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The full moon hung wetly in the air, the clouds surrounding it casting a steady stream of rain all along the forest covering the school. Buckets and barrels had been cleaned out and left to collect as much rain as they could handle. Lord knows that clean water was the hardest to come by.
Clementine loved the rain. She loved the way it smelled and the way it made the flowers bloom. She loved the fog that came afterward, even if it did hide the ever-present danger of the dead in the woods. But she loved feeling clean, or as clean as one could given the apocalypse and loved the feeling of water flowing along her skin.
So she found herself sitting in the perch on the outer wall of the school. There wasn’t much risk of intruders during this type of weather, but it gave her an excuse to be out in the rain and to be outside.
Nearly three months had passed since the incident with the raiders, since she had been careless and gotten bitten.
Three months since she had lost her leg.
And one month since Willy, the oddly ingenious thirteen-year-old, had sculpted her a prosthetic leg out of sheet metal and wooden parts scattered around the former school. Clementine reached down and rubbed where the prosthetic lay, where it always chafed against her stub. She was grateful that she didn’t have to rely on those damned crutches anymore, but she was still having trouble getting used to the phantom feeling of her leg.
The sky opened up with a massive crack, a bolt of lightning streaming across the sky. Clementine turned her head towards the moon, watching as black clouds began to cover it fully and the downpour increased in its weight.
“Clem?” She heard someone’s voice cut through the rain.
The brunette turned and looked down, squinting to see Violet gazing up at her, water dripping off of her coat and blonde hair. “Hey Vi.”
“What are you doing out here?” Violet asked as she began to climb up the ladder to the perch. Once she was up next to the shorter woman she shook the water off of her arms as best as she could. “You’re going to catch a cold.”
“I’ve been in much colder weather,” Clem waved her girlfriend off with an indifferent hand. “Besides, the rain is very calming.”
Another boom of thunder rattled the trees around them.
“This is calming to you?” Violet asked, going to stand under the wooden beams that Aasim had put there during a previously terrible rainstorm. It wasn’t the best protection from the elements, but it got the job done for the time being.
Clementine offered her lover a small smile and nodded, leaning back out over the perch, her gaze scanning the treeline for any danger. She knew there would be none, but one could never be too careful given the circumstances. “I’ve always loved the rain. Even before all of this,” she made another vague gesture with her hands, “I’ve always found it very soothing.”
Violet grimaced as she stepped out from under her cover to stand beside Clementine. She followed the brunette’s gaze out into the woods, watching the rain pelt down, shaking the leaves and drenching the ground. Her green eyes dragged from the forest to Clementine. “It doesn’t make you uneasy?”
“Why would it?” Clementine asked, finally turning to face her girlfriend.
Violet shrugged one shoulder. “Can’t hear if anything is approaching for one.”
“Which means that walkers can’t hear us either,” Clementine retorted. “Or anyone else.”
The blonde saw no reason to argue so she just tilted her head, eyes washing over Clementine’s drenched frame. When she looked down at the prosthetic leg she couldn’t help the frown from appearing on her face. “How’s the leg?”
“Sore,” the brunette answered honestly. “But the cold air is helping.”
“Still chafing?” Violet bent down to inspect where the prosthetic met Clementine’s stump. She reached out carefully and rubbed right below her girlfriend’s knee. When Clementine let out a slight hiss of pain she stopped and looked up at her. It was still a little odd to see the brunette without her hat on, her hair still tied back in a series of intricate knots, but her eyes on full view. It never ceased to make Violet’s heart flutter.
Clementine was looking right down at her, an unknown, almost distant look in her eye. Clementine wasn’t thinking about her leg though, or even the rain for that matter. No, she was busy being mesmerized by her girlfriend. Violet looked beautiful in the rain, her silvery-blonde hair darkened by the water, and drops dripped off the sides of her face, under her shirt, making the brunette blush.
“Like what you see?” Violet teased, raising one eyebrow. The taller girl put one hand on her knee and stood up with a grunt, using her other hand to wipe the water from her face.
The rain poured harder.
“I always like what I see when I look at you,” Clementine said, blushing. Even though they had been dating for moons now, it still felt crazy that she was able to call Violet hers .
Violet’s cheeks turned a light pink and she scoffed, “Cheesy.”
“You love it,” the brunette laughed.
“I love you,” Violet murmured, grabbing one of Clementine’s hands with her own and squeezing. Clementine squeezed back, a dopey smile appearing on her face. A bright flash of lightning lit the trees, giving Clementine’s brown eyes a nearly inhuman glow.
The blonde felt her heart swoop low in her chest.
