Dating someone was a completely alien experience to Clementine.
She had done all sorts of insane things before this; swinging from the rotor of a crashed helicopter suspended fifty feet in the air, run through gunfire to protect AJ when he was a newborn. But starting a relationship somehow felt like the most unbelievable thing that she could have done.
How the hell did people act on dates? What even was there to do on a military base?
Thankfully, Minnie took initiative. Before dinner one night, the redhead had taken her by the hand across the base.
"They're not gonna come after us for not being at dinner, are they?" Clem asked.
"Nope. I got an exemption form from Lilly, I told her we needed time to work the case."
Minnie led her to a small set of barracks. She knocked on the door and a boy slightly older than Clem opened the door.
Upon seeing Minnie, he let them both in.
"What are we doing here?" Clem asked, looking around confusedly.
"Have you ever wanted a tattoo?" Minnie smiled.
"I guess? I never thought about it."
"Charlie is an amazing artist. I've been waiting for ages to get mine done, and he's finally got enough material together to ink us both if you want."
"Sounds awesome, let's do it." Clem grinned.
Charlie got out a toolbox full of needles and jars of ink. While he boiled water to sterilise the needle, Minnie and Clem sat facing each other on chairs.
"What do you wanna get?" The redhead asked.
"I don't know. I kind of want it to have some meaning, that would be good for a first tattoo."
"Yeah, absolutely."
Clem racked her brain trying to think of something good to get tattooed onto her.
Suddenly it hit her, it was so obvious.
Charlie placed a tray with his equipment on the table.
"Know what you want?" He asked, looking at Clem.
She nodded and took a seat opposite him as he dipped the needle in ink.
***
Clementine stared at the back of her hand. It still felt tender, almost like sunburn.
She lightly ran her finger over the letters on the webbing between her thumb and index finger.
For almost her whole life, AJ was her number one priority. Everything she had went into keeping him safe, teaching him how to survive.
The tattoo was simple, just AJ's name, but Clem couldn't be happier with it.
"Ow, shit." Minnie winced over at the table.
Charlie held her arm while he dipped the needle into ink, then pierced her skin with it.
"Hold still, I'm nearly finished." Charlie muttered in deep concentration.
Charlie had exaggerated how close to being done he was. After nearly twenty minutes, he finally put his needle down and leaned back in his chair.
"Can I see?" Clem asked, getting to her feet.
"Sure, check it out."
Minnie extended her right arm and showed Clem her tattoo.
Clem knew why it had taken so long now. On the inside of Minnie's wrist was an image of a serpent, curled into a figure-eight and biting its own tail.
"That's pretty cool."
"Thanks, I read that it's supposed to symbolise rebirth and new life. What about yours?"
Clem held up her hand for the redhead to see. A smile grew on her face when she read it.
"That's really cute. You're one dedicated big sister."
"I try." Clem laughed, "so, anything else planned for us?"
"Maybe." Minnie teased.
***
Minnie brought Clem to her apartment. She grabbed a heavy looking backpack before they continued on their way.
They took the stairs to the top floor and continued down the corridor. There was a doorway on the left that was unlocked and opened out into a stairwell.
"Woah..." Clem breathed.
Standing there on the roof, she almost had to catch herself so that she didn't absentmindedly walk off it.
The view from the top of the building was unbelievable.
The glow of the setting sun was reflected in the vast river, turning it into a golden line dividing the horizon. Light shafts pierced through the forest that bordered the river and the Delta. Even the military base itself had an ethereal quality to it from up high. People seemed like ants, wandering around going about their business with no regard for the larger world around them.
"It's something, huh?" Minnie smiled, leaning against the brick shelter that the staircase door was housed in.
"It's beautiful."
The redhead walked over and swung the backpack off her shoulder, unzipping it.
She removed the contents and placed them neatly on the ground.
Wrapped parcels of butcher's paper tied with string, fresh apples, carrots, tomatoes, a very lumpy cheese a bread roll and half a jar of clear liquid.
While Minnie sat down and unwrapped the parcels, which contained cured meat, Clem joined her and immediately gravitated to the jar.
She unscrewed the lid and caught a whiff of the contents. It burned her nostrils and smelled acrid.
"What's up with this?" She asked, putting it back down.
"I might have traded a few things to get a jar of that stuff. The guy I got it off found a bunch of it at an enemy settlement and snuck some back. We're not technically allowed to drink here, but fuck it. Special occasion right?" Minnie explained.
