Chapter Text
Lexa has always been able to keep a level head. It comes from years of training and discipline. She knows when to keep her mouth shut and when to let her actions do the talking.
But she swears to god if that number six kid throws an elbow at her son one more time, she’s going to give him a piece of her mind!
She paces back and forth on the sidelines, her eyes leaving the field momentarily to glance to the stands. Her gaze settles on a familiar blonde and she allows herself one second to soak in the image of the woman leaning forward in her seat, a look of intense concentration and slight worry on her face.
She looks back at the field just in time to see number six attempt to trip Aden, but he agilely skips out of it. Lexa shifts her weight onto her other foot and grits her teeth, but knows it’s fine. Aden is already down the field, getting into position for a pass from one of the middies. She takes a deep breath. It’s just junior high soccer. And the Nightbloods have a winning record with playoffs approaching soon.
The whistle blows to signal a timeout from the other team and Lexa watches as the Nightbloods jog over to her. She pulls out her dry erase board and starts outlining a mode of defense. No need to get cocky just because they have the lead. The players focus their attention on her while taking a few sips of water and catching their breath. Aden stretches his quads, his eyes intense and in the zone.
Lexa feels a swell of pride in her chest.
She and Clarke raised him well. He’s polite, if not rowdy sometimes, and he does well in school. He’s a good soccer player, too, following in her footsteps. As she watches him, he glances up and meets her eyes. He smiles casually at her and she nods back at him.
The ref blows the whistle again and the team puts their hands in.
“Get knocked down!” Aden yells, his voice sounding deeper than Lexa cares to admit.
“Get back up!” The team chants back.
“What do we bleed?”
“Black and blue!”
“One, two, three! Nightbloods!” They all yell before taking the field again.
Lexa watches Aden run toward the far end near the goal, a streak of blonde hair against the black of his jersey. His electric blue socks sport grass stains that she knows Clarke will fuss over later.
Gameplay resumes, as does Lexa’s pacing. Her team is playing well, despite a few turnovers that were easily preventable. They’ll have to work on that in practice, but otherwise she is satisfied with their hustle and teamwork.
With just under a minute to go, Lexa feels her heart stop as number six and Aden get in a scuffle near the goal, resulting in number six shoving Aden in the chest. Aden steps forward, but the ref slides in between them.
“That’s a penalty ref!” Someone calls from the stands and sure enough, the ref places the ball on the spot and Aden squares off against the goalie.
“Go Aden!” One of her players yells from the bench. Lexa spares a glance at Clarke in the stands, but her wife’s sole attention is on the game.
Lexa holds her breath as Aden’s foot connects with the ball.
A loud cheer erupts from the stands as the net cocoons the ball in its webbing.
They’re now up by two, and the clock ticks down, until finally, the game is over.
The team cheers and jumps on one another, whooping and yelling about their victory. Lexa smiles at Aden and ruffles the hair of a few of her players. They get in line and shake the hands of the other team. Lexa manages not to shoot number six a death glare.
“Good game,” Indra, her assistant coach, says and nods at her.
“See you at practice, Indra.”
She grabs her coach’s bag and walks toward where Clarke is fussing over Aden.
“You will let me clean that when we get home, Aden.”
Lexa notices that he has a small scratch on his forehead and holds back a smile.
“Okay, but I’m telling you it’s fine.” Aden leans away from his mother’s fingers and shakes his sweaty bangs out of his eyes. He notices Lexa and jerks his head in Clarke’s direction. “Tell her it’s fine, Mom.”
“Your mother worries,” Lexa says, and she feels her lips pulling up in a slight smirk.
Clarke rolls her eyes, matching Lexa’s smile. “Well somebody in this family has to.”
Aden waves to another kid on the team before turning back to them. “Can we go now? I’m supposed to play Zombies with Sam later.”
“You play too many video games,” Clarke says, grabbing Lexa’s hand as they walk to the car. “Did you finish your homework?”
“Yes, Mom.” Aden rolls his eyes and hops into the backseat of their car.
Lexa lets go of Clarke’s hand to open the hatchback and throw her bag in. “You’re smothering him,” she says to Clarke as she closes the trunk.
Clarke ignores her with a grin. “Good game, Coach.”
Lexa has a witty reply on her tongue, but Clarke steals it, her lips capturing any sound that was making its way out of her throat. Lexa’s back hits the car and she sighs, her hands finding Clarke’s hips.
She vaguely hears the sound of a window being rolled down. “Oh my God. Guys please, can you not do that here! I have to play Zombie’s with Sam!”
Clarke pulls away, her eyes meeting Lexa’s and sparkling playfully. “I have a medical journal waiting at home for me anyway.” Then she pecks Lexa on the lips one more time before walking around the car and sliding into the passenger seat.
Lexa smiles to herself.
She loves her family.