Disclaimer : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog
A/N: Warning: Hi I just want to let you know, that this chapter contains a sex scene at the end of the chapter. This story already have a warning for that, but this is just in case. So if you don't like read about those thing, please just skip that part thanks. Another note: if the words of this chapter seen a little strange is because is seen like the FFN have some kind the problem with the (doc manager) and I have to copy this to a note pad and tram fer this from there. I normally copy this from my google doc, so I don`t know what happen this time, but I hope that is good enough, thanks.
Chapter 21 : Why Love is so Complicated
*A month later in Jackson*
Four weeks have passed since the attack on Jackson county. Maria and Tommy are trying to get everything back to normal, but that is going to take time. The damage to the town was great, but could have been worse. Some houses got burnt and destroyed during the attack, some of the fence was destroyed too, as well as some of the watchtowers and one of the main gates. In the first few days after the attack ended, Maria moved her people to start the cleaning process, after the town's wounded people were moved to the clinic or any place that was clean so they could be attended. The most grave cases were sent to the clinic - gunshot wounds and serious cuts and burns. The people with less serious injuries were sent to their homes as soon as their wounds were attended; Maria assigned some volunteers to attend those cases.
After that, Tommy moved his people to clean and remove all the infected bodies from town, and to make sure that no one who got close to them got infected - all the people of the town were checked to ensure that they were clean of any infection. They moved all the bodies to a place in the forest and burned them, so that no contamination was registered in the town. Tommy sent Albert to the dam with a repair team to assist in the repair on the defenses and to make sure that they weren't going to lose the electricity. After that, he asked the construction team to start to work on a temporary repair on the fence and the damaged gate. After all the work started, they moved the townspeople who died in the attack to the abandoned house on a street in the far corner of the town, so the family and friends could identify them and start the process of burying them as soon as possible.
In the first week, more people got assigned to guard the perimeter until everything for the defense of the town was repaired. A meeting was convened with all the townspeople by Maria; she and Tommy informed the town of the situation, and all they needed to know and do. They told them that the total of the dead was twenty-seven and the wounded was more than fifty, but only twenty were serious cases. They informed them that the farm and food supply suffered minimal damage so in that regard, they were okay. Carl and his group were sent to check everywhere close to the perimeter of the town to make sure that if any of the hunters that attacked the town escaped, they don't come back. They were lucky that Carl's group returned at the right time because they saved the dam and some of the people there, and got back to town and helped Tommy with the other attackers in there. So now, a few weeks later, they are trying to get back to normal the best they can.
Ellie woke up three days after Bob and Dylan brought them back to town. Ellie just had some minor wounds and burns, nothing serious; the drug that they gave her had worn off by that time. Jenna came to visit her as soon as she woke up, as she was in the clinic anyway, visiting Brad. He suffered some burns, some minor cuts, and a broken leg; he stayed in the clinic for two weeks until he was sent home so that his mother could take care of him until he fully recovered. Joel's wounds were more serious; he lost a lot of blood before he got to clinic, so he had to receive a blood transfusion.
He stayed in the clinic for two weeks until all his wounds healed enough that Ellie insisted she could take care of him in the house. Since the clinic was full, the doctor agreed to release all the patients that didn't need immediate attention. After they finished with the blood transfusion, they sent him home with Ellie; since Ellie had practiced in the clinic, she was able to take care of him. After Joel was sent home, Maria and Tommy came to visit a few times. They didn't stay long because they had a lot of things to do, but they wanted to make sure that Ellie and Joel were okay. The drug that the doctor gave him for the pain was keeping him in bed most of the time while he'd been home with Ellie.
Since he can't walk much yet, Ellie is taking care of him, cleaning the wound on his leg and changing the bandage. She tries to talk to him about what happened, but he always makes an excuse and changes the subject.
(Three days earlier, Ellie)
I was in the kitchen. It was early in the afternoon, and Joel was still in bed. The wound seemed to be getting better, and the doc came here yesterday and said that it's healing right. He told Joel that it was okay for him to start to try to use his leg, that it's going to be difficult at first but that was part of the process of healing. The broken ribs are healed now, and the bruises on his face and body are almost gone now. I'm glad that the doc came personally and didn't send Rose again - she came a few times to check on Joel, and I had to tell her that he's fine and that she doesn't need to check on him since I was the one the doc appointed to make sure he's fine.- Ellie is taken out of her thoughts when she hears a knock at the door.
