Commander's Redemption | Clexa

Chapter 28

Late that evening, long after the sun has set, Lexa exhaustedly returns to her quarters, pausing a moment as she passes by Clarke's door.

It had been a very long and tiring day. She had not expected Clarke, the Ambassador of the thirteenth clan, leaving to bring about such a large amount of work and logistical issues, but it had.

Not that that had changed Lexa's mind though. She still was certain that the blonde needed to heal and that just wasn't going to happen as long as she was in Polis.

Once inside her room, she went through her nightly routine of discarding her Commander regalia and weapons and taking off her face paint before sitting down at her table, her stomach growling loudly.

The food on the table was cold by now, but Lexa didn't care and instantly dug in anyway.

Halfway through her cold dinner, someone knocks on her door.

"Come in," Lexa says after swallowing a big bite of stew and bread.

A blonde-haired head and a face with pale, sunken in cheeks and tired eyes appears from behind the door.

"Clarke, everything okay?" Lexa says worriedly.

Clarke nods her head and hesitantly steps inside.

"Were you able to pack everything up and say goodbye to everyone?" Lexa asks her next.

Again, Clarke nods.

"Good, good," Lexa says, eyes drifting away from the blonde as a flash of sadness overcomes her.

Clarke scrapes her throat before softly asking, "Can we um... Can we spend my last night in Polis together?"

Lexa looks into the blonde's desperate eyes, her own expression unreadable.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Clarke?"

Clarke shrugs and drops her head in defeat before softly mumbling, "I don't know. I just... Sorry, never mind."

Before Clarke can turn around, Lexa gets up from her chair, abandoning her unfinished dinner as she strides towards the blonde.

"Hold on. Yes. Stay with me tonight," she says before she can change her mind. Then she adds, "I do have work to finish tonight, but please make yourself at home," while vaguely pointing into the room, leaving the blonde free to choose where to sit or lay down as she works.

Once the blonde picks a spot on the far corner of the couch, the Commander covers the rest of her food, having lost her appetite now. She places the tray outside of her room on the floor, then looks between the table with the chair and the couch.

She usually would always work at the table, needing most of the surface to spread out all of her files to make them more manageable and workable. But Clarke looked so sad and small sitting by herself on the large couch, fidgeting with her sleeves, and it tugged at Lexa's heartstrings.

She could figure out how to organize her documents on and around the couch if it meant giving Clarke the option to sit near her and find comfort in her presence and touch if she chose to.

And so, the brunette walks to her nightstand, starting to drag it over to the couch. But as per usual, she had underestimated the weight and draggability of the nightstand while overestimating the strength of her only partially recovered shoulder.

Lexa clenches her jaw and lets out a sharp breath as she puts a balled fist against her shoulder.

Clarke rushes to her side and tries to pull away Lexa's hand, but Lexa stubbornly says, "Don't worry about it, I'm fine."