Home (Clementine x Female Reader)

Chapter 31 ; Dreams, Nightmares, And Trains

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Younger Clementine sits in an open door of a train, her feet dangling off the edge as she watches the trees rush past her, the rumble of the train pushing forward is almost... comforting. Loud footsteps thud before they stop next to her.

"Hey, sweet pea."

"Lee?" she says curiously, her gaze snapping toward him.

He sits down next to her, letting his feet hang off the edge too. The glow of the sun falls onto him as he sits down, and he turns to her and smiles softly. It'd been so long since she'd seen him, lately, all she had was nightmares about the ranch, but this was refreshing.

"Why the train? You always pick the train," he asks curiously, his voice deep and soothing.

She shrugs and looks down. "I'm not sure. Maybe because this is where it all started. Where you taught me to shoot and cut my hair. To be ready for what was coming."

"You were a quick study," he says softly. "So, what's on your mind this time?"

She adjusts her hat comfortingly like Y/n does. "I'm worried, Lee. I've got a lot of people depending on me, and I don't know if what I'm doing is right."

He sighs. "Oh, I know that feeling. You know I was making it all up as I went along, right? I couldn't let on, of course. With you being so little."

"I never noticed. It just felt like you always knew the right thing to do," Clementine says in slight wonder and awe.

"Yeah? Well I got lucky," he chuckles out. "Luck counts for a lot."

She looks at the trees rushing past in a blur almost. "I'm gonna need some now."

"You wanna tell me about what you're up against?" he asks.

"I'm with a new group now. And I've been in... so many, and they always fall apart, but I really like this one. It's... different." she sighs, "It almost feels like home."

He smiles, "That's a good thing, it's hard being alone out there."

"But we're in trouble. Some bad people captured my friends, and getting them back might get the rest of us killed."

Lee looks down in thought before smiling. "I'm not worried."

"What?"

"Whatever trouble you're in, you'll get out of it. You'll get your friends out of it."

"You don't know that," she whimpers out, feeling the rush of worry coming back to her.

"I know you're a survivor. The Clementine I know is gonna fix it. I really believe that," he says softly, his eyes seeming to twinkle in the sunlight.

"Yeah, I made it this far, didn't I?" she asks herself, and they both smile at each other.

"You sure did. When a lot of other people couldn't. Never give in, Clem," he says. "Imagine what Louis is gonna say when he sees your face. Those boys are gonna have hope again, knowing you came to rescue them."

She sighs worriedly and screws her eyes shut, shaking her head as she thinks about it all.

"Ah, sweet pea. You know you always get like this before something big," he says with a shake of his head as he stares out at the view passing them by. "Remember how scared you were before you charged into that mess at McCarroll Ranch? You survived that, didn't you?"

"That was different. I was alone," she mutters sadly.

"I know," he sighs out. "It's harder when you have something to lose. But having people you care about, that's a good thing. Friends. A girl who loves you. They're fighting beside you, because of you both."