#clexa secret santa

[awkwardspontaneity]

All I Want for Christmas is Peace

For: @sundayinthcpark ( @hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis @johnmurphyisqueer ) HMA Secret Santa 2022, here is a Christmas and slightly new years ish fic!!! Happy to be participating yet again, enjoy the holiday friendships!

Ships: Clexa, Kabby, Murphamy (somehow this one became the most obvious one??) still mostly platonic fluff with friends!! Peace, love, and friendship in these trying times!!! And some fatherly Kane because those children are his problem children your honor

Summary: In hopes of finding something to finally unite the grounders and the people from the sky, the old time tradition of Christmas is brought up. 

Welcome to the happy delusions of everyone being alive and happy together :D 

------

Chaos seemed to reign supreme when it came to the people of earth. Now, one might look around and see the crowds of people, shouting out requests and carting around supplies for their various tasks completely ordinary, but it was the people themselves that made this situation special. 

It had taken serious work from all sides, but with a lot of tense meetings and more than one rocky Romeo and Juliet romance, they finally had achieved a semi stable peace. And how did they choose to commemorate this new territory? By bringing back an old tradition of the people, long before the world had come near its end. It might not be what the history books described, a gathering in a neutral clearing somewhere in the middle, but it really was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

~~~

Raven watched over as people found common ground in the tasks they were given from her position of fixing metal hangers into decorations. The table was shared with some of the grounder children who were whittling away at blocks of wood to make their own decorations. She had gotten distracted by the loudest group of people, including Jasper and Monty who were ‘testing’ out their holiday batch of alcohol. Every delinquent there was positive that the two hadn’t done much of anything different in terms of flavor but, as they shared smirks and eye rolls every time another burst of guffaws would escape the crowd of grounders testing out the batch, everyone shared in the unspoken agreement that nobody would say anything.

Of course booze would be the thing to really bring people together.

One of the young girls nudged Raven, holding a star out to her. The mechanic smiled as she took the star and began placing the metal hook into the wood. She turned her eyes to the rest of the children, sitting around Finn as he showed them how to carve snowflakes. He stumbled through the instructions in Trigedasleng, flushing every time the kids would giggle at the wrong words. The little girls working with Raven snorted at another mistake and Raven met her eyes with a wink. There was no need to tell Finn just yet that they could understand their language.

Meanwhile, Bellamy was helping with hanging decorations. They had been mindful when picking their location to have trees to hang their decorations from while also having open space for the people to mingle. He stood beside Lincoln as they watched Murphy, Octavia, and two other Grounders take turns chopping down a tree for the center of the clearing.  Wiping sweat from his brow Murphy turned to look at the taller boy. “You planning on helping out, or are you just gonna sit back and watch?”

Bellamy laughed, pulling the sweater from over his shoulder and tossing it into Murphy’s face. “I am enjoying the show, but I could give you some audience participation.”

He slipped the axe from Murphy’s fingertips before taking his place to deliver a blow of his own into the tree. The sweater slipped into Murphy’s arms, but he held it up against his face to hide the smirk. (and maybe the blush too). He was quick to yank it over his head the moment he caught the teasing glint in Octavia’s eyes. 

The snapping of wood mixed with the group's cheers as they watched the tree crash to the ground. They made quick work of wrapping it in ropes and dragging it back to the clearing. If Octavia had to kick Murphy in the back of the legs for stopping to stare at someone else’s muscles, that was their business.

Cheers broke out from the people as they watched the giant tree come into the clearing- the loudest by far being from the group mingling around the brewing tent. There were definitely more people in that group than there were before they left. Clarke seemed to think the same, because she appeared with her signature mom stance. “Maybe we can take a break from the drinks and put our energy to use pulling the tree up?”

It was phrased as a question, but with the Commander standing behind her nobody had anything to say otherwise. Jasper raised a glass to the duo with a goofy grin. “Drinks on the house for our lovely ladies in charge.” 

Clarke would have been embarrassed by the tipsy teen had it not been for the smile on Lexa’s face. She sighed, grabbing her by the hand as she dragged her over to supervise the raising of the tree. This was the most relaxed she had seen the Commander, and she couldn’t squash the warmth in her chest if she wanted to. 

Everyone came to gather as the tree was secured, people passing around different ornaments and garlands made of various coloured fabrics. They worked together to space out the numerous decorations, Murphy even going as far as putting a kid on his shoulders so they could reach higher up. It wasn’t long before it became something of a competition between the children to find the tallest person to help them get their bobble the highest on the tree. Soon enough the branches within reach were decorated with wooden decorations and reflective metal disks that had been made before by Raven and a group of grounders that specialized in weaponry. It had been a close enough comparison for the team to work well together, even if they needed supervision from Kane to keep the young mechanic on track rather than try to teach the grounders advanced weaponry. Abby had to come in and reason that such topics could be discussed after the party, before she dragged away the exasperated man with her. Clarke was sure she had seen him with Monty and Jasper testing out their early batches of booze, and giving them advice on flavoring.

Finally they came to the realization that the tree was far taller than they were capable of reaching. Raven muttered how they should’ve brought ladders and, when Murphy made a retort about how lucky she was to have such good hindsight, she threw her garland at him. Everyone seemed to see the lightbulb above Clarke’s head which was met with loving eyerolls from her friends and a squeeze around her waist from Lexa. Picking up the garland, Clarke heaved it as high above the tree as she could and watched it fall to the other side. Seeming to pick up on the idea, Kane grabbed the other end and, with matching grins they walked around the tree, twirling the decorations around the branches. And this began the awkward dance of people tossing the fluffy ropes over the tree and twisting with a partner. In another bout of excellent hindsight, they realized they should have established a direction for people to walk around the tree… But maybe the laughter as people crossed paths and bumped into each other was for the better. 

As twilight fell over the clearing, Raven and her group set up flood lights around the tree. Drinks were passed around- not that many needed the reminder- and with a loud countdown together, the lights came on. Gasps fluttered over the crowd as the lights hit the metal discs in the tree making it shimmer as they spun on their hooks. Cheers erupted across the clearing as cups were raised and embraces shared. 

