A/N: Make sure to check out the A/N at the end of the chapter. Got some real important stuff there, and I also need to explain myself to you guys for my absence and such. Also I had originally t said 6000 words, well, here's 7000 instead. Hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll see you all again soon!

There was uneasy silence that rocked the courtyard — and to an extent — Y/N, too.

It was a silence that was felt by not just him, but through the bones of every man and woman residing here, just inside the walls of the electrical dam. Each of them connected not by a single emotion, but by a constant reminder, and whether it be one or the other, they all felt it.

Surprise, fear, anger, or disgust.

They all inhabited one of them, flowing through their veins like a drug that fuelled them forward. A drive that pushed them, motivated them, and in the end, they all arrived at the same point.

It wasn't safe.

This place wasn't safe.

And yet, they already knew that. How could they not? After so long, it's normal for one to get used to the daily ins and outs of a dangerous life that was thrust onto them without much of a warning.

But for one of them?

For him, it was more a realisation. One that had alluded to him to this point.

That no matter what, he'd never be safe.

That was the painful truth, as he stared down at his hands. They had once trembled, perhaps even shakened with a sense of uncertainty. But as he stared down at his blood covered hands, he knew now that what he had to do was certain.

It had to be.

Pulling back from the inner crevice of his own mind, Y/N blinked and lowered his hands to his side; his gaze opted to turn and survey the mess around him.

And what a mess it was.

The courtyard was in a state of distress that looked forgein to the people that worked here. Bullet holes riddled the walls, a nearby watchtower had been blown up and now a smouldering ruin. Dead bodies — from both sides — littered the ground. Many of the survivors hauled off their friends, their loved ones. And the others, the undesirables that had attacked this place, were thrown into a discarded pile on the edge of the courtyard. To be burnt, or thrown to the wolves, Y/N didn't know.

In the end, he found himself not caring to know, for either of them.

Not because he was without a heart. He had one, beating back at him. But... because his heart had long since pulled back its strings, fluttering its last wings, before it was captured inside its own, dark, prison. Left with only the fleeting moments of transparency that breached through the cracks of his hardened state.

And that was enough for him...

"Here's the supplies."

Y/N was broken out of his musing by the familiar voice, and the thumping sound of a duffel bag that was plopped down hard, on the metal table before him. Blinking, he turned a hard right, to meet the stern, but not unkind eyes of Maria. Another duffle bag was in her other hand.

As she stared at him, Y/N turned back and unzipped the duffle bag, his voice responding automatically. "I said I didn't want much." A grumbled sigh left his lips when he eyed the contents. Canned food, some of it fresh, and medical supplies, too. "Just enough to last a couple days."

But Maria thought otherwise, "Think of it as payment for helping us fend off the raiders."

He didn't say anything more, finding himself struck silent once more in his lifetime, and instead of responding, he zipped the bag back up. He figured the other was much of the same.

"...I don't like owing people."

Maria simply shrugged her shoulders, and her stern look turned from exactly that and to a scowl. "We aren't running a charity." A scoff quickly escaped her lips, "I don't much like owing either, but it's the right thing to do. And don't argue."

The right thing to do... he wasn't going to argue. He had enough arguing in him to last him to the next... to the next hellhole he decided to crash in.

Reluctantly, he nodded and thanked her as well as he could without words. His tongue tied down, as his mind wandered while he turned back to the table before him. Shifting the bag out of the way, he started laying down his equipment.

In the corner of his way, he noted, Maria was still staring a hole into him, off to the side. With a look that was trying to figure him out, and truthfully, he didn't know what she'd find by looking. If she would even like what she'd find in the first place.

Looking up from his weapons laid out on the table, he found his own eyes staring out across the courtyard, wandering to yet another familiar — more personal — individuals.

Why was it that his mind always, always wandered to them? Had he not erased it from his mind the minute he made his decision? It seems not, as his eyes met the locks of her auburn hair, her emerald eyes — and beside her, the aging and hardened face of her current guardian.

They were mulling about, walking on eggshells between each other. They knew what it meant, and so did he. As Tommy worked away with the others, they watched him, with both dread and anticipation mixed in between.

If he was honest, he felt a bit of it himself.

