"I knew I'd find you up here." Violet smiled as she walked out on the bell tower to find her girlfriend staring at the horizon. The sun just barely cresting, bleeding orange into the purples of the night sky. The stars were still visible above their heads, but they wouldn't be for much longer.
"Just wanted to come up one last time before we head out." Clementine inhaled deeply, taking in the crisp morning air. As near as they could figure, today was their one year anniversary. They had been preparing for months, drying meats and stocking up on other useful supplies for the journey.
"Happy anniversary." Violet wrapped her arms around Clementine from behind, nuzzling her face into the brunette's shoulder blades before resting her chin on her shoulder, gazing at the horizon with her.
"Happy anniversary." Clementine smiled, hugging Violet's arms, "It's been a good year." She held up her star bird tattoo and admired it, it was slightly faded but plenty visible, "Are you ready for this, it's not too late to back out..." Clementine angled her head so she could smirk at her wife.
"Me? Back out? Never." Violet kissed her on the cheek, looking at the top of her head, "Wearing the hat again I see." She hadn't seen Clementine wear it in the longest time.
"It's been with me on every adventure since all of this started, I can't leave it behind." Clementine smiled sadly at the thought of everything she and that hat had been through together, "It'll be your first time living on the road, are you nervous?"
"Nervous? It's a month alone with my wife, I'm excited." Violet stepped back, stretching, "We should get going soon."
"Yeah, you're right, let's go." Clementine turned and the two of them left the bell tower together.
Everyone gathered at the gate, hugging goodbye, Clementine and Violet both laden with back packs holding as much as they'd dare to carry.
AJ hugged Clementine around the middle and refused to let go, "Let me come with you Clem. I can help protect you!"
Clementine crouched down to AJ's level, prying his arms away, "AJ, I need you here. I'm trusting you to keep this place safe while we're gone, okay?"
"Okay Clem... but I'll really miss you." AJ whined, hugging her once more, "I love you."
"I love you back." Clementine chuckled, kissing him on the forehead goodbye. With a few final waves they exited the gates and headed toward the main road. Clementine pulled a map out of her back pocket, examining the route she and Violet had planned out.
"We're looking at about two weeks worth of walking to get to Atlanta... Sure would be lucky if we found another car, we could do the trek in hours instead of days..." Clementine sighed, missing the old mustang that her and AJ had lived out of for years.
"That would really be some crazy luck, the kind of luck you only read about in stories written by ridiculous authors that care nothing about the actual realities of living in a post-apocalyptic world." Violet said with a shrug.
~~~~~~~~~~~Hours later
"I can't believe we found a working car on the side of the road filled to the brim with gasoline and several gallons of spare gas tanks in the trunk." Violet shook her head in disbelief at the sheer coincidence of it.
"I know... it's almost too good to be true..." Clementine looked inside the car, unable to believe their luck. The keys were missing, but that wouldn't be a problem, hot wiring a car was one of the first things Kenny had showed her how to do. He was going to show her how to drive a stick... but she had to learn that on her own... she had learned though, and a good thing too, because sure enough, "It's a stick shift, it has a manual transmission..."
"What does that mean?" Violet asked, her knowledge of cars almost non existent.
"It's just a little trickier to drive, but don't worry, I know how to." Clementine opened her back pack and pulled out a pair of pliers that had wire strippers on them. She pulled open the driver's side door and sat down, popping off the front panel with ease, she looked for the appropriate wires.
Violet leaned on the car, watching Clementine work, admiring her knowledge of the world and her ability to survive within it, "Can you teach me?" She asked almost timidly, knowing it would slow them down, but she had always wanted to learn how to drive. Who knew when she'd have another opportunity to try.
Clementine stopped her fiddling for a second to look up at Violet, "Yeah, we'll be able to make it to Atlanta by tomorrow at the latest now. We've got plenty of time." Clementine continued her work, stripping wires and twisting them together, finally touching two metal ends together, the engine struggled only momentarily before awakening with a roar. Both girls grinned, a working car was now in their possession.
Violet pulled out her cleaver, keeping an eye out for Walkers. Clementine stowed her back pack in the backseat of the car, taking Violets and doing the same. She then sat back down in the driver's seat and shut the door, "Let's hit the road." She grinned, leaning out of the open driver's side window, "I'll drive the first bit, so I can watch me for a while and then you can have a turn, okay?"