Music sounded out and within minutes, an area became something of a dance floor when Kane managed to convince Indra to join him, even smiling herself as she took the lead. Kane was spun into Abby’s arms with a laugh where he stayed swaying. They watched as the crowd became bigger and people began teaching each other dance moves to match the rhythm. Those on the side cheered on the newest person to enter the fray with a new dance until it became difficult to distinguish who came from where and they were all one crowd. 

As he watched the people mingling, eyes easily picking out his group in the crowd, Kane finally felt a sense of calm. Maybe one day he would have a comment about the amount of alcohol they consumed, but he wouldn’t interrupt as they let loose, dancing and reaching out past the confines of their circles to embrace new people. It had seemed like something they would never see, but if anyone could bring them to a better future- a peaceful life- it would be his kids. 

He couldn’t be more proud.

[lexa-griffins]

In farm clexa, how does Madi learn that Santa Claus isn't real? Does she catch her mommies in the act of putting her present in her stocking? Does someone inadvertently let the secret out?

Madi is never taught Santa is real. Not that Clarke doesn't want to for the Christmas magic but Lexa feels like it's an unnecessary lie and not a tradition she wants to start in their family. This does cause a bit of tension but Clarke ends up agreeing. Truth is if they started with the Santa story, they'd also have to come up with an excuse as to why Madi's school friends get more presents than her or, because their daughter dreams big, didn't Santa stop people from being mean to animals like she asked.

Clarke also had a lot more growing up than Lexa did, so Lexa promised herself she would make Christmas about the experience and not about gifts and Santa, while to Clarke Christmas is about the childhood wonder of Santa and the presents.

So Madi never really believed in Santa. Clarke tells her stories about Santa but Madi doesn't believe in him any more than she believes in fairies or dragons - she just likes to pretend he's real because it's fun. She takes pictures with the Santa that visits the toy shop in town, she squeals when she sees him at the parade the town puts on but she doesn't really think he's coming to bring her presents. It also helps her appreciate the presents her mommas and her grandparents and aunts and uncles buy her.

And although Clarke hates to do so, she's gotta admit Lexa was right on the Santa issue 😌

[143bc]

hey! your pitchmas secret santa here. tell me a little about what your favorite ships are and your favorite tropes! :)

Hello,

It very much begins and ends with BeChloe (or anything PP) - treble is nice, as well as quad.

More and more of my time is spent enjoying Clexa these days.

And it's really not possible in my book for there to be too much fluff 🥰🥰

[dontcha-wanheda]

Happy New Year, @reallygroovyninja​!! It was fun talking with you and getting to know you! I would love to continue talking to you! I hope you enjoy this Clexmas vibes drawing I drew up for you :) -Your Secret Santa 🎅

[shipahoi]

Happy New Year to @damiana-atx from your Secret Santa!! It was nice talking to you and getting to know you a little bit. May 2020 bring you and your family happiness, health and joy 🤗

[bronzepeonies]

Merry Christmas, from your Clexa Secret Santa!

Hi there! I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful, holiday! It's been an absolute pleasure to be your Clexa Secret Santa. Here's the piece that I wrote for ya, based on the questions you answered over the last few days. I won't be online too much after this, so I hope you have a wonderful week spent with your partner. Cheers on the new job and hope you have an amazing New Year!

xx Your Clexa Secret Santa aka @cantgetoutofmyheda

---

Lexa shook her head as her fingers instinctively tapped the steering wheel to the melody of the season’s most overplayed song—Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Stopped at a traffic light, leaving the outskirts of the city before the two-hour drive, she opted to whip out her phone and take a  quick video to send to Clarke. The song was most certainly her best friend’s favorite, and even though Lexa was absolutely tired of it, she figured a quick video of her off-pitch singing to Clarke’s favorite holiday tune would put some sort of a smile on the recipient’s end, since she was still stuck in Philly for a few more days taking the last of her med school finals.

The brunette felt bad about leaving a few days before Clarke, but duty called. It was tradition—Lexa would be home a week before Christmas and help on her family’s farm with the last of the mad holiday rush for fresh baked goods, wreaths and garland, and freshly cut down Christmas trees. Clarke was normally at her side for the two-hour drive, both girls having left their hometown in the Poconos Mountains for the bustling city of Philadelphia, but Clarke’s med school schedule this year had other plans for the blonde.

Her phone buzzed with a new message from the blonde.

Griff: You’re a dork, but I love you. Thanks for the early morning laugh! Drive safe and tell Anya and Gus I’m sad I won’t be there until the 23rd.

Lexa smiled, knowing that her tactic worked, before quickly typing a message back.

Your presence will surely be missed, but mostly by me because I’m going to end up stuck tying trees to the top of peoples’ cars all alone this week. Hurry home, will ya?

---

Lexa grunted as she tugged the wagon holding an 11-foot Douglas Fir, “Is the day over yet?”

“Get in the holiday spirit, little sister. Jeez,” Anya laughed as she watched her sister struggle.

“Aren’t you going to help me?” Lexa asked as she stopped tugging the wagon, “This thing weighs a million pounds. Why do we even offer free car-top mounting? I wasn’t born for this kind of manual labor.”

“Lex,” her older sister started, “as you’re a lawyer, I’d like to think that you know we offer this free service so no one accidentally gets injured on our property. And you were born for this kind of manual labor—you were literally born into the fourth generation of Triku Farms. Sitting behind a desk all day has gotten you soft.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “I do not sit behind a desk all day.”

Anya quipped a brow, “Oh, so is that why when I asked Clarke what to get you for Christmas, she suggested something nice for your desk?”

At the mention of the blonde’s name, Lexa heard a familiar chirp coming from the pocket of her Carhartt jacket—the jacket she wore exclusively when she was home for the holidays.

Griff: Should I be annoyed that Finn asked me to skip my study group tonight so we could celebrate Christmas together before we both left, but then ended up bailing when his study group decided to go to happy hour?