“I love you too,” Clementine whispered. She inched closer to her lover, removing her hand from Violet’s to wrap around her waist and pull her in close. She tilted her head and kissed the blonde, smiling into the kiss. Violet’s hands wrapped around Clementine’s neck, keeping her girlfriend as close as she could as she eagerly reciprocated the kiss.
Kissing Violet always felt different. Sometimes their kisses were hasty, a pure spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. Other times they were slow and tender, their hands exploring one another’s bodies, tracing scars and reliving memories. Their kisses could be hot and heavy too, when they were alone and they knew AJ would be busy for a long time.
And this one felt like all the gods above had banded together to give them this moment of peace.
Clementine pushed harder against Violet, parting her lips to allow her girlfriend’s tongue to enter and explore her mouth. The blonde let out a soft moan of surprise and steadied herself by leaning back against the wooden perch, taking a good amount of Clementine’s weight onto her body. The amputee smirked against her lips, her left hand moving further down to grab Violet’s ass, earning her another groan.
The brunette first broke the kiss, drinking the cool, damp air. Their breath mingled together, and with the weather getting colder and colder, they would use every excuse they could to…share body heat. Violet’s hands were gripping hard at Clementine’s jacket and she only released her grip to cup the brunette’s face and kiss her swiftly.
“AJ is going to be pissed if we get sick out here,” the green-eyed girl murmured against her lover’s lips.
“Let him get mad,” Clementine shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll get over it.”
“Ruby won’t though.”
The amputee laughed at that, already hearing Ruby’s voice scolding them for getting sick by making out in the rain that very easily could turn to snow at any moment. Another clap of thunder made the lovers grip each other harder, and Violet moved them back to stand underneath the sheltered part of the perch. “This is at least a little better,” the blonde laughed.
Clementine leaned against Violet, pressing her face into her girlfriend’s neck and peppering soft kisses all along the exposed skin. The blonde’s hands snaked their way underneath the brunette’s shirt, her warm palms heating up astronomically against Clementine’s intense body heat.
Violet would never get used to just how hot Clementine always seemed to be.
But it sure made for some amazing cuddles.
“Do you think,” the blonde’s voice was barely a whisper now, “That if the world hadn’t gone to shit, that we would’ve still met?”
Clementine paused to think for a moment. Her mind flashed with a lifetime of memories that had occurred only in the last ten years. Lee, Kenny, Omid, Christa, Jane, Luke, Javi, the list went on and on. All of the people she had met, all the things she had done , the people she had killed, the endless piles of dead walkers that lay limp at her feet. She pulled away to gaze into her girlfriend’s green eyes. With soft, warm hands, she cupped Violet’s cheeks and kissed her tenderly.
“I would’ve found you eventually,” the amputee said without another moment of hesitation. The words felt strong on her tongue like she knew them to be the very gospel that used to be taught every Sunday. “My heart would’ve soared through the skies to get to you.”
Violet’s hand, still resting on Clementine’s toned abdomen, tensed and she blushed dark red. “That was the cheesiest shit you’ve ever said.”
“I’ve been reading a lot of romance novels,” the brunette admitted, her cheeks matching her lover’s. “Ever since you guys cleaned out the library, I’ve been having to do something to stimulate my mind while you’re away.”
“You say that like you aren’t constantly on the move,” the blonde scowled, shaking her head fondly. “So stubborn.”
“Hey! I did pretty well for my first hunt with a peg leg,” Clementine laughed.
“First off,” Violet used her free hand to hold up one finger, “Willy hates when you call it that, you know that as well as I do. And secondly, you scared the living shit out of me when you ran after that stupid squirrel.”
“I caught it didn’t I?”
Her girlfriend laughed and Clementine felt her heart grow even fonder in her chest, as if that were even possible. Violet’s laughter could soothe even the toughest of animals. More lightning lit the dark sky and the brunette used the momentary flash of light to gaze upon the blonde’s face, which had long been etched into her memory.
“You should still try to take it easy.”
“Not gonna happen,” the amputee shook her head stubbornly. “I killed four walkers yesterday. It’s almost like I’m back to normal.” Her voice was strained like she was searching for a hidden form of confirmation.
“You are getting pretty good at moving around,” Violet nodded in agreement. The first month after ‘the incident’ had been rough for everyone at the school. Clementine slept nearly twenty hours a day, only waking up to take antibiotics and drink some water. When she had finally tried to move, the pain had been so bad she collapsed just one foot away from her bed.
She would never forget the scolding Violet gave her.
Her time with the crutches had been filled with longing and sadness. Even now, with the modified prosthetic, Clementine knew she would never truly be back to her full strength. But she could safely dismantle a group of walkers and was able to hunt even quieter than her heavy-footed girlfriend, so she reminded herself to be grateful at the end of the day.
