( gif by ; -tzarrion )

━ CHAPTER THIRTEEN ...

' kin , part. 2 '

Indistinct chatter is heard all around as the trio was lead into one of the buildings, where it seemed to be everyone's eating area, as fair lights were scattered all over the walls, lighting up the comforting place.

In the middle seated at a table, the siblings and Joel were eating an actually good meal, as Tommy and the woman who brought them sat at the same table.

(Y/N) was eating with manners, unlike her sister next to her who was shoving her face, and not taking any time to breathe as she was hungry.

"There's more if you need it." Maria, the woman who sat next to Tommy comments a bit asmused, watching how fast Ellie ate.

"Thank you, ma'am." Joel says gratefully, as he turns his head towards her, "It's been a while since we've had a proper meal."

"Actually, I don't think we've ever had a proper meal. This is fuckin' amazing." Ellie was quick to correct him, motioning between her and (Y/N), who elbowed her side at the comment.

"Sorry." (Y/N) sheepishly apologises on behalf of her sister, before giving her a incredulously stare to mind her manners around the two new faces.

"Let's mind our manners." Joel picked up from her scolding words, as Tommy smiled a bit hearing them finishing each other's sentences.

Ellie grumbled at her older sister, rolling her eyes but understood as she stops her chewing noticing someone staring at her, and (Y/N), "What?" She asked out loud rudely.

The young girl peeking behind the pillar jumped at her voice, before quickly scrambling away from sight.

"What's wrong with you?" (Y/N) hissed lowly to her sister, bumping her boot against hers with wide eyes.

"What about her manners?" Ellie accused annoyed, raising her eyebrows at her crossed sister, and Joel who looked the same.

"She was just curious." Maria speaks up after their banter, making them turn their heads, "Kids around here don't usually look or talk like you."

"Right...." Ellie trails off with a small smug look, nodding her head sharply at the woman, "well maybe I'll teach them. And I want my gun back."

Maria raised her eyebrows at her, "They also aren't armed."

Tommy clears his throat, seeing the tension growing in the air as (Y/N) was now slightly glaring at Maria, "You know what? Uh...I think maybe y'all got a little off the wrong foot."

(Y/N) scoffs a little, shaking her head with a bitter expression and lazily motions to Maria, "She was gonna have her guys kill us."

"Well, we gotta be real careful about who we let in this place." Tommy explained to the fuming girl, "But it's all bark. We're just tryna scare off those who might wanna try us is all."

Ellie clicked her tongue at his explanation, "Well, you got a couple of 90-year-olds shitting themselves out there."

"Ellie!" Joel whispered yelled at her, head snapping in her direction with a scolding stare, while (Y/N) hid her snicker behind her hand.

"They say that you leave dead bodies around?" Ellie asked Maria.

"Those are the people who tried us." Maria informs the girl, her fingers tapping against the table a little.

"A bad reputation doesn't mean you're bad." Tommy states the truth, as he fiddled with the jar of jam in front of him.

"Not always, at least." Maria told them as her words linger in the air, the trio knowing it was somewhat aimed at them.

Joel sighs with slumped shoulders, before glancing between his brother, and her, "Ma'am...we're grateful for your hospitality and all." His eyes land on Tommy, "But it'd be nice to have a moment here, maybe just for family."

Tommy looks a bit tense at this, as he sits forward from his leaning posture, "Well, uh," He reaches out his hand, and takes Maria's hand in his, showing the rings on their fingers, "Maria is family, actually."

The sisters both looked confused, before their eyes landed on the rings also, "Oh, shit! Congrats." Ellie said happily for them, as (Y/N) sent them a somewhat warm smile, the girl also wishing for that someday.

Joel was still in shock, and didn't say anything as he looks down at his plate, before (Y/N) gently nudged his arm beside hers, "Hey, say congrats." She softly whispered, looking up at him.

