When Ellis awoke, he was a little surprised to find himself alone on the couch.

Moreover, he was also disappointed.

He blinked a few times as he sat up and knuckled his eyes before scanning the room for his AWOL compatriot. His ears found him first though, detecting the purr of his voice in the front room, muffled behind the closed door.

He immediately sat up the rest of the way to stand. He rushed to the door, but stopped just short of turning the knob to enter into the main office where he knew his comrades were. He'd heard Nick's voice– that meant he was talking to Coach and Rochelle. Ellis wrinkled his brow, finding it unusual that the gambler was conversing with the other two in their party. Overwhelmed with curiosity, he pressed his ear to the wood to listen through it.

"I can't believe you made him sleep on the floor!" Rochelle laughed. "You're such a jerk."

"He knew the risks of betting against me," Nick responded cooly. Ellis felt both his eyebrows lift. So the subject of their headshot competition had come up, alright, that wasn't altogether odd. But the facts about the outcome seemed screwed up considering he hadn't actually spent the night on the floor as the reporter believed him to have, and rather next to the man, snugly beneath the weight of his arm. He lifted his hand to touch the spot where it had been, but kept listening.

"Still, what kind of role model does that sort of thing?" she went on, voice still gentle with levity despite her apparent badgering. Ellis forced his ear harder to the wood though it was growing quickly red and sore, intrigued by the dialogue, curious where it was going…

"God, I hope not," Nick mumbled, a touch of chagrin working in his voice, "the kid could do a lot better than me."

Well now why would he think that? Ellis frowned. He was a little temperamental at times, negative too, but everyone had their flaws. If Nick didn't think he could see past a little thing like that... to what truly lie on the inside...

"Won't argue with you there," Rochelle practically tittered.

"Oh, bite me," the man responded playfully; the girl laughed harder, and Ellis wondered what had put Nick in such a seemingly good mood as to be getting along with her so well this morning after yesterday's heated altercation.

"…Probably ought to go wake the boy up," Coach interrupted. "Time's a'wastin'; we got places to be."

Nick chuckled beyond the door. "I'll go get him."

Ellis' eyes widened, and for a moment he seized up, riveted to the spot, unable to move. He didn't want to be caught eavesdropping. So he did the only thing he could think of. He rushed back to the couch, tumbling onto it, and re-took his former position before he had awoken. He shuttered his eyes just in time, the squeak of hinges reverberating across the small room as Nick entered.

Ellis waited, falling back on his hearing to gather what was going on, listening carefully as he breathed as quietly as he could. There was a slight pause before the door clicked back shut, and a moment later he heard Nick's shoes scuff across the threadbare carpeting, stopping a couple feet before the couch. "Right where I left you…" he murmured over him. The gambler knelt down beside him– he felt pressure descend on his arm, giving the lightest of shakes. "Hey, kiddo, rise and shine."

Ellis fluttered his eyes open in feigned awakening. "Oh, there ya are," he said as if in allusion to his knowledge of the cardshark's absence at his side. "Ya snuck out on me," he accused teasingly; he had hoped to wake up right there beside him...

The man laughed gently. "Well, it wasn't hard," he smirked, "you were out like a rock."

He had conked out fairly quickly after coiling his arm about Nick's. In fact, he couldn't recall waking once the whole night through– a first since the whole apocalypse thing had started, since the night he'd found his Ma's house empty and abandoned. Ellis frowned subtly. "I didn't sleep in none, did I?" he asked concernedly, thinking that perhaps his short hours the previous night had gotten the best of him and delayed the group from setting out.

"Not much," Nick shrugged, setting him at ease. His green eyes sparkled briefly. "You know Coach. If we'd been out on the water an hour ago he'd still be telling us to keep rowing faster."

Ellis laughed now too. "Yeah, ya got tha' one on the money."

Nick reached out and ruffled his hair. Ellis practically purred at the affectionate touch, savoring the blunt fingertips as they worked his scalp in a delightful and all-too-short tousle. He almost protested when the man removed his fingers and set them back on his own thigh with a patient reserved smile. Ellis returned it, locking gazes momentarily with the older man, their eyes level with one another; his mood soared.

"Reckon I better git up then," he said with a smile, swinging his feet over the edge of the couch.

"Breakfast is instant oatmeal," Nick informed him, standing. "We boiled some water with that cute little contraption of yours."

Ellis grinned at the compliment as he stuck a foot in a boot. He looked up at the conman from lacing his shoe. "Please tell me ya left me the brown sugar flavor."

Nick folded his arms and tipped his head. "How did I guess that would be your favorite flavor?" he smirked, implying that yes, the variety had been saved for him.

"Prolly cuz yer smart. An' ya know me," Ellis summed up, bowtying the lace and yanking his pantleg over the ensemble. He completed the process for the other side; Nick waited for him. He stood and grabbed his glock and baseball cap from where he had left them on the company coffee table, committing the gun to its holster at his hip and the hat to his head. Nick turned for the door.

Ellis interrupted him before he could twist the knob and reunite them with the other two survivors. "Hey Nick?"

The man hesitated, looking back at him. "Yeah, El?"

Ellis scratched the back of his head sheepishly, flitting a glance to the couch where they had spent the night close together. "Thanks fer… lettin' me sleep next tuh ya." He felt a blush start to creep up on his cheeks, trying to drum up a suitable expression of his gratitude. "I was kinda cold the last two nights."

Nick chuckled. "No problem, kid." He lifted an eyebrow and smiled that amazing white smile. "Good to know I make a good space heater."

Ellis laughed at the joke, but internally he felt sorry for not having the stones to correct the man, let him know the gesture had meant so much more to him than than simple warmth or even proximity. That he looked up to him more than anyone in the whole-wide world. That he was his best and most trustworthy friend in this crazy new world.

That being by his side… physically… left him practically breathless.