Everything hurts to move.

There isn't an inch on either of them that doesn't, and both Joel and Tess sound like dying whales or walruses when their brains decide they've had enough sleep. Tess fights it for as long as she can, moaning and groaning and whining into her human pillow that is Joel, but the man is already rolling out of bed. She grumbles her protest to him, murmuring any profanity she can think of with half a brain at him before lying completely still again; she feels like she's paralyzed from the chest up from her wounds.

"Why are you getting out of bed?" she whines, flailing an arm up for the man that's sitting at the end of the bed and massaging his neck tiredly. "Come back hereeee."

With a quiet chuckle, Joel obliges her fussing, pulling himself up against the headboard as Tess crawls her way painstakingly up to his chest, flopping down with a purr as she nuzzles into the material of his shirt. She sighs heavily, fisting his shirt in her hand as Joel pulls her close without jarring the wounds on her back. He runs his fingers lightly along her arm, trailing whispering circles along her skin that has her purring into his chest, and Joel hums quietly under his breath.

"Y'know we oughta get out of bed by now. Ellie's probably waitin' on us for dinner," he murmurs lowly to her, although he makes no move to release her or stop trailing his fingers over her skin. Tess' steady breathing makes him wonder if she isn't asleep already, but the woman makes a noise in her throat that he feels vibrate through his chest as she shifts about and burrows her face into his neck.

"She'll be fine for another couple hours." Her breath tickles his skin, and Joel feels her sigh again before her mouth is planting a brief kiss to his pulse. "I don't wanna move." Every flex of her arms burns; every breath makes her feel as if she's swallowed fire, and Tess knows by the dull throb of her muscles and bones that this is her body's way of reminding of her age.

She wonders what it must feel like for Joel.

Joel rumbles in his chest, leaning back against the pillows as Tess' fingers start wandering through his hair. It's obvious she's not heading back to bed again, but the woman has herself planted stubbornly across him to keep him from moving out of bed too.

He's not sure if he wants to get out of bed either.

He grunts when he feels his shoulders pop, groaning in his throat as it loosens some of the aching muscles, but leaves the rest of his sore and aching body mangled enough to think about his age. Tess' hand strokes over his chest, patting it gently. "Y'okay, big guy?" It's not the same teasing drawl she does every day; when his age and his worry for her and Ellie become something of a running joke between the three of them.

She's quiet and gentle and openly worried - the side only he's ever seen even compared to Ellie.

"I'm just fine," he murmurs to her, and Joel pulls her close enough to drop a kiss in her hair and breathe in the scent of her musty-sweet hair. The scent of their week lingers in her dark tresses, but there's always something underlying that will always be Tess. It's the scent he falls asleep to and the scent to which he wakes, the scent that surrounds him as she does; her scent, her skin, her laugh and smile and eyes that blaze at him all hours of the day.

There's only one thing he can't stand about her. Just one thing.

He hates the smell and sight of her blood on his hands.

The sun's just about done setting, the last bit of purple and orange cracking through the shades when Joel hears the sound of footsteps on the stairs - heavier footsteps than the ones he's come to recognize as Ellie's. He sits upright carefully, eyeing the door as he reaches for the gun he keeps in the bedside table. Tess murmurs in confusion on his chest, cracking an eye open but Joel's squeezing her arm reassuringly.

Someone knocks at the door; it opens a crack. "Y'all decent in there?"

"Tommy," he sighs, and the door opens fully to reveal his little brother - all cleaned up and dressed marginally fancier than usual. Joel feels his brow arch high on his forehead as he gives Tommy a onceover. "The hell are you doin' dressed like that?"

Tommy runs a hand through his hair self-consciously, smiling sheepishly at his brother. "Maria and I are havin' sorta like a date night," he tells Joel, and gestures to the woman seemingly unconscious on top of him. "I was gonna come by and ask if you wanted to come with us, but ah...I guess y'all had other plans for the night." There's a suggestive and knowing tone to his words, and Joel wonders if he can somehow convince Tommy to come close enough for him to punch his little brother in the mouth.

