Lost Love {TLOU} [Joel X OC]

e l e v e n

The light snow swirling turns into a harsh blizzard and Naomi holds her hand in front of her face as she presses on.

"I can't see a damn thing." She says into the air and a hand grabs her, pulling her behind a wall.

Joel stands in front of her, his face dangerously close as he breathes heavily. She goes to say something else and he places his hand over her mouth just as a hunter heads past.

Naomi's breath hitches and when he's far enough away, she pushes Joel off, flustered. "A heads up would've been fine."

He rolls his eyes and the duo make their way through the town, getting rid of David's group along the way as they navigate the cruel weather.

Walking past a fire in a barrel, Naomi goes over to a metal door and pushes it open. Joel closes it behind him, shutting out the cold and he shivers.

She scans over the piles of clothing and fabrics on the shelves and Joel's eyes widen as he brushes past her, picking up a small bag.

"What is this? Why is Ellie's stuff here?" He asks.

Naomi pushes open the plastic strip curtaining, grimacing at the bodies hung from their feet. The fabric from before covered their heads and private parts.

Joel comes up beside her. "Who is he?" He asks and she frowns, not taking her eyes off the dead. "Who?"

"David. I saw the way you were when he was mentioned."

She spots a cleaver on top a table and she picks it up, weighing it in her hands as the memory weighs in her mind. "We just gotta get to her." She whispers and Joel is concerned, but doesn't press it and instead places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Flashback

It wasn't long until David's crew had caught up with her and David had kept her all to himself.

Restless nights he would contemplate on what to do with her and the cool blade of his butcher's weapon would trail across her until he decided she wanted her to suffer in other ways.

Weeks she was held captive until rogue infected killed most of his men and she had escaped for a second time, this time making it permanent.

Joel opens the door to the front of the shop, allowing Naomi to pass him and she immediately winces at the harsh light of the fire in the building opposite.

"Holy shit... Ellie." Joel breathes, hurriedly making his way across the snow.

"Joel! We have to be careful with this." Naomi calls, but he ignores her, determined to get to the teenager.

Inside, they both come to a halt at the sight of Ellie bringing a machete down on David multiple times, his blood spraying everywhere as she cries.

"Ellie!" Naomi exclaims, rushing forward and pulling the girl away, her motherly instincts kicking in.

"No, get off of me!" She screams. "Don't fucking touch me!"

"Ellie, hey, you're safe. Honey, it's okay." Naomi whispers, placing her hands on the young girl's cheeks and she starts to calm down.

Joel watches from a few steps away. It reminded him of the way she used to calm Sarah down after a nightmare and his heart pangs from the distant pain of the memory. He never knew what to do in that situation, but Naomi always had the right comforting words that flowed in a soft and loving tone.

"He tried to -" Ellie sobs and hugs the woman tightly, burying herself in her embrace and Naomi is slightly taken aback.

"Oh, honey." She whispers, stroking her hair softly as the realisation hits Joel and he drops to his knees.

"Joel..." Ellie cries and he takes her into his arms. "Oh, babygirl, it's okay. It's okay." He promises.

His ex wife stands, wiping at her tears. The last time she had heard him say that word was when he used to talk to Sarah.

She clamps a hand over her own mouth to stop a sob escaping. The way he cradled Ellie was the same way he did to Sarah and it made her remember the night of her death. Where they both sat with their daughter between them, just how they did now with the young girl in front of her.

As Joel sits back to speak comforting words to Ellie, Naomi looks down at the cleaver in her hands that she never put down from the shop.

Looking over at David's lifeless body, her handle on it grips and she makes her way over.

Horrible images of the nights he traced the same weapon over her flood her mind and she isn't hesitant. The weapon falls, and she lets it land on his chest and the blood spray her face.

Joel grabs her, pulling her into him and his words drown out as the woman lets out her frustrations, sobbing into his chest.

She takes Ellie into her arms once more, hugging her tightly as Joel wraps his arms around them both, as if he was trying to shield them from the pain.

Naomi breaks the embrace, bringing the other two to their feet.

Without another word, the trio leave the deceased man to burn along with building and the pain he had caused.