Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at https://archiveofourown.org/works/7969081.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: F/F
Fandom: The 100 (TV)
Relationship: Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Clarke Griffin & Lexa
Character: Clarke Griffin, Lexa (The 100), Octavia Blake, Raven Reyes
Stats: Published: 2016-09-06 Words: 3098

Clarke, no (Clarke, yes)

by sssweetdisposition

Summary

a mix of two au prompts

Okay, I know we’ve been best friends since forever but no we can’t take showers to – NO
, GET OUT OF MY SHOWER. OKAY I’M GETTING TURNED ON + I was actually
awake when you did that thing

Lexa genuinely enjoys taking showers; loves them even. The running water across her body
soothes her aching nerves when she finds herself tense after a rough work shift at the diner. The
lavender scent of her body wash takes her thoughts away from school and back to the cabin her
family used to visit when she was younger. The feel of her slender fingers massaging the shampoo
into her hair lessens the stress running through her mind. She can tone down the outside world and
hum a tune to boost her spirits.

All in all, it’s a peaceful task that she looks forward to. So when her roommate and best friend,
Clarke, loudly knocks and then bursts through the bathroom door while she’s halfway through
humming a song by that new band she loves, her mood slightly sours at being interrupted.

It’s not unusual for one of them to shower while the other makes use of the bathroom so Lexa
doesn’t think much of anything about her friend’s presence. The curtain that prevents the water
from dripping onto the floor also serves as a separation for privacy. She has no problem with
Clarke being on the other side.

“Lex, you’ve been in there for almost half an hour! I’m already ten minutes late for class and I
really can’t miss this one!”

“You should’ve thought about your class before going to the bar with Raven and Octavia last
night” she quips while rinsing the suds from her hair.
There’s a huff of annoyance from the outside. “I swear Lex, if you don’t get out right now I’m
coming in”.

“I’m almost done, just give me another five”.

“I can’t wait five more!”

The brunette can hear shuffling on the other side of the curtain and she’s quite confused as to what
her friend is doing. “Clarke?”

More shuffling.

Then, the sound of what’s most likely shorts hitting the floor. Oh no. “Clarke you better not be
doing what I think you’re doing” she warns. Really she’s probably just all talk. There’s no way
her friend would actually join her. Lexa firmly believes that she’s just saying things to get her out
faster.

“You’re leaving me no choice”.

She’ll play along.

“Clarke Griffin, I know we’ve been best friends since forever but showering together is a huge no.
There’s absolutely no way that I’m going to let you co –“

She’s stopped halfway through her sentence when a pale hand grips the curtain and pulls it to the
side, letting the blonde step into the small space.

Boy was she ever wrong.

“Clarke, what the fuck! Get out of my shower!” The brunette’s eyes are wide with shock and her
brain is slow to grasp that her best friend is standing naked in front of her – that they’re standing
naked in front of each other – in the small stall they call a shower.

“It’s our shower, number one, and number two, I’m running late because you’ve been in here for
so long already!”

They’re having a stare-down standing in front of one another in the shower. Something so
ridiculous and so unexpected is actually happening and Lexa can’t wrap her head around it. She’s
fuming, Clarke’s fuming, they’re both angrily staring into each other’s eyes and it’s Lexa whose
stare breaks first, her eyes flittering over the expanse of Clarke’s body before she even realizes
what she’s doing. She sees the sharpness of the blonde’s collarbone and her traitorous mind makes
her wonder what it’d be like to kiss along it. Her chest is – God – Lexa’s such a fucking boob girl.
Her stomach and hips are so perfectly shaped that if she just –

Her eyes snap back up to blue ones and she feels heat in her cheeks. She just checked out her best
friend. Her incredibly attractive best friend. Shit. She notices that Clarke most definitely caught
her.

“Fuck. Shit. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” She scrunches her eyes closed and for extra precaution,
throws her hand across them.

