Chapter Text
“Omegaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.” She could hear their snickers.
Lexa cussed. What a royal fucking fumble. Games against Azgeda were always like this - a call to war. They always knew how to get under her skin. Her teammate, Robbins, pulled her to her feet.
The opposition’s alpha captain grinned at her. “You need some company tonight?” They all laughed. The Azgeda striker, another full-of-herself alpha, kissed the air.
“Hey. Shake it off.” A hard clap on her shoulder, and she was staring into Anya’s familiar eyes. They bumped foreheads and Lexa nodded into it, pulling in a deep breath. “You got this. Let’s show ‘em.”
She nodded back as Anya turned away. She could still hear them laughing. She’d had enough. “Thompson!!!” The blonde turned to her. Lexa made sure to turn her back to the other team, circling her fingers around each other. They’d switch out places, giving her center field with the alpha captain.
“Aces!” They were spreading apart again, falling back into position. “Fake me.”
“Are you sure?” It was a risky play. They were running out of time and they should be pushing the box for a shot.
“I got something to say to her.” Aces nodded. Her sister was returning to the opposite side of the field, mirror position to her own. They caught eyes for an instant and she smirked, predatory and full of teeth.
The play started. The ball was on Anya’s side, Aces running it. The Azgeda alpha drove straight through to center field and Lexa surged forward to meet her, staying inside of her as Aces juggled to pass it to her.
The alpha backstepped, then faked trying to get inside of Lexa but she was ready, one step ahead and quicker on her feet. She side-checked; Aces had re-angled and was setting up to send the ball to her actual target, Anya, waiting wide-open downfield. The alpha was hot on her neck and growled in her ear, exactly where Lexa wanted her and oblivious to the ball rapidly approaching their net.
Lexa sidestepped, faking an opening and the Alpha rushed her greedily. Lexa was expecting it. She readjusted, dropping her posture and grounding herself, shoulder-checking her roughly. A whistle; the play was over. The alpha hit the dirt like a rock. A snarl curled onto her lips as she started to pick herself up but Lexa jutted her chin defiantly down at her.
“That answer your question?”
She backpedalled with a smile. The striker Alpha took a heady step towards her but Anya was there in an instant, in the girl’s space and pushing her back. The girl snarled. Anya pointed warningly. Kicks, the absolute instigator, barked.
“Take it home, Woods!”
Aces called to her. “You need a clear?”
“I can lose her. Just give me the shot.”
Aces grinned. “You got it, Commander.”
The whistle sounded and the Alpha was in her space again. She tried to use her bigger frame but Lexa faked, clearing her. Kicks was pushing into the goal and the goalie was surging forward to meet her. She could feel the Alpha against her, a thick presence against her back but she backstepped; throwing the brunette off balance and pivoted. The surprise was clear as she hit the ground and Lexa was free of her. Kicks sent her the ball high and center. Someone was charging into her left but she turned her back to them, pivoting off her off-foot and throwing everything she had into a kick. It connected perfectly and for a moment the world was silent as she watched it sail through the air, the world silent around her.
The ball sailed into the net, free and clear. The world exploded around her as the ground rushed to meet her, and the sound of the crowd was roaring in her ears. She was on her feet instantly, whooping into the air and she was surrounded by the scents of her teammates as they collided into her in celebration.
The alpha was giving her a death glare but she jutted her chin with a smile. The tide had turned.
---
Breaking away from the chaos of after-game celebrations, Lexa headed to the side-benches, extricating her water bottle from her gym bag and emptying it thirstily.
“That was an amazing play. You don’t usually go so aggressive.” Lexa blinked, casting her eyes to the bleachers above her. The blonde was a beauty, soft features framed by golden locks that fell around her shoulders. She leaned against the railing, looming over the soccer player directly, regarding her with bright eyes that held a joke she hadn’t heard yet. Lexa could feel the heat color her cheeks but she ignored it, tossing her gym bag over her shoulder and walking alongside the bleachers. The pretty blonde was right on the money, actually, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it - someone watching her games enough to be able to decipher the mood and stance of her plays. The blonde above matched her step alongside her, a half-smile still coloring her features.
