Phil stood against the wall of the inside of the cabin with Jeff next to him. They'd been awake for just a few hours, and normally Phil would've gone to go find something to eat, but he really didn't want to leave Jeff right now. He hadn't said a word since he cried himself to sleep last night, and it was really starting to concern Phil.
Jeff wasn't exactly known to be afraid to speak his mind, so silence was extremely unusual. Phil tried to make small talk every now and then, to which Jeff would just shrug in response. He even tried saying things he knew would piss Jeff off, because even an insult would be comforting at this point, but nothing.
Hell, Phil would even be happy if he cried. Jeff wasn't showing any emotion at all, he was just staring blankly at his feet. Phil wasn't sure what was bothering Jeff more, the rapes, or the fact that he killed them.
Phil sighed softly and pulled Jeff closer. He kissed Jeff's forehead and stroked his hair. "You're ok, Jeff, I promise."
Jeff shivered slightly so Phil pecked his lips, hugging him tighter. "We're gonna be alright. I'm gonna find us a nice house to live in, and we'll be safe, and it'll all be ok. Just please talk to me."
Jeff snuggled into him, his eyes watering up. "I'm a murderer."
"No, you're not," said Phil, wiping Jeff's tears away with his thumb. "They deserved every bit of that. If you wouldn't have done that they would've killed us both."
"That doesn't make it right," said Jeff, pulling away and putting his head back down. "I ended their lives, I'm just as wrong as them."
"It's different," said Phil.
"How?" Said Jeff.
"They did horrible, horrible things to you, and they've killed tons of people. You were defending yourself," said Phil. "That's the difference."
Jeff wiped a tear away and Phil pulled him close again. "You didn't do anything wrong, alright? You're not a murderer, if anything you're a bad ass." Jeff chuckled a little and Phil pecked his lips and ran a hand over his face. "I love you."
Jeff buried his face in Phil's neck and sighed. "Can we make a fire? I'm cold."
"Yeah," said Phil, giving him one last squeeze before going to quickly find some wood. He didn't know how far away winter was, but it couldn't be that far. And there was no way Jeff would make it in that outfit. They needed to find some new clothes, and quick.
Phil wasn't sure what Jeff wanted to do, but right now, that cabin was all they had. He knew Jeff hated being stationary, but they really didn't have any other options right now. Trying to catch up to Hunter and Amy would be hopeless since they had a car, the neighborhood was probably completely ransacked by zombies at this point, and wandering aimlessly with no supplies wasn't the greatest idea in the world.
But even so, Phil was happy. He had Jeff, and that's all that mattered to him. Phil didn't need a car, he didn't need Paul Heyman, he didn't need the cure, all he needed was Jeff. And he knew Jeff needed him just as much.
Phil didn't have a single regret about staying behind for Jeff, he considers it one of the best decisions he's ever made, if not the best decision. He found and picked some wood up as fast as he could, making a small fire right outside of the cabin. Phil snuggled Jeff against himself, sitting in front of the fire. "Better?" Asked Phil, kissing Jeff's cheek.
Jeff got a small smile. "Yes, better."
Phil couldn't help but look down Jeff's body, biting his lip. He felt like he deserved a medal of honor for resisting Jeff last night. Jeff was too hot for his own good. Of course, Phil knew it was gonna be a while, a long while, before they had sex again. But going to no sex cold turkey after having sex everyday was not gonna be a fun adjustment.
Phil felt Jeff shiver and he wrapped his arms tighter around him. As much as Phil loved the new outfit, it was definitely gonna have to go. He was pretty cold himself, so he couldn't imagine how cold Jeff was. "How's your shoulder?" Asked Phil.
Jeff moved it a little. "It's alright"
"Did the gang hurt it more?" Said Phil, rubbing Jeff's shoulder.
"They definitely didn't help it," said Jeff. He snuggled closer to Phil with a sigh. "Do you think we're gonna find Hunter and Eve and Amy again?"
Phil bit his lip. "Maybe." Sure, it was extremely doubtful, but it was possible, right?
"Where'd they go?" Said Jeff.
Phil sighed. "They went with this guy to California, he said he has a cure for the zombies."
"Why didn't you go?" Said Jeff.
"There was no way I was leaving when you were still here," said Phil.
"This was a chance to save the world," said Jeff. "This is bigger than me."
