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astroellies · 2 months ago

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modern!ellie dating app au. for a little monthly au challenge i've tasked myself with. a most awkward first date. fluff. 2.1k words.

you matched with ellie! your eyes widen at the pop-up on your screen. could that be real? some sick, twisted glitch on the app’s end? ellie is—by no exaggeration—the cutest person you've seen on this godforsaken app since you downloaded it. sure, that’s not exactly a bragging right, but it’s true. she stands out like a diamond in a sea of grit and mediocre matchmaking.

so what do you do? of course, you don’t send a message. it’s not like there’s other options, that’s not the lesbian way.

the rest of the day wanes, and your mind drifts to other matters. only occasionally do your thoughts flicker back to ellie’s profile, just sitting there in waiting—her silly question responses, the obligatory guitar photo, how her sage-green eyes must appear even brighter, prettier in person. oh, that’s no good. you need to stifle your expectations. calm down, you remind yourself. it’s just an app. just a pretty girl on an app. only later, when you slither into bed clad in your coziest socks under dimmed lights, you’re struck with the unforeseen. your phone buzzes, and damn near flies out of your hand when you see the culprit notification. Ellie: Hey :)

oh god oh god oh god. it’s 11 pm. too early for a booty call. or is it? hell, would you even say no to one? not with her, hell no. your fingers tremble as you mull over the best response to send back—something to capture the attention of this hot girl who defied all odds and sent the first message. You: Hi :) great. just perfect. now you look like an idiot. you huff to yourself, running a clammy palm over your face, immediately swiping to another app in a desperate bid to forget that interaction exists. maybe 5 minutes pass. Ellie: What’s up tonight? Ellie: Sorry if that’s dry, I’m new to this dating app thing you smile ear-to-ear at the follow-up. it humanizes her—this gorgeous person who’s looking at the same screen as you, right this second. she’s real, and seems to care just as you do about saying the right thing. you don’t want to muck this up, already putting too much weight into this handful of words. You: Not much, just reading before bed. You? You: And that’s okay, you’re doing fine :) maybe 30 seconds pass this time. Ellie: Oh good Ellie: And just scrolling on my phone. I swear I’m usually more exciting lol Ellie: What are u reading? You: it’s this weird sci-fi fantasy thing. like space politics and robot humanoid thingies lol You: not sure if that makes sense Ellie: No it does! That sounds sick actually

Ellie: I love sci-fi, give me weird and spacey anyday you grin, already kicking your feet a little under the blanket. she gets it. she sees you. You: real!! so you do read it too? or are you trying to impress me? lol You: either is fine you tack on the quip at the end, worried you sounded hard-to-get. you don’t want to seem uninterested at all. you pull the blanket up over your mouth, as if shrouding yourself from the anticipation. Ellie: No I do Ellie: But i’d say i’m also trying to impress you a little. Is that a crime 🤨 now you’re really giggling, your embarrassingly fluttery fingers trying to type faster than your racing thoughts can keep up.

You: not at all. it’s working 🤭 Ellie: Good :) wanna get coffee sometime? We can exchange weird spacey sci-fi books You: I’d like that :) —---------------------- saturday at 1. saturday at 1 at northrise cafe.

the plan becomes etched into your brain. you’re on edge, unsure how to approach this new development. coffee is casual, right? you’re caught wondering if your giddiness suggests that you’re incapable of being casual about anything at all. let alone this cutie in your messages.

you’re on your laptop, browsing, trying to check off the last few tasks of the day when a new ping zaps through your synapses. instinctively, you reach for your phone.

@/els.williams liked your photo.

on instagram? you hadn’t even exchanged instagrams yet. what a little sleuth ellie is.

you don’t say anything—just pleased at her curiosity. you toss a like back, letting ellie know she hadn’t been slick.

you rake your profile, for a brief panic over the viewability of your posts. but you’re relieved when ellie plays it off, naturally, by spamming a few more of your posts in retaliation, leaning into the bit. she must not hate it.

you follow suit, liking her few posts in return. they’re pretty vague, just a few photo dumps of someone trying not to look too online. almost none of her face; only piquing your curiosity more. this starts a little back-and-forth rhythm building between you.

maybe-just maybe-she is just as eager as you.

