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

A/N: Again thanks to the people that are reading this and I hope that you like the story so far. Now let's continue with the story.

Chapter 7: Legends Of The Sea

After eating lunch, Joel and Ellie take off the diving suit and sit on the back bank. Ellie was in a red bikini looking at the ocean. Joel was on the opposite side trying to not look at her. Ellie was a beautiful girl, with a great body, but she was just a girl in his eyes, so he tried to avoid looking at her as much as he could, but the girl was making it almost impossible.

"Okay… I know that you don't like to talk much about yourself, but I would like to know more about you?" said Ellie while turning her head around and looking at him. She was fascinated by him, even if he looked older his body was in a good form and she somehow found that exciting.

Joel turns his head and looks at her. "Yeah, I'm not much of a talking man… I mean, no about myself."

"Ahhh… C'mon… there must be something you can share… you don't need to tell me your whole story, just a few things." She leaned forward and looked at him. "You already told me that you're from Texas… which is closer to Arizona where I'm studying now… So how was your life there?"

"Hot!" is all he said.

Ellie looks at his body even if she tries not to. Yeah, I can see how hot you get… fuck was is wrong with me?… why always end up thinking about him like that?… c'mon Ellie you need to get control of yourself and think about something else before this conversation gets weird.

"Ya llegamos… jóvenes," yell Rodrigo from above.

"Shit!… Thank God… save by the bell. Ellie got up as soon as she saw Joel do the same. He moved to the side and looked to the front of the boat. Ellie walks toward Joel and stands beside him, trying not to get too close. "Is that the island?" she said while looking at it.

"Yeah… is small, but there's a good story about it."

"Really?... cool," she said excitedly. "What kind of story?… because it looks too small for something interesting to happen there."

Joel turns his head and looks at her. "Legend says that a pirate named Rolan the Rutles uses this place as hide out… and that he and his men hide a treasure there…"

"Really?... Did someone find the treasure?"

"No… people have explored this water looking for evidence of that legend, but never found it… but local people think that all that was true. Even if they never found any treasure there. Some researchers found some skeletons burning around the island and legend said that those skeletons were from former pirates."

"So this island was like a pirate's burial ground?" she asked.

Joel turns his head and looks at the island. "I don't think it was a cemetery… Maybe they fight for the treasure and get killed. Anyway, the legend says that he was a local pirate and has a base on the big island. There is no evidence of that… but local people think that one of the skeletons they found there was the captain himself. They think that his men bury him there after he dies."

"That sounds cool and creepy," she said while looking at the small island that was getting bigger as they got closer. "So… the skeleton is still there? Can we see them?" she asked as soon as she felt the boat move slower.

Joel turns around and looks at her again. "Sadly… no. some archaeologists from around the world came here decades ago and with the local authorities removing the remains. But there are some old ruins there for tourists to visit… not many people come here now because the locals think the place is haunted, but that is just a myth."

Ellie looked at the island intrigued by what was there. "Oh wow… That sounds cool. I have never been in a haunted place before."

"Yeah, that sounds cool, but it's just a local taboo… But if you are not scared of ghosts? We can go and check the place. Besides, the water around the island is very clear and beautiful… if you want to go for a swim. So you want to go there? Or want me to take you to some other place?"

Ellie looks at the island for a few minutes, then back at Joel. "I want to see it… I am always fascinated with local legends… and I like pirate history."

"Great…" Joel moves away from the edge and looks up. "Hey, Rodrigo… llévanos los mas serca possible… we're going-" Joel stops when he hears a splash on the water, so he quickly turns around and looks at the water. "Hey!... what are you doing? you can't jump like that?"

"Ahhh… C'mon… is just a little swing to the island. So what are you waiting for…" she said before turning and starting to swim toward the small island.

"Jesus…" he turned and looked at the old man. "Lleva el bote hasta el otro lado… okay!" said Joel before jumping into the water too and starting swimming behind Ellie. The boat was really close, so they didn't have to swing too much. Ellie was the first to arrive at the sandy shore. The island was small, but soon you got on it, it was not so much.

