phone out of her pocket, “I read that handfeeding any wild animals is quite bad for them because it means they can become dependent on you or humans in general. It reduces their chance of survival in the wild and whatnot.” As Clarke info dumped on Lexa, the brunette found herself smiling endearingly at how passionate and well-informed the vet was. Lexa understood she was crushing on the blonde, but she wasn’t scared of it. She welcomed it, secretly hoping that Clarke felt the same.

“Okay, so what do we do?” Lexa asked. Clarke looked up from her phone screen, feeling her heart jump at the smile on Lexa’s face, before considering her question.

“It might be worth hiding the meat around your garden, just as a way to encourage them to forage for their food,” Clarke suggested. Yesterday, Lexa had just deposited the meat outside the makeshift shelter she’d built for them. It looked like a mini kennel, but very basic. Woodwork was not her strong suit. Thankfully, Clarke had chipped in, offering to add some decoration onto it, painting it vibrant colours and making it look a lot better than Lexa’s poor attempt.

“Okay, are we safe doing it while they’re out and about, or should we wait until they’re asleep again?”

Clarke considered this before answering, “They seem quite chilled, so I’d say we’re good to do it now. As pups, they’re mostly just curious, not dangerous, but maybe close your patio door in case they get too curious and try to sneak into your house.” Lexa let out a chuckle before following Clarke’s advice.

Handing half of the meat to the vet, Lexa set out around the garden, keeping her distance from the kit near her shed. There were very limited hiding places for the food, so she ended up just covering one hunk in soil near a vegetable patch she was yet to plant, placing one in an empty plant pot on its side, and one behind a particularly tall clump of grass. She managed to conceal her last hunk of meat low in the hedge as she squatted down to ensure the cubs couldn’t just spot it from a distance. She was seconds away when she heard Clarke’s voice call out her name. Immediately, Lexa knew something was wrong because Clarke sounded cautious, like she was warning her.

Slowly, Lexa turned her head around, keeping the rest of her body completely still. She spotted Clarke in her periphery, all the meat gone from her hands and hidden somewhere in the garden. However, as she glanced towards the floor, she felt her breath catch in her throat. Only about a metre away from her was one of the cubs in the kit. He was probably the smallest, slowly edging his way closer to the brunette with tiny, hesitant steps. His snout was elevated as he sniffed the air. He could obviously smell the meat with Lexa being so close to him. However, he didn’t seem interested in what was covered by the hedge. Instead, he was making his way towards Lexa. Surprisingly, Lexa didn’t feel scared or nervous. She was apprehensive, obviously, but she knew that the fox pup wouldn’t hurt her.

“Clarke,” said Lexa through her teeth. She didn’t want to frighten the pup with her loud voice and potentially scare him away, or (worse) cause him to attack her. She kept her eyes on the small creature, not daring to turn away from him. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Clarke was watching them intently, frozen in place like she was scared to disturb whatever was going on. “Clarke,” Lexa repeated in that same tone, “What do I do?”

“I don’t think he’s going to hurt you. He’s just curious,” said Clarke, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. Lexa gave a subtle nod, trying to instil some confidence in herself. Cubs aren’t dangerous, she tried convincing herself. When the cub was merely inches from her, it lowered its snout and looked at her. Lexa looked back. After several long moments, it seemed satisfied, blinked once, and turned around, trotting back over to the rest of the kit who’d seemingly unnoticed one had approached a human.

When Lexa finally felt her breathing return to normal, she stood up again and calmly made her way back inside, waiting for Clarke to join her before shutting the patio door and letting out a long breath. Clarke practically squealed, beaming from ear-to-ear as she pulled out her phone. Lexa covered her face with her hands, still in shock from her encounter.

“Did that seriously just happen?” she asked, mostly to herself. She peeked through the gaps between her fingers to look at Clarke, but the blonde was too busy pressing buttons on her phone.

“You tell me,” Clarke quipped, flashing her phone at Lexa. On the screen was a video playing of the small cub making its way over to the brunette. The whole thing was there, right in front of her, as evidence that she didn’t hallucinate or make any of it up. A fox cub had approached her!

“I still can’t believe it!” Lexa breathed out. She dropped her hands back to her sides, feeling a wide smile taking its place on her features. It felt so surreal.

“Me neither! I still can’t believe I got it on camera! That was amazing!” Clarke gushed. She replayed the video twice, thrice, four times over. “I guess it’s true. You really are the fox mum,” Clarke mused. Playfully, Lexa rolled her eyes.

Each day passed the same. Both Clarke and Lexa would go to work then travel back to Lexa’s house to check on the kit. Everyday was the same, but with each day that passed, Lexa found herself growing fonder of their routine. Having the cubs in her back garden gave her an odd feeling of not being so alone anymore. It felt like she had a companion, a pet. She was putting out food and water for them daily, had Clarke round to check if they were injured, and she’d even given them names. Clarke had vehemently warned her against doing so, claiming that seeing them leave would be even more painful if she was attached to them, but Lexa couldn’t help herself. Clarke had confirmed one day that there was one female and three males. Lexa named the female cub Rosy. The males were called Cinnamon, Ginger and Felix. In all fairness, when Clarke had heard the names, she’d melted. They were perfect.

The kit had been in Lexa’s back garden now for five days. It was Friday and Lexa knew that the cubs would be moving on soon. A part of her was a little relieved that she wouldn’t have to contend with feeding them and buying them meat, etc, but the bigger part of her was sad. She didn’t want to come home and find that they were no longer in the shelter. It also meant that Clarke’s visits would cease, maybe. She’d enjoyed the blonde’s company the most. Oftentimes, Clarke would stay for tea. Lexa would cook, or maybe they’d order a takeaway, but Clarke was never at Lexa’s house for shorter than an hour, both searching for excuses for the blonde to stay longer.

When Lexa dragged herself out of bed on the Friday morning, going through the routine of getting showered and dressed, she threw a cautionary glance out of the window to check on the cubs. Usually, at seven in the morning, they were out, playing in the grass before the sun was fully up. However, something felt off this morning, and when Lexa looked outside, she couldn’t see any of the pups. Her stomach dropped. Disregarding her breakfast, she unlocked the patio door, stalking out into the back garden. The closer she got to the mini kennel, the slower she walked, not wanting to startle the cubs in case they had just retired earlier to sleep. But as she got closer, the gnawing feeling of disappointment in her stomach grew. For some reason, she just knew they’d gone. Her suspicions were correct when she popped her head down to investigate the doorway.

Although she knew this day was coming, it still stung. She no longer needed to head to the shops extra early to pick up some raw meat or collect the water bowl and fill it up from her tap. Those were the things she should be grateful for, but they just made her sadder. She knew it was silly. They were only fox cubs and she’d only had them five days. It wasn’t like they were real pets she could stroke and talk to. It didn’t stop her reaching for her phone and sending a text to Clarke, though, letting her know about the sad news. The blonde apologised in her text, assuring her that she’d pop around after work so they could talk. That at least gave Lexa something to look forward to.

Her workday felt long. She even resorted to checking the clock nearly every ten minutes, willing time to go faster like her students often did. When it finally was time for her to go home, she climbed into her car and let out a heavy sigh. There’d be no cubs playing around in her garden for her to watch with Clarke as they sipped hot chocolate. With a heavy heart, Lexa started the engine and pulled out of the school carpark to head home.

Clarke’s van was already parked outside her house when she arrived. The blonde was still sat in the driver’s seat, clearly awaiting the teacher’s return. Lexa knocked on her window, sending the woman into a jump of shock. Lexa apologised as Clarke swung her door open. The vet had apparently had time to return home to change from her day at work as she was in a pair of jeans and an oversized jumper. This look was something Lexa hadn’t seen before, completely used to seeing her in scrubs and leggings. She suited this casual attire.

“Just give me a minute. I’ve got a surprise for you,” said Clarke. Lexa looked apprehensively at the vet, but Clarke waved her off, willing her in the direction of her front door. Carrying her student’s folders in one hand and her housekeys in the other, Lexa made her way down the driveway and opened her front door. She had enough time to turn the kettle on, set out two mugs, and even make the drinks before Clarke reappeared. For the first time since Clarke’s visits, Lexa placed the cups down in the living room. She’d never had a guest in there before, but it was one of her favourite rooms. It was by far the warmest. She had just lit the log fire when her front door opened.

“So, I hope you don’t mind me doing this,” Clarke began. Lexa could hear that she was toeing her shoes off in the hallway. Clarke’s voice gradually got louder and clearer as she made her way towards the front room, “And you can always say no, but I was just wondering that since the kit was gone, you might—” Clarke was immediately cut off by a gasp as she walked through the doorway of the lounge. In her hand was a medium cage containing possibly the smallest, cutest German Shepherd puppy Lexa had ever seen. With a self-satisfied smile, Clarke placed the cage down on the floor and Lexa was like a moth to a flame, nearly tripping over the furniture to get a closer look at the puppy.

“Who’s this?” she cooed in her voice reserved for children and small animals. Clarke melted.

“Well, he doesn’t actually have a name yet. I was going to leave that one up to you,” said Clarke suggestively. Both women were kneeling either side of the cage and their eyes met as they both looked up at the same time. Clarke was searching for Lexa’s reaction while Lexa was searching for clarification of what Clarke meant.

“What do you mean it’s up to me?” Lexa questioned, her brows furrowing.

“He’s a rescue. We got a call-out this morning about an abandoned set of pups that looked injured. They were all adopted pretty much right away, except this fella because he was the runt, but only because of how small he is. Anyway, considering you liked having the kit in your garden and you were pretty cut up about losing them this morning, I figured you might want him…” Clarke trailed off at the end, desperately hoping she hadn’t overstepped. When Lexa’s neutral expression failed to falter, Clarke hastened to add, “But if you don’t want him, there’s no pressure! We can put him back up for adoption, no problem.”

After what felt like an eternity on Clarke’s half, Lexa finally shook her head as she said, “No, I want him.” Clarke let out a huge sigh of relief. At hearing her own words, Lexa felt nerves supersede her excitement. She’d just agreed to take a puppy off Clarke’s hands, but that entailed so much work, dedication and commitment. Did she have the time? The resources? All that stress disappeared when she looked back at the puppy. It would be worth it.

“Do you want to meet him?” Clarke asked. Vehemently, Lexa nodded, feeling her excitement build as Clarke unlatched the cage. Lexa was wholly unprepared for the bundle of fluff to immediately scamper towards her, all limbs. It practically jumped on her, licking every inch of skin on her face and neck as she tried to stroke him. With a warm smile that seemed reserved for only Lexa recently, Clarke said, “Looks like he likes you.” Simultaneously, Lexa and the puppy both looked up at Clarke’s voice. Already, Clarke could tell that these two would be inseparable. Lexa gave her a dopey smile that Clarke had never seen before. She felt like this was the real Lexa, completely unfiltered and happy. This was the Lexa that Clarke was falling in love with.

It seemed rash considering they’d known each other less than a week, but Clarke felt like she’d met her match. Lexa was considerate, insanely smart, and gorgeous. She had an inkling that the brunette may feel the same. Sometimes, she’d catch Lexa sneaking glances at her, and it made her heart leap. However, Clarke hardly ever made the first move and she figured Lexa was the same. They’d spent evenings sat at the dining table in the kitchen, chatting over Chinese food, pizza or Lexa’s legendary chicken curry as Clarke had appropriately named it. Countless cups of tea and coffee had been consumed as they stood by the patio doors or kitchen windows, gazing out at the kit in Lexa’s garden. They’d done nothing but text when they were apart, and that’s how Clarke knew that her feelings for Lexa were real. Usually, she’d exchange a few messages, but never to the extent she did with the teacher. Clarke wanted to know everything and always be around her. Seeing the woman with her new puppy just cemented that.

“Do you want to go on a date?” Clarke heard the words leave her lips before she even considered what she’d asked.

