Quick note before we start:
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/places/anything mentioned from the Last of Us or anything else and everything belongs to its respective owners.
Unexpected Gifts
Ellie was the first one to notice the abandoned shack in the distance, pointing towards it as she glanced back at him. Joel had nodded, signaling to check for supplies once they found it.
Now, as he stood in front of the shack, he wasn't so sure if it was such a great idea. The shack was falling apart, standing on its last few boards and seemed unstable. Outside the door was also a trail of blood.
He knew from experience that any of the scare amounts of supplies you found outside of the quarantine zone was important; one crafted item could turn the tide of a battle in the matter of a few seconds, but he didn't want them to run into any unnecessary trouble.
He was conscious of Ellie's guarded footsteps behind him as he leaned against the wall, listening for anything that could be inside. When no sounds were heard, he warily opened the door. No one attacked as they walked inside.
Ellie closed the door behind him as they both took in the sight of the shack. The outside of the shack was almost like an illusion, disguising whatever it held inside.
"Let's search here and then we can move on," Joel stated, earning a nod from Ellie.
He walked through the house, entering what was left of a kitchen; vines and foliage had long since reclaimed the space, making most of the room look like a forest. Joel wasn't new to the sight; he had seen places like this that were near the edge of the quarantine zone.
"Wow," Ellie's exclamation of awe hit his ears, and he shook his head in slight disbelief.
Since starting their journey, they had come across places like this so it shouldn't have been new to her either.
Better see what she's found, he thought, giving the kitchen one last look and deciding he would come back to it after checking on Ellie.
He followed the direction her voice had come from, walking through a small hallway until he came to the remains of an office.
Ellie looked back at him, and then at the room. The doors to the office had once been glass, letting people see into it. Now glass and blood littered the floor, most likely from a fight that had not ended well.
Possibly from the beginning of the outbreak, he mused, walking into the room.
"It's so…" Ellie started, but then shook her head, not being able to find the word. He walked over and stood beside her, glancing around at the room.
"Different?" he suggested, noticing the oak shelving containing books littered with dust. It would have been a typical office before the pandemic, but he knew that Ellie saw it differently.
"I don't know," she said, looking around again, "There never was anything like this in the quarantine zone."
He shook his head, feeling slightly amused. She noticed the gesture and gave him an irritated look.
"You're probably used to seeing things like this, but I'm not, alright?" Her comment was filled with slight anger as she walked over to an old computer desk, opening one of the drawers.
She glanced back at him after seeing its contents, shielding his view of the drawer.
"I don't need babysitting," she reminded him, looking slightly mad that he was still here, "I'll be fine alone."
He shook his head, taking a deep breath as he left the room and headed back towards the kitchen. Sometimes, Joel had no idea what went through her head.
He started back at the kitchen, rummaging through drawers for anything useful. His search only managed to find his some rags, which would still be helpful for making something later on.
Joel searched through the rest of the shack, finding a bottle of cleaning alcohol among other things. His search took roughly around an hour, and he realized that he hadn't run into Ellie the whole time.
Is she still in the same room? He wondered, walking towards the office and seeing that the doors were shut. What is she doing?
The glass on the doors was slightly broken, letting him see inside. Ellie was messing with something on the desk, but he couldn't see what it was.
As soon as he opened the door, Ellie turned around quickly and shut the drawer she had open, a surprised and slightly annoyed expression on her face.
"What do you find so interesting about this room?" he questioned, starting to walk towards her. She shrugged, not answering him directly. He decided to rephrase his question. "What were you doing?"
"Searching, like you asked," she retorted, not meeting his gaze. He shook his head, knowing she wouldn't give him a more direct answer.
By the looks of it, she was doing more than searching, he thought, deciding to move on.
"Ready to get going?" he asked, and a somewhat worried look came onto her face.
"Get going? We're moving on already?" she asked, looking almost sad.
"We don't want anything to find us, and we have a long road ahead," he explained, knowing that she already knew this. Question was; why was she stalling?
"Can we stay here for the day?" she asked, and he gave her a look.
"Why?" he asked, and saw that she was coming up with excuses for something.
"This would make a good place to stay for the night. It's shelter and it seemed like it was going to rain soon."
He sighed, knowing she had been right about the rain. The sky had been starting to cloud over a few hours ago, blocking the warm sunlight.
"Let's see how everything goes," he answered, seeing an excited smile appear on her face.
Joel sat down in a nearby chair just as Ellie reached for the handle to open the same drawer again. She noticed he was still in the room and stopped her action, her expression becoming somewhat annoyed.
"Aren't you going to keep looking?" she asked, turning towards him a bit. He shook his head, an amused expression on his face.
