Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and their creators.

A/N: I will always be happy to answer any question on the pm if I can. But is a guest person ask something I can do it through Pm. So to the guest person that asks, that the game was in modern time. I can tell you that it is from some point of view. The game started in the year 2013 and they jump to 20 years in the future. Where the whole world is almost destroyed by the infection. so the game is played in a short distance future and not in the real world we live today.

Now, what I mean by modern AU, is that this story is played in real-time with some normal situation. This story has nothing to do with the game except for some of the characters that are on the game. So is not going to be any zombies, virus, killers or anything that is in the game. The story is about a 16-year-old girl falling in love with a 40-year-old man. I hope this answers any questions like that. Another thing, I just lower the rating to T, because I make a few changes as some people ask me to keep it that way. The story was M because of the language and some adult thing, but it was not much of the sex part there.

Chapter 9: Games & Talks

They end up all wet, so after that, they decide to finish with the truck. After they finished, Joel put the cleaning things on the small shed and walked back to the house. Ellie followed Joel inside and stayed in the living room, while Joel walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge and walked back to the living room.

"Sorry for wetting you up, I forget that you didn't have any extra clothes to wear," says Joel, taking a big sip of his drink.

Ellie looked at him while he drank his beer. "Hey, it's a little cold in here. So why you don't bring another of those for me, I can get warm with that,"

Joel put his hand down and looked at her. He forgot not to drink in front of the girl. That is something she is stopping him to do every day. "Nice try kiddo, but you are still a minor… so no," he said while walking back to the kitchen. "But I can bring you a towel so you can dry out," he put the beer back in the fridge so he could drink water. And soon he walks out of the kitchen Ellie talks again.

"Ha, do you think that this will be my first time? I can assure you that I drank beers before." Said Ellie while putting her hand on her waist and looking at him.

"Is that so… well, you're not getting any from me that is for sure, but if you're cold I can start the fireplace," He was walking to that direction when he stopped again. "I will get you a tower first, so you can get dry and get warm in front of the fireplace."

Thanks, but I prefer to have a hot shower if that is okay with you. I still have some mud inside my pants," Ellie starts to walk toward the bathroom but stops before she gets there. "Do you have any clothes that I can use? I need to wash mine, and put them to dry."

Joel looked at her and started to think for a moment. It was past the afternoon and it was a sunny day, so making a fire is not going to be good. Letting the girl have a bath in his house wasn't a good idea either. But what else he can do. "Okay, I will look in my room and see what I can find for you. A t-shirt won't be a problem, but I don't think that any of my pants are going to fix you."

"I can use the one you lent me last time, that will work," she replied with a smile on her face.

Joel walked toward Ellie and stopped beside her. "You know that those were for sleep right? I don't think they are good for walking around in the presence of a man."

"Well, you should think about that before getting me all wet," She gave him a little punch on his arm and walked toward the bathroom.

Joel watched her while she entered the bathroom and closed the door. "You started, you know."

"Yeah, and that was a little fun by the way…" she replied from inside the bathroom.

Joel shook his head and started to walk toward his bedroom. Kids! Soon he gets inside his room, he looks for the clothes he lent to her before. Soon he found it, he started to think about that day. Why did she go that morning without telling me? I know that she didn't like to be treated like a kid, but she still is... is she?. Well being 16 makes her a teenager, not a kid, but that still makes her minor. But I don't know why I'm so happy that she came back. I came here to be left alone, but somehow this girl is changing that. I know she feels lonely, but why does she want to spend so much time with an old man like me? Joel was taken out of his thoughts when he hears the water running inside the bathroom.

So Joel grabs the clothes and walks out of the room. He stops in front of the bathroom door and knocks. "Hey, are you in the shower? I have a towel and some clean clothes that you can use."

After a few moments, Ellie answered him. "Yeah, I'm inside the shower, so you can enter and put them on top of the toilet, so I can grab them when I finish."

Joel waited for a moment before answering her back. "I think it is better if I left them on the door… is not right for a man to enter a bathroom... when a girl… is taking a shower," he said a little nervously.