Lexa shook her head, a small scoff falling from her lips. “They were hounding me all game. I was making a point.” She kept her eyes focused on the manicured field, cheeks still burning.
The girl’s voice had a darker tone to it, inviting her in for more. “Mmm. I think you made it. That explains the tension, though…. I think I heard someone bark?”
Lexa barked a laugh. “You tell Kicks you need water, and she’ll throw gasoline.” The soccer player risked a glance up at her and wondered if she should regret it, enjoying the way the blonde’s head tipped back with her smile, her eyes lighting up in the fluorescent bleacher lights. “But she’ll follow you to hell and back and watch it burn down with you too.”
Her laughter felt like an invitation, dark and easy. “She sounds nice.“
The high wall separating them fell away, and Lexa turned to regard her fully for the first time. She was dressed in a loose, faded denim jacket, a soft tee underneath, and dark jeans that hugged the curves of her body. She couldn't help but let her eyes wash over them, level with her own eyes and she felt her cheeks warm again.
The woman smiled down at her, eyes bright. “I’m Clarke.”
“Lexa.” And to her own surprise, she held up her own hand. The woman accepted, her hand pleasantly warm in her grip. Clarke placed her other hand on Lexa’s shoulder, and Lexa’s hand fell to her hip, guiding her to fall down to her level. Lexa blinked, shaken by the familiarity of it all; like she had been here, done all this before even though she was barely meeting this woman. Her hand stayed on Clarke’s hip and they stared at each other for a long moment, Lexa drinking in the blue of her eyes. They were close, well within each other’s space and Lexa couldn’t help pulling in a deep breath of her scent, like the dark fog that covered the leaves in morning light. The woman didn’t seem at all bothered by the contact, instead regarding Lexa with an amused smile.
“I know who you are.”
Lexa’s cheeks burned and she turned away, releasing her hold on Clarke’s soft hips. “So I’ve seen you at the games before. You go to the men's games too? Compared to them we’re like.. Little league.”
Clarke’s posture was easy, calm. Lexa found herself struggling not to stare at her. “Please. All that alpha blood and posturing? There’s actual gameplay here. Besides, the view’s much nicer.“
Her cheeks were fire, but she ignored it. Hopefully the long cast of the lights would hide it. By now they were within distance of the side doors, including the entrances into the locker room. The rest of the team was there and the post-game buzz was still going strong. The energy only rocketed higher as Lexa came within distance. She shook her head, turning her back to them to block Clarke from any collateral damage as the intensity of the swarm focused her. “Well, Clarke. I should be going.”
Her blue eyes glittered back at her. “Yeah. I have a date to get back to.”
“Enjoy your date.”
“It won’t compare.”
Clarke’s eyes were sparkling, and Lexa found herself struck by the clarity of them. Even though the words fell from her lips with a smile, she couldn’t help thinking that this woman was telling the truth. But that couldn’t be right; her, a sophomore who got a lucky kick in, compared to whatever night she had planned…. Right?
A particularly raucous COMMANDEEEEEER cut through the air, and finally Lexa turned to her teammates, acknowledging their existence and their impending surge. Clarke backstepped, her eyes dancing to the freight train of a team barreling towards them. Lexa barely had time to cast her eyes over her shoulder as she braced for the tidal wave.
“See you around, Commander.”
-----------------------
Anya was packing her backpack as class wrapped up. She’d just gotten the last of her things packed up when the graded lab report fell in front of her.
4/10
-- bad conclusion.
She growled under her breath. She’d followed the experiment exactly, recorded everything, and even left notes alongside the margins. All her lab partner had to do was put it all together, but apparently he had failed that. She’d meant to double-check it before the turn-in date, but Lexa kept asking if she was going to be at this week's game, work kept calling, and she just kept running out of time. The rest of the class was filling out, but the blonde was still at the next lab table, dropping the last of her things into her backpack.
Anya walked over and placed her books down with a thump, calling the blonde’s attention. “I’m Anya.”
She had an amused smile. “Griffin. You’re on the soccer team.”
“My lab partner is horrible. And yours----”
Griffin turned her head, watching the brunette file out the door without a word. “...Is a no-show.”
