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aliorsboxostuff · 1 year

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Hey! I was hoping for a like teen male reader with Joel Miller? Platonic father-son type of relationship obviously. Just one where the reader is kinda a stand in for Ellie plot wise but come's out to Joel as trans(ftm)

No pressure ofc:] <33

A/N YK ITS BEEN A WHILE FOR THAT FATHER!JOEL FIC BUT HEY I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO DO IT and thank YOU so much friend for requesting it and putting my gears to work! Little reminder; a lot of this is based off of HBO tlou more so than the game, and i will also add bits of my experience as a trans teen needing an actual good father figure! (don't we all-). Btw, i don't know how guns work and how trucks work so please enjoy my misinterpretation of them, and i have this image of Joel in my head where he’s supportive in a toxic masculine way, sorry! Anyhow, as usual I apologize for any mistakes, english is my second language. Enjoy the fic friends! <3

Cargo.

Tags: HBOJoel and Male!reader, Joel and teen!reader, Father!Joel, Tess, Marlene, Platonic Relationship, ftm!reader, Misuse of Pronouns, coming out, Canon-Typical violence, sarcastic!Joel, Sassy!Reader, Joel cares in a southern way.

It wasn't your brightest idea, really, but it beats being chained to a radiator. And you do miss Tess and hope she’s up there fighting and being the strong woman she is, but now you're stuck with Joel and a boring road ahead of you.

—

All of this is so dumb.

Joining the Fireflies was dumb. Thinking the Fireflies would help you was dumber.

Now you're currently stuck, well, held captive in an apartment room, handcuffed to a radiator that won't budge, and a constant Firefly guard outside the room. Awesome, wonder how you got into this situation. And worse of all, those bland food they give you really isn't their deal. Seriously, you'd think they know they're keeping a kid and not a hamster inside a cage.

You huff, turning to try and pull at the chains again. Putting all of your body weight into it, you lean back and grunt, before a stale water droplet lands on your face. "Ugh! You fucker!"

You huff, opting to sit down again and mumble more curses to whatever leaked upstairs. Obviously, it won't work, but the scraping of metal is enough to keep you entertained. And the possibility of escaping is even more entertaining, you scoff.

Suddenly, you hear the lock on the door turn, keys dangling, thinking it was one of the guards here to check you, you begin counting.

"One, two, three, four…" Before a lady with curly hair, sharp eyes and an unreadable face walks in instead of the guys. Your eyes quickly dart to the bag she's holding, your backpack.

She walks in causally, stopping on the arch in the middle of the room. You level her with a stare, hand ready to grab at anything. She throws the pack to your legs and you quickly scramble for it, pulling out the blade you stashed inside and pointing the business end to the woman making her way closer.

She sits beside you, and you shift just a bit away.

"You're not scared." As a statement. she gives you a small shake. "Then unlock me."

"How about we start with a 'thank you'?"

"For what?" I roll my eyes, she quickly interjects, her voice level.

"For saving your life. I am the one that told them not to shoot you, if you recall."

"Yeah, yeah…" I grumble, putting my switchblade back into its safety. But that's exactly what you've been wondering all those days, her choice. "Why did you stop them?"

"We'll get to that," She reaches for your hand and you quickly pull away, both hands on your blade. She sighs, revealing the small key to your line of sight, and you glare at her, before reluctantly giving her the hand with the chains around. She twists the key, releasing you of your bind, and you instinctively rub the marks it left.

"So, Evan, how're you feeling?" You wince slightly. That name shouldn't really be the one you blurted out when those guards questioned you, beats your birth name at least.

"The same," You shrug. a beat passes, a heavy silence in the room making you squirm. "Is it gonna happen?"

"No," She answers simply.

"So can I go?"

She shakes her head. "No."

"I won't tell anyone about this, I swear." You push, making eye contact with her, trying to get your point across.

"Then where would you go? Back to FEDRA military school?" You huff. "What, you're that anxious to be a soldier?"

"You think I chose that place?" You bite back. "They put me there since I was a baby. It's for orphans."

"'They' didn't put you there," She glares at you, making you retract slightly. "I did. Ellie."

Then she uttered the name you loathed. You roll your eyes, lips turned into a snarl before you snapped back "You're my fucking mom or something?"

"Do I look like your mom." You don't know, many possibilities to maybe be it. Maybe not.