Ellie leaves what she is doing, moves to the front door, and opens it. "Hi," Ellie says as soon as she sees Jenna standing in front of the house.
"Hello, it's nice to see that you're fine," says Jenna while she enters the house and gives Ellie a hug.
"Yeah, I didn't see you for a few days, so I hope that everything's okay," says Ellie, returning the hug.
"Yeah, sorry about that, but everything out there is in chaos. I was coming to see you yesterday, but I had to help my mom move some of the food that was in storage, that wasn't damaged during the attack. And since Brad is out for at least one more month, we have to do all that ourselves," says Jenna, breaking the hug.
"It's okay, I'm glad that you come to visit from time to time. I know that you're busy and that-" Ellie is interrupted.
"I'm never going to be too busy for you, Ellie, don't you get that?" says Jenna.
"Thanks, you're the best!" says Ellie, moving toward the kitchen again.
"Now, I assume that Joel is upstairs, right?" asks Jenna, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
"Yeah, he's probably sleeping - the drug that the doc gave him for the pain keeps him sleeping much of the time," Ellie explains as she starts to grab some bread to prepare a sandwich.
"Yeah, I bet he was seriously wounded… so how is he?" asks Jenna.
"Well, most of his bruises are gone now, and the stab in his stomach is healing well, and the one in his leg, too. The doc said that he can start to walk right, very soon, so that's good news."
"Well, that's great, so... you two… you know... talked?" asks Jenna, looking at Ellie with curious eyes.
"Talked?" Ellie says, now looking at Jenna.
"Yeah, you know, about all that happened, and about, you know… you two?" says Jenna, trying not to press the subject too much.
"No, we haven't talked too much since we came back to the house. Well, we talk about regular things, but not about what happened there, or about us," says Ellie, getting back to preparing the sandwich.
"Well, you have time for that later, I guess, when he feels better," says Jenna, looking at the table now.
"Yeah, I guess. So how is Brad?" asks Ellie, now looking at Jenna with curiosity in her eyes.
"Well, besides his broken leg, he's okay... the other wounds are almost healed now," answers Jenna with a smile.
"Yeah, I heard that he saved your life, and now he's your... boyfriend?" says Ellie with a little grin on her face.
"Oh, shut up!... Who told you that?" says Jenna, with a little red color in her face.
"Well, it doesn't matter, the thing is that I'm happy for you, but you need to tell me all the details now."
"Well, I don't know how to start, but I can tell you that he is a brave boy," says Jenna, smiling.
They stay in the kitchen like two hours just talking. Jenna tells Ellie how Brad was so brave when they were in the forest, how he was going to risk his life to get the horses at the old houses where they left them. But lucky for them, there were three men there from Jackson that Tommy had sent looking for them. Jenna also told her what he did at the dam to save her life.
(Present day in the morning in the house)
It's 9:00 in the morning, and Ellie just prepared some breakfast… well, some toast and orange juice, but it's okay for now. So she puts it all on a tray and starts to walk upstairs to Joel`s room. After all that Joel has done for her, it's only fair that now she takes care of him. When Ellie arrives at the room, she sees that Joel is sitting up in bed, looking out the window.
"Hey! You're supposed to be resting," says Ellie as soon as she enters the room, carrying the tray.
"Well, I think that I've been resting for a long time now, and I think that I need a shower," says Joel, now looking at Ellie.
"That's great, Joel - the doc said that you need to get back on your feet and start to exercise the leg. So let me help you with that. Let me put the food on the table and I can take you to the bathroom, okay?" she says, setting the tray on a little table that Joel has in his room.
"Ellie, I don't need your help for that. I think that I can walk to the bathroom and take a shower by myself, okay?" says Joel, a little angry now.
"Okay!... So you want to talk about why you're mad at me?" says Ellie, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Ellie, I'm not mad at you, I just don't need your help for that," Joel tries to explain in a nicer voice now.
"Well, it looks like because of all that happened, I see that you don't want to talk to me at all. We've been back home for two weeks now and you still don't want to talk."
"Ellie, I know that all this is difficult for you, but maybe it's better if we don't talk about what happened there, for now, okay."