He clenched his jaw, swallowing his thoughts as he does what she told him to do, "Congrats." He bluntly tells his brother, and Maria.

It was silent for a few seconds, till Tommy grinned a with his teeth, and motioned to the outside, "How 'bout a tour?"

...

"We settled here about seven years ago." Maria was telling the trio as they all walked outside, in the cold snowy air through the streets of Jackon, "Just a handful of us back then."

She points to something a bit ahead of them, "That section was already a gated community, so we built the rest of the wall from there. Stopped most of the raiding parties, but we still find pockets of them."

(Y/N) was walking in between her sister, and Joel as he goes to question, "And you said infected?"

"Yeah, but usually smaller colonies, wandered off from the cities." Tommy informs his brother, as he walked in front with his fiance, "All this open country out here...it's a turkey shoot. I still got my 700, but I found a variable power scope. Sun-MOA. Can headshot those fuckers from a half mile out."

(Y/N)'s eyes light up at this, wanting to know how to use a sniper as well with her bow, "Can you teach me how?"

"No, he can't." Joel immediately shut the idea down, once again feeling the burning emotion creeping up on him, as (Y/N) gives him a upset look, and deflates. He didn't seemed to notice, as he continued to ask, "How do you keep this place quiet?"

"Carefully." Maria answered her brother in law, as they kept on moving through the street full of people, "Being in the middle of nowhere helps. Not advertising what we have, staying off the radio. House of worship, multifaith." She starts to point to the things they had in the town, "School. Laundry. Old banks works as the jail, not that we've needed it."

They stopped quickly to notice how all the power cords were connected to a pole in the middle, and Joel questioned Maria, "And you draw power from the dam?"

"Got that workin' a couple of years ago." She stops in front of them also, telling the interested Joel, "After that, sewage, plumbing, water heaters..." She gestured to the fairy lights wrapped around the poles, "Lights."

"This place actually fuckin' works." Ellie comments amazed as she holds her sister gloved hand, and picked up their stroll through the town.

...

Now they had made it to the farm side of the town, as sheep bleating was heard and the trio see a bunch of sheep run past them in their pen house.

"Hey, Joel, check it." Ellie calls out to the male, making fun of him remembering what he wanted to do after their mission, "Baa."

(Y/N) chuckles at her sisters act, swinging their hands back and forth a little, which has become a habit for them both, and looks to Maria curiously, "So are you, like, in charge?"

Maria's lips lifted up a bit, looking back at her husband before landing back on the girl, "No one person's in charge. I'm on the council. Democratically elected, serving 300 people, including children. Everyone pitches in. We rotate partols, food pep, reparis, hunting, harvesting."

The group walked more into the farm of animals, as they saw all different kinds of them, and Tommy picks up from his wife's words, "Everything you see is our town, greenhouse, livestock, all shared. Collective ownership."

"So, uh, communism." Joel sums up what they told the trio nonchalantly, as the sister had ended up near Maria now.

Tommy scoffs at his older brother, shaking his head with denial, "Nah. Nah, it ain't like that."

"It is that. Literally." Maria corrents her husband, as she motions to everything around her with her gloved hands, "This is commune. We're communists."

Tommy stops walking at her words, shoulder slumping while Joel gives his younger brother a 'told you' so, smart look.

"No way!" Ellie exclaimed excitedly seeing a young horse, as she grins and hurriedly pulls along her sister, who chuckled fondly and followed after.

"That's our newest one." Maria told the eager sisters, as she went to trail after them towards the horse's pen, "Couple months old. You two wanna pet her?"

"Yeah, what's her name?" (Y/N) questioned the woman, as they arrived where the horse was, and quickly looked back at Maria.

"Shimmer."

(Y/N) repeats the name back to the horse, reaching her hand out to her, as Shimmer bumps her nose into her hand, and the sister both share giggles watching this.

"Well, I'm sure they'd like a shower, some new clothes." Maria was talking to the brothers, as the sisters were busy petting Shimmer, "We can put them in the empty house across the street from us."