Aside from the patter of the water there’s a deafening silence for a few moments and Lexa
mentally curses herself for possibly sticking a wedge between her and her best friend. She knows
Clarke doesn’t have any cares about her being gay – Clarke herself is bisexual – but she can’t help
the sudden worry that she might think she’s some sort of gross, ‘predatory lesbian’ that enjoys
perving on her friends and holy shit she really hopes she didn’t fuck up the most important
friendship she’s ever had in her whole 22 years of living.

But suddenly there’s a giggle, and then a full, whole-hearted laugh. She feels hands wrap around
her own, pulling them back down to her sides.

She keeps her eyes closed.

“Lex, can you stop being such a prude and pass me the shampoo?”

Slowly opening her eyes (and remembering to keep them faced forward) she sees her friend
staring at her expectantly. Her eyebrow is arched and in Lexa’s peripheral she can tell that her
friend’s hand is stuck out waiting for the bottle. She shakes her head to rid herself of the jumbled
thoughts that are creeping through and clears her throat, turning to retrieve the bottle from the
other side.

“Yeah, yeah of course”.

Clarke hurriedly showers and is out before Lexa even finishes shaving the other half of her leg.

“I was 25 minutes late to Indra’s class this morning. I swear one day she’s going to actually kill
me”.

It’s mid-afternoon and Clarke is finally finished her classes for the day. Back at her apartment with
her phone to her ear she recalls her morning to Octavia who also shares the same professor,
unfortunately at a different time.

“Griff, I didn’t even make it out of bed until 12 and I’m pretty sure I drank less than you did last
night. The fact that you were only 25 minutes late is mind-blowing to me right now”.

She’s tossed off her shoes and is walking past the living area when she smiles as she catches the
sight of Lexa sleeping soundly on one of the couches, her head propped against the arm while a
book sits open still slightly in her grasp. She lowers her voice so that she doesn’t wake her and
heads to the nearby kitchen to make herself a snack.

“I wouldn’t have been late at all if Lexa didn’t spend almost half an hour in the shower…and
that’s before I even got in there with her”. The blonde is so caught up in searching the fridge for
her food that she doesn’t realize the slip up.

“You did what?” Octavia asks unsurely.

“What?”

“You showered with Lexa?”

Shit. As if she needs another reason for her friends to tease her about her huge fucking crush (She
knows it’s bigger than that). She tries to play it off as if showering with her best friend was no big
deal. Realistically, it wasn’t. She was late. She needed to shower. Lexa wouldn’t get out. “Don’t. I
was late and she was being an ass”.

“Did you check out her ass?” she can hear the smugness in the tone of her friend’s voice.

“Octavia”, she whispers harshly, careful not to wake Lexa.

“Come on Griff, you’ve been crushing on her forever. You can’t tell me you didn’t take a quick
look at her goods”.

She groans into the speaker before replying because okay, yes, she did take a peak really quickly
when Lexa’s eyes were shut closed but she really didn’t mean to perv on the poor girl who was
clearly so shocked and so embarrassed that SHE was caught looking at Clarke like she wanted to
do some very non-friendly things to her. “Fine, fine, fine. I did. And she’s perfect, O. Like, holy
shit she’s a freaking Greek Goddess kind of perfect. But now I wish I didn’t because I feel like
such a creep. I have legitimate feelings for her and that just makes it feel so much worse”.

“…Did she look at you?”

“Ugh, why am I friends with you?”

It’s a few hours later and Lexa finds herself sitting across from Raven in the small coffee shop by
their campus. She needed someone to talk to about it, and since her sister was off on vacation it
had to be Raven. Despite her loud and rambunctious nature, she’s actually a good listener and
Lexa finds herself confiding in her quite often.

“So, um, I don’t necessarily know how to go about saying this but –“

“Fuck Lex, spit it out”.

“Right. Okay”, she breathes. Her friend’s bluntness helps her slightly. “So I was reading this book
earlier and then I fell asleep on the couch and –“

“I feel like this isn’t an important part of the story”.

