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essycogany · 9 months ago

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Rare But Not So Rare Sonic Moments

Sonic Swooning Over Amy

So, Sonic’s been kind of the driving force of Sonamy recently. Let’s analyze that.

I’ll show Sonic having feelings for Amy in almost every media aside from Fleetway and the few cartoons she isn’t in. I’ll also present the “whys” in more detail then just “Amy calmed down.” While that’s part of it, I’d like to add my own can of worms. And possible headcanons too. Bear in mind I never grew up with Sonic, so forgive my mixed opinions.

While I love Amy having a crush on Sonic like the energetic sugarplum she is, nowadays Sonic’s oddly been the drive of their dynamic. Any examples of it beforehand? Let’s look outside of the games first.

Sonic X

This Sonic takes more time to himself. He’s introverted, so his feelings for her isn’t displayed as obviously as the others. In fact, most people think he didn’t like her in this show because of how much he runs away. He even manipulated her by flirting in one episode. In my opinion this show has Sonic running away from Amy more often than not. Hot take: Sonic and Amy never had a real conversation either. They didn’t…talk like they do now. Unless you count,

“Oh, Sonic I love you!” “Ah! C’mon, Amy. Knock it off!” No, it wasn’t constant but still common.

From my point of view, the conversations were short lived to none existent. It was the same in the earlier games too. Compared to how they talked to other characters or now, you might be able to notice. At least until Sonic And The Black Night where he talks to both The Lady Of The Lake and Amy. The two would also have visual gags of Sonic getting aggressively hugged by Amy. Or Amy falling on her face while trying. Aside from one moment in Sonic Riders where Sonic put Amy in danger, it wasn’t good or bad. Just cartoony for lack of a better term.

Maybe I’m just insane. You decided.

Anyhow, their dynamic in X is clearly built on actions. Like Amy giving Sonic a seashell bracelet and Sonic giving her a rose. Those little things. While I do prefer them being able to hold longer conversations, I don’t mind how X handles them. But let’s get to Sonic’s crush. I assume in Sonic X Sonic is conflicted. He’ll run away from Amy or try to pull from her on most occasions and others Sonic would constantly hold onto her when he doesn’t have to. For a long period on time no less. Amy’s the same way. One moment she’d be head over heels and other she’s bashful. Goes to show how young they were I guess. I have no clue as to why Sonic liked her back because there wasn’t much to go off of. Except the bracelet moment or her general kindness like feeding him one time. She was a bit much to him and most characters back then.

It’s possible Sonic just liked her and that was it, but I’d imagine due to all of the hand holding and small reciprocated gestures were enough to convey something was there. Straight forward and simple like the show itself. I headcanon this Sonamy being where the boyfriend gets dragged into a relationship and is fine with it. This version of Sonic’s attraction seems to be chaotic pink hedgehogs apparently.

Sonic Boom

Should I even explain it? Might as well because not only do I have something different to say, but these two haven’t been brought up much. Sonic and Amy’s romance mostly is played for laughs. Not saying their love for each other means less because of that, but the humor is the main reason they exist. Much like why in the main canon they started out the way they did. Regardless, I’ll dive deeper into Boom!Sonic’s affection for Amy to the best of my ability.

Boom!Sonic is egotistical, so whenever he thinks Amy’s crushing on someone else, it bothers him. Apparently he’s the only one she’s allowed to like. No “Radical Speedsters” or “Celebrities” can take her attention away from him. Like in Sonic X he tries to keep his crush to a minimum. Even though both him and Amy are terrible at it.

The moment in “Fortress Of Squalitude” a episode where everyone is a bit rude to Amy, close to the end Sonic says, “We may have a hard time saying it Amy. But…well you know.” Then she responds with, “Yeah, I know.” It’s such a sweet moment. Not as powerful as most moments with them but for Boom it’s very nice. Sonic and the others still value her as part of the team, but it’s Sonic who expresses it out loud. Goes to show how much he cares about her for even attempting to open up in this instance. Didn’t even have to finish the sentence. Amy understood perfectly. I also noticed how much he tries his best to impress her. When he needs to return her book back, finds her hammer in Archie, (Vector did it in the show and Sonic got jealous) shows off randomly or dreams about her, and stopped racing to get her some eggs in one episode.

