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imariscoconuts · 4 months ago

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Like Sunshine & Honey: 02

[02: How Much Does a Chimney Cost?]

A/N: Don't mind me taking almost a month to update... idk what happened lol. Well, I do. Life happened, kicked my ass a lil... anyways!! I hope you enjoy!

Word count: 2.8k

Joel is a little ruuuuude in this one FYI.

PART 1

Joel hastily made his way to the Tipsy Bison, beelining for his stool on the left of the bar that overlooked the rest of the room. Within seconds the short glass, filled neatly with dark liquor, was in front of him. Looking around, Joel noticed the usual early evening crowd, knowing the bar would see itself double or triple in people after dinner. Although Joel kept to himself often, he admired most of the people in Jackson. They were hard workers - they did what needed to be done and that was that. He didn't see the point in making many friends here though, knowing the uncertainty of the world was enough to lead him to find comfort in his small circle - Tommy, Maria and Ellie.

Joel thought real hard about lying to Tommy and saying he was 'sick' to get out of the dinner he had been invited to but Joel knew that would end with endless nagging for another dinner later in the week. And all Joel wanted to do for the next two days - at least - was to rest before he had to return to his patrol shifts.

Swallowing his annoyance, Joel stood, nodding to the bartender and made his way to the stables in hopes of spotting Ellie on the way to Tommy's.

"How much does a chimney cost?" Ellie asked eagerly, holding her newest book to her chest as her and Joel walked to Tommy and Maria's. Joel smiled faintly as he looked ahead, shrugging at the girl.

"Nothing! It's on the house!" she shouted, slapping her knee in the process. Joel turned his head to her, lifting an eyebrow as if to say 'really?'.

"Oh come on," she started, "you know that was a good one!"

As the two approached Tommy's front door Joel turned to Ellie, pointing at her "you're allowed 3 more jokes in there, so choose them wisely" he said half-seriously.

Ellie simply rolled her eyes back at him, opening the door, "whatever grumpy pants".

"Maria!" Ellie yelled, hugging the woman before turning to Tommy and doing the same.

"Hey kid! Bit excited there, I just saw you this afternoon." Maria smiled as she walked back into the kitchen.

Ellie followed through into the living room, heading straight for the couch and lying down.

"I know, but I have new jokes to tell." she warned, flipping through the book Joel had given her.

"Oh these are good…" she muttered, flicking through the pages with speed.

"Well, the Riveras should be here soon." Tommy explained, heading to the kitchen with Maria.

"You two relax." Joel heard from Tommy as he left.

Relax. Joel wanted nothing else.

"Did you see what they did with the green house?' Ellie asked without looking up from the pages in front of her.

Joel scoffed, leaning over the couch and thinking of the snooping he did earlier that afternoon.

"Yeah, did you see their stupid doormat?" he asked scoffing, not hearing the footsteps behind him.

"It is a bit silly, isn't it?" a calm voice spoke from behind.

Joel whipped around, not realising their company had arrived.

Joel's eyes met Cece's and instantly he knew she was the woman he saw earlier with Troy and Daisy. She smiled at Joel genuinely, chuckling at his comment. Taking her in for just a moment, Joel noticed her long golden hair was now in a low bun, two pieces framing her soft face from either side as she stood with a bright yellow sweater and jeans.

Hm. Joel thought. He may have thought she was a little odd but he was still a man. A man who could acknowledge a beautiful lady when he saw one.

"It's not silly." a voice warned from behind the woman. Marcus stepped around his sister, striding towards Joel and offering his hand as a welcome but also a warning. If there was one thing Marcus wouldn't stand for, it was people dimming his sister's light. Even if the doormat was a little silly to him, it made Cece happy and that's all that mattered.

"Marcus." he said with a straight face, "Nice to meet you. I suppose you're Joel?" Marcus asked. "That'd be me." Joel spoke while grasping Marcus' hand just as firmly as he was his. The two stared at each other for a second, taking each other in.

Marcus was maybe an inch or two taller than Joel and so he had no reservations throwing Joel a hard look.

"Nice to meet you Joel, I'm Cece." she spoke, bringing both men back into the room. Joel remained tight-lipped, simply nodding at the woman.

"Yes! You brought a pie!" Ellie exclaimed, now running to the woman. Cece smiled down at the girl, accepting the side hug from Ellie.

"I really only baked it for you, Maria and I but I guess we could share with them." Cece laughed, pointing at the men.

As Cece and Ellie walked into the dining room, Joel couldn't help but feel a little bad for insulting the doormat. Just a smidge. But did he only feel bad for getting caught? Perhaps. It was just a doormat anyways.

