Legendary Swordsman: Thanks for the reviews! The one question I can't go into much detail for, considering it is a spoiler for this fanfiction, but something like what you described happens later on (to a degree). Haha, and yeah, she was thinking about asking that if Joel would have wanted to go to sleep. :)

Chapter 36: Birthday Surprises

Ellie hadn't been planning on telling anyone; it was just another day, only significant in telling that a full year had passed since the last time. She didn't plan on doing anything except continuing their journey towards California; they were somewhere near the border by now.

She also hadn't planned for what Joel had to say as soon as they started traveling at the start of the day.

She had noticed that he had something on his mind since he had gotten up; he kept glancing back at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. He sighed in frustration after a while of the repeated pattern.

"What's wrong?" she asked, increasing her pace so that she could walk beside him. He glanced over at her.

"I haven't said this in a while, and tell me if I'm saying it wrong but-" Joel paused for a moment, still thinking, "Happy Birthday."

She froze at his words, her mouth slightly open as she stopped walking. He stopped as well, looking back at her with a confused expression.

"What, did I say it wrong?" she didn't answer his question and only continued staring at him.

Her mind was strangely numb but overwhelmed.

How does he know?

She blinked a few times, trying to get over her shock as she walked up to him. Her thoughts weren't in order, and she started to feel slightly mad at him.

"Were you stalking me back at the quarantine zone or something?" she asked, and he gave her a puzzled look.

"Why would I have been stalking you?"

"Because no one else knows my birthday except me."

They were both quiet for a bit after that; Joel had resumed walking and she was following behind him. The landscape around them was slowly starting to turn green, which was a relief that she would soon have more than just sand to stare at.

"How did you know it was my birthday?" she asked, feeling like the silence had gone on forever.

Joel stopped walking and turned around to stare at her, almost in disbelief. She was confused; he was acting as if she should know the answer. Something was ringing at the back of her mind, but she couldn't remember what it was.

He seemed to recognize her problem; he walked around and opened her backpack, pulling something out. Surprise ran through her when she realized it was the letter her mother had written her. Joel opened the envelope, scanning through the letter. He showed her it and pointed to a specific section, which read:

The night you were born, a friend of your father's was there; the only man I felt I could trust after your father died. His name was Joel.

Ellie bit her lip, trying not to laugh. She didn't know what she felt, either anger at herself for being so stupid as to forget the section or embarrassment at her mistake. She started to laugh a bit, getting a questioning glance from Joel.

"Is this what older people meant when they said 'the older you get, the more you lose your memory'?"

She saw Joel's eyes widen, making her laugh even more. The expression on his face reminded her of back at the safe house.

"Maybe," Joel stated with a shake of his head, an amused look on his face.

They continued walking again, and Ellie glanced around her, taking in a deep breath and smelling the spring air.

"Do you know what a birthday party is?" Joel's question came out of nowhere, and the foreign word made her shake her head.

"Birthday party?" she repeated, a confused look on her face. She knew it had something to do with birthdays, but what was the point of it?

"Birthday parties are celebrations that people used to have before the pandemic. Parents of the birthday kid would invite friends and family over, and they would celebrate."

She nodded at his explanation, forming an image in her head. She still felt slightly confused.

"What's the point of that?" she questioned, and he stared back at her for a moment.

"It was just for fun, I guess; something to celebrate the kid growing older. The parties changed as the kid would get older."

"How so?"

"People would bring gifts to the party, so as the kid grew older, their idea of gifts changed as well. Some birthdays were bigger deals than others; when the kid turned ten, sixteen, and eighteen were big deals, at least that's from what I remember."

Joel paused in his explanation, giving her time to think.

If I'm fifteen now, and Joel said that sixteen is a big deal, then that means I have one year to go, she started smiling, but then stopped, but a year for what? I don't think I'm going to have a birthday party.

She suddenly came up with an idea and jogged to catch up to him. She waited for a bit, seeing that he was thinking of something. She couldn't contain her smile, and Joel glanced over at her with a slightly amused expression on his face.

"What is it?" his question made her smile even more. She leaned forward a bit to stop him, staring at him for a moment before answering.

"Do you think I could have a birthday party?"

The childish question made her blush a bit, and she cast her gaze towards the ground. Joel didn't say anything for a moment, and she guessed he was getting over the shock of her question.

"Out here?" he asked, and she nodded, feeling somewhat embarrassed, "What about inviting people."

"I have all the friends and family that I need out here," she answer, glancing about her to see that it seemed like Joel was the only other living thing in a three mile radius.

Both of them were quiet for a moment as she glanced around her, finding nothing else living around them. She smiled at Joel.

"Well, I have all the family I need. Who needs friends?" Joel laughed at her question, shaking his head.

He continued walking and she stood back for a moment, running forwards as she slipped her hand through his. Joel seemed to freeze at the sudden movement, but he relaxed a moment later. She smiled at him as they continued walking, knowing that even if she did have to leave Joel and head with the Fireflies; at least they had this moment.

Another short chapter, but this one was full of fluff (at least I think so). I could just imagine Joel trying to explain to Ellie about birthday parties, considering I would believe that no one had one in the boarding schools. I am hoping to finish the "journey" part of this fanfiction in the next few days (and then on to the main conflict or other part of the story). Please tell me what you thought and any ideas in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9