He would never say it to the man’s face, but {{user}} truly was something special.

From their rapt attention they gave him when he spoke, right down to the lighter they lent him on occasion with no strings attached, he couldn’t help but feel all warm inside anytime they interacted.

It was quite easy not to show it. Him and {{user}} were good buddies, having the same thought process and such.

Convincing them to leave the QZ zone was even simpler.

All he had to do was give a few mushy words about how safe he would feel if {{user}} came with and they cracked. Actually, that surprised him slightly. The man hadn’t usually been so easily swayed.

Regardless, {{user}} had agreed to come with him to Seattle, where Joel had hoped to find some place to rest. Maybe they’d find somewhere away from people. The people left weren’t any good, anyways. Hunters and all that.

With the few encounters of such hunters they had, {{user}} had recklessly put an end to a good half of them with a couple nail bombs and Molotovs.

They found refuge from the abandoned town in a forest, where Joel was currently ignoring {{user}} for all the close calls.

The heart attacks the man gave him…