Lowering his head, he sighed and returned to his equipment. For a moment, as he had watched them with a look in his eyes, Maria had understood it. And Y/N, well, he had almost forgotten her presence.

Almost.

He immediately turned to snark her, retort with something biting. But, it seems she beat him to the punch.

"Not gonna say goodbye?"

It was a curious question, and yet not a question at all. If the look in her eyes was anything to go by, she knew he was set on what he was going to do.

Still, he didn't miss the snark in it.

"I don't need to say goodbye." Y/N said, low and quiet, as if he couldn't muster the strength to admit that any louder. He began to work on his pistol, pulling it apart to occupy his hand, and his mind, as Maria picked him apart at the scenes.

"You don't need to, or you don't want to?"

Y/N glared her way, his defences and walls blaring within him, "Same shit."

Maria shook her head, her figure pressing against the table top next to him as he laid his pistol back down. It's parts were removed, and he began the cleaning.

"How long has it been? Alone out there, nobody with you but yourself and your thoughts?" Y/N felt him freeze when she asked him that. A cold, almost shivering, sensation washed over him and struck him still. Hands stalled, eyes pointed to the table as she continued. "Before you met Ellie — and Joel?"

Y/N felt himself scowl, even at the curious tone of her voice. It was one that had come to follow him. First it had been Rachel, so curious, so understanding — in a way, Maria reminded him of her, without the odd, perkiness of her personality — Now instead of the fun, quirky nurse, it was this settler woman he had just met.

It seemed he had a weakness for that. Women, mature and nurturing, they had a way of letting his guard down. Like a mother soothing an infant child. It made him remember his own mother, before he whisked those thoughts away, and turned to face her with a look in his eyes that screamed to be left alone.

"It's none of your goddamn business."

It wouldn't work this time. He wasn't a child anymore. He wasn't that scared little kid anymore, the one that was so afraid, so alone and without purpose... was he?

Instead of rebuking him, Maria simply spoke back with another question, causing his irritation to rise further.

"So, you're fine with going back out there?" She asked, taking the time to really study him, looking him over for something he didn't know. But it caused him to shy away. "On your own again?"

Y/N grumbled, "Don't have to be fine with it."Eyes focused on the table in front of him, he began piecing his pistol back together or lest he'd break something not of metal, but flesh. "Just need to accept it for what it is."

"And what is it?" Maria asked, pulling back from the table, she took one look at the two at the end of the courtyard, and then her husband as they were almost done. "You know, Ellie told me something." Y/N froze up again, if just a second, before continuing. "She told me how you saved her. Back in Pittsburgh?" The city, Pittsburgh, felt like a lifetime ago. "She also told me she saved you a couple of times, too."

Ellie had told her during the trip about the place, he reckoned. When he was too distracted by the people and community to pay attention to what was being said about them, about him.

He didn't feel the need to shout about that. After all, it didn't matter anymore, none of it did.

Quickly, Y/N swallowed up any bile that rose to greet him, as hands became clampy, and yet he couldn't figure out why it had made him nervous.

"She did..."

He could point enough times on his hand alone how many times he wouldn't be alive if not for her. And for that, he found a sense of disappointment stirring beneath him.

Maria bit at her bottom lip, obviously ticked. She hadn't gotten the answer she had wanted. "She did?" She repeated back, lowly and quiet enough. "That's it?" There was an almost disappointing, mocking way in which she said that, as if she expected a better answer. And it only served to make Y/N more angry. "Huh, I thought I had you pegged differently..."

Y/N dropped the completed pistol in his hand, it dropping with a clang that echoed against the table, while he turned sharply Maria's way, daggers in his eyes, "The hell do you want from me?" He snapped.

"Where are you going?"

Maria was deflecting, an answer she wasn't satifised with, returned with just another question to keep him pinged.

"Anywhere but here." Y/N said, pulling away from Maria's sight and back to his equipment. "North, West, South, East. Wherever the road takes me."

"Why?"

Y/N exhaled through his nose, his hands tightened into fists atop the metal table beneath him, as he cracked, "Why do you care?"

It seems something in Maria lit up, how her eyes danced back and forth between him and the gear next to him. A thin smile graced her lips, that only provided Y/N with an excuse to glare even harder.