"Nothing's bigger than you," said Phil, running a finger under Jeff's chin. "And I did save the world, you are my world."
Jeff tried not to smile but got a small smirk and shook his head. "Dumb ass."
"I'd rather be a dumb ass than be without you," said Punk, kissing his cheek.
"You're such a softie," said Jeff, pulling away and standing up.
Phil smirked and followed after him. "Whatcha doin?"
"I don't know," said Jeff. "Wandering."
"Sure you want to?" Said Phil. "It's cold, and we don't have supplies."
"I have a bow and a sword," said Jeff. "We'll be fine. Besides, we need to keep moving."
"Shouldn't we have a plan?" Said Phil.
"Plans are for pussies," said Jeff. "Now come on."
Phil sighed and followed after him. "It's great to have you back, Jeff."
Jeff smirked back at him and kept walking.
Hunter let out a deep sigh as he drove Paul's car down the road. Amy was sitting next to him in the passenger's seat, and Paul and Eve were asleep in the back. Amy looked over at Hunter with a small smile. "You feel bad about leaving them, huh?"
"We didn't leave them, we left Phil," said Hunter. "Jeff was already gone."
"Keep telling yourself that, maybe you'll believe it one day," said Amy.
"Look, we have the cure. It's not worth risking that over Phil and a guy that we may never see again," said Hunter.
It was silent for a few moments before Amy spoke up again. "We can still turn around you know."
"No we can't," said Hunter. "We have to get to California."
"You don't even know if you're going the right way," said Amy, crossing her arms.
"I know where I'm going," grumbled Hunter.
Amy rolled her eyes. "Is that why we've passed that tree five times now?"
"That's not the same tree they all look the same," said Hunter.
"Sure," said Amy. "At this rate, Jeff and Phil will catch up to us."
"You really think Jeff is still, you know, alive?" Said Hunter.
Amy shrugged. "I don't know, but I know he's one of the toughest people I've ever met, and if anyone could get out of this, it'd be him."
Hunter was silent for a few seconds before swerving the car back around. Amy just smirked and Hunter glared over at her. "Not, a word."
Paul stirred in the backseat and squinted at Hunter. "Where are we?"
"Just go back to sleep, Paul. We're on the way," said Hunter.
Paul seemed to accept this and went back to sleep, his snores sounding through the car.
"You think he's gonna be pissed when he finds out we went back?" Said Amy.
"He'll get over it," said Hunter.
"I knew you liked them," said Amy.
"I, do not, like them," said Hunter. "I'm just not a bad person."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," said Amy, with a smirk.
Hunter just sighed and kept driving.
Phil watched Jeff as he scaled a tree to see where they were. At first he was making an attempt not to stare at his ass, but now, he wasn't even bothering to try anymore.
"I think we should keep moving forward," said Jeff, peering out over a tree branch.
"You sure?" Said Phil.
"Yeah, the view up here is great," said Jeff. "You should see it."
"No thanks, the view down here's pretty great too," said Phil, with a smirk. Jeff glared down at him with a small smirk and climbed back down.
"You know, I had suspicions before, but now I'm sure you're part squirrel," said Phil, helping Jeff down the last few feet. He held Jeff's hips for a few more seconds, his eyes gliding over Jeff's body before pulling away. Yeah, no sex was gonna be difficult.
Jeff got a small smirk when he saw Phil's eyes trail down him, but raised a brow when he pulled away. 'Well, that was weird,' thought Jeff. He walked up to Phil and Phil immediately wrapped an arm around him as they walked. Jeff leaned into him and Phil got a small smile. He rubbed Jeff's arm, feeling how cold he was. "We should stop soon," said Phil.
"But we've barely been walking for a few hours," said Jeff.
"I know, but you're cold," said Phil, stopping and pulling Jeff against him. "You need a fire, I don't want you getting sick."
Jeff rolled his eyes and pulled away, continuing to walk forward. "I'm fine, it's not the first time I've been out in the cold."
Phil crossed his arms. "Well it doesn't have to be like that anymore."
Jeff turned around to face him and Phil pulled him close again. "I just want to make a better life for you. I'm tired of you being in danger all the time."
"We're in an apocalypse," said Jeff. "It's gonna be dangerous."