"Yeah." Tommy agrees with a head nod, and turns his gaze to his older brother, "Pretty much untouched since '03, but it's got the heat goin' in it. Could do worse."

"Oh, trust me, we have been." Ellie comments hearing the conversation, as the adults look at her and spot Shimmer nuzzling her face into (Y/N)'s jacket, which caused her to laugh.

"We've been doin' fine." Joel grumbles at her words, as the sisters turn to look at him, and (Y/N)'s happy expression fades spotting his jarring one.

Maria saw her sudden change of mood, and decided to step in, "Well, I'll take the girls over there if you two wanna catch up?" She offers with a tight smile.

Tommy looks to his brother for confirmation, as Joel nods his head and places his gloved hands in his pockets, "Yeah. Okay."

(Y/N) became a bit agitated at his agreement, as the sisters have never been away from him since they've met, and she couldn't bare to be away for long, "Joel?" She says hesitantly, going to step forward but he holds a hand out for her to stop.

"You'll be fine." Joel reassures her the best he could, as lowers her gaze away from his, and he doesn't turn back around when he leaves with Tommy.

"Shall we?" Maria breaks the girl from her thoughts, as (Y/N) mutters her quiet agreement, and grabs Ellie's hand in hers, who stared sadly at her older sister and they follow behind Maria.

...

The sound of the showering turning off is heard, as the sisters had been dropped off in the house they would clean up in, and rest for a while.

(Y/N) was brushing her wet hair in the mirror on the wall, as many thoughts invaded her mind about what was gonna happen now, and more specifically, Joel. She knew over these part three months, things between them were staring to change, and she didn't know exactly what that meant.

Though she is knocked out of her deep thoughts, when the bathroom door is opened and Ellie comes walking out in new warm clothes, her having just finished in the shower.

Ellie walks up to her sister with a grin, as she smiles halfheartedly back, and grabs the towel in her hands as she dries Ellie's wet hair for her.

...

Once they were all finished in the blue house, the sisters walked outside into the cold air, and close the door shut behind them.

(Y/N) pulls her flannel shirt down more on her arms, and places her jackets hoodie on, as she pushes her let down hair over her shoulders.

She made sure Ellie was warm enough in her new pinky, red jumper and grabs her hand in hers, as they walk towards the house Maria and Tommy owned.

When the two arrived at the front door, (Y/N) curls her fingers, and uses her knuckles to knock against the white door. They didn't get an answer, which made them share a confused look, and Ellie pushed the door, to find it already opened.

"Hello?" (Y/N) calls out as they entered the empty house, and made sure the door was closed shut when they moved more into the house, "Maria?"

They received no answer once again, and Ellie takes her hoodie off as (Y/N) keeps her on. The two of them walk into the living room, and spotted something on the high cupboard.

The sisters moved towards the warm fire, and see a whiteboard that had two names written on it, dates, and candles underneath them.

(Y/N) frowned a bit sadly seeing this, having a feeling they had passed away, and maybe the kids were Maria's, which she felt solemn for.

The sound of the back door opening has them flincing, and turning to see Maira entering the room, "Oh, good. Just traded for these. Go ahead, try them on." She comes up to them, and hands them bigger jackets.

(Y/N) grabs hers from her, furrowing her brows when the coat looked somewhat similar to Joel's, and looks up to Maria, and spotted her smiling knowingly.

"It's, uh, super fuckin' purple." Ellie comments with a bit of sas, as she slips hers on after (Y/N) did.

"Eggplant." Maria corrents her with a head tilt, and brushes off the edges of their jackets, "They fit?"

"Yeah." (Y/N) answered honestly, touching the new material of her brown jacket as she felt much calmer with it on.

"Who's been cutting your hair?" Maria questioned the older Williams, eyes narrowed down on her as she looked at Ellie's hair, and saw how well it was cut, but not (Y/N)'s.

