we're shitty people.

canon semi-divergent tess from the last of us. low-activity. written and adored by jester.

[jmillerx]

"Woman... you've never needed a man a day in your damn life. I like the sound of the lie all the same, though..." He couldn't get her close enough, wrapping her tight and kissing her face over and over. He'd been so sure that Allie was the last time he'd feel this... she was the last time he'd wanted to. Love wasn't safe after her. He'd tried and failed and it cost Sarah her mom. Now, though? In the end of the world, with only himself and a brother who didn't care much for him anymore thanks to a certain rebel leader... there was no reason not to let Tess in. So fuck it. He was all in. "I sure as shit need you, though."

[xsavewhoyoucansave]

"So how does it feel to be the only exception?"

Tess grinned at him, as he continued to pepper her face in kisses. Even in the best moments of her marriage, it hadn't been like this. It hadn't been this effortless, or simple. Or happy. She didn't like to feel that way about her ex-husband after his death, but she couldn't deny the stark truth of the difference between the man he had been and the man Joel was.

"Not a chance in hell that you actually need me, baby. You didn't survive everything that you survived just to end up a co-dependent."

Her hands brushed along the length of his shoulders, fingertips dusting along the fabric that covered them.

"But I'd be a fool to ever be anything but yours."

[jmillerx]

The permission made something in him snap. He pulled her roughly against him and pressed their mouths together, not thinking about finesse or skill, just about the nearly feral need to finally know what her lips feel like on his. His arms moved, one wrapping her hips and the other adjusting the hold on her face as he kissed her over and over and over. This was heaven, as close as he'd ever get and he was certain of it. "-- I love you, Tess."

[xsavewhoyoucansave]

Tess let out a soft and breathy gasp as Joel grabbed her, pulling her against him. It was a rush that made her feel a sudden sense of aliveness after months of feeling nothing more than mere mediocre survival. "Oh, Joel..." she breathed out, her own hand snaking up his chest and softly holding the side of his neck, her thumb sweeping the underside of his jaw.

"I love you..." she admitted so freely in return.

Her mind flashed back to the moment that they'd met for the first time. Neither of them had seemed overly impressed with the other, she had assumed that he'd be just another asshole who treated her as a fragile woman who needed protection. Boy, had she ever been wrong. And she was more than grateful to him for giving her the opportunity to prove herself and her worth. She would never need anyone again, she told herself - a need meant expression of weakness, but perhaps he'd be her one exception.

"I need you..."

[jmillerx]

"You'd never say it. It's why I do so often. You deserve the reminder." He was slow as he moved closer to her, reaching to rest his hands on her hips and leaning slightly into her space as she assured him she'd keep it warm and that dinner would done soon, taking a breath and coming closer still, pausing so they were barely touching. "It's very nice of you to cook again. I know it ain't really your favorite thing to do..." He didn't even try to stop himself as a hand came up to cradle her cheek, leaning in to bump their noses. "I will happily clean up after... since you did the hard shit..." He took a breath, then whispered. "-- can I?"

[xsavewhoyoucansave]

"Sure does come sweetly from your mouth."

This was hardly the place for breeding healthy relationships and yet, somehow Joel and Tess seemed to find a common ground that made whatever this was between them, work. Her breath hitched in her chest as he came in closer, putting his hands on her hips.

"It never was before you." Tess corrected him softly, giving a gentle shrug. Perhaps she had never loved the habit of cooking nightly for a husband who had been ungrateful and always had a bone to pick with it, but Joel wasn't him. He'd made that very obvious and very early on in their meeting.

"But now? I think it's growing on me. I like cooking for you, watching you enjoy it. A fresh meal of real food that isn't pre-packaged and dehydrated meat. I like taking care of you..." she confessed in a gentle, almost whisper like tone of voice.

"Please..." she agreed with an eagerness, her hands pulling away from the pockets of his jacket and instead tugging at the button down shirt he was donning.

[jmillerx]

“want your jacket back?” - tess

@xsavewhoyoucansave

"Looks better on you." He hadn't planned to be that forward, but he had never anticipated feeling this way again. Tess was good at changing things. He moved closer, tugging his coat closed around her frame, adjusting the zipper and smiling. "I'm not cold anyhow. Keep it, hm?"

[xsavewhoyoucansave]

"Better on me, does it? Well, you said it... not me."

There was a soft smile there on her face, an expression that for a very long time she had been certain she'd never experience again. That was the power of grief, and facing life without what you wanted the very most in life. It was a power that Joel also knew well. It was what had bonded them so tightly in the beginning and now, well... she had a whole new set of feelings for the man.

"I'll just keep it warm for you."

She gave him a wink as she tucked her hands into the pockets of the jacket, melting into the comfort that it provided as she sank down to sit on the edge of the sill. "Dinner will be shortly."