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[Ellie knows. She knows, but still musters up the strength to start walking towards him, still shaking her head, still in disbelief herself. They heard Tess die. Saw her body. Seeing her alive shook Ellie to her very core. Riley, Tess--all these ghosts coming back, but this one was Joel's.]

She was at the convenience store. She--she didn't stick around, but it was her. I swear.

[ Ellie starting to approach him, continuing to talk about this--this thing that had scared the shit out of her, is what snaps him out of it.

Suddenly, his jaw tightens, his lips grow thin and pinched together, his expression hardens. They've never talked about Tess since they'd arrived here in Heropa and it was supposed to stay that way. ]

What have I told you before? You don't bring up Tess. Ever.

[ Really, he still isn't really hearing what she's saying. He just wants to shut Ellie right down, right now. Wants her to stop talking shit. ]

[There it is. She knew he'd be pissed, knew he would have a negative reaction. Joel doesn't do thins like this. He doesn't deal with things like Ellie would, or wants to, but she can't just not tell him.]

Joel, listen to me. Tess is here.

[ No. No, he's not going to listen to her. Why the hell should he listen to her? ]

What. Did. I. Just. Say.

I heard you! But you're not hearing me. Come on. [She had been so rattled she thought she was going to faint. Or puke. Or both.]

We gotta do something, Joel.

I am not [ he points with a stab of his finger down at nothing in particular on the floor, like he's punctuating a point that she better damn well listen to ] gonna listen to you talk bullshit like this.

What? Why the hell would I be making this up? [That he could think, even in this state, that she'd screw around like that hurts.]

[ Joel normally knows Ellie wouldn't make shit up, especially shit like this. But this has to be made up, as far as Joel is concerned, because acknowledging that she isn't making it up means he's going to have to confront something he is in no way prepared to confront. ]

I wouldn't have a goddamn clue but it is going to stop.

[ More angry pointing!! He's getting madder by the second. ]

Joel! [Like raising her voice will help, but she's frazzled and doesn't know what to do. She needs him to give her some sort of guidance because she's not prepared to deal with Tess. It was her fault she died. Her fault he lost his partner. She hardly knew Tess but her death left a mark. Her being alive is digging one, too.]

Stop. Just stop for a second.

[ This is already starting to get nasty. With Ellie raising her voice at him, telling him to stop as though he's the one being unreasonable here (and he's not, as far as he's concerned), he takes a looming step in towards her, pointing angrily right at her this time. ]

I am warning you--

[ He doesn't shout this but his voice has taken on a very dangerous edge. ]

[Ellie's eyes widen. No, no way.]

Or what? Are you gonna hit me? Fucking do it, but that doesn't change that Tess. Is. Here. She's alive and I know it's out of nowhere but you're not making this easier for yourself!

[ Joel's face twists into bewildered, shocked outrage. Hit her? What in the goddamned hell makes Ellie think he'd ever do that? ]

Ellie--

[ He drops his hand away and takes a step back. He's completely forgotten Lucy is at his feet: he startles as he accidentally tramples on her paw, causing her to let out a pained shrieking yelp. A muttered, "Jesus," escapes him as he quickly sidesteps, looking down just in time to see Lucy scampering off in fright. He'll check on her in a minute. He's sure she'll be fine.

He sets his attention back on Ellie. He still can't believe Ellie suggested he'd hit her. Her saying that has cut him somewhere deep, and it shows with the way he takes a slow half-step back from her. He swallows, hard. ]

I would... never--

[ He can't bring himself to finish the sentence. ]

[She'd been holding her breath, half expecting him to deck her in his frenzied denial of Tess' existence. Lucy's yelp makes her jump and she stops herself from running off to check on the dog, even though she'd much rather her company than Joel's right now.]

That's what I said. [She would never bring up Tess like this if she didn't have to.]

[ There are a lot of things Ellie could say to him that he'd make roll off his back. Sure, he'd get moody about it, maybe brood for a bit, but he'd then pretend it had never happened and gruffly keep going. But there are some things Ellie could say to him that would cut deeper than a knife, and her thinking he'd ever hit her is one of them.

