A/N: I know this has probably been done to death but every time I read someones version I have things I want to add so I'm doing it!
Clementine was sitting at one of the picnic tables, having a quiet dinner. It was something that happened more and more often since they had gotten home after exploding the Delta's raiding ship. Louis hadn't been his upbeat self, playing games and cracking jokes, ever since they cut his tongue out, preferring instead to keep to his room. The entire school's atmosphere was somber. Clementine knew they would bounce back, after all, everyone had made it out alive, which was more than Clementine had dared to hope. Everyone just needed time to recover and get back in the routine of things, she was sure of it.
She stood from her spot alone at the table, looking around the yard she saw AJ coloring with Tenn, Clementine narrowed her eyes as she noticed Minerva and Violet sitting with them and her heart ached. Against her better judgement, she approached the table.
"What are you drawing AJ?" Clementine leaned over AJ's paper, trying to focus on her boy.
"This is a picture of you leading a pack of walkers away from me after the explosion." AJ said enthusiastically, "You were awesome Clem!"
Clementine ruffled his hair, "I would do anything for you buddy."
Clementine cautiously looked up at Violet and asked, "Have you, um, talked to Louis today? Is he doing any better?"
"He's as okay as can be expected. He'll come around, he just needs some time." Violet frowned.
"Oh Clem!" AJ yelled, sitting up on his knees and pulling eagerly on Clem's arm, "Can Tenn sleep in our room tonight? Please?"
"What about Minerva, doesn't Tenn want to stay in his room with her?" Clementine looked nervously at Minerva before her eyes flashed hesitantly to Violet. Did Minerva want Tenn out of the room so that she could spend some alone time with Violet? The thought made her stomach lurch.
"She said she'd be okay by herself for one night." Tenn answered, not looking up from his paper.
"Sure AJ, that's fine, Tenn can have my bed, I'll sleep somewhere else for one night." Clementine tickled AJ from behind earning a squeal before she walked away, head spinning with worry. She didn't want to sleep anywhere near Minerva or Violet's room. The weather was nice, maybe she would sleep on one of the couch's under the stars.
"Clementine!" Violet stood up from the table, jogging to catch up to her. "Why have you been avoiding me?"
"I would think it's kind of obvious." Clementine said a little more bitter than she had intended.
Violet glared at her, "What are you trying to say?"
Clementine turned to face her, folding her arms across her chest, "You've been spending all your time with Minerva ever since we got back, I can take a hint."
"She's been lost, she's guilty and trying to re-acclimate, she needed a friendly face." Violet floundered to explain.
"Great. I'm glad you can be there for her." Clementine spat as she continued walking toward the dorms.
Violet jumped in front of her again. "Clem please." Clementine stopped in her tracks but refused to meet her eyes, looking instead at her boots. She was startled when she felt arms wrap around her. No one even knew that they were together, this was the first public display of affection they had shown. Violet was trying to break down Clementine's defenses and it worked. Clementine returned the hug, suddenly aware of how much she needed it. "I'm sorry I've been neglecting you." Violet pressed her cheek against Clem's as she whispered into her ear.
As Clementine pulled back she wiped away a tear that she didn't even realize had fallen. "You haven't left me for Minerva?"
Violet hugged her again, "No Clem, no... I'm sorry I gave you that impression... I just feel responsible for Minerva being taken, I feel obligated to help her... but I shouldn't have ignored you, I wasn't trying to..." Clementine returned the hug, feeling lighter than she had in days. "Want to stay in my room tonight? We can talk and spend some time together, just the two of us."
Clementine moved so that she could look into Violet's eyes. "Y-yeah. I would like that."
"Great." Violet smiled, as she started backing towards the dormitory entrance, "Go get your pillow and meet me there."
Clementine's heart thudded in her chest and she couldn't keep the smile off her face, she couldn't be happier to have had her suspicions proven false. She couldn't believe that Violet had chosen her over Minerva. She was nervous but excited to have more than a couple of minutes alone with Violet for once. "AJ! Come on, I want to get you settled in."
AJ jumped up and ran after Clementine, Tenn hugged Minerva before following behind AJ. "Grab a pillow from your room Tenn and then you can come to ours." Tenn nodded and ran off ahead of them.