As they all made their way to the dining room, Maria and Tommy sat at the ends of the table and Ellie opposite Marcus, leaving Cece and Joel seated directly across from each other - great. He thought.

Ellie wasted no time filling her plate with the likes of bread, meat and vegetables, making sure to throw a loud "thank you!" to Maria before piling the food into her mouth. As everyone else began following suit, small chatter filled the space between Marcus and Tommy while Maria, Cece and Ellie exchanged crappy 'knock knock' jokes amongst themselves. Since when does Maria tell shitty jokes? Joel thought, noting all the times she had just chuckled and shook her head at Ellie's past attempts at jokes.

"So basically we'd been out there by ourselves since last July, just going from place to place." Marcus spoke, conversing with Tommy in particular.

They're so odd. Joel thought, still quite unsure of what to think of the twins.

"Why did you leave your QZ?" Joel asked swiftly, not looking up from his plate, stabbing away at a carrot. Was he hoping to catch them out?

Cece looked over to Marcus carefully knowing her brother knew exactly what to say to the group. Joel watched her intensely for a few seconds, noting how her eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly, so faintly that if he hadn't been studying her in that moment he would have missed it. This was the first time he had seen her face without a genuine smile since arriving to the house.

"Uh well…" Marcus started, offering Cece a small smile while shifting in his seat next to Joel, "like most places it just got too corrupt, ya know?." Marcus spoke, smiling tight-lipped at Tommy then turning to Joel.

"Just wanted to see what else was out there I suppose." Cece chimed in, smiling to Ellie.

Cece hated thinking about her and Marcus' last months in the QZ. Although the QZ was overall pretty horrible, giving a single thought to her final moments there was painful. She tried to hide her uneasiness but Joel saw the way her face fell ever so slightly as the rest of the table returned to their conversations. Now it was her turn to play with her food, twirling mashed potato around with her fork.

"What about you Joel, where were you before Jackson?" Cece asked sincerely, now meeting Joel's eyes. He noticed how her smile met her eyes so easily - like she actually cared for what people said.

"Around, I guess."

"We were in the same QZ"

Joel and Ellie said simultaneously. Joel sighed, not wanting these strangers to know any more about him than they needed to. Which was nothing.

Cece's grin grew, flipping to Ellie who was on her right, "so you've been telling him these funky jokes for years?" she laughed, motioning to the book on the table.

"And I've got a million more to tell!" Ellie smirked, looking over at Joel.

Joel gave her a look of warning, not in the mood for another knock-knock joke.

"Lucky him." Cece stated, tilting her head and sending Joel another smile. Joel looked away quickly, doing anything but return a smile her way.

Oh, he didn't like that. Cece thought as she watched Joel look down. She knew it wasn't personal, well, at least not yet. He barely knew her, so surely this was just who he was as a person, right?

She could already tell Joel was an intriguing guy. Betty and Troy had mentioned Joel before in passing, warning her he wasn't exactly a 'ray of sunshine'. "His favourite past time is frowning" Ellie once said jokingly, "but he deals with me and that's enough for me" she continued. This made Cece smile, knowing the man she was bound to meet at some point had a soft spot for Ellie - her new found neighbour and porch buddy. Their favourite place to chat, evidently.

Normal conversation filled the table, mostly dodging Joel like a bullet as he preferred to sit in his silence. He simply offered everyone's questions with a quick 'no', 'yep' or 'not sure'. After everyone's plates seemed to empty, Cece stood quickly, making her way around the table to collect everyone's dishes.

"Oh, you don't need to do that," Maria claimed, shaking her head and beginning to stand.

"No!" Cece started, "I insist." She smiled warmly at Maria, gracefully picking up her and Maria's plates.

Now, Joel wasn't a complete asshole. Like any normal human being he picked up his plate for the woman, handing it to her. What he wasn't prepared for was their fingers grazing each others. He found her touch gentle, feather-like. "Thank you, Joel." she said before continuing on.

The moment wasn’t wasted on Joel and how her touch felt like a small jolt of electricity had run up his forefinger.

As quickly as she had left the dining room she was back, proudly carrying a pie and a few smaller plates in her hands. "Oh Cece, you're too kind! But if you keep baking for everyone I don't think anyone will let you leave Jackson." Maria laughed, gently rubbing Cece's shoulder as she stood next to her, cutting everyone a piece.

Cece chuckled to herself, shaking her head as she placed the last piece on a plate. Maria and Ellie handed the plates around, everyone now having a piece of plum pie in front of them.

