Salvation. The Walking Dead: Season Five.

Mark Your Graves - Part Three.

*

"W-what? You like me?" Minnie said in her double take. Clementine struggled to adequately answer this question, it only being partially true.

"No! I mean, kind of... I don't think we'd play well together." Clementine answered, trying to play down the reveal.

"Why not?" Minnie said, trying to understand. Clementine shook her head though. Minnie had her under the thumb when it came to flaunting her sexuality, Clementines own hormones betrayed her there. But she would not allow Minnie to over power her mind, her morals.

"It doesn't matter, Minnie! Really. I love Violet, and you- always coming onto me is making it hard. It's making me feel really guilty for even thinking of you that way." Clementine said, trying to keep a hushed tone. Not that it would matter anyway if Violet even ducked her head out of the cavern.

She would see her girlfriend against a tree and her ex pressed against her, a thumb now subtly snaking its way into her jeans. It stopped at that though.

"Thinking of me in what way?" Minnie asked, her breath on Clementines neck as she still evaded her gaze, unsure of what Minnie would try if she gave in and met it.

"You know what way, Minnie. You keep getting like this-" She gestured to their current state, only clothing separating their skin now. "-Rubbing against me, its too much. I'm sorry that I can't give you what you want, but you have to stop- forcing me."

Minnie was silent. As though Clems words were literally sobering her up to what she was doing. Clementine felt she was making a little headway so she continued against the wave of her own urges.

"The other day, in the Roadhouse when you and her went off and found that Dmitri? You took so long that I came looking for you both and I had this, this horrible feeling in my stomach when I heard you both in that room. Worrying that maybe you two were.... you know." She paused, but knew that Minnie was smart enough to understand.

"The thought of Violet ever doing that to me was unbearable. I never want her to have that same worry about me. So, as much as I might feel like it sometimes, with you... I can't allow myself. Even this is over the line." She finished, slowly removing Minnies thumb from inside her jeans and then standing into her so she would allow some breathing space.

Minerva was now the one who stalled eye contact when Clementine tried to get a response. She could see her eyes had become glassy and she bit her lip, likely in attempt to stop it trembling any.

She always had to be the tough one, and Clementine knew her putting these feelings out there so boldly had to be hard for her to begin with. Let alone having them rebuffed in somewhat of a non-commital way by Clementine.

Maybe she shouldn't have even said as much as she did. Even if the struggle not to give in to her base desires was the truth, Minerva knowing they were there but being unable to act on them must feel like some kind of blue balls.

"Say something?" Clementine said, she needed to know Minerva would be okay, that she would stop. Clem wasn't sure how much more she could take in trying to hold out, as much as it would make her hate herself to lose control.

Finally Minerva did speak.

"I understand, Clem. I have feelings for you both, and I'd give, fuck, so much to feel what this could be. But I'm not going to take us all down because I can't get what I want...." She said, assuredly and yet tormented as the words left her lips, her naturally pouted, kissable lips.

"Thank you, Minnie-" Clementine started but Minnie held out a finger and placed it on her lips to silence her. She felt the quiver again.

"I'm not finished. I'm not going to take us all down because I can't get what I want. Yet." She paused to let that last word sink in. "There's something here, Clementine. And you confirmed it. There's something between me and Violet too, that never went away, as much as she will protest. It's just buried."