#Kenny and clementine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yellowsugarwords · 4 months

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“𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝘼 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙡”

「 TWDG: Clementine and Kenny 」

Summary: Reunited with Kenny once again, Clementine can feel like a scared child again, even if for a moment.

Words: 1.4k [ ⏱︎ 9 mins ]

━━━━━━ ₊˚⊹

“Well, you don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

How long had it been? How long since Clementine heard those words? More importantly, how long had it been since she heard those words and knew the person saying them meant it? When it came to Kenny, there was no doubt, but the feeling was still foreign. Wrong, almost.

“Once those guys pack up and leave tomorrow, you can stay with us.”

Clementine snapped back to reality. Her head wobbled as if coming out of a daze, as she looked at Kenny across the table. The cabin crew had only arrived hours ago, and now she was faced with the idea of abandoning them altogether.

Was it worth it? Clementine didn’t know. On one hand, they’d already threatened to kill her, locked her in a shed to die, and constantly reiterated how little they trusted her. The only exception was Luke, and even then, if he was the only one standing on her side, she knew there wasn’t much hope for her to stay.

However, she had gotten them here - to safety within the ski lodge - and she felt hazy about whether she should abandon them when Matthew, Sarita, and Kenny sent them on their way.

“You’re always welcome here, Clementine,” Sarita assured, breaking into the conversation. Occasionally, Clementine would snap back into reality to catch a snippet, but she wasn’t paying attention. How could she? They were discussing change—even more of it. As if she hadn’t had enough of that over the last week.

Everything felt distant and foggy. How could so many options be swirling in front of her? How did she know who she could lean on? Rely on? Trust? If the cabin crew had done what they did to her before, could they do it again? Would they? Had they developed some form of trust, or was it one-sided? Did Clementine even fully trust them yet? How was she to know?

“She’s staying for good.”

Was Kenny trustworthy? Was he stable enough to remain trustworthy? Had anything changed in the years since they’d been separated? Since his life had been ripped away, and he was messily trying to reconstruct the pieces? Was there room in his broken soul for her to return there? Was it too damaged for her to seek refuge in?

“Right, Clem?”

Her name fully brought her back. Why was there so much happening all at once? Why couldn’t they let her catch her breath? Why couldn’t she breathe? Why couldn’t the world stop, for one evening, so she could feel like everything was ‘normal’ - whatever that meant.

Kenny furrowed his brow. He saw that her bottom lip was twitching. “Clem?” He asked, voice gentle. Luke turned, confused as to the sudden tone shift at the table behind him. While intuitive, Luke was nowhere near as keen on reading Clementine as Kenny was. Kenny could analyze Clementine like a book.

Clementine’s eyes, vulnerable and meek, met Kenny’s. His heart dropped. He switched topics, noting the shift in her demeanour. “After dinner, we’ll have to show you around the place. A proper tour.”

Sarita smiled. “I think you’d love to explore one of the storage closets we found. There are so many knick-knacks in there. I’m sure you can find something you’d want to keep.”

As Sarita and Matthew continued to rave about the safety and luxury the lodge provided, Kenny gave Clementine a tender stare. It was like he was silently squeezing her hand through a gaze - a way to tell her, ‘It’s okay’. That he understood, and that she could rely on him.

Kenny kept mostly silent, eyes fluttering between his excited housemates and the little girl who brought life back to his world. Clem’s eyes darted around the room on high alert. He wished he could hold her and convince her it was going to be fine. He wished he could hug her right then and there and assure her she was safe - that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. As of today, she had someone looking out for her best interest. Kenny just wished she could take her burdens off of her shoulders so she could believe it.

As time waned, little by little, the new bundle of housemates stood and wandered away, ready to wash dishes, set up cots, and lay out sleeping bags for the night.

As Luke turned, ready to see how Clementine was holding up, Kenny turned his full focus to the child. Not only to put Luke in his place but to genuinely see what was pestering Clem’s mind.

“Hey darlin’,” he began, “are you okay?”

Clementine’s gaze latched onto the table. She needed to keep it together. At least until she was alone. She could be weak then. She was allowed to be weak then.