Despite how furious he'd been a moment ago with all this talk of Tess, he's honestly speechless. A long, sharp silence lingers in the air between Ellie and himself.

What if, a voice dares to speak up in the back of his mind, she's telling the truth about Tess? Oh, but Jesus, he can't handle that. He cannot handle that. He starts turning away from Ellie like he's about to walk off, but then lingers listlessly on the spot, a hand coming up to run anxiously over his beard. Like he's honestly possibly starting to consider that she's telling the truth. Joel has always been a man who says a lot more in the things he doesn't say. ]

I don't lie to you. You know that, Joel. [It's easier to focus on him than actually think about Tess.] Look, I get it, it's--I get it. But you have to believe me or else it means I've totally lost my fucking mind.

[Always a possibility.]

[ Joel throws a hesitant and uncertain side glance at Ellie. At this rate, he'd rather believe Ellie had lost her mind than believe she's telling the truth. Thing is, he knows Ellie; he knows she doesn't lie, not about things like this. He knows Ellie wouldn't make this up, as much as he wants to convince himself that she has.

Oh, shit. Shit. He starts pacing a few steps away from Ellie, slow and aimless and tense. Her accusation is still ringing through his head, too, sharp and stinging. It hurts enough that he almost can't bring himself to look at her.

But he does: he turns to face her again, though can't quite meet her eyes just yet. The hand that had been rubbing over his beard is now gesturing out at Ellie, level and commanding, like he wants her to listen to him. ]

Look-- maybe it was just... just someone who looks like Tess, alright? You're probably gettin' it mixed up with someone else.

It was her. I... I wish it was someone else. [A terrible thing to say, but look at him--he's a mess.] I know what I saw.

Look, you only knew her for a few hours! [ As opposed to him; he'd known Tess for near on ten fucking years. He's snapping at Ellie, almost yelling again. He really cannot handle this, and he's grasping at anything now to try to disprove what she saw. ] How in the hell can you be so goddamn sure?

[She'd just been about to put a hand on his back, let him know that she wasn't upset with him (or afraid of him), but that rush of anger again makes her drop her arm and take a step back.

And doesn't say anything, because maybe she's wrong. That's a possibility, isn't it?]

[ Christ, he hopes she's wrong. Just the mere thought of seeing Tess, alive and in the flesh, when the very last time he saw her had been lying sprawled on the Capitol building floor in a pool of her own blood--

The thought of it, the simmering panic that Ellie might be right, honestly makes him feel sick. Stepping across to the couch, he clutches the back of it in his hand and sinks down onto the arm of the chair, just staring down at the floor. His hand comes up, the back of his fingers absently pressing against his lips as though he's physically trying to hold back his panic. Or maybe the urge to vomit as it sinks in more and more that Ellie really could be right. ]

[She can't say she doesn't know and she can't say she knows how he feels. He won't have it.

Hesitantly, she approaches him, and this time tries to put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

As always, she's there.]

[ Joel feels Ellie's hand settling on his shoulder but he doesn't really acknowledge it. Lifting his hand from where they're still pressed against his lips, he runs it through his hair, head bowing low for a moment. There's a very obvious tension in his shoulders, coiled up tight.

He brings his hand down to rub his face, fingers rubbing against his eyes. Fuck. ]

Look, just-- Just check on Lucy a minute.

[ Seems such a stupid and trivial request considering everything that's just happened. Perhaps it's Joel just needing some space to think this over. Perhaps it's another angled attempt at trying to deny all of this. Could also be both. ]

A minute. [She'll count to sixty. Ellie lingers for a moment, both eager to get away and also not wanting to leave him alone.] I'll be back.

[ Without looking at her, Joel just waves her away. He needs space, goddamn it.

About thirty seconds later, he's pushing himself up from the arm of the couch and is heading for the bathroom. Not to be sick, just to go somewhere where Ellie likely won't follow him. The sound of the bathroom door shutting tight resounds down the hall. ]

[Lucy is fine, greeting Ellie with a wagging tail and bright eyes when she finds her in the bedroom. All her paws are accounted for, and she rubs her snout as she hears Joel escape into the bathroom.

God, he knows how to make her worry about him. But she knows how he is, knows that he needs space, even if that's the last thing she needs right now.]

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