"I enjoy it. Baking for you guys." she grinned, waiting patiently for everyone's critiques.

She had learnt most of her recipes from Frank, and even a few from Bill. She thought back to the hundreds of times they had all baked together, making the most of what they had and scouring the gardens for only the best apples, apricots or cherries for their next dish. They would be singing away, even dancing around the kitchen as the pastries cooked slowly behind them. If they were lucky, Bill would reside at their piano, providing them with actual music to dance to. Marcus wasn't much of a baker, instead waiting patiently on the kitchen bench for Frank and Cece's latest dish to be ready.

"Wonderful, like always." Ellie exclaimed, trying not to eat the whole piece in one mouthful.

"A piece of this on a bad day would easily make it better, right?" she continued, looking around for agreeance. Tommy, Maria and Marcus all nodded as the sound of clattering forks filled the room.

Finally, Joel took a bite and instantly the tanginess of the fruits and the slight sweetness of the crust engulfed his mouth.

Oh, that's actually pretty good. He thought to himself, not wanting to show any sense of being impressed by the woman.

Once again, the table fell into standard table talk. Joel looked across to Cece, watching as she entertained Ellie and Maria in a conversation about Jackson's upcoming Halloween celebrations in a few weeks.

"Oh, I love the holidays!" Cece gushed, "I would love to help out with any preparations if needed?" she continued.

"Betty and Katie are in charge so we can definitely discuss it with them." Maria answered, grateful Cece had taken a keen interest in helping around Jackson.

She's just so… happy... Joel thought, grimacing at the woman opposite him.

How can she be that happy in this world we're living in?

Perhaps it was because he was a bit of a hermit or because his people skills were lacking or maybe it was just his lack of a filter at the worst of times that made him speak up.

"Don't you think it's a bit silly to be that excited about a holiday?"

Everyone's heads whipped to Joel, stunned and annoyed he would say something so brash.

Except Cece, she simply looked back at him and tilted her head to the side once more with a small smile. She looked at him deeply, contemplating.

"Hmm… I guess it is." Cece began, looking up to the ceiling thinking. "but the kids these days shouldn't be void of Nightmare on Elm Street just because things are different now."

The tense feeling at the table instantly lifted as everyone chuckled, something Cece was great at doing. She just knew how to make things lighter for people, even in such a dark and tumultuous world. "I don't think Betty will allow that to be this year's Halloween film in the hall but you could ask!" Tommy offered, laughing at the woman.

"The fact that our dad let us watch that movie is insane." Marcus chimed in from beside Joel, grateful of the memory his sister had brought up. Shaking his head to himself, he remembered the Halloween before the outbreak their dad had allowed them to watch 'Nightmare on Elm Street' with him after trick or treating. Popcorn, candy and snuggled up on the couch with their dad. When their mum had arrived home after her night shift she sighed and laughed at the three snuggled up together on the couch, candy wrappers sprayed across the living room.

"Well, it's getting pretty late. Think we should head sis?" Marcus asked across to Cece.

"Mhm" she responded shortly, politely pulling her chair out from under the table. "Thank you everyone for a lovely dinner, it was nice to see you all - and to meet you Joel." she offered. Although almost silent, Joel heard the scoff that came from Marcus. Joel rolled his eyes at the man but stayed quiet, not in the mood the bark back at him, or ask him what his problem was.

"Anytime Cece." Tommy smiled, now standing and walking over to Maria.

After their quick goodbyes, including a firm handshake from Marcus, only Tommy, Maria, Ellie and Joel remained.

"Well that was a bit fucking rude." Ellie declared, scoffing at Joel as they helped clear the rest of the table.

"Watch your language." Joel barked back, not in the mood for whatever Ellie was about to start.

"Just saying dude! She's really, really nice and you're, well… you're being you" Ellie stated, rolling her eyes as she walked away from the man.

Joel wasn't being rude, he was just stating the obvious. She was too sweet.

People aren't nice for nothing these days. He thought.

Maybe he was a bit of a grump at times, or most of the time, but it was safer that way, right? Keep people at arms distance whenever and wherever possible so you don't get hurt.

Joel was already constantly stressing about Ellie, he didn't need to befriend anyone else to add to that feeling.

After swift goodbyes, and a quick word of warning from Tommy regarding Joels' attitude, him and Ellie left, walking home in the chill evening air. Silence accompanied the two on their short walk home until they turned onto their street.

"What did the ocean say to the beach?"

Joel rolled his eyes and smiled while looking down, kicking a rock in front of him.