—------------

you stare at the locked doors of northrise cafe at 12:51 p.m on what’s turned out to be a balmy saturday afternoon.

closed at 12? what the fuck? that place’ll be out of business by summer with hours like that.

your fingers scramble across the screen, firing off a message before you both end up awkwardly standing here, side by side, locked out and confused like morons who didn’t triple check the business hours. You: um change of plan You: the cafe is closed. wtf no answer. your foot taps the pavement and you look around. why isn’t she answering? your eyes stay glued to the screen. hoping, waiting, praying that the message bubbles appear. all hope seems lost at 12:57 pm. “uh. hi?” your internal panic is interrupted, looking behind you. you weren’t ready for this up close—she’s gorgeous. lips pinkened, cheeks rosey but still full of freckles, and yep, green of her eyes brighter in person. her hair, pulled back in a loose bun with some strands lining her face, sheens in the light, more reddish than brown now. she was wearing an black leather jacket, old, worn, fitting loosely on her. the looseness of the jacket complemented her skinny jeans. she did casual so well. and the way she smiled—something seraphic, inviting, in spite of the awkward situation that had arose.

you try not to trip over your own tongue, stumble over your words. “hello! hi. the cafe is closed. i tried to text you. umm…” you glance between her and the barrier that uprooted your plan. ellie steps closer, scanning the storefront, assessing the situation. her brow lifts slightly in disbelief before she presses her tongue to her bottom lip, thinking.

“i know it’s not ideal… but my place is just two blocks over,” she says, trying to stay lighthearted but careful, considerate. “....i promise i’m not a murderer.”

-------

ellie’s place is... characterized by your average early-20s space, barren in some corners, likely missing a few key essentials, but elevated by a more eccentric, nerdy memorabilia collection. it’s a cozy clutter.

not that you’re focused on that. you’re preoccupied with the fact that you’re in this one-of-a-kind cutie’s space after having only just met face-to-face. is this an absolute nightmare for the safety-conscious? mayhaps. but you trust her word about not being a murderer, willingly entering the potential lion’s den, convinced by a single glance into those soft, round, forest-colored eyes. you’ve settled on her patched-together loveseat, waiting for her return. it feels like every muscle in your body is dedicated to trying to seem casual. do you have any clue if it’s working? definitely not. “ta daa…” ellie rounds the armrest, carrying a plate teeming with whatever cheese, crackers, and olives she could scrounge together from her kitchenette. “it’s no cafe... but, uh, i think i did alright..”

she places a hard seltzer in your hand, catching you slightly off-guard. a questioning look flickers across her face as your fingers wrap around the can—an unspoken ask if you’re okay with this absolutely bastardized smorgasbord of treats.

it’s so funny, you can’t help but titter, peeling open the tab and tasting that first sip. ellie’s shoulders slump in relief as she situates the entree on the coffee table, her free hand reaching for the remote.

“i guess..there’s something special about sharing a charcuterie board and seltzer on the first meeting with a not-murderer,” you say, reaching out to clang your cans together.

she snorts at that, the sound short and unexpected, like she hadn’t meant to laugh but couldn’t stop it. she gently knocks her can against yours, the corner of her mouth twitching up. her knees subconsciously mirror the gesture, brushing against yours on the semi-cramped seat.

there’s a comfortable sliver of silence. maybe you’re both actively deciding which topic is best to redirect the afternoon. your eyes drift to her knickknacks—you start examining them more closely, hoping to jog ellie’s memory, silently nudging her to show off a little.

luckily, she catches on. she swallows the last of her cracker and rises, pointing toward the bookshelf brimming with comics.

