Sera’s eyes slowly opened, seeing Betty’s ceiling above her, the spider webbed lights above giving off a warm glow. She appeared to be on the floor of the living room, wrapped up in several dozen blankets. She sat up, wincing as she felt a tightness in her back. She reached her hand around, gently prodding to see that she had been bandaged. It seemed that Joe had managed to patch her up while she was unconscious. She was even wearing one of his shirts too…

Which meant that he saw her- no, she’d not be embarrassed by such a thing. He had done what was necessary. Her old blouse had been completely destroyed by that bastard Jareed, hopefully Joseph had stuck his head on a pike somewhere by now. She looked around the chamber, but couldn’t see him anywhere. She stood with a groan, careful not to re-open the wounds on her back. Sweat stuck the oversized shirt to her skin, and she aired it out as she approached the cockpit.

She couldn’t feel Betty moving, but she wanted to check the workshop last. She and Heiner had made a terrible mess of the place, and she didn’t want to look at what had been wrought upon Joe’s pride and joy just yet. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in there, nor in the kitchen. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she slowly opened the door leading to the workshop, seeing Joe working away at his table with a hammer.

He was slick with sweat and cursing like a sailor as he hammered flat a piece of punctured metal, apparently a drawer from his toolbox. She hadn’t seen him shirtless before like this, but for this kind of work she understood. He seemed absolutely absorbed by his repairs, not noticing that she’d opened the door. For some reason she found it hard to break the silence, perhaps it was the guilt for the damage she’d caused?

It was a mess in here, a mop sat in a bucket off to the left, no doubt having been used to clean up the water Sera summoned. His toolbox lay on its back, the tools within having been laid out so he could more easily pull out the drawers. The ‘welder’ as he called it sat next to his table as well, and the scent of sweat along with hot metal made itself quickly known. There were other bits of damage here and there… but eventually she found himself focusing just on the muscles in his scarred back.

It took an embarrassingly long time for her to look away. What was wrong with her? Such thoughts were inappropriate… right? It was a struggle to get her mind out of the gutter, but when she did she finally broke the silence.

“Joseph?” She asked.

He ceased his work and turned in his stool to look at her, “Ah, yer awake.” He said, “I killed them two guys by the way.”

It was an effort to keep her eyes above neck level, “Ah… well I suppose it couldn’t be helped, Heiner was too dangerous to leave alive and Jareed seemed to be the one who orchestrated that attack.”

Joe nodded, his eyes conveying satisfaction, “I don’t gotta deal with him again, and neither does anybody else. Good folk always get hurt by guys like that.”

She found her hands wringing the bottom of her shirt, attempting to pull them beneath her knees subconsciously. Joe looked down at this fidgeting and she froze at feeling his eyes on her legs.

“Sorry, I’ll getcha some pants, it's probably cold.” He continued, looking back up at her, his eyes conveying no desire whatsoever.

…Why did that disappoint her?

“It’s alright, do not worry.” She told him, “I owe you my life, you saved me from Jareed.”

For some reason, Joseph laughed, his eyes showing genuine amusement, “You saved me from gettin’ worn like a skinsuit! We’re even so don’t worry ‘bout it.”

“Of course.” She said with a smile, “Would you accompany me? I wish to talk a while, somewhere a tad less… musky.”

Joe’s brows knit together for a moment, before he unashamedly lifted his arm, giving his armpit a sniff. Sera grimaced at the sight, and Joe himself seemed repulsed by his own scent, coughing slightly before he stood from his stool. Popping his back before casually walking toward her. Sera remained motionless in the doorway as he approached, still not moving even when he came to stand in front of her.

He loomed over her, his eyes showing curiosity. “Uh, scuse me? Gonna go take a shower.”

Her heart seemed to pound in her ears as she looked up into those gray eyes, and a sudden urge nearly forced her to wrap her arms around his shoulders and- She broke eye contact, covering her reddening face with her hands.

“Are you crying?” He asked, concerned, “It’s alright now, bad guys are gone.”

“I-I’m not!” She stammered, “I’m stunned by your odor.”

“Well move then.” He told her, irritated, “Can’t get the stink off if you keep standing there.”