She turned back to Anya, her voice dry. “Unless it’s a due date.”
Finished packing her things, Clarke slung her bag over her shoulder and started for the door, Anya following beside her. “I need an upgrade. Anything’s better than what I got. And you need a partner.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Clarke’s voice was sour. She nodded nonetheless, turning to face Anya at the door. “See you Wednesday”
Anya nodded back. “Good.”
She wasn’t expecting Anya to turn the same way when she exited behind her, but they fell in step together easily enough.
A familiar voice and swath of brunette hair cut through the air and she followed the sound of it to see something sail through the air in front of her. “Hey. You forgot this.”
“Lifesaver. Thank you.” Anya caught it deftly, and Clarke raised her eyes to see Lexa had rounded the corner to fall in step before them.
“What do you eat when you forget it?”
Anya grimaced. “I don’t.”
“No wonder you’re always grumpy.” Lexa turned on her heel, walking backwards to face them as she pulled her bag around so she could rummage in it.
Clarke listened to the conversation continue with obvious ease and familiarity. Clarke tried to ignore the way her heart sank while putting the pieces together of just how close the two brunettes were. While they shared much of the same mannerisms, the two didn’t look like they were related.
“You have another class, right?”
Anya shrugged, pocketing what must be a wallet. “I got an hour. Wanna get food with me?”
“Can’t. I have a study thing, which I'm late for.” She found whatever she was digging for and tossed it to Anya without warning, ending her backpedal and walking towards them so they had to part for her to pass. “You’re welcome.” There was a tease in her voice, a light melody, and an eyebrow arched high as she passed them.
Anya ripped open the wrapper as Lexa passed. Clarke tried not to wrinkle her nose when she noticed the brunette’s scents were all over each other.
“Hey.” Lexa turned in stride, her movements so graceful it looked like a dance as her eyes fell back to Anya over her shoulder.
“We still on for pizza tomorrow?”
“Don’t forget my mushrooms, Woods.”
Anya sneered at her around a mouthful of granola bar. “Mushrooms are gross.”
Lexa was unaffected. She rolled her eyes, adding a smirk that made Clarke’s heart jump into her throat as she settled her eyes on her for the first time. “Bye, Clarke.”
Her cheeks felt hot. She hoped Anya didn’t notice but Raven’s voice was ringing through the air before she had time to worry about it. “Griffin!”
She shot her roommate a smile that she happily returned, her eyes washing over Anya’s form before turning back to her. “Hey. I’m starving.”
Clarke shrugged. “Let’s go eat.” She turned to Anya, extending the offer. “You pick the place.”
Anya smirked, balling what was left of the wrapper in her fist and stuffing it into a backpack pocket. “I want a burrito the size of my head.”
Raven grinned, falling in step with them. “Chipotle, then. There’s one in South square.”
Anya nodded. “Cool, my class is right by there. I can eat and run.”
---
Clarke absolutely noticed the way Raven’s eyes washed over Anya’s form whenever she wasn’t looking. She couldn’t deny that they had chemistry. Most people weren’t used to Raven’s sarcasm or dry humor, but Anya was quick on the draw, returning fire with equal wit and ferocity, never missing a beat. The three of them fell into conversation easily, and in what felt like no time at all Anya was standing from her seat, tossing the foil ball with a perfect overhand into the wastebasket. “Well, I gotta run. Thanks for inviting me to lunch. And it was good meeting you--”
“Raven.”
Anya nodded back, a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips as she shouldered her bag.
“Raven. See you around.”
Raven leaned out of her chair as Anya walked away, not bothering to hide the way she watched her figure fade as she walked away. “Who was that?”
Clarke grinned. “Anya. My lab partner.”
“Can we see more of her, please?”
Clarke laughed, but it was followed by an unfortunate frown. “I’ll see what I can do. I think she’s taken though.”
The disappointment was clear in Raven’s voice. “That’s a shame.”
-----------------------
The game had been declining since halftime, and by the end it could be described as nothing short of a landslide. Lexa carried the defeat on her shoulders as the team headed back to the locker rooms, and Clarke had decided to stick around after the game to offer company. That had been over an hour ago.