"I already searched the rest of the shack. I'm just going to stay here for a bit."
Ellie's expression changed, and he could tell that she was fighting panic. It showed all too clearly in her eyes.
She's hiding something, he thought, continuing to stare at her.
She knew she was losing the battle, and it was making her nervous.
Joel wouldn't admit it, but he was somewhat curious about what she had been doing. Ellie usually never liked to stay in the same place for too long anymore, afraid that something would find them.
Mainly the military, the thought made him sigh, and he looked at Ellie again, seeing some desperation on her face.
"Isn't there anything else you were going to do?" she asked, and he could tell that she really wanted him out of the room. He shook his head, and she sighed. "Can I be left alone then?"
The question somewhat surprised him. He looked at her and saw that she seemed somewhat sad. He definitely didn't want to be around if she decided to cry.
"Fine. I'll go check to see if anything could find us," he answered, walking out of the room and out to the front of the shack.
What is with her today? He wondered, shaking his head. She was definitely acting up, and it somewhat bothered him that he didn't know why. Can't worry about that now.
He instantly crouched down, listening for anything that could be moving. He stood up when he didn't hear anything, deciding to take a trek along the perimeter of the shack just to make sure they were safe.
"You can never be too careful," he muttered, starting to walk around the edges of the shack, keeping a lookout for anything that might be a threat.
A little less than half-way through his search, he glanced at the shack and saw a window. Normally he wouldn't be interested in it, but he realized that the window led into the office.
He could see Ellie messing around with something on the desk again; he couldn't see what it was because it ended a few inches above the surface of the desk.
Joel stopped walking, staring through the window at Ellie. All sorts of emotions were appearing on her face: sadness, amusement, confusion, and so on.
He didn't expect it when Ellie glanced up and out the window. For a moment he thought she didn't see him; her attention went back to whatever she had been doing. Disbelief then registered on her face, and she glared out at him.
He figured it was time to keep moving anyway, and continued his search around the shack.
As soon as he decided to try and find something for them to eat (hopefully do some hunting along with searching the area), it started to rain. The rain increased in a matter of seconds, and he had to run into the shack to escape the downpour.
It wasn't until he had gotten into the shack had he realized how long he had been gone; the shack was almost completely dark, and he realized that it was getting late.
He turned on his flashlight, walking into the office. Ellie's flashlight was on, but she was dozing in a chair. She didn't stir when he walked into the room, and he watched her for a few moments, realizing she was exhausted.
Guess we are staying here for the night, he thought, smiling a bit as he walked over towards her. He knew she would be somewhat sore in the morning, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.
"She's going to waste the flashlight's battery," he mumbled, turning her flashlight off.
He walked over to another chair, sitting down and getting ready to fall asleep as well, but something on the desk caught his attention. He stood up, walking over and picking up a folded sheet of paper.
Joel was instantly curious; was this what Ellie had been working on? He glanced back at her sleeping form, deciding she wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon, and flipped the paper over.
On the front was a drawing that looked somewhat similar to him and Ellie. He frowned slightly, not sure what to make of it.
Is this a card? He wondered, opening it up to see writing. He started to read the words inside:
Dear Joel,
I don't really know how to start this, considering people in the quarantine zone never really wrote letters other than threats or forms for something, but I'm going to try the best I can.
Remember how we were talking the other day and you started explaining what holidays were for me? You started listing all of them and their purpose, and one stood out in my mind.
I'm not completely sure if I got the date right, but I hope that I am at least close, considering what you had been telling me.
Even though you are not my father, I would still like to say thank you. You have taught me a lot so far during our journey and (even though you didn't want to travel with me in the beginning, and I was just as opposed to it as well) I would like to say that you are the closest thing to a father I have ever had.
Happy Father's Day!
Ellie
Joel smiled slightly, glancing back at her sleeping form. He did remember the conversation they had the other day, but he hadn't really expected her to think about it that much.
Then again, she does seem to do unexpected things sometimes, he thought as he walked back over to the other chair, taking the card with him; she did get the date right though.
He glanced over at her sleeping form, smiling again at her idea. He quickly slipped the card into his backpack, deciding to bring it up when they started walking tomorrow. He fell asleep to the sounds of rain on the roof and a happiness he hadn't felt in years.
I really wanted to do a Father's Day fanfiction and thought that The Last of Us was the perfect thing to do it for, so here it is! How did I do? I always thought if Joel explained holidays to Ellie then she would want to do something for him (sort of like his birthday). I figured that I would write this considering I know a bit more about the game (I have played but am not very far in yet). This one-shot is dedicated to all the awesome dads and father-figures out there! You guys rock! :)
-AnimeWolfGirl9