Lexa clenched her jaw—the expression stemming from the mixture of her annoyance of Clarke’s current fling and the fact that Anya was cutting some rope, signaling that she was ready for Lexa to hoist herself and the tree atop the SUV next to them.

“Ugh, okay,” Lexa said towards her sister’s direction, as she found the easiest part of the tree to lift it up by.

“What’s wrong?” Anya asked, knowing that the annoyance her sister wore wasn’t just about the tree she was readying to hoist above her head.

Lexa finally got the tree settled where she wanted it, then reached for one end of the rope Anya was holding. The pair instinctively walked to opposite sides of the truck to start securing the tree down.

“Nothing, Clarke’s boyfriend is just a total loser and she deserves better,” Lexa shrugged as she tied the first knot, “apparently he asked her to cancel some stuff tonight so they could do a little Christmas thing together and then he ended up bailing on her.”

“I see,” Anya said, working on the knots on her side.

Lexa took her sister’s short reply as a sign to keep talking, “It’s like she’s disposable to him or something—he doesn’t give two shits about anything other than himself. He’s not even good looking in the slightest.”

Anya nodded, even though she knew her sister couldn’t see her, “I see.”

“She’s just... I don’t know, maybe it’s just because she’s so busy with med school that she figures being with him would be easy since they’re kind of on the same schedule, but she can do so much better, Ahn. Everything he does for her is so half-assed, if even that.”

“Sounds like it,” Anya nodded again, tying the final knot on her side.

Lexa pulled the line and made sure there was no slack, before stepping off the sideboard to meet Anya behind the truck, “She’s the most beautiful person on this entire planet, there isn’t one star as beautiful as her, but she always ends up with people who don’t see it. It’s ridiculous—infuriating, even.”

“Well,” Anya looked to her sister, “First of all, there technically aren’t any stars on this planet, Lex. Secondly, sounds like you have a bigger issue here.”

Lexa furrowed her brow, “What issue?”

Anya let out a breath, “You love her.”

“Of course I love her, Ahn,” Lexa started, “she’s my best friend.”

“No,” Anya couldn’t help but stop to laugh at her sister’s aloofness, “You’re in love with her.”

Lexa shook her head, “No I’m not, don’t be ridiculous, Ahn.”

Anya met her sister’s comment with a knowing stare, and at that moment, Lexa realized that her sister was probably right.

Shit.

---

It had been four days of painstaking manual labor and four days of Lexa having a mild mental breakdown at the realization that her sister so kindly pointed out to her. As composed as she thought she was, her slight change in behavior had been apparent to everyone—especially Clarke.

Griff: T-minus three hours until I’m back! What time are you coming over tonight?

I don’t want to take away from any family time, I know your trip got cut short for the holidays, but tomorrow at the farm?

Griff: Are you so sick of seeing me all the time that you want to cancel our pre-Christmas Eve sleepover??

I just feel bad taking time away from your parents, especially on your first night back. But tomorrow, okay?

Griff: Yeah, I guess you’re right. Tomorrow, then.

Get home safe.

Griff: Thanks. Merry almost Christmas. Love you, Lex.

Me too.

Lexa sighed at her phone and threw it back into her coat pocket. Before she had a second to overthink the conversation she just had, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Hey, kiddo, thought we’d find you moseying around here!”

She looked up to find Clarke’s parents beaming smiles at her, “Jake, Abby, what are you guys doing here?”

“You mean other than seeing our second favorite daughter?” Jake jokingly asked, before pointing at a box in Abby’s hand, “Just picking up one of these for dinner tonight.”

Lexa glanced over and saw that it was a pecan pie, “Oh,” she nodded, “Clarke’s favorite.”

“Yeah,” Abby slowly nodded, “because she’s coming home tonight. Everything okay, sweetie?”

Lexa blinked a few times, “Yeah, sorry. A little stressed at the moment,” she tapped the side of her head, “got too much on my mind, I suppose.”

“Well,” Abby started, “How about you join us for dinner tonight? Clarke should be home in a few hours, so we’ll probably eat around seven. She’d be happy to see you, and don’t you guys have your annual Christmas movie night tonight, anyway?”

“I actually just talked to her,” Lexa shuffled her feet, “I told her we could skip this year since her trip was cut short, I figured you guys would want some solo time with her.”

Her statement earned a laugh from Jake, “You two have been doing this pre-Christmas Eve movie night for over fifteen years now, Lexa. Abby and I will not be the reason that your tradition stops. You’re coming for dinner, and that’s that.”

Lexa nodded, “Okay, well it’s settled, then. Seven it is.”

---

Lexa scanned the contents of the grocery bag in her hand—a bottle of Abby’s favorite Sauvingon Blanc, a six pack of Jake’s favorite IPA, and a bottle of Clarke and Lexa’s favorite Malbec. She gave herself a nod, before taking a deep breath and knocking on the Griffin’s front door.

As quickly as the door swung open, a pair of arms were wrapped around her neck and a mop of blonde hair was nuzzling into her face.

Clarke gave Lexa one final squeeze before finally pulling back, “Lex! You came!”

Even though her heart was racing a mile a minute, Lexa couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s welcome, “I did, and I come bearing gifts.”

The blonde moved out of the doorway to make room for Lexa to enter the house, “What changed your mind? Missed me so much that you couldn’t handle being apart another minute?”

“That’s part of it,” Lexa shrugged, “but your parents also reminded me that nothing should stand in the way of tradition.”

“That’s right!” the pair heard Jake scream from the dining room, “Now get in here so we can eat, I’m starving!”

For the most part, dinner went as expected: silly jokes from Jake, Abby continuously telling the girls how proud she is of them both, and Clarke having a sixth sense every time Lexa needed a drink or food refill, and doing that for the brunette. The one unexpected turn was Clarke nonchalantly dropping the fact that she finally dumped Finn.

“Good,” Jake stated, “he sounded awful.”

“He was,” Lexa agreed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Clarke raised a brow at her, “Because someone was awful at answering text messages this week.”