"Nooo, you do not." You opted instead. "And no, it's actually…" You gave her your name. Your actual preferred name, not whatever your parents decided was best. She only stared, almost like she wanted to retort, like she knew something you didn't within her dark eyes.

"Alright, sure," Instead, she answered. "My name is Marlene. I'm the leader of the Fireflies in the Boston QZ."

"Why would a terrorist dump me with FEDRA?" You snarl.

"Because that's where you’ll be safest, and you were safe, until you decided to sneak out." She quickly retorted. "And 'Terrorist'?"

"Was Riley a terrorist?" Your eyes snap to her, another boiling rage almost simmers over. It would be so easy to embed the blade you're still holding onto her neck, maybe slice it and watch as warm blood flows and paint your hands red. She'd probably deserved it. In what way was she allowed to bring up the only person who loves you for you like that?

but instead it simmers down to pain. Another twist at the knife already pushing at those deep wounds. Your eyes break away from Marlenes to around the room, to the floorboard that chips away from neglect. You gulp, blinking the annoying tears making their presence known, taking in shaky lungfuls. Exhaling slowly, you could see the edges of your vision blurring, before you look at Marlene again. Your mouth opens, yet pushing your vocal cords to work seems harder than it used to. You take another inhale, gulping down those dead feelings, then finally meet her steel eyes again. She has the gall to look mildly sympathetic.

"Why won't you let me go home?" Your voice wavers slightly.

She exhales, eyes softening slightly. It hurts for you to see. "Because you have a greater purpose than any of us could've ever imagined." she says.

"So we're leaving tonight, and were taking you with us,"

The door opens again, and that familiar Firefly voice calls. "He's here."

"Five minutes," Marlene requested, and they nodded, closing the door. She turns back to you She shifts so her body is angled towards you, and you sit up straighter against the steel bars behind you.

"What I'm about to tell you can not be repeated to anyone. Because if you do, I assure you," She stares. "You will die."

—

"Ow! Fuck…" The man stands before you, gun aimed at your head as you huff back the breath he knocked out of you. Steps behind her, a woman with pulled-back hair stands, the same cautious eyes scanning you, then back to Marlene at the end of the hallways. Maybe ambushing him wasn't your brightest idea, now that he's stepped on your blade. They seem to know each other.

Marlene calls your name, her tone a try of soothing. Then she calls again, demanding, finally breaking eye contact with this 'Joel' guy and turning to her. That's when you spot the wound, bleeding at her side and it looks bad. "Oh shit-"

"No, it's okay. I'll be alright." She reassures you. "And you can't be stupid like this," She scolds.

"So this is who Robert screwed us over with?" You turn to see a woman as she stands steps away from the man. "The Che Guevara of Boston?"

"Well war must be pretty shitty for you to be buyin' from scumbags like him." Marlene replies with an eerily steady tone.

"Yeah it kinda has been," She calls back. "The merch was bad, and he obviously didn't take 'Fuck off' for an answer." All the while you glared daggers at the man, eyeing your blade still beneath his boot.

"Gimme my knife back." You snarl.

"What do you need a car battery for?" The man asks, before I try to steal my blade back and the cock of a gun startles me, he's back to aiming at me. "Don't." I quickly raise my arms up-

"Not at her," Marlene calls, both her gun and the lady beside her aimed at the man. "Point it at me."

Joel raises his brows in warning, before he slowly turns and aims back to Marlene. “And to answer your question, i need it for a better reason than you do,”

“No offense but Tommy’s just one man, It's our business to know things-”

“‘Know things’,” Joel bites. “You're the cause of it. You turned my own brother against me.”

“Okay Joel, that was a lot of gunfire- FEDRA’s gonna be on the way.” Kim reminds. “I know.” Marlene looks away, then down to you where you pull slightly at the definitely strained shoulder from the fall earlier. She bites her lip. “We're gonna move her out of the zone tonight. But we won't make it anywhere like this, not for a while.”

Joel looks down at you, scruffed hair and a scar jutting from his brow. “So now I'm thinkin’, you're gonna do it.”

“The hell we are.” Joel says in unison as you say;

“I’m not goin’ with them!” You shout back.

Kim turns to Marlene, holding her wound. “Let me take her.”

“Tess, we don't have time for this.” The man turns to ‘Tess’.

“Oh you don't have time-”

“What is she to you?” Tess calls.

“To you? She’s cargo.” Marlene interjects.

“We don't smuggle people. Sorry.” Joel replies sharply.