"If you're talking about that psycho David's brother, I've already talked to Maria about it, and even though I don't remember much of what happened there, it started giving me nightmares again. That's not the only thing that we need to talk about, Joel," says Ellie.
"Well, I don't know what else you need to talk about besides that. I know that a lot happened here too and that we need to talk to Maria and Tommy-"
"Are you serious, Joel? I'm talking about what happened in the lake… I`m talking about us! We need to talk about what we're going to do," says Ellie with a firm voice.
"Us!... Ellie, I don't think it's a good idea to talk about that and-" Joel stops as soon as he hears some voices coming from downstairs.
"Ellie, Joel, are you two awake?" asks Tommy from downstairs.
"YES!" Ellie yells from inside Joel`s room. "We're in Joel`s room, you can come up." This conversation is not over, Joel.
Tommy and Maria go up and enter the room and see Joel sitting on the bed and Ellie standing close to him. "Hey, I see that you feel a little better, now umm… big brother," Tommy says, looking at Joel.
"Yeah, it hurts less now that you're here to check on me," says Joel sarcastically.
"Well, I'm glad that you and Ellie are fine, after all that happened to the two of you."
"Oh yeah, it's going to take more than a psycho and a group of cannibals to get Joel and me killed," says Ellie, smiling.
"Well, those cannibals killed twenty-seven people in this town, so I think this was pretty serious," says Maria with a serious voice.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to say it in that way…" says Ellie, now looking at the floor.
"It's okay, we don't blame you for all this, even after you told me all about this guy," says Maria, looking at Ellie now.
"It ain't like I don't appreciate your visit, little brother, but I know that you and your wife have a lot to do. So why do I have the honor of you visiting here so early?" says Joel, trying to stand up from the bed.
"Well, I came here to ask Ellie if she can help me today with some of the things I need to do. That is, if it's okay with you, of course," says Maria, moving close to Ellie.
"Joel needs me here, so I don't know if I ca-" Ellie is interrupted.
"It's okay, Kiddo, I think I can be on my own for a few hours, and I have the feeling that my brother is going to give me some company for the time being," says Joel, looking at Ellie.
"Okay! If you're sure that you don't need me to help you."
"I'll be fine, just go and help Maria - it's the least that we can do after all this." As soon as Joel says that, Maria and Ellie go to Ellie's bedroom to change. After a few minutes, Joel can hear the two girls go down and out of the house.
"Okay, Brother, what's the problem that you want to talk about without Ellie here?" Joel asks as soon as he hears the door shut, and moving off of the bed.
"Well, we haven't had much time to talk in the past month, so now that you're feeling better, I think it's time," says Tommy, getting close to Joel now and trying to help him move around the room.
"Yeah, I know that this attack on the town and all the people that died on that night is practically my fault. Those motherfuckers were looking for us," says Joel while he moves out of the room, slowly.
"Yeah, that is all a tragedy. Ellie told Maria about that Michael guy and that he was that David man's brother. But Maria and I don't blame you or Ellie for that. Who would have known that that guy had a psycho brother that wanted revenge?" says Tommy while he follows Joel to the kitchen.
"Yeah I still feel bad for that - that maniac almost destroyed your town. Want something to drink?" says Joel as soon as he opens the fridge.
"Sure - have any beer? Yeah and for now it's better that that part of the attack stays between us. We don't want people trying to get revenge in here too, because of that," says Tommy while seating himself at the kitchen table.
"Well, you can start by telling that motherfucker Albert to stop saying to people how this was my fault. Now I have some of that shit that you people prepare here, but that's better than nothing, I guess," says Joel, going to the table and sitting, giving Tommy his beer.
After the two brothers drink some of the beer, they stay put, just waiting for the other to start talking. They just stay there without a word. How two brothers can be so awkward with each other, no one will ever know.
"Yeah, I told him to stop doing that. I told him that doing that shit is just going to bring more problems to town, and that Maria and I don't want that," says Tommy, taking another drink of the beer.
"Okay, if you didn't come here to talk about that, what brings you here, that you need Maria to take Ellie out of house?" asks Joel now with curiosity.
"The Fireflies!" says Tommy as quickly as he can.
"What!" answers Joel.
"The night of the attack, a group of well-armed men destroyed one of the main gates. They started to kill people, and when we got there, they tried to kill a family. They told them that they were looking for some old man and a girl. Does that ring a bell, Joel?"
