Lilium || A The Last of Us story.

Night 2 of 5

Pear sat down the book she had been reading on the arm of the sofa, she glanced at the window noticing that the sun had set, "Would it be alright if I took a shower?" Pear asked Joel, her voice timid with uncertainty.

It had been forever since she had enjoyed the luxury of a warm shower. Instead, she had grown accustomed to bathing in the cold lake water and using homemade soaps that only seemed to irritate her skin.

Joel, lounging comfortably on the sofa, replied with a nonchalant shrug. "You don't need my permission. We could all use a shower," he muttered, his eyes still closed.

Pear's breath trembled slightly, "Oh."

Joel's eyes snapped open in a panic. "I didn't mean all of us together!" he blurted out. "I just meant that we all stink. You don't stink. I do. I just-"

Ellie, who had been engrossed in her comic book, interrupted with a chuckle. "What Joel is trying to say is, 'enjoy your shower.'"

Pear smiled gratefully and rose to her feet. Joel, in a clumsy attempt at chivalry, jumped up as well, glancing back at her nervously as she left the room.

"Smooth, man. Real smooth," Ellie teased, shaking her head at Joel's awkwardness.

"Go into the closet at the top of the stairs and see if there is anything for Pear to wear." Joel instructed Ellie.

She rolled onto her front, kicking her legs in the air, "Can't you do it, I really wanna find out what gonna happen." Ellie sighed.

"You've read that same comic six times since we left the QZ, it ain't gonna change." He snapped.

Ellie shrugged, "I change it, with my imagination." She tapped the side of her head, a cheeky smirk tugging at her lips.

"Fuck." Joel hissed, heading to the closet. He rummaged through the bags that Frank had shown him and Tess the last time they visited. In there he found a new jacket, a pair of dark blue jeans, a long sleeved black henley shirt and some sneakers, he wasn't sure it would all fit Pear but it was better than nothing. And then maybe he could get his socks back.

There was also some things that would suit Ellie, so he lifted them out for her too.

Bill and Frank really did think of everything, he thought as he pulled out a little bag filled with makeup. It must have belonged to Bills mother. Girls like makeup, don't they?

"Whatcha doing?" Ellie asked peering over Joels shoulder.

Joel jumped out of his skin, raising his fists defensively, "You little shit! Don't creep up on people like that! What if I had my gun in my hand?"

Ellie shrugs, diving into the closet she begins rifling through the boxes, "Oh no way!" She calls pulling out a stack of comic books.

"Go put this stuff on the bed for Pear." Joel says, extending the pile of things out to her.

"You go put that stuff on the bed for Pear," she quips in return skipping back downstairs, arms filled with comics.

Joel knocked lightly on the bedroom door, he could hear the faint run of the shower so he put the folded pile of clothes on the end of the bed. Remembering that had been Bill's mothers room, there would be pajamas or a nightgown here that she could sleep in instead of clothes.

He was rummaging through the drawers when he heard the click of the shower go off. In a panic, he slammed the drawer shut he rushed to leave the room before Pear came out, but in his haste, Joel shut the bottom of his shirt in the drawer and began to fumble around in a struggle to release himself.