And who knows, maybe Willy will make a better one in the future. The thought made the brunette smile. She rested her hands on Violet’s hips delicately, surprised to find a gun holstered at her hip.
As soon as Clementine could walk freely again, she demanded to give everyone a lesson with firearms. It was a miracle that just three weeks ago, on an expedition far outside the safe zone that had taken Louis, Violet, and Omar nearly three days of travel, they had found an abandoned RV with a duffle bag inside.
A duffle bag with three handguns, a shotgun, and a long curved blade that Louis had claimed as his own.
Ammo was still limited, but Clementine slept better at night knowing more of the school was armed than just her six-year-old kick-ass partner.
“What are you thinking about now?” Violet asked. Rain had begun to seep through the small cracks in the wood, dripping into their clothes in a steady drip drip drip .
“How I wouldn’t change a damn thing,” Clementine murmured.
“About your life?” The blonde tipped her head to the side. “I find that hard to believe.”
“As long as I have you with me,” the brunette leaned up and kissed Violet’s cheek, “Then all is right with the world.”
“Someone sure is sappy in the rain,” her lover teased.
“Should I stop?”
“Never,” Violet shook her head adamantly. “I’m not as good with my words as you are, but I hope you know that I would go to the ends of the world for you. That I would do anything to keep you safe and happy.”
Clementine blushed, shuffling on her real and fake foot awkwardly for a moment. “Now who’s sappy?”
“What can I say?” Violet shrugged. “You melt me.”
The brunette chuckled at the awkward statement, but the words still filled her chest with hope. The world had gone to shit but she tried to find the little things that kept her going. AJ, the school, Louis’s terrible jokes, and Violet herself. They stood there in each other’s embrace for several heartbeats, letting the sound of the downpour cancel out all thoughts as they basked in the comfort of the other. Their shared warmth mingled underneath the awning, the water on their skin dripping off but slowly turning to small round drops of ice on their clothes.
“We should really go inside,” Violet whispered. “Your skin is starting to turn red.”
Clementine glanced away from her girlfriend to look at herself, surprised to see that the rain had turned to sleet and was beginning to freeze all around them. She hadn’t even noticed the dramatic drop in temperature. Keeping one hand on Violet’s hip, she turned around to watch the slush pelt down on the forest, the leaves breaking off of the trees and falling to the ground. The moonlight glimmered off the ice crystals.
“Clem?” Violet’s breath tickled her neck, her arms wrapped around the shorter girl from behind as she pressed in close. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Who’s going to take watch?” Clementine asked, glancing over her shoulder into Violet’s warm eyes.
“I’ll wake up Omar when we go inside. He hasn’t had a night shift in a long time,” the blonde answered determinedly. The brunette reluctantly removed herself from the perch, eyes looking out longingly into the sleet that was transforming into snow. A lot of snow. The downpour had been heavy and wet, with thick drops still plopping all around the clearing. But now, with the same intensity, came fluffy white balls of snow.
“The whole school will be covered by tomorrow,” Clementine muttered, a bit begrudgingly.
“We’ll have to reinforce the watch tower tomorrow,” Violet said, “No one can handle these elements for long.”
“We’ll need to cover certain areas as well to keep them dry so we can have fires going,” the brunette sighed. Violet helped her up the now-slick small flight of stairs, her hands carefully placed on Clementine’s hips. The door to the school opened with a collective pair of grunts.
“I’ll go get Omid. You go to our room and change out of those clothes,” Violet ordered, shaking her head fondly, watching as the water and small amount of snow that had accumulated dripped off of her girlfriend. Even soaking wet, the blonde found her astoundingly beautiful.
Clementine gave her a mock salute and began walking down the hallway to her and Violet’s room. Shortly after everything that had happened with the raiders, Clementine moved into Violet’s room, leaving AJ with his own space for the first time in his life.
The first week had been torture and Clem wasn’t sure who had a harder time sleeping without the other, AJ, or herself. But she knew AJ needed his space to grow, to be his own person, and start making his own decisions. Lord knows that if he
hadn’t
made the call to shoot Tenn then Violet would’ve died to the walkers instead.
And that wasn’t a world that Clementine wanted to live in.
But the memory of Tenn still made her heart ache.
On her way to her room, she stopped by AJ’s room and peered inside, smiling when she saw him curled up underneath two thick blankets, drooling into his pillow. She closed the door slowly, not wanting to wake the skittish child, and continued down the hall until she was able to open the door to her shared room.
Clementine inhaled a deep breath, relishing in the warmth that the room provided, even as the snow began to pile up on the windowsill. She hung up her coat in the corner, frowning when she saw for herself just how wet it was. With a grunt, she sat down on the edge of the bed that she and Violet didn’t sleep in and began taking off the straps that attached her fake leg to her skin. It released with a wet sucking noise, a satisfying release of pressure making the brunette sigh happily.