“I can do it-”

“Kim, you don't have a fuckin’ ear on your fuckin’ head, could you please?” Marlene scrunches her face, Kim deflates as she meets eyes with you, before she looks away again. Marlene inhales a ragged breath, before she sighs. “There's a team of Fireflies waiting for her at the old State House-”

Jeol opens his mouth but Marlene continues; “I know what's out there. We were going with an entire squadron for that very reason.” She takes a breath. “But now we don't have a truck, i don't have a squadron, FEDRA’s five minutes away, what i do have is you.” She pauses, eyes fleeting from Joel's to Tess’.

“And I know what you're both capable of. For better or worse.”

Joel’s hand tightens around the gun, making you gulp, looking back at the woman she’s ready to pull her claws out too. You turn to Marlene, a shake in your voice as you say, “What are they capable of?”

“You get her there safely, and they’ll give you what you need. Not just the battery, the whole thing. Fueled up trucks, guns, supplies, all of it.” Marlene regards them both. “I swear.”

You watch as the man blinks, then he turns to Tess for a brief moment before she nods her head, angling behind her, he nods curtly. Joel stares you down again, and as he lifts his leg it was your chance to swiftly reach and cut- before he kicked your knife far from your reach. “Asshole!”

Marlene regards you with a stare, when you only huffed and rub at your shoulder again.

The two strangers whisper from the other end of the hall, too far away for you to hear anything coherent. They share looks and assess both you and Marlene, before they turn back to their circle. The scene reminds you of something out of FEDRA school, back when those girls would whisper rumors about you or Riley, about you in particular usually. You narrow your eyes when Joel glances at you. He only narrows his and returns to Tess.

“Y'all talk it through but please remember I'm bleeding out!” Marlene announces. The pair pauses, before Tess turns.

“Okay, here's the deal.” She walks languidly and stands by your side. “We’ll get her to your crew at the state house, but before we hand her over, they give us everything we want.”

“If not, we kill her, then and there.”

“Deal.” Marlene nods. You snap at her, eyes wide.

“Really? That fast?”

“You are all that matters. The team won't jeopardize that.” You sigh, breaking eye contact with her. “Remember what I told you? Now go get your backpack.”

You huff, looking back at the woman that promises you safety, a pinch of pain snaps through your heart. “Now.” She adds your name, at which you grumble and stand to retrieve your pack.

Hauling the thing onto your back, you stand in the corridor again, now closer to the pair. “Okay, let's go.” Tess turns, already making her way out.

You stare back at Marlene, angry and disappointed and hurt but she nods, encouraging you to follow the woman you’ve only seen threaten your ticket out of here. You narrow your eyes, before you turn and shoulder-check Joel before grabbing your knife, pocketing it and not looking back. You briefly hear Marlene's fading voice, “Joel, don't fuck this up. Please.”

Before heavy boots follow behind you and you reach the door with Tess.

—

You find yourself missing Tess already. It didn't take long for you to bury the grief down, in a world like this there's no reason to get sentimental. But with the little time you and her got along, better than you got along with Jeol at least, she reminds you of that older student that was nice to you. The one that offered gum once and told you she liked your hair. She then got admitted to join FEDRA’s soldiers. That was the end of that, and so was Tess.

Through your time hiking with Joel, he’s told you about his scar and the reason you two are going to Frank and Bill’s, he explains to you about the remnants of a plane you two passed. He explains the mundanity of it, the expensive sandwich people would buy but your eyes only sparkle with wonder. He rolls his eyes as you two continue walking to the run-down gas station where he kept a stash of supplies.

Once the two of you arrived at the fenced little town, Joel told you to get cleaned up while he started the car. So you snagged the body tape that was laying in the medicine cabinet and took the first hot shower since forever ago.

You sigh as the water hits your skin, scrubbing the grime and dirt from days of buildup into the drain. You made sure to wash your hair too. As you dry off and make sure your hair is in a towel, you put on the body tape before grabbing the shirt and hoodie you pulled from the clothes boxes. The layers keep your chest hidden and you smile as you take in yourself from the mirror. Clean and dry hair, flat chest and clean face. Though the scar makes you look tougher, you grin to yourself. Lastly, you put deodorant on before putting on the jacket you set aside earlier.

When Joel was finished with the car and took his shower, you checked around the place, pulling and prodding at furniture that piqued your interest. Your eyes widen when you pull down a drawer to reveal a loaded gun. You quickly stuff it inside your bag when you hear Joel coming down the stairs.