“It doesn’t matter how many times you shower,” She said with a hearty laugh, “You are-”

Joseph’s wide hands then grabbed her by the sides, and he lifted her up off the ground, setting her aside before passing through the doorway, “Quit being a weirdo.” He muttered as he rushed toward the bathroom, leaving her standing there, stunned.

Sera gripped her shoulders, leaning against the wall as her heart threatened to burst from her chest. An irritating desire to be picked up once more welled within her, and she covered her face despite no one being there to see her embarrassment. When Joe passed into the bathroom and closed the door, she let out a long sigh, sliding down to the carpet and placing her cheeks in her palms.

This could not be happening… she was just suffering the effects of blood loss, that was why her heart had been beating so fast. She shouldn't have stood up so quickly from her makeshift blanket roll. Who was she kidding? Clearly this was something else, something she’d not felt before. The thought made her grimace, and her head hung as she accepted reality.

Joseph was intelligent, thoughtful, handsome albeit in a brutish way, kind but not to a fault… was she actually, for the first time in her life, really falling for somebody? She had met men that she had found attractive in her time, but she’d never pursued anything with them before, she had not wanted to, knowing that her travels through the Fog-Gates would see them left behind forever. She had not wanted to deal with abandoning someone she had fallen in love with, so she’d kept them at arm's reach, keeping them as good friends but nothing more.

With Joseph, it was different. If they traveled together, she’d not be leaving him behind, but rather accompanying him into the Shards beyond this one. A lifelong adventure… Sera had so much fun talking with him, much more than anyone else she’d ever known. He was both an earnest student and wise teacher, with every conversation imparting new knowledge unto each of them. These two months they’d spent together had been the most interesting time of her life. She supposed this newfound adoration hadn’t started this way, these things never did. It happened slowly, growing from mild attraction to something much more.

She smiled, fully accepting that she had fallen in love with Joseph Haythorn. A part of her screamed that it was ridiculous, that they had only known one another for a short time. She acknowledged that logic, but it didn’t change how she felt… the problem however, was that she didn’t think these feelings would be reciprocated. Joseph seemed to be numb to that sort of thing. He never looked at any woman that way during the time she’d known him, not even the scantily clad tavern harlots in Letsher. He, as a man, didn’t care for physical appeal.

Reading his eyes earlier had confirmed it, he didn’t see her in that way. Physical attraction was the gateway to courtship was it not? Perhaps it was due to his de-aging? He was used to being an old man with no sex drive after all, but now that he was young again those dormant feelings should have re-awakened. Maybe they needed a catalyst to activate?

It was hard to say… but this could also have something to do with his past. Maybe a lover had been killed or enslaved by bandits back on Earth? That would explain his hatred for them, and his lack of interest in the opposite sex. Maybe he would be more willing to open up about his past now? It had been a while since last she asked him about it, and they now had a very solid rapport.

She’d wait for him to get out of the shower, then ask him again the reason for his hatred. If he opened up and needed a shoulder to cry on, she’d be there. She hummed happily as she awaited him to finish his shower. Of all the men to pick, it just had to be an Outworlder… She briefly wondered as to what it was he was doing in there? She could no longer hear the shower running, but he was still within the bathroom. Had he fallen down by mistake!?

…

…

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

…

Joseph blew a massive booger out of his nose, black with dirt. His poor sink had seen many a booger like this in its time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. He rinsed it down the drain, never to be seen again. Once his nose was clear, he stepped out of the bathroom, clad in his manly polka-dotted pj’s. Sera stood just outside the door, her hand having been reaching for the doorknob.

He stared, “What the hell were-”

Sera shook her head, “I thought you fell down! You were in there for so long.” She interrupted quickly.

“Maybe ya should go lay back down, yer shaking.” He told her.

Poor girl’s knees were shaking and her cheeks were a bright red. Clearly she wasn’t ready to be walking around on her own.

“I can put ya back in there if you want.” Joe told her, “You don’t look so good.”

“Well… if you’re offering.” She said, twirling a finger through her hair.

Boy, she sure must be embarrassed, having to get put to bed. She was usually more strong willed than this. He’d have expected her to insist that she could remain standing, or that she could do it herself. Joe shrugged, she’s a friend in need, what else was there to do? He scooped her up gently, and moved over to the blanket nest he’d created for her. She then sighed and rested her head against his chest, her breathing becoming shaky.

