A/N Omg guys… I needed a little pick me up after life played let's beat the shit out of TempestTemper and you delivered it! I never would have imagined that after two years my little sketchy sketch here would still be read… you made make crack up right here in tears, God damn it… It feels like a life time ago that I wrote this… you could actually say a life time ago judging from the fact that now I am in university but ehh… details that don't matter… thx again for all the kindness that I didn't give back and here is the next chapter… after two fucking years… because I am a horrible person.

Chapter 15 – The calm between the storms

Time is free but in this world, and to be honest in the world that we all so dearly still cling to, the world that is as dead as the walkers themselves, is priceless. They had wasted so much time… time that could be spent together in the warm embrace of the other one… time that could had been filled with sweet nothings and not with screams, immaturity and stupidity… in his arms right there, Adeline didn't care that the world was going to end… She could die right there and be forever petrified in his arms and she would call it heaven. From the way his arms held on to her frail frame he was just as desperate as herself… he was sorry for his own imbecility, sorry for pushing her too far, sorry for betraying her, sorry… for everything he did besides holding her.

"I love you." It was a bare whisper laid out in the open warming up her cold skin and her tight heart. His voice rough from the hardship, form the pain, from the cold simply rumbled those three words almost making them unperceived, tearing her up in equal measure as it washed a wave of relieved over her own wrecked nerves. She remembered the same fleeting words leaving Tom's lips, but at that time she registered them as being just that… fleeting though time proved her wrong, she won' t do the same mistake.

As if it was the hardest thing she could do, her fingers tightened in to the man's shirt pulling him even closer to her, he could feel his warm palm caressing her back, up and down her spin warming her up, sending a tingling sensation to her brain. Raising her head from his chest to see his face, she was met with a tired expression filled to burst of pain and scars that will never heal but on his lips and deep inside his eyes she could see the same clawing loyalty and devotion she witnessed so many times in Tom's and she knew she meant what he said. Maybe there was no place for true love in this world… but there was enough space for what she had with Luke right here and right now. Laying bare in front of his, metaphorically speaking, her lips curled in to a true smile for the first time since this madness started, her eyes pooling with tears filled with frustration and the aching desire to never be left alone again and whispered back.

"You damn fool… I can't believe you'd do this to me." His eyes widened as her lips came to his and her palms slid up his chest to cradle his head between her beaten and cold fingers, thin strands of his hair curling over her skin.

Her lips were not demanding but soft and warm… screaming familiarity in to his mind… a simple disorienting, pleasure slicked surprise. Parting just slight, each of her grasps of air making their lips rub against each other she simply whispered back those three words she only spoke aloud to her parents in her too short childhood.

"I love you, too… you fool." Unable to resist a soft smile he pushed himself over her, the woman's fingers never leaving his jaw, her thumb making lazy circles over his cheekbones, occasionally trailing a hot line across his lips. She was too broken to offer him more but the embrace they were sharing, the teasing lips over her neck and collarbone, her own teasing lips over the earlobe of his ear, his arms wandering across her body, careful only to produce the gentles of pleasure were just enough for the both of them. They fell asleep like that, unraveling in this new and uncertain relationship they had discovered after so much pain and despair but she can finally say that everything was worth it… Tom was right… Life is meant to be lived, even this life they were given… for these fleeting moments of love made it worth it above all, this little moments of peace, of shred pain and believe were what made life bearable.

Bonnie was standing right outside the slightly ajar door, her hands around her waist, sadness pouring from all of her pores. Shaking her head in disappointment she walked silently back to her room to grab her backpack.

The light of the morning washed over the sleeping silhouettes of the couple, gently prying open Adeline's heavy lids, a yawn emanating from her tired lips. Looking around with her sleep fogged perception, her attention fell on Luke's heavy arm draped around her waist still holding her close to his body and with a peaceful smile she laid a fleeting kiss over his lips. He was too tired to register her thus she laid her palm over his check, gently caressing his skin with her thumb and continuously laying lazy pecks over his lips, soon enough his own eyes opened and a wide smile formed on his lips as he realized what was happening.

