Walking Dead Game Collection

"Sweet Memories"

Title: Sweet Memories
Characters: Clementine, AJ, Louis, Marlon
Summary: Without knowing AJ and Clem's history with Kenny, Louis challenges AJ to a shadow puppet making competition one night to help AJ sleep. Clem finds them laughing hysterically together and, without them noticing, looks at both of them lovingly - the same way she did when she found AJ watching Louis play the piano. After AJ falls asleep and Louis tucks him in, he gets up from the floor and spots Clementine. All she can do is blink back happy tears.
Author's Note: I'm so happy with this one yay!!!
Requested By: Anonymous
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When Clementine heard happy, giddy laughter from the base of the watchtower, she felt an odd wave of calm pass over her.

Clementine was on look out duty that night and, like most of the times when Clem was on the graveyard shift, AJ didn't want to sleep. "If you get to stay up, I want to stay up too." He'd always say, even though Clementine hated that excuse.

The night previous, Louis had been working the graveyard shift. Thanks to that, he'd slept all through the morning and now, as midnight rolled around, couldn't imagine going back to bed. "No worries, Clem." He'd said. "I'll watch AJ." 

Clem had raised a brow. She didn't exactly know how well Louis would be as a babysitter, but really, she didn't have a lot of other options. So, eventually, she gave in.

After half an hour of her shift had passed with nothing warranting any need for panic, she heard the familiar sweet, gentle giggle flutter up to her position from the ground below. Peering over the ledge, Clementine's eyes widened. While initially she'd been worried about what exactly 'babysitter Louis' would mean, an aerial shot of their camp had her fairly impressed.

Louis had set up a white sheet on a cluster of boxes, draping it over them and creating a make-shift wall. He'd set it up in front of one of Ericson's picnic benches, followed by snapping on one of their few flashlights and shining it at the sheet.

"Now this is gonna be fun." Clem heard him say.

AJ was giggling excitedly, folding his hands into each other, beaming at the soon-to-be screen before him. "How do you do it? How does it work?"

"Like this," Louis said. Gracefully, Clem watched as Louis contorted his fingers in front of the flashlight. First, he held up a peace sign, showing the level of magnification. Then, he made a simple talking mouth.

AJ burst into another fit of giggles, and another wave of calm and joy fell over Clem's shoulders. He was having fun, even if he was getting no sleep. To that, Clem didn't care much. How long had it been since she'd heard a genuine laugh from the boy? A laugh of unadulterated joy? It was so rare those days to have such gleeful fun. He could take losing sleep to live through the moment.

And she could risk not watching the quiet forest for a few more minutes to bask in his joy.

"Here, you can make animals too."

AJ's eyes lit up like stars. "What? How?"

Cheekily, grinning from ear to ear at how well he was entertaining the child, Louis took a moment to get his fingers into the proper position, then slipped his hand in front of the flashlight. There before them was a somewhat distorted, and only slightly sloppy, shadow of a rooster.

AJ giggled, amazed at how Louis could contort his hands in such a way.

From up above, Clementine rested her cheek in one of her palms, smiling, feeling a warmth settle in her cheeks.