The funny thing about this Sonic is how much of a people pleaser he can be. Especially since the towns people are very spoiled and ungrateful. He wants to be needed and that’s possibly why he goes out of his way to do special things for Amy like go out on picnics, implied dates, and comforts her. She’s very take charge in Boom and Sonic has no problem calling her out when he needs to. Much like Amy in the show and games. Sonic will even put effort into doing things he doesn’t feel like doing for her. How honorable of him. Sure, sometimes he tries to make her jealous and isn’t perfect, but he tries. I believe Sonic likes Amy because again like Sonic X Boom isn’t canon, so more outright reciprocated feelings are allowed in this case. Not to mention the dude likes being shipped with her in the show. Which is a win in my book.

Sonic enjoys bugging Amy much like a playful boyfriend. He probably admires her leadership, but I’m saying this by observation. It could be for anything. Maybe he thinks she’s cute when she’s mad and finds her temper amusing. It could also be for her stubbornness. Some people like each other because of how much they can relate to their partner and in Sonic Boom’s case they’re two cuts of the same cloth. Although still different, due to the show’s theme, they carry the same condescending, slightly self centered, hotheaded, stubborn, and humorous traits. But they’re still good hedgehogs with a heart of gold and usually makes reasonable decisions. Not to mention they’re both equally shy about their crushes. In Sonic Boom, Sonic and Amy is that married couple who doesn’t get along much, but when they do you’ll understand why they stay together.

Reboot Archie Sonic

I haven’t read the comics (unless you count watching a few dubs and internet reviews) but I’ll give my limited thoughts. Luckily there’s not much to say. Although most people believe it was unintentional, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch that someone from Archie thought it was a fun idea to have Sonic crush on somone in this reboot. Maybe it’s unintentional but it doesn’t seem that way.

I’m basically using this part of the post to ramble about how Reboot Archie’s Sonic still manages to be a casanova. He’s like a mixture of his old self and how he is in the games. That’s also why he acts the way he does around Amy. Could it also possibly mean he’s meant to like her canonically too? Reboot Archie did have to follow a more accurate way of writing Sonic after all. Anyways, let’s run down the list of Game!Sonic if he was allowed to be down bad for Amy like they’re already dating. Which is how I view this continuity. It’s basically if Boom and X had a weird fusion and this version of Sonic’s crush was the result. Except here he manages to be more bold and upfront. He knows what he’s doing. Here’s a run down.

First of all, THIS. No joke, more of these interactions would send me to the moon. I would explain why but the panel speaks for itself.

Sonic says, “I was worried about you.” Which he hasn’t admitted to her before this to my knowledge. He states this by giving her a side hug. Along with other out of nowhere physical affection and flirting. Not to single out Sonally fans. Sonic and Sally clearly have a close connection people appreciate and I respect that. In any case, Sonic and Amy in Reboot Archie also matches energies so much. They’re both clearly running off the same brain cell. You’d think they were together. They’d be a chaotic couple that’ll do the most outlandish things and somehow manage to survive them. After willfully risking their lives they’d do it again because being normal and safe is boring. I promise you, this version of Sonamy would be a huge force to be reckoned with.

-I’d also like to mention my friend Salty showed an example of Sonic being jealous of Knuckles coming with Amy on a mission and it’s brilliant. Dude gets all bratty about it too. Archie!Sonic does not play around. The post in question.

Sonic Prime

Already talked about this in another post, but I want to mention it again. Prime!Sonic is the most sensitive version of the character, so it’s no surprise he displays his admiration for Amy freely and out loud.

This moment says enough on its own. Sonic’s like this throughout the entirety of Prime and even changes the tone of his voice when speaking to or about her. It’s so authentic and adorable and makes him stand out against other variants.

Amy’s crush on Sonic in Prime is up to interpretation, but I don’t think she likes him in that way personally. Like other characters, Amy tends to be done with Sonic’s childishness. Guess she thinks he’s probably too immature to be boyfriend material whether she has feelings or not. Sonic on the other hand, acts how you wouldn’t expect. I personally see him as his own interpretation, so I’m fine with it. If he wants to have goo-goo eyes for Amy in Prime, it’s cool.

Prime!Sonic has it bad and I wouldn’t be shocked if he’d be the one wanting to go out on dates. Maybe he’d cook dinner for her sense he cooks in the show. I’d imagine Amy declining at first, but does it after his constant begging. They’d be swapped version of most emotional to least emotional. Prime!Amy would be a girlfriend who feels more like a parent than a partner.

Unleashed/Black Night

No one can bring up Sonic Unleashed without the lovely Amy meeting the Werehog scene. I love how Sonic didn’t like Amy hugging him, but right after she left he solemnly mopes around for probably the first and last time. He’s never in any game slowly moped around disappointedly before. Proving he only has certain reactions when it comes to Amy Rose. At least in some continuities. Unleashed gives you a choice to go on a date with Amy or not. Then the next game Sonic Team followed through with it, but ended up having Amy mad at Sonic for missing it. At least Sonic tried. Not to mention his reaction to The Lady Of The Lake and him flirting is fun to watch.

