A/N: Ayoooo I just wanted to warn you all that this may have some slight inconsistencies with the canon time progression of the game, simply because I really can't remember how some of it went and I truly wanted something like this to happen in the canon. I apologize for the inconsistencies this fic may contain, I truly tried to capture the characters and emotions and stick to the canon. c:
Clementine loved coloring, and Lee couldn't deny her one of the last things she genuinely, truly enjoyed. She'd already been denied the comfort of family, the comfort of security...she only had one friend her age, which was even sadder because that friend didn't seem to quite understand that their lives were always in danger. But, seeing that innocence was good for the entire group, especially for Clementine, who had already seen enough of the hell the world had become to last herself a lifetime. Despite this loss of innocence in her, she still appeared optimistic, which was all Lee wanted, because she seemed happier than the adults of the group. Less burdened by the pain of the world, by the loss.
As he always did every afternoon, Lee watched Clementine and Duck from afar, smiling to himself at the pure and innocent smiles on their faces. Nothing mattered much to Lee other than their safety. They were only children after all. While he was an adult who had already lived a relatively full life. Sadly, he knew that the odds of the children living to even be as old as he happened to be at that very moment were slim. Even though it was they who deserved a full life more than himself, if he were to be honest about what he believed.
"Lee." A gentle voice pulled Lee from his thoughts, back into reality. He looked down and saw Clementine, a couple of crayons in her hand. "Do you want to come draw with me?"
He couldn't deny Clementine anything, no matter how hard he tried, so he smiled at her. "Sure, sweet pea," he answered calmly, following the ecstatic girl back to the place Duck had been previously sitting. He was now running around, as expected of a young boy. Lee across from Clementine, not much for coloring or drawing, much preferring to watch Clementine do it instead. Plus, it seemed nicer to leave what little paper and crayons they had for her and Duck to use as they pleased. Without many words, Clementine began working on her drawing again. Lee watched curiously, silently wondering what she was so focused on. Only when she stopped drawing did he realize what it was.
It was the two of them.
"Do you like it?" Clementine asked.
Lee smiled and nodded. "I love it."
Beaming with pride, Clementine handed it to Lee. "Keep it. Maybe...maybe it'll come in handy one day. Maybe when you're tired or sad, you can look at it and remember the good times. Maybe you can remember the times before this."
Lee set the drawing down, careful not to mess it up, and opened his arms for Clementine to hug him. It only took her a moment to practically leap into his arms and hug him tightly. Never before had Lee felt so fatherly towards anyone before. Never before had he felt such a pure love towards anyone before, so untainted and genuine.
The bite showed, singing the melody of the dead to Lee. He could do nothing more than stare at it, reality hitting him hard, directly in the chest, air difficult to get into his body. He could do nothing. Nothing. His heart thumped in his chest, each beat pounding in his head, everything moving slowly. Sounds were dulled, all Lee could do was stare at his injury. He felt sick. He wanted to turn and empty his stomach, it having twisted itself into knots within the past few minutes due to fear and anxiety. This...
This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not now, of all times. Not now...Lee nearly started crying right then. When he was needed the most, when he needed to protect Clementine, this happened. No...
Not now...
He had to prepare to leave. He knew he had a few things Omid and Christa needed to carry for him to give to Clementine if he...if he ran out of time. Rolling down his sleeve again, unable to look at the bite anymore at the moment, he began looking through his things. The few things he had brought with him since the group began dwindling down to the few people that remained. Sadly, he hadn't saved much. Just...a couple things. Some pictures Clementine drew for him, a few actual pictures of he and his blood family. Just a couple dollars.
Not really much to give Omid and Christa. Not even much to give Clementine.
Except...
Lee began unfolding the carefully folded pictures he had been given. One was a picture of Kenny, Katjaa, and Duck. He could remember when the three of them were alive and happy. When Duck was annoyingly happy and active, when Katjaa and Kenny watched their son with such proud looks, so proud that their son could be so happy, so cheerful despite the reality that now surrounded them. Memories of the family brought Lee back to the bite. The bite had tore the family apart at the seams, ripping the three apart and ending with the death of two in one late afternoon.
Setting that picture to the side carefully, staring at it for a moment longer, silently apologizing to Kenny for what happened to Duck and Katjaa, for what he couldn't prevent from happening in the first place. No matter how little time or how long he had left, that was one thing he would forever regret. He could never forgive himself for it.
Unfolding another picture, he saw that it was a picture of himself and Kenny. It had been drawn quickly and appeared unfinished, as if Clementine hadn't been able to finish. Not that it made it any less painful. Especially since it was obviously drawn after the loss of Duck and Katjaa, Lee could tell by how the the lines seemed just a little uneven, almost like there was movement of the surface the picture was drawn on. And the distinct look of sadness Kenny seemed to have, even in the picture drawn by a young, innocent girl.
A little less carefully, he set that picture with the other one. Only one picture remained, and he knew what the remaining drawing was. He wasn't sure if he was ready to look at it yet. Simply the thought of it pulled at his heart and made him feel sick again. Drawing all his strength and courage, the former professor slowly unfolded the drawing. The moment the paper was back to the way it had been before it was folded, the drawing clear for him to see in the dim light filtering in from the window, his heart sank.
He wasn't ready to see the picture. He probably never would have been, not with the clock, ticking down the time until he turned.
It was just as he remembered it. He and Clementine sitting together on a grassy hill, in a patch of white and pink and purple and yellow flowers, the sun high in the sky. Clementine's words rang clearly in his mind, as if she were right beside him, describing the picture to him. "See? This is me and you, where no walkers exist. I used to love flowers...especially yellow flowers...it's nice and warm and sunny and pretty..." She had asked him if they would ever be able to sit on a hill on a sunny day and just enjoy nature. He had responded with an indefinite maybe, just like he had many times before when Clementine asked him questions.
This wasn't fair at all. Clementine had lost everything - her friends, her parents, her past life - and now she was losing the last person she had to rely on. It wasn't fair and Lee knew it. Slowly, Lee rolled his sleeve up again and stared at the bite on his arm. The words came effortlessly, falling from his mouth with no trouble whatsoever, eased by the reality that his time may have ran out before given the chance to speak to Clementine.
"I'm sorry, sweet pea," he whispered to the picture, looking away from his clock and focusing on the drawing, one of the few things he had that Clementine had made herself. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe forever. I tried. I did, Clem. I'm sorry." It was so unlike him to cry, but staring at the drawing, knowing that his time left in this world was limited, knowing that the odds of him actually seeing Clementine again before he turned were so slim, he couldn't help himself. He began to cry softly. "I'm sorry. I'll miss you..."
Dropping the picture, Lee hid his face from the world around him with his hands, his heart breaking with the thought of not reaching Clementine before it was too late. By the time someone knocked on the door, Lee had composed himself and refolded the pictures, putting them back where they belong with him. He looked at his arm once again sadly before rolling down his sleeve to hide the bite once again. I'm sorry, sweet pea. But I promise, I'll keep you safe, even when I'm drawing my last breath. You will be safe.