Lilium || A The Last of Us story.

Day 3 of 6

Sleep was another basic human need that the apocalypse had turned into a rare luxury. And even though Joel, Ellie and Pear had been granted exceptional solace at Bill and Franks they still didn't manage a full night.  Well, Ellie did, but it was clear that she could sleep anywhere and in anything. Probably the only benefit of being born post apocalypse.

The light of the bright morning sun shone through a gap in the blinds, casting a warm golden stripe on Joel's face. His eyes instinctively scrunched together.

"That must be so annoying." Pear thought to herself, rising to her feet she went to the window and pulled the curtains together, glancing over her shoulder to make sure it had worked.  Smiling as his lids softened.

"What time is it?" He murmured sleepily.

"It's early, go back to sleep." Pear panicked, feeling guilty for disturbing him.

"Did you sleep any?" Joel asked, sitting himself up rubbing his eyes.

Pear shrugged, catching sight of herself in the mirror.  She had forgotten about her drastic haircut, "A little." She replied, tucking one side behind her ear.

"It's nice," the words were out of Joel's mouth before he had time to think, "Pear?" He whispered.

Pear turned around her lips parted ever so slightly, "Mhmm?"

"You could stay here if you wanted, you don't need to run to the coast, this would be a nice place for you to settle in." He offered.

"Huh?" She replied, brows knitted together with confusion.  Where was this coming from?

Joel looked up at her through his thick lashes, "I thought about it a lot during the night, you don't have to run, you could live here."

"With Bill and Frank, the decomposing corpses in the front room?"

Joel let out a soft airy laugh, "We could bury them, I could lay them to rest outside. They wouldn't mind, Frank would have loved you."

"And what about Bill?" Pear asked, folding her arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow.

"Don't worry about him," Joel replied, rising to his feet and stepping in front of Pear. "Bill hated everybody. What I'm saying is that you could stay here, in this world they've left behind. There are enough provisions to keep you going for years if you're careful."

It sounded like an idealistic notion, but the reality was far from perfect. Pear's expression softened as she spoke. "Joel, I wouldn't know how to defend a place like this. You and I both know that sooner or later, someone would find it, find me...and then, well, you know how people are nowadays."

As she spoke, Pear hadn't noticed how close Joel had inched towards her. They were almost sharing breaths. Pear's heart thudded, she could hear it ringing in her ears, could Joel hear it?

As he towered above her, his large frame commanded so much space in the room that Pear felt tiny. Despite her small stature, she felt safe in his presence. His head tilted slowly to the side as he leaned in gently, causing Pear to try and keep her breaths steady.

"I could come back."

His words encapsulated her, and she closed her eyes, whispering, "Don't say things you don't mean."

Pear attempted to take a small step backwards, but Joel's arm wrapped around her waist, lightly grazing the small of her back. His voice hushed as he spoke, "Something is happening to me, and I can't explain it, and I sure as hell don't understand it..."