"Is okay Joel, I'm inside the bath tube, I don't think you can see anything. If that worries you," Ellie giggled a little, when she tried to imagine Joel inside the bathroom with her.

Joel takes a deep breath and slowly starts to open the door. He was lucky that the steam that is produced by the hot water made it difficult to see inside the bathtub. Soon he was inside he could hear Ellie mumbling something inside the shower. He tried not to look that way and slowly moved toward the toilet and put the clothes and towel there. Soon he got closer to the toilet, he saw Ellie's clothes on the floor including her panties and bra. He quickly put the thing on the top of the toilet and started to walk away. But before he gets out of the bathroom, Ellie moves the curtain a little and shows her face.

"Thanks, Joel. Do you have any detergent? I need some to wash my clothes." She asked, looking at him.

Joel grabbed the doorknob and tried not to turn around. "I think I have some under the sink," he said while walking out of the bathroom and closing the door. Ellie giggled and went back to finish her shower.

( one hour later )

While Ellie took her bath, Joel went to his room and changed his wet clothes. After that, he went back to the kitchen to prepare some sandwiches when Ellie came walking into the living room.

She was drying her hair with the towel and wearing the clothes that Joel gave her. The long t-shirt was covering the sleeping shorts, so only her lower legs were showing. "Ahh that feels so good," she said while sitting on the chair that was in front of the counter. Joel was warming the bread on the stove, with his back at her. "So… what is for lunch?" she asked.

"I just made some jam and cheese sandwiches. Did you put your clothes to dry?" Asked Joel.

"I put them outside since you don't have any washing machine or a dryer one. I hope the sun does the job before I need to get back home." Ellie finishes drying her hair and put the towel on the other chair.

Joel put the sandwich on a plate and turned around. "Yeah, I don't have any. I always take my clothes to the dry cleaner," He looks at her with surprised eyes. She was with her hair all messed up, be it was the first time he saw her with her hair loose. Every time she came to his house she had her hair tied in a ponytail or wearing a cap. "Here you go... Do you want some juice with that?"

"Yes please," Ellie took the sandwich from the plate and took a bite. "Mmmm… this is so delicious… and I am so hungry."

"Is just a sandwich, but I'm glad you like," Joel walked to the fridge and grabbed a carton of juice and brought it to the counter. He grabs two glasses and put some juice on them. He passes on to Ellie. "Your aunt is at home today?" he asked while drinking his juice.

Ellie raised her head and looked at him. She was surprised at why he was asking her for her aunt? "Nope… I think she went out to see her boyfriend…" She takes another bite of her sandwich, then continues. "Well, she didn't say that exactly, but I know she did," she put the sandwich down and grabbed the glass with juice and drink. Then she grabbed the plate with the half eating sandwich and stood up. Ellie walked into the living room and sat on the chair that was in front of the fireplace.

Joel takes another sip of his drink and starts walking out of the kitchen. "So she went out and left you alone again?"

Ellie grabs her sandwich and takes another bite. "Yeah, but I don't mind that. She can go whatever she wants, so that way I can do whatever I want without her asking me questions about where I was or what I was doing."

Joel sat on the couch in front of her. "I still think that it is not good for her to let you be alone all the time. You still a teenager and-"

Ellie turned her head and looked at Joel. "I already told you so many times that I am not a kid anymore. I can take care of myself, so stop treating me like one."

Ellie turned her head so that way she didn't need to look at his face. She likes him and she wants him to like her, but not in the way he treats her now. Joel is maybe older than her, but she wants to be close to him. She is starting to get some feeling inside every time she comes here, and it feels good. Ellie looked back at him. "I like to come here because you're different and I love that. Yeah, you were a jerk at first, but now we're friends… and I like that too. I know that you don't like to talk much about you, but I hope that you change your mind with time."

Joel put his sandwich to the side and leaned forward, he took his glass with both hands and looked at it. He has been trying to figure out this girl, but any time she surprised him. Yeah, she is just 16 but she always talks like she is an adult. He is getting used to her company and to hear her stories and jokes. But can they be real friends? He needs to be a little sincere with her, so that way she doesn't get disappointed. "Look… There are a lot of things that you don't know about me. I don't was a good person… shit, I don't even think I am one now. So I don't know if... is good for you for us to be friends." said Joel without looking at her.