“What?” Lexa asked. Her dark green eyes were wide, surprised as she stared unblinking at the blonde. For the second time in ten minutes, Clarke thought she’d overstepped.

“Oh, um, I was just wondering if you wanted to go on a date…with me, I mean,” Clarke mumbled. She didn’t dare meet the eyes of the brunette, instead dropping her gaze to her hands in her lap. A few moments passed before Clarke added, “I like you and I think we get along quite well, and I was just hoping to maybe meet under a different pretence to emergency animal visits.” She looked up, immediately noticing that Lexa’s expression hadn’t changed. She was still in shock. As Clarke’s eyes met hers, it was like she was snapped from a trance.

“Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah, sorry, I’d love to. I just, um, figured you were straight,” said Lexa, a small blush creeping to her cheeks. Clarke found it endearing.

“No, I’m bi. Maybe I should’ve been clearer about that,” said Clarke. She felt a weight off her shoulders now that Lexa wasn’t just looking at her. Besides, the woman had just accepted her request to go on a date! The date! Oh, what was she going to do for the date? “Um, is there anything you want to do for the date?” asked Clarke awkwardly.

“Aren’t you the one to come up with something considering you asked me?” Lexa countered, quirking her eyebrow. This time it was Clarke who blushed.

She turned her attention to the puppy and an idea popped into her head, “How about we go walking?” Lexa followed her eyeline, landing on her new pet and smiled.

“That would be nice,” Lexa replied.

Nodding, Clarke said, “Okay, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at like eleven. We can grab a meal deal or something from Tesco before we go.” Lexa nodded along, not trusting her words. It felt like her heart was jumping up and down with excitement in her chest, and if she tried to talk, she might just hiccup. Clarke’s smile transformed into a full beam before she remembered to check her watch. With a sigh, she said, “Well, I better get going. I’m meeting some friends at the pub tonight.” She rose to her feet, scratching the puppy behind his pointy ears. Lexa stood up too, opting to walk Clarke to the door. The German Shepherd padded after them, his tail wagging wildly.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Lexa. She leaned against her front doorframe as Clarke stood on the driveway. She was delaying leaving, wanting to spend every second with the brunette. She tried thinking of what else she could say to prolong their time together, eyes landing on the puppy.

“I want him to have a name by tomorrow morning,” said Clarke. She was wearing a lop-sided smile and Lexa thought she looked beautiful. She couldn’t believe she was lucky enough to be going on a date with someone as stunning as Clarke.

“I think I’ve got something in mind,” said Lexa.

“Right, well. See you tomorrow!” said Clarke. She lingered a second longer before giving Lexa a small wave and departing down the drive to her van. Lexa bid her goodbye and waved when Clarke drove away. As she closed the door behind her, she looked down at the puppy. He had cocked his head to one side, his pointy ears pricked up. She smiled down at him.

“How does Kit sound, boy?” Lexa asked him. He immediately jumped to all four paws and wagged his tail excitedly. She laughed at him, scratching behind his ears as she added, “Kit it is, then.”

Chapter Text

Clarke was running around her house in a tizzy. She had no idea what she was going to wear for her date. Well, that was a lie. She’d spent a good hour Friday night picking out the perfect outfit that looked cute for a walk. However, her plans were scuppered when she woke up early on the Saturday morning to pouring down rain. Her weather app the night before had lied to her and told her that it was going to be a sunny, but chilly day. Now that she knew it was raining, she couldn’t just opt for her walking jacket. She’d need something waterproof. So, she was running around the house in her black sports leggings, black sports bra, and walking boots. She had a piece of toast between her teeth and flask of coffee in her hand as she trudged upstairs. She needed a t-shirt or a jumper, and a coat. Thankfully, she’d packed her backpack the night before, containing a few water bottles, plasters, paracetamol, and snacks like bananas. All she needed was her meal deal from ASDA before they set off. As she threw the door to her bedroom open, she scoured through her wardrobe as she munched on her toast. Nothing seemed suitable to wear. She debated ringing Octavia to ask for her advice. Her and Lincoln were always going on walking dates, but if she rang Octavia about it, she’d get a hundred and one questions about who she was going out with. That was something Clarke didn’t want to contend with yet. She was hoping to introduce Lexa to all the villagers before saying that she was dating her.

            Once she finished her toast, she let out a huff. She had a blue, lightweight jumper that would work to keep her warm while not feeling too heavy as they were walking. Throwing that on, she began searching for the coat she used when she went walking with her friends. It was green and lightweight, but rather showerproof. It would have to do. At quarter-to eleven, Clarke slipped in the bathroom to do her hair. She surveyed herself in the mirror, suddenly feeling nerves pool in her stomach. Her and Lexa had spent so much time together recently that today shouldn’t feel any different. However, they were now seeing each other under the pretence of dating. Clarke really didn’t want to mess this up. She scraped her hair back into a high ponytail and before she could change her mind, she left the bathroom, grabbed her backpack and flask, and skipped out of her front door. With every step towards the van, she felt herself getting more and more nervous. She knew that as soon as she saw Lexa, she would be fine.

            “Clarke Griffin!” the voice made her nearly jump out of her skin. She turned towards the voice, spotting her next-door neighbour, Marcus, washing his car. He turned off the hose and walked towards the fence separating their gardens. “What are you doing up and ready before noon?” he asked, a bright smile on his face. If Clarke was delayed, she was going to be late picking Lexa up. Being late also made her more nervous. But she couldn’t just ignore her neighbour.

            “Hey, Marcus. I’m just off out walking today,” she replied.

            “Ah, I heard Lincoln and Octavia were heading into Scarborough today shopping. Are you not going with them?” he asked. Clarke was stumped. She looked at Marcus’ kind eyes and knew she couldn’t lie to him.

            “Um no, I’m actually going out with someone else. Um, you know, the new girl in the village,” Clarke muttered. At first, Marcus looked confused. Then, his face brightened into a smile.

            “Aw, great! You can introduce us to her later! I hope it goes well,” said Marcus. Clarke smiled in response, not sure whether Marcus was under the assumption that they were just meeting as friends or on a date.

            “Thank you. See you later!” said Clarke. She climbed into her van, letting out a breath. It was five-to eleven. She had to be on her way immediately to not be too late. She didn’t want Lexa worrying, though, so she sent a quick text letting her know that she was just setting off and got caught up with a neighbour. Then, she started the engine and set off towards the house.

            Lexa had been ready since ten o’clock. She’d let Kit out in the back garden for a short while as soon as she woke up. He sprinted around the grass then sniffed around everywhere before trotting back inside. Lexa had spent the best part of the night before searching online for dog stuff. She’d ordered a cute harness, a lead, a collar, and some treats that had good reviews. They were all due to arrive some time next week. At half-ten, Lexa pulled on Kit’s harness that Clarke had delivered with him, snapping a few pictures because he just looked too cute. She’d packed her backpack as soon as she woke up. It was quite large to hold some water bottles and everything she might need for Kit – including a collapsible dog bowl, treats, poo bags, and some dog food. As soon as she received the text from Clarke, she felt her nerves skyrocket. It had been years since she’d been on a date, and she’d never had a first date dog walking. She didn’t know if she should dress practically or nicely. She didn’t know if she should buy flowers or something nice. In the end, she just decided on practical clothes and no flowers. While she waited for Clarke, she double-checked everything in her backpack then clipped Kit’s lead on. Moments later, there was a knock at her door. With a deep breath, she walked towards the door as she quelled her nerves.

            As soon as the door was open, Clarke was taken aback. She knew Lexa was stunning, but she just glowed different in the mornings. She was in a pair of dark grey sports leggings, a black walking quarter-zip, charcoal grey walking boots, and a puffy orange walking coat over the top. That wasn’t what drew Clarke’s attention though. Lexa had her hair plaited in two plaits over her shoulders with a grey hat over the top. She looked amazing. So amazing that Clarke forgot how to speak.

            “Clarke! Hi!” said Lexa. Before Clarke’s brain could catch up, the German Shepherd puppy came bounding towards her. Clarke dropped to her knees to scratch behind his ears, watching as his tail wagged fast.

            “Hey, boy! And, hi,” said Clarke. She stood back up, smiling warmly at the brunette. Lexa returned her smile and Clarke felt her stomach flip. “Are you ready to go?” Clarke asked. Lexa quirked an eyebrow.

            “Don’t you want to know what I called him?” Lexa asked.

            “Oh, my God yes! I completely forgot about that!” Clarke exclaimed. She dropped down to stroke the dog again. He was trying to lick her hands every time she lifted them to pet him.

            “Clarke, meet Kit,” said Lexa. Clarke looked back up at Lexa, her smile growing wide. At the sound of his name, his pointy ears pricked up and he looked back at his owner.

            “That’s perfect!” said Clarke.

            Once they’d grabbed their food for the day from ASDA, Clarke began driving them towards her favourite walk around the area. It didn’t take too long to get there. and it was somewhere she’d found with Lincoln and Octavia. They’d been chatting the whole time in the car, mostly about Lexa’s new puppy. He was sitting nicely on Lexa’s lap, staring out of the window interestedly. Clarke drove down a small estate, pulling into a space on the side of the road. Confused, Lexa checked around the area before stepping out of the van.

            “Is there a walk around here?” Lexa asked. Kit jumped down from the car seat, immediately dropping his nose to the floor to sniff around. Clarke nodded as she pulled the doors to the boot open. She grabbed her own backpack and threw it over her shoulder.

            “Yep, and it’s quite a quiet one. You’ll only ever see a handful of people around here, but it’s good for dogwalkers,” said Clarke. Lexa continued looking around, trying to find where the walk could possibly start. All around them were just houses and they’d just turned off a country road. Lexa followed Clarke’s lead, her confusion growing when the blonde took them down an alley beside someone’s house.

However, the alley stretched out into a country path, winding through hills far in the distance. It looked a little like a bridleway. It was quite wide for a walking path, plenty big enough for a horse to fit down. Lexa was staring around her, wondering how this could be hidden behind an estate when Clarke looked back at her, a cheeky smile on her face.

“I told you there was a walk around here,” said Clarke. Lexa met her eyes, feeling her own smile grow too.

“Yeah, and I didn’t believe you. I can’t believe this is all here,” said Lexa.

“Lincoln, O and I only found it by chance. We got lost and stumbled upon it during one of our walks,” said Clarke. Lexa jogged to walk side-by-side with the blonde.

“Who are Lincoln and O?” Lexa asked curiously.

“O, or Octavia, has been my friend since school. Her boyfriend is Lincoln. They’ve been together a few years now and live in the village. They’re really nice,” said Clarke. She turned her head to face Lexa as she added, “I think you’ll like them.”

“Does everyone in the village know each other?” Lexa asked. She cast her gaze downwards, focusing on Kit as he trotted ahead of them. His tail was wagging at being out in a new area. Lexa smiled to herself.

“Yep. You’re the most exciting thing to happen in Thornton-le-Dale in a long time,” Clarke replied, only realising how her words sounded when Lexa was looking at her suggestively.

“Is that your opinion or consensus with all the villagers?” Lexa quipped. A smirk was pulling at her lips.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Clarke countered with a small laugh. “You’re the talk of the town. No one knows your name, what you do, and apparently most importantly, whether you have a husband,” Clarke continued. Lexa snorted a laugh.

“Wow, I didn’t think I’d be that interesting to everyone,” Lexa mused. Clarke bit her lip as she grinned, meeting Lexa’s eyes.

“You’re not,” Clarke mocked playfully. Lexa held her free hand to her chest in mock-offence, swaying her hips to knock into Clarke.

“I must be interesting enough for you to ask me on a date,” Lexa replied. She was enjoying this flirtatious energy between them. Her and Clarke hadn’t previously flirted before, but it felt natural between them. Everything that had happened that day on their date felt natural.