"Great." Violet agreed as she walked around the car and got in the passenger seat, "Ow." She pouted, rubbing her backside and looking for the offending item, "Sunglasses! Here Clem, these'll make you look even tougher than you already are." Violet slid the sunglasses onto her wife's face, seeing her own reflection in the pair of mirrored aviator glasses, "Perfect, now, say something cool."
Clementine chuckled, tipping the sunglasses down so that she was looking at Violet from over the top, "Let's get a move on little darlin', we're burnin' daylight."
Violet threw her hand to her forehead in a mock swoon, "Carry me off into the sunset!"
"Whatever." Clementine blushed, pushing the glasses back in place, adjusting the driver seat and putting her hands on the wheel. She shifted into first gear and eased out of the garage, slowly picking up speed as they found a long stretch of road. Violet pulled out the map, rerouting their course according to major highways, while attempting to watch as Clementine switched gears and pressed pedals, knowing she'd be having to do the same thing soon.
Soon came quicker than Violet anticipated. They stopped for a lunch break around midday, stretching their legs, refilling the tank and checking the area for supplies before they got back in. This time Violet was in the driver's seat.
"Okay... so... I put my feet... here?" Violet asked, worried she was going to do it wrong and disappoint Clementine.
"Almost." Clementine smiled cheerily, patting Violet's knee, she pointed out the pedals, "Your right foot controls the gas and the brake, your left controls the clutch." When Violet looked at her with fear in her eyes, Clementine elaborated with a chuckle, pointing out the pedals, "Relax Vi, it's okay. The gas makes the car go, the brake makes it stop and the clutch helps you switch gears, this one you have to push really hard."
Violet took a deep breath and nodded as Clementine used the wires to start the car again, "You're probably going to stall the car, it's okay, I did it a lot when I was learning." Clementine smiled at her encouragingly, "Now... it's fairly simple, to get it out of neutral you need to press on the clutch and shift it into first gear, with this lever here. Then give it a little gas and when the engine starts to rev and the car lifts upwards, slowly take your foot off the clutch. It's like a seesaw motion where you give pressure on the gas and take pressure off the clutch."
Violet stared at her with wide eyes, swallowing hard, "You call that simple?"
Clementine laughed lightly and explained again, taking it slower this time. Violet focused on what she was told and attempted to replicate the actions, starting by putting her hand on the gear stick. She used her left foot to hold down the clutch, then added a small amount of gas to the car, heading down the long straight highway, waiting for the engine to rev loudly. She attempted to switch gears, neglecting to give it enough gas, the car groaned and chugged to a stop, the engine went silent.
"Son of a-" Violet yelled, smacking her palms into the steering wheel in anger, filling the now silent air with angry swears that had Clementine laughing.
Once calm, Clementine wiped a tear from her eye and spoke, "That wasn't bad. We've got all day Vi, we're in no hurry. We planned two weeks for the trip down there, but with the car we'll be there by tomorrow, even with you driving. Let's have fun okay? You'll get the hang of it, I promise." Clementine leaned over, kissing Violet on the cheek, the blonde sighed but nodded.
"Alright... let's try it again..." Violet said, only somewhat despondent. Clementine kissed her again as she started the engine back up.
"You've got this Vi." Clementine leaned back in her seat, putting her seat belt on as Violet watched.
"Yes, putting the seat belt on really fills be with confidence..." Violet rolled her eyes.
~~~~~~~~
"That's it!" Violet threw her hands in the air after the car stalled for the umpteenth time, "We've been at this forever and we've hardly gotten anywhere!" Violet slammed her head into the steering wheel, a little harder than Clementine was comfortable with.
"Vi, no, stop." Clementine pushed Violet back into the seat, examining her head, a red mark already visible. She rested her hands on Violet's shoulders, massaging them as she looked into her eyes, "Let's take a break okay? We found a car, that makes this a road trip and road trips are supposed to be fun."
"I'm sorry, I'm just making stupid mistakes now because it's stressing me out!" Violet growled.