“Clem?” He frowned. “You can talk to me, Clem. About anything.”

She finally glanced up, and his worried, wide eyes broke the last piece of wounded rope that was holding her together; the notion that she was all alone and had to be strong.

Her tears welled and Kenny leapt from his seat, moving to her side of the table. He placed both hands on her shoulders to guide her and helped her to her feet. “Come on,” he hushed.

Luke watched in dismay as the little girl - one he had grown protective over - was escorted away. Her head hung low, her shoulders sagged, and her hat cast shadows over her pained gaze.

Kenny had a firm hand on her shoulder, keeping her close as he pulled her away from the main room. They turned a corner, approaching a nearby storage room for privacy, when Clementine finally broke down.

Clementine sobbed, heaving as her breaths became laboured. She felt as though her lungs were collapsing, her world was spinning and crumbling, and there she was, frozen in time, helpless to stop it.

Kenny knelt to her level, speaking softly to not upset her further. “Darlin’, what’s wrong?”

“Kenny,” Clementine managed to whimper out, head low, too ashamed to make eye contact. “I’m so sorry, I’m trying to be strong. But,” she sobbed. “I’m so scared.”

Kenny felt a knife to the gut. Did he want her to be strong? Of course, but to survive. In front of him, right now, wasn’t a girl that was surviving; she was a girl who was broken.

“Clem—”

“It’s been so long since I’ve been somewhere safe,” she said softly, her voice desperate and pleading. “I’ve been all alone and on the run. I can’t make it alone—” Clementine couldn’t catch her breath. Every attempt to inhale caused her to choke, her throat closing in.

“Hey, hey,” Kenny placed a hand on either arm, holding her steady and secure. He didn’t want her crumbling to the floor. He needed to show her that he was there. That he was willing to hold her up. “It’s okay now, Clem. You’re safe here.”

“How do you know that?” She asked in a desperate, pleading whisper. Clementine already knew the answer. “What if something happens to you? Or to me?”

Kenny lifted a hand to the side of her face, brushing away a tear with one of his worn, rough thumbs. “I won’t let anything happen to you, darlin’.”

“What if I get locked in a shed again?”

Kenny’s jaw clenched. His stomach curled. “What?” It sounded like a statement rather than a question he was directing toward her.

The group that they had brought into the safety of their care had done what to his little girl? How fucking dare they.

“They thought I was bitten.” She whispered, voice shaking. While she was still afraid of what the future would hold, she didn’t want Kenny to utterly hate the cabin crew. They weren’t terrible people, just looking out for their own - just like Kenny always had.

Kenny could’ve killed them. He could’ve locked them outside and forbade them from being let back in - kick them and send them on their merry way - but, seeing Clementine’s lip wobble and her lower in disappointment, he knew he had bigger priorities.

“Hey,” Kenny hushed, bringing her in for a tight hold. He could feel her fingers cool around the fabric of his jacket, clinging, desperate for him to not let her go.

He placed one hand on the back of her head, keeping her sight hidden from the world, and the other hand wrapped around her back. He needed her to stay close. He needed to hold her together for just a moment. “You’re okay, darlin’. Nothing like that is ever going to happen again.”

As he held her, stroking the back of her head and trying to calm her breathing, he could hear a creak in the floorboards.

It was Luke. He poked his head around the corner, frowning at the sight before him. Kenny wanted nothing more than to glare - to shoot daggers given what his group put his Clementine through - but he couldn’t bring himself to. Instead, he frowned, giving a solemn nod that he was taking care of it.

Luke gave a meek nod back, only briefly looking at Kenny before landing on the shattered girl in his arms.

Kenny held her a bit tighter, leaning his cheek on the top of her head. “I got you, darlin’. I’ll take care of you.”

Feeling her hands cling to his jacket and her head buried into his shoulder, for the first time in a long time, Kenny felt needed. Because he was.

Everything he did now, he did for Clementine. He would always do it for Clementine.

Until the very end, she would always be his reason.

━━━━━━

𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜!! ₊˚⊹ 𝐭𝐢𝐩 𝐣𝐚𝐫 ♡ 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐬 𝐢 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