The field was quiet in the afterglow of the game, the scent of upturned dirt and clean grass still hanging in the air around them, the fluorescent lighting casting a sheen across the well manicured lawn. She could see Lex eyeing her as the bourbon threaded down her throat, hot and torrid, and held the flask to her in offering. Lexa took it with a shrug, kicking back a shot without a flinch and handing it back.
“What happened to your party?”
Clarke shrugged, taking another pull from the flask before passing it back. “I can pre-game here. Besides, you won’t come with me.”
Lexa shook her head, leaning back in the bleachers so she could drape her elbows on the seats behind them. She liked Lexa this way, when the stress would fall out of her shoulders and the severe cut fell away from her voice. “I don’t do parties.”
Clarke turned to watch her kick back another shot easily. It gave her a chance to appreciate the sharp lines of her jaw, the clean cut of her features silhouetted in the artificial light. “You used to though.”
Lexa settled her with a thoughtful look, an eyebrow arched gracefully higher before shaking her head with a shrug and handing the flask back. “I’m here now. Soccer. Classes. Clubs. Scholarships.”
Clarke nodded, a smirk pulling at her lips, this time sipping languidly at the rapidly emptying canter. “You gotta relax sometime. All work and no play, remember? Consider it a standing invitation.”
“I guess I picked a pretty good distraction from it, right? It was weird at first, when Anya came here. I was so used to having her around. It took me a while to figure out what to do with myself. Then I just… buried myself in classes. It worked out well; now we’re here together.”
Clarke squinted into the artificial green expanse before, the sharp bite of alcohol lacing her tongue. “Wait a minute. What’s Anya, a junior? I’m only in class with her ‘cause I took a dual credit. How old does that make you?”
Clarke must have hit the nail right on the head, because when she turned Lex refused to look at her, a blush crawling up her cheeks. Clarke smirked, a dark tease lacing through her voice. “You’re that young, huh? So you are a genius then?”
Lexa shook her head “It’s not like that. It’s more like.. I’m just hard-headed. Stubborn. And besides, books make sense. They don’t talk back. Not like people.”
Clarke smiled at her. “You do fine with me.”
Lexa blushed, but she didn’t respond to the compliment; instead pushed forward. “I was 16 when Anya left. So I graduated a year later and by then Anya had her own place. I had taken some summer and dual-credit classes, so now I’m with her. A sophomore.”
Clarke smirked, handing the flask back. Even in her peripherals, she could see the blush crawling up Lexa’s cheeks. “Right. So, genius. Got it.”
-----------------------
Niylah pulled her apartment door closed behind her with a click and stepped into the hallway. The heat was still running through her, making her skin run hot and setting her teeth on edge; but at least it was manageable now. She turned down the hall to see one of the Woods leaving in a huff. They were nice enough as neighbors went; kept to themselves, didn’t make any noise, fed her cat when she went out of town. But the shorter brunette was tearing down the hall like she had something hot on her heels. “Tell your friend she owes me eggs!!”
Anya (she knew her name) was leaning against the door jamb nonchalantly, a leg swinging lightly as if she didn’t have a care in the world, her arms crossed loosely as she watched the woman disappear down the hall. “I’ll let her know.”
Niylah followed the brunette’s path down the hall, but she could feel the woman’s eyes on her as she passed, dark and impervious. She slowed her steps; her body responding to the slow gaze washing over her. With a sigh, she stopped, casting her eyes down the hall. The stair door swung shut, the brunette gone. When she raised her gaze, Anya’s deep olives washed over her impassively before falling past her to the empty hall before them. She could smell the change in the woman's scent, the invitation clear even as her posture remained loose.
Niylah cast her eyes down the hallway again, but the elevator and stair door sat silent, the hallway desolate besides the two of them. With one last glance over her shoulder she turned, brushing past the Alpha into the waiting doorway. Her scent grew stronger, harsher as she passed the threshold. The door slammed shut behind her and she could feel the warmth of the Alpha right on her heels.
-----------------------
“Hey, can I ask a favor?”
