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[vaccination]

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[vaccination]

We can get ice cream another time. Like... tomorrow, when I get off work. At the ice cream shop.

[shittybirthday]

Fine. We'll get a hotdog, then. Or a corndog. Or whatever you want.

[vaccination]

Okay, okay. Let's go with... hotdog. [Since he seems so determined to get something out here.] That good?

[shittybirthday]

Works for me.

[He just stubbornly wants to prove he's fine, that he's not weak, that he's not bothered by anything that happened to them during their year of getting to the Fireflies.

Dropping his hand away from his side, he brushes sand off his hands against his jeans.]

Had a hotdog yet?

[vaccination]

[Ellie's never seen him as weak. Not even when he was sick with fever did that ever cross her mind. He was strong for holding on, for fighting. She does realize, however, that he's older--despite all her jokes and teasing, he really isn't a spring chicken. He has to be careful. It takes him longer to recover.]

Nope. I can put ketchup on it though, right?

[She fucking loves ketchup.]

[shittybirthday]

[He turns around to look back up the beach. They're going to have to cross over the hot sand again...]

Sure can. Ever had mustard?

[vaccination]

Nuh uh. I like ranch dressing. Is it like that?

[Ugh, the sand. Ellie likes the waves, just not the burning sand.]

I'll race you back to the car for our shoes.

[shittybirthday]

No, that's like a, uh, salad dressing, I guess. Mustard is... Well, how 'bout we just find a place that sells hotdogs and you try some. Gettin' a bit old for running races, though.

[vaccination]

I'm down for that.

[Old. Yeah, it's true, but Ellie's pretty sure he can outrun most of the younger people here. She nudges him.]

Jogging is good for you.

[shittybirthday]

...Alright. [He sounds reluctant, the way he almost always does when Ellie tries to goad him into having fun.] You ready, then? Ready... set...

[He takes off before he gets to 'go'. Sarah used to hate it when he messed around like that. Or well, not hate it, but would whine about how unfair he was being. 'Daaa-aaaad', she'd usually whine, before picking up the pace, determined to beat him.]

[vaccination]

[Joel leaves Ellie standing there, in the wake of his cheating. Wow. She did not expect that, and it takes her a moment to process what just happened.]

--Joel! You're a fucking cheater, get back here!

[There's not an ounce of anger in those words. Ellie laughs and bolts after him, finding it only a little disorientating to be running with Joel while not being chased by tanks, infected, or hunters. He usually made sure she was ahead of him in those cases. Now? She's scrambling at his heels.]

[shittybirthday]

[Goddamn it, the sand is hot. And sticking to his feet from having gotten his feet wet in the water. He throws a glance over his shoulder at her outrage of him having cheated. For once, he's not looking back to check for danger or Infected or to see if he's gotta quickly double-back to grab Ellie and drag her or shove her forward to get to safety. It's just the ocean behind him, lapping lazily at the shore. Just the sun shining. Just a hot summer's day with nothing trying to hunt them down and kill them.

It's the little things like this Joel has achingly missed for twenty years.

He keeps running, eager to get the hell off the hot sand - although, he starts slowing down as he almost nears the car. Maybe he's going to let Ellie win the race.]

[vaccination]

[The feeling of sand sticking between her tones isn't particularly nice when she's trying to use her feet. Putting her socks and shoes back on is going to suck balls. Right now, none of that matters, as she's intent on catching up to Joel--which she does.]

Nononono, no slowing down! I see that!

[It just gets her to slow down, too. Maybe if it were anyone else she'd dash ahead, but with Joel, the fun is over here. Not in the winning.]

[shittybirthday]

[Joel doesn't pick speed back up. Fun is only something he can do in bursts. Small, short bursts. And only for Ellie. Not for anyone else.]

Like I said, gettin' too old for runnin' races.

[vaccination]

[With a laugh, Ellie gives him a gentle shove in the back before trotting along beside him, not wanting to leave her feet on the sand for too long.]

Jerk.

[So much affection in one word.]

[shittybirthday]

Hey, watch it, you.

[He gives her a nudge with his elbow at her calling him a jerk, glancing down at her with fondness hidden in his expression.]

[vaccination]

Or else what?

[She likes this thing they they do now, nudging.]

[shittybirthday]

Or else...

[Or else what? Still keeping his pace brisk to avoid burning his feet on the sand, he digs his hand into his pocket for his car keys.]

I'll think of something.

[vaccination]

Spooky.

[Now she'll hurry on ahead, still hopping from foot to foot.]

Man, my feet are caked in sand.

[shittybirthday]

Yeah, they usually got a shower or tap or something to wash off at beaches like these...

[Car keys securely in hand, Joel makes a hurried dash up the sandy incline that reaches the path. The cement is like standing on lava.] Ah! Goddamn it.

[He strides over towards a shaded spot and though the cement is still pretty damn hot here, it's more tolerable. He uses the vantage point to scope out for a shower or tap like he'd said. Not that either of them are strangers by any means to being filthy or covered in grim or dirt, but still.]

Oh. [A point to the left of them. It's just a tap, no shower. The cement is wet and covered in wet sand from other people who have used the tap to wash off at.] Tap there if you wanna give your feet a quick wash.

[vaccination]

[To most people, this is easy. For Ellie, she's hesitant, and a little confused. It's almost comical the way she looks at Joel, then the tap, then the car.

Hopping back and forth all the while.]

Do we take our socks and shoes there? Or come back? I don't want to get sandy again or walk on this fucking hot fire they call ground over here either!

[shittybirthday]

Uh.

[Joel likewise glances between the car and the tap. Back home, they'd both just get on with it. Not like they'd have any other choice. Having choices and luxuries like this still seems so damn foreign to him. To Ellie, too, Joel knows.]

You head on over, give your feet a wash. I'll get your socks and shoes outta the car.

[And without hesitation, he steps out from under the shade onto the sun-soaked cement and starts hurrying like he's walking over coals to the car. He steps from foot to foot quickly while keying the car door open.]

[vaccination]

Okay!

[Off Ellie goes, hopping over to the tap like some drunk kangaroo. She can't get there fast enough to turn on the tap and stick her feet under, sighing in relief at the feel of cool water against her skin and the sand being washed away.]

[shittybirthday]

[Joel is muttering under his breath. "Damn it" and "shit" and a few other quiet expletives at how hot the cement is. He kind of doesn't mind it, though. It's uncomfortable as hell, with it burning his feet, but the whole situation is so... normal, like a day at a beach that he'd have had with Sarah back before the outbreak, that he doesn't mind it. It's normal, every day things like this he's missed.

With the car door groaning open, he leans in and digs out Ellie's shoes and socks. Grabs his own, too, before walk-hobbling quick as he can towards Ellie. He leaves the car door open to let some of the heat out. Damn hot in the car.

He sets the shoes down on the ground and gratefully steps onto the wet area of sandy cement where the tap is running.]

Heh. Reckon we'll bring flip-flops to the beach next time.

[vaccination]

[Joel walking like a weird crab makes Ellie laugh under her breath. Sitting on the nearby ledge, she reaches for her socks and uses the outside of them to scrub some remaining sand off her toes. She can't wait to shower properly.]

Maybe just keep 'em in the car if we're going to be spontaneous like this.