sometimes when my dad cannot think of a sarcastic comment or nickname fast enough when we pass by each other (typically at church), he’ll usually just say “hey, you,” as we pass by each other
and I was kind of thinking about this for joel and ellie :’)
like joels working on someone’s porch or roof or something construction related. Ellie’s bored and decides to pay Joel a visit to his little makeshift site. He’s disgustingly sweaty and has a dirty rag slung over his shoulder and one he’s wiping his hands on and he’s got that look on his face that’s a mix of his knee pain and too much sun in his eyes. Ellie gets in his line of sight and there’s a “hey, you” and an incredibly warm and gentle smile on his face as he says it
Or early mornings after Ellie went to him after having trouble falling asleep. “Hey, you” whispered close to her hair as she stirs in his embrace, burying her face back into his chest or the crook of his neck with a groan when too much sun hits her eyes. Joel’s light chuckles at her protest as he lights rubs his arm up and down her back
Joel coming back from patrol when Ellie’s at the stables. A “hey, you” when he rides back in to town and she goes to greet him with a smile and a small skip in her step that he came home safe
“Hey, you” when Ellie’s playing guitar on their porch and Joel opens the sliding door with a mug of hot chocolate for her
Joel picking Ellie up to carry her to bed and she wakes in his hold with a groan before her eyes open, wiggling against his chest.
Uh huh. We’ll see about that