Louis' P.O.V.

Babysitting duty was now my favorite pastime. What with Clementine so preoccupied with the rescue plan, plus the constant scavenging trips and walker watch-out, A.J. was sort of left alone. He lingered over Clem while she did practically anything. He was offered, many times now, to go and bond with Tenn or Willy while she was busy, but he refused to leave her side. I got the feeling that having a pair of eyes watching over you could be a little stress-inducing, so, naturally, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

"Why don't you spend the day with me, little buddy?"

A.J. must've perked up at the sound of my voice, because he turned on his heel in an instant. I was standing right behind him and Clementine, acting as if I just casually strolled in even though I had been eavesdropping for the past half-hour. All I got was many stressful sighs from Clem and the constant questioning from A.J.

"With you?" He repeated. I noticed his eyes darting back over to his maternal figure.

"Yeah, of course. It'll be fun. We're 'Team Fun', remember?" I motioned over to Clem. "One of our members here is busy, of course, so it'll just be you and me."

I could hear the relief in her voice as Clementine turned around. "That sounds like a great idea, A.J. Why don't you go with Louis while I look these over?"

"But don't you need my help?"

I waved it off. "The last thing the mighty-Clementine needs is help. Believe me, I've offered."

"I guess...if that's what you want, Clem."

"Believe me, kiddo, if I could spend the whole day with you, I would. But these plans really need a look-over, just in case I missed anything. It's important if we want to get the others back."

I watched as she leaned down and grabbed both sides of his shoulders, shaking him a little. He laughed, but frowned once he realized what she was asking him to do. I tried to give the most encouraging smile from behind, holding two thumbs up in hopes it would ease him down. He accepted reluctantly.

"Okay. Good luck, Clem."

"Thank you, goofball." She stopped to lay a kiss on his forehead. "Make sure Louis doesn't get you in trouble, okay?"

"-Hey! I'll have you know that I am a very responsible-"

"I will."

I felt a mix of heartbreak and betrayal as A.J. nodded, but that vanished when he looked at me and winked. I winked back with a grin. This kid was going to be a lot of fun today, wasn't he? I watched as Clementine finally let go of him and turned to me. I prepared myself for her usual 'watch-my-kid-carefully-and-if-anything-happens-to-him-i-will-kill-you' lecture, but instead, she leaned up and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you. I'll pay you back later, alright? Try not to keep him past his bedtime. If he starts acting up, just come and get me."

"No need. My babysitting duties are free-of-charge. But, I do accept kisses."

She blushed slightly. "Okay, Prince Charming. Here's some for the road." She pecked my lips three times. "I'll give you the rest later."

Holy shit!

I was grinning madly as she pulled away and went back to the papers. I must've been standing there like the awestruck idiot I was, because I felt A.J. having to tug me out of the room. He was dragging me by the corner of my trench coat. I regained my composure and nudged it out of his hand.

"Ready for a day of fun, little man?"

"Yeah. But what are we going to do?"

By this point we were already heading outside. I held the door open for him and bit my lip in thought. I guess it would be irresponsible of me if I admitted to having no clue. I really should've mapped our day out if I was even going to offer watching him. I closed the door with a shrug.

"I think today will be your day. Anything you want, it'll happen. With limits, of course." I stopped and put my hands on my hips. "So, what do you want to do?"

He took the question seriously and thought about it. "Well...I'm kind of tired of drawing, no offense to Tenn. I've already made Clem a lot of drawings. So, I don't think I want to do that."

"Probably for the best. My drawing skills are as good as a rock. And by that, I mean a rock can draw better than I can."

"Rocks can't draw."

"I'm well aware."

"How about we go to the music room? There's lots of fun stuff there."

A good suggestion! I was secretly hoping we'd find our way there. I didn't even have to agree because A.J took off before I could. I chased after him and found he was holding the door open for me. I thanked him with finger guns and he returned them. I laughed as we turned the corner and headed into my most favorite room in the whole boarding school.

When we opened the doors, everything was in its glory. The tuned-out, aged piano, the worn-and-torn books, the portraits covered in the finest graffiti...the list could go on, really. A.J. walked past me and pointed promptly to my favorite instrument.