See how Sonic still likes her back but it isn’t because she’s “calmed down?” She’s still the same excitable love strucked Amy. There must be something more to it. Other than the obvious answer with Sonic Team wanting to do something with the pear. I have no idea why but having multiple hints even in the past must’ve been done for the fun of it. “We created this love interest but then railed back to Sonic not reciprocating her feeling. But we still want to market them as a couple in some way.” This franchise never cease to confuse me.

Amy encouraging Sonic in one of the cutscenes could’ve been where he started liking her back. Not in the way he does now, but he admired her none stop compassion and might’ve wanted to return the favor. “Eh, she’s sweet. Maybe a date won’t be so bad.” The fact he went out of his way to get her a chilidog and flirted with a different version of her should tell you enough. Of course it would take a while before anything else happened.

IDW/Sonic Frontiers

Yeah, after issue 2, Sonic’s never felt the need to run from Amy. From the comics to Sonic Frontiers there’s a lot of moments of Sonic being somewhat emotionally candid. Not by much, but close. I believe Amy’s the reason for that in a way. Sonic’s not afraid to hang out with her anymore. He even hugs her back on some occasions. “Ames” was a nickname from fanfics and Boom which became canon over time and he occasionally calls her that.

Sonic wishes to share an umbrella and spend more time with her. He also gets excited to see her more often. It’s like Reboot Archie but slightly toned down. At least up until the hard to trigger lines from Sonic Frontiers. The same game where he outright admits to being worried about Amy and smiles back at her with a Coco looking between the two. Then he supports Amy’s decision to leave etc. We all know where we are now.

Crazy how the more you look into this franchise the more tiny details you notice. It’s also crazy how much Sonic’s been into the love interest he originally was already supposed to love. To me, Sonic had a crush on Amy in Unleashed but fell in love with her in IDW. What makes Sonamy gripping though is how unique it is compared to most romantic relationships. Leaves it to be more entertaining whenever something unexpected happenes. It keeps you engaged.

Why Sonic Crushes On Amy?

1. Amy doesn’t want to slow him down. Obviously because of IDW issue 2’s love confession with Amy saying “I can’t change you. I don’t want to change you.” Amy joins Sonic and he includes her more often because of that. His speed is no match for her persistence anyways.

2. She shows compassion and love for those around her. Not just to Sonic, but everyone. She’s the definition of soft hearted. Even for people Sonic and his friends would be weary about. Think about now in the recent comics and games where Sonic’s trying it out. I do think it should be more of Amy’s thing then Sonic’s but it just goes to show how much she probably inspired him. Who knows? Even in the past he had respect Amy for her tenderheartedness.

3. Amy’s energy matches Sonic’s. Though sometimes she can be overly enthusiastic compared to him. Even before now, Amy’s always been adventurous and that’s probably something Sonic liked from the start. Not in a romantic way, but in a respectful way. If he were to have a partner he’d need someone to keep him grounded and be on the same level. No exceptions.

4. Her loyalty. No matter what Sonic does (including times she disagrees) she’s one of Sonic’s most loyalist companions. Obviously other characters are too, but Amy has her being a long time childhood friend/Sonic 06 and Unleashed going for her. 06 for trusting Sonic over Silver and Unleashed for still loving Sonic despite his transformation. Heck, before she knew who the Werehog was she wasn’t disgusted. Amy’s commendable for that.

From all these points here physical attraction isn’t included. What I like about both characters is their crushes don’t stem to how they look. Though it is worth mentioning Sonic has called Amy “Radiant” in TMOSTH, but that’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to an outright physical compliment. From Sonic at least.

- Side note thanks to @saltynsassy31 again, Sonic and Amy’s dynamic can be summed up as not a relationship but rather a situationship. Yes, it’s a real word. What does it mean? Basically two friends who has crushes on each other but doesn’t do anything about it. Just a fun detail for you guys.

Why Did Sonic Run From Amy In The Past?