“Well don't you look nice,” You grin, making the older man huff.

“Come on,”

—

When the two of you take off from the guarded houses, it takes another 2 hours before the car reaches an abandoned gas station and Joel pulls to the side.

“I'm going to get fuel, you.” He stares at you. “Don't wander off, stay close,”

“Sure,” You huff, jumping out of the car to look around. The station seemed to host a convenience store, the broken glass door both inviting and menacing.

Looking back as Joel picks out a fuel canister from the trunk, you begin walking to the abandoned building. You can feel Joel's eyes following your back, knowing he's putting you in his line of sight.

Careful with the glass door, you walk through the threshold and look around. Empty shelves, scattered and definitely expired products, old posters that are peeling. You gander at the opened register, sighing knowing that someone probably stole from it before running off somewhere. reaching the back of the store, a bathroom door peeks open.

The hinges creak as you step inside, cautious for any infected until your eyes track to the exposed ceiling, sunlight cascading through the giant hole and the cracks surrounding it.

"Cool…" You grin, amazed by the rays that have made their way inside. The humidity from the toilets must've generated the amount of foliage that grew inside the stalls, judging from the green bushes and fungi that grew—who knew FEDRA school actually gave you some information.

When you turn, you jump a bit when you see your reflection, a cracked mirror in front of you. You scoff, looking into the glass where you stand. There you are, a thick jacket over your body while your hair has started to ruffle a bit. You drop your bag and reach for the gun, pulling it out. The safety is in place, and you did check the bullets earlier when Joe wasn't looking. It felt heavy in your hand, the piece of metal capable of taking lives, and saving them. You mull over it, before you pull it in front of you, the mirror reflects back the image of you holding the gun against yourself, a hardened face like all those soldiers had. You pull the safety back.

“Pew, pew,” You mimic a gun firing. “Pew.”

Staring back into your eyes, darkened from the minimal lighting in the environment. There's a bit of your hair covering your face before you huff it away and bring back the gun. Clicking the safety back, you pull out the cartridge to find it full, of course. The barrel is a bit harder to pull, but when it does go off a bullet clatters to the ground. It clangs and you hurry to pick it up, hearing for any indication that Joel might hear it.

A beat passes and you release a relieved sigh. Putting the bullet and cartridge on the sink, you stare at the empty gun, before clicking the safety off and aiming at yourself again. You grin, closing one eye as if aiming and clicking.

Nothing shoots out, but you triumphant smile either way.

Putting the bullets back in and making sure the safety was on, you stuff the gun back inside your bag before you head outside.

You approached a hunched Joel, shoving a plastic tube into a car’s fuel tank, already acknowledging you in front of him. “We have to do this every hour?”

“Gas breaks down over time,” He continues to feed the tube in. “This stuff’s almost water.”

“Back in the day, we’d drive ten, twenty hours on one tank. You could go anywhere,”

“So where’d you go?” You watch Joel stuff a ball of fabric into the hole. He pauses for a second, meeting your eyes before he looks back down.

“Pretty much anywhere,” Then he blows into another tube. The clear tube fills with gas and it flows into the canister that’ll hold it. You stare at the technique with fascination.

“Nice! How does that work?” You approach the can.

“It's a siphon. It’s when liquid… travels against gravity,” Joel pauses as he watches you smirk. “Because pressure-”

“You don't know,” You grin.

“I know it works.” He insists, making you chuckle as you turn your back to him. “No wanderin’.”

You groan, returning in front of Joel where he's still ‘siphon’-ing the gasoline. He’s busy with his work, when you get a bright idea. “Okay,” You grin.

You pull out the one book that’ll cure your boredom. “Your fault then,”

“Doesn't matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationary,” Joel fixes you with a stare, a little dent between his brows when you giggle.

“‘No Pun Intended, Volume too,’ By Will Livingston. Get it? ‘T-o-o’, like two O’s,”

“Jesus,” Jeol grunts when you laugh again.

“What did the mermaid wear to her math class?” You grin widely while Joel straightens his shirt, staring blankly back at you as you slowly lean forward, urging him to answer. “An algae bra!”

You continue to laugh, both at the joke and at Joel's face, before you continue. “I stayed up all night-”

“No-”

“Wondering where the sun went, and then it dawned on me!”