"Here we go" he muttered, hoping if he didn't respond the girl would stop. One can hope.

"Nothing, it just waved!" Ellie shrieked, whacking Joel on the arm playfully. He looked down at his arm and raised an eyebrow as if to say, are you serious?

"I know you secretly love my jokes, Joel" Ellie sighed dramatically as she climbed the steps of their porch. Without thinking, Joel looked to the other side of their street and lingered on the little green house for a few seconds. There was a single light still on in the house, the top bedroom near the back of the house. As he gazed up at the window beyond the few tree branches he saw Cece's silhouette pass by the window and then a second later the house was left in complete darkness.

Joel thought she was odd. Too happy. Too nice to people.

What an odd thing to be displeased about.

#joel miller #joel miller angst #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x oc #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #pedro pascal #the last of us #tlou hbo #tommy miller #joel miller au #tlou fanfiction #the last of us hbo #tlou joel #joel miller fluff #pedro pascal x ofc #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal angst

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imariscoconuts · 5 months ago

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Like Sunshine & Honey: 01

A/N: AHHHHHH it has literally been a decade since I've written anything but it was my birthday last week and I just got this sudden urge to write! I am a long time tumblr reader but first time writing on here so I'm still getting used to it all - sorry in advance! I love punishing myself so this is (hopefully) a slow burn. Lots of angst along the way because I like when it hurts...

I did proofread this but I am a little excited so there may be errors!

Joel Miller (HBO) x female!OC

OC is 29 in this so age gap fyi

[01: Yay! It's You!]

4.5k words

It was a cool September morning when the twins were set upon by six of Jackson's men, out on a patrol on the Northern side of the town. By the time they heard the group it was too late, they were too close. That's what we get for taking a shortcut through the open valley, Marcus thought.

"On your knees, now!" one of the men, Troy, barked. Next thing they knew, Troy whistled while a low growl followed from behind his dark mare.

"We're safe! And we're alone! We promise! " Marcus exclaimed confidently, despite the multiple weapons now staring at him right in the eyes.

Daisy, Jackson's toughest critic - and certified 'infected' inspector - creeped towards the pair, Cece's nerves heightening ever so slightly as the black and white cattle dog approached them. She was an animal lover for sure but she couldn't ignore the severity of the situation.

"Let her decide if you're safe," David, another Jackson native spoke, pointing his nose to Daisy. The canine stared at Cece, as if zeroing in on her specifically. Her and Marcus, now on their knees looked intensely at each other then back at Daisy.

Marcus inhaled sharply as Daisy took another step closer and with one last whistle from Troy Daisy's legs were off, closing the remaining 30ft distance between her and the twins.

Cece closed her eyes momentarily then looked to her right, staring into Marcus's eyes. The siblings were confident to say the least but even the most courageous would lose a little composure in a situation like this. It had been almost 2 months since the pair had ran into their last lot of raiders - a sloppy trio - that left the altercation with less supplies but more cuts and bruises courtesy of the twins. They could hold their own, heck, a 2 v 4 hand to hand combat wouldn't even phase them that much these days but they both sensed something odd about this group. They seemed clean, well fed and… very well equipped. Guns, bows, axes, you name it.

Daisy sniffed Marcus first, from his feet, to his hips up to his neck and face. Daisy dropped onto her belly neatly, a command the men instantly nodded at. Now it was Cece's turn. Daisy moved to the woman, repeating the same sniff pattern but without warning allowed her cold nose to graze Cece's cheeck, causing the woman to laugh lowly without warning. Instantly, Daisy imitated the low position but this time with her tail wagging in the air.

The Jackson men looked at each other warily, only having seen Daisy like this with a handful of people. A quick but friendly bark left her as she looked up at Cece.

"Oh, hello" she whispered, slowly extending her hand to the dog as if a peace offering.

As Daisy approached, Cece smiled. She loved dogs, she loved cats, she loved toads, caterpillars and every animal in between. And you know what they say, dogs can sense if you're a bad person.

Cece was anything but bad even despite all that her - and Marcus - had been through. Marcus always described his sister, younger by only 9 minutes, as "the light of my life and those whose she is lucky to grace". She was caring, sometimes too much to a fault, the strongest person he knew and always knew how to make him smile. She loved her brother with every bone in her body and then some, even if he was a bit too sceptical of things at times. The two had been orphaned, like many, 20 years ago at the ripe age of 10 years old. Scared out of their minds in the middle of Columbus, Ohio (their parents had interesting ideas of what a 'holiday' was…) and with their mother's final words being "run, just run as far away from the city as you can" the pair did exactly that. The twins were known by many in their lives as adventurous and smart, so to some miracle the pair lasted 2 and a half weeks in the Ohio wilderness until they met Gary.

