don't worry ellie, you ain't the only one who was checking out that but. I also wouldn't hold it against her to develop feelings for him, Joel is one of those guys who looks rough on the outside but soft on the inside. A guy you wouldn't be afraid to let him wrap you in his rough strong hands and not expect use that against you (if you know what i mean). dang it, Now I'm curious. Why the heck did Joel's wife divorce him. even before the outbreak, he still had those same characteristics.

good story.

Ha,Ha, I like wend you make ellie to make all kind of joke to past the time o try to make a more connection whit joel. The tunnel hotel was fun and the part whit the skeletons and the dragon thing. well this one was good one-shot, more ellie and joel try to
band together. but ellie curiosity was fun to read too, go and check joel in the lake to see what he doing and get a little surprise. haha ellie is just a
unusual kid. I always like the wave you put joel and ellie together thanks.

Ohhh i really like this one, it was kinda cute. Thanks for sharing this story with us !

Part 2 - A two part review for a one-shot? Must be one hell of an AWESOME one-shot! :D
_

The end of this was sweet and revealing of what might happen in the future with regards to Ellie and her feelings for Joel. I mean, first Joel positions himself between Ellie and the pile of bones, as if to shield her from any ill effects/thoughts/feelings they might cause, which was sweet. And then he tosses her a dry flannel shirt for her to sleep in, which was even sweeter. Dude's just a big softie! Well, most of him. Joel Jr. is hard as steel! LOL I was kinda surprised that Ellie stripped off her bra when taking off her wet shirts and putting on Joel's dry one. You'd think she'd be worried about some retribution from Joel for her peeping at him, which she was, but not seriously, because she knew Joel wouldn't do that to her. Hmm, I wonder, if this is linked to the Accretion verse, might this be where she started her preference for wearing Joel's shirt to sleep in? I doubt the two stories are connected, but they could be, easily. Either way, I LOVE that Ellie feels comforted by being wrapped in Joel's essence, that his very scent makes her feel warm and protected. That right there shows her trust in him and even shows that love, the non-romantic kind, is blossoming within her for him. Even better, she knows that he cares about her, even if he doesn't always show it, and even when he does, it's not the easiest thing in the world for him.

One of my favorite parts, aside from naked Joel and Ellie peeping on him, was Ellie thinking about naked Joel as she was drifting off to sleep and the heat those thoughts generated within her, including between her legs. Obviously, naked Joel does something for her, and it was nice that she didn't freak out about it, especially considering she's supposedly a lesbian and doesn't think of men "that way". Still, having naughty thoughts about Joel DID unsettle her a bit, because she was hoping that those thoughts were just a result of being tired and stressed, and that they'd be gone after a good night's sleep. I suppose she also didn't like that she might have to rethink certain things about herself, like her sexuality. However, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It's not like being straight or bi would change who she is. She'd still be the same old Ellie, the girl with a million questions who likes cheesy jokes and doing air guitar riffs. But, she'll figure that out in time. For now, she can keep telling herself that she's not checking out Joel's ass or thinking about Joel Jr. By the way, the final line of the story was PERFECT! I can SO see her telling herself that as she's drifts into unconsciousness, all the while imagining naked Joel doing all sorts of wonderful things to and with her. :P

FUCKING FANTASTIC story, my dear! :D It was fun, entertaining and just a wee bit sexy. Sure, I would've liked a little more nudity and some smut, but this fit well with Ellie and Joel and where they were in their relationship during late Summer in the game. Basically, you hit all the right notes and delivered a story that's as close to perfection as is possible, which means it's ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. :)

Brilliant work, Baby Girl! :D

Methinks Ellie doth protest too much! LOL

Gotta say, this made me giggle and squeal with delight. It almost made me do other...things, but I would've done those anyway...and did. :P

Seriously, this was lighthearted fun and fits perfectly in the time-frame of late Summer in the game. It was kinda cool to see a glimpse of the transitional phase of Ellie and Joel's relationship. I mean, Joel was a bit more mellow and open to Ellie's quirkiness, but he was still a bit closed off, not yet ready or willing to let her in too much. Also, he was showing more signs of genuinely caring about her, even if he couched that caring in practicality as a way of making it seem like he was just doing something he'd do with anyone he was traveling with. And I've always LOVED Ellie before the badness that is Fall and Winter. She's just so filled with life and naive wonder while showing a worldliness that belies her age and life experience. In other words, pre-Winter Ellie is someone easy to love and easy to fall in love with, which is probably why Joel was so eager to dump her off on Tommy, because he knew she was getting past his defenses, and it scared him to death.

