You walk back to your little campsite from the creek, canteens refilled and ready to go. Finding Tommy sitting on a boulder, his rifle beside him propped against the rock and staring off at the horizon.
“Tommy, what’re you doing?” You pat his shoulder pulling him out of his daydream
He shook his head and smiled at you “I was thinking, who says I have to be Tommy anymore?” He tilted his head as he watched you put the water in your bags and rustled around trying to find something.
You stand up and look at him confused “What do ya mean? Who else would you be?”
“Ten thousand” he grinned
“Ten thousand?” You repeated, still not understanding what he was getting at.
“Well, I was thinking” you poked his arm with a granola bar “Well that’s never good” you said making him give you an unamused look making you laugh
He took from bar from you and unwrapped it “that’s how many Z’s I’m gonna kill. You know that, so that’s who I’ll be, Ten thousand” he continued
“Hmm,” you said with a mouth full "Alrighty Tommy-I mean Ten thousand,“ you nodded at him making sure that’s what he meant "but,” you pointed to him and poked his chest with your index finger “who will you be after you reach your z goal?”
Tommy sat back against his rock, eating silently and in deep thought. When he finished and stood up, slinging his gun over his shoulder and taking one of your backpacks.
“Jeff, that’s who I’ll be” he smiled happily and offered you a hand to pull you up and started walking down the dirt path
You picked up your pack and machete, quickly matching his pace “Jeff? And why be Jeff then, instead of twenty thousand, or y’know, plain ol’ lovable Tommy”
He shrugged and entwined his fingers with yours “I like the name Jeff, don’t you?”
You shook your head laughing at him “Whatever you say, whatever your name is”
Tommy gave a mock offended look making you stifle your laughter “I’m Tomm-Ten thousand, I’m Ten thousand”
“See!” You pointed at him with your free hand “your confused who you are too!”
Tommy chuckled quietly “No, I know who I am, your just messing me up!”
You shoved your shoulder against his “oh sure blame me, eh Tommy?” you looked down the crossroad you’d walked onto but Tommy just chose a direction and kept walking “Where’re we going anyway?” You asked looking up at him (the boys a damn tree)
“Wherever we end up I guess” Tommy smiled at you, as long as you were together it didn’t really matter to him where you ended up.