Lexa feigned hurt, “Maybe that was because someone left me by my lonesome to haul Christmas trees across the farm for days.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Clarke scoffed, “But yes, I figured it was finally time that I took your advice.”

“And what advice was that?” Abby asked, looking between the two.

This time, it was Lexa realizing that Clarke’s glass was low on wine and was pouring her a refill, “That she deserves someone that knew how to treat her the right way, someone that would appreciate her for everything she is, because I think we can all agree that she’s quite wonderful.”

Clarke smiled at Lexa’s gesture, before bringing the glass to her lips for a quick sip, “I think I just need a clone of Lexa.”

The look on Jake’s face told Lexa that the man saw her eyes widen at Clarke’s statement. He couldn’t help but smile before asking, “A clone, huh?”

Clarke looked between her parents who happened to be sharing a knowing look with one another, “Well she’s dealt with me for this long and still hasn’t gotten sick off me, so yeah. A Lexa clone would be great.”

---

Lexa couldn’t help but yawn—it had been a long day at her family’s farm, and Clarke had made her sit through three movies.

“Noo,” the blonde protested at the sound, “one more movie, please?”

“How are you so awake right now?” Lexa asked, followed by another yawn.

Clarke answered with a shrug, “I’m just happy we’re home and happy it’s Christmas. This is one of my favorite nights of the year, I just don’t want it to end yet.”

“We can put another on, but you can’t yell at me if I fall asleep,” Lexa sighed, “and don’t forget we have to be at the farm all day tomorrow. Anya will kill us if we’re late, or useless, or both.”

“Okay, deal,” Clarke nodded, “We can put it on in my room so if you fall asleep, at least we’ll be on a bed.”

Lexa nodded, before getting up to tidy the living room before heading up. She was, without a doubt, excruciatingly nervous. Gone was the calm and collected lawyer that she prided herself on being—she suddenly felt like a teenager talking to her crush for the first time. It was all quite silly, though. Jake had said it himself earlier, they’ve been doing this for over fifteen years now—not just the pre-Christmas Eve sleepover, but sharing a bed whenever they were home for breaks, when they visited each other during college, and even now whenever they stayed at each other’s apartments in Philly. The only new thing to this scenario was Lexa’s realization that her love for the blonde wasn’t what she thought it was, and that was an absolutely terrifying thought to her.

“What’s wrong?”

Lexa snapped back into reality at the sound of Clarke’s voice, “Huh? Sorry, nothing, I was just thinking.”

“Are you sure?” Clarke nudged her, “You look upset.”

“It’s fine,” Lexa shook her head, “I’m fine. Let’s go so I can pretend to watch the movie for five minutes, then pass out.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, earning a comment from Lexa, “I’m an old lady. What can I say?”

“My old lady,” Clarke smiled as she linked arms with the brunette to head upstairs.

---

Lexa tilted her head up—the snow was starting to come down a little harder, with little snowflakes finding a resting place upon the brunette’s eyelashes, “Shit, it’s really starting to come down.”

Clarke laughed at Lexa’s apparent lack of amusement, “Lex, you love the snow. Don’t be such a Scrooge.”

“I love the snow when I’m cozy inside and watching it from the windows, not when I’m out here lugging things into the barn and sheds.”

“You know,” Anya chimed in, “last night was a record low temperature for the end of December. Coldest night in almost a decade.”

“Ha,” Clarke shook her head, “I wouldn’t know because your sister is a human furnace.”

“Clarke,” Lexa set a few bundles of ribbons and signs aside, “of all people, you should know that I run warm. Plus, you’re like a koala on my back whenever we share a bed.”

Anya looked between the two, highly entertained by the conversation, “I see.”

“Well, who needs a blanket when there’s a Lexa next to you?” Clarke shrugged, pulling the last of one of the wagons into a small shed and placing a padlock on the door before she added, “And look, you saved me from the coldest night of the year. Maybe I do need a Lexa clone.”

Anya shot her sister her trademark smirk, then turned her attention to the blonde, “A Lexa clone, huh?”

“To date,” Clarke clarified, “Apparently my parents and Lexa don’t approve of my dating history, so I’ve just come to the conclusion that I need a clone of your sister to appease them all.”

“Hm,” Anya nodded, before taking a step to walk away, almost out of earshot of the pair, “I’m sure you don’t need a clone.”

“What’d she say?” Clarke cocked her head to the side.

Lexa’s eyes widened a bit before muttering, “I’m sure it was nothing. I need to go grab a few things out in the field where the Balsam Firs are. You good finishing up in here?”

“Sure,” Clarke nodded, but Lexa was already almost out of eyesight.

It didn’t take long for Lexa to find her sister—predictable as ever, Anya was warming up inside the office of the main store, pouring herself a fresh cup of coffee.

“Ahn,” Lexa stated as she entered the quaint room, “stop it.”

“Stop what?” her sister asked, fluttering her eyelashes as she mocked her younger sister.

Lexa took a deep breath, “You can’t just say things like that, especially not around her.”

“I think you should go for it,” Anya said, before taking a sip of her coffee. “You may be pleasantly surprised.”

Lexa shook her head, “It’s not like that, Ahn. Especially not for her.”

Anya gave her sister a soft smile, “Lex, for a lawyer, you can be pretty dense. I’ve watched the two of you grow up together, and you’ve always been on the same page as one another. What makes you think this time is any different?”

“She’s my best friend. It’s terrifying. The implications would be–”

“Fuck the implications, Lex. If you weren’t so blind, maybe you’d be able to see that she looks at you the exact way you look at her. You should tell her how you feel,” she got up and put a hand on Lexa’s shoulder, “It's Christmas, now’s a better time than ever.”

Lexa closed her eyes and took three deep breaths, “Fuck it, you’re right. Is the stereo system still connected?”

---

As Clarke locked the barn up, an extremely familiar tune caught her ear. She took a step back and instinctively lifted her ear towards the direction of the sound—Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

A laugh escaped her mouth, knowing well that this was Lexa’s doing. Wanting to immediately find the brunette, Clarke went off sprinting to the source of the sound system: Trikru Farm’s office.