"Those motherfuckers were looking for us?" says Joel, trying to hide the fact that he already knew that.
"Yeah, it seems so. Remember that I told you about Carl`s report on that town in the south of Colorado?" says Tommy.
"Yeah, you told me that there were some Fireflies looking for an old man and a girl, and that they are regrouping again," says Joel, remembering the conversation he had with his brother as soon as Carl came back from that trip.
"Well, they were Fireflies. We got lucky that Carl`s group showed up in time - we killed them all, and I made sure that nobody mentioned that those men were Fireflies. I removed all traces of what they were before I sent the bodies to burn with the others," Tommy explains about what happened that night.
"Why are you telling me this now?" asks Joel.
"Well, because I need to know if all of this is going to be a problem for us. If those Fireflies were working with those cannibals, I need to know if they told others that you and Ellie were here."
"Well, I didn't see them when they hid in the old factory," says Joel, trying to hide all he knows; he doesn't want to scare Tommy by telling him that the Fireflies are still looking for them.
"You said that you killed everyone in the hospital at Salt Lake City, right?"
"Yeah, I did… well, I think I did… why?"
"Well… someone survived. That's the only reason they're still looking for the both of you. And if those men that came here informed others that they thought you and Ellie were here, they're probably going to send someone here to check," says Tommy with a worried face.
"So what you're trying to say is that you and Maria want us to go before they come back?"asks Joel, a little worried now - not for himself, but for Ellie.
"Of course not, and Maria doesn't know about the Fireflies. I don't like lying to her, but I know that she's going to freak out as soon as she knows this. So it's better for now that she doesn't know, but we need to be sure that those assholes don't come here and start shooting people again."
"Well, you said that they did the same in that trade town, so maybe they do that randomly, and being here is just a coincidence," Joel tells Tommy, knowing that that is not exactly the truth, but he can't say anything to his brother, for now. So he hopes that the Fireflies didn't have enough time to inform others that he and Ellie were here.
After that, the two brothers continue their conversation, about other things. Tommy asks him about what happened in the factory, and if he and Ellie are okay. Joel asks about the town and how the repairs are going, and lets him know that as soon as he can walk better, he wants to help in the town.
*One week later in Jackson*
A week has passed and I'm not making any progress in getting Joel to talk to me about us. Every time I want to talk, Joel makes some excuse, or we're interrupted by someone visiting us - not only Tommy and Maria, but Dylan and Harold... even Bob has come to visit a few times. Joel is better now... his wounds are healing well, and he's starting to walk again. He asked Tommy to give him some shifts on the wall since for now, he can't work with the construction team. The fence was repaired, and the gate that was destroyed was replaced by now. Some of the wounded people who were still in the clinic have cleared out... only the more serious cases are still there, but lucky for the town, no more people have died so far, only the twenty-seven that died during the attack.
I started to work again, since Joel doesn't need me in the house all day and he's started to work again... I have to do something to distract myself. I'm having nightmares again... not so bad, but I wish that Joel would take me to his bed and hold me tight and tell me how much he loves me. Yes, that would be great - I know that a lot has happened, but why is Joel making himself distant again? I don't understand. Does he blame himself for what happened? I need to make him talk to me. I need him now more than ever, and I need a plan to do that soon.
( A few hours later in the greenhouse)
"Hey, I'm glad that you decided to come back to work - my mother really needs the help," says Jenna while she cuts some vegetables.
"Yeah, I needed to start to work again after all that happened, and Joel is starting to drive me insane," Ellie answers, looking at her friend now.
"I assume that the two of you haven't talked about… you know, right?"
"No, every time I want to talk, he just pushes me away or we get interrupted. I don't know what to do. I love him, but the more time passes, the more I feel like he's trying to move away from me. It's like he feels responsible for what happened - and I don't know what to do," says Ellie with some tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Ellie, I know that this isn't what you planned, but maybe you need to give him time. Joel lived in a different time from us, and from what I can see, it could be more difficult for him to express what he feels, or maybe he doesn't feel the way you think he does," says Jenna, trying to comfort her.
"He told me that he loves me and he kissed me when we were in the lake, before those assholes ruined everything. I know that he has feelings for me, I just need a way to talk to him alone where no one will interrupt us... and I think I have a way to do that." Ellie smiles while an idea goes through her mind.