Joel sighs and leans on the deserted car. “Feel free to wait in the car.”

“Okay, but just know,” You display the book to the exasperated man. “You can't escape Will Livingston. He’ll be back,”

He only rolls his eyes as you giggle and haul your pack, walking to where the truck is parked. Another half an hour passes before you hear the crunch of Joel's boots and the shift as he puts the canister on the truck's trunk, and slides back inside. You were lounging in the back seat when he started the engine, then drove out of the abandoned station.

The car moves past a couple of massive trucks, where you quickly sit up and stare at them as you both pass by.

“Must’ve been some truck,” You stare, intrigued.

“Yeah, they used to stick big-ass plows on them and clear the roads for their tanks and such,”

“Whoa! I wanna see a tank!”

“You will,” Joel replies, a bit bitten off as he stares out into the road. You prompted to look around instead, pulling a shiny something from the back of the passenger seat. A tape, ��Hank Williams’ was written on top.

“Got somethin’,” You tap Joel's shoulder with it as you lean between the seats. “Here, this make you all nostalgic?”

Joel takes the tape, looking it over, tapping on it. “This is actually before my time,”

“Great,” You sit back when you spot Joel putting the tape into the player.

“It’s a winner though,” He presses play and a guitar melody starts to strum, filling the car. You grin as the music starts, before you start to look around again, pulling another thing from the floor.

“Oh man, go somethin’ else,” You grin, flipping it open. You spotted Joel's eye from the rearview and he seems to have spotted the front of the magazine.

“It’s uh- light on the reading, But it has some interesting pictures,” Joel could practically break his neck with the way he turns, eyes wide as he sees you flipping away.

“No, no, no put that back. That’s not for- kid come on-”

Your eyes scan the pictures, pulling an extended one where your jaw dramatically stops. “How would he even walk around with that thing?!”

“Please get rid of it.”

“Hold your horses, I wanna see these cool ‘examples’!” You giggle, flipping to another page when Joel only sighs. His eyes are back on the road when you smirk with an idea. “Why are all these pages stuck together?”

“Uh…” The man is either worried he’ll say the wrong word or confuse you more with an answer, faltering and searching for more words only for you to grin.

“Oh i’m just fuckin’ with ya,” You smack the back of his seat lightly. You pull down the window, feeling the gust of wind as the car drives through the dried fields, before you throw the magazine out of the window and into the wild. “Bye-bye dude!”

Time passes and so does the scenery. From dried fields, to cows roaming the pastures, to abandoned roller coasters. And Joel was right, you did pass by tanks, abandoned and vines had made their home in it, a somber reminder of the past. You feel a shiver run up your arm when the car passes those big and rusted weapons, before you look away and focus on the road instead. The car passes rows and rows of trailers, a resting area for truckers back in the day, Joel explained when you asked.

Soon, the road turns into a forest, and the last of the cassette dies down, filling the car with silence. “Alright, that's enough for today,”

Joel presses at the radio where the tape escapes and he puts it back down, then he turns into a clearing where the truck treks through green grass, no doubt leaving tire tracks. He stops it as the surrounding trees cover the car, but the treeline is just visible.

—

You emerge from your cocoon of a sleeping bag to a rattling, slowly blinking the sleep from your eyes before you quirk your nose with an unfamiliar smell. Inching your way to the stove, you wiggle until you stand on your knees and pull at the boiling thing on top of it, the smell suddenly stronger which makes you cringe back. “Ugh! What the fuck is that?!”

“You don't like coffee?” Joel calls back from the trunk, brows raised, clearly shocked.

You only stared back at the pot, a tinge of disgust yet fascination, before flipping the lid back on and throwing yourself to your earlier curled position, opting to ignore the stink.

After putting all of your supplies back and securing them, Joel starts the car as you sit in the passenger seat. He instructs you to pull out a map and you do just that as he drives back into the paved road. When the both of you are on solid road, Joel pulls out a black bottle, and sips at it.

“Is that seriously what those Starbucks in the QZ used to sell?” You grimace, looking at the man beside you.

“Well, theirs was a lot fresher than what Bill saved up, but yeah this is what they sold.”

You stare at the bottle again. “Smells like burnt shit.”

Joel ignores you, only sipping coffee again, this time visibly louder before he fixes you a stare. “Eyes on the map.”

You huff, putting your attention back on the paper laid out in front of you. “76 West, and then… 70 West, for like, ever.” You sigh.