5'6 and still in his Blockbuster uniform, Gary somehow made it out into the forest and snuck up on the kids, attacking them from behind as they tried to start a fire and cook the can of alphabet spaghetti they had found a week back at an abandoned gas station. With painfully pale skin, bloodshot eyes and emitting the most horrendous moan, Gary was definitely nightmare material for the two youngsters. Within an instant Marcus was on the ground, the pair screaming as Gary's teeth nipped close to the boy's face. As quick as he had attacked Gary went limp, falling onto Marcus with his teeth digging straight into the bark above Marcus' shoulder. The pair screamed as Cece tried to pull her brother out from under the corpse. They had seen a few infected during the first two days of the outbreak, before their parents died, but it had been their first encounter with one out in the forest.

"Stop screaming!" a voice whisper-yelled from nearby. The siblings looked forward, spotting a man not more than 20ft away, pointing a gun right where Marcus had just been.

"Where are your parents?" The man questioned, approaching them slowly.

The twins looked at each other, then at Gary, then at the man and back at each other.

Should we tell him? Cece tried to ask without speaking, communicating only through her eyes.

Hell no! Marcus replied, his brows now furrowed. It was something the two loved about being twins - seemingly always knowing what the other was saying without a single word.

"I said, where are your parents?" The man barked a little louder, cocking his gun back up but at the children this time.

"Umm… they're dead…" Cece whispered, a single tear escaping her eye. After weeks of crying it was all her body could muster up right now.

"Bill, what the hell are you doing! They're just kids!" Suddenly another man came into view, running from behind Bill.

"I-I just" Bill stammered and sighed, knowing his interrogation was definitely not happening how he wanted it to now that Frank was here.

"Oh my goodness you're like 5 years old!" Frank exclaimed, slinging his arrow over his shoulder and approaching the pair slowly.

Marcus pushed Cece behind him, wary of the strangers.

"Don't come any closer!" he yelled, holding onto Cece's hands behind him, his heart beating out of his little chest.

Marcus was so, so brave. Cece wouldn't even know what to do without him. He was strong, determined and never let anyone walk over him or Cece.

"We- we won't hurt you, I promise" Frank said, taking painfully slow steps towards the children, offering them a half smile as he did.

"And how do I know you're not lying?" Marcus questioned, his voice quivering slightly. Cece peeked out from behind her brother, only looking at the men for a second before hiding back behind Marcus.

"My name's Frank and that guy" he said, looking over his shoulder at the grumpy brunette, "is Bill."

"We live about an hour West from here and were scouting the forest for some deer or turkey when Bill said he heard something. That 'something' evidently being that guy" Frank said, pointing to Gary - who was now definitely dead. For the second time.

"Now you know who we are, can you tell us your names?" he asked quietly, now crouching down just a few feet from the pair. Bill swayed impatiently from behind, knowing exactly where this was going.

Marcus hesitated, squeezing Cece's hands behind him. The young girl hesitated but let go of Marcus' hands, appearing from behind her brother.

"My name is Cece." she spoke.

"Cece, stop!" Marcus tried to reason with her but she shook away his hand, taking a step closer to Frank.

"And- and this is Marcus, my brother". Frank smiled at the pair and looked back at Bill quickly giving him a look, a look that said "how on Earth can we leave them here?"

"Well," Frank started, "it's a pleasure to meet you Cece and Marcus. Would you like to come with us?"

"Safe!" Troy exclaimed to the group, the interaction between Cece and Daisy heavy on his mind.

"My name is Troy" he spoke, dismounting from his horse and slinging his gun over his shoulder.

"We're from a compound somewhat nearby. We offer people a safe community inside guarded and patrolled walls in exchange for being a useful member of our society. As you have been deemed safe by Daisy and thus are not currently infected I am obligated by our council to offer you two entry into our community if you wish to accept?"

The siblings looked at each other cautiously.

Should we go? Cece tried to ask without speaking, communicating only through her eyes.

I'm not sure. Marcus replied, his brows now furrowed. It was something the two loved about being twins - seemingly always knowing what the other was saying without a single word.

"Y-yes" Cece spoke quickly. Surely this won't blow up in our faces… right? She thought to herself. The pair had been on their own for the last year, dodging infected, raiders and the like left, right and centre as they tried to cross the country and find a slither of solace somewhere, anywhere but the QZ they were in in Indiana.

