Losing you ; Joel Miller

xxxvii. Pre-apocalypse drag queens

[two years later]
EDEN

Pinks and purples from the sunset had left with the sun, leaving behind a twilight of vibrant reds and oranges. Sweet tea with milk warmed their fingers, cool summer air breezed over the two women who sat side by side on the weathered patio.

Ellie was the first to break the comfortable silence, straightening her posture slightly as her fingers restlessly played with her warm cup of tea before putting it away. " Eden?" Her voice was cautious, eyes darting to look over the lush garden, trying to scrounge up some inner courage. Eden hummed, shifting her focus away from Heidi to look at the fifteen year old.

     " I like girls" Ellie rushed out, eyes closing shut as she tightly gripped the patios old wood, her knuckles turning white.

     " Oh, sweetheart" Eden cooed which caused the sixteen year old's gaze to snap up with shock, noticing the small smile grazing the blonde's lips " I'm happy that you felt comfortable enough to share that with me." Ellie's brows furrowed together at Eden's reaction, eyes scanning her face in search for any signs of disgust or anger " you're... you're not mad?"

" Mad? Hun, why would I be mad?" The teen stared down at her fingers, feebly picking at her cuticles before shrugging her shoulders with embarrassment " I dunno... was just worried you would be" she admitted. Eden's gaze turned sympathetic, gently moving her hand over Ellie's and giving them a comforting squeeze. " Could never be angry at you over something like that, you are who you are."

Ellie pulled her into a hug, softly whispering out thank you before pulling away and noticing the sly smile that grew on Eden's face. Nudging the teen in a playful manner, " so... what's going on between you and Cat?"

     Her face flushed red, hiding in her hands as a small laugh tumbled out of Eden. " Is it really that obvious?" Ellie whined, even though the warm feeling of relief from being accepted continued to spread through her chest.

" I just recognise the way you look at her..." Eden admitted " I like girls too, y'know."

The auburnette had pulled her hands away from her face as quickly as the speed of light, staring at the blonde with shock, green eyes wide and jaw hanging slack. " Huh- wha- wait- but- Joel?" She blabbered out, not able to form a coherent response.

Eden shrugged, pursing her lips in thought " Well I'm not just into women, I've had boyfriends, partners, girlfriends..." Ellie processed the information, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, managing to stutter out " before the outbreak?" Which made Eden nod " well, mostly then, yes. But I had a girlfriend while I was living in the QZ."

     Ellie blinked quickly, still in shock over the news " oh my god- I- does Joel know?" The question caused Eden to erupt into a fit of giggles, leaning her chin on her fist. " Yeah, he knows."

Twilight had passed, darkness surrounding them like a blanket as the full moon omitted a soft glow. Empty tea mugs were forgotten, the two shared personal experiences as queer women, which lead to Eden explaining what drag was, to a very enthusiastic Ellie.

" You girls havin' fun?" Joel asked softly as he walked out on the patio with a sleeping three year old in his arms, Ada's cheek was pressed against his shoulder, wearing her shark onesie. " Joel! Have you ever been to a drag show?" Ellie quizzed quickly, bright eyed and smiling. " Oh- uh..." Joel awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, face turning red " yeah, a few times."

" Wait, really?" Eden asked as she gathered the cups and stood up, a shocked smile growing on her face. " Yeah... they were- i found them, uh- entertaining" his confession made Ellie gape up at him like he had grown a second head.

" I mean- like- some drag queens were great comedians- them being talented artists who dressed extravagantly and sometimes had fake boobs didn't really matter to me all that much" Joel tried to explain shyly, face resembling a tomato as Eden stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. " Maybe in another life we would've met at a drag show" she giggled out, intertwining their fingers on his free hand as the three stepped inside the house.

Honey is typing...
Idk how much more I'm gonna publish but this book is coming to an end :') all I know is that the remaining chapters will be pure fluff, and then I'll post an epilogue <3