When he found Tommy again, the last thing Joel expected was for his brother to have a teenage stray of his own by his side. It had shocked him, sure, but it also made his situation with Ellie seem less strange. The girl, Hannah, was clearly going through some shit – it was far too familiar. Joel remembered having the same dark disposition for a hell of a long time after losing Sarah.
Hell, if it weren't for Ellie he'd still be like it now. But she'd managed to slip under the barricades he'd spent years forming, become as close to a daughter as another child ever could. It would be impossible to ever replace Sarah, but Ellie had carved a place next to her in his heart
He was glad that, hopefully, Ellie and Tommy could do the same for Hannah. Joel knew they'd be good for her - and him? Well, he'd probably be better off supporting from the sidelines.
" I know how you feel, kid. " It's easy to admit, his voice soft. Just for her, a private conversation. " It doesn't feel right - how at ease everyone is. Like they don't know what's out there. " It was all a big game of pretend, the man knew that. Behind big walls and lacking weapons, it was easy to pretend things were different. That the world hadn't ended, that infected weren't roaming outside, and that the people out there weren't WORSE.
" If you ask me, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Your body's survival instincts will wake you up - comfortable or not, we can sense danger, " Joel turns to look at Hannah, aware this was the closest he'd ever stood to the girl. It was certainly a sense of discomfort for the both of them, neither were eager to let people close. He shifts slightly, creating a little more of a gap as subtly as could.
@fracturals asked: ❛ can’t sleep? ❜ ( joel )
"Too much noise. People here aren't scared enough." She knows it's a weird answer the moment it comes out of her mouth; she hasn't been in Jackson long, but it has been enough to start reminding her of what it's like to be among regular people and how most of them, while careful about infected, don't have to live in fear every second of the day here. She was like that, once. Now it feels weird to sleep too many hours straight. It feels weird that she didn't pull a gun on Joel just because he came too close - she almost did, she always touches her knife or whatever weapon she has when someone besides Ellie does. But she's getting a bit used to him, at least. Something about this man feels safe - same with Tommy. Not creepy at all. "I keep thinking... if I get used to... to the noises and I sleep through them... some day a bite will wake me up. I won't be here forever, I can't... I can't get comfortable."
gonna try to be here over the weekend for sure ! just currently stuck in a loop of rewatching the b.ear and i.... cannot stop –
silent communication in 4.07, it's the great pumpkin, sam winchester
Reposting all my spn art ive posted before I realized my old account exploded!!
❝ i'll always protect you. ❞
❝ i never meant to get this close, but now that i have i can't let you go. ❞
❝ i live for the moments when you look at me. the rest of the time i'm just existing. ❞
❝ i don't like how you make me feel. but i like not being around you even less. ❞
❝ i wish you wouldn't look at me like that. when you look at me like that i...it makes me wanna do things i shouldn't ❞
❝ there's no line i wouldn't cross for you. don't you realize that? ❞
❝ i did this for you. no one else. ❞
❝ i don't like it, but i'll do it for you. ❞
❝ i wonder how much of myself i'll have to give to you—how much i have to lay bare—before you realize how much you're taking. ❞
❝ i'm not trying to fix you. i'm just trying to be your friend. ❞
❝ i'm not um, real good at thank yous. or sorry's. but if you ever need me, i'm there. i owe you one. ❞
❝ i've seen you at your worst and i'm still standing here. ❞
❝ you've seen me at my worst but you're still here... ❞
❝ you can be mad at me, i can take it. i'd rather you be angry than shut me out. ❞
❝ i'm not angry, i'm just scared. ❞
❝ i know you love me, but do you like me? ❞
❝ do you think i'm a good person? ❞
❝ do you think i care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference? of course i'm helping you. ❞
❝ tell me what i can do to show you how i love you. i will give you anything you ask for. ❞
❝ you don't have to keep apologizing. just be here. day in and day out and prove that you're gonna keep showing up. that's all you have to do. ❞
❝ i only sleep well when you're next to me. ❞
❝ i don't want an apology i just want to understand. ❞
❝ i could actually use a hug right now. ❞
❝ i want everyone else to go away, but you can stay. ❞
❝ i actually do care what you think about. you're probably one of the only people whose opinion matters to me. ❞
❝ you always seem to know what i need. ❞
❝ you always seem to know just what i need to hear. ❞
❝ i want you to call me when you need someone. i want to be here for you. ❞
❝ you're the one i wanna call when i need someone. ❞
❝ seems like i always want you around when everything feels all fucked up. guess that means something. ❞
The moment Dean removed his boots and settled onto the bed, Castiel knew the hunter wasn't going to leave. As much as it ruffled the angel's feathers, Castiel couldn't help but feel some sense of... honour? Fondness? Whilst he couldn't quite place the feeling, it meant a lot to him that Dean was willing to leave Sam unguarded to spend the night with the weakened angel.