Ellie was surprised to hear him talking like that. Yeah, she doesn't know much about him, but she doesn't think that he is a bad person. "What do you mean by that?"

He looked at her for a moment, the lower his head. "I mean us to be friends? I'm 40 years old and you're just a teenage girl. I am not good with people, and I don't know if this is good for you. Besides what people are going to say when they find out your friend is an old man. Especially one like me."

Ellie put the last part of her sandwich on the floor and stood up. She walked to the couch and sat beside him. "You are not serious, right?" She moved her arms and put it on top of his. Then she leaned against him. "Being your friend is the best thing that happened to me in a long time. Coming here every day makes me happy and safe, so don't tell me that we can't be friends. And I don't even care what people will say if they find out."

Joel turned his head and looked at her head that was now on his shoulder. He was just wondering how this girl was getting too close to him. He doesn't know why she wants to be his friend that much, and he doesn't want to be the one to break her heart. Having this girl in his life is changing him and he hasn't been able to do that in a long time. But he needs to think about this because Ellie is only 16 and he knows that this is not right to let her get too close to him. "I know that you don't have any friends, but you can change that. You're a beautiful girl, smart and funny. I bet that if you give it a try, you can make a lot of friends at school."

Ellie moved away from him a little and looked at his face. "Ahhhh! Do you think I'm beautiful?" She smiled and moved closer to him again. "Thank you, Joel, that means a lot to me. No one has ever told me that before."

Joel looked away but didn't push her away. What the hell did I do? I supposed to push her away,

not make things worse. Now what he is supposed to do?

They stay on the couch for a while. Ellie was almost hugging him, and Joel didn't know what to do. So after a few minutes, he spoke again. "Anyway… now that the summer school vacation is almost over, we are not going to see each other that much. You're going back to school and I will probably start to do some work around here… so maybe-"

Ellie moved one hand and put her finger on his mouth. "Don't even say anything like that again. Of course, we're going to see each other after the summer ends. I can still come after school to visit you and on the weekends too. I can still come to help you with whatever you need."

Joel grabbed her hand and moved it away. "Ellie, you don't need to come here every day. You need to study and help your aunt with things in the house and all that."

Ellie did not even listen to what Joel was saying anymore. She grabs one of his hands and gets close to him. Now, Ellie was feeling some kind of electricity passing from her hand through her entire body. She was feeling butterflies inside her stomach, something that she was feeling since she met Joel. After a few minutes, Joel realized that she was holding his hand again. So he moved away from her. Ellie looked at him soon the sensation stopped. So Ellie stood up from the couch and stood in front of him. "Look, I don't want to talk about all that anymore. Is it going to take time for my clothes to dry, so why we do not do something while I wait?"

Joel looked at her, then he noticed that she wasn't wearing any bras. So he turns his head away and tries to control himself and not look at her like that. "And do what? I already told you that I don't have any games or tv."

Ellie put her hand on her waist and started to look around. Then she remembers that she has a set of UNO cards on her backpack. "Okay, I think that I have a set of cards on my backpack. So maybe we can play with it."

Joel thinks for a moment. "What kind of carts do you have?."

Ellie stood up and went to where her backpack was. While she was gone Joel finished his sandwich and juice. Right now he prefers a beer, but it was better to leave that to when Ellie is not around.

A few minutes later Ellie came back with a deck of cards in her hand. "Here, I use these to play sometimes, but it is better if you play with another person," Ellie passed the cart deck to Joel, so he can see them. Is it called ONE, did you play with this card before?"

Joel looked at the cards but didn't recognize it. I don't remember playing with this kind of card before. I used to play cards sometimes with my brother but not like these ones. I prefer to play blackjack or poker." Say Joel passing the card back to Ellie.

Ellie takes them back. "Okay, since you don't know how to play, I will teach you."

Joel watched Ellie walking to the front of the fireplace and sat on the floor. "C'mon I will teach you the rules and explain how this game is played."