"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this, so I hope that you know what you're doing, and please don't do anything stupid, okay?" says Jenna, shaking her head.
*One week later in Joel's house*
It's the first week of September, early in the morning when Joel opens his eyes as the first light of the morning sun hits him in the face. Shit, I feel like a car ran over me. I couldn't even sleep well last night. All I can think about is that the leader of the Fireflies is looking for Ellie. Shit, I have to do something... why are they still looking for her after all this time? They can't be looking for the cure... even if I didn't kill all the doctors they have, there is no cure. Doctor Wilson said already that the virus in Ellie's blood is not even close enough to find a cure for the fungus virus, but they said in the hospital that Ellie was a unique case and they need to cut Ellie`s brain out... yeah, like I was going to let that happen. Well, I'd better go make some breakfast before Ellie wakes up.
Joel gets up off the bed and goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change. After that, he goes downstairs and enters the kitchen. When he starts to gather all the things he needs to make some french toast and pancakes (Ellie's favorite), he sees a note on the kitchen table. Joel quickly rushes to the table, picks up the note, and starts to read.
To: Joel
I know that a lot has happened since we came to live here. I know that you care about me and I'm pretty sure that you feel something more. I know that you're afraid of what's going to happen to us if you show that, and we need to talk about that. I've tried several times, but you make some excuse or we get interrupted. I know a place where we can talk alone and in peace. So when you wake up and see this note, come to the place where I ran away the first time we came here. I'll be waiting for you there.
With love, Ellie
"What the fuck!" is the only thing Joel can say. He takes the note in his hand, runs up the stairs, and opens the door of Ellie's room. When he enters, Ellie isn't there, so he starts to look in the closet and sees that Ellie's backpack is gone, as well as other things. "Shit, girl, what the hell you think you're doing." He looks at the note again and starts to read the last part: "come to the place where I ran away the first time we came here. I'll be waiting for you there". How the fuck did she get out of town? I have to go out there before something happens to her.
As soon as Joel realizes where Ellie went, he goes to his room, takes some of his guns and his backpack (they recovered their things from the factory when Carl and the others went there to recover all the things that the hunters left behind). After that, he leaves the house and goes to the stable to get a horse; of course, he needs to think of an excuse to tell Victor because he doesn't want to let everybody know that Ellie left town without his knowledge, and he needs to find her alone before Tommy and Maria start to ask questions that he doesn't want to answer. He tells Victor that he needs to do something at the dam, so he's going to do a patrol and then go to the dam. Victor thought that that was a little strange, but since Tommy was sending more patrols out there, he gave Joel the horse.
After that, he finds out that Dylan is working at one of the gates today - that's good for him, because he can talk Dylan into letting him out without the need to call Tommy. Joel has to hurry up; it's still early in the morning, and that's great because most of the people are still at their homes. And he needs to find Ellie before Tommy and Maria find out that the both of them left without their knowledge. He goes to the gate where Dylan is working and talks to him, as he trusts Dylan to not say anything. He tells him about Ellie being upset and that she left town during the night, explains that he knows where she went, and that he's going to bring her back before Tommy or Maria find out. Yes, he's going to be in trouble when he comes back, because Victor is going to mention something to Tommy when he starts to do his business in the town. Dylan agrees to not say anything, and if someone asks, he'll tell them that Joel went on a patrol to the dam. He thanks Dylan for the help and goes out through the gate. After he gets out, he tells himself that Ellie is going to be in real trouble when he finds her.
The place that Ellie referred to in the note is the little farmhouse she went to after Joel tried to ditch her with Tommy the first time they came here. Why the hell did she pick that place in the first place? It's been almost two years since then, so that place has to be in ruins by now. The little farm was like four or five miles southwest of the dam; it's going to take a little more than half an hour to get there on horseback, so if she went on foot, it would have taken longer than that. Shit, Ellie, what were you thinking? Some of those cannibals could still be out there, or worse - those Firefly assholes, too. If the ones that were working with that David's brother contacted their boss and told him about the town, and informed him about Joel and Ellie being in Jackson, this was going to be bad.
After a forty-minute ride, Joel arrives at the little farm; he doesn't know how it's possible, but the place is almost the same. He can't believe after more than a year since they came to this place, it's still intact. Joel quickly dismounts the horse, takes out his gun, and proceeds to enter the old house.