She ran so fast that she nearly knocked her full body into the door as she was swinging it open.

“What is it with the two of you barging in here like that?” Anya asked, feet propped on the desk as she drank from her mug.

Clarke brushed off her comment, her mind was only focused on one thing, “Was Lexa in here?”

Anya smiled, “Yeah, we exchanged a few words, then she put on this god-awful song that you love so much, then ran out.”

“Do you know where she–” Clarke started, before she realized she already had the answer, “Oh, nevermind. Balsam Firs.”

“Balsam Firs?” Anya raised a brow.

“She said she had to grab a few things from the field where the Balsam Firs were,” Clarke nodded.

“Makes sense,” Anya couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, “it's the last tree field with all the decorations still up, and the biggest outdoor speaker we have is over there, too.”

“Gotcha,” Clarke nodded, “gotta go.”

---

Once Clarke made her way to the field where the Balsam Firs were, it’s wasn’t exactly hard to pinpoint where Lexa was. The music system was still blasting her all-time Christmas favorite, but the sound of Lexa’s off-key singing was a definite sign she was nearing the brunette.

Peeking through rows of snow-capped Christmas trees that didn’t make it to a home this season, Clarke finally laid eyes on something that ignited a soothing warmth throughout her body—Lexa standing atop a crate with “Letters to Santa” painted on it, and an old, beat up, Santa hat lazily slung on her head. Her eyes were shut as she scream-sang the final words to the song, getting way into it more than she’d ever end up admitting.

As the words ended and the melody started to fade, Clarke let out a laugh, “Well, Lex. That was sure some performance.”

The brunette raised the side of her mouth into the prettiest smile Clarke’s blue eyes had ever seen, “Did you like it?”

“Loved it,” the blonde nodded.

Lexa took a step off the crate and walked towards Clarke. She shuffled her feet a few times before finally reaching for one of the blonde’s hands, “I’m sorry I’ve been so grumpy lately. I’m happy we’re both home, though.”

“It’s okay,” Clarke smiled at the gesture. The snow had lightened up and was only dusting them in soft waves. Surrounded by the Christmas trees and standing in front of Lexa, she realized this was exactly where she wanted to be, “I’m happy we’re home too.”

“I love you, Clarke,” Lexa let out, in the softest voice that the blonde had ever heard.

Clarke smiled again, taking her other hand to grab for Lexa’s free one, “I love you too, Lex.”

“No,” Lexa shook her head, “I don’t think you understand. I love you.”

The blonde took a deep breath and nodded, gripping her hands around Lexa’s just a little bit tighter, “I love you too, Lex. I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up and realize it, too.”

“Wha–”

Before the question could even escape Lexa’s mouth, she felt Clarke’s pressed softly against hers. The feeling nearly knocked the wind out of her. She slowly pulled away, “Wow.”

Clarke smirked at the brunette, “Looks like I don’t need a clone after all.”

[onemilliongoldstars]

Happy New Year to the lovely @queersword who I had for Clexa Secret Santa this year! Sorry this is a little late!

“Clarke, Clarke,” Lexa peers up from where she’s peeling the huge pile of potatoes in front of her. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“Lex,” Her girlfriend, who had been previously banned from the kitchen because her cooking made Lexa truly fear for her life, rolls her eyes. “Of course I do, they’re only cookies.”

Lexa glances down at where she’s stirring together the mixture with such gusto that tiny pieces of the batter are flying out all over the otherwise spotless kitchen.

“Yeah but they would probably be more effective if the mixture was actually in the bowl.”

Clarke grins at her and Lexa can’t help but smile back, especially when the bell covered reindeer antlers she has on her head jingle. “You’re worrying too much.”

“I’m not,” She tries not to pout. “I’m worrying the exact right amount- shit!” In her distraction she’s managed to peel straight through her knuckle, and she curses again, dropping the potato and the peeler and sucking her knuckle in her mouth.

“Come here,” Clarke’s fingers curl around her wrist and she tows her the two steps to the sink to run her knuckle under the water. “Are you okay? How much does it hurt?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Lexa tries to tug her fingers away, but Clarke holds firm. “Honestly, Clarke.”

“Don’t, keep it there to make sure it’s clean.” Clarke fixes her with a stern glare that she dare not disobey, and she does as she’s told while Clarke digs in the cupboard beneath the sink for the first aid box.

“It wasn’t that deep,” Lexa tries to reason, but can’t complain but Clarke takes her cut hand between hers again, turning the tap off and dabbing at it with antiseptic wipes. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Does it need stitches?” Clarke asks, very seriously and Lexa rolls her eyes.

“Clarke.”

“Fine, no stitches. You just get a pretty bandaid.” As she digs around in the box Clarke adds. “You’re going to be great tomorrow, you know, you don’t need to be nervous.”

“I’m not,” There is a waver to her voice that Lexa can’t fight.

“It’s just our families,” Clarke reasons. “We love them, they love us. It’ll be great to have them all here.”

“I know,” Lexa acquiesces at last, glancing behind her at where the turkey is sitting waiting to go into the oven tomorrow. “I just want it to be perfect.”

“It will be, as long as we’re together,” Clarke promises, sweetly, and then produces a princess bandaid to go over her knuckle. “There you go.”

“Rapunzel?” Lexa arches an eyebrow and Clarke shrugs.

“There weren’t any Elsas left,” The blonde takes her hand gently between both of hers and lifts it to her mouth. “And a kiss, to make it all better.” Her lips are soft and warm and Lexa immediately forgets about the dinner.

When Clarke goes to stand and step away she snakes her hands around her waist and draws her closer, pressing them together. The bells on Clarke’s headband jingle and Lexa leans in to catch a long, slow kiss from her lips, tasting the sugar and coffee on her lips. Hands skate up her arms, wrapping around her neck and cupping her cheek to keep them pressed together, and for a few blissful minutes Lexa loses herself in that tender touch, which feels like home to her.

They finally have to break apart, and Lexa tilts her head, brushing their noses together . “I hope you don’t do that with all of your patients.”