"Can you play that thing again?"

"I sure will! What do you want to hear?"

I seated myself at the piano. The tot followed suit, sitting right beside me. He looked at the keys and thought of what to request. I realized it was a difficult question, but he was taking a little while to answer it. I noticed his eyes kept glancing about the piano, fixated on something in particular.

"What's that?"

He pointed to the carving Clementine and I made. I couldn't help but smile at the memory. It was nice to still see it there. Not like a carving made in wood was going anywhere, that is - but that the memory was still holding in a place very dear to me. Just looking at it gave me warm goosebumps.

"It's a mark for a very special occasion," I informed.

"That's a...a C! And that's an L. And that's a small t."

"Not a t. That's a plus sign."

"Oh, wait, I get it. They're...initials. For names." He squinted his eyes. "Who's C and L?"

"Louis and Clementine."

His eyes went so wide that I thought they'd pop out of his sockets. He looked between me and the carving over and over again. I crossed my arms and stifled a laugh. I didn't know what was so groundbreaking about it. As far as I knew, or at least what I assumed, A.J. knew I was with Clem. I just haven't really...talked about it with him.

"Ohh, that makes sense, too. You carved the heart."

"No, that was her."

He looked at me apprehensively. "Are you sure?"

"Well, yeah. I was there."

"So, I guess that means she loves you...And you love her?"

"That's right."

"How much do you love her?" He pushed.

I was taken aback a little at the question, but replied with as much confidence as I could. "-Let's just say I love her more than this old thing. And I've been playing it for years."

I patted the top of the piano for effect. A.J. watched me with wide eyes. I noticed a layer of dust came off of it and brushed my palm on the side of my trench coat.

"That must be a lot." He gawked.

"Believe me, it is."

"I love her a lot, too. But...not the way you do." He shrugged. "I love her like...like the way I like you."

"The feeling is mutual." My fingertips were burning by the time I laid them on the cold ivories. "How's about a song?"

He didn't protest, so I started playing what first came to my mind. The melody was so natural to me that I was able to think while I played. I knew what A.J. was implying...he loved Clem like she was his mom, right? Which would mean he loved me like I was his...parental figure.

The smile I was wearing widened. I've never had this experience before. You get used to being around certain kids that you're familiar with their habits. But A.J. was an entire different package to unpack. He was different than Willy or Tenn, but I liked him just the same. Still...as much as I tried to be a good figure to kids(I mean, they're our future, right?), I still couldn't imagine being appreciated like...like a dad.

"Is that the song you wrote for Clem?"

I stopped playing in surprise. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I forgot what I was playing.

"She told you?" I asked.

"Well...it might've slipped. I don't think she meant to tell me."

I laughed. I wonder how that played out. I didn't mind A.J. knowing; I wouldn't have played the song in front of him if I did(even if I started to out of habit). I decided to play the rest of the song and ended it by holding the final note. I heard him scoot closer to my side by the time it was done.

"Can you write me one? Like you did for her?"

"Depends if you're patient, little man. It can take a lot of time to write one."

"Then I'll be pat...pa...pare-"

"Pa-tient." I repeated, the smile tugging at my lips.

"Pa...tient... He pronounced slowly, then grinned. "I'll be, um, that. Whatever it is..."

"It means you have to wait, without complaining. That's the important part."

"I can do that." His eyes crossed over me a few times. "And-and when you write it, you can name it something cool! Like, uh...Louis!"

"A good suggestion! And the best one, if you ask me...but I think I know something cooler..." I casually turned back to the piano and pretended to muse over some ideas. "How about A.J.? It's short, awesome, and cool. Just like you."

"You think I'm...cool?" The disbelief in his tone almost made me frown. I managed to keep my composure, as with my smile.

"No, little dude. You're NOT cool." His smile dropped. "-You're the coolEST."

His smile came back, but he looked clueless. "What's the difference?"

"It means you're cooler than me. Cooler than anybody, actually."

"Cooler than Clem?"

"I'd say yes, but I have a feeling she'd stab me in my sleep." I grit my teeth at that image. "Anyway, I'll have your song done soon, buddy. We got more important things to do right now."