”oh, right- i can show you i meant it- the sci-fi nerd, thing..hopefully you find it as cool in person,” she musters up with a sheepish grin, gesturing you over. you follow, a collected smirk on your face to try and reassure her. you did think it was cool, in a dorky way. a dork you’d hope to have the courage to kiss senseless if the opportunity arose for sure.

ellie traces the spines of her collection, introducing her volumes of comic books in a sort of impromptu show-and-tell. the more receptive you are, the more enthusiastic she gets—an excited aura radiating off her as she spouts off details, trivia, favorite arcs. you’re enamored with her nerding out. it’s endearing, disarming. it proves her humanness in a way that makes you fall further, faster.

the shelf is just the beginning, she shows off her trinkets littered all over, giving you a proper feel for her lived space and by proxy- ellie herself.

ellie suddenly looks taken aback. she scratches the back of her neck, slightly embarrassed, like she realized something was missing.

“it’s a bit..quiet? would you mind if i put on some music?”

eventually, ellie nabs a playlist, deciding it’d be nice. without a speaker, the sound quietly emits from her phone, a blend of alt-rock and dusty classics older than either of you. you sway a little in approval. it’s a small thing, but it sweetens the growing ease between you.

“anyway, don’t let me do all the talking. what are your favorites?” ellie puts the spotlight on you, and you return to the tightly-fit love seat, ellie tucking one leg underneath her and leaning in, freckles as evident as ever- allowing you some room in more ways than one.

you snack on ellie’s make-do cheese board, conversing about your favorite stories, exchanging fan theories and controversial opinions, playfully debating for the hell of it. there are even a few little couch-dances to whatever’s playing. it’s delightfully awkward, it’s low stakes, and you’re growing more comfortable by the second.

time slips away during the warm, lively chatter. you’re only aware that it’s getting to be late when the sun melts into a golden glow that peeks through the window shades.

“would you look at the time?” you announce, stretching out from that extended time curled up, invested in this girl. you shoot ellie the universal look, initiating a regretful, hesitant goodbye. seems neither of you really want it to end- but simultaneously fear being the one acting ‘too much’ or overstepping.

ellie escorts you down to the entrance, hands shoved into her pockets of her skinny jeans, steps dragging at a snails pace.

you hover. glance at her mouth under the dim, flickering entryway light. she does the same—shoulders curled forward, eyes darting. both of you standing there, waiting for the other to act brave just as ellie had with that first dm—the one that led you here. ellie even rocks forward on the balls of her feet, eyes flitting to your lips and down to your shoes, almost having the nerve to go for it.

but, alas, the loserishness wins over.

you lift a small wave, which ellie volleys back to you. finally parting ways, ellie stepping backwards, retreating into her place. a space you already sorely missed, despite only having visited one time. but you’re already, eagerly hoping it’s not the only time you grace the inside of it.

you‘ve hardly turned the street corner when your phone dings.

Ellie: I had a good time. Hope u did too :) Lowkey wish I had kissed you you stop walking, grinning at the screen like a dumbass and biting back a tiny, smitten squeal.

You: next time <3

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astroellies · 2 months ago

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thinking about ellie, dina, jesse in modern times at the beach….dina and jesse are raising baby jj and ellie just absolutely adores him (she keeps saying that you two need to have a kid). i’m imagining little toddler jj in like a shark swimsuit and sun hat, ellie is building sandcastles and finding seashells with him while dina and jesse lounge in the sun. however, i think that ellie really loves uses jj to piss his parents off. like she’s is taking him over to tide pools and showing him all the sea creatures. at some point she found like a crawfish or some other slightly freaky animal and she’s like yeah buddy go show your mom. and so dina is just sitting there soaking up the sun, wearing big sunglasses and jj toddles over to her and sets the creature on her lap before she can finish saying hey, bud. and she’s losing her shit over this tiny little animal. like screaming and then yelling at ellie who thinks she’s a comedian. and jesse is definitely removing himself from the situation by putting the creature back where it belongs.

anyways you’re in charge of watching jj and ellie now.

#ellie williams #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams tlou #the last of us game #ellie fluff #ellie the last of us #ellie tlou #ellie williams fluff #ellie williams the last of us #dina woodward #dina tlou #jesse tlou #dina the last of us #jesse the last of us #˚༄࿔astroellies drabbles

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astroellies · 2 months ago

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thinking about... ellie stealing your clothes.

ellie stops by for a sleepover, settling in like she owns the place—she’s used to it. however, as soon as she brushes past you, you notice the state of her pullover hoodie. it looks ready to disintegrate—definitely kept around for "practicality," but it's practically in shreds, threaded and full of holes, hanging off of her.

