Lexa Woods strode into her apartment building, hands clasped firmly behind her back. She donned a gray tailored suit, simple yet extravagant in the most perfect way. Her hands moved from her back to her torso to quickly latch the top button of her suit coat as she stood to wait for the elevator to emerge. The bell dinged, signaling the elevators arrival, and Lexa quickly stepped on. She nodded to her bodyguard, a nod almost impossible to see, silently letting him know he was free to go for the night unless told otherwise. Just as the elevator doors began to close, an arm stuck out in between them, causing the doors to stop and re-open. Lexa raised an eyebrow, still with her hands connected behind her back, and watched as the young blonde woman joined her on the elevator.

"Hey Lexa." The blonde woman blew a few strands of loose hair out of her face.

"Clarke." Lexa stated simply, keeping her chin raised high in the air and her eyes focused on the closing door in front of her. She swiftly leaned forward and pressed the 10, knowing exactly which floor Clarke lived on.

"Thanks." Clarke leaned back against the wall and exhaled a deep breath. "It's been quite the day today." The blonde woman watched Lexa reposition her clasped hands to her front instead of her back as she turned to regard the woman.

"I agree." Lexa turned back to face the front of the elevator and watch the numbers slowly climb, coming closer and closer to the tenth floor. "Is everything okay, Clarke?"

"Oh, yeah. The kids were just on one today. I had to send someone to the principal's office in every single class. Hardly anyone is passing at this point. If I keep my grading scheme the same for everyone, I'll have to fail 80% of my students. It's just frustrating." Clarke shifted the weight of her bag to her other shoulder. She kept an eye on Lexa, noting that she listened attentively to everything she said even though she wasn't facing her.

"You teach art in an inner city school in Brooklyn. You might never have an easy day, but you will impact these children's lives more than though know at the present moment."Lexa answered quickly as the elevator dinged again, signaling they had reached the tenth floor. "I hope the rest of your evening goes well, Clarke."

"Thank you, Lexa." Clarke made her way off the elevator and turned to watch as the doors closed, sending Lexa upwards towards her penthouse apartment on the sixteenth floor.

Clarke made her way inside her apartment as she smiled thinking about her friendship with the young millionaire. Lexa was the CEO of a company she had founded 10 years ago, right after she graduated from high school. It had started as a small self-run business that she started, buying cheap household products and flipping them to make them as eco-friendly as possible. It began in the summer between high school and college just to save up some money before she moved to New York to attend Columbia Business School. But now, ten years later and with an MBA under her belt, she had turned her small business into a thriving metropolis, with store fronts littering the Northeast and Northwest parts of the United States, and far more than just eco-friendly household products being sold.

Clarke had been living in this apartment building for right around a year. She moved to New York from Washington DC after she had jokingly applied for a job as an art director at a small school in Brooklyn, and had received an email the following day asking for an interview. She was able pay for the nice apartment in Manhattan with the trust fund her father had left her when he passed away nine years ago. She had no access to it until the day she turned 25, so she hadn't spent a single dime before she moved to New York. She had been at PS 118 for almost two full semesters and she loved her job, even though most of the students and even the administration looked down on her because she was "just an art teacher". She still had those moments with certain students that would make it all worth it, no matter how much other shit she went through.

They first met during the first week that Clarke had moved into the apartment building. Clarke had stepped onto the elevator to head down to the lobby and immediately caught herself practically drooling over the brunette who already took up residence in the elevator, wearing a neatly tailored suit with the top button latched and her hands placed firmly behind her back. The woman could probably feel Clarke's eyes ogling her, she raised an eyebrow in the blonde's direction and turned to look at her out of the corner of her eye. They hadn't exchanged any pleasantries during their first meeting, but they quickly realized that they must be on a very similar schedule. They ended up riding the elevator down together every morning at 7:15, and riding the elevator up together every evening at 6:45. A few days after they realized their schedules had synced, Clarke took the initiative to introduce herself. They had been getting to know each other better, 60 seconds at a time, almost every day for a year now.

Their weekends were their own. Clarke always slept in on Saturday and Sunday, yet Lexa seemed to wake up even earlier on the weekends than she did during the week. They always missed the others presence on the elevator ride to and from the lobby. Clarke especially missed Lexa on the weekends. This is mostly because every once in a while, they would meet each other as one exited the elevator and the other entered, and Clarke would notice that Lexa doesn't wear tailored suits on the weekends. She usually wore a tight button up tucked into tailored slacks. Sometimes she wore a pair of dress shoes with no socks. Every once in a while, she would have her sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms, or her top two buttons unbuttoned instead of just the one. She always had her leather watch on. She always had her hair down but still clasped back, away from her face. Clarke lived for Lexa's casual looks, almost as much as she lived for Lexa's tailored suits.

