"So, how do you like staying here?"

Louis shook his head, cursing under his breath. He sat on his bed, looking down at his hands, thinking of ways to approach his problem with Clementine. He'd been at it for four days now. He looked up, searching for inspiration in the décor inside his room. Old rock posters hung loosely around the walls, their edges fading after years of decay.

How could he act like he didn't know every single detail of her life? How could he pretend that he didn't want to hug her every chance he got? He closed his eyes, lying back on his pillow-covered bed. He rubbed his eyes, thinking back to the meaningful interactions he and Clem had shared over the years.

There was the first time they'd shared their feelings for each other right before the raider attack, five years ago. The first time she had said she loved him. It had been after she saved him from a walker that almost took a chunk out of him. "I can't lose you, I love you too much," she'd told him, tears in her eyes. The first time AJ had referred to them as his parents. The first time they'd…

He sat up, rubbing his eyes and blinking rapidly. On his bedside table was his stack of cards. Sighing, he took it in his hands and absently started shuffling it. The fire of the candles on the table flickered as a gust of wind blew through the window, casting odd shadows on his face.

Louis took a card from the deck, inspecting it closely. It was the king of hearts. Stuffing it in the pack again, he began shuffling them with his eyes closed. The door of his room flew open suddenly, and he jumped, throwing his cards in the air and turning to the blonde at the door. Violet raised an eyebrow at him and stepped forward.

"I was gonna check to see if you could go out and reset the traps," she began, eyeing the cards strewn across the floor. "But I see you're busy."

Louis stood up abruptly, hitting his head with the top bed and groaning in pain. Violet snickered, and he glared. "Yeah, I'm free," he assured her, nodding.

"Good, because you're leaving in ten minutes with Clem."

"Wh – What?" he stuttered.

"I figured some time alone is what you guys needed."

Frowning, Louis leaned against the desk beside his bed. "Have you forgotten about a little detail?" he asked. "She's not that comfortable being around the only guy she doesn't recognize alone."

"Then make her comfortable, dumbass," she suggested, crossing her arms. "You've been together five years, and she was pretty comfortable with you before the accident."

"I don't have five more years, Vi," he snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"She'll remember you in no time, don't worry," she assured him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I sure hope so," he muttered, the hand inside his trench coat fingering the side of a tiny box.

"She's already waiting for you at the door if you wanna leave now," she informed him.

"Yeah, alright."

He made his way through the hallway, nodding as Tenn passed him. Outside, the sun was still half hidden behind the tree line, casting long shadows on the courtyard. Aasim and AJ were sitting at one of the tables, a biology book in between them. Clementine had recently requested he teach AJ basic knowledge he would have learned in school. This week, they were studying the human body.

Clem stood by the gate, very interested in her shoelaces for some reason. He made his way to her, grabbing 'Chairles' off the weapons table by the cellar. With the best smile he could muster, he said, "Hey, looks like we're on trap duty together."

"Seems that way," she muttered, not meeting his eyes.

Louis frowned, opened the gate for her and walked out behind her. The walk toward the hunting grounds was mostly silent, punctured only by Louis's odd comments on the weather. He couldn't help but spare fleeting glances at the woman beside her, his heart fluttering every time their eyes met. After all these years, she still had that effect on him.

The wind picked up from the south, making Clementine shiver slightly. Pursing his lips, Louis shrugged out of his coat and held it out to her. "Here, take this."

"Won't you be cold?"

"I'll be okay," he assured her, offering her a confident smile.

Turned out she was right. Barely ten minutes later he was already fighting the urge to wrap his arms around himself. He took solace in the fact that Clem seemed content with wearing his coat which, due to her stature, almost scraped the ground as she walked. When they got to the clearing, they inspected the surroundings.

On one side, the rabbit traps had all been sprung. The pair walked toward the animals, counting their catch.

"Five rabbits, one of them a baby," Louis announced, approaching the smallest one.

"Let's hope Violet and Ruby have more luck with the fish," she commented, snapping the neck of one of the adult ones. Louis stood beside the hanging rabbit, pursing his lips. "What is it?" she asked him.