“Nah, I just wanted an excuse to spend more time with Kit,” Clarke joked. When Lexa pulled a scornful face, Clarke let out a laugh, only laughing harder when Kit turned around at the mention of his name. With Lexa pretending to be mad, Clarke took her opportunity to make the first move. She slid her hand into Lexa’s, squeezing it gently as she smiled at the brunette. “Obviously, I’m joking. You’re also kind of cute too,” Clarke added. She swore Lexa blushed.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” said Lexa. She squeezed Clarke’s hand back, relishing in the feel of the woman’s hand in her own. Clarke definitely blushed.

Their first date would probably be classed as highly romantic. They walked down the wide path, hands adjoined the whole time, only stopping for Kit to sniff at blades of grass. When they walked through a small wood, they were stepping over leaves of various colours – orange, maroon, red, green, and yellow. Their conversation was flowing naturally, topics ranging from pets to work to hobbies. Clarke felt giddy the whole time, smiling brightly when other ramblers passed them. Lexa felt the same. It had been a long time since she’d held another woman’s hand on a date. At first, she felt nervous when other people approached, worried that they would judge them for being two women on a date. However, when she was close to slipping her hand out of Clarke’s, Clarke just held on tighter, and she soon realised that all the other walkers in the area were pleasant people, greeting them with wide smiles and hellos in passing. She immediately felt comfortable with Clarke.

The whole date was going extremely well. They even managed to stop on a fallen tree trunk to have their lunch. Kit was well behaved, sitting beside them on the floor for short breaks. It had been a lovely day so far, and Clarke knew they only had about an hour left until they reached the end. She was tired and looking forward to sitting back in the warm car but was happy that they’d still got a short while of walking again. However, when they reached the end of the treeline to walk through a few fields, the Heavens opened. It wasn’t just raining; it was a relentless downpour. In the distance, they could spot what looked like the country road they’d turned down to get there in the first place. Clarke had been under the impression that the walk was only another half a mile.

“If we run, we might not get as drenched!” Clarke shouted above the sound of thrashing rain around them.

“I’ll race you back to the van!” Lexa shouted back. She watched as Clarke nodded then began the countdown. “Three…two…o—” she began, but Clarke had already set off. With an exasperated yell, Lexa ran after her, feeling almost pulled along by Kit who was full of energy, sprinting ahead of her. Thankfully, Lexa had a running background and was able to catch up to Clarke in no time. She even sailed past her, sticking her tongue out playfully.

When they could both spot the estate, they ran faster. The rain hadn’t calmed. Now, it was starting to thunder and lightning. All Clarke could think was how wrong her weather app on her phone had been. There was no way she was trusting that again! She looked up, just in time to spot her van. Lexa was a few paces ahead of her, but she’d underestimated Clarke’s competitive spirit. Immediately, the blonde ramped up her efforts into a sprint. The ground was slippery, only accentuated by it being covered in wet leaves, but she kept running. When Lexa realised she was being overtaken, she too started going faster. They both probably reached the van at the same time. They looked at each other, laughing and panting from exertion. Lexa’s hat was drenched, dropping rain drops onto her eyelashes. Her lips were parted and cheeks rosy from all the running. Clarke’s hair had gradually fallen out of the ponytail, a few wispy bits at the front framing her face and looking about to get frizzy with the rain. Her hood had fallen down in the running, soaking her hair and skin. Clarke knew that she was drenched practically to the bone. But she was laughing. They were both still laughing, despite the roars of thunder and flashes of lightning in the background.

Clarke opened the van doors, throwing her backpack in there as Lexa did the same. Luckily, Clarke had a towel from when she used the van for mobile appointments. Lexa began drying Kit off as best as she could. She gently placed him on the front seat wrapped in the towel before making her way back around to the back where Clarke was pulling her coat off. Lexa followed suit. She was happy seeing that her quarter-zip hadn’t got as wet as she was expecting, but it was still damp and would make her cold if she sat in it the whole ride home. She tore that off too, along with her hat, leaving her in her sports leggings and a black sports vest. Clarke couldn’t remove her jumper unless she wanted to drive home in a bra, which wouldn’t have been recommended. So, she averted her gaze when Lexa pulled her own jumper over her head. The first thing Clarke noticed when she looked back up were Lexa’s arms, much more defined than what she expected. She subconsciously licked her lips.

“Well, that was an eventful first date,” Lexa mused. She was able to squeeze water from her plaits. Clarke chuckled.

“That’s one word for it,” she agreed. She felt nervous all over again. It was the best first date she’d ever had in her life. She’d had the best time with the brunette and didn’t want it to end. However, she didn’t know if Lexa felt the same. She assumed she did, but she couldn’t be sure. Still, one of them had to make the next move. Clarke plucked up the courage. “I’ll have to show you the rest of the walks around here. Maybe on a second date…” she suggested. She didn’t dare look at Lexa, worried for the rejection.

If she had looked up, she would’ve seen the soft smile on the brunette’s face. All she knew next was two warm, but wet hands from the rain cradling her face and pushing her gently against the open door of the van. Clarke just had enough time to place her shivering hands on Lexa’s waist before their lips met. It was soft and warm, tender. Rainwater trickled down their faces, intermingling between their lips as they kissed. It was still raining but neither of them could feel it anymore. All they could focus on was the way their lips moulded together like they were made for kissing each other. When they pulled back, they were both wearing dopey smiles.

“Well,” Clarke began, clearing her throat then she didn’t sound as hoarse after the kiss, “I think it’s time we got back and out of these wet clothes.” Lexa’s eyebrows shot up into her hairline. Only then did Clarke realise what she’d insinuated. Eyes wide, she hastened to add, “That’s not what I meant! I didn’t mean it like that!” but Lexa just chuckled.

On the Sunday, Lexa rose later than she usually did. Her body was sore from all the walking they’d done the day before, so she assumed she needed more rest than usual. The only reason she woke up at ten in the morning was because there were small scratching noises at her bedroom door. Living with a puppy was something Lexa had to get used to. With a smile and a heavy morning sigh, she pulled the duvet off her and slipped out of bed. Wrapping her dressing gown around her, she padded downstairs, Kit hopping at her ankles. She slid the patio door open, leaning against it as she watched him bound around in the morning sun. She left him in the garden with some water and food while she hopped back upstairs to get changed.

When she walked back downstairs, she spotted Kit sitting perfectly still, staring at the fence adjoining to next door. With a confused expression, Lexa made her way to the patio door, following his eyeline and spotting a small boy looking over the fence at Kit. As soon as he spotted her, he jumped down from the fence. Lexa narrowed her eyes. She’d never met her next-door neighbours on the other side. They were quite a young couple, but she’d never heard the small boy crying or complaining, so she had never assumed that they had a child. Kit bounded back inside once the boy had disappeared, jumping up at Lexa until she stroked him.

            Ten minutes later, there was a knock at her door. Confused, she checked her phone. Perhaps Clarke had text her to say she was dropping round considering she was the only person in the village she knew. She only had a message from last night saying goodnight with a love heart. She smiled at that one before cautiously walking to the door. Picking Kit up on the way so he didn’t run out into the streets, she padded over in her slippers. When she pulled the door open, she was completely taken aback to see a tall woman in front of her door with the small boy from next door. She had dirty blonde hair, pulled up into a ponytail and looked like she’d thrown some clothes on in a hurry. She looked annoyed or tired, Lexa couldn’t tell, but the young boy was bouncing from foot to foot like he was excited. He was about eight or nine with blonde to ginger hair and was very cute. Once Lexa opened the door, he let out a gasp at delight when his eyes landed on Kit. Lexa noticed.

            “Hey,” the woman began lazily, “I hope you don’t mind us dropping round, but this one wanted to meet your dog.” She ruffled the boy’s hair teasingly, but he didn’t seem to mind.

            “Oh yeah, of course. Do you want to come through to the garden then I can put him down?” Lexa suggested. She stood aside, letting the boy practically run down the hallway and out of the patio doors. The neighbour followed, leaving Lexa to shut the door again. When the door was closed, she placed Kit on the floor. Straight away, he ran towards the patio doors, jumping through them and heading for the boy. The boy dropped to his knees, laughing and giggling as Kit licked his face and jumped up at him. Lexa joined the neighbours outside.

            “Sorry to drop in on you like this. I think he saw your dog and got excited. He wouldn’t stop bugging me to come see it,” explained the woman. Lexa brushed off her concerns.

            “No don’t worry about it. Do you want a cup of tea or coffee?” Lexa asked.

            “You don’t mind?” the woman asked.

            “Not at all,” said Lexa. She got right to work at putting the kettle on, putting two teabags into two cups. She popped her head back around the patio door and turned to the young boy. “Do you want a drink of juice or something?” she asked. He nodded, only looking up for a second before returning his attention to the puppy.

            Lexa returned moments later, carrying his cup of juice and the woman’s cup of tea. The woman thanked her as did the little boy. Lexa grabbed her own, then took a seat on the stone step outside her patio. The woman did the same, leaving a space between them.

            “I’m Anya, by the way,” said the woman. She took a sip of her steaming hot tea, not even bothered the slightest by the heat. Lexa extended her hand to the woman.

            “Lexa.” They shook hands. The little boy ran over, a giddy expression on his face.

            “I’m Aden! What’s your dog’s name?” he said. He took Lexa’s hand and shook it, copying what he’d seen the adults do.

            “He’s called Kit. I only got him a few days ago,” said Lexa.

            “Can we get one?” Aden asked his mum. Anya shook her head vehemently.

            “Me and your dad work too much. It wouldn’t be fair on the dog to leave them at home all the time,” said Anya. His face dropped.

            “That’s okay! You can come round and play with Kit when you want,” Lexa offered. His face brightened again. Lexa glanced across at Anya. Then, she hastened to add, “If that’s okay, obviously.”

            “I’m okay with that. It depends if you are,” said Anya. Lexa looked out at her puppy that was so full of energy, then at the small boy, running around and playing with him. She smiled.

            “I think Kit could do with a playmate,” Lexa mused. For the first time, she roused a smile from Anya.

            Anya and Aden stayed longer than what they were expecting. Lexa learned that they’d moved into the village a few years ago when Aden was born and had been immediately welcomed as soon as they stepped foot in the local. She also learned that Anya’s husband was called Roan and they’d been together since high school. Anya learned all about the kit of fox cubs Lexa had in her garden then they both looked through the pictures of them. That also intrigued Aden. He slotted himself between his mum and next-door neighbour, giggling at how cute the pups were. Kit didn’t seem to want to leave Aden alone. If he wasn’t playing with him, he had his head on his lap, or was licking at his hands. Aden was really good with him.

            Eventually, Anya and Aden decided it was time for them to leave. It had been nice chatting to her neighbours for the first time since she’d moved in. She really liked them both, learning that her and Anya had a lot in common. They both grew up in care, went to University despite all odds, and were keen on running. In fact, they’d arranged to go for a run Monday morning before either of them started work. Lexa was also surprised at Aden. He was such an easy-going child, excited about anything and everything. When Lexa suggested him accompanying her on a walk over the next few days, he’d practically begged Anya to let him go and seemed so excited by the idea of just a simple walk. Anya immediately trusted her with her son when she found out Lexa was a teacher.

            “Well, I hope to see you at the pub sometime soon,” said Anya. Lexa let out a chuckle.

            “Clarke mentioned that she was going to introduce me to everyone next time she goes to the pub,” Lexa replied. Anya studied her curiously. Lexa wondered what she was thinking when she realised she’d never mentioned Clarke before in their conversations.

            “How do you know Clarke?” Anya asked.

            “Oh, she came round to help with the fox cubs,” said Lexa. She was a terrible liar and knew that Anya would be the sort of person to see straight through her.

            “Is that it?” Anya questioned with a raised eyebrow. Lexa chewed on her lower lip and Anya saw straight through her. She smirked, placing a hand on her hip. “You’re seeing her, aren’t you?” Anya asked.

            “We’ve only been on one date,” Lexa admitted. Anya let out a laugh, and Lexa enjoyed that sound. The only person she’d made laugh in the village since her arrival was Clarke. It was nice to meet two more people, especially ones who she could see herself being friends with soon.