Clarke and Lexa had both admitted their feelings for the other, but only to themselves and close friends. Clarke had finally admitted it to her two best friends (Raven and Octavia) while Lexa had finally told her bodyguard, and the two owners of the apartment building she was living in (Gustus, Nyko and Indra). Lexa refused to admit it to the only friend she had that she didn't have to pay to spend time with her, Anya. And Clarke had refused to admit it to any of the friends she had met in New York; Octavia and Raven both still lived in Washington DC so there was much less of a chance of them ever meeting Lexa and making things awkward. The blonde and brunette adamantly refused to admit their feelings to one another though. Lexa had convinced herself that Clarke was in a heterosexual relationship with a boy named Ray, because she'd heard the younger woman on the phone with this person multiple times in the elevator, she even told Ray that she loved him. Lexa had visibly deflated when she heard that. Clarke had convinced herself that Lexa was either straight, or had no interest in dating anyone at all, ever. There had been a period of time that Clarke actively flirted with Lexa, just to see if she could get any type of reaction. But the CEO remained just as stoic and straight-faced as ever, much to the blonde's disappointment.

Clarke collapsed on the couch with two hot pockets on a paper plate, ready to binge watch another rerun season of Survivor on Hulu, wondering to herself what Lexa was doing six floors above her.

Lexa came to a stop, breathing heavily and stepping off the treadmill for the first time in almost an hour. She placed her hands on her hips as she tried to steady her breathing. She quickly rid herself of her t-shirt, dripping with sweat, and made her way to the bathroom in just her sports bra and joggers. As she stripped down and stepped into her shower, her mind wandered to the blonde six floors below her. What was she doing? Did she have to grade any art projects? It was a Friday night, maybe she had plans to go out. Maybe Lexa should go out herself. Anya was always trying to talk Lexa into getting out and letting loose for a night, but Lexa always had meetings and luncheons and golf tournaments and everything in between on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, so it was hard for her to let loose without regretting it early the next morning. She decided after a few minutes of deliberation that she would ask Anya to go to dinner with her, they could have a couple glasses of wine there, then end the night before things got too "loose". Lexa exited the bathroom not bothering to wrap a towel around herself since she knew no one would be in her large apartment. She picked up her phone and went to her favorites, quickly tapping Anya's contact ID and waiting for the call to connect.

"What's up, Madame President." Anya answered and Lexa could feel herself rolling her eyes.

"I tell you this every time, I am not a President. I am a CEO. It's incredibly different." Lexa retorted as she walked to a full length mirror and began scanning her eyes over her own body.

"I don't care. What's up though?" Anya asked. Lexa pinched at a loose piece of flesh on her hip, grimacing.

"Would you like to get dinner with me tonight? I've nothing to wake up for tomorrow until well past noon." Lexa quickly turned from the mirror and made her way into her closet, eyes scouring for something rather casual to wear.

"Dude, hell yeah. Pick me up?" Came Anya's response and Lexa smiled. She could always count on her best friend from college to be willing to hang out at the drop of a hat.

"Of course. I'll let you know when we're close." Lexa listened to Anya's excited response then pressed the end call button on her phone without ending the conversation.

She turned her attention from her wall full of button ups to the opposite wall, this one full of t-shirts, mostly v-necks. She carefully grabbed a grey v-neck off its hanger, placing it on the counter that was in the middle of her closet. She pulled a pair of dark skinny jeans off the adjoining wall and placed them next to the shirt. After that, she chose a pair of grey vans off the spinning rack, the color matching the v-neck perfectly. She placed them on the floor below the jeans. Her hands then fell on a leather jacket that was hanging up next to the rest of her jackets. This one was different though. It was worn, stained, ragged, old, and inexpensive. But it had been Lexa's favorite piece of clothing since she was 14. It had belonged to her father, he had given it to her the last time she ever saw him. She tried to come up with excuses to wear it as often as possible still, 14 years later.