“Where in Wyoming did you say your brother was?”

“Last contact came through a radio tower close to Cody,” Joel turns to watch you as you flip the paper, eyes searching.

“Cody… Cody, Cody! Ah man, that's deep in there,” Your finger traces the many lines and roads etched into the paper.

“Yeah,”

“And if he's not there?”

“Then odds are, he’ll be near a settlement, probably close to another city out there, ain't too many of ‘em in Wyoming,”

You squint at one of the names on the map. “Chee-yen?”

“Cheyenne.”

“Che- Really?” Joel nods. “Cheyenne, Laramie…. Casper?” You hum, continue to read the map.

“What's his name?”

“Whose name?”

“Your brother,” This time you're focused on Joel, choosing to put the map on your lap instead. After a pause, Joel answers.

“Tommy,”

“Younger or older?”

“Younger,”

“Why isn't he with you?” Another curious question.

“A long story.”

“Is it longer than 25 hours? ‘Cause I think that's what we got,” You shrug, looking at Joel while he only blinks, before his eyes are back on the road. He huffs, then begins to tell about Tommy and how he came to be.

The story ends with a closing remark about the Fireflies, and you had to agree they were dumb. Trying to save a dying world is useless, though there is still hope. It ends bitterly as it reminds you of Marlene.

“If you don't think there's hope for the world, why bother going on?” Your eyes track the road outside. “I mean, you gotta try right?”

Joel stayed silent, then; “You haven't seen the world so you don't know.”

“You keep goin’ for family, that's about it,”

“I’m not family,” You almost flinched with how little your voice sounds.

“No,” Joel shakes his head. “You're cargo.”

“I made a promise to Tess, and she was like family.”

You nodded slowly, resting your head on the seat as your eyes passed the fields outside. You think back to Riley, to the days you’d spend with her, to the way she made you feel as if the world was only worth the two of you. She was family, she made you feel like family. Then that was over and next thing you know you ran away from Marlene despite promising Riley you’d join them.

“Y’know… about Marlene,” Joel turns to you for a second, realizing how quiet you got, before he turns back to the road. You chewed at your bottom lip a bit, before huffing and turning to the road beside you, letting the morning wind breeze through your hair.

“She said this old name, Ellie,” Your brows frown a little, trying to blink as you feel your eyes gloss over. “That was the name my parents apparently gave me before they left me with FEDRA.”

“Marlene told me that, the name,” When you turn, Joel’s eyes are trained on you, soft on the edges and it makes you gulp. “I hated it. I always did,”

“You don't go by that.”

“No, I don't.” You huff, looking away and outside your window again. The wind is soothing over you. “I never had a family, Marlene wasn't family she was just a Firefly, and the only one i had was…”

“So I changed it. Never felt like mine anyways, Ellie- Feels like a dead girl's name,” Grass and trees pass by. “And I'm not a girl, so…”

“No?” This time, you notice the hint of confusion and curiosity in the man's tone.

“Nope,” You popped the ‘p’. “Never was, never will be,”

“So you’re…?” You scoff, turning back to Joel.

“I’m a dude, dumbass,” You stared at Joel as he looked out at the road, then back at you, eyebrows scrunched together. “What?”

“Marlene said-”

“Marlene doesn't know shit.” You cross your arm, trying to bury yourself into the seat. “She left me, just like my parents. So I make my own rules. I made it myself. Got a problem?”

Joel only stares, silence filling the void, only the light hum and sometimes gravel underneath the road made noise. You huff, looking out into the world, contemplating your choice. What went through your head thinking this man, who considers you ‘cargo’ was worth sharing a bit of yourself with? He wasn't someone worth dying for, worth saving for, he didn't earn this personal information about you. Fuck this, fuck your stupid heart, fuck your damn feelings and mushy-

“Sure kid, whatever,” Now that made you snap at him. The last time someone said that to you was when you told Riley about it. Albeit less cold and distant, but still. Your brows arch, assessing the man next to you.

“You don't care?”

“Why should i? That doesn't matter,” He shrugs, eyes trained on the road. “What matters is i don't need to carry your dead weight if you got your ass bitten, ‘cause you're a man,”

You blink, slightly confused and worried if Joel got hit in the head or not. Maybe it was that coffee… Either way, you felt a sense of warmth blooming in your heart, elevating your breath, before you scoff and look away, a smile making its way to your lips. “Yeah, whatever old man,”

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