            “Knew it!” said Anya. Lexa smiled sheepishly. “Anyway,” Anya continued, “We’ll see you later. Make sure you drop by the pub sometime, but if I don’t see you tonight, I’ll see you tomorrow for our run!” With that, she was walking back to her own house, Aden lagging behind as he enthusiastically waved at Lexa. Lexa waved back, closing her door when they got to the end of her driveway, feeling a lot lighter than before. Maybe this village living wouldn’t be so bad if she had a friend like Anya.

            That night, Lexa was in her room, fussing with her hair as she waited for Clarke to arrive at her house. After her morning spent with Anya, Lexa felt more confident about meeting the rest of the villagers. She’d texted Clarke, asking if the woman would want to accompany her to the pub. Clarke had agreed immediately. They were going at eight to have a late tea and a few drinks. Lexa was more nervous about meeting the rest of the locals than she was about her date with Clarke. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want her neighbours to dislike her. When she heard Clarke knocking on her door, she ran downstairs, picking Kit up as he pawed at the front door. She opened it, revealing the blonde looking more stunning than usual. She was in a pair of black, skinny jeans, a grey jumper, cosy-looking jacket, and had added some makeup to her face. Lexa was lost for words.

            “Hey!” Clarke greeted with a bright smile. Lexa felt her stomach flip. She couldn’t believe she’d kissed this woman yesterday, not once, but three times. The second time was in the van when they’d pulled up outside Lexa’s house, and the third was when Clarke had walked her to the door, leant against the doorframe. Lexa had the urge to kiss her again.

            “Wow. You look…really good,” Lexa managed, her eyes raking up and down Clarke’s figure. She couldn’t help it. Clarke turned a little pink as she smiled.

            “Well, when you text, I figured it might count as our second date. I had to get a little dressed up,” Clarke replied. Lexa hadn’t even thought for a minute that it would be seen as a date. However, now that she thought about it, she had asked Clarke to go out with her for food and a drink. It seemed obvious that this was a date, and Lexa was not prepared for that. She was in a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a plaid shirt over the top. She wasn’t necessarily underdressed for a date, but she hadn’t put in as much effort as Clarke.

            “Yeah, you look…wow,” was all Lexa could say. This time, Clarke let out a laugh. She threw her head back a little and Lexa couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

            “Thank you. I like this shirt on you,” said Clarke. She leaned in, touching the flannel shirt between her fingers. As she got closer, Lexa could smell Clarke’s perfume. It distracted her.

            “This shirt? That’s girlfriend material,” said Lexa. She had no idea where those words came from, but as soon as they left her lips, she wanted to swallow them, or for the ground to swallow her up. Never in her life had she used a pick-up line. Never. It became abundantly clear that it was the least of Clarke’s expectations. Her mouth dropped open as her eyebrows shot up. After what felt like an eternity for Lexa, Clarke knocked her head back and let out a loud laugh. “I…I-I’m sorry I have no idea where that came from. I’ve never said anything that stupid in my life,” said Lexa. She put her head in her hands, feeling her face heat up from embarrassment.

            “No, that was the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!” Clarke exclaimed, still laughing.

            “Okay, can we just forget I ever said that?” Lexa begged.

            “Oh, never!”

            Clarke wrapped her hand around Lexa’s arm as they walked towards the pub. It was quite chilly but they were both warm enough that it wasn’t uncomfortable. Clarke couldn’t help but smile as she walked in step with the brunette. She was always happy around her – despite not knowing each other long. Every step felt lighter, but she could tell that Lexa was slowing her pace down the closer they got to the middle of the village.

            Lexa was nervous. She was glad to have Clarke on her arm, grounding her a little. What was keeping her nerves at bay was Clarke and knowing that Anya and Aden would also be at the pub later. She wouldn’t be completely alone. Besides, Clarke had assured her that she’d get along with Lincoln and Octavia. She spotted the pub ahead of them and felt her hands get clammy. Instead of backing down though, Lexa went full steam ahead and followed Clarke into the pub, subconsciously squaring her shoulders and holding her head high. It was her defence mechanism to show no vulnerability.

            All eyes turned towards them. There weren’t many people in the pub, but Lexa spotted the barmaid who looked about their age. She was looking at the pair curiously before she dropped her gaze and began making a drink. An older man with a massive beard sat at the bar with a half-drunk pint in his hand. He looked Lexa up and down before giving Clarke a solitary nod in greeting. Lexa also noticed a familiar face in Anya. She was sat with a tall man and Aden who was playing a game on his tablet. Anya gave her a smirk as she looked between her and Clarke with a knowing glance. Lexa smiled back, giving Aden a small wave. Clarke looked at them, confused. She led them to a small table for two near the back. As soon as they sat down, Lexa relaxed a little. She looked to the side and spotted a young couple about the same age as herself. The man was built like a mountain, especially compared to the woman beside him who was really small. She had dark hair and piercing blue eyes. The man had warm brown eyes and was covered in tattoos. She caught his eyes and he offered her a smile immediately. She decided there and then that she liked him.

            “That’s Lincoln,” Clarke muttered in her ear, causing her to jump and smack her knee against the table. With a chuckle, Clarke added, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt your staring competition.” Lexa smiled easily at her, shaking her head.

            “We weren’t in a staring competition,” said Lexa quietly.

            “Oh, you don’t need to explain to me. Just give me a heads up if you decide to ditch me for Linc instead. It’ll be Octavia you have more of a problem with,” Clarke quipped.

            Deciding to humour the smirking blonde, Lexa replied, “Hmm I’ll keep that in mind.” She felt a light nudge from Clarke’s foot on her shin, eliciting a laugh from her. Clarke went up to the bar to order them drinks. The big man who was sat at the bar dropped down in Clarke’s vacant seat. Lexa stared him down warily. She corrected her posture and waited for him to say something. He eyed her then a guard seemed to drop around his brown eyes. They twinkled a little.

            “Gustus Green. Heart and soul of the village,” he said. He offered her his huge hand which she shook over the table.

            “Lexa Woods. Stranger of the village,” said Lexa. He let out a laugh as he detached his hand from hers.

            “Not a stranger anymore. Good to meet you, Lexa. How do you know our Clarke?” he asked. Lexa shifted awkwardly in her seat.

            “I had a vet emergency and she showed up at my door to help me out,” Lexa explained.

            “And the rest is history, isn’t it, Lex?” Clarke interjected. She passed Lexa her drink as she placed her own on the table. She tapped Gustus on one of his huge shoulders to try to get him to move. He looked between the two women, narrowing his eyes then a look of realisation passed over his features. Lexa let out a small chuckle at his expression.

            “Wait – are you two dating?” he asked. When Clarke looked across at Lexa, almost asking her permission to tell him, he got his answer. A huge smile spread across his face. Clapping his hands together, he said, “Finally! It’s about time you started seeing someone, Clarke!” As Clarke turned beetroot red, Lexa hid her laugh behind her hand.

            “It’s early days, Gus. Early days. This is literally our second date,” said Clarke. Gustus picked his pint back up from the table and stood up.

            “Well, excuse me for intruding. Enjoy the rest of your date ladies,” he said. He gave Lexa a wink before returning to his barstool. Sheepishly, Clarke sat back on her seat, shaking her head embarrassingly.

            “I like him,” said Lexa simply. Clarke eyed her over the rim of her glass, an amused expression on her face.

            “Then the rest will be a walk in the park,” she said.

            Clarke was right. The others were lovely. Once they’d had their food, everyone in the village introduced themselves to Lexa. Roan, Anya’s husband, seemed like an okay guy. He was well suited to Anya. They both had the same biting humour and sarcasm. She had no idea how such a ray of sunshine like Aden had come from them. Marcus Kane had shaken her hand excitedly, telling her how she was always welcomed as part of the community. Lexa knew he was a good man from the get-go. When she learned that he was Clarke’s next-door neighbour and helped her with all the maintenance issues in her house, she knew her assumptions were correct. Meeting Indra and Nyko (formally) was a bit challenging. Indra was a little stand-offish but once she learned that Lexa was a local high school teacher, she warmed to her substantially. They ended up bonding over their shared love of Scarborough. Nyko had always been easy to get along with. They had a shared interest of dad jokes. Indra rolled her eyes and Clarke was surprised but couldn’t help but laugh at them exchanging their best ones.

            “Mind if we join you guys?” it was Octavia who approached them last. Meeting Octavia and Lincoln caused Lexa’s nerves to skyrocket. These were Clarke’s best friends from school. She needed them to like her. When both Clarke and Lexa nodded, Lincoln grabbed two chairs for both him and Octavia to sit down. The woman narrowed her eyes as she focused on Lexa. Lincoln was the one who seemed most approachable.

            “So…” Lincoln trailed off. He took a sip from his drink. Octavia crossed her arms over her chest, resting her elbows on the table.

            “What are your intentions with our Clarke?” Octavia blurted out. Lincoln nearly spat his drink out. Clarke raised her eyebrows and was about to step in when Lexa smiled. Clarke wasn’t expecting her to be this confident, but that was exactly what Octavia wanted from anyone dating her best friend.

            “I want to stop her from being your guys’ third wheel,” Lexa quipped. Octavia immediately broke into a smile. She raised her glass, indicating for Lexa to do the same.

            “Cheers to that,” said Octavia, clinking their glasses together.

            “Hey!” Clarke complained. The three laughed at Clarke’s unimpressed expression.

            A few months later, Lexa bundled a much bigger Kit out of Lincoln’s car. She placed him down on the concrete carpark, letting him sniff around. Clarke got out of the other side, walking around the car and dropping down to scratch behind his ears. He licked at her hand and she giggled.

            “You are too cute!” Clarke cooed in a voice reserved for Kit.

            Pouting, Lexa said, “Why do you never compliment me like that?” Clarke looked up at her disbelievingly. She stood up, coming face-to-face with the brunette.

            “Last time I said you were cute, you sulked around for an hour, complaining that cute was demeaning when you spend so much time at the gym. Apparently, you’re too ‘dench’ to be cute,” Clarke mocked. She snaked a hand around Lexa’s waist, leaning in closer to her as she insulted her. Lexa pulled her signature pout. Clarke grinned at her before leaning down slightly to press their lips together. They’d been officially girlfriends for just over two months, but they were still madly crushing on each other.

            “Ugh, get a room,” came Octavia’s voice from beside them. She was pulling on her walking coat over her clothes as she pulled a disgusted face at her best friend.

            “Don’t tell me they’re practically tearing each other’s clothes off in public again,” Lincoln complained. He was still in the driver’s seat, pulling his walking boots on.

            “That was one time! And we were not doing that!” whined Clarke.

            “You were almost there!” said Octavia.

            “Yeah, we might as well have done,” Lexa agreed. Clarke lightly nudged Lexa’s shoulder.

            “You can’t always be on their side!” Clarke moaned. Lexa just planted another kiss on her lips.

            “Let’s go bitches! I want to get walking!” Octavia exclaimed. Lexa clipped the lead onto Kit’s harness and intertwined her fingers with Clarke’s.

            “We’re still going to the pub tonight, right?” asked Lexa before they set off.

            “Obviously,” the three replied simultaneously. Lexa smiled, looking forward to catching up with the locals later.

Chapter Text

It was the first of December. The weather had turned much colder since the end of November. Thankfully, it hadn’t snowed yet. However, the days were shorter and nights longer. When Lexa left home for school, it was dark, and when she returned in the evenings, it seemed even darker. Luckily for her, she got to return home to her beloved dog, Kit every night. He was always sat at the door calmly, awaiting his owner’s keys to jangle in the lock. Then, his tail would wag rapidly from side-to-side as he hardly contained his excitement. Without fail, Lexa would drop to her knees to give him a cuddle and his tail would just wag more ferociously. The only problem was that he’d grown a lot in a year. His tail was strong and moved more like a whip than anything, smacking at Lexa’s legs everywhere she walked. Still, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Since both Kit and her girlfriend Clarke had come into her life, her days had been brighter. In fact, since she’d moved to the quaint, little village, she’d grown happier and more fulfilled.