I’ll make this quick, but the reason Sonic ran from Amy wasn’t because he didn’t like her. On the contrary. Sonic always could’ve ran at his normal speed to get away from her. Sonic’s the fastest thing alive. Why would he let someone he “didn’t like” catch up to him? I personally think he enjoyed the thrill of the chase. It’s why I believe he misses it nowadays. Though I do understand Sonic didn’t often treat Amy like a friend. Not in a way I can understand at least. Not that I think their relationship was bad, but from what I’ve seen, it was more told then shown due to Sonic and the gang not including her on missions. Amy normally had to catch up with them which was a running gag. Especially in SA2. It might be why some prefere her in stuff like Reboot Archie, Boom, IDW, and Frontiers. Because Amy’s friends includes her on adventures now. At least in my opinion. Correct me if I missed anything.

Final Headcanon

Since Sonic in the games has been the one to push the Sonic side of Sonamy much more then Amy does for herself, I’d like to think in most cases (especially as their dynamic grows) Sonic would start carrying other versions of him traits like trying to mess with her.

He’d want to get her to chase him more often and Amy would probably ask once or twice, “What’s going on and why are you acting weird?” He’d definitely play it off as him fooling around. Sonic doesn’t know much about romance, but he does know what Amy likes. Maybe he’d ask her out or go on a bunch of traveling missions. Anything to get her to pay attention to him again. After all, there’s been examples of the guy feeling ignored by her in and out of canon. It’s possible.

-There’s also a consistent detail where Sonic’s finally ready to open up but has to deal with Amy doing her own thing. Or when he’s face with different variants of her, he’s flirtatious with them. For the fastest thing alive, he has terrible timing when it comes to making his mind up.

Conclusion

Welp, there you have it, darlings. Examples of Sonic crushing on Amy more than some would think. It’s a Sonic character analysis and Sonamy post all in one. I know there’s more, but I think this gathers examples from the actual content.

Stay Creative! 💜

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cokoladasljesnjakom · 2 months ago

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The glimpse of us

summary: 5 years later, thats all it took. Ellie grew up, being the 19 year old she was and being stubborn to the point it drove Alex crazy. while joel was down in his office fixing up some random shit he wanted to do for a while. what happens when Ellie comes back from the patrol and she sees joel sitting with Alex? still time to find out.

joel miller x platonic! reader, ellie williams x older sister! reader (ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE)

word count: 4.5k

a/n: in the honor of the new season of The Last of Us, i have made a one shot! yeah a one shot, so if you see some of the similar characters from the story im writing m, thats why. i sobbed when I was watching the new episode and just thinking about it makes me SOB. i really hope you guys enjoy reading this, coz writing this made me want to claw my eyes out :)

masterlist

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure we don't get caught, that's what I'm doing.”

“Well, we just might get caught if you don't stop fidgeting with a fucking doorknob.” Alex said, her voice dripping with annoyance. She narrowed her eyes at him and pulled him by his hand, making him stop in his tracks and look at her.

“You're such an idiot, you know that, right?” Alex whispered, trying not to speak up too loudly, because Joel could just burst in her room any time he wanted to. He just smiled at her and pulled her closer, closing the distance between them. “Sue me for loving my best girl.” He kissed her softly on the lips, making her hum against his lips. “Plus, I haven't got the chance to have you for like two days. And now that I have you next to me, we could do a lot of ‘stuff ’we have to do.”

She laughed, their bodies swaying with each move they made, making her lean in his touch and prepper little kisses on his face. “Hm, and what's the ‘stuff’ that we need to do, oh so urgently? Because how I remember, we did everything-” he quickly shut her off with a kiss, making her laugh against his lips, his hands on her waist, pulling her closer, craving her touch even now when he had her in his arms. The thought of not having her next to him, made his mind spin. Two days. Thats it all took. And he was all over her, practically on his damn knees just to have her. She wasn't any better to be honest. Not having the chance to feel his touch in those two days made her crazy.

For two days she had to watch girls fawn over him. She had to watch girls flirting with him in front of her, like she didn't exist and God she hated that feeling. She hated watching the love of her life just getting taken away from her, even if it meant for a minute or two. And the chance they gotten to be together? It made her skin burn with every touch she made with him. She wanted to be next to him for eternity. She wanted to tangle her ribs together with his, to feel his lips on her for the rest of her life. So, she just pulled him closer, and she gasped, feeling his hands roam on her body and kissing her like her is no tomorrow.

“Hey Alex, so I need you and Dina to take up on the-” Jesse stopped, watching the sight in front of him unfolding with disgusted face. “God, you guys are so gross, you can do that stuff somewhere else.” his eyes narrowed, and he nodded his head to the doors, tapping his wrist as if he was setting up how much they have to dress up. Closing the doors, he stopped in his steps and turned his head, his voice teasing. “Oh, and Bucky. Before you head out, fix the problem. I don't want you to scare off the kids around. And for god’s sake please just hurry up.”