"Uh, well, world-class salons of course." She murmurs sheepishly, while shuffling in her spot as Ellie snickers quietly at the reply.

Maria chuckles fondly, motioning for her to follow, "Let me get my scissors." She saw the girl protest, waving her hands frantically, and reassured her, "Trim. That's all. Just the ends, I promise."

(Y/N) sighs heavily to herself, looking down at Ellie who gestured for her to go with a smirk, and the older sister reluctantly went over with a grumble.

...

"So, this was, like, your job back then or something?" The (E/C) eyed girl questioned interested, as she sat down on a chair, and Maria stood behind her, cutting her hair.

"No, I was an Assistant District Attorney out of Omaha, Nebraska." Maria tells the curiously girl, as she runs her fingers through her (H/C) hair, and trims some of the ends, "I put bad guys in jail."

(Y/N) humms at the answer, nodding her head a little, and glances at Ellie sitting beside her, who was tying her bracelets together.

"I always liked doing hair, though." Maria continued to tell them, while she focused on the girls hair and cut some more dead ends off, as it now sat above her shoulders, "Maybe it was a mom thing. You were looking at the little memorial Tommy made?"

"Uh, yeah." (Y/N) mumbles with a wince, and looks down at her hands with a deep sorrowful frown, "I'm sorry about your kids."

"It's okay." Maria sighs with a slight smile, and goes to correct her words, "And kid. Just Kevin. Sarah was Joel's daughter."

(Y/N)'s stomach dropped at this, eyes going a bit wide at the new information as everything seemed to go tense in the room. She had no idea he lost his child, and it made her feel shitty for always questioning why he was distant from her, and Ellie. This was the exact reason he wouldn't get close, or open up, she knew that now.

Maria took notice of her body lock up, and went to apologies with a sad face, "Oh, maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's okay." She breathes out, biting down on her lower lip as she glances at Ellie, spotting her in deep thought at the news, "I guess that explains him a little."

Maria stops cutting her hair, as she ends up on the side of her, "Look, I'm not gonna ask you two what you're doing with him. But there are clearly things you don't know about Joel."

(Y/N) felt her anger spike at her accusing tone, and clenched her jaw, "Oh, like how he used to kill people? We know about that." Bitterness coated her words.

"So then you understand my concern." Maria remarks calmly to the upset girl, as she brushes through her drying hair once more.

She shook her head firmly, going to defend the male who she cares about more than she'd like to admit, even if wasn't the most nicest to her, "He doesn't do that anymore."

"He stopped killing people?" Maria repeated baffled, not really believing the younger girls words, even if she knew the sisters meant well.

"Innocent ones." (Y/N) confirmed with a head tilt, remembering all the times he's killed people to save her, and Ellie, "And Tommy did it, too. Are you worried about him?"

Maria once again paused at her truth stating, pursues her lips with a head nod, "Tommy was following Joel. The way you two are now."

"Well, maybe we're smarter than Tommy." (Y/N) fired back with annoyance, not liking how she was talking about Joel, "No offence."

"You are definitely smart." Maria states with a small lopsided smile, and walks around her to the kitchen table, placing the scissors on it, "Would've made a hell of a lawyer." She goes to lean against the table in front of the sisters, "There's a whole lot you're not telling me. Good."

(Y/N) and Ellie look at the woman a bit confused, before they shared a small look between each other as Maria went on, "Therein lines the point. Be careful who you put your faith in. The only people who can betray us... are the ones we trust. You understand?"

The sisters both hum their acknowledgement, nodding at the woman's strong advice, before she stood up and motioned for them to follow, "Now, come on."

...

It was now nighttime in the town of Jackson, as most of the people living in there were currently in the main hall watching a movie. The kids were all in the long seats, eating their snacks as they watched.

Among the crowd, the sisters were sitting together, as the younger one leans on the older ones shoulder, while they somewhat watch the movie.