Ellie walked out of the water and grabbed her ponytail and squeezed. She started walking on the sand, but soon she felt the heat from it and she moved back to the water. After a few minutes, she saw Joel standing up from his swim and started walking toward her. Ellie watches how the water goes down his body as he walks out of the water. She bites her lips and tries not to think of how attractive he looks right now.

"Hey!... you can't jump from a moving boat like that is dangerous," he said as soon as he got close to her.

"Sorry… I just get a little excited," she said while trying to hide the redness on her face. "Soooo… this is the little pirate island?… Can we see the ruins?"

"Sure… let go to the opening… is not far from here," he said while starting to walk through the hot beach.

"The upper part? What do you mean?" she asked while following him.

"Ohhh… that is part of the adventure…" he said with a smile on his face. Joel walked ahead of her passing the three palms that were closer to the shore, Ellie looked at them wondering how tall they were. She looked down and saw a few coconuts laying on the sand around the big palm.

"Can we eat those?" she asked while looking at them.

Joel stops and looks back. "Sure… some of them look like they recently fell, but we can't do it here… as you jump out of the boat so early, I don't have the time to bring anything to open them." Joel looked at her disappointed expression. "Don't worry, we can bring a few with us and eat them on the boat. Now… c'mon the entrance is not far," he said while starting to walk again.

Ellie follows him, beyond the palm through a tall undergrowth and tight path. She watched Joel as he moved forward and after a few minutes, a small rocky formation could be seen ahead. "Is that the ruin you mentioned before? They look like a rock formation to me,"

Joel stops and smiles. "Yeah… it does, but you will soon see that this is just the entrance," he says while walking on it and getting to the top. "C'mon… just climb up."

Ellie doesn't know what he was talking about, because all she can see is a rock, but she gets on it and climbs up. Soon she got close to him, she saw the hole in the ground. "Is that an underground cave?" she asked while looking at it.

"Yep! Is not deep or too big, but legend says that it was the pirate captain's hideout… There is where they found the skeleton buried and the small ruins that were possibly a small house," Joel moved closer to the hole and grabbed the wooden ladder that was on the hole's edges. "Just a few feet down, don't worry… I go first," he said while getting on the ladder and starting to descend.

Ellie moves closer and looks down. The cavern was a little dark, but it seems that a few small holes on the top rock formation gave a decent illumination inside. So soon Joel was halfway down, she got on the ladder and started to get down.

Soon Joel touches the button, moves away from the ladder, and starts to look around to see if someone else has come here lately. A few minutes later Ellie touches the ground and moves away from the ladder. Ellie starts looking around the cavern and wonders about the place. As the hole above provides enough illumination for the place she was surprised by the magnitude of the cavern for a small island.

"Wow… this place is incredible…" she said while looking at the rocky walls. How can this place exist on a small island like this?"

"I don't know… but the people that discovered this place. Found a few wooden remains boxes, vases, robes, and other personal things that indicate that someone used this place a long time ago," said Joel moving forward. "Those rocky block formations there, indicated that a little cabin or something like that was built here, but they said that the ocean corroded the wood with time and they don't know for sure what this place was used for," said Joel while moving around. Legend has it that the pirate captain used this place as storage for his personal treasure and that his crew found out and they fought here to death."

"Wow… that is very interesting. I never read or heard about this… so how do you know all that?" said Ellie while moving closer to him and looking at the rock formation.

"I read something about that in the mainland local museum. They keep a few of the things they found here and the men remain; that is where the legend starts to spread around the big island."

"Wow… when did they find this?"

"I'm not sure if I remember right… but I think it was in the '80s," said Joel while moving around the place. After the archaeologist and local authorities finished, it was abandoned. People still come, but it is more restricted as the authorities want to keep it undisturbing as much as possible."

"I understand, but this is a good tourist place," she said while looking at the holes in the ceiling of the cavern.