Lexa quickly got dressed and looked over herself in the full length mirror again. This was the most casual she had dressed in…she wasn't sure how long. Probably since the last time she had gone out with Anya, which might have been months ago. She finished her look by pulling her hair up into a rather messy bun, adjusting her watch on her wrist, and shrugging her jacket on. She made her way out of the apartment and into the elevator, not bothering to think twice about anything until the elevator dinged when it stopped at the tenth floor. Lexa immediately clammed up when she saw the blonde give her a double take as she made her way onto the elevator.

"Someone is looking rather casual tonight." Clarke exclaimed as she leaned back against the wall and smirked at the older woman. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear leather."

"That's because I do not approve of leather. This jacket was…I had it before I became vegan." Lexa explained without going into too much detail.

"Sentimental value?" Clarke raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that." Lexa answered quietly, not noticing that she had reached behind her and clasped her hands behind her back.

"So what are you getting into tonight?" Clarke asked, pulling her phone out of her pocket and checking the time.

"I'm going to dinner with a friend."

"Ooh, hot date?" Clarke teased and Lexa shook her head firmly.

"Nothing of the sort. I will be meeting one of my closest friends." Clarke rolled her eyes and smiled.

"I'm just messing with you, Lex. I know Ms. CEO doesn't date." Clarke playfully shoved the brunette's shoulder.

"What leads you to believe that I do not date?" Lexa turned towards the blonde, giving her a curious look.

"Just making an assumption, I guess." Clarke shrugged as the elevator doors opened. The two girls made their way out. "Hi Gustus!" Clarke leaned up and gave Lexa's bodyguard a quick kiss on the cheek. The tall man blushed and kept his hands clasped firmly in front of him.

"Ms. Griffin." He acknowledged and Clarke laughed to herself.

"Bye guys. Have fun tonight, Lexa!" She waved a farewell to the brunette and her bodyguard then made her way out of the apartment and towards the nearest subway station. Lexa watched her walk down the sidewalk until she could not see her anymore. Only then did she turn her attention back to Gustus. The tall man had a knowing smirk on his face.

"Shut up, Gustus. Let's leave. We have to pick up Anya." Gustus nodded silently and led Lexa outside where he opened the back door of an SUV and ushered the young woman inside.

Lexa returned back from her night out at around 10 PM. She shared a handful of drinks with her best friend, but did not allow herself to let loose too much. She knew all too well how debilitating a hangover could be for a 28 year old who rarely drank. By the time she and Gustus had dropped Anya off and made their way back to Lexa's apartment building, she already felt almost completely sober. She nodded to Nyko as she entered, she wondered absent mindedly when Indra would be taking over the front counter for the night, then she quickly pressed the button to call the elevator before turning to face Gustus.

"Have a good night, Gustus." She said simply, informing Gustus that he was relieved for the rest of the night. He gave her a quick nod.

"Thank you, ma'am. And you as well. I will pick you up tomorrow at half past noon." Lexa gave him a curt nod and turned her attention back to the elevator, secretly wishing to see a mass of blonde hair emerge from it but knowing that the younger girl was probably still out for the night.

She made her way into her apartment and shrugged off her jacket, hanging it neatly back in her closet. She sat down on her large couch, the one she had bought for looks and not for comfort, and tapped a few buttons on her phone. She smiled to herself as the sound of smooth jazz slowly filled every nook and cranny of her substantial apartment. She closed her eyes and could feel herself drifting.

She saw her father leaving on his motorcycle, his leather jacket weighing down her weak 14 year old shoulders. There were no tears in her eyes, she had not been led to believe that he would never return. She saw herself waiting for him day in and day out. His jacket making her look smaller than she was, resting on her back as she would look out the front window each night before she went to bed, hoping that would be the day he decided to come back. She saw her mother drinking more and more with each night he didn't return. She saw the look of realization upon her younger face when she finally admitted to herself that her father would not be coming back for her, that she was stuck with her drunken mother.

Lexa's eyes snapped open, immediately looking to her wrist to see that it was almost 1:00 AM. She pulled her hair tie out and let her hair fall from its messy bun, quickly running a hand through her messy waves. She stood and grabbed her jacket out of the closet and stepped into the elevator, taking almost the entire trip to the lobby to steady her breathing. She stepped out of the elevator and zipped her jacket up, making her way over to the counter where Indra was looking at her with a knowing expression.

"Late night ride?" The older woman asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I couldn't sleep. It relaxes me." Lexa said quietly and Indra just nodded, reaching under the counter and coming back up holding a black motorcycle helmet.

"Half an hour tonight?" Lexa considered the woman's words as she took the helmet then shook her head.