He looked up at her and grinned. "Would you mind?"

"Really?" she chuckled, stepping forward and doing the task for him. "Didn't peg you for a softie," she teased.

"Maybe I'm just letting you take all the credit," he suggested, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Keep telling yourself that."

She finished the job, handing Louis two of the rabbits and hanging the others to her belt. Turning around, she bound off to one of the perimeter traps, which seemed to have been sprung with no catch. Louis stared at her back, wondering just how he was going to make her remember him. When he turned a corner, he chuckled at the sight.

A walker hung upside down from a rope tied to a tree. Its jaw had been cut off, soft growls escaping it when it saw him. Its arms stretched in his direction, rotten fingers attempting to grab at his shirt. Snorting, Louis used his chair leg to poke it, making it swing softly.

"Hey, check this out!" he called to her, looking back at the walker. She came rushing his way, her knife unsheathed. When she spotted the hanging walker, she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really?"

"Wanna have some batting practice?" he offered, gripping 'Chairles' like a bat. "We haven't done this is so long."

"Well, I don't remember the last time…" she trailed off, looking down and scratching the back of her head. He noticed she had started doing this a couple years ago, his own habit rubbing off on her. Maybe not all was lost?

"C'mon, it'll be fun," he encouraged, handing her the chair leg. Rolling her eyes, she took it and prepared to bat.

Putting all her weight into her rotation, she swung the chair leg into the walker's face. A crunching sound announced its nose breaking, and Louis cheered. He inspected the walker as though it was his job and turned to Clem.

"If the Olympics were still a thing, you'd definitely get a silver," he announced proudly. Apparently, it wasn't enough for Clementine, who snorted.

"A silver, huh?" she teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you never know," he said, shifting his weight to his right leg. "That could have been a lucky shot."

Clementine shook her head, her grin becoming more prominent as time wore on. Louis noticed her stance was much less rigid around him now. As she swung the makeshift bat again, she even cast a side glance at him and winked. As the wood made contact with the walker's head, its eye flying off and landing with a soft squishing sound. Louis grimaced but laughed nonetheless.

"Alright, I'm convinced. That was a solid gold," he announced, softly clapping for her. Following his lead, she bowed dramatically and thanked him.

"I know, I rule," she grinned, turning back to the walker, which was still groaning and moaning.

"Okay, you gotta make this one count," he told her, stepping back to give her space.

Gripping the handle tightly, Clem plunged the wooden bat into the walker's skull. They heard its neck snap, and the corpse became still. Louis crossed his arms, nodding in approval.

"Homerun indeed," he muttered, earning a genuine smile from Clementine. "Don't you feel a little better now?"

Clem scratched her chin dramatically, pretending to think about his question. "Maybe it helped a little bit," she conceded, flashing a grin in his direction and bounding off toward the trail.

That night, after their rabbit stew dinner was completed Louis stood up, offering his arm to Clementine. Everyone looked on as he bowed deeply.

"I will escort you to your room, my lady," he announced, much to her embarrassment. She looked back to AJ, who was sitting beside Tenn.

"I'll stay up a little while longer," he told her, nodding. "It's my turn in the night shift."

Smiling at the boy, Clem reluctantly took Louis's arm, and together they walked toward what was usually their room. They silently traipsed the hallway, enjoying each other's company. As they got to the door, Louis unhooked his arm from hers and bowed dramatically, making her smile.

He turned around, beginning the journey back, but stopped when he heard her voice. "Hey, Louis?"

"Yeah?" he said, turning around.

"Would you mind… staying with me for a while?" she requested, rubbing her left arm. Raising his eyebrows, Louis grinned at her.

"Well, of course," he exclaimed, opening the door and stepping to the side to let her pass. They entered the room and closed the door behind them. Clementine sat on the left bed, a bunch of pillows set up at its headboard. Louis sat down by the foot of the bed, stretching his arms.

"Do you have any idea where these pillows came from?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow. "AJ won't tell me."