"Yeah, I know. But most people come here for other things and to enjoy the beaches. Some people came after it was open to the public, but I guess that most of them are not very interested in coming here anymore. As you can see there is not much to see here as all they found was taken off the island by local authorities," said Joel while moving around. "Also the local police do some routine checks around here, to keep people out and not coming to them and doing illegal things."

"Well, I get it. I also came to this island to do some of those things… But thank you for bringing me here. I think this place is great."

"You mean to do illegal things? Wow… are you not too young for that?." said Joel in a mocking way.

"Not…. you domy… I mean the beaches and all that, but I can tell you that I like to see historical places too." she said while moving to a hole in the ground close to one of the cavern walls that was filled with ocean water. "Is this going under the island?"

Joel moves closer and looks at it. "Oh… I think it is a tunnel that goes under the island and out of the open sea. But it is too small for a person to fit there."

"Ahhh… to shame. It will be cool to go down there and see what it looks like," she said with a curious tone.

"Well, I know a few places like this, where you can swim through underwater caves. So if you want to go to one I can arrange for another time."

"Really… I want to go to one… that will be cool."

"Okay… is a deal… now let's get out before a police patrol finds us here and starts to ask questions…" he said while walking back to the wooden ladder. He climbs up with Ellie behind him until both of them go out of the cavern.

"Can we take some coconuts with us?" she asked as soon as they jumped out of the rocky formation.

"Well, it will be difficult to swim with them, but we can try. After Joel grabs two coconuts, they walk to the other side of the small island and see the boat there. It was closer than before, so it will not take long to swim there. After they get to the sandy beach Ellie stops and turns around.

"Can we swim a little before we go? This beach is so clear and beautiful," she asked with a smile.

"Sure… I will take the coconut to the boat first, but you can start without me." Joel watches her go into the water and go under. He waits for her to surface, before tying the coconuts and going into the water, and swimming toward the boat. It only took him a few minutes to get close to the boat and soon he started to get up on the ramp, he was received by the old man.

"Hey… que haces aqui and leaving that beautiful girl swimming alone?" said the old man with a mocking tone.

Joel throws the coconuts on deck and gets aboard. "No empieces con esas tonterías… no quiero que nadie te escuche decir eso… y me metas en problemas."

The old man started to laugh. "Por que te meterías en problemas? Ella es una mujer adulta… no es como si estuvieras violando alguna ley."

"Ella es solo una cliente que me paga por darle un tour en la isla… y nada más." Joel grabs the coconut and throws it to him. "Porque no dejas de hablar tonterías y cortas estos cocos… she want to eat some."

"Oh… puedo hacer algo mejor… Tengo algo de ron en mi camarote… les preparare un buen cocktail." he said laughing and walking away.

After a few minutes, Ellie swam closer to the boat. "Hey! Can you pass me the snorkel that is inside my bag and the clappers?"

"Are you going under again?" asked Joel.

"Yeah… I saw a few fish and I want to know what is on the button… Do you have a snorkel?" she asked him.

"No, I didn't bring any… but you can go by yourself. It is quiet here so you will be okay." he took a few minutes to grab what she asked for and throw it to her. "Now… don't take too long, we need to get moving soon and-" he did not even finish as he was pushed overboard by the old man. Ellie started to laugh louder as soon she saw Joel hitting the water. After a minute, Joel resurfaces from under the water and looks back at the boat where he saw the old man laugh louder too. "Very funny… I will make you pay for that… later."

"I guess… you will need this to join the senorita…" Said Rodrigo while throwing him a snorkel and the clappers. "I have those on the boat… so see you later…" he said while turning and walking down the deck.

"I guess you can join me now…" said Ellie while finishing putting her things on and going under the water.

Joel doesn't have any excuse now, so he put the things on and followed her under. That old man is going to pay for this I swear to God. He thought after going down. Soon he was under, and Joel saw Ellie a little ahead swinging. Her red bikini was giving Joel strange thoughts, but he try to not think of her body. But it was hard to resist since she has a great body. Ellie was a beautiful girl and he can see that she has a great personality too. They swim together for half an hour, then go back to the boat. Soon they go back, Rodrogo starts the boat and starts to navigate back to the pier.