            So, as Lexa threw on her grey scarf and winter coat, she gathered up her students’ books to take home. She’d spent a lot longer marking them while at school, then she didn’t have to take as many home, and could spend as much time as possible with Clarke and their other friends. She only had a few to get through over the weekend, but she’d save them for Sunday. Friday night and Saturday were reserved for personal time this week. As she left through the school doors into the carpark, she felt the chill in the air and took a deep, fresh breath. This school had almost become like a third home to her. Obviously, her actual home was first. Then, it was Clarke’s home. But after that, she spent most of her time within the school gates and she’d properly settled in. She’d even made a new friend in one of the teachers around her age: Raven Reyes. Where Lexa taught languages, Raven taught science. Her speciality was chemistry. The students adored her, and Lexa could see why. She was a passionate woman who always strived to make lessons as fun and interactive as possible.

            “What’s up Miss Woods?” shouted the woman from across the carpark. She was stood, leaning against Lexa’s car. Usually, Lexa picked her up and they carshared to work then she’d drop her off again at the end of the day. However, tonight was the first night Raven was going home with Lexa. She was going to meet the rest of Lexa’s friends in the village then Raven would be staying over in Lexa’s guest room. Raven did have a car, but they were trying to be more environmentally conscious to encourage their students to do the same.

            “Hey Miss Reyes. How was your day?” Lexa replied. She unlocked the car and Raven climbed into the passenger seat, tucking her overnight bag between her feet.

            “It was very good as always. Yours?” said Raven. As Lexa lifted the boot and threw in her bag, books, and scarf, she smiled as she reminisced her day. One of the girls in her French class had started over-exaggerating every French word as she spoke in a hilarious accent. Lexa had tried her best not to laugh to insult the girl, but when she pulled a face as she pronounced ‘beret,’ Lexa had to let out a laugh. Thankfully, the student was meaning to be funny, so it went down well.

            “Yeah, it was good. Happy that it’s the weekend though,” Lexa mused. Raven hummed in agreement. Seconds later, Lexa slammed the boot shut and slipped into the driver’s seat. They both closed their doors simultaneously and let out matching sighs.

            “Jesus. Thank God I don’t have to call you Miss Woods now we’re in the comfort of your car,” said Raven. That was one of the rules. While teachers were on school grounds, no forenames could be used.

            “Oh, tell me about it,” Lexa agreed. She turned the engine on and got out of the carpark as fast as she could. All she wanted was to get home. She clicked a few buttons on her screen in the car. “So, it’s the first of December…” Lexa began. She glanced across at Raven, quirking a brow.

            “Woo Christmas music!” Raven cheered. With a laugh, Lexa connected her phone via Bluetooth and started her Christmas playlist. Straight away, Raven started belting out the lyrics. It took a little longer for Lexa to join in, but she eventually began singing along too.

            Letting herself into Lexa’s house with her spare key, Clarke was immediately greeted by Kit. He was well-trained now. He no longer jumped up and began an assault with his tongue. Instead, he hopped on all-fours, waiting for Clarke to reach down to pet him. Clarke obliged, stroking behind his ears. He was as tall as her mid-thigh now and much leaner than when he was a puppy. He still had that little puppy energy though, scampering up and down the hallway in excitement at a guest.

            “Hey, Kit! Come on, time to get the house ready before your mummy gets back,” cooed Clarke. He yapped a little in response like he was agreeing with her. She stepped into the living room and sighed. Lexa was impossibly clean and tidy. Nothing was out of place; except a few dog toys Kit must’ve been playing with during the day. She walked into the kitchen and smiled when she spotted breakfast dishes unwashed on the side. At least that gave her something to do. Until Lexa returned in about thirty minutes with her friend from work, Clarke just had to keep busy by making the bed in the guest room.

            She was lounging on the sofa watching a Christmas film in the lounge with Kit’s head on her lap when the front door opened. Immediately, Kit leapt up and sprinted for the hallway as he heard his owner’s voice. Clarke smiled. This was always her favourite part of Fridays. She’d always finish work earlier than Lexa then wait for her to come home. Hearing Lexa’s keys in the door would make her heart race – even a year after they’d been together. She stood from the sofa when she heard Lexa fawning over Kit.

            “Okay, well, he is much cuter in person than in the pictures. Look at you!” came a voice Clarke wasn’t familiar with. She was meeting Lexa’s colleague, Raven, tonight. Lexa had already warned her that she was a little…boisterous. Clarke was looking forward to meeting the woman who Lexa told her was the greatest teacher in the secondary school. Clarke rounded the corner of the living room into the hallway, eyes automatically finding her girlfriend. She smiled. Lexa’s hair had grown longer in the year they were together, and she’d gotten stronger. With every passing day, she looked better. Clarke had gone in the opposite direction, chopping her hair off to shoulder-length and dying the tips pink. Lexa loved it.

            “Hey,” Lexa breathed out. She stood from stroking Kit and placed a soft kiss against Clarke’s cheek. This was their Friday routine. Clarke snaked her arm around Lexa’s waist and snuggled into her.

As she did, she focused her attention on Raven. She was Clarke’s height, as young as them, with a tanned complexion, dark hair, and dark eyes. She was pretty and seemed completely besotted with Kit. Lexa pulled away from Clarke after a few seconds and turned back to her colleague.

“Raven, this is my girlfriend Clarke. Clarke, this is Raven,” said Lexa. Raven crossed the space between them, offering her hand to Clarke. They shook hands, smiling pleasantly at each other.

“The Vet who blessed Lexa with this gorgeous boy,” said Raven. She chuckled at the end, dropping her gaze back on Kit. He cocked his head to the side adorably. Clarke let out a small laugh.

“That’s me. And, I know you as the famous Miss Reyes – chemistry genius,” Clarke replied. Raven grinned as she turned and pinched Lexa’s cheek.

“Aw, are you referring to me as a chemistry genius to your girlfriend?” Raven mocked. Lexa batted her hand away.

“Don’t make me kick you out of my house when you’ve been here less than a minute,” Lexa warned, but Raven just laughed.

“Right,” said Clarke. She clapped her hands together. “Let me show you to your room while Lexa puts the kettle on.” Raven picked up her overnight stay bag and followed Clarke up the stairs. Kit trailed after Lexa into the kitchen. He was always her loyal companion, regardless of who else was in the house.

As Raven followed Clarke into the guest room, she closed the door behind them. Confusedly, Clarke eyed her. Raven placed her bag on the end of the bed and smirked. Clarke could only describe her expression as mischievous.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Raven began, her voice quiet, “I tell you embarrassing stories of Lexa on work nights out and you tell me embarrassing stories of Lexa generally. Sound good?” Clarke felt her own grin grow. She knew she’d like this woman.

“Oh, that’s a deal!” and they shook on it.

It turned out that Clarke and Raven got on famously. As they all sat in the living room with their hot cups in their hands having a chat, Lexa was surprised by how the conversation was easy between the three women – like they’d all been friends for years. Of course, she couldn’t be that surprised. Clarke was one of the easiest people on earth to get along with, while Raven could chat to anyone, including a brick wall. Kit was lounging by Raven on the two-seater sofa, relishing in how much attention she was giving him. The curtains were closed when Lexa and Raven returned from work with it already being dark outside. Despite the house being old, it was never cold inside, so they didn’t need the fire on yet.

“Right, so remind me. What’s the plan for tonight?” asked Raven.

“We’re getting food from the local where we’ll meet with O and Lincoln. Then, we’re coming back here to put up the Christmas decorations and maybe watch a film or something,” said Lexa. Clarke checked her watch.

“We should probably start getting ready now actually,” Clarke suggested. The others stood from their places on the sofa to make their ways upstairs. Lexa followed Clarke into the main bedroom, closing the door behind them as Raven went further down the hallway.

When they had a moment of privacy, Clarke reached her hands around the back of Lexa’s neck, waiting for the brunette to snake her hands around Clarke’s waist. Both women smiled into the chaste kiss. After a few kisses, they parted, knowing they should actually be getting dressed to go out. A few items of Clarke’s wardrobe had made their way into Lexa’s after the amount of times she’d stayed over. She went through her options, finally settling on a pair of jeans and nice jumper. When she’d finished changing, she turned to find Lexa stood in a pair of jeans and in the middle of buttoning up a shirt. Clarke smiled at the sight of her girlfriend’s strong midsection in full view. Upon discovering that Lexa had abs a year ago, they had become Clarke’s new obsession. She slipped into her shoes and threw on a warm jacket. By the time she was ready, Lexa was tying her shoelaces as she sat on the bed. Clarke took a seat next to her.

“You look good,” said Clarke quietly. Lexa stopped what she was doing to turn her head in Clarke’s direction. She leaned forwards, capturing her lips in another slow, passionate kiss. As she pulled away, she smiled as Clarke’s eyes were still closed.

“And you look even better,” Lexa muttered back. Just as Clarke was about to close the distance between them again, they both jumped apart at the sound of Raven opening her bedroom door. That was their cue to separate. “But I think it’s time we headed out!” Lexa added a little regretfully. Clarke chuckled lightly, throwing open the bedroom door to come face-to-face with Raven.

“Oh, thank God,” the teacher breathed out, “I was dreading having to knock on your door and interrupt something.” She grinned lopsidedly the way Lexa always did, and Clarke let out another laugh. She looked back over her shoulder at her girlfriend, noticing the pink tint that was rising to her cheeks.

“No worries. There was nothing to interrupt,” Clarke replied. She began following Raven down the stairs, throwing one last wink at Lexa as she descended.

The village appeared peaceful and Christmassy with the chill in the air as they made their way to the pub. Their friends had texted Clarke and Lexa in their group chat that they were already there and were just waiting for the three of them to arrive. Their local was always busy on Friday and Saturday nights, but they’d never had to struggle for seats. It almost seemed like there were just enough seats for everyone in the village plus a few guests. As they walked down the lonely pavements, Raven’s eyes were drawn to every nook and cranny the village had to offer. Similar to Lexa, she’d never lived anywhere other than a big, bustling city, but she could see the appeal of smaller places like this. They strolled into the pub, greeted by the warmth and comforting smells of home-cooked food. Every patron was smiling while they engaged in conversation. Raven immediately knew what Lexa was referencing about the community feel whenever she talked about home. Raven blindly followed Clarke and Lexa as they led her to a table in the far corner – a little away from the crowds near the bar. She tried aiming a smile at all the villagers, but as she focused on those around the table a few feet away, she felt transfixed by a pair of calculating brown eyes.

“Everyone, this is Raven. Raven, this is everyone!” Lexa introduced. Raven’s eyes skimmed over those at the table, finding them all smiling at her. Well, all except the person Raven was automatically drawn to.

“Hey, I’m Octavia. Lexa doesn’t shut up about you,” said one of the women. She stood up to shake Raven’s head.

“Hi. Thankfully, I can say the same about you,” Raven replied. She had an easy smile on her face as she took the shorter woman’s hand. Socialising and meeting new people were things Raven was really good at. Octavia returned her smile then sat back down. Raven turned to the man next to her who was raising to his feet.

“You must be Lincoln,” said Raven. She shook his hand and immediately relaxed when she met his gaze. He had warm, kind eyes and a smile that seemed permanent on his features.

“That’s me. Nice to meet you,” he said. For a big, burly man, his handshake was gentle. Lastly, Raven turned to the woman sat on the end of the table with her arms crossed. Her features were set in a way that made Raven feel like the woman was examining her. Based on who she’d already been introduced to, this woman could only be Lexa’s newly single next-door neighbour.

“And you’re Anya, right?” asked Raven. She offered the woman her hand, and for a minute, Raven was convinced the woman would leave her hanging, but after a few seconds, she clasped her hand and shook it firmly.

“That’s right. It’s good to finally meet the one and only Raven Reyes,” replied Anya.