Bucky looked down at his 'problem’ and blushed, nodding his head at Jesse, while Alex just flipped Jesse off, while shouting out to him. “Don't act like you weren't like that before. I saw you and Dina grinding against each other and-” Bucky stepped her and pulled her closer to him, while he spoke up instead of Alex. He knew that whatever was going to slip out from her mouth, he’ll have to stop her, eventually. “we’ll be there. Five minutes tops.” Jesse just nodded his head and closed the doors behind him with a loud thud.

Alex squinted her eyes at Bucky, her hand squeezing his so hard, he thought it was going to fall off. He just kissed her knuckles making her calm down a little bit and she leaned into his touch. “Tonight, it's just going to be me and you. I promise.” and she nodded her head, both now walking off and closing the doors quietly.

“Oh well, look at that. A lover boy and my sister. Wow, can you believe this? A real power couple.” Ellie teased Alex when she saw bucky holding Alex's hand in his hand, pressing herself against him, searching for warmth. The weather was cold outside, snow crunching against their boots and the air getting colder every time they breathed in.

“Talk about yourself first. The way that you look at Dina amazes me every day you know? It just shows how much scaredy cat you are.” Ellie just looked at Alex and flipped her off, talking back to her like they always did. “At least I'm not overthinking every choice that i made. Now go back to kissing your little boy toy that you have.” Alex opened her mouth to say something snarky at Ellie, but a hand stopped her. Bucky's hand was on Alex's mouth, making her muffle against the palm of his hand when she started to speak.

Ellie just laughed at Alex face, and she stuck her tongue out at her. “Okay people, how are we? I hope you're fucking great, because I need you to be completely sober and not riled up.” Jesse spoke up and his eyes burning hole in Bucky's head like he expected that he’s going to explode every minute. Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise and her coughed against her palm, hiding her laugh, making Bucky glare at her. And just in time, Dina joined the group, her chest heaving with every breath she took. Looks like she ran to meet up with them. She nudged Ellie, making her slightly stumble and she blushed at Dina.

“What's cooking, good looking?” she pointed towards Ellie and then she smiled at her, making Alex to grin and she mouthed out to Ellie. “Told you so.” and Ellie just glared to her while mouthing out to Alex, her finger raised so high up that the heavens might just bless her or end her. “I hate you.” and Alex just laughed at her.

“What took you so long?” Jesse asked Dina, making her eyes to snap from Ellie's to his, her hands rubbing against each other to warm up. “Oh, I was at Joel's place. There was a problem on the pipe thingy, and I needed to tell him, so yeah.” hearing Joel's name, made Ellie to straighten up and her eyes before bright and shining, now were dark and empty. Alex saw that so she shrugged Bucky’s hand off from her and walked to Ellie, hugging her side.

Since that day, everything fell apart. The day that Ellie found out that both of her sister and the man that she loved like a father hid something so important. She hated what they did. She hated that he took the chance of her saving the world. She hated that her sister did the same thing. She hated what they did, but she never hated them. She could never imagine her hating two most important people in her life. She loved them to the point she would rather give up on her life, than bring herself to hating them. Things with Joel weren't going so smoothly. She felt like she was a burden to him and Alex. She hated that she couldn't trust him anymore.

Alex was a different situation. She was her sister and the only person who was next to her no matter how things gotten bad. She didn't talk to Alex in months, maybe even years. But over time she managed to have a courage to speak up first. She was getting tired of ignoring her sister and pretending like she doesn't exist. So, they talked. They talked until dawn, crying with each other, telling the stories and making up the time they weren't talking. To this day they were still fixing up the wounds, but it was easier now. She wanted to give Joel another chance, to bring the old banter between the two of them. She wanted to bring the old spark between her, Alex and Joel.

Snapping out from her trance, Alex called out, her voice soothing and calming Ellie down. “You’re with us?” Ellie just nodded her head yes and she smiled at Alex, her fingers interlinked with Alex's, like she was the one who was keeping her sane. Jesse looked at Ellie, waiting for her to calm down and she nodded her head to him to continue with the speech he made up. Dina just apologized and her fingers touched Ellie’s, making her to take her hand in hers and bring it closer to her side.

“Okay so, the reason I called you guys here was because, today, you guys” Jesse pointed to Ellie and Dina “are going on a patrol and I need you to be safe. You know the way, you know how to defend yourself and you know that the second you see something bad, you come back.” Alex just punched Ellie on her shoulder and Ellie punched back, making Jesse and Bucky to grumble and to separate the girls. Dina just laughed as she got on her horse, strapping the things they needed for the trip to hell. Ellie got on her horse, checking if she forgot something.