"Oh, that?" he said, chuckling. Those were his, of course. But he couldn't tell her that. "They're yours."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're a real pillow hog," he lied, nodding.

"Who would've known?" she muttered, setting her head on one of the bigger pillows.

Standing up, Louis lit the candles and turned to her. He stuck his hand inside his coat, fumbling for something. With a grin, he produced a deck of cards and waved it in the air. "How would you like a game of War?"

"War?" she asked, eyeing the cards as he sat down beside her. "How do you play?"

"Oh, right," he said, casting his eyes toward his hands. "Basically, both of us flip our decks and whoever gets the higher card gets to ask the other a question. You can use this opportunity to learn more about me."

"I guess that could be fun," she said, taking half the deck and placing it on the bed in front of her. They each flipped the top card. Clementine's king of spades trumped Louis's five of diamonds and she smiled. "I win."

"You do, indeed. Now ask away."

Thinking hard, Clementine frowned, looking at her card. "What are we?" she asked him, startling the man.

"Pardon?"

"What exactly are we?" she repeated, looking into his chocolate brown eyes. "You don't act like we're just friends, so what is it?"

Pursing his lips, Louis thought about his answer. Fighting back the urge to tell her the truth, he said, "We're the best of friends."

She nodded, a sad smile on her face. They flipped the cards once more, Louis getting the upper hand this time.

"Hmm, here's one I've always wanted to know," he began, a devious grin on his face. "Anything ever happened with that guy Gabe?" he asked finally, making Clementine blush.

"Have I really told you about Gabe?"

"Only that he had a huge crush on you, and that you had a little something for him," he explained, shrugging.

Her eyes halved as she looked at him, and she sighed. "Nothing ever happened. I left to find AJ one day, and never returned to Richmond."

Of course, he knew that, but hearing it yet again didn't hurt. She dismissed the smile that formed on his face, and they continued the game. After a few rounds, Louis began to feel confident about his plan. One round, when Clementine got an ace of hearts, she asked a question that had been on her mind since the beginning of the game.

"Did we ever fight?"

"All the time," he declared, chuckling. "But we always made up, don't worry."

"I'm glad," she confessed, her amber eyes finding his brown ones. At that moment, his heart fluttered, and he had to stop the urge to kiss her. It had been a week since they'd kissed…

They flipped the cards once more, and Louis already had his question prepared when his Queen of diamonds trumped Clem's two of spades.

"Ever seen a magic trick?"

Raising an eyebrow, Clem replied, "Well, my mom hired a magician for my seventh birthday."

"You're supposed to say 'no'," he told her, taking the entire stack in his hands and shuffling them. Clementine chuckled and shook her head.

"Alright, no, I haven't."

"Well, prepared to be amazed!" he announced, fanning out the cards in front of her. "Pick one."

She did as he said, taking one from the bunch and pressing it to her chest. After she had memorized the card like he commanded, Clem placed it back in the deck. She watched Louis shuffle the cards, every now and then flicking the edge of one of them so it would fly into the air. The discarded ones landed on the bed beside him, but she never took her eyes off him.

There was a certain air about him that drew her to him, but she couldn't quite place it. She guessed it was probably the fact that they were best friends, and dismissed the thought. His hands deftly shuffled the cards in a fashion that she could not keep up with.

"Ready?" he said finally, the stack in his hands already having diminished to about twenty cards.

"Yeah," she breathed, watching in awe as he flicked one final card into the air. Instead of landing on the bed, however, Louis caught it in his mouth. Already impressed by the feat, Clementine started clapping but was stopped when Louis raised a hand. Taking the card from his mouth, he grinned.

"Is this your card?" he asked, showing the face of the card to her. It was the king of hearts.

"Oh my god, how did you do that?" she exclaimed, taking the card from his hands and searching it for foul play. He took the card and smiled at her.

"A magician never reveals his secrets, my lady," he told her, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, that was impressive."

