Everyone Should Read This I Cried So Hard It's So Sweet

Everyone should read this I cried so hard it's so sweet

Hello! May I request a thing where after the 5th episode Joel gives Ellie a hug and meets up with Reader! After? Idk plenty of angst and hurt/comfort for both Ellie and Joel like first maybe Reader sees Ellie and Joel hugging then come back into a safe house. Then Joel starts to open up with Reader. Idk do whatever you think would be lovely thank you ❤️ I love your writing!

God this episode ruined me😭

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED EPISODE 5!!!

We go down together—Joel Miller x gn!reader

summary: after the motel incident, you find that both Ellie and Joel are completely shaken up, so you tell them to take a break.

word count: 1.5k

warnings: angst, mentions/talk of death & loss. fluff sprinkled in there too.

gif: @tomshiddles

It all happened too fast; in the blink of an eye, you watched Joel and Ellie lose two good friends because of a freak accident. A freak show, really. It was no one's fault; but you knew that both would take the blame upon themselves, let guilt swallow them whole.

Even so, you planned to do anything possible to ease their pain and conscience alike.

The three of you left the room Henry and Sam lied died in, carrying their bodies outside as you began their burial. It was silent; a silence that allowed for dark thought to swarm in and take you by storm. You didn't fight it though. You figured a moment or two of silence is more than welcome in this situation.

Ellie walked towards where Sam had been buried and placed his writing pad atop of it, with the words I'M SORRY written over it. You held your breath, resisting the urge to cry. You knew she took his death harder, having grown closer to him and treated him like a little brother.

She walked away, leaving you and Joel in complete silence to gaze at the graves. Joel remained his usual stoic self, though you could see on his face that he was pretty shaken up by the event, too. Both Henry and Sam's demise was tragic, but the speed with which it all happened and the deep love than ran between the two brothers who could not live without the other was beyond touching; hence why it made everything seem so much more shocking and painful.

"Which way is west?"

Ellie was asking Joel. You watched them closely, and when Joel pointed to his left, Ellie started walking in that direction, never once looking back. You timidly gazed over at Joel, and when your eyes met, you saw sadness in them. He may have been hardened by the harsh reality, but Joel still had care and love left in his heart. He was simply reluctant to show it.

"Go," you muttered to him. "Go after her."

He stared at you, as if not understanding what you were telling him. You placed your hand on his arm, gently, and Joel drew in a sharp breath to steady himself.

"I'll finish here," you told him.

He nodded, handing you the shovel and following Ellie. He may not have been good with words, but currently there was a kid around him that was in tremendous pain, and Joel surely knew how to handle that. It may have been a long time, but his parenting instincts were still buried within him.

You placed some stones around the graves to mark them, then carved an H and an S out of the soil. The more you stared at the I'M SORRY pad, the more you crumbled yourself. Henry and Sam were going to go to Wyoming with the three of you. They were free of Kathleen's revenge hunt. They could've started a whole new life there.

Now it was all gone.

You peeped in the distance and saw Ellie nodding, then, a few seconds later, headed into Joel's arms. And Joel actually hugged her: it was a genuine, real hug. Arms around her, head resting on hers and everything. You thought how long had it been since he last hugged someone. Was it his daughter, as she died in his arms and he clung onto her lifeless body?

The thought sent shivers down your spine. You didn't know that much about Joel or his past, but he did manage to tell you about his daughter one late night. Your heart broke for him, thinking how awful these last two decades must've been for him.

But now, with Ellie... you saw the way he looked after her. You saw a little spark in his eyes whenever she told bad jokes to make him laugh. You didn't ask him much of anything, to be honest. You chose to respect his privacy. After all, it's not like you were a couple or anything. You were just... there. A traveling companion, nothing more.

But you did care for him. And for Ellie. And that could get you in trouble eventually.

You heard Ellie's wail, and came to realize she was crying in Joel's arms. Unable to take it, you walked towards them and gently put your your hand over Joel's, which was cradling her head at his chest.