“Ugh. I overheard something that I wasn’t supposed to hear”. She picks up her coffee cup and
takes a sip to try and prolong the conversation.

“Okay…” Raven presses, looking at Lexa intently.

“Clarke told Octavia she has feelings for me”.

There’s silence for a beat before Raven responds. “Oh, wow. I mean, it’s not like it wasn’t
obvious, but uh, are you positive she was talking about you? Like, she mentioned your name or
something?”

“She was talking to her about what happened this morning”.

“What happened this morning?”

The brunette was really hoping Raven wouldn’t ask, but she knew it was going to come out
anyway. “We showered together…”

“You guys had sex?”

“No! Oh my gosh, no. She showered and I showered…at the same time”.

“I’m not even going to bother asking why…So what are you going to do about this new
information?”

“I don’t know?” Should she do something about it? She honestly just needed to get it off her chest
that she was accidentally eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Well do you have feelings for her?”

Feelings for Clarke? She’s never had to ask herself whether or not there was anything other than
friendship between them. It seems almost ridiculous that there would be. They’ve been friends for
so long. They know each other as such. There can’t be anything else. “I…”

“Really, Woods?” Raven is looking at her as if she said something so absurd that it’s made her
appalled.

“What?”

“Anyone can tell you have the biggest set of heart eyes for her”.

Heart eyes? What in the world is that supposed to mean? “I do not”.

“Wow, you really are that clueless”.

Lexa’s laying in her bed later that night and she can’t sleep because she’s thinking about the fact
that Raven said she’s clueless. How dare she. Lexa is a smart individual, if she may say so herself.
Many people compliment her mind and say that she’s quite intelligent. She was a championed
mathlete throughout high school for goodness sake. With Raven.

There’s this weird pull though in the back of her mind. It’s bringing to the surface this odd feeling
in her chest that she’s only ever felt with one person before, except this time it feels stronger. Like
it wants to be acknowledged and shared. Throughout her friendship with Clarke there’s never
been a time when she’s entertained the idea of being with her, right? They did somehow manage
to get even closer (if that’s’ even possible for two best friends) after she and Costia broke up two
years ago, but that can’t mean anything. She was just always there for Lexa, and likewise, Lexa's
always been there for her. Damnit. How was it that she never realized it before.

Almost a week later, after Lexa’s finely gone through every bit of her jumbled feelings, she feels
like she’s going to burst. The shower incident (it’s what she’s calling it, okay?) hasn’t changed the
way they act towards one another, but the fact that Lexa knows how Clarke feels has her thinking
that she’s most likely coming off as strange or distant.

It’s Saturday morning, and Lexa knows that Clarke likes to sleep in on her days off, but now that
she’s realized that the extent of her feelings for her best friend aren’t exactly just friendly her mind
has been in a constant panic and she just really, really needs to get this off her chest. She also feels
incredibly bad for eavesdropping on Clarke’s conversation with Octavia and it’s weighing down
her conscience. She didn’t mean to, but when she was there in the moment she felt that making
Clarke aware she wasn’t exactly asleep would’ve made things completely awkward. Especially
since she hadn’t worked out her own feelings at the time it happened.

So in lieu of her musings she finds herself pacing back and forth in front of the blonde’s door
trying to figure out how she’s going to start this conversation. She’s mulled over about 20 different
situations before she hears grumbling from the other side of the door.

“Lex, please stop pacing” the voice calls out.

Now or never. She takes a deep breath, shakes out her nerves and places a hand on the doorknob,
ready to open it. “Can I come in for a sec?”

“Mhm”.

When she walks through the threshold Clarke is already beckoning her over, lifting the blanket
and pouting. It’s a normal routine of hers. It’s not unusual for them to crawl into bed together and
cuddle until they both pass out. When Lexa does make her way into Clarke’s bed though it does
feel different so instead of turning her back and letting Clarke hold her, or facing each other like
they normally do, she remains resting next to her on her back looking up at the white of the
ceiling. She smiles when her gaze catches the scratch from when she scared the blonde so much
that she threw her anatomy textbook into the air.