"Give me an hour." Indra nodded again and Lexa turned and made her way out of the side entrance that led to the parking garage. She pulled her helmet on and mounted an old café racer that was parked in one of the closest parking spaces. She took a deep breath and quickly pulled out of the parking garage and into the night.

The brunette returned about 45 minutes later, parking her motorcycle and examining a few different parts to make sure everything was still in perfect working condition. When she had received the motorcycle five years earlier, her father had left it to her in his will, she'd had to put a lot of work into it to get it running again. It seemed as though her father hadn't ridden it in almost a decade. She wondered if the day he rode it away from her house had been the last day he'd ridden it. She saw no issues with any of the parts so she quickly made her way inside. She pulled off her helmet once she entered the lobby, immediately wiping away a few sweaty pieces of hair that had stuck to her forehead.

"Lexa!" The brunette tensed at the sound of the voice she had come to know all too well. She turned to see Clarke standing in front of the elevator with her arms wrapped around a brunette with a knee brace. Lexa handed her helmet to Indra and gave her a subtle nod, thanking her for allowing Lexa the hour to go out without any security. She quickly turned her attention back to Clarke.

"Clarke." She said as she moved closer to the pair. Clarke had a goofy grin on her face and the brunette holding her up grimaced. "Is everything alright?" Lexa directed her attention more to the brunette, recognizing that Clarke seemed to be drunk out of her mind.

"Yeah, the Princess here just got carried away tonight. It's the first time we've seen her in a couple months." The brunette answered and Lexa nodded, looking back to Clarke.

"Lexa! This is Raaaaven, she's my best friend! And you're Lexxxxaaaa. My other best friend!" Lexa had to physically stop herself from smiling when the blonde woman had announced that she was her best friend. "Ray this is Lexa! I told you about her!" Lexa's almost-smile quickly faded when she heard the girl's nickname. Ray. The person Clarke always talked to on the phone and apparently loved.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Raven." Lexa held out her hand and the brunette shook it. A firm handshake, that was always a good sign of a confident person.

"Pleasure's all mine, Ms. CEO." Raven grinned and Lexa almost rolled her eyes. "Okay listen, I think we all know I love Clarke to death but I really need to be getting back to the boy toy I left in the cab. No time to tuck this child into bed." Lexa raised an eyebrow at Raven's admission of having a boy in the cab waiting for her. What kind of girlfriend was she? "Lexa, think you can handle this?" Raven passed the blonde off to Lexa without waiting for a response. "Thanks, I owe you one!" Lexa's new acquaintance made her way out of the lobby of the building without even glancing back.

"Um…" Lexa looked down at the blonde in her arms. The girl was silently tracing the tribal tattoo that ran up Lexa's bicep. "Indra? A little help?" The older woman made her way from behind the counter, a knowing smirk gracing her weathered face.

"I can't take her up to her bedroom, it would be inappropriate of me as her landlord." Indra answered and Lexa practically glared at her.

"I don't know how to take care of a drunken girl!" She felt Clarke shift in her arms.

"I'm not thaaat drunk. Just get me to my bed and give me a glass of water. I'll be gooood to goooo." Clarke tried to make an "ok" symbol with her fingers but failed miserably, sending herself into a fit of giggles.

"Indra, please." Lexa practically begged and the older woman just shook her head.

"She lives in 1010. Here's her spare, there's no telling where her keys are right now. Bring the spare back to me tomorrow." Indra handed the brunette a spare key with an old paper keychain on it that read "1010". Lexa growled and helped Clarke into the elevator, slowly making their ascent to the tenth floor.

Once they arrived, Lexa helped Clarke out of the elevator and they slowly, but surely, made their way down the hall to Clarke's apartment. Lexa fumbled with the keys for a few minutes, cursing to herself. Her penthouse apartment had an electronic code entry, she hadn't used a key to open a door in years. She finally got the door unlocked and kicked it open, pulling Clarke inside. Lexa could feel Clarke's breath on her neck, but she refused to let it affect her.

"Which room is yours, Clarke?" Lexa asked, looking at three closed doors down the narrow hallway to her left.

"First one." Clarke replied, nodding her head towards the first door. Lexa nodded and dragged Clarke towards the door, never averting her gaze. She opened the door and took in Clarke's room quickly before returning to her mission. Dirty clothes strewn across the floor, clean clothes hanging out of drawers, art supplies littering every available surface, a record player with an impressive stack of records lying next to it on the floor. Lexa felt herself wondering if Clarke had any jazz records in that pile. She shook her head quickly to rid herself of any thoughts other than the task at hand. She led Clarke to the bed and helped her climb in, pulling the blankets up over her and not even stopping to think that maybe she should help Clarke undress.