"ellie. what is wrong with your sweater?"

she notices your look instantly, groaning in defeat. "jesus… i forgot to do my laundry, okay?" she mutters, tone exasperated, the usual dead giveaway when she’s caught being lazy, especially when it's impossible to hide that her hoodie fits like a battle-worn standard.

you toss one of your favorite hoodies in her direction, the fabric supple and faintly smelling of you.

"wear this. don’t want you stinking up my apartment."

ellie is half-offended by your barked order, but changes without more of a fuss, muttering, "i can’t believe you’d accuse me of stinking," her voice tinged with mock incredulity, overstating for dramatics.

"well, when i’m gonna be the one sharing a bed with you," you add, raising an eyebrow, "and when your whole body is sprawled on top of me giving me a full whiff… i wanna be prepared."

so ellie tugs it on, sleeves too long and swallowing her hands—at least they’re untattered. and you can't deny the sight of her in something of yours makes your stomach flip. -------

in the passing weeks, ellie takes to sniping some of your clothing without so much a word. there’s some plausible deniability to start—you misplace things often. but the switching of her unlaundered clothes into yours becomes routine, and watching her walk out your door at the 50th goodbye kiss still wearing your fifth-favorite hoodie only raises suspicion. you let it fly every time.

one night, you drop by her garage unannounced. she’s half-awake, rubbing the sleep from her dreamy green eyes, lazily holding the door open for you.

what you discover is the white pajama top you thought was missing long ago—paired with her dark blue boxers, coming into view while ellie yawns and gestures you inside. it fits like it had always been hers—she’s worn it in just right. the sight causes your grin to unfurl before you can stop yourself.

she doesn’t mention it. you don’t either. it's a readily accepted girlfriend tax.

pic creds @/elliesbambi

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astroellies · 2 months ago

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OH MY GODDD

Rockstar!Ellie Williams x Popstar!Reader 𖥔 ݁ ˖

Inspired by @valeisaslut Collide series😭💗

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astroellies · 2 months ago

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imgonnagetyouback (chapter 1)

prologue here!

ellie williams x reader

moving somewhere new was never easy. especially in the apocalypse. and especially when you think your crush despises you.

warnings! cat’s the cause of all the problems whoops. ellie and reader are 18ish/young adults. loser reader. a bit of loser ellie. miscommunication trope. useless lesbians. slight rivals to lovers. enemies to lovers(?). mention of reader wearing a skirt but it’s just a nod to the song. canon typical violence. probably ooc ellie.

a/n this took me soooo long post i’m so sorry ahaha. hopefully it was worth the wait!

PRESENT DAY

you had spent the past year and a half proving to ellie that you were not into her…by besting her in everything.

it wasn’t intentional really. with no one to daydream over you focused on the community in jackson. you applied yourself during farming rotations, made efforts to attend community events, you even helped maria and the council to govern the town.

what you didn’t know was that it drove ellie fucking insane. she thought you were cute when they found you, shy and sweet. maybe she couldn’t admit it to herself but she felt the need to protect you. she wanted to have a relationship with you, she didn’t care if it was romantic or platonic (maybe some guilty piece of her hoped for the former) but out of the blue you shut her out. and on top of it, you had to be better than her at everything.

you always took down the first infected on group patrols. you helped maria and tommy plan town dances. you volunteered more than scheduled to work with the animals and in the greenhouses. you showed newcomers around town. you even got along with joel. it made her crazy.

but she couldn’t find it in herself to hate you. not when you smiled when you placed the school children on your hip and pointed to the birds flying over jackson. or when you spun around on the dance floor with dina in that pretty lilac skirt. or when you talked to your horse as you led it back into the stables after patrol.

she didn’t understand why you had shut her out. you were still perfectly normal with everyone else.

it all made her feel crazy.

you on the other hand were thriving. with the exception of when you saw ellie. which was often. jackson’s population wasn’t very large.

so in your best effort to diminish your crush you ignored her your very best. you refused to make eye contact when you passed her on the street. you changed the subject when she came up in conversation. you avoided her like the plague. cat had made it a clear ellie was uncomfortable by you and you would not further embarrass yourself.

so when dina told you you were partnered with ellie for patrol all you could say was,

“no.”