Jesse turned around to face Alex and Bucky, his fingers poiting at their way. “you guys are not going on a patrol today.” Alex’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion and she took a step forward, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “what do you mean ‘we’re not going on a patrol?’ I signed up for that shit today! I’m not going to let some old fucks to handle a mission that their ass couldn’t handle. You give me that patrol right now or I swear to god-” Bucky just rolled his eyes and took Alex by her hand and nodded to Jesse, his voice calm, unlike Alex’s. “okay. We’re gonna be with the horses today. That sounds good?” Jesse just laughed at Alex’s reaction and nodded his head yes. “just be careful so the shit doesn’t hits you in the face.”

“Okay so you are going on Alpine run, you do as I say and you listen what Kat says. She’s your leader today. You see a clicker or two, you clear ��em out, you see anything bad, as I told you, you come back and we’re gonna send up a squad. We clear?” Jesse told the group and he tossed them the green and yellow rags? flags? Whatever that was, and Alex couldn’t help but tease Ellie with the joke that the group favourized and used it daily. “You look like Kurtis and Viper.” Ellie just grumbled and muttered something under her breath. “the fuck?” while Dina smiled and raised her eyebrows at Alex making both of them to laugh.

Bucky watched the scene unfolding in front of him and he loved it. He loved the moment of pretendending that his girlfriend’s sister is just a 19 year old. While being in relationship with Alex, Bucky and Ellie treated each other like brother and sister. He loved Ellie as his younger sister. Long time ago he was a brother too, but the world had to take her away from him on the worst way possible. And then he met Alex and through Alex, he met Ellie. Looking back he’s so thankfull on the chance that he got to meet Alex. Because without her. He knew that he couldn’t survive in this world.

Alex looked at Ellie and walked closer to her, making ellie to get closer so she could tell her something. “Be carefull and don’t do anything stupid. Because I know that you are going to do something like that and I cant let you do that anymore.” she looked at dina and told her, while gripping Ellie’s hands. “You keep an eye on yourself too and don’t let her do something stupid, please. I trust you.” And Dina nodded her head in ressuring way.

“Okay! Are you guys ready? I hope you are because today you’re gonna have some fun!” Jesse yelled out and Ellie and Dina took off, Kat and the three other men following them, while the gates closed, their figures dissapearing in the distance.

“well what ae you two doing here? C’mon! Get to the work. Lets go!” jesse told both to Alex and Bucky, while walking off in a diffrend direction. Alex sighed out and took Bucky’s hand in hers while slowly backing away. “Im just going to check up on Joel. See if he needs help with anything. I love you though.” She smiled at him.

“Yeah and you’re gonna let me clean the horse shit alone, right?” Bucky asked his lips hoovering over hers, enough to make her lean in his touch. “Sorry, I hate that stuff. Besides, It’s the thought that counts.” And then she ran off in a diffrend direction, leaving Bucky alone and to laugh at her antics.

Walking she tried to warm up her hands, because it was freezing outside. She regrets not taking her gloves with her and she cursed under her breath, getting finally inside house, closing the doors behind her. “I’m home!” she yelled out practically to no one, because he didn’t came back from the therapy session he had with Gail. She never actually liked Gail, considering that Eugene was her husband, that Joel had to kill. While she has no idea what was the rrason he killed him, she didn’t question it. She knew that the wound was still fresh and hurting, Alex didn’t poked her nose in places she wasn’t supposed to be.

Shrugging her jacket off and putting it on the hanger, next to the doors, she took her boots off and slipped the shoes for the house, because in the winter, the floor was impossible to walk with your bare feet.

Walking into the kitchen, she opened the fridge and took an apple, biting onto it and sat down on the couch, turning the radio that they had. Being in a city meant staying off the radio, keeping the location safe and the people in Jackson. With each day that passed, more people came in the city and the places that took the whole city weren’t enough to fit the amount of people the council let in. She knows that she shouldn’t judge those people, because once, before five years ago, she was one of them. She was one of those people who seeked out the place to stay, and so did Ellie and Joel.

She remembers the day that both of her and Ellie got introduced to the neighboor they were in, her hands shook on her sides, and her breathing grew quicker with each move she made. Ellie noticed that, and she took Alex’s hand in hers, their fingers interlinking together, making Alex to calm down from the anxiety that consumed her.