She rubbed at the base of her stump, wincing and then shimming out of her wet pants as best as she could.
“Do you need a hand?” Violet’s voice startled the drifting brunette. Clementine looked up, biting her lip when she saw Violet leaning up against the doorframe. Clementine always found it ungodly hot when she did that.
The amputee nodded sheepishly, “Please.”
Violet pushed off the door and closed it behind her, grabbing Clementine’s hands to help her stand up. She steadied the shorter woman with one hand and used her other to undo the button on the front of her girlfriend’s pants. Clementine felt her cheeks flush and chewed on her bottom lip some more. The blonde hooked her thumbs into the belt loops on Clementine’s pants and told her to hold onto one of the bedposts.
“Why?” The brunette asked, even as she did as she was told.
Violet rolled her eyes fondly and kissed Clementine’s cheek before she fell to her knees and began slowly sliding her girlfriend’s pants off. She glanced up and smirked at the dumbfounded look on the survivor’s face.
Clementine could actually feel her brain shortcircuit. Violet was looking up at her with those big green, gorgeous eyes, down on her knees. It brought about a wave of very...not safe for work thoughts. Between surviving, having to parent AJ, and keeping the school steady, the couple really hadn’t had any time for more...adult activities. Not that Clem hadn’t stayed awake some nights thinking about it.
Violet helped to steady her girlfriend again when Clementine lifted her leg to fully remove her soaking pants. Violet stood up slowly, dragging her hands up the brunette’s muscular thighs. She looked into deep hazel eyes, licking her lips devilishly. With a chaste kiss, she moved away from her lover and hung her pants over the top of the closer door to dry. Opening the other door, she grabbed a secondary pair of pants and some dry underwear for Clementine.
“I’m going to remove my own clothes before I get hypothermia, okay?” Violet teased.
“Huh?” The brunette blinked dumbly at the blonde, then nodded when she realized she had been lost in her lewd thoughts. “Sorry,” she whispered. Violet laughed, hanging up her vest and taking off her shirt. Clementine licked her lips, gazing unabashedly at the blonde’s toned abdomen.
“Sorry for what?” Her girlfriend asked.
“Staring,” Clementine answered, though she didn’t move her eyes away.
Violet shrugged one shoulder and came closer to Clementine. She grabbed the base of the brunette’s shirt and began lifting it up and over her head, leaving the shorter woman with another blank and blushing face. “I like when you stare,” Violet cooed. She cupped Clem’s chin with her fingers and pulled her in for a kiss.
Clementine’s hands grabbed Violet’s hips instantly, a sharp whine of surprise coming from the back of her throat. Not one to be outdone, she tilted her head to deepen the kiss, savoring the way Violet met her pace and opened her mouth slightly wider. The brunette took the initiative and pushed her tongue into her lover’s mouth, gripping even tighter at the blonde’s waist.
The taller woman’s hands were dancing along Clementine’s exposed ribs and she smirked when she felt goosebumps erupt all along the tan skin. “You’re so beautiful,” the amputee sighed happily, breaking the kiss. Violet leaned her forehead against Clementine’s and smiled.
“Not as beautiful as you.”
Clementine was gently placed back on the bed and given the dry clothes to change into. Her mind was still reeling with the feeling of Violet’s bare skin against hers but unfortunately, she could feel sleep tugging on each of her limbs, her eyes struggling to stay away. Maybe if I had just come inside when she told me to. She frowned and pushed the ‘what ifs’ to the back of her head. That kind of thought process never got anyone anywhere.
Once she had put on all of her dry clothes, and after stealing more than a handful of glances at Violet as the blonde undressed and redressed, she stood up on her one leg and hopped over to their bed. “Careful Clem!” Violet fretted.
The brunette gave her a pointed look and laid down, “I’ll be okay babe.”
“Babe huh?” The blonde smirked.
Clementine felt her cheeks flush again. “Oh, is that-”
“You think too much,” the blonde shook her head and climbed into bed, silencing the rest of Clementine’s sentence with a soft kiss. “You can call me whatever you’d like my love.”
The pet name caused a kaleidoscope of butterflies to erupt in the shorter woman’s stomach. She pressed as close as she could to her girlfriend, wrapped her arm around Violet’s waist, and tucked her head underneath the blonde’s chin. She felt another gentle kiss being pressed to the top of her head and she returned the gesture with her own soft kiss to Violet’s neck.
“Goodnight Violet,” Clementine yawned, snuggling close to her lover.
“Goodnight Clementine,” Violet pulled the blanket around Clementine’s shoulders. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”