When they reached their dorm Clementine grabbed the pillow from her bed, "heads up AJ!" she yelled before popping him in the face with the pillow, he giggled and picked up his own, aiming an attack at Clementine, only for her to dodge it laughing. They continued to pillow fight for a couple more minutes until Tenn walked into the room. He looked a little hesitant, but smiled when AJ hit him in the stomach with the soft object before he took a swing at AJ himself. Soon the two boys turned to Clementine, double teaming her. She fell on the bed defeated, hands over her head as they continued to pelt her with pillows. "I give up!" she yelled and the boys retreated.
Clementine rolled off her bed into a crouching position in front of AJ. "I'm staying in Violet's room tonight, come get me if you need anything, okay?" He nodded and she kissed him on the head before bidding them both goodnight and exiting with her pillow.
When she reached Violet's room, she reached for the door knob, faltered, pulled her hand back and knocked. "Come in!" Came Violet's voice, Clementine took a shaky breath and opened the door. The sight of Violet in a red t-shirt and shorts with the words "Ericson" printed on them in white lettering sent heat up Clementine's neck. She had never seen her girlfriend wearing anything other than her jeans and vest outfit, she was unprepared to see so much of Violet's white delicate skin and she was even more unprepared for the overwhelming desire that came over her to touch that skin.
"We can push the beds together if you want or we can share?" Violet said, looking at Clementine as she leaned on the bed post. Clementine nodded at her, Violet laughed, "So put the beds together or share mine?"
"Sharing's fine." Clementine said as she looked around Violet's room to avoid staring at the pale skin that was beckoning her. "I've never been to your room before, I mean I've been to your room but I've never been in your room. before." Clementine screamed at herself internally for sounding like a mumbling mess.
"Relax." Violet put her hands on her upper arms, moving them up and down slowly, only causing Clementine to tense up even more, "Do you need me to step out while you get dressed for bed?"
"No, you can stay." Clementine said innocently, Violet's eyes widened as Clementine walked to the desk, her back facing Violet. Clementine reached up and pulled off her hat, setting it down on the desk before turning with a flourish, "Ta-dah! Ready for bed!"
Violet shook her head with a smile, "You're so attached to that thing I sort of thought you might sleep in just the hat." Clementine's face burned red, Violet chuckled at her successful embarrassment, "You don't have any more comfortable clothes to sleep in?"
Clementine shrugged, "AJ and I were on the road for a long time. When you have to carry everything you own in a backpack with you everywhere you go pajamas don't make the cut."
"Tomorrow I'll make it my sole mission to scour the dorms for an extra gym uniform for you to sleep in." Violet raised her hand in the air, "scout's honor!"
"Thanks Vi." Clementine grinned as she sat down on Violet's bed, setting her pillow next to Violet's.
"You could at least take off your jackets." Violet sat down next to Clementine, tugging at the hem of her jean jacket. "It's okay, I don't bite... unless you want me to." Clementine stood up and shrugged off her jean jacket, accepting the fact that her face would forever be a shade of red in Violet's presence.
Clementine hung her jacket on the back of the desk chair, then she unzipped her hoodie and set it on top of her jean jacket. She tugged nervously at the hem of her shirt, it was smaller then she remembered it being...
Violet laid down on the bed, scooting close to the wall to give Clementine enough room to lay down next to her. Clementine climbed onto the bed next to Violet. Violet looked her up and down chuckling.
"What?" Clementine asked, feeling self conscious.
"You're still wearing your boots." Violet pointed out, "Did you forget to take them off?"
"Oh..." Clementine looked embarrassed, "I'm used to sleeping with them on..."
"Wouldn't you be more comfortable with them off?" Violet raised an eyebrow.
"The last time I took my shoes off to sleep was a couple years ago. I had stupidly worn my shoes as I waded through a river. I took them off to dry over the fire. A group of walkers caught AJ and I off guard in the middle of the night." Clementine explained as the two girls laid on their backs side by side, "I barely had time to grab my bag and AJ and get out of there. It took me two weeks to scavenge a new pair of boots that fit me. After that I always took my shoes off before I waded across bodies of water and I never slept with my shoes off again. They almost feel like a security blanket now, they make me feel safe."
"You can leave them on if it makes you feel better," Violet rolled over wrapping her arm around Clementine's waist, "but I can be your security blanket instead if you want me to be." Violet leaned over placing a soft kiss on her cheek.