"I don't care." Maria admitted, her eyes softening a bit. "But from what I've heard from Ellie, you've been travelling with them for well over a few months now." She didn't miss the way his shoulders slumped. "I guess I'm just trying to understand why you'd throw away a chance at..."

She trailed off, as if the answer had just hit her. Her smile was gone, replaced by an expression that he couldn't decipher.

All the while, Y/N looked on at her, eyebrows furrowed and temper baited, "A chance at what?" He asked, but she neither replied, nor moved, before raising the second bag from her side.

"Forget it. You'll be long gone, won't you?" The passive aggressiveness in her tone was hard to miss. "Anyway, here's the rest." She handed him the bag to which he grabbed a hold of, and placed next to the other. "I wouldn't want you to think us unappreciated, after all."

Again, that sickly bile rose in his throat.

Nervousness, shame, a sense of unease lit him up and excused his temper, and boiled him over. "...Thank you." He rasped out, a cough following as he turned away from her searching eyes.

Maria nodded, her face softening once again as she replied in kind, "Don't mention it." She pulled to walk away, two steps ahead before she stopped, a split second she stood there, thinking it over, before she turned back.

Darker eyes on his colder ones, she spoke.

"You know they were there for you — Ellie and Joel — when you needed it. Maybe even when you didn't want it at all." Her voice was firm, and strong, with conviction in her heart. "Are you really not gonna be there for her when she needs it, too?"

Y/N lowered his eyes to the floor, a slight prick of doubt entering through his cracks before he shook his head and emptied it out. "With what?" He asked, he knew what she meant. But how was he supposed to help her with... that. Joel was better off. "I doubt I could help her." He muttered out, "I can barely help myself."

With a flick of a finger, Maria tied away the loose strand of hair that stuck to her face, before shaking her head, lips pursed as she spoke, "I guess she was right..." She turned back and walked, making her way to the end of the courtyard, beelining for Tommy as Y/N stared after her, eyebrows furrowed and face lit up in confusion.

"What? Right about what?"

The silence was his answer.

Huffing, Y/N turned back to the table, grunting out a groan that was between confused and pissed off. He placed his pistol back in his holster and began working on his rifle. Same idea as last time. All the while he kept his ears out. He hadn't spoken to Joel, nor Ellie, since the fight in the cafeteria, and he needed to keep it that way.

For his own sake.

"Absolutely not!"

The sound of Maria's voice that had once been soft spoken, and stern, a few minutes before was turned upside down.

He could hazard a guess on what they were discussing.

Turning away from his rifle that he had just finished cleaning, he noticed Maria and Tommy baring fangs at each other as a pack of wolves would do. Joel off to the side, watching them, as Ellie mulled close by.

"Do you have ANY idea how many men we lost today?"

Y/N fought to keep himself busy with the task at hand. Just a few more minutes and he'd be gone. Gone for good, he only needed minutes as he felt his blood pressure spike. And then all of this would be behind him for good.

Or not.

The shouting match between Tommy and Maria didn't seem to stop, and when he saw Ellie coming his way towards the end of the courtyard, he couldn't mistake the look on her face. And it was a new one. Sure, he had seen her afraid, annoyed, even disgusted.

But her face right now?

It was pure, utter, contempt and anger.

Her steps hurried and brisk, uncaring as she pushed past the people of the camp, before her eyes landed on him, and what laid beyond him. The gates, and the horses (that had luckily not been killed) and he could only imagine what she would do.

And, before he could process it, he realised she was heading in his general direction whether he liked it or not.

She paid him a slight glance, eyes frosty, before turning to her main focus ahead. And after everything, why was it that he had to move and block her way, standing just in front of her, as his mouth opened up at the last second.

Here he was, just mere moments away from getting what he needed, and he had to say something stupid. Perhaps it was to say a farewell, after everything that had happened, she was owed that much, and he didn't want to owe anyone.

Anyone but her.

"Where are you going?"

Y/N's voice wasn't firm, nor as strong as Maria's had been. But he was trying, and it seemed enough, as Ellie stopped sharply, and turned his way, her eyes ablaze and glaring hard. When she spoke, he thought he had misheard it, if not for the anger she displayed, he wouldn't have believed it, and for that, he hadn't been prepared.

