Chapter Text
The sun shines down on a suburban street of Arkadia. Lexa walks along the sidewalks, wearing a dark green t-shirt under a leather jacket, blue jeans, and black vans. The woman swaps look between the houses and a piece of paper with an address. She finally reaches a brown house that matches the paper. Lexa sighs, straighten her book bag, and walks towards the door; she gives it a hesitant knock. After a moment, she could hear a voice call out, “I got it!” The door opens, revealing a younger woman who is a year or two younger than her. “Can I help you?” She asks.
“Hey,” Lexa greets, looking at her slip of paper. “I’m looking for Indra Woods, is she here?” She asks the young woman.
The woman turns her head inside the house. “Mom! It’s for you,” she yells.
Soon enough, the woman is replaced by her mother. The dark skin woman inspects Lexa. “Hello,” she greets.
“Hi, I’m Lexa heda, your daughter,”
Indra's eyes widen as looks closely at Lexa, seeing the resemblance. “Please, come inside?” She asks moving out of Lexa’s way. She leads Lexa through the house. Lexa gazed at different pictures of the family. When entering the living room, the two sat across one another.
The younger woman bounces her knee while fiddling with her hands. “Well, this is kinda awkward, huh?” She questions the situation.
Indra chuckles, “For you and me,” both mother and daughter sat in silence. Indra finally speaks, “So, how’s Gustus?”
Lexa's face saddens at the mention of her father. “He… he died when I was fifteen,” she answers, unable to look at the woman. “Heart attack,”
“Lexa, I’m so sorry,” Indra tries to reach out to the younger woman.
Unfortunately, Lexa pulls away from the woman. “Sorry,” she apologizes, keeping her head down.
Indra frantically raises her hands, “No, no, I’m sorry. I overstepped.” She tells Lexa. “If don’t mind me asking, but how old are you?”
“Twenty-one,”
“God, only three years older than Anya,” Indra mutters to herself. “Are you living with any family?”
Lexa sighs, “No, I’ve been couch surfing since he died.”
“Honey, who at the door,” Titus enters the room. He looks at the scene before him. “Am I interrupting something?” He asks.
“No,” Lexa answers, she stands up, preparing to leave. “Sorry for taking up your time.”
“Lexa wait,” Indra stops her daughter in her tracks. “Girls!” She calls out. On queue, two teens came running down the stairs. “Can you two show Lexa to the guest room? I have talked to your father,” She orders the pair. The two daughters nod, Indra signals Lexa to follow her sisters.
Once out of sight, Titus turns to his wife. "Okay, what's going on?" he asks.
Indras takes a deep breath, "Remember Gustus?" she asks, pouring two cups of wine. She passes one to her husband.
"Your ex-husband?" Titus questions, taking the cup.
“The very one,” Indra answers as she sips her wine.
“Oh, I see,” Titus states, putting the pieces together. “We’re going to need something stronger for this discussion,” the heads into the kitchen.
Upstairs the three girls sat around one another in a decent size room. “Mom said your name is Lexa, right?” Asks the youngest of the three. Lexa nods. “Well, I'm Gaia,” she introduces herself. “And that one's Anya," the teen points to her older sister, who simply waves from the door frame.
"Nice to meet you guys," Lexa greets them.
"How do you know our mom?" Anya asks the woman.
Lexa stares at her feet, rubbing her hands on the thighs. "That's for your mother to let you know,"
"How come?" Gaia questions.
"You guys ask a lot of questions," Lexa comments. Before anyone else could speak, a knock came from the door.
In the frame stood Titus, "Everyone in the living room, family meeting," he leaves the women to follow.
The group heads down the stairs and meets Indra sitting on the couch. Everyone takes their seats in the spacious area. "What's this about mom?" Anya ask.
Indra sighs as Titus rubs her shoulders. "I see you met, Lexa; your half-sister,"
"WHAT!" both Gaia and Anya scream, jumping to their feet.
"Mom, did you cheat on dad?" Anya questions.
Indra puts her hands up, "It's not like that," She answers, "She's from a previous marriage, and she'll be living with us for the time being,"
"You, don't have to do that," Lexa interjects, "I just wanted to meet you, I don't want to be a burden or a charity case," the woman heads for the exit.
As Lexa'a hand touches the doorknob, a voice calls out. "Then why did you come?" Titus asks.
"I don't know,"
The man places a hand on her shoulder, "At least give this a try,"
Lexa sighs, letting go of the knob. "Fine,"
Titus nods at the woman, "Good, now let me take your..." the man starts, reaching for Lexa's bag.
"No!" she cries out, holding the man's wrist in a vice grip. Her outburst gains the attention of the others. Realizing her mistake, Lexa apologizes, "Sorry, the bag's special to me; I'll deal with it."
"I'm sorry if I overstepped,"
"No, no, you're fine. I'll be in the guest room," She tells the family, heading upstairs.
After Dinner
Sometime after finishing her meal, Lexa explores the house. The woman manages to find the basement, she sees many trophies and pictures of Indra and Titus in their boxing days. Lexa finally spots alone punching bag by itself, putting on a pair of gloves, she proceeds to throw a combo into the bag. After a few punches, Lexa throws a few kicks. "Not bad," she hears, Lexa turns to see Indra and Titus on the stairs.
"I'm sorry," the woman apologizes.
Titus waves it off, "Don't be, who taught you?" he asks.
Lexa removes the gloves. "My Father," she answers hesitantly. "I'm also a fan of Woman UFC,"
"Great, Anya could show you Mount Weather," Indra offers.
"You mean the best MMA gym in all of Arkadia?" Lexa questions the parents. "I would love to go, but I don't have money for a membership." The woman admits.
"Lexa, it's fine we own the gym," Titus tells Lexa.
"And since you're family, you get a free membership," Indra adds in.
Lexa chuckles at the two, "Of course, you own the gym," she mutters to herself. "Okay, I'll go if Anya is okay with it,"
"She'll be happy to,"