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She should be happy. The raiders were gone, at least somewhat. They had reached an agreement to leave each other alone; minimal casualties. Instead, now, they would work together if need be. Delta had helped them get warmer clothes for the winter, scarves and things of the like. Meanwhile, she and the other remaining kids at Ericsons would help them plan for the war up north; some even offering to help them fight. Everything had worked out as planned. Almost everything.
Clementine sniffed, opening the gates with a bow in one hand and a rabbit in the other, immediately smiling. Violet was sat behind one of the once more overturned picnic tables, snowball in hand.
“Give it up, Vi!”
“In your dreams!” She called back, Clementine watching with amusement as Violet moved quickly behind another one of the tables.
It was then she looked to the source of the other voice, Louis moving to the other side of where Violet had previously been squatting. He grinned to Clementine, the brunette merely sending him a grin in return, before he rounded the picnic table, only to slump in surprise when he didn’t see Violet.
It was then Violet decided to move, quite literally tackling Louis to the ground with an oof, and shoving her rather large snowball in his face. “Get shit on!”
“Vi,” Tenn warned, Clementine glancing over to the fire he and AJ were crowding.
Violet slumped, standing and throwing her arms out in defeat. “What! I kicked his ass!”
“Kicked my ass, my ass,” Louis defended, gaining the attention of Aasim who turned to him with a skeptical look.
Violet rolled her eyes, pushing her blonde hair out of her face with her gloves, only to slowly walk over to Clementine. “You catch anything good?”
Clementine shrugged, taking a few more steps from the gate. “A rabbit, saw a few squirrels…” She trailed off, removing said rabbit from her shoulder. She grimaced, before looking back up to Violet. “It’s getting warmer already. It hasn’t been that long, has it?”
Violet shrugged, taking the rabbit by the tail in one hand and using the other to grab Clementine’s. “I don’t think so, but the weather here has always been weird.” With that, Clementine grinned, the two walking over to Omar.
“You guys get any closer and you’re going to be on fire,” Clementine advised, taking note of much of the group within inches of the open flame.
“It may not be as freezing as it was, but I’m still uncomfortably cold,” Omar sighed, rubbing his arms before standing up to grab the rabbit. “Where’d you find this anyways? Isn’t everything hibernating?”
Clementine shrugged. “I thought so, but I found that guy on the way back from Delta.” She gestured to the rabbit in Omar’s hands, sitting down on a log with Violet next to her.
“How’d that go?” Ruby questioned, Clementine bobbing her head a bit.
“Lilly says their crops are doing really good; they’re going to bring us some once it starts to get warmer so we can plant them. Have more for ourselves,” She started, before sighing and leaning onto her girlfriend. “But...Up north. They’re going to try to call a truce. There’s going to be a meeting, and she wants me to come with her. To meet them.”
“When’s that gonna be…?” Violet worried, getting a squeeze of the hand.
“A couple days.” Clementine informed, taking a deep breath and calming herself from the constant guard she had to keep up when outside the walls.
Tenn nervously turned from the fire, hands in one another as he looked up to Clementine. “What about Minnie…?”
Clementine sank into her log. She had been hoping he wouldn’t ask that. It’s not like it wasn’t good news, either. It was, great news actually. Just not for her. “Lilly said Minnie’s going to finish training some of them over the crops, and then they’re gonna send her here.”
“Really?!”
Clementine smiled softly. “Mhm.”
Tenn grinned at her, turning back to the fire but not before speaking. “Thank you for asking, Clementine,”
“No problem, buddy,” She hummed, only to turn to AJ at a gasp.
She was met with Louis crouching near him, obviously having been whispering something to the boy. “I wanna build one!” AJ asked excitedly, Louis grinning and raising his hands in surrender.
“Hey little dude, that’s up to Clem,”
Clementine gave Louis a face of disappointment. Yes, they were warmer with the gloves, scarves, and hats Delta had given, but that didn’t mean she wanted to go kneel in the snow for hours.
“Build what?” Violet asked from above her, Clementine groaning and stuffing her face in Violet’s lap.
“Louis said we could build a man of snow!” AJ bounced, getting a raised finger and correction from Louis.