"How about we stay here for another day?" you proposed.

Ellie looked up, her eyes and cheeks reddened by the tears she let out. You looked mostly at her.

"Don't think that's a good idea," Joel said cautiously.

Then you looked at him. "We pick a different room, opposite of... that one. We're not in a rush, right? There's no one here. I think we can afford one day of mourning and just... being present. Hm? What do you think?"

Joel had to admit, it was a bit hard to snap out of this one. Normally he'd walk right away from a distressing death, but Henry's and Sam's was downright traumatizing, especially to Ellie. Maybe spending today in each other's company was just what you all needed.

"Would that be okay, Ellie?" you asked her.

Sniffling, Ellie nodded in agreement, breaking free from Joel's touch. He quickly clenched his fingers, flexing them as if trying to get rid of something, but you didn't mention that.

Maybe this was the first time he hugged someone in a very long time.

"How about you go pick a room and we'll be right there?" you asked Ellie again.

She started walking towards the motel, leaving you and Joel behind to gaze at her. She was a special kid, that much you could both agree upon. Only when you heard Joel's exhale did you turn to him, noticing the hardened and pained expression residing on his face.

"Thank you," he told you.

"For what?"

"For... bein' here. Means a lot. And... for taking care of Ellie. She could probably use someone more experienced to take care of her."

You made a funny face at him, like you couldn't believe what he just said.

"You remember what Henry told you, back in the tunnel?" you said. "'You may not be her father, but you were someone's'? You got all the right instincts and skills to do this, Joel."

He shook his head, deep in thought. "She's not my kid. And I sure as hell ain't her dad."

"I know. But sometimes caring for someone and protecting them runs deeper than blood."

Joel looked at you, analyzing your face as if he was about to say something else. He didn't; he merely looked at you, his face softening in the slightest.

"I see the way you look at her," you told him. "And I know you said she's just cargo—"

"She ain't so bad. Weird, but... not so bad."

You smiled faintly, and even Joel seemed to chuckle at his own words.

"The bad jokes remind me of Sarah," he said out of the blue.

You held still, almost holding your breath as well. It was rare to see Joel Miller talking openly about himself, if ever, so you didn't want to startle him in any way.

"She told bad jokes too?" you asked.

Joel chuckled, a more hearty sound this time. "Sometimes. Most of the time she was just sassy. And hella feisty. Like a forty year old in a kid's body."

You chuckled too, momentarily forgetting the troublesome morning you've had so far.

"They would've gotten along, I think," he continued mindlessly, staring off into the distance. "They would've been good friends."

There was nothing you could add to that. All you did was listen to him and breathe into the air, trying to calm your heart and your mind alike.

"We should go," you said after a little while.

Joel swung Henry's backpack around his shoulder when he noticed you standing still in spite of your words.

"Joel?"

He looked at you, waiting for a follow-up. He didn't expect to see you inch closer and wrap your arms around him, thus pulling him in for a hug. It was the second time that day that he felt another human's embrace after what felt like an eternity, and it was... good. It was warm. You were warm.

He found himself reciprocating, wrapping his own arms around your torso to keep you close. Neither of you was sure how long you stayed like that, but it was long enough to have Ellie peek from the motel room and see you two embracing in the field. She was going to rush you, ask you what was taking so long, but instead, she remained quiet and stared at you and Joel finally pulling away from each other and sharing an unsuspecting glance at the other.

Well. Unsuspecting for you two, blind fools. But even in the midst of all the pain and sorrow, Ellie saw. She knew. She could only hope that after today, maybe soon, you and Joel will start seeing it, too.

Look it's one of my favorites

This is in no way an original idea, but here we go!

tell her never

I just watched the new Last of Us episode and I've been sobbing for an hour does anyone have any advice on how to recover? I loved it

Take a shot of vanilla extract

Bleps ♥