Anyway, as always, you've NAILED the characters, their mannerisms, the way they talk and even how they think, especially Ellie. I swear, every time I read one of your fics, it's like the game never ended and I'm watching a CG movie of Ellie and Joel doing wonderfully entertaining things. :)

The tunnel with the bones inside was creepy as all get out, but it's easily something they could've encountered on their journey, and I love that Joel was unfazed by it, whereas Ellie was kinda unsettled by it. Still, she didn't really freak out or fear that whatever had killed them was still around and eager to kill her and Joel, which is exactly what I'd expect from her, especially since she's packing a gun AND she's got Joel to protect her. I also love that, despite how tired and miserable she is, she's learned to keep her complaints to herself. I'm sure Joel didn't appreciate them earlier in their journey and might have punished her for them by continuing their grueling march a while longer before finally giving her a break. Seems like something he'd do. I mean, he WAS kind of a dick to her in the beginning. By the way, the whole 'guard dragon' thing was cute, and I love that Joel played along instead of grumbling and making some comment about Ellie being weird. Like I said, he's mellowing and warming up to Ellie. Ooh, and I think it's great that Ellie sees the change in Joel and appreciates it, knows that she's growing on him, which has to make her feel good about herself and the future of their relationship, especially since things didn't start off so well between them back in Boston.

You know, I found the whole 'going to the lake to wash up' thing kinda odd. I mean, it had been raining for HOURS, and both Ellie and Joel were soaked, so why would he wanna jump in a lake instead of getting dry? Ellie made it clear that it wasn't exactly hot out, so I doubt he needed to cool off. And if he wanted to take a bath, it would've been safer to do it during the day, so at least they could see if there was any trouble around. Besides, Ellie said that, when they do bathe, it's in the morning, after the sun is up. Personally, I think Joel just wanted some alone time. Although, maybe the guy likes being naked, and since he's gotta watch out for Ellie, he hasn't been able to do it much or for as long as he'd like? Either way, I'm not buying the bath thing. Something else was going on there.

Speaking of not buying the bath thing, I'm not surprised that Ellie wasn't really buying it, either. She's a smart girl, and she knows their routine, including the 'elimination schedule'. By the way, GROSS! LOL Still, it's a fact of life that everybody poops, and it's not like they haven't had to do that on their journey. And it's not like they can just excuse themselves and disappear for a few minutes without letting the other one know what they're doing. After all, when 'taking care of business' you're pretty vulnerable, so you'd need someone to watch your back in case trouble showed up while you had your pants around your ankles. Anyway, Ellie, being the curious girl she is, NEEDED to know what Joel was really up to, so I completely understand why she went down to the lake to find out. And I completely agree that she'd have left her flashlight behind, because she didn't want Joel to know what she was doing, in case HE was doing something that would be embarrassing for her to witness. Besides, where's the fun in spying if the other person knows you're doing it? ;)