"I'm going to get you a glass of water." Lexa stated and left to go to the kitchen. She returned less than a minute later with a tall glass of water and placed it on the bedside table. "Is there anything else you need before I go, Clarke?" Lexa stood with her back straight and her hands latched together in front of her.

"Nope." Clarke said, popping the 'p'. "I think I'll be good to go, Ms. CEO." Lexa definitely rolled her eyes this time.

"Very well. Goodnight, Clarke." Lexa turned and made her way out of Clarke's apartment, ignoring the way she felt when she heard Clarke tiredly say "goodnight, Lex."

Lexa rubbed her temples, not ready for the long Monday she had ahead of her. She hadn't slept well all weekend, family issues weighing on her heavily. She winced when the elevator dinged, not even realizing that it had dinged because it had stopped on the tenth floor.

"Morning." She heard the all too familiar voice. She peaked an eye open and looked over at the blonde who was watching her with admiration.

"Clarke." Lexa removed her hands from her head and quickly buttoned the top button of her suit coat after realizing she had forgotten to earlier. She placed her hands in her pants pockets and watched Clarke out of the corner of her eye.

"Thanks for taking care of me Friday night." Clarke reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone to check the time. Lexa wondered to herself why the girl had never considered getting a watch. She checked her own watch absent mindedly.

"It was not a problem, Clarke. We're friends." She saw Clarke smile to herself. "Though I don't understand why your girlfriend left to spend time with a boy?" Lexa posed the sentence as a question and Clarke looked at her curiously.

"My…what? My girlfriend?"

"Raven." Lexa responded curtly.

"Raven's not my girlfriend. I mean, she is a girl and she is my best friend, but we're not dating." Clarke almost giggled. "Gross." She added as an afterthought. Lexa straightened her back and almost glared at the door in front of her.

"So dating a girl is gross to you, Clarke?" Lexa pulled her hands out of her pocket and clasped them together very firmly behind her back.

"What? Oh my god, no. No not at all. I've dated girls before, for Christ sake." Lexa's ears perked up at that. "I just mean with Raven, that would be gross. We've been like sisters for so long. It would feel like incest." She laughed nervously and Lexa visibly exhaled.

"You've dated women?" Lexa turned to Clarke right as the elevator dinged and opened, signaling that they had reached the lobby.

"Yep." Clarke popped the 'p' again. Lexa loved when she did that. "Who hasn't?" Clarke walked out of the levator backwards, keeping her eyes trained on Lexa.

"Good point, Clarke." The blonde grinned widely, realizing that Lexa had basically just admitted to dating women. Clarke was just about to turn and make her way out of the lobby when her body was abruptly stopped by something that felt like a brick wall. She turned to see Gustus staring down at her.

"Morning, Gustus!" She leaned up and kissed his cheek and the large man broke out into a grin.

"Ms. Griffin." He said, crossing his arms and stepping out of her way.

"Have a good day, Lex!" Clarke called over her shoulder as she made her way out of the lobby and down the street towards the subway station. Lexa took a deep breath, watching her until she couldn't any longer, just like she did every morning. She turned to Gustus and he raised an eyebrow.

"She isn't dating who I thought she was dating. But that does not mean she is single." Lexa stated simply as the two of them made their way out to the SUV. She unbuttoned her top button as she climbed in. "But she is not quite as heterosexual as I'd assumed." She hid her smirk as Gustus grinned at her and shut her door.

Lexa could feel herself getting more and more invested in the art teacher with every interaction they had. The sixty seconds they spent together in the elevator each day were sometimes the only part of the day that Lexa would ever look forward to. She wanted to share more and more of herself with the girl, and that was not something that came easily to the CEO. After her father leaving, her mother becoming a drunk, her father dying, and everyone in her life wanting to get close to her for her money, she wasn't really one who opened up easily at all. It had taken her years to consider Gustus a friend, even longer to allow Nyko and Indra entrance into her life, and Anya had been there for her since before she got her big break with the company. They were the only four people she truly trusted to know all of the details of her life. And now, after only a year of barely getting to know each other, she was ready to sit down with Clarke and tell her about every aspect of herself, from her childhood up to the present.