“Only my favourites,” Clarke assures her, leaning it to steal another kiss. “Hey, could the food wait?”

For a moment Lexa considers saying no, casts a glance at her abandoned potatoes, but then Clarke’s hands drift down her body and her lips venture to her neck, and Lexa finds herself utterly persuaded.

Suffice to say, dinner is very late the next day.

[theawkwardestasian]

Parting is Not Goodbye

Dear Clarke,

From the moment I met you, I could tell from your eyes

You acted tough and indifferent but I could see right through your lies

The deaths, they haunt you, etched in your mind

You bear the weight so that they don’t have to, we have that in kind

A great commander is what I was born to be

But only when I’m with you can I truly be me

The burden I carry is something I must live with

Yet you and I are connected; we’re tethered at our pith

You taught me that there is more to life than just to survive

But without you by my side I don’t know if I can truly feel alive

I was wrong to believe that love makes us weak

If anything, it is love that makes us complete

I know I broke your trust that day on Mount Weather

But never again; I vow to you in this letter

Those words I haven’t said, I’ll hold onto until next time

When finally I can call you all mine

I owe it to our people to do what is right

So now I must leave you and continue on with the fight

Maybe someday we’ll be free of these binds

Only then can our lives be intertwined

Here is where I leave you, my girl from the sky

Just know that parting is not goodbye

I truly believe that this is not the end

So for now I leave you with a promise to meet again

                                                                              Yours truly,

Lexa

A Clexa Love Letter for @spacescify

[damianatx]

Your Clexa Secret Santa

@julesvale Feliz Navidad 🎄

Hola 👋🏽 Soy Damiana y espero que te la hagas pasado chido este día.

here’s a little something 😎

Juliantina TinderAU

Juliana is out and has been out

Valentina got on tinder on a bet.

Vale no lo sabe usar, por eso solo se veían perfiles de mujeres. En su frustración, hizo swipe right a una chava hermosa, de pelo obscuro que cree en la reencarnación. It’s a Match! Valentina le mando mensaje, disculpándose de su torpeza and to tease her about her bio. Empezaron a platicar como amigas y el resto, pues es historia 🥰

[cantgetoutofmyheda]

Being local is the best! I live relatively close to my parents but all the rest of my family is super far! So that’s a bummer lol Question of the day: wha your favorite Clexa fan fiction?? Hope your Christmas is fantastic! 2 days left!

Aw man. Are you traveling or staying local for the holidays?

And omg, such a hard question. I think it’s a toss up between: “Quality Ingredients” - @thatonewherelexasachef, “Except You Love” - @theproseofnight, and Lover in Low Light which is no longer available to read 😭. What about you??

And thank you!!! I hope yours is, too!!

[lesbad-unicorn]

So, time has come to reveal myself. I wish you the happiest New Year and hope that all your wishes will come true! This was the first time I did Secret Santa and it's been quite fun. This is my gift for you, in form of a drawing and a short story-this is the first time for me to draw a tiger or write a short story/fic, I hope you like it!

-----------------------------------

She was walking alone, as always. Ever since she's been just a cub, every tiger has shown fear and rejection over their face when they saw her, because of her birth mark around her eyes. Even her mother disowned her at birth, because she was different. She had to learn how to hunt and survive on her own, without any protection if she did something wrong at her early days.

So, here she was, walking alone yet again, surviving. "What to eat today" was her main thought, seeking for prey. But what she didn't know was that she became a target herself. So as she was thinking what and how to kill, she was observed as well. It wasn't like her not to notice danger, but she just wasn't herself. She let her guards down and was quickly attacked and that's how she's found herself on the ground.

Both beasts have shown their teeth as a play of power. Canines sharp, as they could get, staring at one another. And that was when they caught each other's eye. One, surrounded by black ink around her eyes, that gave her a look just like she had cried 3 tears out of every eye, and the other, a lioness, but with a mane, casted out of her pride.

It was a beginning of their story, after which they never felt alone again. It was a birth of something new, but at the same time of something as old as time.

---------------------------

Well thank you! that’s really thoughtful and cute ^^ It was my first time doing Secret Santa too and it was really fun to talk to you all along! I’ve never read any Tiger AU so that’s really original, I’m honored! Well I wish you a happy new year too and hope you will rock your trip to Portugal!

[lexa-el-amin]

through her eyes

She couldn’t take her eyes off of the peculiar girl. There was something about her that day…Who was she trying to kid? There was something about the girl that she had noticed every day. Because she had been watching and observing said girl ever since she had first stepped foot in the quaint coffee shop Clarke worked at.

It was all in the little things or maybe they weren’t so little after all because they stood out so unabashedly, Clarke thought everyone should have noticed them too but at the same time, she wished everyone was oblivious to them. She would like to think that she was the only one that had noticed those quirks the girl had never failed to do.

And Clarke wondered if she would ever get the chance to know the stories behind them.

Supposedly she could at least try talking to the girl, really talk, but every time she stood face to face with the brunette, she turned into a bumbling idiot. In addition to her eccentric way of doing things, the girl was also astonishingly gorgeous.  And Clarke was incredibly shallow (that didn’t escape her attention), she just loved seeing beautiful hot girls, who wouldn’t?

The green eyed girl was so easy on the eyes, too easy as a matter of fact, that just looking at her could make Clarke blush; her heart fluttered as all coherent words seemed to elude her. She desperately wanted to make a good impression on the girl, she just didn’t know how. But she did know a thing or two about the girl.

She did know how the girl would show up at exactly 7.45am after she had walked past the café 2 times, starting from the corner of 17th Ave. And then she would stand right outside the door for 22 seconds before stepping inside. Clarke knew because she had more than once counted the seconds while watching the girl through the window with great interest and profound curiosity.

The memory of the girl’s luscious lips moving so subtly along the second she was counting by was just a little something Clarke had subconsciously held dear to her mind. And still, Clarke refused to believe that she was a stalker-ish creeper just because she was observant. Right. She was starting to lose the argument to herself.

