Commander Lexa, MVP

Part 2- Operation Smile

  You meet Lexa's gaze and all fragments of conversation starters leave you. You bow your head and greet her. "Heda." You look back up at her, and again she's expressionless. You sigh inwardly and wonder what it would take to see her truly happy.

 "Y/N," she starts. You shudder. You love the way she says your name. "I thought I told you to call me Lexa." 

Your heartbeat quickens. "Sorry. So, Lexa, how is everything?" Stupid. Stupid, stupid. You mentally chastise yourself for asking such a dumb question. She's clearly stressed out about this whole land thing which is a problem WE shifted to her. But SURE, let me just ask how she is.

"Uneventful," she answers. 

You try a different tactic. "Let me rephrase. How are you?" Bad idea. 

"Fine," she practically spits out. You swallow hard, wondering if this could be any worse. She must notice your reaction, because her expression softens. She says, much more calmly this time, "I'm sorry. I am frustrated, but not at you." Your optimism rises, not often hearing Lexa apologize, especially not for something as little as speaking roughly. 

"At who then, Kane and Abby?" She looks away, almost as if guilty of offending you. "Don't worry," you say with a teasing grin, leaning close to her face, "I don't like them either." She smiles, and you notice a rosy color take to her cheeks at your nearness, making her that much cuter. Her smile then fades, yet again, and you realize you need to find a way lift some weight off of her. "Hey," you start, treading carefully, "There was this game that people played before the war, basketball. It was played professionally, but for leisure, too. You know, fun. I saw a game from a T. V. on the Ark, so I tried it out. It's actually pretty cool. So, do you uh- um- would you wanna play a game? With me?" She continued to look at you, calculating her choices. Her hesitation was plain on her face, so you tried coaxing her. "It won't take long. Besides," you add, looking behind you at Octavia, "I think we could all let off a little steam." Lexa catches your glance at the angry Octavia, and nods her consent. You can't help but smile. "Cool. I'll uh- get some more players." 

She nods again, saying, "I'll be out shortly." You turn and leave the tent, searching for Lincoln and a few others to add to the game.  You let out a shaky breath you didn't realize you were holding.