I think about how Joel probably pre-wrote letters for Sarah when she was a baby, and as she grew older he wrote more and kept them in a box to give to her when she graduated highschool and went off to college :( I bet he had one written for her 16th birthday. One for her first Prom and highschool graduation. One for when she would get married and—
No, no, no, just picture him in his little office area hunched over his work bench writing all these letters and then the outbreak happened and he never got the chance to give them to her 🥺
So, years later, after meeting Ellie and losing Tess, and finding Tommy, Joel finds out that Tommy saved all the letters Joel wrote for Sarah and kept them safe all these years. So, one night he and Ellie read them together in Jackson, and when she sees him start to tear up she hugs him real tight and he, of course, tries to act all tough and strong for his babygirl but he crumbles in her arms and Ellie just gently starts petting his overgrown hair, mumbling about how he desperately needs a haircut to try and make him laugh.
He’s hugging her back and letting himself feel all these repressed feelings all at once and then goes,
“I—I can start writing letters for you too, babygirl.”
And she gives him that little Ellie smile, punching his shoulder lightly before she’s hugging him again as he kisses the side of her head, closing his eyes to allow this memory to be engrained in his brain for the rest of his days.
“I’d like that a lot, old man.”
He laughs a real, hearty laugh, eyes crinkling in the corners showing his age and life he’s lived. He ruffles her hair, muttering under his breath about how he isn’t that old.
He writes so many letters for his babygirl and she keeps every single one, even after he’s passed of old age in his cozy bed, she still reads them and keeps them close to her heart, because having a piece of him is better than not having him there at all.
annaxmalina
dededos
stormborns
