Chapter Text
The engineer was used to seeing Clarke in a moderate state of exhaustion. The girl was in med school after all, and the past two years has not been kind to her. Such was the expectation, that when Clarke walked into the apartment after a nine hour shift, humming softly and head held high, Raven couldn't help but notice.
"You drink coffee or something?" Raven was buried under blankets on the couch, watching some crime show.
"I'm always drinking coffee, Raven," Clarke responded, which was true.
"So what's with the energy?" It was almost as if Clarke was lighter... Brighter, perhaps. If Raven believed in auras, she would call Clarke's vibrant. Raven did believe in physics though, and something was causing Clarke to be physically different, physically.... Up.
"I ran into someone at the hospital today," Clarke said, kicking her shoes off. "Remember that translator I told you about?"
Raven remembered vaguely. "Six language girl?"
"Yeah," Clarke laughed. "She was in again today. Signing some paperwork."
"That's it?" Raven knew Clarke's humor was a bit dry, but there was absolutely nothing funny or particularly cheerful about this situation. "If I knew that's all it took to make you happy I'd show up at the hospital all the time."
"Ha ha," Clarke said dryly. "No, it was just unexpected. And she remembered who I was, which was nice."
"You are a fairly memorable person," Raven said, still trying to get to the bottom of Clarke's sudden lift in mood.
"I guess," Clarke said absently. She was still smiling softly. "We're going to hang out and get drinks on Thursday if you're interested in going."
Raven raised her eyebrows. Drinks? Clarke never went out. "I'll pass," she said, "but thank you." She made a mental note to do some snooping. This translator could be good for Clarke. This all could also go horribly wrong. Raven realized that she was slightly jealous of this girl's ability to make Clarke happy. Raven had stuck with Clarke through all her bad times, quite literally. The past two years had not been easy. And for all her support and love, Clarke had remained... Inscrutable. Was she distraught? No, but she had never been happy either.
"Anyway," Clarke continued, breaking Raven out of her muse. "I'm going to make popcorn. You want half?"