"I could do with wakin' up like this more often."

"I could also do with sleeping with you, like this… more often."

A sigh escaped his lips as he pressed his forehead to hers, his hands tightening around her waist and back, pulling her almost painfully in to him.

"I should go and check up on, Bonnie. How are you feeling?"

The pain in her abdomen subsided but just for a bit but at least she stopped feeling light headed. Shifting from his arms she reached for her shirt, slightly raising it up only to be met with the same purplish spot on her stomach. Luke's eyes widen as his hand came on it slightly pressing it. Adeline escape a shesh sound from her lips as pain shot through her, the man immediately taking his hand away.

"Huh… God."

"Maybe it will… stop. I feel slightly better, actually."

"I hope so."

Getting out form the warm covers of the bed, the man sat at the edge, his elbows on his knees and his face buried between his hands, in deep thought. The woman's hands came on his back, a slim comfort on his aching nerves. Straightening up, another sigh escaped his lips, as his eyes trailed over the form of Adeline. The woman settled her head on his shoulder, her arms circling his waist and coming together over his abdomen, a thin smile on her lips, as she stared at him.

"I will be at your side for as long as I can... huh… that sounded cheesier than I imagined it."

A chuckle reverberated from deep within his chest, soon this light humor being replaced by his dark demeanor once again.

"What's on your mind, Luke?"

Another sigh.

"Luke?"

"Nothing…I just… I should check up on Bonnie."

Another sigh.

Untangling himself from her embrace he made a few steps before turning around to address her once again.

"I looked around the room when I brought you here… there are some clothes in the closet."

And he was gone.

"Bonnie?... Bonnie, where are you?" The man didn't manage you find the woman in her room and even though he took notice of the lack of things the woman left in that room yesterday, he searched the rest of the apartment only to realize the woman left… after what he found up, the fact that she'd leave them behind… again… didn't come as a shock.

"Well… Bonnie's Gone…"

Adeline was right in the door, now completely and properly dressed; she even managed to gather the mess of hair she had in a decent but really tiny ponytail, a few strands of wayward hair still spilling around her face. She was now wearing a pair of proper jeans, and a pair of what seemed like leather boots, a black tight top holding in her arms a red coat.

"It seems like the last owner had exactly my size… though the boots are slightly bigger. Bonnie left?"

"Umm… yeah… I can't find any trace of her."

"It's not really that surprising."

"That's what I thought... Well... Let's go."

Walking through the snow with the proper outfit was a bliss… though Luke still looked like he was freezing she was… oddly comfortable.

"So what is the plan, Luke?"

"Damn if I know."

She simply nodded.

"Maybe… for starters… we should finish scavenging this place…"

"Yeah."

And so they did, for several hours they started systematically to search every building in the region, they managed to pack up on some supplies, Luke found some clothes for himself, they managed to even find a proper knife… it seemed as if this little village was deserted and never trespassed by anyone besides them… finally a little bit of luck for the couple… or … or as much luck as an almost dying woman could have at this point, Adeline tough as another spasm of pain grabbed and twisted her insides out.

"Alright… this last building and we should be done… are you alright?"

She quickly changed her contorted features in to a weak smile.

"I am… ugh… fine."

"Maybe we should take a break?"

Though she didn't particularly want a break she nodded because her body demanded a break. Luke came by her side, she could still see through his attempt at hiding the limp he got thx to the bullet he got shot with but she didn't deny his help, and with his support she managed to sit down inside a playground they found. Taking a deep breath her face contorted once again from the pain in her abdomen and before she knew it she was throwing up in the corner of the building.

"Are you sure you are ok?"

"I am not ok… but it doesn't hurt as much…"

His hand was gently caressing her back, worry plastered in the furrowing of his eyebrows. Giving him a reassuring smile, Adeline attempted to kiss him, only to turn her head in the last second, only giving him a fleeting peck on the check before rising from the ground to start searching the place.

"I'd kiss you right now… you look like a kicked puppy… but I just threw up… "

With a smile he followed her.