"ELLIE!... ELLIE!" He starts to call her as soon as he enters the house.
"I'm upstairs, Joel," answers Ellie.
As soon as Joel hears her, he goes upstairs and starts looking in all the rooms until he finds her in the same room that she was in the first time. She's sitting in the same spot by the window, waiting for him.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Ellie? Do you know the kind of trouble you're going to be in for this? Not to mention risking your life like that - some of that Michael's men might still be out there, I don't think they were all killed in the attack," says Joel, lowering his weapon and entering the room.
"Can you believe this? After all this time, this place looks the same as the first time we were here, remember?" Ellie says without looking at Joel.
"Fuck, Ellie, is that all you're going to say? And how the fuck did you get out of the town without anybody seeing you, hmm?"
"Well… you don't think I'm going to tell you that, do you? And besides, you left me no other choice - I've tried to talk to you and you've just been avoiding me for weeks, so this is the only way I could think of to get your attention," says Ellie, now looking at him.
"Ellie, you don't need to risk your life for that. C'mon, let's go back to Jackson before Tommy and Maria find out that we left without informing them," says Joel, moving close to Ellie.
"No! Joel, we're not going to leave here until we have our talk," says Ellie, standing up from the window seat.
"Ellie, we can talk at home - it's not safe to be out here, so let's go. We're going home," says Joel, trying to grab one of Ellie's arms, but she moves away.
"No... as soon as we come back to the house, you're going to do the same thing and ignore me, so we're going to have our conversation here and now. Joel, I have feelings for you. I've had them for some time now so we need to talk about that."
"Ellie, I care about you too, but I don't see why we need to talk about that," says Joel, trying to change the subject.
"Joel, I mean that I`m in love with you, like a woman loves a man, and I know that you feel the same. I still remember the kiss you gave me in the lake... or did you forget about that?"
"Ellie, I'm sorry, that was something I shouldn't have done, because you-"
"I'm a kid? That's what you're going to say, Joel - you don't want to admit your feelings because you think I'm just a little girl?"
"Ellie, you don't understand - you're only sixteen years old, what you feel is just - it's just hormones. It's normal for a girl to feel attracted to an older man... that doesn't mean it's right," Joel says, trying to make some sense to Ellie.
"Yeah, I knew you were going to say something like that. I don't care about the age difference, and I'm not a little girl or innocent - and you know that. I love you, Joel, because of who you are, and what you make me feel... you are the only person that makes me feel safe and warm," Ellie says, trying to look Joel in the eye.
"Yeah, you wouldn't say that if you knew all the things I've done over the past twenty-two years," says Joel, moving away from Ellie.
"Well, I don't care what you did in the past, Joel, because the man I love is the man that's been taking care of me for the past two years. So if you're just worried because I'm only sixteen, don't be, because that doesn't matter to me."
"Well, it should. Even if what you say is true, what do you think is going to happen, Ellie? I'm going to be fifty-one in a few weeks and you're just sixteen. What kind of relationship do you think we're going to have?"
"See, you do have some feelings for me, you just think that you're too old for me. But you don't need to feel that way, because I don't care, Joel - you are the only man I'm going to love."
"Ellie, you are young and I'm just an old man. You're going to find love with someone your own age, you just need to find someone," says Joel, trying to encourage her to see another way.
"I don't need anyone else, because I have you," says Ellie, getting close to Joel again.
"Ellie, you have a future ahead of you. You have the chance for some kind of normal life in Jackson. Soon you're going to find a young man that is going to make you happy, give you children... and you're going to forget about this old man who's done nothing in this life but fuck everything up."
"That is what you think I'm going to do umm? If you think that, then you don't know me, Joel, because the only thing I'm thinking of now is you, and how we're going to live our life together forever."
"Ellie, my life is not going to be that long, so it's better for you to find someone young, there's no point of this." Then Joel walks out of the room and starts moving down the stairs.
"That is bullshit - we don't have any more time in this world than anyone else. We can die any moment - we just almost did a little more than a month ago. So why can't we spend the time we have together… we can enjoy that as long as it lasts," says Ellie, following him downstairs.
"C`mon, Ellie, get your things so we can go back to Jackson. Maria and Tommy are going to be up by now, and I have to find a way to explain all this."
