I do not own anything of The last of us.

CHAPTER 2

The water is boiling when I arrive at the improvised bath. Moving the barrel out of the hot spot of the oven and extinguishing the fire would make the water to cool down, in this night would not take too long. As I complete the job I wonder why am I doing this. Ah, for the girl. She is right, we have been a while without any stop, we can have a day free and rest.

While I wait, rise my head, see the stars, the moon, they are beautiful. Anyone looks up now, a memory of Sarah and me looking the sky from the porch invades me. I remember the cool beer in my hand, her blond hair shining and her blue eyes full opened, drinking the light of stars. An image of Ellie suddenly appears, and I get upset with myself.

"Hey Joel." The voice of the girl drags me out of mi thoughts. "What were you going to show me?" I don't say anything; just knock the barrel two times. "You wanted to show me a barrel?" She said in disbelieve.

"The barrel is filled with clean water, sterile, you can have a bath. Damn, might be the worst waste of resources I have ever made. While you are here I'll patrol around." She didn't say anything, just got closed to the barrel and look into it.

"I've never got a bath in a barrel." Her tone is serious, not disappointed.

"Get in there when the water gets warm and look at the sky, there's a beautiful night today." Before I realized she is undressing quickly, so I leave. I'll look for a towel. While I'm searching around I heard her.

"Waaaaaaaaaah"

"Ellie you're ok?" I run outside.

"This is fucking great! Oh man. I'll stay here forever."

"Fuck, Ellie. Don't shout like that." I can see her head and shoulders over the barrel. She is smiling and washing her hair. Got near. "Here, a towel." Without any more to say I start leaving to patrol.

"Joel, thank you."

The hot water is perfect, aaaaaaahhh. The sensation of fear, shame or anything like that,just ignored and got into the barrel. Far better thing that I expected, for sure. Hot bath, the greatest invent ever. Joel says something, I didn't listen.

"Here, a towel." As soon as he drops it he walks around.

"Joel, thank you." He is a rough man, but good without any doubt.

"Mhm." One of his usual answers, make me get on my nerves sometimes, but not now.

"Hey, don't go. Stay around."

"I thought you'll need privacy"

"Can you see though metal?" He doesn't answer. "Then it's alright, not much to show either." That makes me a little sad, but Joel just laughs low but long. "What?"

"Hahaha, oh Ellie." He sits on the ground, resting his back on the barrel. "Don't worry, they'll grow sooner than you think."

"I hope so…" My voice seems irritated.

"Why the fuck we always end talking about these things? Since you got that damn magazine. Don't wanna see you reading something like that again." A silence flows for a while.

"Will you teach me to use the bow?" A little of fear color my voice.

"Tomorrow, morning."

"You're not going to have a bath?" Now that I realize, I'm talking to someone, but I'm naked. Feels weird.

"I guess that I'll redo the all process when you finish. Not gonna enjoy the bath though."

"Why? It is great."

"Look at your size, look at mine, and then look at the barrel's."

"Yeah, it's gonna be funny watching you getting here." I laugh.

"Oh no baby girl, you are not going to be near, and sure you are not going to watch me in there." We both laugh. And a silence falls again.

"Joel." My tone changes, now serious. "I want to help, I don't want to use a gun, I want to have it and to know how to use it. If something happens would be able to help you, Joel. Don't like to be a burden. I know that I am, but I maybe a light one would be better." Joel remains silent for a minute.

"It's not you intentions or your capabilities what worries me, it's the fact that you are trying to prove to yourself that you are reliable. I don't know what happened to you in the past, but it's chasing you. That is dangerous 'cause you'll try to manage a situation out of your league sooner or later. You need to mature first. Killing someone ain't easy. Tomorrow, morning. I'll teach you bow aiming. I'm not talking about this anymore." He stands and leaves. A tear flows through my cheek.

Now bathed and wearing new clothes the world seems brighter. I leave the place and tell Joel the bath is free. He poured the water into an empty blue barrel and fills it again with a couple blue barrels that were near.

He starts a fire inside the bricks structure and looks at me.

"I've found one of those comics, left it on a table, in the kitchen. There are some food cans too. Have dinner." He continues feeding the fire.

"Right." I do what he says.

After a while passing pages of the comic without reading them, I stop thinking. Don't know what to feel about Joel. Just a man who has a job? A friend? A father? What is he to me? What am I to him? Don't know anything, just that he's everything I've got left.

After a while, I walk behind the houses and go stealthily next the bath place. He is already inside the barrel. The barrel just covers him until half of the torso. Now that I see him I realized that he is a muscular person. Thought that he was just big on his back and shoulders, but he is really strong. Mmm, I imagined him much more hairy, he is not, just a few on the chest, but not big deal.

When he ends of washing himself, he squats and rests his head in his arms that are supported by de edge of the barrel. I walk silently, not a sound coming from me. I'm gonna scare the crap outta of him.

"You shouldn't peek people like that, Ellie." Shit, he has super earing or something?

"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU KNOW?"

"Oh. I didn't. Just saying that every ten minutes. Didn't think that actually would work."

"You are a cheater." I said angrily.

"No, I'm not. Devil Knows better because being old than for being devil. And I'm kinda both."

"Bah, I hate you." I say as I get near the barrel and without permission I sit where he was when I was bathing.

