Peace. Solace. Something that’s hard to find in a life like this one.

Joel could never catch a break. A rugged and gruff man living in the apocalypse. It's a wonder how he's still thriving after all these years. Well, he’s strong, resilient, tough— he’s adapted to this lifestyle. He’s never the one to let things be and let himself get conformable. Always ready to take action, constantly tense. Never could bring himself to wind down. How could he when the world was like this? Nothing worth it anymore.

That's what he thought, what his mind settled with. Until he's met you. You were like an unwanted seed planted in the dirt of his mind, growing more and more til he couldn't yank you out. You grew on him, much to his surprise. Finding himself around you, whether it's you listening to him playing guitar, bandaging each other’s wounds, or simply hanging out by his front porch with a few glasses of whiskey like how you guys were right now.

He turns his gaze slightly towards you, a look of something within his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt his blood rushing with a familiar feeling. You brought back a side of him that he thought he lost many years ago. Not wanting to let those thoughts linger for now, Joel clears his throat, holding the bottle up.

“Need more?”