"Your praise is appreciated," he said, nodding. Clementine couldn't help but giggle, smiling up at the man sitting across from her. Louis smiled back, reveling in the beautiful sound of her laughter. He really enjoyed that sound. As a gust of wind blew out the candles on the dresser, Louis had an idea. Snapping his fingers, he stood up and took Clementine's hand. "Follow me," he said simply.

Too surprised by his sudden adrenaline rush, Clem decided to go with it and ran behind him. He wandered through the hallway, going left when they were met with the door to the outside and running up a flight of stairs. They climbed two stories until they reached a big metal door. With some effort, Louis pushed it open, grabbing a pipe that rested on a windowsill. He used the pipe to jam the door open and lead Clementine outside.

Clementine looked around and almost gasped when she realized where they were. Louis had led her up to the roof, where thousands of bright stars shone from above. The moon shone brightest of all like a giant eye in the sky, watching them as Louis walked over to a pair of lawn chairs someone had set up long ago.

They sat down, the chairs creaking under their weight. Louis assured her that they wouldn't break, claiming he'd been up there a million times. She looked up at the sky, trying to make out constellations among the cosmos. As she did, she heard Louis sigh beside her. She lowered her gaze and saw Louis's hunched shoulders.

"What is it?" she asked, her eyes fixed on his features. He looked tired, though she knew he was more rested than her. Something was troubling him…

"You know why I brought you up here, Clem?" he asked slowly, suddenly taking an interest to his shoelaces.

Clementine thought about it for a moment, coming up with no answers to his cryptic question. She shook her head, and he sighed again.

"This is our secret spot," he told her, looking up at the sky with a wistful expression. "We come up here all the time."

"We do?"

"Yeah, and it's always had a certain magic about it, don't you think?"

"It is beautiful out here," she admitted, following his gaze.

"It is," he muttered, taking a deep breath. "Clem, I need to tell you something."

"What's up?"

"I – I have feelings for you," he said simply, closing his eyes.

"You – You what?" she asked, blinking rapidly.

"I have feelings for you," he repeated, looking up at her now.

"I thought you had a girlfriend," she told him, confused. "You said you'd been together five years!"

"Yeah, and recently she left me," he lied, his eyes misting over. "I have no idea if she'll ever return, and I had to tell you how I've been feeling."

Speechless, Clementine leaned back on her chair. Her eyes darted from the man hunched on the opposite side to the sky above, the stars still illuminating their world.

"I've always believed in being honest, you know?" he began, his voice almost cracking under the pressure. "Because there's only one guarantee: this moment."

Clementine looked at him as he spoke, his muscles getting tense and his eyes filling with tears. She had a sudden urge to go to him and embrace him but held back when his deep voice filled the air again.

"That's the only thing you got, only thing any of us got," he continued. As he said the words, Clementine's eyes widened and she looked down at the man, tears threatening to fill her eyes as well.

"Might as well enjoy it," she finished, her voice higher than usual. Louis's head perked up, his brown eyes searching her features.

"Clem?" he asked uncertainly.

"Louis!" she exclaimed, launching herself at her boyfriend. The memories came back to her: all the stupid fights, all the beautiful gifts. Tears streamed down her face as she hung to him for dear life.

"Are you saying you remember?" he hesitated, a hopeful glint in his brown eyes.

"Yeah, I remember, doofus."

Without another word, Louis pressed his lips against hers in a hungry embrace. Clementine leaned into him, the void in her heart finally full as the knowledge of her boyfriend's memory filled her mind. A thought crossed her mind, and she pulled away.

"Wait," she said, frowning. "Why have you been pretending that we're nothing more than friends?"

"Well, Aasim said that if I told you about us, it might be too much for you to handle," he explained, fidgeting with the hem of his coat.

Fresh tears filled Clementine's eyes as the realization hit her. "So," she began softly, willing her voice not to crack. "You pretended you didn't love me for a whole week just so I'd have more of a chance to recover? Even though you were the only one I couldn't seem to remember?"

"Yeah, basically."

"How could you take it?" she asked him, looking down. "I don't know what I'd do without you for a week."

Smiling, Louis planted another kiss on her lips. "Because," he told her, grinning. "I love you to death and back."