"No you don't" He says peacefully as he takes his feet out of the barrel and gets supported by his arms and his hamstrings, watching the nocturne sky.

"How you know?"

"Cause I gave you the best bath in your life. Didn't I?" He looks at me and I nod. "No way you hate me. Never had warm water bath?"

"No, hot water were just for cooking and showers were pretty short and cold, not too often either."

"Mmhmm" there is that humming that he does again. "What did you decided about the thong?"

"Thong? That's how it's called?" He hums again. "Why dou you wanna know?"

"Curiosity."

"Not buying that."

"Just tell me." He sounds divided between annoyed and relaxed.

"I'm keeping it" I say with a bit of concern about how he would react.

"I hate you." Those words hurt me, even knowing that they are a joke.

"No you don't"

"How you know?" He gazes at me. I stare at him too.

"Because when I asked for a bath, you gave me this." I knocked the barrel. "No one makes the currently best bath of the world for someone hated." Silence appeared again.

"You certainly are becoming a devil, young one, but a devil." He says as he stands inside the barrel. "Okay, leave, I'm gonna step out."

"Here you have." I gave him a towel and I leave. I feel his glare in my back, don't know what kind of glare is, but sure it is intense.

She leaves. Don't like what she makes me feel. I'm not his father; I'm not responsible of her. Then why am I feeling this way? The soon I finish the job, the soon I'll get rid of her. No sentimental stuff. That shit makes you weak, and the weak gets killed.

When finally got to the house I see her in a room. Go back and jam the door. Check the windows, they are completely close. Everything is fine. Took one ham can and eat it. Last check and see she's reading the comic that I found for her.

"We'll rise as the sun does, don't waste bed rest."

"Okay." She obeys, I stay out of the room, going to sit on a sofa, but she calls me. "Joel, could you sleep nearby? I would feel safer."

"Mmmhmm. Have I a choice?" Her eyes are beging.

"Please." Fuck.

"Okay…" I drag the sofa into the room, and got laid. "Sleep." She nods.

A while pass until my vision blurs and fall in limbo.

She runs, infected are after her. "Joel!" I can't reach her, they are too far away, can't save her. She screams. I'm moving to slow, my abdomen hurts, like if there were a hole.

"Ellie! HANG THERE! Ellie!" The sound of the flesh being torn, the shatter of the bones, the agony of drowning on her own blood. "NO!"

"Joel! Wake up." I see her, she is alright, I can breathe finally with relieve. "You were having a nightmare." Her words makes echo in my head.

"I know, I'm fine." She grabs me by the shirt.

"Come here, you are cold." I can't think straight and I obey. Before I know I am sleeping again.

I wake up. The sun rays filters through wooden planks on the windows. I hear her breathe; she is sleeping, with her head on my shoulder and hugging my biceps. I don't know what to feel. I'm disgruntled, but at the same time I feel something beautiful inside. Maybe that annoys me, the fact that when the time comes I shall leave her in the hands of fireflies. I don't know if I want that, maybe that annoys me too, be attached to this girl. That makes me week. I feel hate to her as I think about it. Then she awakes, she looks at me with disoriented eyes, then gets his head accommodated again on my shoulder. I can't hate her.

"Hey baby girl, you wanna learn how to fire a bow? Then wake up." I retire my shoulder abruptly and stand up in order to reach the kitchen.

She twists in the sheets cursing. "Fuck, I wake up, but be gentle at least!"

"No more complaining. Eat" I throw a food can to her hands as she gets out the room.

An hour later we are in the forest near the houses. A dartboard founded in a garage is hanging a tree. Ellie has the bow in her hands, she is nervous.

"Calm down. Until you do you wont shoot."

"But I can't just tranquilize!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's not that simple. I don't have such a control."

"You are nervous because you think you're gonna fail. The fact is you are gonna fail, the first time, the second, and the third. You think everything depends on the first shoot. Think about this, it's just an arrow, and that is just a target. Think about it." Five minutes past as she talks.

"I'm ready"

"Then shoot"

She prepares an arrow, tenses the bow and let it go. She misses. She blows with deception.

"Aim again." She stares at me. I return the stare. "Grab another arrow." She obeys. I squat and grab her by the hip, posing her, then grab her elbow and raise it. "The other arm doesn't pull the string, just grab it and sustain the arrow. The muscles of the back do the job of pulling. Don't look the arrow or through it, look at your target."

"But how am I gonna know were the arrow is gonna go?" she is confused.

"Your body will know, trust me. Before letting it go, breathe, fully, slowly. As you exhale, let the arrow fly. And never let your eyes faint, always on the target. Now try."

She glares the dartboard and let a minute go. She aims, breathes and shoots. Bullseye.

"FUCKYEAH! HAHAHA. I'm the fucking queen of the arrow!" she cheers. "Did you saw that? That was fucking amazing! Thanks Joel." She hugs me.

"Well yeah, enough." She looks at me with a face of betrayed puppy, but I ignore her. "Now you know how to shoot, the theory is the same for every weapon, with some changes maybe. The difference is that a living target moves. You'll have to anticipate and be ready. Practice some more, I´ll prepare the car and we`ll leave." With that I leave, with proud inside my chest. As I get distance, hear her using the bow an saying: "Yes!"