The place, as expected didn't have much. And as such the couple took a respite in there, opening their packs to have a quick bite to eat as they planned their future steps.

"I'd say we should continue on Nord… find Wellington. Maybe the others are there… "

"Yeah… the others… like Kenny?"

"Or Clementine."

"Or Jane."

He raised one of his eyebrows at her.

"Yeah…. Or Jane."

She started shaking her head in disapproval.

"Del…"

"Wellington it is. Do you still have the map?"

"Del?"

"What?"

His hand rose to her check only for her to shake him off.

"Del?"

Jealousy is a green, fucked up monster that harbors its house in everyone's mind, be it just a small den dug in the dirt or a luxurious mansion… the monster is in there, spreading its lies in to your consciousness… Though it was my fault he did that, what Luke did was still a betrayal despite all the light lies I whisper to myself, as much as I'd try to fake my thoughts that green piece of shit will demand its presence to be acknowledged.

Looking at her furrowed eyebrows, at the fire and anger in her eyes, Luke couldn't do anything but feel guilty. His mind was in a cluster now, all of his thoughts a mess, he was in a futile battle to find what to say to make her understand… understand... nothing… he had nothing to say… he was a fool just as she nicely put it.

Frustration and failure come hand in hand. Life is full of these two. From the minor irritations of losing something… like a picture of a lost faith, or the hope of a lost love to the major problem of continued failure like the death of everyone they knew, or the death of their most wrenching tangibility to the world's happiness… the loss of each other.

Frustration has their friend until now… for Adeline it pushed her to survive, and Luke, it pushed him to evolve in to a leader. However, when it results in anger 'DAMMIT, ADELINE!' irritability 'I'll look for my own ass next time!' stress 'everybody else is dead… we are the only one left', resentment 'REMMEBER THIS WHEN YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!', depression 'What are we going to do?'… frustration can be destructive.

They remained there in silence none of them raising their eyes from either their food or the ground… both of them lost in their thoughts… so deeply lost in them that they didn't see through the broken windows the walker twisting from the snow and making their way towards them until a ragged growl escaped its lips and its body lunged for Adeline.

"DEL!"

Her fingers dug themselves in to the lurker's neck, keeping its gaping, hungry mouth inches away from her face, a line of saliva mixed with the decomposing interior of the creature sliding through its teeth on to her face, making her gag and twisting her already queasy stomach.

One of the kitchen knife they found in their searching came in use, as Luke plunged it in to the walkers head, a clean cut through its left eye and in to its brain, cutting its life from its source as the heavy body of the lurker fell hard on to the woman. The man quickly pulled it off of her desperate and scared searching her for any kind of wound.

"I am fine… don't worry… just a bit grossed out."

"You ok… for sure. There ain't any bite on you?"

"I just told you… I am fine."

Her eyes widen in shock almost instantly.

"Luke…"

The man turned its head towards the dead walker almost expecting it to rise again only to realize it wasn't just a walker.

"Fuck."

"Is that Kenny?"

"Shit. We should… ugh… Clementine was with him… maybe we should…" His gaze was frantically searching outside.

"We should what? Search the snow for a possible dead body, Luke?"

"I don't know."

"If she's in the snow she's dead… and look at Kenny… it's been some time."

The man's corpse had half of its face decomposed; the half that wasn't perfect to begin with but it didn't matter.

After taking one last look at Kenny, Luke started running outside, screaming the little girl's name.

"Luke! Dammit… shut up… you'll wake up the dead!"

"CLEMENTINE!"

Brutally grabbing his arm she pulled him with a firm shake.

"Are you mad?!"

"I… I… I can't believe we are the only one… "

"Maybe it is better this way."

His outraged glared pinned her down in her spot.

"How could you say that?"

"How could I not? From the start we've been the ones doing everything… they were just a liability."

"How… what do you mean?"

"I am just saying the truth…I.. uhh… "

"Dammit... How did we get here?"

"Didn't we have this discussion already?"

"Yeah… I guess we did… but still… Everyone we set out with, just… gone… Nick, Pete… Alvin and Becca… Carlos… Sarah… now we start adding the folk we got on the road… Mike now Kenny maybe Clementine… and for what?"