“Snowman,”
Violet furrowed her eyebrows. “...have you never built one before?”
Clementine answered. “We never had the time to stop and build snowmen...I don’t think I even remember how,” She huffed honestly.
Her eyes snapped open at a small gasp from Violet, looking up to her girlfriend to see her jaw practically hanging. “Get up! We’re building snowmen.”
“Oh lord,” Ruby chuckled.
“I thought it was snowman?” AJ questioned.
“Snowman means one. Snowmen means more than one.” Aasim huffed, rubbing his hands together, making it clear he was going to join them. After the scare of being kidnapped and nearly dying, he had warmed up to the group quite considerably.
Louis grinned and lightly shoved AJ forwards, quickly standing up and running behind them. “Bet you i can build one first!”
Both Tenn and AJ stood at this, running over and lightly pushing each other. Clementine heard Tenn say something among the lines of,”I’ll help you, AJ,” before the two knelt down, intent on beating Louis at his own game.
Her eyes flickered at movement, Willy standing anxiously near the two. After the death of Mitch, things had been strained between he and Tennessee. There was always a sense of cold in the air, even before the first snow fell. It was clear he was working himself up to say something, but he didn’t get the chance to before Tenn turned over his shoulder and offered the boy a smile.
“You wanna help us?” he asked, getting an excited smile from Willy before he joined the two, now making a group of three. Clementine looked back to the fire, finding that Ruby and Aasim were working together to build a snowman, Omar walking over. A small smile spread across her face; it was hard to get Omar to take a break sometimes, but all of them could enjoy this.
“C’mon,” Her gaze shifted to Violet whos face hovered above hers, smiling as snowflakes dusted her purple snow hat. “I wanna build one,” She urged, Clementine sitting up and smiling softly.
“Fine, but only if-” Clementine didn’t get to finish her sentence before Violet leaned forwards, capturing her lips in a kiss and cupping her cheek. It lasted a few seconds, her cheeks not failing to warm up and turn a darker shade of red than from the cold.
“Is that what you were gonna ask for?” Violet questioned, hand still on her girlfriend's cheek.
Clementine looked at Violet with what she assumed to be the worst case of heart eyes she had ever given, leaning lightly into the touch of Violet’s hand. “Yeah,” She breathed, Violet chuckling and kissing her softly one more time before getting up and kneeling into the snow.
“The quicker you help me build this, the quicker we get to go inside and cuddle,”
Clementine practically tripped over the log they had been sat on, kneeling down right next to Violet and balling up some snow, forming a small ball that would eventually become a body.
No, she should be happy. It would be warm soon. Delta had managed to figure out a truce between the group up north with her help, and would be giving them some of the vegetables to grow soon. All of the kids were safe, the walls were reinforced, and even the walker count had been low. AJ was happy. Violet was happy. But how could she be?
“It’s missing something,”
Clementine turned to Violet with a raised eyebrow. “Next to Aasim’s, Ruby’s, and Omar’s, ours is probably perfect. What could we possibly be missing?”
Violet rubbed her chin in thought, before grinning and turning to Clementine, pulling off her scarf and draping it over the shoulders of the snowman. Next, her hands grabbed at the winter hat she had convinced Clementine to wear instead of her baseball cap, and carefully placed it over the head of snow. “There.”
“Vi,” Clementine pouted, shoulders sinking as she looked up at her. “Now my neck’s gonna get cold…”
“If you don’t have a scarf, then I guess you’ll just have to share mine,” Violet hummed, Clementine rolling her eyes and grinning as Violet pulled them together.
“-and what about my hair? It’s gonna get all snowy…” She grumbled, Violet pausing and looking at her with one of the most serious looks she could muster.
“...I think you look nice with snowflakes in your hair…” She whispered, Clementine calming down to match her expression. It was then she noticed Violet’s eyes ghost to her lips, not wasting another thought before connecting their lips once more.
Unlike their last kiss more than a few minutes before, this one was slow. Both had been expecting it, which meant they were both met with calm lips kissing back. It went on longer, and could have kept up, if it weren’t for a screech from the other side of the yard.
“Aasim! Hide me!”