"Like what?"

"Have you ever made a paper airplane?"

Our paper-airplane contest lasted a solid hour. Since there were plenty of books lying around(like the headmaster's diary, which I had a kick tearing apart), A.J. and I dove right in and made them with whatever we could find. Whether that was from the papers on the floor or ripping them out of useless books about trigonometry, they were still considerably impressive paper airplanes.

Turns out the kid didn't know how to make one, so I showed him a few methods. I used to make some back before the apocalypse. Marlon and I would throw them across the classroom while the teacher was lecturing and we'd blame it on whatever unfortunate kid was nearby. I can remember the shit-eating grins we had. They were a lot similar to what A.J. and I were wearing now.

We flew the ones we made to see whichever would go the farthest. A.J. had some, but I had the majority. It kept him busy regardless, and our session was stopped when Tennessee found us. He offered A.J. some time to draw. I must've put him in a good mood because he accepted. Not only that, but he insisted I'd join him and Tenn.

I proved to him that a rock could actually draw better than me. A few decent stick figures and lines that were supposed to represent a tree were thrown right away in the trash.

We sat around the campfire and I told him a few stories after that. I can't remember most of them, but I think I talked about my baseball days. A.J. shared some decent stories with me, too(where he enlightened me that Clem would sometimes sing him a lullaby to sleep. Such juicy information). And then we talked about Disco Broccoli, where I was more than happy to share my memories about the show.

It was in the middle of our conversation that I noticed it was night. I had to cut our chat short and stand up, trying to act happy despite that our day has officially come to an end. I felt even more attached to this kid now - if that was possible. The last thing I wanted was to end our day of fun. But Clem would kill me if I kept him up any further.

"We should pack it in, bud."

"What!?" He sounded disappointed. "But I wasn't finished with my story..."

"I think we should check on Clem. She's been working all day. And if there's any time left, you can tell me the rest of your story." I offered. "Let's make sure she's doing okay, first."

"Okay."

A.J. grabbed my hand coming inside the dorms. I clutched his as we walked down the hallway, mentally preparing myself for the long 'talk' I'd get if it was as late as I was assuming. I hoped for the best as I gently knocked on the door, only opening it when I heard her small voice grant us permission to come in.

I didn't wait to see her face as I casually leaned on the dresser. "Well, time sure slipped past Team Fun! We were having such a good time that the moon wanted to join us! Isn't that right, A.J.?"

Before the kid could respond, Clementine stepped in front of me. To my surprise, she wasn't upset. She actually looked relieved.

"Thanks for keeping him busy. I got some great progress on the plans." She gestured to the desk. "Everything should be good now."

"That's great! And don't worry about it." I assured her softly. "The kid's a lot of fun. I can totally do this again if you need it."

She went forward and pecked me a few more times on the lips. I wasn't prepared for the first three, but I kissed back for the last two. When she pulled away, I saw she had a smug smile on her lips. I practically melted when she placed her hand on her hip.

"You did keep him up to 10:30, though."

"Hey, you should be thanking me! I tired him out. See?"

I pointed behind her. The kid was already fast asleep on the mattress, in his usual fetal position without either of us by his side. Clem took off her hat to run her hands through her hair. She let out a long sigh.

"Just as well. I'm tired, too. I'm guessing you are?"

"A little. He's a talker once you get him going." I chuckled.

"He's just excited. He doesn't share much with anyone besides me. You should be flattered, Lou."

She was just feeding into my ego and she knew it. I noticed Clementine was getting situated in the bed. She looked at me and motioned forward. I took the cue to join her side and spoon her from behind, discarding my coat to the side so I can wrap my arms around her figure. I could feel A.J. in her grasp and smiled hearing him snore lightly.

"What did you two do today, anyway?" She yawned.

I recalled the moment he saw our initials on the piano, the time we spent on those paper airplanes, our drawings, and all the stories we shared together. I remembered every time he'd smile, and how tightly he'd hold my hand. The memories I made with A.J. today, especially - ones that would not be forgotten. I combed my fingers through her hair and rested my chin on top of her head, shrugging softly.

"Oh, you know, just babysitting stuff."