"That's why you're afraid, Joel? Of what Tommy and Maria are going to think about all this, or the people of Jackson? That's hard to believe, because you don't give a damn about what people think about you, or us," says Ellie, trying to confront Joel now.
"You don't understand, Ellie, it's not that simple."
"Well then, why don't you just explain that to me, because all this time I haven't heard you say that you don't love me. The only thing you're telling me is excuses for why we can't be together."
"Ellie, you said that because you don't understand - what do you think is going to happen when the people find out, or Maria, hmm? And Tommy is definitely going to kill me," Joel says, looking at Ellie.
"I don't think your brother is going to kill you, Joel, and about the others, who cares - what are they going to do, throw us out? Maybe that's better, that way we can be together without people judging us - we lived out there for almost a year, we can make it if we find a decent place for us. This county is big enough."
"Ellie, I brought you to Jackson because you deserve a better life. That place has a piece of what we lost so long ago. Being out there is not as easy as you think. We got lucky, surviving the first time, but you know how it is out there, without food or water for days, not cleaning ourselves up for weeks."
"Well, I don't care that much if that's the price to be together, because I love you and I don't care if we get thrown out because of that," says Ellie, getting close to Joel, grabbing his face with her hands and kissing him on the mouth.
Joel just stays there in silence. He sees how Ellie lets go of the kiss and starts to walk upstairs again. He doesn't know what to do now; part of him wants to do the right thing, but the other part just wants to grab her and kiss her and tell her how much he loves her. Joel waits for a few minutes, hoping that Ellie went up there to get her things and come back down, but as he sees that she's not coming down, he decides to go up and bring her back to Jackson.
He goes back to the room where she was first, but she isn't there, so he starts to call her. "Ellie, we need to get back to Jackson, so stop playing around because this isn't funny," says Joel while he checks the other rooms. He stops when he arrives at the master bedroom of the house and sees Ellie waiting for him, sitting on the edge of the bed in there.
"Ellie, this is not a game, we need to go... now!" Joel says as soon as he enters the room.
"I know, Joel... I'm not playing, and now I'm going to give you a choice," says Ellie, standing up from the bed.
As soon as she does, Joel realizes that she's not wearing any pants and that she just has on one of his shirts. "Ellie, what the hell are you doing?" Joel says to her.
"Like I told you - giving you the choice of finishing what we started at the lake, before we got interrupted," says Ellie, getting close to him.
"Ellie, please, didn't you hear everything I just said?" Joel says, trying to step back from her.
"Yes I did… and from what I can remember, you didn't say anything like you don't love me, or that you don't want this. So if you're too scared of what people are going to say, I'm not. I love you, Joel, and I don't care about the age difference or what people are going to think." As Ellie stops talking, she moves quickly and throws her arms around Joel's neck, and starts kissing him on the mouth, passionately. Joel hits the wall of the room as soon as Ellie starts to push herself against him, the kiss deepening as Ellie's tongue tries to enter his mouth. Joel doesn't know what to do as millions of thoughts go through his mind. He loves this girl, but is it okay to act on those feelings he has?
His fight continues while Ellie presses herself to him. Joel feels that she's not wearing anything under the big shirt, so now his body is the one responding to the girl. Images and memories start to show in his mind, like the time he saw her in the bed touching herself before her birthday, the time when she showed up in his bed with a tank top and pink underwear, the bikini that she wore in the lake when he was teaching her how to swim, and kisses that she gave him when she crossed the lake. Joel tries to resist all the temptation, but it's in vain; his body starts to react to the two years without touching a woman. Then he hears her talking close to his mouth.
"Oh, Joel, please… I need this… I've been waiting for this… for a long time," Ellie says after she pulls out of the kiss a little, and tries to look him in the eyes with a pleading face.
"Ellie, I don't think that this is a good idea... maybe it's better if we just go back to town," Joel tells Ellie with the hope that she'll change her mind.
"I don't care if this is a good idea or not… please, Joel, I need something to hold on to… I need you." Then Ellie moves closer again and starts to kiss him more passionately.