Poor thing, he had some ibuprofen if she was getting a fever. Hmm, that might not be a good idea, the effects of modern medicine on elf biology was a total unknown. Maybe he could cook up some chicken noodle soup instead? He set Sera down in the blankets, eliciting yet another sigh from her.

“You feeling feverish?” He asked her, “Ya ain’t actin’ right.”

Sera shook her head, “No I am quite alright, thank you. Would you sit down with me?”

Joe shrugged, “Sure, whaddya wanna talk about?”

She took a deep breath, and looked him in the eyes. Ah right, she could see emotion with direct eye contact, what was it she was gonna ask him?

“You do not have to answer this if you wish… but I have been curious about this for a long while. I do not blame you for hating bandits and their ilk, but you take it to a new level. I was wondering, what did they do to you?”

Joe’s breathing became shaky, and he looked away from Sera, not wanting her to see what he felt… but it was too late. She gasped, both hands covering her mouth… he’d been too late in looking away. Should he tell her…? There wasn’t really any harm to it, but re-living those memories would put him in a dark mood. Still, he felt it was okay to share this with her. Sera was a friend.

“Well, I’ll start by telllin’ ya that they killed or stole everyone I ever loved.” He said, trying to keep his voice level.

He could still change the subject now, he didn’t have to go back to those times, but despite the thought he said, “My big brother survived The End, and we had met each other on the road by chance after that first week. I had thought he was dead, seein’ him alive after all that was a ray of sunshine. Ricky was his name, he helped me think about how to build Betty and the things we’d need to build her.” He paused, “She was halfway done when he got shot up by a bandit. There was nothing I could do to save him, and he didn’t want to die slowly… so he asked me to kill him. I did, and I made the bastard that shot him pay.”

“Joseph… I’m so sorry.” Sera said, placing a hand on his shoulder, “You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to.”

He opened his mouth to confirm that he’d like to change the subject, but the words that spilled out instead were, “My buddy William worked with me in the same mechanics shop when The End happened. I thought he died but I found him shortly after I found Ricky, he was always better than I was with a wrench… Me n’ him went out scavving after Ricky died, and we ended up getting separated by a mob of zombies. I didn’t know if he was alive or dead, and I didn’t find out until a year later that he’d been enslaved by a local bandit clan.” He explained, fists clenching on his lap, “He wasn’t even lucid when I broke him out, he didn’t know who I was. I tried to treat him, get him back on his feet, but when I got back to our base… I found him hanging, he’d been reanimated at some point too.” He continued, his eyes widening as the scene replayed itself, “His body was still swinging, Will was still kicking around as if he didn’t die… and I thought that-” He gulped, “I-I thought that he had just kicked the chair, so I ran over to try and lift him up out of the rope, but he kicked me in the face and I got knocked out. When I woke up, the rope had worn the skin around his neck to the bone.” Joe finished, “I killed him properly after that.”

“Joseph…” Sera whispered, scooting closer to him.

“After Ricky n’ William died, I was on my own for a bit, but then I found a group of other survivors, three people, Lamar, Jen, and Boris.” Joe continued against his will, “Things were going well, they were good folk and they helped me finish building Betty. We drove her around for a long time, lived pretty well for the circumstances.” He laughed bitterly, “We found a slaver camp we wanted to raid and we got overconfident. Betty didn't have her lasers then, so after we broke through their walls we had to resort to running them all down. There were still survivors though, holed up where we couldn’t reach em’, so we all geared up and headed out there to finish em’ all. We did it, but we didn’t take into account that they’d have scav teams coming back. Boris died first, took a bullet to the head before we could even react, Lamar got shot right after that, followed by me.” He took a deep breath, “I got shot in the leg, n’ Jamal got gutshot… he bled out by time the slavers came by. Me n’ Jen spent a year as slaves… but poor Jen, by God, she got the worst of it. They had me doing hard labor, but Jen? They had her in their tents, every night. I still hear her screaming sometimes.”

