Losing you ; Joel Miller

xxi. Kill two birds with one stone

[2023]
JOEL

     After Eden helped him with the car battery, she went to look for items that could be useful for the travel, Joel stepped back into the house, eyes falling on the teenager who had his daughter in her lap. " Show me your arm" he ordered, inspecting the healing bite mark, it wasn't getting worse, wasn't spreading, it looked like a normal wound. " Eden and I just finished makin' a truck battery, It's charging right now"he grunted out, voice gruff as he watched Ellie play with Ada's curls, he hated how he kept thinking about Sarah.

     " And I have a brother out in Wyoming. He's in some kinda trouble, and I'm heading out there to find him. He used to be a Firefly. And my guess is he knows where some of them are out there. Maybe they can get you to wherever this lab is." Ellie nodded, listening carefully as the baby squirmed in her lap. " Uh, listen, about Tess, uh..." she started, but Joel was quick to silence her. " If I'm takin' you with us, there's some rules you gotta follow. Rule one, you don't bring up Tess. Ever. Matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves."

     Ellie shook her head, understanding, " rule two, you don't tell anyone about your... condition. They see that bite mark, they won't think it through. They'll just shoot you."

     " Rule three, you do what I say when I say it. We clear?" Ellie nodded again " Yes." Joel didn't fully feel satisfied with her answer, asking her to repeat what he had just said. " What you say goes." She responded, and Joel just sighed, picking Ada off her lap as Ellie stood up. " So, what now?" The teen asked, eyes darting around the kitchen.

     " Eden has already started, we grab what we can."

     " Needs another hour" Joel turned to Eden, she was trying to figure out the best way to wrap Ada in a sling with some fabric she found. " They have hot water! I'm takin' a shower" Ellie announced, bouncing on her toes slightly as she made her way towards door " and then you're showering... because seriously." Eden giggled as Ellie made a face towards Joel and walked out, making the man grunt as he shook his head.

     " Do you also think I stink?" He grumbled with a frown, Eden inhaled sharply, scrunching up her nose as she looked at him, " I plead the fifth, Texas" Joel shook his head " Ada doesn't think I stink, isn't that right baby?" The infant cooed as Joel leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Eden laughed, cupping his cheek to give him a small kiss " it's the apocalypse, honey. Everyone stinks." This made Joel chuckle, a smile growing on his face. " Yeah, didn't want to mention it but..." he grimaced teasingly, earning a light smack to his shoulder from Eden.

" You love me when I'm stinky" she quipped back, " mhm, I do, I love you... even when you stink."

" I definitely need a shower" Eden giggled, making a face " and Ellie wasn't lying-" he gasped with fake hurt, moving closer to her but being mindful that Ada was wrapped around her chest. " I know a way we could save water warm water and... y'know... kill two birds with one stone." He whispered in her ear, enjoying the way Eden's breath seemed to falter.

" Always good to save water- be nice to the environment and stuff" she mumbled back, making Joel smirk " exactly, we'd be doing Mother Nature a favour."

" Well, don't you two look pretty" Ellie smirked as they came into the dining room, Eden's face flushed and pink as Ada squealed in delight to see her parents. " Shut up." Joel tossed Ellie some deodorant, the teen mumbling out a quick " nice" before applying some. " C'mon, the battery should be ready."

Eden sat in the back seat with Ada as Ellie jumped in, she looked around with wonder as a small smile crept onto her face. " It's your first time in a car?" Joel asked, eyebrows raised as he watched the teen play with the mirror. " It's like a spaceship" she mumbled back, transfixed. " No, it's like a piece of shit Chevy S10, but it'll get us there... I think."

" Seatbelt." Ellie hummed as she looked over at him quizzically, brows tugging together, Joel stared at her for a moment, realising they weren't in 2003, Ellie was sitting next to him, not Sarah. " Seatbelt" Joel repeated, softer this time, moving to pull it over her and click it into place. "So cool" the teen awed, eyes shining. The engine started as she opened the front compartment while Joel protested, taking out a tape and inspecting it for a second " put it back.. Ellie" he warned.

Eden gasped when Linda Ronstadt played through the speakers, eagerly tapping Joel's shoulder to increase the volume, he chuckled, heeding her wishes. " Oh, this is good. This is Linda Ronstadt. Do you know who Linda Ronstadt is?" Joel asked Ellie " You know I don't know who Linda Ronstadt is."

" Oh, man."

" Eh. It's better than nothing."

Honey is typing...
Cheeky adults acting like teens gdhshsh

I'm so tempted to just skip Kansas City because I don't want to break my heart again by writing everything that goes down there😭😭