gross, good luck.
( original episode )
"lake?"
it had been years since the two had last seen each other. separating before the start of everything, the duo thought the other had been dead.
the couple had problems for the last few weeks of their relationship. they were rarely together, and if they were, it was spent arguing. they had agreed on shared custody when they first realized things were going downhill, and layna was lucky enough for her day with kaia to be the day the apocalypse had started.
"oh my god," he whispered in response, shock shown on his face and hands shaking slightly, he rushed towards layna, "layna!"
their bodies crashed together as layna practically lept towards the man, wrapping her arms around his neck as he spun them slightly. she rested her feet back on the floor and they stood in each other's arms rocking side to side.
simultaneously, the two separated, but kept their hands on each other. layna hands moved from his neck to hold his face looking at him with shock. "is this real? are you real?"
she started pinching him, making him laugh and moving to hold her hands in his larger ones to stop the pinching, "i think so, do you think so?"
"oh, i know so, just shocked." she smiled, looking into the eyes she has adored for years. he smiled back at her with soft eyes before glancing down at her lips, and she did the same. they both leaned in and met in the middle. layna was shocked to feel his soft lips against her own, and she had no doubt hers felt the opposite. she was lucky to even smell good lately.
as they pulled apart to catch their breath, they tilted their foreheads forward to rest against each other, breathing each other in. "how do you keep your lips so soft?"
"mud."
she smiled, she hadn't realized how much she missed the man in front of her. his humor, his kindness, his touch, his everything. she hadn't realized just how much of her heart had been given to him, she felt whole again.
the two could've stood there for hours in each other's arms if it wasn't for a small, soft voice from behind them gaining their attention, "daddy?"
layna turned her head to look behind her as lake shifted his eyes behind her shoulder, and his breath hitched as he widened his eye for what seemed to be the hundredth time that time. he didn't know what he expected to see when he shifted his eyes to the small voice he heard, but something in him knew. he'd remember that voice until the day he died—his little kaia.
he looked back to layna and rested his hand on her cheek as she nodded to him with a smile, and he quickly made his way to his little girl. the little girl he thought had died years ago, taking a part of him with her.
as kaia ran towards him with her arms stretched out and tears begging to fall from her eyes, she fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her firmly, placing his head into her neck as she did the same. he took a deep breath as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
he had gone a long way since that day years ago. it took him years to accept their deaths, yet here they are, holding him back just as hard as he is. minutes had passed that felt like seconds, and the feeling of a soft hand on his back brought him back to reality. he realized the shaking and sniffles he had felt and heard from kaia and stopped and layna was now crouched next to them, rubbing his back.
he pulled back from kaia but kept her at arm's length, looking at her. "you've grown so much my sweet kaia, you're so big now."
"yeah! i'm a big girl now, daddy!" she grinned, the dimples he had always treasured showing.
he raised an eyebrow playfully at the girl, "oh really? a big girl?"
"mhm!"
"hm... so i guess... i can't do this anymore?" suddenly he shifted her body around so her head laid down in his lap. he moved his head down to kiss all around her face and his hands shifted and tickled the skin on her stomach.
even as kaia tried pushing his head and hands away while cackling, he never stopped his movements, the laughter from the young girl and layna beside them only urged him to keep going. having not heard the sound of their laughter for years, he never wanted the moment to end. he missed his girls.
"mommy!" was heard from the child's laughter as she pleaded for her mother, "save me from the monster!"
"sorry baby," she somehow got out in the middle of her giggles, "some battles you have to win by yourself."
eventually, the tickling came to an end and lake moved his head up to watch the little giggles the girl in his lap let out as she was starting to calm down with soft eyes, glancing over to the woman beside him for a split second, he saw she was doing the same.
looking up, he noticed layna's best friend, rosita, had been watching the family reunite with soft eyes. the rest of the group had drifted off to do their own things, giving the small family time to themselves. "hey roro"
"hey lay." she smiled.
"hey, kai," layna spoke up, gaining the attention of both kaia and lake, "do you want to go sit with everyone else over there? we can meet daddy's friends?"
the girl flew up, always eager to meet new people, "yes, yes, yes, yes! come on daddy, we have people to meet!"
"baby i already know them, and there's only three people, max, you're exaggerating just a bit."
"shhh, people to meet."
as kaia dragged lake along to meet his friends, rosita walked to stand beside her friend as she was softly smiling at her family. "hey."
layna shifted her eyes to the right to look at her friend, the smile never leaving her face, "hi."
"how are you feeling?"
the blonde sighed, smile now gone, but the fondness never left her eyes. "happy. so very happy. i really thought he..."
"i know. me too."
layna shifted her eyes back over to her daughter as she was speaking animatedly to maggie. the young girl was always great at meeting new people, a trait she most definitely gained from lake. layna was never the best at making friends or even talking to people. she was happy with the small groups she always seemed to have.
"you wanna go join them?"
"no." rosita shook her head, making layna turn and look into her eyes with confusion, "spend time with lake and kaia, i'll go sit with abe and eugene."
layna made a face and started walking towards her boyfriend and daughter, "gross, good luck."
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"and then, abraham couldn't beat the walker, so mommy got up with her knife and threw it! and she saved uncle abe! and- and there was this other time-" as kaia was talking maggie and lake's ears off, layna sat next to them with her head on lake's shoulder, looking fondly at her daughter telling their stories.
as kaia was talking, maggie looked over to the blonde sitting near her and spoke, "hi, i'm maggie. i never got the chance to introduce myself."
layna looked over to see the woman looking at her with a hand stretched out, which she grasped with her own and shook, "layna. i've heard a lot about you."
maggie laughed and shook her head, "so i've been told. i just wanted to introduce myself and thank you for helping glenn, i appreciate it."
"oh trust me, i did nothing. the man practically dragged us by our ears trying to find you. you got a good one," she smiled, looking at the korean man beside the brunette. maggie smiled back at her before she moved her eyes back to the little girl sitting next to her, still speaking as if maggie had never stopped listening.
as maggie tuned back into whatever story kaia had moved onto, layna looked up to lake. she was still in disbelief that he was here with her, not out there walking around dead. he was truly here, sitting next to her with his head leaning on hers. it hadn't fully clicked yet that he was really here with her, and he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
"you're really pretty you know that?"
"hm?" he mumbled, looking down at her.
"i said you're really pretty. always have been."
a small smile started growing on his face as he looked into her eyes, "i've missed you."
"mmm, i've missed you more," she mumbled starting to get distracted by the look in his eyes.
"impossible."
"daddy!" they were interrupted, and they looked down at the sassy ten-year-old looking up to her father, tilting her head, she continued, "why are you not listening?"
"is it a crime to talk to your mother for a few minutes?" he asked, just as sassy.
"umm, yes?" she stated as if it was obvious, "when you're talking to me it is."
the small group had laughed at the girl as she smiled up innocently at her father, and continued her story as if nothing had happened. layna shook her head with a scoff, though the smile on her face showed her true emotions. she could never be mad at her daughter, she was too funny. and bossy.
layna leaned her face up and stole a kiss from lake before kaia could notice, and settled down with her head back on his shoulder, focusing on kaia's stories she had heard hundreds of times.
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a/n
um so i was gone a lot longer than i thought i was, i am very sorry about that lmao
originally i wasn't going to introduce lake so early, but i got excited and decided this was a perfect chance to write him in alsdhgjdg
anyways here's a cute little family reunion chapter. i already love them so much
idk if this chapter is any good so i'm sorry, but i hope you liked it :)