After a few minutes, he gets down and goes into the cabin. "Here… I make this for you two…" he said as soon he came out and handed the coconuts to Ellie and Joel. They were sitting on the bank covered with towels.

"You're not supposed to navigate the boat?" asked Ellie while grabbing the first coconut.

"Ahhh… don't worry… señorita… este bebe can find his way home without me up there," he tells her before moving toward Joel. "Aquí tienes a mi amigo… que lo disfruten."

Ellie takes a sip of it and starts coughing a little. "Shit! What did you put on this?"

"Oh sí… tiene el mejor Ron the Puerto Rico… hope you like it." he said before walking away.

Joel moves closer to her and whispers. "You don't have to drink it if you don't like it."

Ellie turns her head and looks at him. "Oh… don't worry… I like it, it just took me by surprise." She takes another sip but a small one this time. "Soooo… Rodrigo is your friend?... He is kind of funny and a gentleman."

Joel laughs a little then take a sip of his coconut drink. "Yeah, you were right… I think it is a little strong…" he said while taking another sip. "But it's good…" he put it down and looked at her. "Try not to believe everything he says… he likes to exaggerate things. But to answer your last question, yeah he is a friend."

"How long have you known him?" she asked while taking another sip of her drink.

"I have known him since I came to live here… he helps me a lot, even if he was not always as friendly as he is now, but he is a good person… he doesn't have any family so I'm the closest he had to that… I guess."

"Ahhh… that is nice. I don't have much of a family either… as I'm an only child I have only my parents…" Ellie stopped after saying that. She doesn't know why she is talking about her private life with this man, but it feels good to talk to him. Besides, if she wants to know more about him, it is only fair to let him know a few things about herself.

Joel and Ellie continue talking for a while about different things and after they finish their coconut drink, Ellie goes down the deck and to the small room where she leaves her clothes and changes.

Joel was now on the upper part standing beside Rodrigo looking at the ocean. "Quiero agradecerte por ayudarme con todo esto." he said while looking at the old man. "I know you don't want to charge me for using your boat for the trip, but I am still going to pay you for the boat gas."

"Is okay Joel… I can accept that part." the man turned his head and looked at him. "Se que no quieres oir esto, pero creo que esa chica abrió algo en ti… I didn't see you smile in a long time."

Joel turns his sigh away from him and looks toward the ocean in front of them. "Yo no sé de qué hablas… sigo siendo el mismo…"

The man turns his head and looks forward. "Lo, que tú digas… Joel, pero yo sé lo que veo. Y no te había visto tan entusiasmado desde-"

"Please don't even mention her… the last thing I need is to get reminded of my past life,"

"No estaba hablando de ella… me refería a lo de el muchacho. No se porque sigues atormentandote con algo que no fue tu culpa…" Said Rodrigo while shaking his head. "That kid was an adult and knew what he was doing… you try to stop him, but he does not listen to you… so stop feeling bad about it." The man turned his head and looked at Joel who was now looking at the floor with wet eyes. "Ya perdiste a alguien que amabas por eso… no dejes que lo que paso siga destruyendo tu vida… mi consejo de amigo es que continúes adelante con tu vida y encuentre la felicidad que mereces."

After a few minutes, Joel wiped a few tears from his eyes. "I don't think that that will be possible."

The old man took a deep breath. "Yo creo que sí puedes… solo tienes que ver mas aya de tu dolor y ver lo que tienes de frente."

Joel races his head and looks at him. "You no sé de qué rayos hablas old man… pero-"

"Hey… are we close to the port?" asked Ellie as soon she climbed the ladder and got to the top part. "It's getting dark and I want to go to the store to buy a few things."

Joel turns around and walks past her. "Will be there in 15 minutes," he said while grabbing the handle of the ladder and starting to climb down.

Ellie watched him go but didn't say anything before he was gone. "Did something happen to Joel?" she asked as soon she turned to look at the old man. "He was acting a little weird just now."

"Nothing is wrong with him… senorita… and don't worry we'll be back to land soon."