And then the girl would stand in line that had already formed since the crack of dawn with a book covering her face. It was always a different one every time. Clarke wondered if the girl was actually an avid reader or that the book was just a cover, a decoy, stopping anyone to break through her personal space.

Though Clarke could easily imagine the girl as being somewhat geeky and the thought only fired her infatuation more, the girl (at least the one she had been building up in her mind) was nothing less than endearing and cute and quirky and…Clarke realized her obsession had moved way past than just a silly crush. And she didn’t even know her name. It was ridiculous.

Surely people would hastily assume that by being a barista Clarke could at least get the girl’s name as she took her order. But no, it would be way too simple and the girl was by far the most complicated human being Clarke had ever encountered. Because instead of giving out her name to be written down on her cup of coffee, the girl would utter just one letter.

At first Clarke thought that the letters were just random but then she paid even closer attention to it and after 4 weeks of ‘investigation’, Clarke had come into the conclusion that the letters spelled out into a legible, actual name. Lexa Woods. But still, she couldn’t be so sure. Third time the charm, they say. Now was her chance to test that theory of hers.

As the girl finally got to the front of the line, Clarke brushed off her green apron clad outfit and gave out her most charming smile. “What can I do for you today?”

The girl, Lexa, possibly, hopefully, put her book aside and looked at her intently with a tight smile adorning her lips. “Ah yes, I’d like-” She came to a halt as she averted her gaze to the menu boards hung on the walls behind the counter.

Clarke waited patiently, knowing all too well that the girl wasn’t really trying to make up her mind. She just had to count to 22 before she made her order. Clarke knew that the girl had always ordered the same thing and it would be…

“A cup of hot vanilla latte with 2% milk in grande size please and…”

“One blueberry muffin to go?” Clarke concluded lightly, remembering that on Tuesdays the girl never stayed at the café.

The girl looked taken aback for a brief second but soon got her bearing back. “Yes, please.”

“Excellent.” Clarke quipped rather cheerily, cringing inside because she realized that she was overdoing it. She didn’t want the girl to think that she was overly chipper for no legitimate reason. But of course, if the girl would have preferred, Clarke would be the most cheerful person in the whole wide universe.

“Who should I make it out to?” She asked with a new air of confidence, arching her eyebrow, lifting up the paper white cup in one hand along with a black sharpie in another. Please say L, please say L…

“L.” The girl stated carefully. “But not like Elle like the brand, it’s just-” She stammered on, her right hand flailing aimlessly yet elegantly, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. And Clarke smiled, thinking that it was one of the most adorable things she had ever seen in her life.

“It’s just the letter L, right?” The blonde offered, hoping that the girl would appreciate her quick understanding of the situation. She had overheard once or twice how her coworkers would talk about the ‘strange’ girl and she hated that.

She hated that people would make fun of someone they didn’t know. She hated the fact that the girl would feel obliged to explain herself just because she had a tendency to do things differently. And Clarke had promised herself that she would do anything she could just to make her feel comfortable and understood.

“That’s right.” The girl affirmed, subtly exhaling a breath of relief. Clarke didn’t miss how she looked a tad more relaxed and that the corner of her lips had turned slightly upward, forming yet another smile, even though it didn’t last for more than a couple of seconds.

“Okay then.” Clarke chirped gleefully, scribbling down on the white cup. “Anything else?” It was just a formality to ask even though she already knew the answer.

“No, that would be all, thank you.” The girl said, reaching for her wallet and a metal box out of her messenger bag. The metal box was one other thing Clarke had noticed, it was a candy box, mints to be exact (based on the cover that read ‘Mark & Spencer’s Mints’) but when the girl opened it, it was filled with coins.

Clarke thought it was cute. Yet again. But then everything about the girl was cute to Clarke. She was way over her head already.

“Then it’s gonna be…” Clarke typed in the order to the machine, waiting for the receipt to come out. “It’s $9…”

“$9.25. Here you go.” The girl swiftly interjected, sliding out money over the counter and like Clarke had expected, it was an exact $9.25. Just like always.

Clarke felt like she knew this girl, like she wasn’t just another stranger; not just another face in the sea of people rushing in and out the shop every day. And she hoped she could get a chance to know her more. Clarke didn’t realize that she had let her mind wander and her eyes fixed solicitously at the girl until Lexa dipped her head down, showing the first sign of her nervousness under the scrutiny of Clarke’s intense gaze.

Clarke broke out a smile that looked a little guilty. “Your order will be ready in a bit. We hope to see you again.” She concluded, handing out the receipt.

Lexa took the piece of paper and quickly shoved it in between the pages of her book. And she gave Clarke a tight smile before she strolled away to wait for her order by the pick-up counter, not without subtly slipping $5 into the tip jar. As the girl covered her face with her book once more, Clarke decided that she was gonna go through with her plan.

—–

She was waiting for her order, internally counting the seconds. She couldn’t help it, the way she couldn’t deny her lungs from breathing. Rationally, she knew nothing bad would happen if she were to stop. But maybe she didn’t want to stop. She had found that doing things in such ways was almost like a comfort to her.

They made her feel at ease, like nothing was out of place; nothing was out of her control. She couldn’t find the logic in that, but she had stopped caring about logic behind every action she ever done. Sure, she was well aware of the way some people would snicker and talk behind her back about how weird she was.

But she had grown used to it, she didn’t expect much from people anymore. She wished to be understood, but she wouldn’t expect it. Expectation was nothing she could afford.

There was one person though that had surprised her, the barista girl, Clarke. Yeah, Clarke the barista girl. Lexa chanced a peek at the girl through the upper brim of her book. Clarke reminded her so much of the protagonists she’d read in books. Clarke seemed kind, friendly and colorful.

She had never given Lexa a strange look. Sure, she got curious sometimes, at first, but who wouldn’t with the way Lexa was acting? But Lexa had never seen judgment in those blue eyes or heard a mocking snigger out of her lips. Clarke acted like she understood her, like everything that she did was…normal.