(Y/N) didn't really wanna be here, but was staying for Ellie as she would constantly glance back, hoping to find Joel somewhere, but only spotted Tommy walking out of the movies.

This sent a horrible feeling straight to her heart, as she gripped Ellie more and had a weird sense that something bad was going to happen soon, very soon.

...

Somewhere in the town inside a workshop, Joel and Tommy were talking about the current situation, well Joel was explanting everything from the very beginning, which included exposing (Y/N)'s immunity.

"It was Marlene. She hired us to smuggle her to some Fireflies. It went bad. Tess got bit. She made me swear to take them. It was her dyin' wish. What the hell was I supposed to do? We made it as far as K.C, and then-" Joel pauses his story telling to his brother, "You know, she saved my life there..for another kid. Five years ago, I would've destroyed him. But she had to shoot him to save me. Because I was too slow and too fuckin' deaf to hear him comin'."

He looks off into the distance, brows furrowed with a lot of emotions on his face, "And I saw...I saw a man kill his own brother...to save her, while I just watched." His hands start to tremble remembering what happened today, how he almost lost her, "And today, I thought that dog was gonna tear her apart because it smelled somethin' on her. And all I did was stand there. I couldn't...move."

Tommy hears the trembling in his older brothers voice, as he leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees, and listens closely.

"I couldn't think of anything to say. I just-" Joel swallowed hard as his voice lowers into a vulnerable, shaky one, "I was so afraid. You think I can still handle things, but...I'm not who I was. I'm weak. Lately, there are these moments where the fear comes up outta nowhere, and...my heart..." He grips his shirt, and where his heart would be, "feels like its stopped." He stops talking for a few seconds, trying to recollect himself of his emotions he's been holding back were spilling out, "And I have dreams. Every night."

"What kinda dreams?" Tommy questioned worriedly, as he stared at his brother with furrowed brows.

"I don't know. I can't remember." Joel breathes out, shaking his head a little bit, "I just know that when I wake up..." His eyes become glassy with tears now, "I've lost somethin'. I'm failin' in my sleep. That's all I do. That's all I've ever done, is fail her." He cries out, a single tear running down his cheek, "again and again."

Tommy pondered for a few seconds, before glancing away from the floor to the crying Joel, "You want me to take them?"

"I'm just gonna get them killed, her killed." Joel released a small whimper at the last sentence, the male finally ready to admit how much he cares about (Y/N), "I know it. I know it. I have to leave her, even if it pains me-" He drops his head low, tears burning his gaze badly.

"Joel." Tommy's strong voice cuts through his confession, the male utterly surprised to see how much emotion his brother was showing about some girl.

"I mean, it's why you took off on me, right?" Joel continues weakly, as he looks up from the ground to Tommy, looking like a lost and scared child, "To make up for the things we did?" He nods his head at him, "Well, here's your chance to bring your kid into a better world. You're younger than me. You're still strong. You said it yourself, you'll come back. You have to take them."

Tommy hangs his head low, thinking deeply at Joel's request as he just barely nods his head, but does not gaze at him until Joel continues talking.

"And you can't tell anyone, not even Maria." Joel demands of him seriously, as Tommy flicks his head at Joel hearing this, "You're the only one I trust. If anyone else sees those bites on her, what's under her skin..." He takes a tremulous breath in, not even wanting to think about what could happen to (Y/N), "they'll shoot her. It's the last thing I'll ever ask of you. I swear."

It was silent for a moment after Joel's last words, as Tommy was shuffling in his spot and thinking about what should happen. He knew he could take them, but knew even more that Joel should, as he saw how deeply Joel cared about (Y/N), "I'll take them out at dawn."

Joel released a massive relieved breath at this, his shoulders becoming less tense and felt another tear slide down his cheek realising he had to say goodbye to her.

It left his heart aching awfully.

...