Ellie turns her head and looks down, but Joel seems to go down the deck. After a minute Ellie turned her head again. "Are you sure? He seems a little… I don't know… if it is something I said or asked?"

"You don't need to worry about him… just enjoy your vacation here okay… that will make him happy,"

"Really! How so?" Ellie asked curiously. "I thought this was only a job for him…" she said with a little disappointed tone. "Oh sorry I don't know if you understand me that well… I don't speak much Spanish."

"I do understand you… well, most of it, but don't worry," he said with a smile on his face.

"How Long you have known him?" Ellie starts to ask him.

"I have known him since he came to live here… why you ask?"

Ellie turned her head again looking down at the deck. "I just want to know more about him… but he doesn't like to talk about himself…" Ellie turns her head and looks at the old man. I just… since you know him… will tell me more about him…"

The man looked at her knowing what she meant. "Joel is a little complicated case… look I'm not supposed to say this, because Joel has his things… but if you want to know more you need to find a way to get closer to him," Rodrigo said before he saw the entrance of the port. "We arrive… Hope you enjoy your trip… miss."

Ellie looks at the port as they go closer. "Oh yeah… I love it… thank you… I know that this was your job, but I really enjoy everything… Thank you." Ellie moves forward and gives him a kiss on his cheek. "Gracias… por la bebida… estaba muy buena." then she started to climb down the ladder.

"You're welcome… miss Ellie," says Rodrigo while guiding the boat close to the pier. Joel gets out of the cabin and grabs one of the ropes and waits until the boat touches the pier. Ellie watched him as he jumped to the pier to tie it up. Soon the boat was secured on the pier, and the old man turned off the engine he started to climb down. Joel goes back aboard and goes for his things.

"Do you have all your things?" he asked Ellie.

"Yep… is all here," she said while showing him her backpack. After a minute, she moves close to Joel and whispers. "You never told me how much the trip will cost so I don't bring too much money… So do I have to give him his part now? Or you can bring it to him later?"

"No need to worry about Rodrigo, I have his part covered… we can talk about the payment on the way to the hotel."

"Are you sure? I don't want your friend to think that I don't want to pay him or something."

Joel smiles. "Don't worry about that… besides I think he likes you…" said Joel while looking at the old man as he was walking toward them.

"Bueno señorita… It was a pleasure to meet you… so I hope to see you again soon."

"The pleasure was mine… senor Rodrigo… gracias." They shake hands before Ellie moves close to Joel.

After a minute Joel got out of the boat to help Ellie up to the pier. Soon both of them were standing beside the boat Joel looked at his friend. "Estás seguro que no quieres que te ayude con las cosas? Puede regresar más tarde si quieres."

Rodrigo starts to move a few things in the boat before stopping and looking at him. "No te preocupes… you puedo solo. Solo lleva a la señorita a su hotel… ya nos veremos después." said the old man with a smile on his face. "Take care miss… and don't let him get into trouble… okay?"

"Don't worry he is in good hands," she said while waving at him. "Thanks again for the trip."

"Sure… Maybe we can go fishing next time and talk more about Joel. I remember the time he got drunk and went swimming naked."

"Really?... I want to hear more-" Joel moves close to Ellie and pulls her away.

"C'mon… you don't need to hear any of that," he said before turning his head and looking at him with an angry expression. "See you later… old man."

"See you later Joel… and have a good time," he said while showing him his thumb up.

"What does he mean by that?…" said Ellie before Joel pushed her forward to make sure she does not go back to the boat and try to convince Rodrigo to tell her things about him.

Soon they get to his jeep, and both of them got inside. "So did you enjoy your tour trip?" asked Joel while starting the engine.

"Are you kidding me? That was awesome… thank you… I had a great time." she answered him happily.

"Glad to hear that…" said Joel before putting the jeep on gear and driving away from the port. The drive back only took 15 minutes since they were close to the lounge hotel Ellie was staying in. Soon they arrive Joel parks the jeep in front of it. "Okay… so I see you tomorrow?" he said looking at her.

"So you're going to accept my offer?"