Her friend must sense that something is off because she’s quick to comment. “You okay?” she
asks sleepily.

“Just thinking”.

“Wanna talk about it?”

She really does, she’s just not sure how. Instead of a verbal response, she chews her lower lip and
nods.

“I’m here whenever you’re ready, Lexa. You know you can always talk to me”.

She doesn’t remember her name ever sounding so great coming from her friend. It’s melodic and
sweet; said with such gentleness that she’s afraid if she speaks she may break the peacefulness it
brings. The brunette moves her hand in search of Clarke’s own, lacing their fingers together when
she finds it and squeezes lightly; a silent thank you for always being so patient and kind. It’s when
Clarke rubs her thumb across the back of her hand that she’s taken out of the hesitancy.

“You know, when we were kids I always thought the world of you”.

“You don’t now?” the blonde jokes, helping to ease Lexa’s mind. It makes her smile.

“I’ve always been so proud to call you my friend. Anya always teases me that it’s “Clarke this and
Clarke that”. She’s always told me “One day you’ll get it, Lex”, and I never understood her. It
made me so frustrated because I always thought that since she’s my sister she’s supposed to help
guide me through things, not just toss me into them and let me figure it out on my own. I’m kind
of glad she did though. I think I had some growing up to do before I finally realized. I wouldn’t
have been ready, but I’m more than certain I am now”.

When she looks to the side she can tell Clarke is a little unsure of what she’s talking about. Lexa
turns to face her, their hands still together. “I uh, have to be honest and tell you that I was actually
awake when you got home the other day after class”.

The slight tense that she feels in Clarke’s body lets her know that she’s aware that she now
knows.

“I’m not upset over earlier that morning though, you have to know that”. This time it’s Lexa who
runs her thumb across Clarke’s hand, trying to calm any worry she may be feeling. “If anything, it
uh, helped make some things pretty eye-opening” she tries to joke, noting the tinge of pink on the
blonde’s cheeks.

The girl across from her still hasn’t said anything and Lexa wants to keep it like that for a little
longer. She can tell that she’s incredibly nervous, so she’ll fill the silence with her own thoughts
for the time being.

“I honestly don’t know how it took me so long to realize I have feelings for you. It’s clear as day
now though. I think I actually – no, no I definitely do…I’m seriously in love with you. Like, head
over heels, super gay rainbows and all. It’s literally the most consuming feeling I’ve ever felt, but
in a good way, you know? And God, have I ever told you how pretty I think your eyes are?
They’re the most beautiful blue I’ve ever seen and you know how much I love the colour of the
oc – no, no Clarke don’t cry”.

There are tears threatening to spill out of her eyes and when they do, Lexa’s there to quickly wipe
them away.

“I’m sorry”, she sniffles, “I’m sorry, it’s just – I’ve been holding it all in for so long, Lex”.

The brunette lets her friend compose herself and patiently waits for her to continue.

“You’ve been all I can think about and it drives me crazy sometimes how much I love you”.

The way the words sound coming out of her mouth makes Lexa’s heart grow. It sends a
welcomed ache that warms her entirely and she can’t think of anything but the fact that she wants
to hear Clarke say it over and over again.

“And for the record, I really am sorry about jumping in the shower”.

“You really don’t have to be” she smirks, laughing when it earns her a slight shove on the
shoulder and a smile.

“I’m serious though, Clarke. Whatever this is – whatever you want it to be – I’m certain it’s the
same thing I want – I’m ready”.

“And what is it you want?”

“You and me. Always. Holding hands, going on dates, calling you my girl-“

“Oh my gosh, Lexa” she groans in fake annoyance. “We said that we love each other, just shut up
and kiss me already”.

"So demanding". She rolls her eyes and detaches her hand from Clarke's in favour of placing it at
the back of the blonde's neck to bring her closer.

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