"We have strict rules and it is vital you are able to prove you can benefit our society in return for sanctuary. If you disobey these rules we have no problem and are bound by our council to discipline those who do not follow through with their part in this exchange. Do you understand?"

"Yes." she said more confidently this time, swallowing hard. She looked to Marcus and he sighed, wondering to himself, Surely this won't blow up in our faces… right?

Troy clamped his hands together and retreated to his horse, pulling two black cloths from his saddle bag. "You will need to wear these on the journey there for security reasons."

"No." Marcus whispered to Cece, panic now growing inside of him.

"Marcus, come on." Cece pleaded, rising from her knees. She looked back at him, holding out her hand for him to take. After arguing with himself internally, Marcus sighed and took her offer, now standing next to her. She always knows best. He thought.

After a rather rough pat down from the other men and removal of their weapons, the two were popped onto different horses and blindfolded. Although the pair have done some questionable things to survive in this crazy world, this was definitely in their top 5, maybe 3. Riding blindfolded on a random guy's horse in the middle of Wyoming.

It had been exactly twelve days since the twins arrived in Jackson.

The first few days were definitely… something. Upon arrival, the two were greeted by Tommy Miller, one of the top men in Jackson.

"Well look what we have here! Haven't had anybody new come around here in a couple months." Tommy explained, waltzing up to the pair with a firm grin on his face.

"Now, I want you to know that a good life here is easy but it ain't cheap. You give to Jackson, Jackson will give to you." Tommy said rather earnestly. "Let's head on over to the hall for a chat and then we'll really get this party started" he smiled, walking off without hesitation. The group that brought the pair back had now dispersed, only Troy following behind Tommy.

"Well, he sure is something." Cece announced, shaking her head and following the men, "come on Marcus" she smiled, looking back at her brother.

He sighed softly, trudging behind her and only now noticing the dozen or so people on the compound's street, eyeing them both intensely.

Cece looked back at her brother and met his eyeline, noticing two men nearby seemingly whispering about them.

Cece looked down at herself, noting her rugged appearance and sighed, "yeah, we've seen better days".

With a soft chuckle to herself she picked up her speed, pulling Marcus along.

"Look at how everyone's looking at us" he whispered.

"Can you blame them? No one knows us from a bar of soap" she said, rolling her eyes. Cece was a very understanding person, empathetic when people didn't even deserve it so she didn't look too much into the hard stares they were receiving from the people of Jackson.

After a brief walk the group had made it to the mess hall when a single bark halted everyone.

Daisy approached the group, zigzagging straight for Cece before stopping at her feet and sitting, offering her a paw.

"It's you again!" she laughed, kneeling down.

Tommy looked between Troy and Marcus, raising an eyebrow at the woman. Odd, he thought.

After a rather longwinded breakdown of Jackson, Tommy alongside his wife Maria and a few of Jackson's council decided the siblings would start on lighter duties for their first few weeks - Marcus behind the bar at the Tipsy Bison and Cece a library assistant. Marcus insisted he could be on patrols "first thing in the morning" but Maria assured him patrol work would come with time, and trust.

As for Cece, she had quite a thorough understanding of basic medical procedures thanks to Bill and Frank as well as a love for learning, hoping she could make her way to the school or infirmary at some point.

Slow dawn, lady! She thought to herself, trying to remind herself that they were newcomers, strangers to Jackson still.

It was a lot for them, being among a new group of people, ones that didn't seem to want to kill them or sabotage them like those in the QZ. But they had only been here just over an hour, so nothing was certain. Maria insisted on putting the two up at "the little green house near Joel's". Whoever that was.

"My brother." Tommy explained, "he's out on a city patrol right now. Probably be back around the 2nd".

Walking past the Tipsy Bison, left at the school and straight down past the apple trees sat the little green house.

A quaint two story home with a sage green exterior, grey roof and white trimmings. Although it was chipping and severely faded, the home still stood out amongst the rest of the houses on the row. Most adorning brick work or a dark colour palette.

"Well, this'll be yours for the little while." Tommy gestured, walking up the steps and opening the front door.

"Just turn right at the corner and you'll see the red mailbox about 3 houses down" he said, pointing his arm straight down the street. Cece smiled wide, looking around at the houses, the trees and the few people on the street, taking it all in.

Security felt good, but weird. After fighting and surviving for years she was unsure how to feel. How long would they be here? Would they make friends? Friends. It's just been her and Marcus most of the time. Only relying on each other in the QZ. The thought of security made her excited. But what if it ends up like the QZ? She thought to herself.

Not wanting to dwell on the 'what ifs' for too long, she decided to stick with what was in front of her, her reality, right now.