Clementine groaned as she leaned down and unzipped her boots, kicking them to the ground. She laid back down, wiggling her toes. "How's it feel?" Violet grinned.
"Like weakness..." Clementine pouted, making Violet chuckle. Clementine rolled onto her side so that she could face Violet, resting her left arm between the two of them.
"What's this?" Violet lightly traced her finger over Clementine's left forearm.
Clementine glanced down to where Violet was touching, enjoying the tingling sensation it caused. "Dog bite, I sewed it up myself, which is why it looks so bad."
"What about this one?" Violet ran her finger under the edge of Clementine's sleeve, attempting to push it up. Clementine grabbed her sleeve defensively, preventing Violet from rolling it up any further. Violet pulled her hand back, "I'm sorry..."
"No it's... it's fine." Clementine shifted as she reached down to pull her shirt off, throwing it to the side, still wearing a tank top underneath but revealing her burn scar.
Violet stared at the brand, running her fingers over it with a grimace on her face. "Who branded you and why?"
"AJ was about a year old, I was struggling to keep us alive... I was starving myself to make sure he didn't go hungry and I ran into someone who offered me a place in their group. Being branded was part of the deal. It seemed like a small price to pay at the time..." Clementine explained.
"I'm assuming it didn't work out." Violet looked into her eyes, concerned.
"No... they kicked me out when I stole medicine for AJ and then they took him away from me. I did... I did a lot of bad things in order to get him back... I'm not proud of that... but I would do it again." Clementine broke eye contact, afraid that Violet could see all the things she had done just by looking into her eyes.
"If we hadn't let you back into the school after Abel shot AJ, would you have stolen medicine from us?" Violet asked seriously.
"I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't think about it. As I carried AJ back, I knew that if I couldn't convince you all to help him I was going to sneak in at night and take what I needed. I'm glad I didn't have to make that choice..." Clementine answered honestly.
Violet nodded in understanding as her fingers continued to wander up Clementine's arm, stopping at her shoulder.
"How about this one?" Violet asked.
Clementine smirked, "Shot by a Russian..."
"Seriously?" Violet laughed.
"Seriously." Clementine laughed as well.
"You're amazing Clementine." Violet sighed, leaning down and kissing along her scars, starting on her forearm and working her way up.
"I'm nothing special," Clementine managed to get out, words becoming difficult to form as Violet reached her collarbone, slowly moving up her neck to her jawline. Clementine turned back onto her back, shifting her head to allow Violet clear access.
Violet paused over her lips, practically laying on top of her now. "Yes you are." she said connecting lips before Clementine could argue. Clementine kissed back eagerly, running her hands over Violet's bare arms, enjoying the feel of her skin against her own.
Violet broke the kiss first, laying down on her back beside Clementine once more. "I'm sorry for not going with you on the boat..." Violet said in almost a whisper.
Clementine rolled over to face her again, "What do you mean?"
"When Lilly took AJ, you escaped and saved me and then Minerva attacked you, I shot her with her cross bow and you went to save AJ and I... I stayed with Minerva... I should have gone with you... I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize." Clementine reached over to brush Violet's hair out of her face. "We planted a bomb, Minerva needed help, she wouldn't have gotten out in time if not for you. She's an important person in your life, it was a split second decision and I understand why you made it."
"Can you stop being so understanding! If you had saved Louis instead of me when the raiders attacked the school, I would have been mad at you." Violet fumed.
"I would never choose anyone over you Violet..." Clementine leaned over Violet, looking her in the eye.
"But I did." Violet choked out, a stray tear running down her cheek.
Clementine kissed her tear, "It's okay Vi, it's okay."
"Why can't you just be mad at me?" Violet pleaded, looking and feeling guilty.
"Because if I'm mad at you, the night will be wasted and I was wanting to kiss you some more." Clementine smiled softly at the blonde haired girl. The girl that only hours ago she had assumed left her for someone else. "I never imagined I'd be able kiss someone, to have a relationship... every day could be my last, I don't want to waste time being angry."
Clementine didn't waste another moment, she pressed her lips against Violet's, her tongue requesting entry, Violet quickly granting it. Both girls taking their chance to enjoy a small moment amongst the unpredictability of their lives.