"True enough. But Eli Zimmerman is a stubborn man, so good luck trying to get over that hurdle." He grinned. And he was confident enough in his boast that he wasn't worried about the possibility of Rae getting him to blush.
Living in a bubble would have its perks. He had to give her that. Nodding, he said, "It could be bad if you're claustrophobic, but I can definitely see where it would be fun to roll over zombies. As long as the bubble is made of really strong material."
Elliot could've argued that making Rae squeal like a little girl would be worth having the whole building pissed off at him. A laughing Rae — no, a giggling, squealing Rae? Was an adorable Rae. He relented, though, shrugging as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I guess I can wait until everyone's awake to get revenge."
"Sanity is definitely a good thing to keep a hold on," he agreed, still not liking the idea of Rae spending so much time out there. When her teeth tugged her bottom lip into her mouth, Elliot's eyes followed the motion and he unconsciously moistened his own lips. He flicked his gaze back to hers and smiled.
"It was a team effort," he corrected her, not wanting to take full credit for saving her life. "Your dad helped, and Aaron and Miriam and a few others. We weren't going to let you get away from us that easily."
Rae made a quip about humanity's lousy timing, and Elliot chuckled quietly. Couldn't exactly argue with that. He met and held her gaze when she accepted the reassurance. No doubt it would take some time before she was fully able to recover from the mental trauma, but this was a start. Elliot nodded at her thanks. "Whatever I can do to help, I will."
It would've been so easy to turn his head, let his lips catch the kiss that was meant for his cheek. But he didn't. Couldn't? At this point he wasn't even sure anymore. "Easy. You'd do whatever it was you did before I came along. Survive." Reclining further in his seat, Elliot propped his feet up on the back of the seat in front of him, resting his head against Rae's.