"Thank you, Tommy. I- we really appreciate it. And we are ready to contribute to Jackson and get to know everyone here." Cece explained, genuinely feeling thankful for the situation.

Although she loved spending time with Marcus, it had been a long time since she had had a positive experience with another human and Tommy, as well as Maria, and basically everyone they had met so far in Jackson seemed nice, or decent at the least.

"Just swing on by if you need anything. If we're not there, Maria is usually at the hall or down by the stables and I'm, well, I'm a bit all over the place so you'll see me around." Tommy said, smiling back at the two.

"Thank you, really." Marcus spoke from behind Cece, reaching out to shake Tommy's hand before he set off towards his own house, waving at the two as he jogged away.

"You promised it was our turn to host." Cece complained, trudging alongside Tommy as they headed to the mess hall.

"Yes, that is true but my brother just got back and Maria really wants to cook a stew for everyone." he shrugged, smirking as the two walked side by side.

"Fine," Cece replied, "but I'm bringing an apple pie". She nudged Tommy's shoulder with her own, knowing him and Maria were already head over heels for her baking skills because the pie she bought over to their house last week was devoured before they even left the 'welcome dinner' Tommy and Maria had put on for the siblings. Cece had been in Jackson just shy of two weeks and had already cooked 8 pies for those of Jackson, including her neighbours, except Joel, who apparently lives across the street and one house down, the head librarian Betty and Ellie, who she met in a rather absurd way. On the Monday just gone as Ellie left her and Joel's home she became overwhelmed with the very pleasant smell coming from the little green house. Five minutes, two beady eyes watching Cece through the kitchen window and one ear-piercing yelp from Cece later, the two were sharing an apple pie and two glasses of milk on Cece's front porch. The two spent an hour talking about baking, tacky jokes and someone named Dina, who Cece was yet to meet.

"Deal." Tommy confirmed, tipping his hat to the woman, before entering the hall. "See you and Marcus tonight." he called over his shoulder.

Marcus. Cece had never seen Marcus so locked in. He had worked almost every day at the Tipsy Bison while spending most of his free time with Troy and a few of the other men of Jackson. Although still his very reserved and sceptical self, it was nice for Cece to see her brother taking a real liking to Jackson, its people and its system. This morning he told Cece he had met with Maria and would begin training for patrols as early as next week.

Meanwhile Cece had been spending the past week getting to know as many people of Jackson as she could including Betty and her daughter Lucy who was the same age as her. That's one thing Cece definitely hated about the QZ - most people didn't want to or couldn't just have a conversation with one another. It was too hostile. In the first few years they were there it wasn't too bad, she had Finn and Joey, but once they were gone it was only a few people that were civil with her. Cece didn't take it to heart though, she had been in this crazy world long enough to know it was survival over everything and she respected those that just got up to do what they had to do. That didn’t stop her from taking any opportunity to talk to people when she could though. Even as a child, she was always the first to talk to strangers, much to her parents' dismay, and always tried to include everyone and make others happy.

Whether at school, the local park and even in the QZ. She would often do favours for people to get extra juice rations for her neighbour's son, Carl because the joy he got out of a cup of apple juice was enough. That's just who Cece was, even in the messed up, depressing world she had been left in.

Not wanting to waste any more time, she began making a list in her head of all that she needed to pick up for this evening's pie when her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a whistle from behind.

"Cece, how's it going?" Troy asked, approaching with Daisy trotting closely behind.

Cece smiled genuinely at the two, finding Daisy just the cutest (and most hardworking) dog she'd ever met. Although she hadn't asked yet, she put Troy in his late 40's, judging from the few lines that adorned his face. Despite the brashness of their first encounter, Troy had been exceptionally welcoming to Cece and Marcus, something not ignored by Cece. Not in a weird way, he just seemed genuinely friendly to the woman.

She crouched down, meeting Daisy's eyes when the dog suddenly offered her a paw. "Pretty good, I think. Most people have been really welcoming to Marcus and I. It's… it's nice." she smiled shyly, patting under the dog's chin.

"Well that's probably because you're nice" he said, patting her shoulder as she returned to her own height. "Or it could be because you keep baking for people" Cece laughed, pointing at Troy, "and that's just apple pie! I also do a spectacular pecan one too."

Troy chuckled at the woman, patting her shoulder, "I'll be waiting for one!" he said before heading off with Daisy.