It was also some relief. Castiel wasn't blind, he could tell that the hunter knew something wasn't right, and instead of making a fuss Dean was simply providing company. Some sense of protection, a tilted perspective on their previous dynamic. Cas had spent so long watching over the Winchesters, it was strange to think Dean wanted to watch over him.
Unblinking blue eyes follow Dean's hand as it pats the empty side of the mattress. He hesitates, considers his options. His legs were aching, a heaviness beginning to settle in his eyes – and the bed was the most appealing place to settle within the motel room. Even if the idea of resting within a bed, like a human, was completely bizarre.
But Dean's words rang true. Cas was tired – his body needing to recharge, especially after using his angelic powers so frequently on their last case. If only to remind himself that they were still there. " I... I suppose I can rest for a while. Since there's nothing more for us to do at the moment. " The angel finally agrees, persuaded by the softness that had overtaken Dean's tone. Something less guarded, shared between the two of them.
Resigned, Castiel moves towards the side of the bed Dean had motioned toward. Copies the hunter's actions of removing his shoes, perfectly aligned at the side of the bed, and settling within the empty space. The motel's bed wasn't the largest, Castiel's shoulder resting against Dean's, but the proximity wasn't exactly awkward. " Thank you, Dean, " Cas turns to look at the other man, unbothered by how close they were. " You can rest as well, there's no need to deny yourself sleep for my sake. "
It was Dean's way of showing that he cared. Over the last few weeks there had been clues collected to point towards the fact that his angelic friend was slowly getting weaker. And at first Dean hadn't paid any mind to it, thinking it'd solve itself out soon enough. But Cas seemed out of breath after a teleportation, healing one of the Winchesters appeared to exhaust him. That was when Dean's worry kicked in.
By now Castiel was a great fighter, could take on several opponents at once and he was proud of the angel for that. Still, it made him feel better to not leave the other on his own. Even if only for a night. They never knew when a threat would swing by, demanding their attention and he didn't want a tired angel to be overwhelmed by it.
So Dean kicked his boots off, letting them land on the ground before he climbed onto the only bed in the room, leaning against the headboard with a slight grin. "Nope, I'm staying here tonight." His hands folded in his lap as he was willing to sit this one out. Castiel could be stubborn, but Dean was ready to match him up in it.
"C'mon, it won't be that bad spending the night with me. I can be quite pleasant," Dean offered a little amused, patting the space next to him on the mattress. "I've spent the last 30 years with Sam, he can wait a night." His eyes were trained on the other man in the room, looking through the tough face the other tried to put on.
"I just want to take care of you, Cas. Let me do that for you?" His tone was more soft now. "To be honest you look... like you could need some rest. I'll be here to watch over you, as you like to say, mmh?" His eyes were sparkling when he looked at the other. "You won't even notice I'm here. Promise."
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (2024) dir. Tim Burton
Waking was strange. A sensation reminiscent of emerging from murky waters, his vision slowly shifting from darkness, to blurry muddled shapes. His hearing, already beaten over the years, was muffled for a moment. Made it impossible to pinpoint the distant footsteps until they were right by his ear – his good ear, like the person knew his left one worked better.
Their voice, achingly familiar, pulled Joel upwards out of the murky waters his body had been trapped within. He could still hear Ellie's distant cries, the sound of the golf club –
No. This wasn't that cold hard floor, the surface underneath him was soft and warm. He couldn't hear shouting or crying, only... Ellie. With a pained exhale, Joel forced his eyes fully open. As his vision cleared, brown hair and worried eyes came into view. The gentle squeeze to his hand was a notable contrast to the slight bite of her words, and the man's lips twitched upwards.
" Hey kiddo, " Joel's voice is tired, croaky. The movement tugs on his healing cuts and bruises, but the ache clears his mind. Let him focus on his daughter Ellie. He longs to reach out, to comfort the teen, but his limbs are all heavy and disconnected. Won't cooperate yet.
" Sorry to scare you.. just needed some rest, that's all. Are... are you alright? " It was easy to forget that he was the one in the hospital bed, concern for her consuming him.
He didn't know much, remembered hearing someone mention that he'd been unconscious for a long while – and his heart ached that he'd left Ellie alone for that long, had missed so much. Joel knew Ellie well enough to know chances were she'd done something reckless - but whether she'd tell him was a different story.
@fracturals x Joel from this Ellie
It takes all she has not to start crying when she's finally allowed to see Joel, the doctors baffled but done with all their tests; he's a beast, obviously, she knew he'd wake up. She knew. It's why she refused to go sleep at home - but of course he woke up while she was in the bathroom - and why she's still there in Jackson, she had to see him with her own eyes. Because he had to. He had to. "That was one f.ucking way to make me forgive you, Joel," her voice shakes, she can't help it. Okay, she wasn't completely sure he'd wake up, but he had to, right? Where would she be now if he hadn't? Ellie holds onto one of those little pieces of his body that isn't broken, and squeezes it gently. "You took way too long to wake up. Waaay too long, you a.sshole." He's actually going to live, so he doesn't get sweet words from her, no sir. There's no better way to let him know they are cool and that he'll be fine, if you ask her.