"Why do you care?" Ellie snapped, causing Y/N to frown, almost flinching at her tone. "Oh that's right, you don't, do you?"

He'd never admit it, but that had crushed him slightly. After his talk with Maria he still felt the doubts crawling over him, a hint of shame that followed. And here he was being pushed back out, instead of the one doing the pushing away.

He would've laughed at the irony, had it not cut him so deep.

Y/N glared back, his frown replaced with a daggered look, "What the fuck crawled up your ass and died, Princess?"

He quickly noted how her face scrunched up, twisting in anger as she fought to stop herself from exploding any further.

Ellie gritted her teeth hard, before she scoffed, shaking her head, "You're such an asshole." A huff left her lips, pushing past him, she practically shoved him out of the way, and rushed in ahead of him.

While Y/N — who until this point was drowning in both confusion and temper — rolled his eyes and thought out loud to himself, "The fuck is her problem?"

He watched her rush across the courtyard towards the gate and the makeshift stable nearby. Before shifting back to the table, he grabbed his weapons and placed them back on his backpack. Turning back towards Ellie's direction, he heard the exclaiming shouts of the nearby workers long before his gaze settled on her retreating form.

"Hey, kid! What the hell—"

Y/N rushed ahead, only to be struck dead in his tracks when his eyes landed on the escaping figure of Ellie atop of one of the horses, and out the gate, she ventured.

"Oh, son of a bitch!"

His legs had moved before his brain really caught up. One minute he was standing there, the next he was rushing for the horse beside the gate. A ridiculous sentiment had opted its way into his head and without a second thought he latched onto a nearby horse, pushing his foot into the saddle and climbing up.

The horse buckled slightly at his sudden invasion, before calming. With a yank of the reins, the horse pushed ahead and went into a fast paced trot, hightailing it out of the back gates and into the woods beyond, all while the fleeing noises of the camp behind them was left behind.

For a split second, he couldn't help the thought that went back to Pittsburgh. Back to when Henry and Sam had left them. How he had jumped down...

Y/N had a cold heart, but like he had always said, he wasn't heartless. He'd just knew he'd never forgive himself otherwise.

—

She hadn't meant to blow up. Not in the way she did, but Ellie couldn't help the rage, the ire, that had sprouted out of her heart in that moment. Being pushed into somebody else's hands, after all that had happened. After all they had been through so far on the journey. How could she not be upset?

From Boston to Bill's town, to Pittsburgh, the Sewers and now Jackson, Wyoming.

One destination after the other in a journey that just kept on going. Their endless quest of searching for the group of Fireflies. It was all she had focused on, all she had thought on. It was the whole reason she was out here in the first place, and to an extent, it was her singler, ultimate purpose.

Without it, she had nothing to fall back on, she thought.

And by that, Joel was abandoning her to Tommy. In her mind, it was a betrayal of the highest order. How Joel could just pawn her off like a piece of cargo, she didn't know.

And then there was Y/N.

Ellie frowned as she got down from her horse, carefully she hitched her new found friend to the porch of the building in front of her, before patting the horse down, a small smile gracing her lips before it faulted.

Here, in the backwoods of Wyoming, she found this lonesome homestead, it being abandoned and forgotten.

Long since overgrown and left to nature to run its course, turning everything man made back to its green covered earth.

Stepping onto the porch and through the open door, her eyes roamed the room, her emerald eyes captivating at the interior.

It was a large house, dozens of rooms she could easily pick apart, as her legs pushed her onwards. Gaze roaming at every little detail. From the long faded wallpaper, the empty living room, sofas and left chairs left to the dust over time. Bookcases left in a similar case, left to rot and wither in the silence, forgotten by those that had once lived here.

Taking to the stairs, she reached the top and spied the numerous bedrooms, before her eyes settled on one that peaked her interest.

Entering in, she let the door hang open, not caring to close it as her eyes occupied the room. There were covered walls, orange drapes covered the window of the small room, and many photos donned the walls. To her left sat an old bed, its sheets and bedding faded. And to her right, a small couch table, it's orange coloured cushions matched the drapes.

Taking a seat, she felt herself relax slightly when her backside hit the soft and plump of the material. A sigh escaped her lips, she tucked in a stray strand of hair at her side, and crossed her legs.