That was the day she met Bucky. The first time she saw him, she remembers how she looked at him and how he looked at her. All of thise mixed emotions inside her made her feel like she was in some kind of trance, stuck in a maze, trying to find a way out, trying to find out what was happening with her the months that she spent with him, his touches, his voice and the way that he acted torwards her. She didn’t know if she liked the attention that she got from him, or if she hated it.

She remembers the day that she got sick of the feeling butterflies exploding in her stomach and her face getting red every time he talked to her, or when he looked at her. So, she told him her feelings for him, and fuck, did it made her feel like he was going to repeat her any minute that she spoke up. The gut in her throat made her feel like she was going to bawl her eyes out, like she was going to curl into a little ball and never show up in front of him.

What she didn’t expect from him, is to pull her closer to him and to kiss her until her lungs burned. She was in sshock to the point that she pulled away from him and slapped him on the face. When she saw his face twisting in a confusion, she gasped and apologized for doing that, for even thinking about that. And then a switch flipped on inside her, and the next thing that she did, shocked both, her and Bucky. She took him by his head and kissed him with so much urgence, like she craved his lips on hers. The second that he kissed her back, its like a missing piece of a puzzle came together and made the final cut. The missing puzzle that was very much needed for a picture to be finished.

The way that he pulled er closer, feeling every part of her body under his fingertips, his lips getting red and her hands itching to feel him, to make him hers. The more they kissed, the more the room has gotten, their bodies swaying and melting with each others, making it impossible for them to break the kiss.

Snapping out from the memories, she heard the doors closing and loud footsteps, meaning that Joel was back from the session. “Well, hello, aren’t you pretty?” she teased him from the couch, her legs proping on the armrest on the couch and her grin so wide, it hurt her cheeks. “Take your feet of the armrest.” Joel walked over to her and moved her legs from the couch, making her to huff and sit up straight, biting on the apple and then offering the half of it to Joel with a little wink. “These apples man, I swear to god, they are so good, like how do they have apples in the middle of the winter? I wonder how did they got them-”

“For a twenty-three year old, you sure talk a lot.” Then he looked at her and the apple, and he took it from her arms bkting onto the apple, making Alex to laugh and she leaned on his shoulders. “What can I say man. I learned from the best.” She looked at him when she told “from the best” and he rolled his eyes, a small smile appearing on his face. He ruffled her hair and then kissed her hairline, he asked her, his voice teasing and little firm. “How was your day? Did anything stupid yet? Or you just sneaked that little fucker in your room, again?” he looked at hagainis eyes burning a hole in her head and she groaned, hitting him on the shoulder. “Oh fuck you. You know just because people here like to snoop around and make stupid arguments, doesn’t mean that I’m the one who’s the bad guy in here. It's not my fault, my hand tends to accidentally fly out and hit someone square in the face.” She spoke up, grumbling and her voice growing annoyed every time she spoke about the people who liked to snoop around.

“And for your concern, he is my boyfriend and I. an bring him here any time that I want to.” Alex spoke up, her head so high, Joel thought that she was going to fly out if she raises her head one more time. “And this is my house. If you want to bring him around, do it when it’s a day time, not when there is dark outside.” He bit on the apple and spoke up, his mouth full “I want him on a dinner, tomorrow night. To meet him properly, as my daguhter’s boyfriend.”

“Wha- why? You know Bucky for as long as we are here. Five years Joel.” Alex told him and Joel nodded his head and spoke up quetly. “That doesn’t change the fact that I want to meet him properly this time. He’s the one who’s dating you, not someone else. I want to make sure that both of my daguhter’s have a good life, even if it meant that I’m the one who is going to annoy your head off.”

When Alex heard what he said, her eyes softened up and she spoke up, her voice calm and quiet. “Okay, I guess. I’ll invite him over, but you have to promkse me that you’re not going to scare him off. He respects you to the point he’s scared of you.” She pointed her finger at him, her voice growing even more softer. “And I love him. So just, please be who you are, but please don’t fuck this up.” Joel could see the softness in his eyes. He could regnocize himself in her position, because he was in love too. Tess, she was the one he looked up to, the one he really could say that he loved more than a friend. The day that she died, when she forced him to go away and to save Alex and Ellie, was the day that another part of him died. To this day, he keeps the picture of him, Tommy and Tess in his box, hidden away from everyone.