Oh man, your description of the scene, the moonlight reflecting off the water and Joel's naked body, was BRILLIANT! It really set the mood and had an almost poetic feel. And I LOVE that, even though Ellie was a bit surprised to see Joel standing naked in the water, she didn't turn away and instead proceeded to get a good look at him and actually appreciated the view. Oh, and I felt kinda bad for Joel when Ellie made it seem like old people, specifically old men, like Joel, were unattractive and even a bit disgusting, at least in terms of attractiveness and all things sexual. I mean, Joel's not THAT old! Besides, he's in great shape, as Ellie quickly found out. And that reminds me, EXCELLENT description of Joel's naked body. Too bad he didn't turn around so Ellie could see Joel Jr. And isn't it amazing how quickly Ellie went from repulsed by the thought of naked Joel to wanting to see more of him? Judging by the warmth she was feeling while looking at him, I'd say she was enjoying what she was seeing, which brings into question how much she really knows about herself, specifically her sexual orientation. She thinks she's a lesbian, but how does she KNOW she is? As far as we know, Riley is the only person she was attracted to or in love with. If she were really a lesbian, you'd think she'd have found other girls attractive, even if she didn't have any real feelings for any of them. I'm thinking she's bi, but even then, I think she's not the kind of person who's given to lusting after people. I think she's the type of person who needs some kind of emotional connection to someone BEFORE she develops a serious attraction to them, which would explain why she was attracted to Riley and now Joel, both of whom are incredibly important to her.

Back to Joel bathing naked... *imagines Joel's naked body, glistening in the silvery moonlight, his muscles flexing with every movement as his hand moves between his legs* Sorry, got lost in another one of my fantasies. :D Where was I? Oh yeah. I thought it was hilarious how Ellie thought Joel might be jerking off, but then thought there was NO WAY he'd be doing that, because he's OLD, and old people don't do THAT. Although, I'm of the belief that he WAS jerking off. Okay, so maybe he wasn't doing it when Ellie got there, but who knows how long he was at the lake before she showed up. For all we know, Joel had plenty of time to rub one out before Ellie got there, and she caught him post-orgasm, which would explain the stretching and why he didn't freak out when he knew she was there watching him. He was feeling too relaxed, too good to give a shit. I mean, it's certainly more believable than him taking a bath, in the middle of the night, after having been soaked by the rain for hours. As much as I love the thought of Joel jerking off in the lake, I wish Ellie got to see it. Her reaction to it would've been PRICELESS! It also would made her seriously question her lesbian status. LOL

I was NOT surprised when Joel caught Ellie peeping on him. After all, he's survived for 20 years after the world went to shit, and he was Outside for some of that time, maybe even a decent portion, so he had to have developed a kind of sixth sense about when he was and wasn't alone. Also, I think he knew Ellie's curiosity would get the better of her or that being alone in a dark tunnel with the bones of dead people would freak her out enough that she'd come find him, if only to feel the comfort of safety that he provides. Either way, you handled the scene perfectly. I LOVE how Joel just talks to her, like she's standing out in the open where he can see her, and she's thinking he's bluffing, that he doesn't KNOW she's there but only THINKS she is, so she stays still and quiet, waiting for him to get on with his bath or get dressed and head back to the tunnel. Unfortunately, he wasn't bluffing, and she has no choice but to admit she's there. Of course, she completely gave away what she was doing by staunchly denying that she was looking. I'm sure Joel heard that same kind of thing from Sarah a time or two, denying she was doing something when she actually was doing it. On the plus side, Joel was incredibly cool and understanding about the whole thing. He could've been a jerk and gotten pissed at Ellie for peeping, but he was kinda amused, maybe even flattered that she was curious enough to even try to see him naked. I'm sure Ellie appreciated him not making a big deal out of it and instead trying to be understanding. Of course, her defense that she'd already seen a naked man in Bill's magazine and that she wasn't interested in seeing naked men, Joel in particular, was pretty flimsy. If she really wasn't interested, she wouldn't have protested so much. Either way, the whole incident was AWESOME. :D

The end of this was sweet and revealing of what might happen in the future with regards to Ellie and her feelings for Joel. I mean, first Joel positions himself between Ellie and the pile of bones, as if to shield her from any ill effects/thoughts/feelings they might cause, which was sweet. And then he tosses her a dry flannel shirt for her to sleep in, which was even sweeter. Dude's just a big softie! Well, most of him. Joel Jr. is hard as steel! LOL I

Ellie's a perv, Joel's an exhibitionist, and I'm a perv AND an exhibitionist! In other words, I FUCKING LOVE THIS! :D

That is all.

Nah, I'll be back to unleash the filth that is my thoughts and give this baby a proper babbling review. :)

That was so cute and charming!