[Joel doesn't take the photo, not at first. He stares at it, eyes taking in the young man and his daughter. The smile on his face makes him unrecognizable. They both look so happy, they don't have a damn problem in the world, no need to hide and outrun clickers and runners or hunters in order to survive. Nothing. Seeing the photo for a second time has the same effect on him as it had when Tommy had pulled it out, eager for his big brother to take the rare treasure that belonged to him and only to him.
His hands remain where they are. Joel can't take it, he can barely stand to look at it and yet he sits there staring at it. At the little girl - his little girl - who stands there with that twinkle in her eye and the widest grin on her face flushed from the excitement of the win and the rush of adrenaline. It's exactly as Joel remembers that moment as it was, the memory fresh on his mind, almost like it had been yesterday.
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His hands remain where they are. Joel can't take it, he can barely stand to look at it and yet he sits there staring at it. At the little girl - his little girl - who stands there with that twinkle in her eye and the widest grin on her face flushed from the excitement of the win and the rush of adrenaline. It's exactly as Joel remembers that moment as it was, the memory fresh on his mind, almost like it had been yesterday.
A slow and measured breath.]
--Ellie.