“Self-proclaimed one and only,” Lexa hastened to interject. Both Raven and Anya snorted a laugh simultaneously. Then, they met eyes, but Anya turned away fast like she was irritated that she’d laughed at the same thing as the woman. Both Clarke and Lexa had taken their seats around the table, leaving Raven to sit beside Clarke and across from Octavia. Thankfully, it was a small table, which meant that they could all have a joint conversation without talking over each other’s heads.

“So, how come you took Lexa here under your wing at school?” Octavia asked conversationally. It was true. Lexa had been the newest teacher they’d had since Raven, and it had been the chemistry teacher who had first approached her rather than the other way around. Lexa was eternally grateful for that. It meant her school days were less lonely – especially when she sat eating her lunch in the staff room.

“A few of the kids kept telling me about the new languages teacher who had the cutest dog they’d ever seen. I love dogs, so I had to see for myself,” said Raven.

“Kit is adorable,” Lincoln mused. The others nodded along in agreement.

“Do you have a dog?” Anya asked from the other side of the table. Lexa raised her eyebrows. Once Anya had divorced Roan and they’d got shared custody of Aden, she’d soon become an integral part of their friendship group. However, Anya was more of an observer and a listener. She could sit at the table every Friday night with their group of friends and have very little to say. She especially never took an interest in asking anyone personal questions. So, the fact that she asked Raven about pets shocked Lexa.

“No. It would be unfair to the dog. I work as long as Lexa and live alone, so that’s a long time it would be home alone. I also don’t have a great Vet girlfriend I can rely on if anything happened to it. I want one in the future though – maybe when I’m retired or cut back my hours,” said Raven. Clarke chuckled at the comment about herself.

“I am pretty great,” she mused. With a soft smile on her face, Lexa shook her head at the blonde.

She turned to Raven as she added, “Also self-proclaimed.” The others around the table laughed.

Lexa could only describe Anya’s demeanour as…curious. As her and Clarke trailed towards her house, Anya and Raven walked in front of them, laughing and joking about something Lexa couldn’t overhear. She could count on one hand the number of times Anya had laughed, so this was new. Lexa wasn’t complaining; she was merely interested. Octavia and Lincoln had headed in the opposite direction towards their house as they separated outside the pub, making plans to meet at four in the afternoon tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the first Saturday of December. That meant there would be a Christmas lights turn on and many Christmas stalls. Lexa had loved it last year, especially considering that was the night Clarke asked her to be her girlfriend. Smiling at the memory, it prompted Lexa to slip her hand into Clarke’s. The blonde turned towards her with a bright smile.

“Tonight was really nice,” said Lexa quietly. Clarke squeezed her hand.

“It was, but tomorrow will be better,” said Clarke.

Cocking her head to the side confusedly, Lexa asked, “Yeah? And why’s that?”

“We can go market shopping and watch them turn on the Christmas tree. It’ll be just like last year,” Clarke replied. Raven must’ve overheard them talking as she spun around to face them.

“The village does this every year?” she asked.

Anya answered, “Yep. It’s actually really nice.”

“One of the best days of the year,” agreed Clarke. They turned down Lexa and Anya’s street.

“Well, I’m honoured to be witnessing it this year,” Raven quipped. She had a hand over her chest mockingly. Anya gave a small chuckle before pulling out her house keys.

Her house was in darkness. Roan had Aden until tomorrow, and Anya wouldn’t ever admit that the house felt too big, empty and lonely without her boys there. Admittedly, divorcing Roan was the hardest decision of her life. But the truth was that they’d simply fallen out of love. They’d been married pretty much straight out of school, then she’d fallen pregnant and had Aden. He worked relentlessly and so did Anya. With work pressures and childcare mounting, they’d hardly had any time for themselves. It resulted in them hardly ever seeing each other and realising that they didn’t have much in common anymore. Anya would never tell a soul that she bawled her eyes out when Roan had left. Now, she wasn’t so keen on returning to an empty house. It seemed that Lexa was the only one who realised that – not that they ever exchanged words about it. If Lexa dared brought it up, Anya would break her face. Still, Anya appreciated her neighbour’s concern. She showed it in her own way, by surprising the woman with baked goods every so often and doing her favours.

“Hey, An, do you want to help put my tree up?” Lexa asked when she saw Anya’s solemn look on her face when she spotted her house.

“I could think of nothing worse. But absolutely,” said Anya. They shared a laugh like they were exchanging an inside joke. Clarke never really understood Anya’s humour, but even Raven seemed to chuckle along.

They all made their way inside Lexa’s house, taking turns to greet Kit at the door. He was overwhelmed by how many people were inside his dwelling, his tail whipping everyone as he ran around. Lexa made a beeline straight for the kitchen, clicking the kettle on while Clarke pulled four cups out of the cupboard. She grabbed the teabags, coffee and sweeteners from an overhead cupboard, then Lexa opened the fridge for the milk. They were moving around each other effortlessly without words like a dance that had been rehearsed countless times. Both Raven and Anya were stood in the doorway, watching with rapt interest. Simultaneously, they turned towards each other. Raven had a quirked brow.

“Don’t tell me they’re always like this. So domestic,” she said with a sigh. Anya let out a small laugh.

“Oh, you know they are,” she replied. Raven smiled as she watched her friend look so at home with the Vet. She’d heard so much about Clarke, but she wasn’t expecting them to be so loved up. It was cute, but it made Raven long for a relationship like theirs.

With filled cups in their hands, they all made their way into Lexa’s living room. In the corner, the Christmas tree and decorations box were tucked in the corner. It was only half-past eight, so they had plenty of time to put everything up before bed. Kit followed them, his tail still wagging manically. He stayed particularly close to Lexa, like he always did. The brunette pulled out the box and started unloading items onto the carpet. There were baubles, lights, paperchains, ornaments, and a boatload of candles. Anya snorted as she picked one up from the floor.

“Jesus Lex, how many candles does one person need?” she joked. Lexa continued pulling them out of the box like a comedy sketch.

“Look, they’re just nice and Christmassy,” Lexa replied.

“I like them,” Clarke said with a shrug. They shared a smile that was a little too gay for both Anya and Raven.

“Well…when you two are done having a moment,” Raven began, a grin sliding onto her features, “I have one request before we get going.” Lexa raised a questioning eyebrow. “Where’s your speaker because I think we need some Christmas tunes!” Raven declared. Clarke clapped her hands excitedly, scampering to grab Lexa’s speaker from the kitchen. Lexa gave a small laugh, appreciating Raven’s enthusiasm for Christmas spirit. Anya groaned, dropping her head into her hands, but both Raven and Lexa spotted that grin she was desperately trying to hide.

“I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need…” Clarke and Raven sung in unison along with the track. Raven had tinsel wrapped around her neck as she placed more around the Christmas tree set up in the corner. Clarke was wrestling with the lights, trying desperately to both untie them and place them along the fireplace. Lexa had taken to arranging all her candles, smiling to herself at the concert going on in her living room. Even Anya had gotten involved, balancing on a kitchen chair as she pinned the paperchains to the ceiling. Lexa’s living room was soon turning into a Grotto. The song kept playing and the women kept singing. Whenever Raven or Clarke hit a dud note, Anya would chuckle, then claim she didn’t want to sing in fear of showing them up.

“All I want for Christmas is you!” sang Clarke and Raven at the tops of their voices. Lexa felt a pair of arms snake around her and a familiar body press against her back. She turned around, spinning into Clarke’s arms. The blonde had a dopey smile on her face, excited. Her eyes were bright and shining and at the look on Clarke’s face, Lexa couldn’t help but smile back. Suddenly, she felt a pang in her gut. It wasn’t unpleasant. No. It was akin to butterflies like she had on their first date, or during their first kiss, or when Clarke asked her to be her girlfriend. She felt excited and light, but most of all, she felt happy. Unbelievably, undoubtedly happy. It had been a long time since she’d felt this content.

Her smile only grew as she took Clarke in her arms, spinning her around slightly until her hand met one of Clarke’s, intertwining their fingers while her other hand settled on her waist. Before Clarke could compute what was happening, Lexa was dancing around the living room to the Mariah Carey Christmas song. It was less like dancing and more like swaying and stepping, but they both let out laughs at their attempt. Even Anya and Raven stopped what they were doing to jest at them both prancing around. Clarke revelled in how joyous Lexa seemed. When they’d first met, the brunette had been somewhat standoffish and maybe even fearful of her emotions. But now, she was free and no longer shied away from doing simple, silly things like dancing in front of their friends. It brought a bright smile to Clarke’s face that quickly morphed into a laugh when Lexa dipped her at the chorus.

“I love you,” Lexa breathed out as they came face-to-face.

“And I love you,” Clarke replied. She cradled Lexa’s face with one hand, looking into the brunette’s eyes and feeling like she was falling for her all over again.

“You know, the tree isn’t going to decorate itself,” Raven quipped, interrupting their little moment. Lexa ignored her, pressing a soft but quick kiss against her girlfriend’s lips.

“Gross,” Anya whined. Both Clarke and Lexa just shrugged her off, finally parting so they could get back to decorating.

Lexa took a few seconds to look around at her living room. It had almost been completely transformed. The ceiling had a few paperchains and snowflakes hanging from it; her tree was just missing a few baubles before it would be complete; and every surface was covered in ornaments, candles and lights. It looked incredibly festive. Lexa decorated her house like this every year – regardless of where she was. However, this year has been the first year where other people have helped. Honestly, that made the room look better. She knew that every time she’d sit down to read or watch TV or mark books, she’d be reminded not only that it was Christmas, but also that she had incredible friends and an incredible girlfriend who’d helped make all of this possible. It warmed her heart to watch them take as much care decorating her house as she did. She smiled to herself when the three women started working together putting baubles on the tree branches, arguing about what colour bauble would suit next to the snowflake decorations. She placed her last candle down on the coffee table and grabbed a bauble, joining the others putting the last finishing touches on the tree.

“Jesus did Santa Claus and his reindeers throw up in here last night or something,” said Octavia as she walked into Lexa’s living room the day after. They were meant to just meet in the village at four but thought it might be nice to do some Christmas baking beforehand. After all, it was the first Saturday of December and Aden was back with Anya.

“Yeah, didn’t we do a good job?” asked Raven enthusiastically. She popped her head around the kitchen doorway.

“I mean, if that was the look you were going for, then yeah,” said Octavia. Lincoln walked in behind her, admiring the decorations with a smile on his face.

“Damn, now I wish we’d have put ours up last night,” he mused. Octavia agreed. She loved putting up their decorations, feeling much more Christmassy once she could sit in her own little Grotto. However, both her and Lincoln had agreed to leave it until Sunday when they had all day to sort everything out.

“Do you guys want a sausage or bacon roll? We’re just getting them ready now,” Lexa asked. She’d answered the door to them, Kit on her heels the whole time. Only once the question had been asked could both Octavia and Lincoln smell the food being cooked. Despite already having eaten breakfast a few hours ago, both their stomachs rumbled at the thought of food.

“That sounds great,” said Lincoln. Lexa led them through to the kitchen where her and Raven were buttering the rolls and getting everything ready.

“Wait – don’t tell me Clarke’s helped,” said Octavia, eyeing the food nervously. The blonde was notorious for either completely cremating food or giving everyone food poisoning. At the sound of her name, Clarke appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Hey!” she protested. She ran down the stairs, a towel wrapped around her damp hair and joined the others in the spacious kitchen. “But no, I’m on drinks duty. That’s all Lexa would allow me to do,” Clarke added. Octavia let out a loud laugh at the sheepish expression on Clarke’s face. Lincoln’s laugh was quieter.

“Look, I just didn’t want a repeat of the time you tried making an omelette,” Lexa defended.

“What happened then?” asked Raven. She looked up from buttering. Clarke clicked the kettle on, pretending she hadn’t heard Raven’s question.

