Pedro's characters one shots

Family Man Pt. 2

Rosa and Joel has agreed to meet up for drinks Friday night after they were both done with work. Friday evening Joel listened to Ellie talk about pretty much everything while he cleared the dinner plates: "hey so listen" he started "I'm going out for a couple of drinks tonight, will you be okay here by yourself for a while? I won't stay out late." Joel had a goofy grin on her face "whatttt? You're going out for drinks?! Look at you old man. Im going to be honest I didn't think you had it in you." "Very funny" Joel responded dryly "who are you going with anyway." Joel had wondered how this was going to go over with Ellie "um Rosa" he said still drying one of their dinner plates. Ellie's jaw all but dropped "oh my god...you're going on a fucking date!" Joel raised an eyebrow at her "yeah I am... that good with you?" Ellie waved her hand "you don't need my permission old man. You two love birds have fun!" She was just about to hop up from the table to retreat to her room when Joel added "hey can you be cool about this? I mean it's nothing serious right now so like you don't need to go to school and tell all your friends Joel is going out with the school nurse. I mean it's not a secret if anyone asks but-" Ellie put a hand up to fit him off. " it's cool papi I get what you're saying." She then made a zipper motion across her lips and scampered upstairs. Joel finished the dishes muttering something about "Jesus that kid is going to be the death of me"
About half an hour later Joel knocked on Ellie's door "I'm heading out now. I won't stay out longer than two hours...be good" "always am!" Ellie yelled from the other side of her closed door.

Seeing Rosa made Joel's breath catch in his chest a little. She looked absolutely beautiful and it had been what felt like 100 years since he had done this. She was waiting outside the bar in one of the rocking chairs. "Hey I'm sorry I kept you waiting" Joel said walking towards her. Rosa waved her hand "you didn't, I was just here early don't worry about it" Joel opened the door for Rosa and the pair walked to a table that felt somewhat private. It was a little crowded for a Friday night and Joel quickly realized that coming here meant everyone in the town would see them together and then everyone would start talking...oh well. Rosa was well worth it. The two caught up on how the week went and then Joel said "so I think I owe you an explanation about that little girl who lives with me"
"Oh you don't have to tell me anything it's not really my business I didn't mean to pry the other day!" Joel shook his head "I want to tell you" he was smiling so Rosa just sat back and listened. Joel told her of how he was asked to get her to a group of fireflies, but then things went south and she ended up staying with him. He didn't tell her about Ellie's immunity, or Tess, or go into too many details. But he did say that she was an Orphan in FEDRA school and there was a firefly who knew her mom and had a special request for Joel to move her out of the QZ, but there was an accident and that firefly died and the base was hit by raiders so Joel and Ellie took off. He told her of how their relationship had grown and developed. "Truth be told I see her as my own kid. She's still working on opening up to me which is fine of course, but I don't always know where I lie for that kid. I said some things I shouldn't have in the past that hurt her and we're working through healing that. If she goes her whole life without seeing me as a father figure that's fine as long as she's safe and happy. That's all I care" he had a glow to his face whenever he talked about Ellie, Rosa noticed. "It's clear to me that you really love her and it seems like you two are lucky to have each other." Joel nodded "the kid has saved my life a couple of times actually. She's quick on her feet despite the mouth she's got." Rosa chuckled and Joel rolled his eyes "still workin on manners with that one"

Rosa and Joel talked about things they missed from before, the foods they love the foods they hate,  the kind of music they like then Joel looked at the clock in the bar. Rosa was quick to notice. "You need to head out?" She asked with a tone of understanding. "Yeah I'm sorry. I told Ellie I would be back before her bed time." "Don't apologize! You've got some priorities in your life right now that need tending and I respect you for doing that. You're a good dad, Joel." Joes hadn't been called a dad in a very long time, much less been complimented for his fatherly role. "Well thank you, that means a lot." He thanked her in his sweet, southern drawl.

Outside the bar where it was much quieter Joel suddenly felt like a high schooler who had just taken a girl on a date. The crickets and cicadas were a marker of some things never changing, despite the world being turned upside down. The night sounds brought him back to before, to simplicity, to the nights he and Sarah would sit on the back porch curled up on one chair. When she was little she would sit with him and watch the fireflies come out. In the summer time by the time it got dark it was past little Sarah's bedtime, but Joel would let her sit with him until the lighting bugs came. Then she would fall asleep in his lap. Sometimes Joel would sit there with her in his arms for hours, his sweet sleeping girl laying heavy on his chest with curls gently brushing his chin with every slow deep breath she took in her sleep.

"You alright?" Rosa asked, snapping Joel from his daydream "yeah sorry I -just lost in thought I guess." Rosa smiled at him "was it a good one" Joel hadn't told Rosa about Sarah, but with her being friends with Tommy and Maria, he figured she'd heard about Sarah through them. "Yeah, yeah it was a good one." Joel changed the subject "thank you for coming out tonight, I really enjoyed myself." "Thank you for inviting me, I did too." Joel wasn't good at these moments. He wasn't sure what he wanted from Rosa just yet, he wasn't sure if getting romantically involved with someone was a good idea right now, but Rosa seemed worth it. She seemed like the kind of woman who would make things in his life easier, not more complicated. "Um I would like to do something like this again some time -with you, spend more time with you...if you would like?"
"I would like that very much" said Rosa, her eyes were lit up and it was clear to Joel she was trying not to grin too big...like she didn't want to come off too strong. Joel didn't care though. "Alright get home safe now." Rosa nodded. "I'm sure I'll see you around tomorrow."
"Yes ma'am"

Joel opened the front door slowly. He made a mental note to out grease on those damn hinges. He tried to walk up the stairs quietly in case Ellie was asleep. Her door was closed so he knocked softly "Ellie?" He whispered. He gently opened the door. She was sleeping so peacefully, he mouth slightly open and her brown hair messy across her pillow. Joel felt a kind of pain in his chest in moments like these. It brought him back to the days of seeing Sarah like this, but it also made his heart feel full. The hole in his heart was Ellie sized. She filled it and then some. He smiled as he looked at her peaceful figure. Joel tiptoed over to her bed and bent to kiss the top of her head. He stroked her temple with his thumb for a moment then turned to leave, Ellie stirred. She opened her eyes "Joel?" He turned around. "Hey baby I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you." "Tell me about your date." She said sleepily. Joel sat on the edge of her bed. He chuckled at her interest in this situation. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow okay? It's late and you should go back to sleep." Ellie had already let her head fall back on the pillow and her eyes were closed. "Okay." She whispered. "I love you." Joel whispered "I love you, old man."