Joel rolls his eyes and stands up. He can't believe that he is going to play a silly game with this girl. But they need to give Ellie's clothes to dry and they can go outside to do something else. So he decided to please the girl. Joel walked to the fireplace and sat on the floor in front of Ellie.

Ellie smiles at him and starts to move the cards on her hand. "Okay, I will tell you the rules and the meaning of any card. Then I will teach you how to play… okay?"

Joel stays looking at her while she starts to explain the meaning of the game. He tried to remember the last time he sat to play cards with a girl before. But he didn't remember any. Yes, he has some girlfriends in school, but they do other things. Think that he did not want to remember right now.

( Two hours later )

Both Ellie and Joel were still sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. Ellie was checking her cards and waiting for Joel to make his move. "Okay dude, is your turn… so what are you waiting for?" said Ellie with a smile on her face.

Joel looked at her, not happy with the game. She already is winning… again. "I don't think I understand this game. Besides, I think you're cheating," says Joel looking at his cards.

Ellie rolls her eyes and looks at him. "Ohhh… C'mon, I already explained to you like 10 times. Besides, I don't need to cheat. It is not my fault that you're not good at this."

"I still think you're," Joel grabbed one card and put it on top of the deck. Maybe I can teach you how to play poker, and see who is the best at that."

Ellie looked at him and smiled. "Okay, you poor loser. Let's finish this one and you can teach me how to play poker okay?" Ellie saw the smile on Joel's face and continued with the game. She loved when Joel smiled because it is very rare in him. They continue playing the game for a little time even with Joel protests. And of course, Ellie wins in the end, and that makes her really happy. Not only for winning, but also to be able to pass more time with Joel.

After they finish the game, Joel starts to teach Ellie how to play poker. It was difficult to explain how the game was played at first. But after a few hours, Ellie started to understand the game.

"Okay I will raise you five token," said Joel, putting the token on the top of the pile between them. They used some plastic bottle caps that Joel found on a jar in the kitchen a few days ago. Now they're using them as money for the game.

Ellie looks at her cards, then back to Joel. "I don't have any more tokens to raise your to bet. So what should I do now?"

"Well, if you don't have a way to raise my bet, then I win." Joe put his cards on the floor and smiled at her. Yeah, he lost all the UNO games with her, but he knows this game better.

"What!... That is not fair. You don't know what I got, so how do you win?" said Ellie with a frustrated tone.

"As I explained to you before, you need to raise my bet to see my cards. So if you don't have more tokens to bet, I don't need to show you my cards to win. It's like you're forfeit the game."

"That is all fuking bullshit… this game sucks," she said, throwing her card to the floor.

"Hey… watch the languish, kid. I know that this is an adult game, but you don't need to get mad okay. I just thought that it would be a little fun if you know how to play. But maybe you like to play a kid game."

Ellie smiles in despair and soon she hears calling her kid again. "I am not a kid Joel, how many times do I have to tell you that," Ellie stood up and crossed her arm, then she turned around.

Joel stood up too and walked toward her. This was a nice day and he didn't want to ruin it by making the girl upset. "Sorry, I don't mean to upset you, it is just a game don't worry about it."

"Is not that Joel, I just don't like to be treated like a little kid. That is why I don't have any friends. I thought you're different, but are you going to treat me like… a kid too… then..."

Joel noticed that she was going to cry, so he needed to cheer her up. "Okay, tell you what. We are going to see each other's cards now and if you win. We do whatever you like to do this weekend, what did you say?"

Ellie turned around with a smile on her face. She was very close to him now like her body almost was touching his. Her heart started to beat faster and the sensation of kissing him right there was getting high. She doesn't know why she wants to do that suddenly. But she does not want to ruin the day, so she will figure that out later. So after a few moments of staring at him, she spoke again. "Really! Did you mean that… we can do whatever I want?"

Joel moved away from her and smiled. "Well, it is something rational, then yes."

"Okay deal! Let's see your cards?"

Both of them moved where they were sitting before and grabbed their cards. Joel was going to show her his cards but stopped. "Okay, but if I win, you will clean the nesting fish we catch the next time we go fishing."

Ellie smiled even more. "Ahhhh… you will be disappointed on that because I not going to lose,"