He felt arms wrap around his shoulders, but he barely noticed, “I got lucky one night and managed to break free, not only that, I managed to get Jen free too. She wasn’t the same as she used to be, but she was on board with getting out of there. We snuck into tents, stabbing the sleepers to death and gettin’ our hands on some guns. We freed the other slaves and had a big ass prison break, in fact it was a total sweep, we killed every slaver there. Jen still wasn’t right but I think she felt a bit better after killing them guys… but before we could get back the keys to Betty, the slaves started to fight over the rations n’ other supplies left by the slavers. Jen was- She was beaten to death by the very bastards we freed. Once I got back in Betty, I ran down as many of them as I could and left. I never looked back. But the worst of all, the thing I will never forgive them for… is Hannah.”

“Hannah?” Sera asked, holding him tighter.

Joe choked on the words that tried to pour from his mouth. He wasn’t ready to talk about that… not now, not ever. The corners of his vision were beginning to turn red, his wrath bubbling to the surface as he, for just a brief instant, re-lived that day. He steadied himself, silently praying to the Lord that his rage would die down. After a few moments, he felt relatively stable again.

“I didn’t mean to dump that on you.” Joe told Sera, “Sorry, I meant to stop, but I just couldn’t.”

“You’ve never talked about this before, have you?” Sera whispered, “It’s okay, I think it’s good to get these sorts of things off your chest. Sharing these stories lessens the weight they hold on your heart.”

“Yer a good pal.” Joe replied, ruffling her hair, “I appreciate it. Once ya get done hanging out with that jerk Gerad, we’ll need to meet up somewhere so I can pick ya up.”

Sera pulled her head out from under his hand, glaring, “I told you not to do that.” She said, though there was no heat in her voice, “But I agree… I think we should meet at Shian, after my time with Gerad is done. If time runs out before we can complete the contract, I will simply end it and wait for you there.”

“Yer wanted just like me cause of what went down in Letsher. Maybe staying in a town ain’t such a good idea?”

“If I conceal my ears and hide my hair it will be no issue. Besides… I’m not going to be wearing the same garb either, seeing as it's been ruined.” She told him with a sigh, leaning her head on his shoulder, “I suppose it's time for a new wardrobe anyhow, I’d been wearing that for ten years.”

“Where’s yer other clothes?” Joe asked, “You weren’t carrying anything on you at all when I metcha in fact.”

Sera shrugged, “I prefer to travel light, an extra pair of clothes means I have to bring a backpack.”

Joe shook his head, “Come on. You said you were a traveler, right? What kinda person just goes around with one set of clothes for a decade!?” He asked, bewildered, “How the hell didja even survive for this long? What would you do if ya ran out of food woman, didja think about that? What about shelter? If ya don’t got a tent, yer gonna die from exposure-”

“I know five spells.” Sera interrupted with a huff, “One of which creates water, so I’ll never dehydrate, the other I know is paralysis. Do you know how easy it is to hunt game when all you have to do is look at their backs to have a free meal? As for shelter, I normally would stick around the towns here in the grasslands and rent a room, I rarely ever roughed it, and money was never an issue as I could return the game I’d hunted to the townships I frequent.”

“Still ain’t no reason to not be prepared.” Joe scolded her, “At least take a backpack with you, that won’t kill ya.”

“It isn’t necessary-”

“Fine, then I won’t let you leave till you do. I’ll make ya one myself, but you ain’t goin’ out on yer own unprepared.” He told her with a huff, “Puttin’ my foot down.”

“Hah!” Sera laughed, “How funny, you really think you could stop me from leaving if I really wanted to?”

The truth was that he couldn’t, but he didn’t want a friend going out into the unknown so woefully unprepared, “Let's make a deal then.” He said, “I’ll make you some new clothes, but in exchange you gotta take one of my spare backpacks when I drop you off in Shian.”

Sera frowned, but relented, “Very well.” She said with a smile.

“Great,” Joe said, clapping his hands, “Well, no time like the present. Lemme get your measurements right quick-”

“Excellent!” She declared, releasing her hug to stand, “I will wait for you to get your measurer.”

“You can measure yerself if ya wanna, I don’t gotta do it.” Joe told her, “Don’t wanna put my hands somewhere you don’t want.”

Sera frowned, “It's fine, I cannot read that tool anyhow. You must do it yourself.” She insisted, “Or I’ll leave for Shian with just this shirt-”

“Alright!” Joe said, throwing up his hands and standing up, “Just come on.”

Why did she seem so excited by this? She must have really wanted some new clothing, not too surprising. Of course she’d want the measurements to be as exact as possible, having Joe measure her was the right choice.