“Remember the time I had to ring in sick a few months ago,” Lexa said to Raven. The chemistry teacher nodded, prompting Lexa to continue, “Well, Clarke had made me what she thought resembled a cheese and ham omelette. Unfortunately, the eggs were so undercooked that it gave me food poisoning.” Raven let out a raucous laugh, only accentuated by the embarrassed look on Clarke’s face.

“Okay, this isn’t really fair. Especially considering you ate the damn thing with no complaints,” Clarke countered. Lexa slung her arm around Clarke’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to her temple as the blonde folded her arms across her chest.

“That’s true. Salmonella aside, it was a great omelette,” Lexa said, earning an elbow dig in her ribs.

The doorbell rang again. This time, Lincoln went to answer it, pulling it open to reveal Anya and Aden. At the sound of the boy’s greeting, Kit shot towards the front door like a rocket. Lexa smiled. His playmate had arrived. Anya joined them in the kitchen a few seconds later, carrying a plastic bag full of baking supplies. She looked lighter than she had in a long time. Of course, Lexa knew that having Aden in the house helped her mood substantially, but Lexa couldn’t help but think maybe her increased happiness could be partially down to last night. They’d put on a Christmas special episode once the house was decorated. Clarke and Lexa had done what they always do, snuggling up on the sofa beneath a blanket with Kit beside them. This left Anya and Raven to either share the two-seater or one of them sit on the single chair. Raven claimed the two-seater, and – to everyone’s surprise – Anya sat beside her. It didn’t take long for the other teacher to fall asleep, practically leaning on Anya. At eleven, Anya had gently carried Raven upstairs to the spare room before heading back to her own house. Lexa had only ever seen her next-door neighbour be that gentle with Aden.

“Lexa!” came the boy’s excited voice. Lexa spun around to face the kitchen doorway, immediately spotting his smiling face. His cheeks were rosy from the cold, but his eyes were bright. He was wrapped up in a hat, scarf, puffy winter coat, wellies, thick joggers, and gloves. They all drowned him, making him look ten times smaller than what he was.

“Hey, buddy!” Lexa replied. He barrelled towards her, Kit hot on his tail. Lexa crouched down, opening her arms as he leapt through the air into them. As excitable as ever, Kit ran around them, his tail slapping against everyone’s legs as he tried to push himself into the embrace. Giggling, Aden pulled away, entertaining himself watching Kit scamper around. “Are you excited for today?” Lexa asked. His smile seemed to grow impossibly wide as he nodded his head eagerly. Only then did he survey the rest of the room. He knew most of them, but Lexa was the one who he saw the most. They were all smiling at him, so he smiled back until his eyes fell upon a face he didn’t recognise. Suddenly, he went a little shy.

“Aden, this is Raven. Raven works at the same school as Lexa and teaches chemistry,” Anya introduced. She pointed to Raven. “Raven, this is my son, Aden,” Anya added. As soon as Aden heard that the stranger was a teacher, he visibly relaxed. He knew that all teachers were trusted and good. That’s what his school had taught him. He tried a smile at her which she returned brightly.

“Do you like cool science things?” Raven asked. Her eyes were shining as she bent down to his level. This was the Raven Lexa knew from work. The one who got insurmountably excited at the prospect of teaching another person something she found interesting. Raven really had a thirst for teaching, and it was clear.

“Yeah! Science is my favourite subject at school!” Aden replied. Raven knew immediately that she had hooked him. Even Anya knew that Aden would soon become Raven’s biggest fan. She sighed but smiled, just wishing Raven didn’t try anything crazy with him.

“Hey, Lex. Do you have a bottle of coke and some Mentos?” Raven asked curiously. Anya raised her eyebrows. This wasn’t going to end well.

After their little experiment in the garden, Aden seemed permanently attached to Raven’s side. They all started chipping in to make gingerbread. Anya oversaw measuring all the ingredients, Octavia was tipping them in, Lincoln was clearing up whatever they haven’t used, Clarke was reading the recipe instructions, while Lexa and Raven took turns stirring. This was what Aden also wanted to be involved in. He took the spoon from Raven and began whipping the mixture with some impressive force for a child. 

“You know, baking is kind of like science, right? You follow a method and then get the result of gingerbread,” said Aden, mostly to his new best friend Raven.

“Yeah, exactly. And cooking. I guess they’re better than normal science because you actually get to eat something at the end,” Raven replied. Aden chuckled, his arms slowing down with exertion. Lexa took over, effortlessly folding in all the ingredients as they were added. Once they were done, Anya pulled out the cookie cutters and they all picked one each. They went around making people, animals and Christmas decorations out of gingerbread before piling them on baking trays and throwing them in the oven. Within minutes, Lexa’s kitchen started smelling deliciously of gingerbread.

With the kitchen being Lexa’s biggest room in the house, the group congregated there. Neither knew whey Lexa’s home had become the social ground for them all, but this was usually where they all ended up. Clarke’s home was too small for more than a group of three or four, Anya’s was the same size as Lexa’s, but had no spare room because that was Aden’s room, and Octavia and Lincoln’s house was bigger but was more on the outskirts of the village. Besides, the main reason they liked being at Lexa’s was because of Kit. He settled beside Aden who was lounging against one of the kitchen counters on the floor. On his lap, he had his colouring book and pencils, entertaining himself quietly while the gingerbread baked. Lexa leaned against her breakfast bar while the others sat on the four dining table chairs. Anya sat on a breakfast bar stool which was usually where she sat when her and Lexa caught up nearly every week.

The friends were engaged in conversation, varying from what they’re looking forward to buying on the stalls – mostly confectionary – and when they were going to start their Christmas shopping. Clarke chimed in with a few comments about how she’d already started hers, which came as a huge surprise to all the villagers considering she was notorious for leaving things like that until the last minute. The blonde glanced up and her girlfriend caught her eyes. She was stood in a pair of form-fitting, skinny jeans, socks, and a dark yellow hoodie, her unruly curls thrown over one shoulder. Even when she was dressed so casually, Clarke thought she looked stunning. She had no idea how 1. Lexa was able to look effortlessly good in anything and everything, and 2. Lexa was even remotely interested in her. It felt like a miracle. What she’d found with Lexa was something she didn’t think existed. She thought that waking up everyday feeling happy and in-love and still in ‘the honeymoon phase’ was reserved exclusively for fairy tales. She had no idea that even a year later, she’d still feel those butterflies flurrying in her stomach when green eyes met blue.

“So…tell me. What’s the most embarrassing thing Lexa has ever done?” asked Raven. Clarke had no idea how this topic was broached but she was glad to input. On the other hand, Lexa wanted to shut that down immediately.

“I’m pretty sure the gingerbread will nearly be done,” she said, but the others waved her off.

“We took a trip to Snowdon earlier this year and as we were coming down the mountain, I offered Lexa my walking stick because it was a bit slippery and she had Kit to contend with,” Octavia began, smirking in Lexa’s direction at the memory. Raven was hanging onto every word. “Well – Lexa being Lexa rejected my offer, claiming she was fine. All it took was Kit spotting another dog in the near distance and he was off, knocking Lexa on her ass then dragging her about five metres down the slope,” Octavia continued. She laughed as she recalled what had happened, both Clarke and Lincoln joining in. Anya and Raven, who weren’t there, also laughed, purely at the image it brought to them. Lexa shook her head, a small smile playing at her lips.

“If it wasn’t for Lincoln running down and stopping Kit from going any further, I’m pretty sure Lexa wouldn’t have had any skin on her back it was scraped that bad,” added Clarke.

“What can I say?” Lincoln began rhetorically, “I’m always there to save the day.”

“Or the time she thought she could beat my squat max,” said Anya. Lexa shot her a death glare. Clarke, Octavia and Lincoln looked between them.

“What’s this story?” Clarke asked, intrigued. This prompted Raven to lean forward onto her elbows. Anya chuckled to herself, revelling in the embarrassment that she could bring to Lexa. The brunette looked about two seconds away from clamping a hand over Anya’s mouth.

“So, I workout a lot, go to the gym a lot, and squat a lot. One day, Lexy here comes with me in a new pair of joggers. I set up the squat rack and we’re doing working sets of a pretty decent weight. You all know what Lexa’s like. Competitive. She asked what my max was and when I told her she claimed she could match it,” Anya continued.

“And I did and that’s the end of the story,” Lexa interrupted.

“Something tells me that’s not the end of the story…” said Octavia. She raised her eyebrows in Anya’s direction, willing her to continue.

“I tell her a hundred times it’s dangerous and she shouldn’t attempt it. I turn my back for a second and she’s loading the bar. So, I do what any responsible lifter does. I go to spot her. She takes the weight off the rack, takes a few very unsteady steps backwards and I come up behind her to catch the weight if she can’t do it. Well, anyway, she slowly goes down and it’s looking good. She gets all the way to the bottom and then all you hear through the whole gym is a resounding rip,” said Anya. Octavia threw a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her giggles. Lincoln watches on with disbelief. Lexa is refusing to meet anyone’s eyes, finding interest in watching the clock. Anya starts laughing, trying desperately to finish the rest of the story. “Of course, I have to catch the bar and help her back up with the weight. When she racks it again, those new joggers she bought have a huge rip right down the back, exposing her underwear to the whole gym,” said Anya. She has tears in her eyes as she recalls the memory. Lexa dropped her head into her hands, flushing a deep red. The others start laughing freely – Aden included. “That’s not all,” Anya continued. She wipes at her eyes before adding, “She’s stood there, begging me to leave and cover her because this is so embarrassing, but I can’t move because I’m just laughing so hard. If the other gym-goers didn’t hear the rip, they were definitely drawn to how hard I was laughing. She got a few sympathetic looks and a few not-so-subtle chuckles, but you should’ve seen her face! She looked like a beetroot!”

“That’s not even remotely true,” Lexa defended quietly.

“Um, the colour of your face begs to differ,” Raven quipped. Anya leaned forwards, giving Raven a high-five for her comeback. “At school, the students know Miss Woods is quite serious. They know she’s a great teacher, but she’s also the sort of teacher who takes no sh-…rubbish,” said Raven, quickly changing her language when Aden looked up. “They had no idea that she could dance. Well, they had no idea Miss Woods thought she could dance…” This piqued the interest of everyone in the room. Lexa felt herself getting redder by the second. Clarke turned to her girlfriend in disbelief.

“You have all these embarrassing stories and I don’t know any of them!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, there’s a reason I don’t tell you. They’re embarrassing!” Lexa countered.

“So, we go to the dance studio one afternoon when school’s done. Lexa had never been in the sports hall except on the tour of the school, and I managed to convince her that the windows were one-way glass because the students didn’t like others watching them perform. Well, she believed it! I put on some music on the speakers. What was the song again, Lexa? I know it was something foreign considering that’s your area of expertise,” said Raven. She was looking at Lexa with a shit-eating grin, knowing exactly what the woman was going to say. Lexa murmured something incomprehensible. “I’m sorry, what was that?” Raven probed.

“Despacito!” Lexa shouted ashamedly.

“Ah, of course,” Raven replied, her grin widening. “So, Lexa’s not really a dancer anyway, but I swear as soon as the first verse hit, it was like she turned into a different person. I started doing stupid dancing, noticing how some students were gathering outside to see how this all unfolded. Eventually, this dancing queen takes over and starts doing all these Latin-inspired moves and – may I add – singing perfectly along to it. I couldn’t stop laughing and neither could the students. Only when we left the studio and Lexa was saying how good it was to just let go and have fun did she spot the congregation of students outside the window to the dance studio looking like they were in complete shock.” Raven started laughing and the others joined in.

“Yeah, I’ve still not forgiven you for that,” said Lexa with a shake of her head.

“I’ve also not forgiven Raven for the lack of video evidence! I would kill to see those moves!” said Anya.

“Agreed!” Clarke added.

“Ah, next time…” said Raven. Lexa spun her head in her direction.

“Next time? Next time? There will never be a next time!” she exclaimed. Her expression just made the others laugh harder. Once the laughter died down, Aden quietly stood from the floor, a mischievous grin on his face.