Backing up against the couch further, shifting in her seat, she felt her bottom press against something between the cushions, and out she pulled a book. It was a diary. Curious, she began to flip through the pages as her thoughts turned and mulled over in her head. Thinking over everything had happened up to this point, until her mind returned to her earlier topic, as the recurring frown resurfaced across her face.

She had known he was leaving, she had known for a while. Except there had always been that linger of denial in her heart, that slight ping of hope that had plagued her. Of course, he was her first real friend in a long time, since Riley, and for once, she felt her rage was justified.

He was her snarky, quiet, but asshole friend. Sure, he acted like he didn't care most of the time, but she had gotten to see him in a favourable light. That bubble of his had been poked through with enough holes to breath in the true him.

And Ellie had enjoyed that true him.

The one with dry jokes, the unmistaken talent that had him gripping full of untold insecurity. He was flawed, and so was she. They had scars to prove such a thing, and having him by her side through it all had brokered a light into her small, darker world. To be able to share with somebody her age, to fight, to laugh and snark like it was just another day...

And to be honest, she didn't want to lose that.

She didn't want to lose Y/N. Just the same way she didn't want to lose Joel.

They had become a part of her in his journey and would always stick to her mind like glue, leaving an everlasting impression on her.

And in the end, she would fight to keep them, or die trying.

"Ellie!?"

Hands dug into the couch table, flinching slightly at the intrusion, pulling out of her thoughts she frowned deeper at the familiar voice, but still, she called out, mixed emotions going through her mind.

"I'm up here!"

She hadn't expected him to follow, even if she had wanted him to, and yet here she was frowning at such. As Y/N's footsteps got closer, she could hear him coming up the stairs. Had he simply followed her out of Joel's request, did he think he owed her something after all, or had he come of his own choosing?

Either way, she felt her irritation rise, despite the contrary, she was still very pissed off. Except now there was a slight melancholy that breached her inside.

The first sign of him, she noticed, when he came through the door. Feet that had been hurrying, had now stopped in their tracks. She searched his face, as he searched hers. His eyes were narrowed, lips pursed and hands at his side that were close to tightening in that pet peeve way she knew when he got angry.

"What the hell are you doing here, Ellie?" Y/N snapped at her, and it only served to make Ellie dagger her own set of pupils, turning away from his gaze that she felt the need to punch, if not slap. "You could've gotten yourself killed."

Like she couldn't take care of herself. It's what it sounded like. How many times had she saved him, how many times had she defended herself. She was anything but defenceless. Ellie felt her face heat up, cheeks puffed as her hands balled, jumping to her feet, a challenge in her eyes.

"Well, it's not like you would've cared." Ellie snapped right back, emerald blazes lighting up a fuse. "Right?" She shrugged her shoulders, glaring hard, as her temper spiked her emotions. "I thought you'd be half way out of the state by now. But, hey, you're still here." A humourless chuckle left her lips when Y/N took a step back, as if he hadn't expected her so directly.

And she noticed the way his eyes dipped to the floor, avoiding her gaze with that telltale sign of his, "I told you already." He said, grinding teeth, "It was just a tag along. Nothing more—"

"ARGH." Ellie screeched, cutting him off and causing him to falter in his words, as her anger overloaded. She had had enough of the denial, of the half truths and lies from people she knew to be nothing but. "I can't believe you're still spewing that bullshit!"

She shouted back, and in her storm she missed the way he flinched and jumped on his feet.

"How many times have you had the chance to walk away? The bridge? The sewer? After Henry and Sam?" His silence and flinching at their names was her only answer, and it only served to push her forward. "WHY are you still here!?—"

"Because I don't have ANYTHING left!"

Ellie was drenched cold, struck silent as she was propelled backwards at his shout. She hadn't expected him to follow suit, exploding at her as she had done to him. She took in his heavy breathing, eyes that had sunken through her temper, and shoulders that had slumped at each of her words, targeting him.

"Okay? I—" Y/N said, his voice faltering to a quiver as Ellie kept her face mirrored on his. For once, she could see his face etched with true pain, more than she had seen that night when he came down drenched in blood of his own making. "Do you know how many people I've lost?" His voice turned a softer shade, as his hands reached up and cupped the back of his head, breathing in more and more. "Three people... three people that I cared about."