Joel hears her plea for this, she wants this so much, and so does he, so Joel does what all men can do in that situation - he grabs Ellie`s legs and pulls them up to his waist, and then moves slowly to the bed. Ellie breaks the kiss again to get some air, and to her surprise, feels how Joel tosses her onto the bed. He gently moves his mouth to her neck, Ellie moaning from the sensation as she feels Joel sucking her there. Ellie's arousal starts to get stronger as soon as she feels Joel starting to unbutton her shirt. He's kissing her while taking it off, and as Joel finishes, he gets up and looks at Ellie`s naked body on the bed. He just sees how beautiful a woman she's become. Then Ellie is going to protest him stopping, but changes her mind when Joel bends down, grabs her left breast with his mouth and starts to massage that one, then starts to suck the other one.
Ellie arches her body from the sensation and starts to hold herself tight on the bed as soon as Joel bites her nipple gently. "Oh god" she almost screams in pleasure. After a few minutes, Joel lets go of her breast and starts kissing her on the stomach, and goes even lower until he gets between her legs. Even as he wants to take this girl and make love to her until they can't do any more, he decides that it's better if he only pleases her. So he opens her legs a little to have more access to her little pussy. She starts to moan as soon as she feels Joel's mouth on her womanhood. "Oh... fuck, Joel, this feels even better than all the dreams I have about you," says Ellie to Joel, with her eyes closed and feeling all kinds of pleasure in her body.
He starts slow at first, licking her folds and then maneuvering his tongue to enter her wet pussy. Hearing the sound of pleasure she is making, he starts to move faster as he continues sucking her up until he starts to savor her juices that are coming out now. As he feels encouraged by her moaning, he takes two of his fingers and starts to insert them inside of her. She moans again when she feels his long fingers enter her. He goes back down and starts to lick her up again while he moves his fingers inside of her faster now. "Fuck… oh god.. yes… Joel… please don't… stop," she starts to say in a high voice.
Joel starts to move faster as soon as he feels that she is going to climax soon; the little girl is just in the paradise of pleasure and she can't hold out for much longer. "Oh… fuck… Joel, I'm so clooose… now," she continues more loudly. As Joel feels that she's getting close to cum, he decides to end her agony and let her cum, so he moves faster and moves his mouth to suck her clit. As soon as Joel does that, Ellie can't resist anymore, "I'm coming… I... FUCK….JOEEEL!" she screams in pure pleasure as her pussy tightens around Joel's fingers, and her juice starts to come out of her as her orgasm finishes. Her heart beats a thousand miles an hour like it wants to leap out of her chest. Joel moves to her side, takes her in his arms, and holds her tight until she calms down from the excitement. Joel lays down on the bed trying to hold himself; he almost came himself but managed to hold on, so he needs to take care of that later. He is just happy that he gave the girl something she needed so badly. He feels a little bad, because that will make what he needs to do more difficult. But for now, there's nothing that he can do, so he just wants to be sure that Ellie is okay with the pleasure he just gave her. She quickly moves to his side and puts her head on his chest.
"Wow! Joel, that was… ummm… incredible, and hot, and you didn't even go inside of me - fuck, that felt so good," says Ellie, moving one hand on Joel's chest and playing with his shirt.
"Sorry, Ellie... I don't mean to be so hard on you-"
"Are you fucking kidding me, Joel? You don't need to apologize for this - this is the best orgasm I ever had in my entire life! It was even much better than the ones I give myself. Now I can't wait to feel you inside of me," she says, smiling at Joel.
Joel puts one hand on his face, trying not to think of what he just did. He loves this girl so much, but he needs to do something, and he is thinking if all this was a good idea. He closes his eyes as he tries not to feel Ellie's naked body almost on top of him now.
"Ummm… Joel!" she says without looking at him.
"Yes…" he answers.
"Thank you!" she says, looking at Joel now.
"You don't have to thank me for this, Kiddo," says Joel, trying not to look at her.
She puts her head back on Joel's chest and smiles. "Can we stay like this for a little while? I feel a little tired."
"Sure, kiddo, but we need to get back soon, okay?"
"Okay, thanks, Joel…. ummm Joel, the next time... can we… you know… do it?... I mean have real sex? "
"Ellie, can we talk about that later? Just rest a little and get something to clean yourself up, okay," says Joel, trying not to give much encouragement on that. After a few minutes of silence, Ellie speaks again.
"Umm… Joel!"
"Yes, Ellie!"
"I love you!" Ellie says, playing with his shirt a little. Joel stays silent for a while until he speaks back to her.
"I know!" Joel just says, as he looks at the ceiling of the old house, as a thousand thoughts cross his mind at the same time now.