hellođȘŒhow are you? I'm here to say i've been reading your old stuff with jesse from tlou and i absolutely love the hcs with jesse and an autistic gf as an autistic girlie myselfâïžand i really wanted to ask, can i request a oneshot about it? something set before those hcs, more like when they meet for the first time?
i was having an idea where jesse and maybe ellie are patrolling and and something dangerous or bad might happen, and they find reader right after: vunerable, scared and with an injured ankle, and barely giving them any long information (because i personally get more non-verbal when I'm stressing or cyring), and I really think it would be wholesome for them to quite notice something unsusual with reader in the meanwhile even though they can't quite name yet (aka the autism), and jesse just step up almost as instinct, yk? Approach/deal with her better, and be sweet enough he's the one she trusts enough to let them take her to jackson. I think it would be so cute since jesse is canonically so leader-ish and protective; him getting reader to jackson and being sweet to reader because the feeling it's just coming so naturally for him.
Instinct | Jesse x autistic!reader
Pairing: Jesse & Female Reader (Platonic), Ellie & Female Reader (Platonic)
Type of fic: Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Wholesome, Angst with Comfort
Warnings: Injury, fear, emotional distress, mentions of danger, survival themes
PS: Okay hey I tried to somehow make it work so I hope itâs not that bad as personally I never had a similar moments so I canât fully be sure if what Iâm writing is how it happens
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The first thing Jesse noticed was the silence.
Not the normal kind. Not the quiet that settled over the forest after a snowfall or during a calm patrol.
This was the wrong kind. The kind that followed something bad.
Ellie noticed it too. She raised her rifle slightly as Shimmer slowed beneath her.
No birds, no distant infected, nothing.
Just wind moving through pine trees.
The patrol route ahead curved around a rocky outcrop before descending into a narrow valley. Something was off.
âLetâs check it out.â
Ellie followed beside him.
The signs appeared quickly. Broken branches, fresh footprints, scuff marks, a struggle and then blood.
Both of them immediately dismounted. Jesse crouched near the disturbed snow.
âYou thinking infected?â
Jesse shook his head. âNoâ he pointed.
The tracks werenât chaotic enough. No drag marks, no signs of a struggle between two and more bodies.
Instead it looked like someone had been running. Fast. Desperately. Then stumbled, then kept going.
Ellie followed the trail with her eyes. âOne person?â
The footprints led toward a small cluster of trees. Then Jesse heard it.
The sound came again from behind a fallen log. Slowly, carefully, Jesse approached. âHey.â
Nothing. Another shaky breath.
Then he rounded the log and found you.
For a second he thought you couldnât have been much older than them. Maybe nineteen. Maybe twenty. You were sitting in the snow with your back pressed against a tree trunk. One ankle looked badly swollen.
Your hands were wrapped around yourself so tightly your knuckles were white and your eyes-
The fear in them hit him like a punch. The second you saw him, your entire body tensed like a trapped animal ready to bolt despite clearly being unable to.
âHey.â Jesse immediately lowered his hands. âItâs okay.â
Ellie appeared beside him.
Your reaction was immediate as you flinched away from them hard.
Not because it was Ellie specifically, just because it was another person. Another unknown, another thing happening. And whatever had happened before theyâd found you, it had clearly been too much.
Jesse noticed the way your breathing sped up slightly, the way your eyes kept watching them, the way your fingers dug into your sleeves.
He also noticed something else. You werenât answering, not really. Most people in Jacksonâs area would have immediately started explaining who they were, what happened, why they needed help.
You just stared like words had suddenly become impossible. âItâs alright,â Jesse repeated quietly. âWeâre not gonna hurt you.â
Your lower lip trembled slightly from earlier crying and then finally:
Ellie exchanged a glance with him. âYou hurt?â she asked.
As if even answering that felt difficult.
Jesse looked down, the ankle was definitely injured. Bad enough that walking wasnât happening.
You opened your mouth, closed it and seeing that he immediately changed approach.
âOkay.â His voice stayed calm âno worries.â
Ellie looked at him and then at you and eventually seemed to realize the same or at least similar thing.
You looked overwhelmed already.
Jesse tried again âare you alone?â
âAnyone chasing you?â
Simple questions, simple answers. Your shoulders loosened ever so slightly.
A few minutes later Jesse was kneeling beside you examining the ankle. You winced immediately.
