Summary: During an intense thunder storm, Louis comes up with a plan to ease the nerves of both Clementine and AJ. Requested by Anon on Tumblr💛 (edit: I changed the title because I felt it didn't fit)
Word Count: 1,727 words
Genre: Fluff
A/N: I ended up really liking how this turned out. I hope you guys enjoy it, too!
Louis and Clementine were laying together on the bed that was definitely too small to fit both of them. Despite that, they found a position that worked, with Clem's torso pressed against his while her legs were set off to the side. She placed her chin atop her hands folded on his chest, staring up at the boy fondly, though her eyes were lulling closed.
Still, through the slits, she could admire just how beautiful he was. Louis had her enchanted, what with his dark brown freckles sprinkled across his face and how his short eyelashes hit his cheekbones everytime he blinked. He truly was a work of art, like the Renaissance paintings she saw on a field trip to a museum when she was a kid. He'd be a great model for those artists, Clementine bet.
As she was moving a hand up to graze his jaw, a loud boom of thunder shook the room, suddenly alerting her eyes open quick enough to see light fill the room due to the lightning. A flood of raindrops could be heard crashing into the ground, some fresh from the clouds and some erupting out of the dilapidated gutters. Clementine shivered in sync with another boom, and pulled the thin knitted blanket closer to her collarbones.
Louis' grip instinctively tightened around the girl's slim waist at the surprising noises. Once he calmed down and realized that she was okay and still with him, his hands released, allowing his slender fingers to travel up and down her ribcage. He exhaled, lowering his chin to reach Clem's hairline to give a tender kiss.
"Did the thunder wake you up?" She questioned, now resting her cheek against his chest.
"I was never really asleep anyway," he shrugged. "I could feel your staring."
Clementine grew red and squeezed her eyes closed. "That's embarrassing."
His deep chuckles vibrated in his lungs. "No, it's cute. You're cute."
That definitely didn't help her blush, only increasing the fuzziness in her sight. She groaned in annoyance. "Stop."
Louis continued smirking at the girl's actions. Then, sliding a hand up to cup her head, he lifted it, making her pretty face visible. The smirk morphed into a grin, the same one he allegedly smiled everytime he saw her.
Clementine's eyes stayed closed for a brief moment before she opened them, brown specks drowning in a sea of amber. They closed again as another crack of lightning shot through the room. The bolts were getting too close for her liking.
"Clementine?"
"Yes, Louis?" She whispered, tilting her head to the side.
"You're so beautiful," he sighed. "How did I get so lucky?"
At his words, she brought a cold hand up to her face to timidly hide behind it. Louis smoothly pushed it away, replacing it with his own. He could feel her melt into the touch, her soft skin gliding against it. Slowly and quietly, she began lifting her body up, closer and closer in an attempt to reach his lips—
Knock, knock, knock
Quickly, the couple pulled away, Clementine moving her entire body off of the boy and onto the mattress next to him. Thankfully, they did so quick enough so that AJ didn't see anything they were doing, even if just cuddling and kissing. Clem sat up in worry at the sight of the boy, dressed in some new sleepwear they found in an old house, carrying one of Tenn's toys.
"AJ? Is everything alright?" She questioned frantically, pulling the blanket off and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
He paced over in front of her. "Yeah, I'm okay."
"Then why aren't you asleep? It's late."
The boy's eyebrows furrowed together, probably a habit adopted from Clem. He paused, staying quiet before admitting, "The storm was scaring me. It's just so loud. What if it's a hur-huric-"
"A hurricane?" Louis offered, now sat up next to his girlfriend.
"That!" AJ approved. "I was reading a book about them earlier."
"Trust me, I don't think it's a hurricane. They're usually a lot worse than this." Louis assured, glancing between him and Clem, noticing a little appreciative smile on her face.
AJ shivered at the thought. "I just thought...Can I stay in here tonight? Like I used to?"
"Yeah, of course you can, goofball," Clementine agreed. "Do you wanna sleep in the other bed or with one of us?"
AJ grimaced at the nickname, but didn't reply.
"I have a better idea!" Louis chimed in excitedly. "Let's make a pillow fort."
"What's that?" AJ asked curiously as Clementine shot her head over to look at Louis.
"Is there enough room for that?" She said.
"We'll show you what it is, AJ!" Louis beamed before turning to Clementine. "And of course it'll fit, come on. Let's gather up all of the pillows we can find, then we'll take the sheets off these beds."