Anya was squinting at the vials bubbling before her, her hand scribbling across paper. “What’s up?”
“I keep going over last week’s lab. I know everything I need is there, but I feel like I’m missing something. Do you think you could look at my report?”
Anya wasn’t in the business of babysitting; but Clarke carried her weight and listened to her instructions. Besides, looking at her work directly would give her a clearer view of her knowledge than running any experiment would. She needed to know what she was working with for the rest of the semester. “Sure. Let me take a look at it.”
Clarke produced a ruffled packet a moment later. She would have been annoyed at the poor state of it, but the margins were bleeding over with notes, equations and calculations running over the printed text. She took her time flipping through the packet.
“Huh. You’re on the right track. You’re missing a correlation though. Here. Look at what happens to the carbon after the fluoride is introduced.”
Clarke had joined her, leaning over the lab table as they studied the paper together. “ Crap. How did I miss that?”
Clarke was already scribbling away madly at the report when her phone buzzed.
Johnson:
Can you come in today?
Anya cussed, typing back a reply before turning back to the stilled vials.
Anya:
What happened?
Johnson:
We’re behind schedule again.
Anya:
How? I put Nichols on the diatrobe analysis. We should be ahead of schedule.
Anya let out a frustrated sigh. Her eyes washed over Clarke, muttering and scribbling away at her report, an equation blooming on the page before her. She was making all the right conclusions, and her brain went on autopilot as she tried to rearrange her day. “Pay attention to that restructure. Look what happens to those molecules after the introduction of the catalyst.”
“Shit. It’s the same structure as the hydrogen-dioxide. How did I not see that??”
Anya cussed, her knuckle brushing the beaker stand and tipping it over, the contents spilling on the table before her.
The motion stirred Clarke out of her trance and she flinched, reaching for a beaker. “Shit, sorry. Let me help.”
Anya shrugged her off, brushing Clarke’s hand away so she could swipe at the beaker spilling across the countertop. “Nah, focus on that. I know how it is. Get it out before you lose it. You can do cleanup.”
Clarke paused, torn between the two tasks before her; but Anya had already wiped away the last of the spill, dropped the dribbling beakers into the sink. Her eyes washed over her phone when it buzzed and she rolled her eyes.
Johnson:
We need to redo his run. Pretty sure he just proved water is a solid.
Anya groaned, flicking her gloves into the sink before snapping them off with a sigh. Her eyes washed over Clarke, still scribbling away at the notes before her. “Hey. You working?”
Clarke blinked at her, caught off-guard by the question, so Anya continued, dropping her balled gloves into the trash can. “I’m working in Richards-Thompson lab, here on campus. And I need some good people. Someone who can actually run within protocols. You should come check it out.”
Clarke’s hand stilled over paper. “Yeah?”
Anya nodded. She leaned closer, grabbing a lone pen and scribbling an address along the crowded margins. “You know the Corsus building?”
“Yeah. By the Engineering Quarter.”
Anya nodded, pleased once again that she wasn’t stuck explaining common knowledge. “Yeah, it’s in there. Tell them I sent you, they’ll let you in and you can check it out. You can decide from there.”
“Huh. Yeah. I’ll check it out.”
Anya pulled back up to her full height, dropping the pen back to paper as her eyes washed over the remains of their experiment. “Actually. I need to go clean up a mess. Can you take care of cleanup? Results are down.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Anya raised an apprehensive eyebrow. “You sure?”
Clarke’s nod was confident, apparent in the lines of her back, the straight line of her posture. “Positive. I’ll copy your notes on Thursday.”
Anya was already convinced, packing up her bag as Clarke watched on silently. “Hey, don’t forget to--”
“--neutralize the acids before disposal.” She raised her gaze to see the solute already in Clarke’s hands. A smile danced behind her eyes and she nodded at Anya before turning away. “I got it, Woods. Go.”
-----------------------
Raven’s eyes blew wide. “Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait a minute.”
Clarke did, her beer halfway to her lips.
“You’re telling me. That Hot Lab Partner is going to be Hot Boss now too?”
Clarke grinned, shrugging before resuming the pull of beer halfway to her lips.