“Dude, get the fuck off!” Aasim scoffed, pushing Louis off his back and causing him to fall to the floor. Willy, Tenn, and AJ then ran over, smashing balls of snow into Louis’ face and making somewhat of a dogpile.
“I’m sorry I smashed your snowman, don’t smush me!” Louis pleaded, getting more growls of laughter.
“Admit it! You were mad our snowmen was better!”
“Snowman,” Aasim corrected, sighing and going back to writing in his journal.
“It wasn’t!” Louis defended, only to groan once more as they presumably applied more pressure to his chest.
Clementine huffed turning back to Violet and shaking her head. “They’re insane…”
“Maybe…” Violet trailed off, looping her arms around her. “Clementine?”
“Hmm?” Clementine turned back again at the tone of voice, furrowing her eyebrows.
“I love you,” Violet calmy whispered, Clementine immediately grinning.
“I love you too.”
Louis then groaned in pain again, the three younger boys laughing, causing Clementine to roll her eyes and start walking over. “We should probably go make sure they don’t kill him,”
Violet laughed, starting to walk with her, before widening her eyes and running back to their spot. “Wait, c’mere!”
Clementine furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity, slowly walking back over to the snowman, only to see Violet’s right hand without a glove. “Gimme your hand,” she instructed, Clementine handing it over, watching with curious eyes as Violet took off her glove as well.
Her eyes followed her hand as Violet made her fingers close and leave out her pointer, moving her finger up to the chest of the snowman. Violet moved her finger to carve in another half of a heart, the other half that Clementine now realized she had carved into it.
“See?” She asked excitedly, giving Clementine her glove back and putting her own on.
Clementine grinned at the heart, looking to Violet with happy eyes, only to once more be interrupted by the screaming of children.
“RaaAAAGHHH! Don’t sit on me, fools!” “LOUIS, DON’T BODY SLAM WILLY,” “LOUIS WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YA’ DOIN!”
“We should go make sure he doesn’t kill them,”
Violet narrowed her eyes at Clementine, nodding. “Uhh, yeah,”
Clementine frowned, looking at the snow. The sun was out now. It was definitely getting warmer, and no matter how much she told herself to be happy, she couldn’t, and she knew exactly why. Her tired eyes traveled over her shoulder to the sound of laughs. That was why she wasn’t happy.On the stairs, Violet and Minerva were sat, tangled in one another and laughing. Her eyes traveled to their hands, interlaced and ungloved. Not red from the cold due to the shared warmth. Their eyes were dreamy, squinted with happiness, before their heads moved forwards, lips touching and pressing warm kisses against each other.That’s why she wasn’t happy.
“Clementine, I’m sorry,”
Clementine shook her head, frowning as her lip quivered. “You said you loved me…”
Violet frowned. “I do! Or, I did,” She huffed, eyes breaking contact and instead looking to the floor. “But then Minnie came back, and…” She trailed off again.
Clementine was at least thankful for one thing. Violet was looking at the floor. That meant she couldn’t see the tears falling from her eyes, or her heart shattering into a million pieces.
“I’m…” Violet looked up briefly, not catching her face as she turned to walk out the door. “I’m sorry, Clementine…”
Clementine shifted her gaze from the two of them, to the pile of snow in front of her. Her legs were soaked with the water of melted snow, and she couldn’t bring herself to care less. In front of her, laid her scarf, and old winter hat. A few sticks, and some pebbles. The snow was disgusting and gray; the once tall and gorgeous snowman now a heap of melted snow. The heart was long gone, melted off from the rays of sun and warm weather. “Clementine,”She didn’t bother looking up. She didn’t know why he was here, and she couldn’t bring herself to care about that either. Her eyes looked over the heap of snow, lips trembling as tears spilled from her eyes.James paid no mind to her lack of acknowledgement, instead looking up to the stairs. “I spoke with Lilly. She will bring you crops soon.” He informed, speaking in his usual quiet tone as he watched the scene on the stairs. “She told me to tell you something, since you didn’t stop by last week,”The air hung quiet, AJ and Tenn giggling as well in the background as Willy and Louis joined them in some game. Ruby was looking over Aasim’s journal. Omar was back at work. Minerva and Violet were kissing.“Merry Christmas, Clementine.”