She took out her boot knife, cut a slice of meat and handed it to Clem.
It was delicious. Salty and tough, like jerky, but the best thing she'd tasted in years.
Her face must have given away how much she was enjoying it, because Minnie began giggling.
The redhead tore off a piece of bread and popped it into her mouth along with some of the lumpy white cheese.
"This is pretty gourmet stuff." Clem remarked, savouring another morsel of meat.
"Yeah, I had to do a bunch of trading. But it was all worth it, this is like the only semi-formal date I've been on, so I had to make it fancy."
"Well considering this is the only date I've been on period, you've set the bar pretty high for the future."
Minnie shot Clem a smile and tucked her hair behind her ear as she reached for more food.
They made a sizeable dent in the feast. Clem was crunching into an apple when Minnie picked up the jar.
"How about a toast?" Minnie asked, holding it out.
Clem smirked at the theatrics. She was loving every second of it.
"What'll we drink to?"
The redhead thought for a moment before tilting her wrist towards herself. She looked at her tattoo before deciding.
"How about to new beginnings?"
"I'll drink to that."
Minnie raised the jar up before bringing it to her lips and taking a swig. She coughed and sputtered, handing the jar over to Clementine.
"To new beginnings, and to my awesome girlfriend who's made this the best first date ever." The brunette winked before downing a mouthful of the clear liquid.
It burned on the way down her throat and warmed her chest. After she was done coughing, she put the jar back down.
Minnie shuffled closer and placed a hand on Clem's cheek before kissing her.
"Awesome girlfriend, huh?" She teased when she broke the kiss.
"Shut up." Clem giggled, touching her forehead against Minnie's.
"No, no, I'll take it. I like the sound of that."
Minnie wrapped her arms around Clem, who sat in front of her, eating more food from the pile.
The sun was almost fully set when Minnie stood up.
"I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go get something."
When she returned, she was carrying a blanket and an acoustic guitar.
The body was covered in scratches and barely any of the original finish was unscathed, leaving a lot of raw wood exposed.
The initials 'M.L' were carved onto the front.
"You gonna play me something?" Clem asked, taking the blanked and draping it over her shoulders.
"Nah, thought I'd lug this up the stairs for show." Minnie smirked.
The redhead crossed her legs and sat opposite Clem. As the sun began to dip below the tree line, she began playing a tune Clem recognised, but couldn't name.
After strumming for a while, Minnie cleared her throat and began to sing.
"Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow
Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on...
For it won't be long
Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on."
Minnie's fingers danced along the fretboard and the somber tune rang out into the open night air.
Spotlights and electric lamps came on all over the base, periodically illuminating the area below them.
Clem stared at Minnie, smiling softly.
Now she remembered the song. It was one of her dad's favourites. He would listen to it in the car all the time.
She drew the blanket around herself, blocking out the cold night air, and watched Minnie intently while she played.
***
The fabric that formed the makeshift curtain flapped in the breeze. The window must have been left open, but neither Clem nor Minnie felt much like getting out of bed to close it.
"How'd you get these?" Clem whispered, tracing her finger gently around the scars on Minnie's shoulder blade.
"A grenade. Someone threw it and it landed behind me. I ran and dropped onto my stomach, but a bunch of the shrapnel caught me. There's still a few pieces in there actually." Minnie replied flippantly.
"You sound so... chill about the whole thing." Clem said, puzzled.
Minnie gave a little shrug.
"I mean, it happened ages ago. Plus, if I let shit like that get to me, I'd be a wreck all the time."
"Fair enough."
"Okay, your turn." Minnie smiled, rolling over to face Clem.
She reached out and gently cupped the right side of Clem's face with her hand.
"How did this happen?" She asked, running her thumb over the long scar on Clem's cheekbone.
"I lived in this community for a little while, Wellington. Life was pretty good there, but then another group showed up demanding supplies or some shit. When they broke down the gates, I took AJ and ran. One of them saw and shot at us, the bullet just grazed me though."
Minnie shuffled a little closer and softly kissed the scar. She draped her arms around Clem's shoulders.
"I think it makes you look badass." She whispered playfully.
Clem blushed, prompting a giggle out of Minnie.
She lay there for a while, gazing lovestruck at her girlfriend.
The brunette's gaze fell on the scar on Minnie's bicep. There was a jagged groove carved along the outside of her arm.
She reached out and touched it.
"What about this? It looks like it hurt."
The redhead let out a sigh and rolled onto her back.
"That one is a long story..."