“I dunno.. I like the idea of it. I checked out the lab, it’s clean. And Anya may be a bit short, but she tells you exactly what she expects. She’s easy to work for.”
“Oh my god. This just keeps getting better!! I was mad at first when you dragged me to that soccer game, but the view alone was worth it. And now you’re telling me she does the sexy scientist look, too?? I’m stopping by. I have to see it myself.”
Clarke laughed, finishing her pull and shooting her roommate a look across the table. “She has a name, you know.”
“Obviously. Hot Boss Lady. Then there’s Sexy Scientist. Broody Cheekbones. Oooh, how about Sexy Smirk? I like that one. We’re keeping that one.”
Clarke frowned into her beer. “I dunno. I’ve been hanging out with Lexa. And the way she talks about her...”
“Ohhhhh. Oh. I see it. You like her like her.”
Clarke blushed, but didn’t deny her accusation. She knew better than to fight Raven; she knew her too well. “She’s married. Besides, I have Finn.”
Raven snorted into her beer. “Oh, right. Cuz he’s a catch.”
“Stop. He’ll come around.”
“Yeah? How long you gonna wait til he doesn’t?” Clarke didn’t answer and Raven took another swig of beer, her brow furrowed in thought as a plan that Clarke knew would be bad for her health formed in her head. “No way. You’re working with her now. You have to do the research.”
Clarke started to shake her head, but Raven slammed her hand onto the table, making Clarke flinch. “I demand it, Griffin!! If there’s a chance that woman is single, I need to know. I mean, have you seen her?”
Clarke scoffed, a ghost of a laugh falling from her lips. “Apparently I’ll be seeing a lot more of her. Sounds like she already got me in. I just have to show up.”
Raven’s eyes glittered. “Don’t you fucking waste this, Griffin. Do this for me. I call upon the Holy Best Friend Concordant.”
Clarke sighed in defeat, taking another pull from her beer.
-----------------------
And please, write this down. I've been over this with Evans twice. Anya leaned across Clarke, picking up a blue beaker and swirling the liquid in it. "You HAVE to distill this before you add it to the solution. If you use the unconcentrated form, it's going to fuck the whole thing. False positives across the board."
But Clarke couldn’t hear her anymore. Her pen was suddenly hovering over her notepad, her eyes unfocused as Anya brushed past and she could smell Lexa on her, the smirk on the corner of her lips, the glitter of her eyes, the way her hands were warm against her hip as she guided her to the ground, the strength and ripple of corded muscle beneath her fingers, the deep emerald of her eyes.
“Are you and Lexa together?” The world swirled back into view, and Anya was blinking at her; the distaste clear on her features. But she was already here and the curiosity was burning, eating at her. She had to know.
Anya let out a scoff. They had been strictly professional, that’s what made their relationship so easy. Her eyes hardened and Clarke could read the ‘that’s clearly none of your business’ in them but Clarke met her gaze, intent on getting an answer. Anya met her gaze, but gave up when Clarke matched it, letting out a scoff as she rolled her eyes.
“Gross. She’s my sister.”
But you smell like each other . Clarke shook that thought off. She didn’t need to go through life advertising that she could pick up on those pheromones. “But. You’re clearly not related.”
“We’re adopted, dumbass.”
“Oh. Of course you are.” Suddenly all the pieces clicked into place. She was remembering all the conversations with Lexa, her easy smile, the way her eyes lit up when she laughed, the way she talked about Anya like they had always known each other.
A heavy sigh escaped the taller woman next to her and she blinked, falling back to reality.
“Can we get back to work now?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Distill the dymethazine solute. What’s after that?
-----------------------
“Sisters.” Raven blinked at her wordlessly as she clicked the door shut behind her. She dropped her backpack by the door, toeing off her shoes as Raven watched her with an unreadable expression. “Adopted sisters.”
A grin spread across her face like wildfire. “Oh, you are getting so many roommate points for this. I fucking love you, Griffin!!"
Raven disappeared down the hall without a word, leaving Clarke standing forlornly in the hallway. “Where are you going?”
“I have to pick my outfit!!” was the last she heard before Raven’s door slammed loud enough to rock on its hinges.