The Last of Us (Joel Miller x Female!Reader)

Can't Be For Nothing

SPRING

"Ellie! Did you hear me?" Joel said to Ellie, who was looking at a deer emblem on a wall. She jumps and looks over at us. "No. What?" She asked and Joel points off into the distance. "Look. Hospital. This is where we get off." He said as she looks up then away. I walk over to her and place my hand on her shoulder. She looks up at me as I said, softly. "Let's go, kiddo." She nods at me and begins to walk past me, I follow her as the three of us walk down the turnpike.

"Heh. Feel that breeze, huh? I tell you, on a day like this, I'd just sit on my porch, pick away at my six string." Joel reminisces and I chuckle. "Or read a book and sip on some sweet tea." I said as Joel goes and wraps his right arm around my waist and pulls me close to him. "Yeah...." he mutters then he turns to Ellie. "....once we're done with this whole thing, I'm gonna teach you how to play guitar. Yeah, I reckon you'd really like that. Whaddya say, huh?" Joel said to her, but she doesn't respond.

"Ellie, I'm talkin' to you." Joel said and she looks back at him. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, that sounds great." She said, distracted. Ever since the event with David and his crew, Ellie has been quite distant and alot more quiet than she normally is. Honestly, I don't blame her. She went through some tough and horrible shit a few weeks ago.

I give her a sympathetic look before we continue on down the road. "I dreamt about flying the other night." Ellie said as she looks at a picture of a plan on an old bus.
"Oh yeah?" I said to her. "Yeah." She replied.
"Go on, tell us about it." Joel encouraged.
"So, I'm on this big plane full of people. And everyone is screaming and yelling 'cause the plane's going down. So I walk to the cockpit, open the door, but there's no pilot. I try to use the controls but...I obviously have no clue how to fly a plane. And right before we crash, I wake up. I've never been on a plane. Isn't that weird?" She asked us. "Hmpf. Well, you know, dreams are weird." Joel told her and we walk down then road until we see a warning sign where the off ramp ends.

"Look at that. Another city, another abandoned quarantine zone." I said as I climb on top of a car to look out. "There's that hospital the Firefly mentioned." I said as I point at the building. "C'mon, kiddo." Joel said to Ellie as I jump down from the car and continue on. 

We hop over the quarantine zone gate and enter a bus terminal. "Maybe we cut through here, huh?" Joel said as we enter then I turned around to see Ellie sitting on one of the benches, looking down at the floor. "Everything all right?" I asked her as I walk up to her. "Yeah, I'm fine." She replied as I squat down to look her in the eye. "You just kinda seem extra quiet today." I said to her. "Oh, sorry." She said, apologetically. "No, it's not...it's fine." I said as I pat her shoulder then stand back up.

We walk over to a wall and I look up at it. "Here, give me a boost." I said to Joel and he stands in front of the wall and gets in the boost position. I place my foot in his cupped hands and he boosts me up the wall. I climb on top of it and turn around. "Alright Ellie, you're turn." I said as I go and kneel down. Joel looks over to see Ellie hadn't moved. "Ellie." He said but she doesn't reply. "Ellie." He said a little louder and she looks up. "What?" She asked. "Come on, kiddo." I said. "Right...Okay..." she said as she walks over to the wall.

I reach out my hand and she grabs it and I pull her up. "Alright, big guy. You're turn." I said to Joel just as Ellie said. "Oh my God. Whoa." I look over my shoulder to see her running off. "What is it?" I asked but she was gone. "Ellie? Ellie!" Joel and I yelled but nothing. I turned to Joel and hold my hand out to him, he grabs it and I pull him up and both of us start to chase after Ellie. 

"Oh...you guys gotta see this." She said, excited, as she runs ahead of us. "What is it?" Joel asked as we continue to follow her. "I don't see anything." I said. "Neither do I." Joel mutters as we come up to a hallway and saw a shadow of a large animal walking by the window. "What the hell is--?" Joel and I muttered in shock as Ellie laughs and said. "Are you kidding me? C'mon, hurry up."