The little family got to work in collecting as many pillows as they could find. AJ returned to him and Tenn's room just to snatch his three Louis, being the pillow-hog he is, contributed his seven to the fort, while Clem only had one. Once that was settled, they tore the not-so-white sheets from their mattresses. The two teenagers began tying up the fabric, supporting it up with the bedposts and desk chairs. Placing two thick comforters down that AJ had previously found and dragged into the room, the group of three carefully settled into the cave of comfort.
Louis admired their handywork, his pride only swelling after he saw how excited the child now looked. "Isn't this cool, little man?"
He giggled, looking up at how the sheets rolled and folded, almost as if they were morning clouds. "It's awesome! Did you make these as a kid, Clem?" He asked, peaking over Louis' body at her.
"I did a few times with my old babysitter," she reminisced. "But I don't think any of them were as sturdy as this one."
AJ was about to laugh again, only to be cut off by yet another heart-shaking boom. He yelped and automatically nuzzled further into the blanket and closer to Louis.
Louis obviously didn't mind. AJ was the closest thing he'd ever get to a little brother, maybe closer to a son. It was just another positive to being in a relationship with Clementine, to be such an influental figure in a little boy's life. All that Louis did was hope he'd be a better dad than his own.
He wrapped one arm around AJ's shoulders, the other around Clem's waist, pulling her closer, to which she put her head on his shoulder. Briefly, he gave her a kiss on the forehead, to then begin speaking. "How about we tell some stories to distract ourselves? I'm sure you two have some interesting ones."
"I don't know. Most of our time was spent driving, there wasn't much that was interesting." AJ doubted.
Clem spoke up, making the two boys look over at her. "Then, I'll tell a story. From when I was a kid."
Louis gave her an appreciative smile while AJ stared in anticipation. Soon enough, she began telling the story of when she took a roadtrip to New York City with her parents. She explained that while in Time Square, she actually got lost after strolling off to look at a street preformer. Her parents were looking all day in a frenzy, reporting her missing to the police and such. Eventually, they found her, sitting on a nearby bench, eating the peanut butter and jelly sandwich they had packed her earlier.
After she had finished storytelling, Louis stated, "I don't believe that."
"What? Why not?" She questioned, almost offended.
"I just can't see you causing any trouble as a kid," he explained, smiling widely at the thought of Clem being a troubled youth.
"I barely even did anything! I just wanted to watch the sword-swallower," she replied.
"That's gross," AJ winced. "Why would you swallow a sword?"
"Why would you want to see that?" Louis asked as well.
Clementine rolled her eyes, although she wasn't even annoyed at the two. "I can't believe my boyfriend and my kid are both disregarding my story. I'm hurt."
"Don't worry your pretty, little head about it—we still love you." Louis teased, looking down at the girl, watching her blush for the third time tonight.
He was pulled out of his trance when AJ called out his name.
"Hm?" He turned his head. It was becoming hard for him to focus on both of his favorite people.
"Can you sing us something?" The boy asked gently. "I like your voice."
"Yeah, of course. Thank you, AJ," Louis appreciated before thinking about which song to sing.
After a moment, an option came to mind: Put Your Head on My Shoulder by Paul Anka, which was a little ironic due to how him and Clem were sitting. With it being all he could think of, he began singing softly.
Put your head on my shoulder
Hold me in your arms, baby
Squeeze me oh-so-tight
Show me that you love me too
The soft pattering of water against the glass seemed to be keeping a tempo for Louis. His smooth, jazzy voice bounced off the walls and returned back to their ears. He continued as he felt Clem stir on his shoulder, kissing it as she did.
Put your lips next to mine, dear
Won't you kiss me once, baby?
Just a kiss goodnight, maybe
You and I will fall in love
In reality, it wasn't just a maybe of that happening. Louis knew that he was completely, utterly in love with the girl, and absolutely committed to looking after the boy. Until the day he died, he promised to dedicate his being to those two. After all, they were the best things to ever happen to him.
Soon later, he concluded the song, ending it with a hum. Sighing out, thankful he remembered all the lyrics and didn't mess up, he looked to his left and right. It was charming to see that Clementine and AJ had both fallen asleep against him.
Sinking back against the soft pillows, he closed his chocolate eyes, letting the darkness overcome him. The last thing he discerned before he slipped into sleep was the muted sound of thunder, now seeming much further away.