“One time, me and Lexa were walking Kit—” he began.

“Oh, no, no, no. Not you, mister!” Lexa interrupted. She sent him a playful glare, but he just giggled in response.

“No, Aden, it’s okay. Please tell us,” Octavia urged. She had a glint in her eyes that Lexa didn’t like. It meant she was up to no good.

“So, we were walking Kit and Lexa said it would be a good idea to go through the park, but it had been raining all night. I was in my wellies, so I was safe, but Lexa was just in normal shoes. There’s a part near the bridge that goes quite downhill and it’s sometimes slippery. I told Lexa that, but she said that we’d be fine,” Aden continued. At that comment, Anya sent a disapproving look at her next-door neighbour. Lexa hid sheepishly behind her hand.

“In all fairness, Aden was fine,” she defended.

“Yeah, but you weren’t!” he replied, barely containing his laughter at this point. It caused the others to share amused looks and small laughs. “So, we were walking down this little hill and I was fine. So was Kit. I get to the bottom and look back at Lexa and I can see that she’s having trouble. I take Kit’s lead off her then she’s has both hands, but it’s too late and she goes flying down the hill!” at this point, he’s laughing loudly, head tipped back and hand on his tummy. The others start laughing along.

“Yeah, and when I stood up, what did you say?” Lexa asked. She was looking at him with amusement in her eyes. She loved seeing the small boy happy – even if it meant her friends ganging up on her. Her question prompted Aden to laugh even harder.

“I said…I said…she looked like she’d pooed herself!” Aden managed. This time, everyone burst into laughter. “She had a huge mud stain all down her pants and back and legs,” he added. Lexa bit her lip to pretend she was annoyed that he’d exposed her like that, but how could she be annoyed when he was laughing? Clarke stood up from her chair, walking around the table to place both hands either side of Lexa’s face. When Lexa’s gaze raised to meet her eyes, it was clear that she found all the stories amusing, despite being the one embarrassed by them. It made Clarke smile more.

“You’re an idiot,” Clarke breathed out playfully. Lexa smiled, nodding her head. She couldn’t dispute that. “But, you’re my idiot,” Clarke added. She planted a kiss on the tip of Lexa’s nose just as the timer on the oven went off.

“Gingerbread time!” Aden shouted excitedly.

At four-thirty, the group set off from Lexa’s house. The main hub of the village was only a few minutes’ walk away, so they had plenty of time to get there. The clouds were settling over Thornton-le-Dale skies, making it seem darker than what it should be. The sun was partway through setting anyway and it was slightly colder than it had been this afternoon. However, they were all wrapped up warm. Lexa had her puffy walking jacket on over her hoodie and a beanie hat over her head. She was holding one of Clarke’s gloved hands as the blonde wore a thick skirt, cable knit tights, winter boots, a jumper and big winter coat. Lincoln didn’t seem as dressed for the weather as the rest of them. He had on a pair of chinos, trainers, a jumper, then an open, fleece coat on. He was tall and broad, so he was less likely than the others to feel the cold, but Clarke felt cold just looking at him. Aden was at the front of the group, stood in between Anya and Raven, chatting animatedly to the brunette while he held his mum’s hand. Kit’s lead was in Lexa’s other hand as the German Shepherd tried desperately to reach the boy. He always loved leading and being the one in front. Octavia and Lincoln brought up the rear, holding hands as they walked along the thin pavement to the middle of the village.

As they approached the last corner, Clarke could immediately smell all the confectionary. The local had a stand outside the pub, selling local brews and mulled wine. A cake store was selling freshly baked goods from meat pasties to cinnamon and ginger spice muffins. There was a stall for candyfloss, popcorn, and some German treats Clarke hadn’t seen before. The scents of all the food were incredible. Sweet mixed in with savoury. It had Clarke’s mouth almost watering. In the middle was the huge Christmas tree, standing tall and towering over the rest of the village. It was covered in lights and tinsel, but they hadn’t been switched on yet. There was also a small fairground for the children and a few stands selling hot food like burgers, chips and hot dogs. As they got closer, there was an overwhelming smell of pine. Clarke turned her head, spotting her next-door neighbour Marcus Kane stood in front of a bunch of cut-down pine trees, ready to be taken home as Christmas trees. He was happily chatting to someone Clarke didn’t recognise, pointing towards one of the taller trees.

The village was packed with people. Thornton-le-Dale’s Christmas turn-on wasn’t just for the locals. It attracted people from all around the area, and even from other parts of the UK. The market was only small, but it was exclusively small businesses all promoting everything Christmassy. Clarke saw everyone she knew: Gustus, Marcus, Indra, Nyko, Harper, amongst others. They were all smiling and laughing on their various stalls or as buyers. Everyone was dressed in thick coats, boots or wellies, and hats. It was the North East, notorious for being cold, especially in Winter. Still, Gustus was only in a jumper and jeans. That man could live in Scotland and go out in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on Christmas Day. The children, on the other hand, were all dressed head-to-toe in warm clothing, similar to Aden. A lot were on the fairground rides, laughing and screaming joyfully as they spun around while their parents watched, taking pictures and videos. A few were with their families, mooching around the stalls and pointing out what they wanted while their mothers shook their heads. Occasionally, one would be gifted with a stick of candyfloss or small cake. Their faces would light up before they wolfed it down. The rest were in their friendship groups, talking loudly and animatedly as they made their way through the stalls and the village.

Clarke took a deep breath. She exhaled. She loved her village and she loved her people. This time of year was magical for more than one reason. Christmas in itself was a fantastic time of year with traditions, exchanging gifts, music and dancing. But the village seemed to gain a new lease of life when December started. Everyone would be out with their neighbours, supporting the small businesses by buying Christmas gifts. Everyone young and healthy would be offering to grit their neighbour’s drives or shovel snow if necessary (and it had been necessary sometimes). If people caught the flu, their neighbours would do their shopping for them, without being asked. Everyone just seemed happy, lighter. Everything seemed to just fall into place at Christmas.

“Clarke!” shouted a familiar voice. She turned in the direction of the pub, spotting Harper’s smiling face behind her stall. “You’ve got to try this mulled wine! Home-brewed!” she continued. The group made their way over, exchanging hellos and pleasantries. They were each handed a taster cup of the mulled wine (all except Aden, of course). Clarke felt it warm her up from the inside-out and she smiled when she placed the empty cup down.

“Wow, that’s really good!” Clarke praised. The others offered variants of agreement.

“Thanks! You should all come to the pub tonight. We’re having a Christmas quiz and winner gets a bottle of champagne and chocolates,” said Harper.

“Count me in!” said Raven. The others nodded. It was tradition, after all.

“Lexa!” came another familiar voice from behind them. The brunette turned around, coming face-to-face with Indra. She was smiling, which was rare for the woman next-door. “There’s a stall selling some German food. You should try it if you’ve not had it before!” she suggested. She pointed in the general direction then was on her way, Nyko practically chasing after her. Lexa smiled. She led the group over to the stand in question and looked upon the treats. When she’d visited Germany, she was lucky to go over Christmas and experience the array of confectionary they had to offer. She turned to the woman behind the stall and ordered two treats – both the same. She handed over the money, then turned to Clarke, offering her one of the sticks.

“What is it?” Clarke questioned.

“Just try it,” Lexa urged with a smile. Reluctantly, Clarke parted her lips, allowing Lexa to feed her the top part. She took a tentative bite, chewing for a short while until she swallowed.

“Oh, my God. That’s amazing!” said Clarke. She took the stick from Lexa, continuing to eat nearly the whole thing in one.

“I told you. Its marshmallow covered in hardened chocolate. Good, right?” asked Lexa. Clarke nodded vehemently. “I should take you to Germany one Christmas then you can try all the other food they have,” Lexa added absent-mindedly. Clarke looked at her, smiling. They’d only been on holiday twice. They went for a weekend away at Snowdon with Lincoln and Octavia, then in Summer, they went to Manchester for a week to meet the rest of Lexa’s friends and do some sight-seeing. Going abroad, especially for Christmas, was considered quite romantic. However, by this time next year, they’d have been together for two years, so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to go away. Still, Clarke was both parts taken aback and completely besotted with the idea Lexa had to take them away.

“That would be nice,” Clarke replied. Lexa smiled down at her as she took another bite from her own stick.

The afternoon shifted into evening; all the adults having purchased an array of gifts. No one told Raven that she had cupcake icing around her mouth for a good hour. When she realised, she angrily wiped it off with a spare napkin that Anya had passed her with a smirk on her face. Aden had experienced a few rides while the others watched on, but he’d insisted his mummy go on at least one ride with him. She’d begrudgingly agreed to go on the dodgems, prompting everyone else to jump in their own. Aden had fallen into a fit of giggles when Octavia almost took Lexa out with her own. That woman was competitive. Clarke had a paper bag full of baked goods, from cupcakes to brownies. Lexa had discretely bought Aden a new colouring book, full of dogs. Anya had slipped some homemade candles into her bag without Lexa noticing for a Christmas present. Octavia and Lincoln had bought homemade gifts for their parents. Raven, overwhelmed with all the craft stalls, had bought something from every gazebo. Her hands were filled with bags. She’d even slipped Aden a few mini cookies without Anya noticing, reinforcing in him that Raven was his new best friend.

At eight o’clock, all the villagers gathered near the Christmas tree to watch it get lit up. The group of friends had a variety of foods in their hands, from cheeseburgers to chips, that they were eating for tea. Did you really go to Christmas markets if you didn’t eat street food? There was a loud countdown from ten to zero. Aden was probably the loudest, bouncing on his tiptoes in excitement – despite having seen the switch-on every year of his life. Lexa finished off her burger, tucking the napkin in her pocket to dispose of it later. She grabbed the small boy under his armpits and lifted him. He squealed as he was put over the shoulders of Lexa. He grabbed onto her hat to keep him steady while she kept her hands over his shins. Anya looked around, smiling warmly at the sight. Lexa coming into the village and into their lives had been one of the best things for them. Kit was well-behaved enough to sit beside Lexa obediently while she dropped his lead to keep hold of Aden. Clarke picked it up just in case.

“Three! Two! One!” shouted the locals who had gathered around the tree. Suddenly, a button was pressed and the tree along with the rest of the village burst into colour! The lights on the trees were red, blue, yellow, white, and green. The lights dangling from the lampposts were bright white and light blue. They looked like snowflakes and icicles in the sky. Aden gasped, turning his head in every direction to take in the Christmassy village. It looked beautiful. Even Raven was taken aback.

Clarke turned her face to look at Lexa to find that the brunette was already looking at her with love in her eyes. At this point last year, Clarke had asked her to be her girlfriend. It was a monumental moment for them. While Aden was distracted by the pretty lights, Lexa leaned down slightly, pressing her lips softly against Clarke’s. She could’ve gotten lost in the kiss, but she had a child on her shoulders, and they were surrounded by people. When they parted, they both whispered ‘I love you’ to each other with bright smiles on their faces.

“Ugh, stop being so gay,” Anya (their very bisexual friend) muttered jokingly.

“I’ve got one important question,” said Raven when it had been a few minutes since the switch on. She looked at the friends in the circle, a grin on her face. “When are we heading to the pub?” she asked.

Letting out a belly laugh, Lincoln said, “I like this one; she can stay!” He slung an arm around her shoulders and began leading her in the direction of the local. The others started following them with bright smiles on their faces. Kit began tugging Clarke in the same direction and she chuckled. She was so happy Lexa had taken him. The brunette walked ahead with Aden still on her shoulders. Anya was walking beside her while Octavia remained on her other side. They were talking and laughing about something Clarke couldn’t quite catch. She smiled at the sight. One of her best friends got along famously with her girlfriend and her girlfriend had added two more people to their friendship group, three including Aden. She glanced down at Kit, smiling. She couldn’t believe all this had happened due to one late night phone call about fox cubs. However, she couldn’t be more grateful for that Kit.