"But Jeff," said Phil. "If we can find a house-"
"We can't just stay in one place forever," said Jeff. "You tried to do that with the neighborhood, and you saw what happened there."
"Like that's gonna happen again," said Phil.
"Something else bad can happen," said Jeff, pulling away. "We need to keep moving. It's the only way to survive."
Phil crossed his arms with a sigh. "Fine. But we need a to find a temporary house soon. We can't keep traveling all day and night anymore. It's gonna start getting really cold at night."
"Whatever," said Jeff, turning around and walking away again.
Phil followed after him again with a sigh. "Why are you always so difficult?"
"Why are you always such a bitch," said Jeff, glaring back at him.
"Well sorry, I didn't realize trying to protect you made me a bitch," said Phil.
"I don't need protection," said Jeff.
"You could've fooled me," said Phil.
Jeff turned to face him again. "You know what-"
Phil pulled Jeff against himself and kissed him, before leaning their foreheads together. "Just listen to me. I know you're strong, but you can't keep going on like this. And you can deny it all you want to, but you need me just as much as I need you, so just let me help you."
"I'm fine," said Jeff, pulling away and walking again.
Phil sighed inwardly and followed after him.
Hunter drove the car back to the neighborhood, getting out when he saw it. "Oh my god."
Amy got out after him, her jaw hanging in shock. "What the fuck happened?!"
The neighborhood was completely torn apart, if not by fire then by hordes of zombies. Amy covered her mouth and looked at Hunter. "Phil-"
"We'll find him," said Hunter, getting back in the car. "Get in." He tore the car into the forest when Amy got in. She clung to her seat, nails digging in. "Hunter, slow down."
He ignored her and continued tearing through the forest. Paul was flung in the backseat, banging his head on the top of the car when Hunter hit a bump. He looked around with a shocked expression and held his head, feeling a headache growing. "What on Earth is going on?!"
"We're getting Phil," grumbled Hunter, narrowly avoiding a tree.
Eve groaned, rubbing her eyes. "There can't just be ten minutes of peace, can there?"
Paul pulled his hand away from his head, looking to see if there was any blood. "You could have killed me!"
"You'll get over it," said Hunter. He finally stopped the truck in a clearing, before getting out and yelling for Phil with the rest of the group following suit.
"It's getting cold out," said Eve, rubbing her arms.
"We need to find them soon," said Amy. "It's just gonna get colder at night."
"This is ridiculous," said Paul. "We should be heading to California."
"We can get to California when we find them," said Hunter, walking further into the forest.
"You're risking this world, your life, MY, LIFE, for a damn person?!" said Paul.
Hunter held up two fingers. "Two, people. And these two people are worth a whole lot more than you, with or without the cure."
Amy smirked and followed Hunter with Eve. Paul grumbled and followed them, mumbling under his breath.
Jeff walked a few paces ahead of Phil, crossing his arms to try to savor some warmth. Phil quickly walked closer to him and wrapped an arm around him, rubbing his arm. Jeff grumbled a thanks and leaned into him. Phil smirked and gave his arm a small squeeze. "See, you can't stay mad at me."
"Oh I could," said Jeff. "Trust me."
Phil leaned down and kissed his cheek. Jeff's eyes widened as Phil started kissing his neck. "Phil!"
Phil immediately pulled away, worried he went too far. "Sorry."
"No not that," said Jeff. He pointed ahead of him. "That."
Phil looked where he was pointing and his jaw dropped. "Is that a house?"
"It's something," said Jeff, walking towards it. There was a big, square, wooden building ahead of them. It definitely looked run down, but it was shelter. Jeff opened the door and they walked inside, taking in the surroundings.
"Wow," said Phil. There was stuff absolutely everywhere inside. It was a hoarder's dream. Phil got a small smile. "See, I told you we'll be fine."
Jeff smirked back at him. "This will work for the night."
"You'll come around," said Phil, starting to dig through the stuff. "Now let's see if we can find you some clothes."
AN: Hey guys! Hope you liked it! Please review!
TayTay4936- Thanks for reviewing!
shiki94- Thanks for reviewing!
consultingstarkofmischief- Thanks for favoriting!
nekochaninspe- Thanks for following!
GreenIvory- Thanks for following and favoriting!
MistressDaisy94- Thanks for following and favoriting!
GDBHS- Thanks for following and favoriting!