Joel nodded his head. “I won’t. Scout’s honor.” He crossed his fingers on his heart and Alex laughed. Oh how much he missed that sound, he missed the old times, when him, Alex and Ellie used to gather on the couch and have movie nights until one of the girls fell asleep. He missed the times when he could talk to both of the girls and nothing could euin the banter between them. He knew that Ellie and Alex fixed their problem with each other, and believe him, he’s glad that there is not akward tension between two sisters, but god, does he wishes that the things between him and Ellie are normal again. He constantly wishes for the time when he could get close to her and bother her with no problem, cracking dad jokes and make her life living a hell, teasing both, her and Alex about their crushes they had.

His thought were interrupted by the doors opening and closing. He knew those footsteps. He regnocized the soft footsteps, the ones that were so quiet, only he could hear them from a mile away. “I’m back.” And Alex stood up, not before squeezing Joel’s hand and taking the apple from him, throwing it in the trash. He looked at her offendedly and she told him, her voice obvious and clear. “You ate the apple. Shit, you devoured that poor thing.” And then she walked off to Ellie’s direction, his eyes softening at sight in front of him. The two sisters, one older, who was trying to have a normal talk with her younger sister, who was throwing jabs at her, teasing her about her boyfriend and joking around, while the other jesu groaned and shoved the younger one. A smile appeared on his face, and then Ellie looked at him and just nod her head, with a little smile. And Joel swears, his heart never wanted to jump out from his chest. He never wanted to jump from the couch and to yell on the top of his lungs that, Ellie just smiled at him, even if it was one small smile.

“What’s for dinner? You did something edible or do we have to beg Maria again for the pizza?” Ellie teased Alex, and she furrowed her eyebrows. “That’s the first thing you say to your older sister? Not even a ‘hi, how are you?’ or ‘oh, hey I love that you’re my older sister, I literally love you so much?’, nothing?” and Ellie laughed, bumping her shoulder against Alex’s, deciding to sit on the couch. Next to Joel. Yeah. She knows, a big fucking step, but she cant help but crave his presence, or the way that the things used to be before. And Joel? Yeah, hes fuckin panicking. Sweat on his face and his hands shaking, he was the one who spoke up first. “Hey kiddo. How was uh- your day? I mean, yeah um- how was your day?”

Alex stood there, grinning and her hands fiddgeting with each other, so she decided to go in the kitchen, to set up the plates for the dinner, she had made, hours ago. She couldn’t help but to eavesdrop the conversation between them.

“I’m good, yeah. Uh how are you? Anything new while I was gone?” Ellie asked, her voice shaking with each word she spoke. “Yeah, yeah, im good thanks and no, nothing new, besides the fact that uh- Alex’s boyfriend iako coming on uh- dinner tomorrow night. And if you want, you can bring Dina too, so we can have um dinner family.” Joel talked, but his voice gave him out, making Alex to laugh quetly in the kitchen, placing the plates down on the table.

Joel just glared at her, while Ellie stiffled a laugh before speaking. “yeah sure, why not.” She got up from the couch and stood in front of Joel, her hand pointing to the table. “well, dinner’s ready and I don’t know for you, but im fucking starving, so, wanna join us?”

Joel nodded his head and he got up from the couch and walked over to the table, where dinner was served. And just as he was about to sit down, Alex clicked her tongue and pointed to the sink. “Nuh-uh, wash your damn hands first, then sit down.” She mentioned to both, Ellie and Joel.

Sighing, the girl and the man stood up and washed their hands, drying them on the little towel they had next to sink. Sitting down, they sighed out and ellie whistled out. “Oh hell yeah, cheff Boyardee, ravioli, my favourite.” And Joel smiled, remembering the first time the girls tried the canned food. It’s like it was yesterday, when they took the food from Bill's and Frank’s place, God bless their souls and let them rest in peace.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up and eat, dumbass.” Alex told her and the girls began with eating, while Joel watched them, his heart feeling full and he prayed to the heavens above, to have remember this forever.

“You don’t like it? Oh come on man! I tried okay? Its just the fucking stove-” and Joel interrupted Alex, nodding his head at the meal in front of him, his fork picking up the ravioli on it. “No, it’s good. Thank you for changing me for once.”

“On the second thought, this is disgusting.” Ellie spoke up, while still eating the dinner. Alex scoffed and took the plate from Ellie, maki g her to protest. “Hey! I wasn’t finished eating your horrible dinner!” and that was the straw that the playful fight between two sisters began.

Joel watched, eating his dinner and hoped for the best. He didn’t wanted angry Alex in the morning, or hungry Ellie, complaining over small things. Even though, that didn’t sound like a bad idea. Having his two baby girls next to him, even if it meant testing each others paitence, made him smile like fool he was.

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