#𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 : 𝚃𝙴𝚂𝚂 𝚂𝚃𝚁𝚈𝙺𝙴𝚁.
she’s lucky it’s tommy that sees her approach the gates of the settlement. she’d been meekly rationing her short stack of food & drink for nearly a week, and barely had the wherewithal to have to explain how she knew tommy miller without sounding like an immediate threat to a stranger. still, she’s not so delirious to not comment on the length of tommy’s hair as he takes an arm around his shoulder and helps her to the medical tent. “ got yourself quite a catch, miller. ” she croaks, as maria brings her a canteen of water and a sandwich. she doesn’t stop to appreciate that it’s the first real food, not just another fucking can of 25 year old beans, she’s had since, hell, years, as she scarfs it down, gesturing vaguely at his ring and then back towards maria’s silhouette when tommy asks how she could’ve known, as if to say : intuition. between gulps of water, she grabs tommy by the wrist when he suggests that he’ll go get joel; that he should be up by now. she unceremoniously wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “ no, i’m good to go. just show me where he’s at. ” there’s enough conviction in her voice, commanding something faintly familiar from a lifetime ago, she imagines, that he doesn’t question it. he points her towards down the path, and she clicks her tongue and elbows him in the side, tells him to get back to his patrol when he offers to walk her there.
she only takes in the scale of this settlement the same way she scopes out any new space when on a job : looking for weak points, planning escape routes that would obscure them from any scoped views. when her hand shakes slightly, she’ll blame it on the ache in her shoulder running down to her fingers, and the sudden rush of having real food and water after a week running on empty, and not the nerves of – … well. his door is open, likely to let the brisk fresh morning air circulate. she leans quietly on the doorframe, and the slight hunch in his back as he tends to something – coffee, she thinks, from what she smells – on the counter is comfortingly familiar. she hadn’t had the luxury of daydreaming of what this might feel like, aside from the past few minutes. she’s grateful for it, as her nerves immediately ease up with a relieved & soft sigh. “ wow. real coffee? they’ve got you all set up here, texas. ”
𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐆𝐎 - younger years spent in boston were seen through a nostalgic filter, tinged with the pretty amber of autumn leaves. he remembers what it felt like to breathe in the brisk morning air as they stumbled out of the quarantine zone. he remembers the feeling of freedom as they wandered the quiet streets of former civilization, sight seeing as they scavenged unmarked areas. but most of all? joel remembers meeting tess, and how quickly they’d found their fates intwined. he tries not to remember the after, or the year spent trekking across the united states, or the grief he’d never really managed to work his way through. it was something he’d decided not to talk about, even when tommy had asked around while they were reflecting on their youth.
the coffee is quietly brewing in the corner, its bitter aroma carries through the small home. upon the walls are pictures, knick knacks, artwork. everything that made a home look normal, like before everything had happened. joel leans against the counter for a few long moments, fingers grasping at a few dirty dishes from last night. ellie had stayed over for a movie night. another classic, something he’d not even seen in theatres. but all concentration falters when tess’s voice breaks the silence. another impossible, something long buried, despite all longing.
he turns to face her now, dark brows furrowing, studying her features, taking her all in. even when tommy had stopped by earlier, the news was something that joel could hardly process. boston was thousands of miles away now, and the last they’d seen of each other, tess was good as dead. and yet, here they are, standing in the quiet of a home, silence falling between them for another long stretch. calloused hands fall back against the cool tile of the countertop, shoulders visibly tense, before a heavy breath moves passed parted lips. a sigh of relief.
❝ 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍’𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐈 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐓. ❞ he responds like it hasn’t been over a year, like they hadn’t been separated, like everything that’s happened was just some distant nightmare. without much more hesitation, joel turns to grab a couple of mugs from the cabinet and pours them both a good portion. ❝ been waitin’ for you to show up ever since tommy told me. was startin’ to think you were gettin’ all nervous on me. thought i had to come on down there and see you for myself. ❞ he offers her the cup, warm to the touch. a comfort against that morning chill. ❝ you look like hell. ❞
