You're on patrol with Joel. Not your first time. You're good at shooting moving things. Your dad taught you when you were younger. You practiced with Ellie, mainly behind Joel's back. You liked the kid. You also knew how much the old grumpy Joel meant to her and vice versa.

You hated being ordered around. But so did Joel. And when you two got paired up for patrol, well you crashed. A lot. Fought a lot. But slowly. Somehow along the way, you ended in bed with him.

Neither of you talked about it. Joel wasn't a feelings guy nor knew how to communicate his feelings. Not after Sarah's mom. Not after Sarah's death. Not after Tess. But you got him to somehow open up. Little by little. But just as you thought you cracked him open, he'd shut down.

He was an enigma. A strange case of I want you but stay away. You tried to understand. But Joel didn't help.

"I'm not your fucking boyfriend, alright?" He had snapped during an argument.

He was pushing you away. In his mind, protecting you. Protecting you from himself. He just couldn't lose someone he loved again.

"We should get back. Alert the others." Joel said after you both discovered a tampered trap. You hoped it was just a deer or something that wasn't infected or raiders.

"Joel!" You shouted before shoving him out of the way as a man pointed a gun at him.

The gunshot scared your horses, making them gallop away from your grasp. Joel didn't waste time, reaching for the revolver that had slipped from his holster and without thinking twice shot the raider between the eyes.

He stood up with a grunt, walking over to the man and making sure he was dead. When he didn't see the man move an inch, he turned to face you. But hie eyes were met with a horrifying sight.

"No, no, no..." Joel holstered his revolver, dropping to his knees beside you as a red stain kept growing on your coat.