He pulled his hand back âsorry.â Your ankle obviously wasnât okay, but the injury was far from life threatening. Probably a bad sprain or maybe worse.
âWe need to get you to Jackson.â
Your eyes immediately widened. Panic starting again.
Jesse recognized it instantly, it wasnât exactly a fear of Jackson. Mostly like a fear of having to do something new when you were already overwhelmed.
âItâs alright.â His voice softened further. âYou donât gotta decide anything right this second.â
You stared at him trying to figure him out, trying to decide whether he was safe.
Jesse didnât push, didnât move closer, didnât rush you. He simply waited.
Eventually you whispered:
Your eyes stayed on him ââŠyou come too?â
The realization hit both Jesse and Ellie immediately, you werenât asking about Jackson, you werenât asking about safety. You were asking if Jesse would be there. Because somehow, in the last ten minutes, heâd become the thing your brain had categorized as safest.
Ellie looked amused. Jesse looked surprised. Then his expression softened. âYeah.â He answered immediately âIâll be there.â
Your shoulders dropped just a little, but enough. Enough that Jesse knew the answer.
Getting you onto the horse was another challenge. You hated being touched or maybe hated surprises or maybe simply hated everything right now. Jesse wasnât sure. Only that every sudden movement made you tense, every unexpected touch made your shoulders jump.
So he warned you before everything âOkay.â His hand hovered near your arm âIâm gonna help you stand.â Every time the same thing.
He told you what is gonna happen beforehand and you gave permission and somehow it worked.
By the time he finally got you settled behind him on the horse, you were exhausted emotionally, physically, everything. The moment the horse jerked before starting to move, your hands immediately grabbed the front of Jesseâs jacket like a lifeline. Jesse pretended not to notice as he just adjusted one arm around your side to make sure you couldnât fall.
The ride back took nearly two hours.
You barely spoke and honestly Jesse didnât seem bothered by it.
Most people would have been, most people filled silence, asked questions, demanded information.
You found yourself listening to the sound of his horseâs heavy breathing, the rhythm of the ride, the occasional conversation between him and Ellie, nothing demanding your attention, othing requiring immediate responses.
At some point your head started drooping and you caught yourself. Then did it again. Then again. Until finally-
Your forehead bumped lightly into Jesseâs shoulder and you immediately jerked upright muttering âsorry.â The word came out fast.
Jesse blinked and then laughed softly âyou can sleep if youâre tired.â
You shook your head immediately âno.â
Two minutes later your eyes were closing again.
Ellie smirked from her horse âsheâs gonna fall asleep standing at this point.â
Jesse snorted âpretty much.â
You tried to glare and as expected it didnât work because you were too tired.
By the time Jacksonâs walls appeared, the sky had begun turning orange. You stared, you hadnât seen anything like it in years. Actual walls, people, smoke from chimneys, safety.
The sight shouldâve felt comforting, but instead it felt overwhelming.
Jesse noticed. Of course he did.
âYou donât gotta talk to everybody.â
âWhen we get inside.â
He shrugged âMariaâll probably ask some questions eventually.â
Your face immediately tightened.
âSoâ he smiled slightly âweâll do one thing at a time.â
One thing at a time. For some reason that helped.
Later that night, after youâd finally been given food, medical attention, and a place to sleep, Jesse found himself sitting outside talking to Ellie.
âSheâs gonna follow you aroundâ Ellie said it matter-of-factly.
Jesse laughed âmaybe.â
âNo, seriouslyâ Ellie nudged him. âYou realize youâre her favorite person now?â
Ellie rolled her eyes âyou know what I mean.â
He did. The truth was, heâd noticed it too. The way your eyes automatically looked for him when entering a room. The way you relaxed when he spoke The way you seemed less overwhelmed when he was nearby. And somehow none of it felt strange. It felt natural. Like helping you had been the most obvious thing in the world. Like protecting you had become instinct almost immediately.
Jesse looked toward the building where youâd been given a room. A stranger that morning, someone heâd never met.
Yet somehow the thought of you being scared and alone again made his chest ache.
âYeah,â he admitted quietly.
Ellie grinned âknew it.â
Jesse shook his head.But he couldnât stop smiling. Because for all the things the world had taken from people, sometimes it still gave something back and when heâd found a frightened girl hiding behind a fallen log that morning, heâd expected another survivor. Instead, somehow, heâd found someone he already wanted to look after and if the relieved look on your face every time you saw him was anything to go by-
Youâd found someone too.