"How can you say that? They died for their mistakes… it's not… not our fault."

"I wish I could believe that."

His hand came to her cheek, his fingers caressing her chin.

"Thx for tryin'…but… I know it in my bones I could've done more. And that ain' t up for debate… and… huh… almost seein' you die one too many times it really… I don' t know what to do."

Her arms came around his waist making him squint slightly from the still tender spots around his ribs, careful not to create too much discomfort she managed to embrace him, her lips on the sensitive skin of his neck, feeling his life pulsing through him.

"I can't tell you that we'll make it… but… I can promise you I'll be by your side for as much as I can if you will, too."

He settled his chin over her head, his own hands around her shoulders, keeping her close disbelieving the fact that they made it this far.

"Of course."

Untangling from him, a wide smile formed on her lips so intoxicating that he couldn't hold back his own sad answer.

"Now that we are done with this cheesy moment, look there." Her index finger was pointing towards a bigger pile of snow that hid under it a red truck.

"At the cabin… didn't we see some car tracks or something like that… maybe it works. Just maybe they got here through that."

"Is that a dead walker through the windshield?"

"Looks like it."

"It will be hard to drive through the snow with no windshield."

"Oh… come on… a man like you can't take up a challenge?" She gently hit his back teasingly as she made her way on top of the truck's hood to take out the dead lurker stuck in the sharp glass.

"Del, there is a walker under it, too. He pointed out, but after poking it with the knife he had he realize this one was dead as well. "I'll take it out, no worries… it seems like the others made good work of these lurkers around here."

"Yup… "

"Ok... let's see if this thing works."

Turning the key for several times the truck came to life followed by the cheers of the couple.

"I never thought I'd hear anything this beautiful again."

"You're the best, Luke."

"Ok… let's keep it like this until we get the snow off to warm up the engine."

As the man drove the truck, Adeline was sleeping in her sit next to his. As he said it, driving with no windshield was hard and it needed some getting used to it but in the end they've managed. It was good to be driving for a change, all the walking around has been hell, but the fuel tank was already less than half, but he guessed it was enough for it to take them a considerable distance to wellington.

"I am sorry." He was taken aback by her.

"What for?"

"Not knowing how to drive a car… you could use some sleep."

"Don't worry for me, Del… You need rest more than I."

Her hand came on to his squeezing it gently before she fell asleep again.

In that moment we both actually felt as if nothing happened in the last years, as if right now I am on my way to university and he is still looking for a job, as if stupid things like that still mattered and there were no dead people stalking the streets for a bite to eat and a destiny to ruin. We lived a storm for so much time but after any storm the sun shines and everything calms down… a little break, before another thunder strikes.

"I can't believe it! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

"Calm down, Luke…"

"How can I calm down?!"

"We'll manage… calm down."

"The car is out of fuel and the damn Wellington send us on our merry way… what should we do now?!"

"We'll find something else to do."

"Like what?"

"I don't know… we return back… in a place we know it's still particularly safe."

"What place?"

"Howe's Hardware."

"I ain't going back there… What the fuck, Del?!"

"It has supplies, it's empty… we know where it is… it is the safest bet."

"You must be kiddin' me! It is miles away! And we've got no car."

"We don't have fuel… I bet we can find some if we look around… we are so close to Huntington… we'll be fine… let's go."

"Dammit!"

The one thing I learned after everything that happened here is what I should had learned with Tom… everything is just a bad dream, everything is repeated again but I won't let this story have the same ending… I won't let Tom… umm… Luke… Die. It can be scary to find out that what you've planned is wrong, frustrating actually… but I can't be afraid to change my direction, to accept that the path I've… We've set on is not good. We have to be willing to give up, to be elastic and try again for the better or for the worst to move forward.

"Luke! Where are you?"

We have to move on and prepare for the next storm.

"LUKE!"

Her hand was trying to keep the cruel winds at bay as she was looking around frantically.

"WHERE ARE YOU, DAMMIT!?"

She was lost.