Joel was sick of his city patrol about twelve days ago… the day he left Jackson. His partners, Jenny and Brad were slow and incompetent according to him so to say he was glad to be only minutes away from the gates was an understatement. Despite his personal problems with the two, the trip was somewhat of a success - besides the run in with a group of raiders just a few days in. They had found medical tools, some weapons, winter coats and a '1001 Dad Jokes' book, for Ellie.

"Open!" they heard as the three of them approached the front gates. Joel sighed, wanting nothing more than to sleep. In his bed. As the horses trudged through the gates Joel was met by Tommy and a few others.

Dismounting his horse, Joel unclipped his bags and met Tommy, "nice to see you brother," Tommy smiled, pulling Joel in for a hug. Joel was not a toucher, but for Tommy he would tolerate a hug… on certain occasions.

"How does stew and an apple pie sound tonight?" Tommy asked his brother, walking with Joel and Beardy, his horse, while Jenny and Brad led the way to the stables.

Apple pie? Joel thought. Maria has never baked that before. Sensing his confusion Tommy turned to Joel and smiled deviously, "you have new neighbours in the little green house".

Joel rolled his eyes, really not in the mood to meet new people.

"Oh come on Joel, they're really nice. Well, Marcus is a little quiet, like you, but Cece, she's great!" he exclaimed, kicking a rock in front of him as the two walked on.

Oh great, another couple. Joel thought.

"Brother and sister." Tommy said, reading Joel's mind.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I'll unload, go see Ellie and see y'all later then." Joel said, allowing his furrowed brows to tell Tommy how he felt about this 'dinner party'.

After taking all of the trip's finds to the infirmary and mess hall Joel finally arrived to his street. Passing by the little green house he noticed a few new flower pots on the front porch as well as two new chairs. A stark difference to what it looked like before he left - dirt all over the porch, with a broken rocking chair and surely at least twenty spiderwebs. No one had lived in that house the whole time Joel had been in Jackson. A family of three apparently used to live there for a few months when Jackson was first established but ultimately they decided to leave Jackson for some QZ in Salt Lake City that was apparently 'promising'. And they were never heard from or seen again. It's just been sitting there, fading away ever since.

Not giving any more time to the little house, Joel trudged down to his own house that he shared with Ellie. Well, she was often at Tommy's or Dina's so his house that he shared with Ellie sometimes. After yelling out, hoping to hear Ellie he was instead met with silence. Taking off his coat, Joel groaned, his shoulders feeling as stiff as a brick wall from sleeping rough for almost two weeks. He had a sleeping bag, of course, but that wasn't much on top of a forest or concrete floor. Rubbing his shoulders he sighed and laid down on their couch, not wanting to trek up the stairs. Joel laid there, looking up at the peeling roof for about twenty minutes, wanting nothing more than to sleep but it just never came. Sick of laying there he stood up and gathered his coat, deciding to go find Ellie and visit the Tipsy Bison for a whiskey or two.

As he walked back past the little green house he then noticed the doormat he hadn't seen before. Walking up to the porch, hoping no one was home to see him snooping around he snickered and rolled his eyes.

Yay! It's You! The brown doormat said.

"Where do you even get something like that these days?" he asked himself, shaking his head at the mat, the house and whoever lived in it.

Guess I'll see which idiot owns that mat soon, Joel thought, trudging back down the street.

One thing about Joel, he was a realist. He knew fun and happiness was far and few these days, at least for him. Maybe Ellie, Dina, heck even Betty the librarian knew how to have a little fun these days but Joel took everything in Jackson pretty seriously. He did what needed to be done and stuck to his business. Most of Jackson just let Joel be, knowing he was a 'grump' - to be frank.

As he rounded the corner near the mess hall his eyes set upon Troy and a woman with long, light brown hair. He couldn't tell who it was from behind but he watched as she laughed at Troy, her shoulders shaking from her laugh.

Yeah, he think's he's funny. Joel thought, rolling his eyes. He wasn't the fondest of Troy. Not that he did anything particularly wrong, he was just too loud. Especially once whiskey had hit his lips.

The woman said something back to Troy, now his turn to laugh. Joel didn't see much purpose in all of the thrills of Jackson - the socialising, the movie nights, the holidays - at least for the adults. He would much rather everyone just do their work and leave it at that. Less likely to meet new people, new women that way, he thought. Joel had flirted and entertained a few women in Jackson but never anything serious, and never when he was sober.

Before he looked away he noticed the woman bend down to Daisy, patting her on the head before Troy and Daisy walked away, leaving the woman to walk the opposite direction. He watched as she passed two of the councilmen, smiles immediately filling their faces. The biggest smiles he had seen on them, probably ever.

Who the hell is that? He thought.

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