It had been her normality for years, but people rarely saw it that way. But the girl had given her reason to believe that perhaps some people were still good and kind. Lexa wouldn’t say it out loud, but she was hopeful. Just a little bit, there was nothing wrong with that, right?

Sometimes, on days when she could stay and sit on the table by the side window, right next to the wall with a hummingbird mural surrounded by famous quotes, she would rack her mind with the thoughts of actually talking to Clarke because Clarke had been nothing but sweet to her. When she had the chance, Clarke would pass by her table just to comment on the book Lexa was reading.

‘Oh, I’ve read that. It’s so sad.’ or ‘Oh my God, have you got to the part where that character die when really there’s no legitimate reason for them to die? It sucks!’ or just a simple, ‘how’s the book going?’ As if she actually cared, Lexa thought it’d be nice to have someone care about even the smallest thing that she was interested in.

But of course she never managed to give any sort of response. She got frozen in place, awed by the fact that this girl took the time to pay any attention to her. Words eluded her and the next thing she knew, Clarke had moved on to clean up the next table. She should stop anyway, she knew she stand no chance.

Not when she could barely utter a word without having heart palpitation. She despised the fact that interacting with stranger was such a hassle for her. She wished she was different, bolder and courageous. Maybe someday…

Lexa snapped her head up, acknowledging someone clearing their throat. And she regretted looking up so quickly, unprepared by the warm smile and mesmerizing eyes that greeted her. “Your mind must be a very fascinating place.” Clarke remarked reflectively, tilting her head in such adorable manner.

“I…It’s…” Lexa slapped herself internally. Why can’t speaking come easy to her? Instead of responding properly, she grabbed her cup of coffee and the brown bag containing her muffin and bowed her head down. She could feel her cheeks warming up and her fingers trembling.

“Uh, thanks…” She mumbled apprehensively, straightening her body once more. She looked up to give Clarke a smile and then hastily turned her body around. She didn’t look back; there was no way she would risk doing any more damage than what had been done.

But as she reached the door, she heard Clarke yelling, “Have a nice day!” And god, Lexa wanted nothing more than just go back and tell Clarke that she was such a beautiful soul.

She halted all motion, standing still right outside the coffee shop with a bag of muffin and a cup of hot coffee in her right hand. She needed to just regulate her breath and calm her nerves first before she embarked on a journey to her campus ground. That was when she noticed something, writing on the cup’s collar. She scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion.

She never found any on the collar before, only on the cup, those letters/’codes’ indicating the content of the cup. She slowly rotated her cup, intrigued and anxious. She read word by word carefully, attentively. Her breath hitched. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She couldn’t believe that someone really did pay attention to her and cared enough to let her know that they truly saw her.

Written on the collar was a sentence that Lexa would never forget.

I wish I could see the world through your eyes, Lexa Woods.

-Clarke

She snapped her head up, she felt out of breath. The world around her seemed more vibrant somehow. Someone had figured her out; someone had actually taken interest in her quirks and learned her name. And she felt this pull, an indescribable force urging her to turn her head around.

She felt as if someone was calling her and when she finally did look back, she was once again greeted by those spellbinding bright eyes that had never conveyed prejudice and a sincere smile that made her heart skip a beat. Maybe hope wasn’t lost after all.

—–

I hope you enjoy this, thank you for taking the time to read it and also for the nice exchange we’ve had these past two weeks. It’s 1.5 hours away from midnight where I am so I’m wishing you a happy new year! 

Sincerely,

Dev (secret Santa no more!)

[bae-in-maine]

Clexa secret santa?

So...are we doing Clexa Secret Santa this year? I had a lot of fun with it last year!

[the-paper-turtle-dove]

Man I wish I could play an instrument, sadly I don't have the patience for practicing. 😞 I like reading, writing, gaming, boxing, hiking, road tripping, and many other things 😁 Have you done any traveling? If so, what has been your favorite trip so far? -SS

I actually wanna get into boxing! It looks really fun! I haven't traveled passed the US and Canada, but I guess I'd say the trip I went on to the Willamette Valley in Oregon was the best. What about you??

[nerdishpursuits]

Yo, I’m a very bad secret Clexa Santa and 100% forgot about this. I’m such a dud. With your permission I would like to continue through the new Year so you can feel the Clexa magic. Hope you had a wonderful Holiday.

Hey thur, No worries there, whatsoever. Haven’t been a diligent Secret Santa myself this year, so no stress. Should you have the time, and inclination, to be New Year Santa though, I’m very much ok with that :) Hope you had lovely holidays yourself!

[writtenletterstoyou]

hiya! i'm also stateside: portland, oregon specifically. i am an atheist, but celebrate x-mas because it's a great excuse to give presents to people i care about. i am spending xmas eve and xmas with my girlfriend's family (we spent thanksgiving with mine in seattle). i hope you have fun and stay warm, it is pretty darn cold where you are, especially considering you live in florida! going big for NYE? my gf is trying to make me go out, but i'd really prefer to stay in...--your secret santa

Portland and Seattle are two places in my I need to go list. My girlfriend is very big into soccer and so I am now pretty into it as well and we always say those are two soccer cities we’d like to visit.

Lucky for us it hasn’t been too cold this week and I did grow up here so I know what to expect. Xmas was a good day, a lot because we go to both families (luckily we are both from MA, but also that means we need to split time fairly and that doesn’t always happen) but we don’t really celebrate the religious side of it either. Neither of our families are big into religion so it’s more of a get together eat, drink, and exchange gifts.

As for New Years... I was expecting to have to work New Year’s Eve ( I work evenings in news) so we didn’t make plans but I ended up getting it off just by chance so we are having a couple of friends over our place for board games and snacks...still pretty laid back though. So I definitely feel you with the wanting to stay in. I’ve never been someone who wants to go out and go big on NYE. Luckily my girlfriend has gotten it all out of her system now so she feels the same. Our first few years we were together (we’ve been together for. 8.5 years now...time flies lol) we went out and did the big party or club thing now it’s mostly stay at home with a few friends.