But then Tommy's eyes grow sad, and his smile is dim as he stares at his brother. "You're runnin' yourself into the ground, Joel. Take some time off every now and then; live a little." Tess shifts on Joel's chest, and they're both surprised at how far gone the woman is. They both know from experience how light of a sleeper she can be.

"Take her out sometime," he suggests, and Tommy gives his brother a small smile before making for the door again. "Ain't got nowhere fancy to take her, but I got a feeling that Tess wouldn't mind sittin' around with you and lettin' you serenade her a little."

Joel's version of a goodbye is to flip him the finger.


Ellie comes knocking a little while later, peeking through the door carefully; smiling with relief at the sight of them both awake and lounging about. "You're awake, great." She pushes the door open with her foot, revealing to them the tray of food she's painstakingly prepared and carried with extreme caution up the stairs because she's so terrified of dropping it and ruining everything. Tommy had alluded to their state of utter exhaustion and basic shittiness when he'd stopped by, and of course the girl bustles about making a meal decent enough to hopefully give them enough strength to survive the rest of the weekend.

"Tommy told me you weren't feelin' that great still," she tells them, and the pair make room for her on the bed. Keeping her shoes off the bed when Joel grumbles at her, Ellie lowers the tray down by his bedside table, wiping off her hands nervously as he inspects the tray. "It's just some eggs and stuff, y'know. Normal stuff."

Tess smiles into Joel's arm when she sees the spread in front of them. It's breakfast for dinner. "Looks great." They can't tell if she's being serious, but she grabs the fork out of Joel's hand and stabs at the eggs and beans. "I'm starving." She puts it away fast enough for them to wonder if she isn't trying to avoid letting her tongue taste it. She could just be as hungry as she says.

"Don't drip on the bed," Joel chides her, and takes his turn eating while Ellie sits at their feet, watching them with something between curiosity and worry. He takes his time chewing and bickering with Tess for the fork or when he thinks she's going to drip, before he realizes Ellie's awfully quiet and turns to the girl when she's picking at her fingernails.

"Somethin' the matter, Ellie?" Tess perks up at the question, resting her chin on Joel's shoulder as she uses him as a personal resting board for her bad back. She watches with intrigue too; they stare at the girl long enough for it to be uncomfortable.

Ellie licks her lips, darting a glance between the pair and wondering which one of them is going to be the first one to avoid the question. She can kind of guess what it is - she's not stupid -, but she'd like actual details. With a thoughtful tilt of her head, she stares at Joel and Tess curiously.

"What's a date night?"

They blink slowly, glancing at one another. It's certainly not a question they were expecting, but it's certainly an easier question to answer than something like 'where do babies come from' (Ellie is fully aware where they come from). Although Tess seems just as confused as Ellie is; she tilts her head at the girl.

"Where'd you hear about date night?" she asks, and Ellie shrugs. The way Joel's rather pointedly picking at his eggs and beans makes Tess wonder, and she turns to Joel too. "Care to explain, big guy?"

Joel clears his throat awkwardly, setting the fork aside as he tries to figure out why he's starting to blush. "Well uh - date night's somethin' couples do together. Y'know, uh..." he scratches the back of his head. "Sometimes they go out to dinner or watch a movie or somethin' just to - just to relax."

Ellie's nose scrunches. "There's nowhere to have dinner or watch movies here, so what're Tommy and Maria gonna do?"

Uhhhhh. "Relax." He scowls when he feels Tess burrow her face into his arm; to smother the smile and the laughter bubbling in her throat. "There're things you can do outside."

"Like what?" Tess questions, voice quivering as the man glowers at her benevolently.

He scowls at her again, but Ellie seems far too intrigued with this concept to care about the double entendre Tess is poking at. "Watch the stars, take a walk; sit around by a fire and just...relax, I guess." He tries to remember the last time he's done any of that, and it actually surprises him when he can't think of a time. It's not like he's been working 12-hour days anymore...

"That sounds nice," Ellie comments absently, and Tess hums in agreement wistfully. The girl's green eyes perk up, bright with a realization Joel has a suspicion about because Ellie can be a good actor when she needs to be.

"Why don't you and Tess have a date night?"