"Relax Vi, we don't have to hurry. We can really enjoy our time together now that we found the car." Clementine continued to knead at the tension in Violet's shoulders as she spoke, "This could be like a-like a family vacation."
Violet's eyelids relaxed at Clementine's touch, drooping partially closed, she smiled at the term 'family'. "We are family now huh? I've never really thought about it in that way.... I like it."
"Me too." Clementine grinned, her eyes wandering over her stressed out wife. She could almost imagine there weren't walkers roaming around the woods outside their car. That they were just a married couple, going on an anniversary vacation, almost. Clementine turned her gaze to outside of the window, scanning all the way around for walkers and people alike. When she found the roadway deserted, she looked back to her wife, "It's almost dark, we can finish the drive and you can practice more tomorrow. For now we should find somewhere hidden to park the car and then maybe I can help you relax?"
"You're helping me now Clem." Violet admitted, her shoulders already feeling less tense under Clementine's firm but gentle pressure, not quite understanding what the brunette was insinuating. Clementine rolled her eyes, leaning over the center console, she connected their lips in an intense but short kiss.
Clementine drew back, smirking at Violet's red cheeks, "Is there room for that in here?" Violet questioned in a whisper, as if worried they'd be overheard. She looked around the small space of the car, trying to imagine the logistics of such an act. Wordlessly Clementine leaned over the blonde's lap, Violet's breath caught, unsure of what she was doing when a lever on the side of the seat was pulled. Violet gasped as her seat reclined backwards at a fast speed, jerking to a stop when it was almost laid down flat.
"Will that do?" Clementine asked with a wink.
"Y-yeah." Violet stuttered from her reclined position.
The two switched spots, Clementine found a garage off the highway where they were able to park the car and close it up for the night. After clearing out a few walkers and checking the surrounding area, they deemed it safe. The girls returned to the security of the car to have a quiet meal and to celebrate their anniversary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're doing great!" Clementine cheered from the passenger seat, looking from the map to the road ahead of them. They had set out early that morning. Clementine drove for a while before letting Violet have another go at it. She was more relaxed, and after the crash course the day before, she got the hang of it fairly quickly.
Violet grinned at the praise, picking up speed and switching gears without a hitch, "Thanks Clem. Thanks for teaching me and for being patient, you could've just let me give up."
"No way. My wife can do anything," Clementine glanced over at Violet, enjoying the pleased look on her face as the wind rushed in the window and whipped her hair around, "once she stops being stubborn about it that is..."
Violet's face fell, "Me? You think I'm the stubborn one?"
"We're both stubborn." Clementine leaned over and kissed Violet on the cheek, "That's what makes us so great."
Violet merely rolled her eyes as they kept driving, Clementine looked back at the map, "Start slowing down, we'll need to turn off the highway soon. My house isn't far away now."
Violet eased her foot off the gas, switching to lower gears as necessary, "Turn off right up there." Clementine instructed. Violet turned off the highway, making turns as Clementine called them out, down smaller back roads. It was harder to avoid debris in the road now that they were off the highway, but they managed. They were on higher alert now as well with more places for walkers to hide and humans to sneak up on them.
Clementine was still surprised at how much she remembered from her childhood. Her address, her old phone number. They turned into the neighborhood and Clementine's heart thudded in her chest. Overgrown bushes and vines surrounded the once grand brick entrance sign, almost unrecognizable from the time she saw it last.
They made one more turn and the house came into sight. The feelings that came flooding in as she looked at it were overwhelming. Clementine reached out blindly to grab onto Violet, clutching the first thing she came into contact with, a handful of her shirt, Clementine's heart raced and tears filled her eyes. Her mind filled with things she hadn't thought about for years. Meaningless things that suddenly felt so important. Waiting at the end of her driveway for the school bus to pick her up. Marching angrily down the street with her backpack full of clothes, saying she was going to run away. Getting scared when she made it two houses down before turning around and running back home. Watching her dad cut the grass while she jumped rope on the driveway, basking in the smell.
Violet rubbed the brunette's hand, looking at her face, Violet didn't even need to ask which house was hers, she followed her line of sight to a large white house at the end of the street and pulled into the driveway.
A/N: thank you to OregonFireflies for helping me with driving lessons! I'm so clueless with manual and you really went beyond to help me out. Thank you!