His heart skipped. That question destroyed their trust. Joel always lied to her, but this was the finisher. He felt his blood run cold with regret. He could go back now, but that will break her heart. "I swear." Something caught his voice. Ellie could see through his lie. "Okay." Joel's soul shattered instantaneously. He fucked up. His thoughts weren't coherent, he could only think about how he took the last thing Ellie had been fighting for. He thought to himself, he couldn't find anything for her. That was it. All she had was Tommy's "safe haven" and Joel.
He stood there, staring into the young girl's eyes. They weren't the bright emerald colour, they were dark. Almost like staring into the abyss of Her hatred.
"Ellie...I..." Joel stuttered, his throat failing to make more sound.
"Save it, I'm okay..." Ellie scrunched her nose, thinking if she should finish it or keep playing. She chose in a heartbeat. "...That you killed the last chance I had to make a difference." Ellie started to raise her voice, she knew that Tommy's group could hear her, but at this point, she could give two shits about Tommy.
"Ellie, I didn't want to be..." He didn't want to be the one to take her own decision, take it out back, and shoot it. But he couldn't finish before her.
"I'm not fuckin' finished!" Ellie shoved at his chest, harder than he expected.
"It wasn't just for me, it was for you, I care about you, you know that but..." He glared at the ground, after seeing tears in Ellie's eyes. He didn't want to cry in front of her.
"I didn't want another-" he was cut off.
"Another what? Another person's blood on your hands?!" Ellie swallowed hard after seeing Joel's facial expression.
"Ellie! Please..." He held his hand out, palm facing the ground. "Stay with me." Some how, he miraculously didn't shed not one tear. He kept assertive and dominant, which Ellie detested.
"Joel, I'm not leavin'. I got no where else to go." Ellie stepped closer to Joel, trying not to look too forgiving. "But you can't hide the fact that you lied to me. It doesn't matter if you've lied to me before, those were about small things, but this. You done fucked up." Joel smiled weakly at her last statement. He remembered her reading that in some comic he found while scavenging.
"Joel I know you only did what you wanted, and...I guess I love you too but..." The words slipped out of he lips swiftly , but was slow enough for Joel to make sense of.
"Oh, shit" Ellie muttered under her breath.

"What d'you just say?" Joel set his hand by his side.

Ellie tried to play it off, "I...I know you want a daughter, and I want a father so..." Ellie felt a bead of sweat roll down her neck and into the collar of her t-shirt.

Joel looked deeply into her eyes, her pupils were slightly dilated. He could see right through her.

"Ellie...Just stop. I know what you really mean." Joel wiped his face with his hand, before letting out a sigh. "We'll talk about it later."

Joel set off down the ledges and slopes, falling hard, thinking he could make the jump.

Ellie followed by his side, but things were still awkward.

Joel stole a glance at her and thought back to what she confessed to.

"Fuckin' teenagers..." He mumbled.

"Hey, I'm right here." Ellie stopped in her tracks, forcing Joel to turn and face her.

"Sorry." He sounded exhausted with the whole ordeal. Joel turned back around and proceeded to make his way to Tommy's "Little slice of heaven".

Joel and Ellie made it to Jackson. It was just how they remembered it, the towering walls, protecting them from the outer hell. They arrived at the gate and were not greeted with open arms.
Ellie's mind was left to wander and contemplate on the feelings she let slip from her throat. She knew she cared for her companion, but not to this extent. Joel cared for her, more than his own flesh and blood. More than even Tess. More than Nichole (his ex wife). He just couldn't bring himself to reality. She loved him. There is no way he can forget her confessions.
He didn't love her. Not yet at least. He couldn't, in his time it wasn't the norm to have a romantic relationship with a fourteen year old, when yourself is more than three times her age.

He couldn't let go of the past. He didn't want to. In a world where you have to kill clickers with broken scissors, and eat twenty year old peaches, it's hard to not cling onto the best, and most memorable, moments of your life.

Joel knocked fearfully against the metal gates. Not long after, two well armoured men, popped their heads up from their posts, displaying their faces covered up by red and black bandanna.s

"Look like hunters to me..." Ellie stated, moving to his side slowly and carefully, as to not look like she posed a threat to them.

Joel held onto her shoulder as she scooted closer to his side.

"Put down your weapons, now." The men at the guard post were especially calm, considering they could have been bandits or attackers against the group.

Joel raised his free hand in the air and unhooked his rifle from his bag, tossing it to the ground, small clouds of dust spreading away from it. He did the same for his revolver and his shotgun. He had left his assault rifle in the car.

"Good, now get on your knees and put your hands on your head." The other guard shifted his rifle against his shoulder, making sure he had a better aim.

"We were here before." Joel tried out his explanation, but knew they wouldn't just let them in.

The older guard picked his radio out of his chest pocket and turned the dial.

"Boss, I gotta old man and his daughter here at the gate. Sayin' they've been here before." Joel could hear the man on the receiving end of the radio.

"God damn it. Let him in. I'll meet ya there." Through the muffled and fuzzy sound of the radio, Joel and Ellie could recognise his voice.

"What about the kid?" Ellie pouted clearly at the man above her.
"Yeah, let her in as well." The man sounded regretful.

After a moment of awkward waiting, a blonde, muscular man arrived at the gate. Upon his arrival, the gaurds let the gates open, sending a rusted screech through the air, inhabiting the victims eardrums.

"Joel." Tommy said with a slight rush in their meeting.

"Tommy." Joel nodded back at him.

"I said I didn't want you comin' back. What d'you need now?" Tommy wasn't too happy with them coming back.

"We, uh..." Joel rubbed the back of his neck. "We went to the fireflies and...there's no cure. Not any more." Joel was the best liar when it came to strangers, but to his own brother and in front of Ellie, he didn't hold up.

Tommy just nodded in response. "Well, looks like you gotta stay, now doesn't it?" Joel nudged Ellie's arm.

"Why don't you go find Maria." Joel tried to look innocent but failed.

"But-" Ellie tried to protest, but Joel was too quick.

"Go, I need to sort somethings out..." He glanced at Tommy.

"Two confessions in one day..." Joel thought as Ellie left the two brothers to quarrel.