After that emotion filled talk with Tommy, Joel was making his way back to where the sisters were, and was not ready to face (Y/N) after what just happened.

He walks up the stairs of the house, getting up onto the second level where it was mostly dark but was lit up by the light in the sisters room. He went to reach for the door handle, and called the girls names out, before he pushed the door open.

"Is this really all they had to worry about?" Ellie's voice speaks up from in the room, and Joel spots her with (Y/N) sitting on the couch by the window, reading a diary, "Boys. Moves. Deciding which shirt goes with which skirt. Its bizarre."

"Listen, um-" Joel tries to start off smoothly, but (Y/N)'s bitter voice stopped him.

"Why are you here?"

He frowned at her different tone, not knowing they had heard the conversation with Tommy, "I came here to talk to you two."

"No, why are you still here?" (Y/N) grumbles with an eye roll, pulling her sister against her side more, "If you're gonna ditch us, ditch us."

Joel sighed to himself realising his greatest mistake, and opened his eyes to stare neutrally at her, back to his old ways, "What exactly did you hear?"

"'I have to leave her.'" She repeated roughly, staring straight ahead with no emotion, "'You have to take them.'" Her irritation was spiking again at his no response, and snapped her head in his direction, "You know, I stood up for you today because I thought-" She stops herself before she could say anything more.

"I made this decision for your own good." Joel simply tells her, which didn't make things better whatsoever for her, "You'll be way better off with Tommy. He knows the area better than I do-"

"Do you give a shit about us or not?" (Y/N) exclaimed loudly as she shot up out from her spot, and made sure to keep Ellie out of the fighting.

"Of course, I do." Joel snapped back automatically through a growl, giving her a hard stare as she didn't understand how much this was destroying him also.

"Then what are you so afraid of?" Ellie speaks up from behind her sister, coming to defend her as she looks at Joel from the chair, "I'm not her, nor is (Y/N) you know? Maria told us about Sarah and-"

"Don't." Joel warns lowly, as he shakes his head eerily and glanced at them with hard eyes, "Don't say another word."

(Y/N) sighs at his shut down of the topic, and runs a her fingers through her hair as she walks up to him slowly, giving him a sorrowful expression, "I-I'm sorry about your daughter, Joel. But we have, I have lost people, too." She motioned to herself.

Joel's entire mood change since the moment his dead daughter was mentioned, and she knew that when his normal somewhat soft expression for her, was now a mean, and bitter one, "You have no idea what loss is."

A hurt expression flashed across her face at this,  hands scrunching up by her sides as they started to tremble, "Everybody we, I have cared for has either died or left us. Everybody, fucking except for you!" She shoves him roughly by the chest, as she cries out, "So don't tell me that we'd be safer with somebody else because the truth is, I would just be more scared."

Joel didn't even bother to pay attention to the tear running down her face, as his frustration and anger blinded him in that moment, "You're right. You're not my daughters. And I sure as hell ain't, won't ever be your dad. Now, come dawn..we're goin' our separate ways."

(Y/N) bit back a whimper at his words, her heart throbbing as she places a hand up to her mouth when he gave one last bitter look her way, before turning around and left the room, making sure to slam the door shut behind him.

As soon as the door shut, that's when (Y/N) broke down. Small gasps left her lips, as they soon turned into painful cries, and she squatted to the ground with her head in her arms, sobbing.

Ellie was quick to wrap (Y/N) in a comforting hug, heart cracking seeing her strong older sister crying over a male, who quite literally just stomped all over her feelings, and crushed her heart into pieces.

Through her tears, and sobs (Y/N) rested her head on Ellie's shoulder as she looks at the door Joel left out of, and didn't know that he was releasing his own emotions out also.

Both of them made a horrible mistake that night.

( gif by ;
sporadicstarsx )

AUTHORS NOTE;; jesus joel really needs to stop breaking hearts fr 😟😟😟😟 i kinda despise my writing in this chapter but anyways ahshajsh