Ellie could only stare, as her hands fiddled at her side, brimming with anxiety and sweat that rolled between.

"And they're all dead." Y/N's hands collapsed to his side, hanging limp. "And every night, every little moment here and there, I see their faces and I..." His eyes lowered, a slight tear to them that was quashed out immediately. "...I just want to run. To run away. 'Cause I don't want to watch anyone else die — before it's my turn."

She felt herself cool down, her eyes softened and gaze fluttered. As his words hit her, she compelled her own forward, filled with conviction and strength.

"That's not your fault." Ellie said, firmly, willing him to believe it. "None of what have happened to you is your fault and you know that!" She lifted her hand, and pointed a finger to herself, "You think I don't feel guilty too? After Henry and Sam? After Riley?"

Even as she uttered their names, she saw their faces and the bitterness, guilt that followed.

"Why am I alive, when they're all dead, huh?" She collapsed backwards, her behind planting loosely on the squeezed cushions, while her voice that had lowered, was now soft as ever. "Why?"

"Because you're a survivor."

Ellie lifted her head up, and gazed across the room, to find that Y/N was sitting on the floor, back against the wall while he stared at her, and then down to the hem of her hoodie, to her wrist, her mark.

"That bite on your arm only proves it."

Inside, Ellie began to freakout, "What?" She gasped out, the air in her lungs evaporated, and suddenly she couldn't breathe too well. "How did you—"

"Ellie..." Y/N drawled out, lingering her name on his tongue, as exasperation took its course. "I am a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them." She thought that was debatable. "I knew it had to be something big if Joel was bringing you to the Fireflies on a silver platter."

Internally, she felt her earlier anger rise, even if the reveal had her breathing uneasy, she was glad it was out in the open.

But just not like this.

"And you never said anything? You just carried on like nothing happened?" Ellie exclaimed, and her voice took a mocking tone. "Like sure, Ellie, I know you're the key to mankind's survival but I'm just gonna walk away now." Y/N's gaze turned away, to anywhere but her face, and that only prompted Ellie to push a little more. "Look at me." He did, slowly, and hesitantly. "You can act like you don't care, Y/N. But I know you..."

Something shifted in him, Ellie could tell, his eyes darted around the room before settling on his arm which he raised atop his knees, and searched his jacket-covered wrist that they knew held a deeper scar.

"...You don't know me"

Ellie matched his quiet tone with her own, "I do know you..." She edged closer out of the couch seat, closer to him.  "I know you're a survivor. Just like me." She watched as his hand massaged the wrist, fondling back and forth with a nervous streak.

"Do you?" He asked, his eyes turned to her finally, misted and glossed over. "I never really told you what happened before Rachel found me." She could see his breath slow, and gasping in with a desire for more air. "I tried to kill myself." He pulled up the hem of his jacket, revealing the fading scar and new addition that cut him deep days prior. "I tried to take the easy way out."

She couldn't help the deepening of her breath, as her hands curled up against her lap. Eyes wide, heart frazzled as it felt a prick of pain at her strings. She had a spirit of determination edge her forward.

"That doesn't have to be the end." Ellie said. "After everything we've been through, It'd be worse to give up now, than to get hurt later on."

There was a slight movement she spotted in Y/N's frame, his hand caressing the bare of his scarred flesh, a fingertip prodding at one would do a piece of meat at the dinner table.

"But I..." He trailed off, his voice quivering and small. Vulnerable, much like the time in the sewer, and not the strong, assured individual she had first met, "I don't want to get hurt... again, Ellie."

Ellie grimaced, and admitted, "I don't either."

They were brokered into a quiet, silence. It was tense, the air between them could be cut with a knife. But at the same time, a vulnerable understanding was emitted that the both of them picked up on.

If it wasn't for the sudden trot and neighing of horses heard from outside, overcast by the window, she didn't know if they would have ever spoke another word. So focused on each other, they hadn't heard the approach until it was right on atop of them.

Joel and Tommy had found them.

—

"Is this really all they had to worry about?"

Joel casted his gaze upon Ellie, finding her huddling atop a couch table. While Y/N was hard pressed against one of the walls of the room. Having jumped to his feet beforehand. He hadn't expected her to run off, and he sure as hell hadn't expected Y/N to follow her.