"Do you still want me to be your guide for the rest of the week? I know that I'm not a professional on this but-"

"Yes of course… I don't think that I can find a better guide than you. I just hope that you can take me to places as good as the one today… even if it will be hard to get better than that."

"Ahhh… you can be surprised… how much you can see here," he answered her.

Ellie opened the door and grabbed her backpack from the back seat. "Hey… if you're not busy… you can come in." Ellie's face went red and not because of the suntan she got today. "I mean…the money that I owe you is in my room… soooo!" She starts to get nervous and doesn't know why.

Joel thought for a moment but decided that it was better to go. "Is okay… you can give it to me tomorrow… I really need to go to the bar."

Ellie felt a little disappointed, but at least they will see each other tomorrow. "Okay… see you tomorrow then."

"See you… have a good night."

"You too… and thanks for the lovely day." Joel smiles at her before driving off. Ellie watched him until he was out of sight before turning around and walking toward her hotel room. Soon Ellie gets inside, she dropped her backpack on top of one of the chairs in the room and jumped onto the bed. Ellie closed her eyes and started to think about her day and how amazing it was. She doesn't know why, but since she met Joel in that bar, she can't stop thinking about him.

Yeah, he is older than her, but even that she does not know how much since he has not told her his age yet. She can guess that he has to be over 30, probably almost 40, so she doesn't know why she feels so attracted to him. Even though Ellie is not sure about his age, he keeps his body in good shape. Ellie really wants to know more about him, just doesn't know how to ask, without making herself seem so desperate. After a few minutes of Joel messing with her head, she hear her phone ringing, she sat up and looked at the backpack where she put it. Ellie gets off the bed and goes to the chair and takes it out. Ellie quickly looks at the caller ID to see who is calling and hopes that is not her mom. She smiled as soon she saw her college friend's name on the scream.

xXx

A few hours later, Joel arrives at the El Paraiso Tropical: Bar & Food. Of course, before going there, he went home and took a shower, and changed. As soon as he was there, Joel parks his jeep at the back of the bar and walked toward the service door. Soon Joel goes inside, he is received by a young man.

"Hey… Joel… que rayos hiciste ahora?" asked the young man as soon as he got close to him.

"No se de que hablas… Acabo de llegar-" he was interrupted by the young man as he dragged him to an empty corner of the kitchen.

"Hace unas horas atrás vino un hombre americano y estaba preguntando por ti… no quiso decir para qué, pero actuaba muy raro y parecía muy molesto." said the boy in a lower voice.

"No dijo cómo se llamaba o qué quería? preguntó usando mi nombre?"

"No… solo dijo que estaba buscando al bouncer de este lugar… y que era algo personal."

"Interesante… pues no recuerdo haber tenido algún problema con nadie recientemente." Joel touches his shin with his fingers trying to remember who could be. "Bueno, si no menciono mi nombre no creo que sea alguien que conozca… debe ser algún turista molesto por algo."

"Yo creo que debes tener cuidado… el tipo se veía fuerte… y con cara de pocos amigos… estás seguro que no hiciste nada a nadie?" the boy moves closer to Joel and whispers. "Como cojerte a su mujer-hey!" The boy protests as soon as Joel pushes him away.

"Estas loco?... yo no hago eso por hay… así que deja de decir eso." Joel put a mad face before relaxing. "De todas maneras, gracias por dejarme saber." Joel walks away from the boy and enters the kitchen. He greeted Rosa, who sometimes helped Ramon to cook. He said hi to the other young man working there before stopping and looking at the boy again. ¿Si lo ves otra vez me dejas saber primero… quiero ver quien es?"

"Seguro Joel… no creo que vaya a volver hoy, pero mantendré mis ojos abiertos."

"Gracias… Ahora iré a trabajar, sabes si Matt está aquí?"

"No, creo que salio con ese nuevo socio de él… Marcos está a cargo esta noche."

"Okay gracias," he said before walking to the little room beside the kitchen to change his shirt. Who the fuck that man can be? I haven't done anything lately to anyone. Said Joel to himself before going into the room and closing the door.