"Boys. Movies. Deciding which shirt goes with which skirt? It's bizarre."

Joel shook his head, "Get up. we're leaving. C'mon." He gesture for Ellie, and Y/N too, to follow him.

"And If I say no?"

He stopped in his tracks, turning back to Ellie from the door, as the teen girl herself moved from her position, feet to the floor.

"Do you even realise how much your life means? Huh?" Joel asked, before turning to Y/N, and back to Ellie. "Does he know?"

Y/N darted between Ellie and Joel. It didn't take a genius to understand that he was uncomfortable, Joel could see. "I think I'm gonna wait outside—"

"Don't fucking move." Ellie glared, stopping him in his tracks before he could even utter a word. Before gazing back at Joel. "He already knows, he figured it out."

He didn't ask. He didn't need to. If Y/N didn't believe her, or wanted to do something to her, he would've done so already. The fact that he had known for a while, since after Sam and Henry, if he had to guess, then he could trust him with that, after all.

Joel breathed in deep, exhaling to calm himself, "That stunt you pulled, running off. Putting yourself at risk... it's pretty goddamn stupid."

"Well I guess we're all disappointed with each other then."

"What do you want from me?"

Ellie got up from her seat, "Admit that you wanted to get rid of me the whole time."

Joel held up his hand, "Tommy knows the area better than—"

"Argh. Fuck that—" Ellie moved from the couch, hands to her face as Y/N moved out of the way, feeling as if he wasn't meant to be included in such a personal matter.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I trust him better than I trust myself."

"Stop with the bullshit." Ellie snapped. "What are you so afraid of? That I'm gonna end up like Sam? I can't get infected."

Y/N crossed his arms, butting in before Joel could speak. "She can take care of herself." He admitted. "You know that, I do too."

Ellie turned his way, her eyes softening and appreciating his input. But that was quickly shut down by Joel.

"But how many close calls have we had?"

"Well, we seem to be doing alright so far." Ellie argued.

"And now you'll be doing even better with Tommy." Joel exclaimed, shaking his head he moved away, head turning to the door.

Anywhere but Ellie's presence.

Before she said something that had him twirling back.

"I'm not her, you know..."

"What?"

Ellie pursed her lips, "Maria told me about Sarah... And I—"

"Ellie..." Joel fought to keep his voice calm, his breath hitching in his throat. "You are treading on some mighty thin ice here."

The teen pursed her lips, almost bitting at her tongue, "I'm sorry about your daughter, Joel, but I — we." She gestured to Y/N, who unfolded his arms at his mention. "Have lost people too."

"You have no idea what loss is."

That was a low blow, Joel could see it, as Ellie shrunk in on herself and Y/N looked away, pieces of them shattering like a hammer to a glass window.

"Everyone I have cared for has either died, or left me." Ellie said, calmly looking between the two. "Everyone — Fucking except for you two." She pushed Joel back, just as Y/N moved to her side, a look in his eyes Joel had never seen before. "So don't tell me I would be safer with someone else — because the truth is I would just be more scared."

A new emotion fitted into Joel's self. Surprise, shock, anger, shame and even respect. A sense of realisation that had so far eluded him, had blasted him right in the face.

"You're right." Joel agreed. "You're not my daughter, and I sure as hell ain't your dad. But we are going our separate ways—"

Immediately Tommy barged in, alerting the three to his presence, with his rifle in hand.

"Get it together. We're not alone."

Joel hurried anc checked the window, spotting two bandits heading in through the front door. "I got two walking in."

"There's more inside already." Tommy explained, and the others followed him out into the hallway.

Grudges put aside, the four worked to clear out the bandits. Joel leading the charge, he took out two of them with his shotgun, while Tommy and Y/N worked on the last ones. Sniping them from afar. When the last bandits were dead, the four of them regrouped outside on the porch.

Their moments of emotional bouts and escapee troubles were done for. Outside, they made the horses.

"You need a hand up?"

Ellie huffed at Tommy, climbing into her horse's saddle, "I got it."

Y/N followed after, climbing onto his horse he had acquired, with Joel and Tommy after. If the air wasn't so tense, he was sure Ellie would've asked Y/N on his horse troubles. Only rode once, Joel knew it to be a lie. The kid was a natural.

It didn't take them long to get to Jackson. The sight that greeted them over the hills was a town. Lit up like a bonfire and walls surrounding every inch of it.

"There she is." Tommy announced, pulling his horse to a stop. "Kids'll be watching movies tonight."

Joel stared out into the town with a mixed emotion, then to Ellie and Y/N and then back to Tommy. "Where's that lab of theirs?"

If Tommy was surprised by it, he didn't show it, "it's all the way out — University of Eastern Colorado."

"Go big horns." Joel muttered. "Ellie get off your horse, give it on back to Tommy. I'm gonna hang onto this fella, if that's alright with you." She hesitated. "Go on, don't make me repeat myself."

"What are you doing?"

"You're wife kinda scares me." Joel admitted, humour in his voice. "I don't want her coming after me."

Ellie was down on the ground, handing the reins of her horse to Tommy, "Sorry for stealing your horse..."

Y/N nodded too, "What she said." Rubbing at the back of his neck. He prepared to get down and off the saddle, but was stopped by him.

"It's alright." Tommy said, "You'll need that horse." He handed him the bag from earlier. "Call us even, for keeping the other bag."

"I appreciate it." Y/N said, as he took a hold of the bag. Joel quickly picked up on Ellie's crestfallen expression. "But, tell your wife I said... thank you." He handed Tommy the bag back, and he took it, with confusion, the same followed for all of them. "I won't be needing it where I'm going."

Joel was surprised, but no one was more surprised than Ellie — who quickly spun on her heels, head sharply turning in Y/N's direction, eyes wide and without a word said.

"I will." Tommy promised, and felt his eyes move back to Joel. "You should go back to town with me, at least. Discuss it."

Joel moved to help Ellie onto his horse, but was stunned when she quickly made a beeline to Y/N's and climbed up on. Settling in behind him, he hadn't expected that, though he probably should've. Least of all, did Y/N expect it, who looked anywhere but him.

"You know me, Tommy." Joel urged his horse forward, ignoring the slight betrayal in jest. "My minds all made up. University Eastern Colorado. How do I find this lab?"

"It's in the science building, looks like a giant mirror, you can't miss it."

Joel nodded, "You take care of that wife of yours."

"You know there's a place here for you. For all of you, you know."

Joel didn't reply, instead he turned to Ellie and Y/N, "You good?"

"I'm good."

"Y/N?"

There would've been hesitation if he had asked him in the beginning. But now. There was a set of fire, a determination in those dark eyes of his. Joel, for better or worse, needed him on this. And he knew Ellie needed him too.

"I'm... good, Joel. I'm good."

Joel turned to Tommy one last time, a faint smirk on his face, "You heard them." He gestured to his horse, and the others. "C'mon."

The two horses moved into a trot, taking off away from Tommy and Jackson. Besides him, he heard Y/N an awkward cough, and he listened in.

"So... a dangerous — and quite possibly fateful — quest to save mankind with a cure, and you're its solution." Y/N murmured back to Ellie who held onto the saddle for support.

"Yup." Ellie grinned, despite everything, her spirits had risen. "You in?"

Joel watched him for a moment, waiting for his answer which seemed to drag on in good humour as Ellie dreaded his response.

"...Fuck it, what else am I gonna do?" Y/N asked rhetorically. Before his gaze settled on Joel, face set and firm. "Lead the way."

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious what had changed his mind.

"See, I knew I'd convince you."

"Don't push your luck, Princess."

'Oh no.' Joel groaned internally. 'Here we go.'

"Don't call me princess."

"Sure thing... Princess."

"Ugh!"

Joel laughed, a true one, for the first time in a long time.

It seems, they were going to be alright after all.

As long as they had each other.

Nothing would stop them.

Until it did...

A/N: Okay, so lately I've been busy. I've gotten a part time job an as you know, they can be taxing. As well as that, I've been dealing with a lot of personal stuff. Stress, depression and the likes. So I've been pretty burnt out. Unable to really and write and focus, and I apologise for that.

But for now, I'm back fully and I'll be uploading chapters as normal. Sorry to keep you guys waiting, but I had to take some time for myself. But that's in the past. Hope you guys enjoyed this one and I'll see you guys next time.