“what do you mean no?”

“i’m not going on patrol with ellie.” you cross your arms over your chest and stand up from the tomatoes you were watering.

“well you don’t really have a choice. joel got called for some construction thing and she can’t go alone.”

“why can’t you or jesse go? you guys are like her best friends.”

“because we’re on kitchen duty, no offense but you and ellie are both shit cooks. why are you being so weird about this?”

“i’m not being weird, dee.” you let your arms drop to your sides, feeling a bit too confrontational. dina knew to avoid the topic of ellie around you after you shut down her teasing countless times.

“i’m sorry, tommy asked for you specifically. you guys are going to be on a challenging route and you’re the best shot jackson has. you know how joel is when it comes to ellie’s safety.”

you sigh, you were not winning this—no matter what you said, “when do we leave?”

dina checks her watch, “in ten.”

you scoff halfheartedly and make your way home to collect your things.

when you get to the stables ellie has already mounted shimmer. her hair is tied back in a ponytail and she’s fighting with a piece that keeps drifting into her eyes. she looks nice, her forest green henley offsets her hair in a way that makes it looks even more auburn. you shake your head. no you wouldn’t do this, not while you were on patrol with her.

you grab your usual horse and saddle up.

“looks like we’re partners today.” ellie says, turning shimmer towards you, trying to start up a conversation. was she mocking you?

“yep.” you say and look towards jesse who’s ready to go on his usual patrol spiel. trying very hard to ignore her presence.

from the corner of your eye you see ellie’s face twitch.

the two of you set off on your route, long awkward silences are only broken up by even more awkward conversations.

“should we stop in this house?” “yeah.”

“you still have ammo?” “yeah, you?” “yep.”

“we should stop in the office building up ahead. joel told me the last couple patrols haven’t checked it.” ellie’s turning her head to you, here eyes catch in the sun. they turn light and olive.

“kay.” you nod.

you hop off your horse and before you can tie it to an old bike rack ellie is grabbing the reigns from you. “i got it. there’s a stream a couple hundred yards east, we may as well let them drink while we work.”

when she’s done tying the horses you point to the wide open main doors, bloody footprints lead inside. “keep an eye out, looks like some infected wandered in since the last patrols.”

she nods and pulls her handgun from the holster on her thigh.

she steps in front of you, so she’d entire the building first.

“ellie y’know i was put on this patrol to keep you safe. what are you doing?”

“eh, i rather i get bit than you.”

you sigh, “don’t say things like that. neither of us can get bit.”

the first floor of the building is clear so the two of you make your way to the second floor. it’s much more disheveled than the first, spinning chairs and paper strewn across the floor. was this from outbreak day? or from something else?

screeching comes from a hallway closet. the two of you turn.

“are they in the closet?” you whisper to ellie.

“the fuck? sounds like it.”

you approach the closet, “i’ll open the door you get them?”

“yeah, okay.”

you position yourself so that the door acts like a shield and slowly open it. two runners make their way out and ellie comes up behind one, stabbing it in the neck. she’s busy on the next one when something comes up behind you.

you don’t have time to register what’s happening before you’re shoved to the ground, accidentally slamming the closet door on your way down. what the fuck. all you can see above you is rotted skin and snapping teeth.

you push the infected back enough to see what it is. stalker. in the struggle to the ground you dropped your gun. it sat just out of reach above your head.

your arms are burning from trying to push the infected off of you. you can’t see ellie but imagine that in the commotion the remaining runner jumped her. maybe she’ll let the stalker get you and get rid of you for good. she could make it seem like an accident.

you were so royally fucked. just when you feel your arms giving out, a shot rings and the stalker drops on top of you.

you’re stunned for a moment. you had your fair share of run ins with infected but never this close, never close enough you could feel their nails in your skin.

you manage to find the strength the shove the infected off of you and are half sitting before ellie is at your side. you feel liquid trickling down your face and you realize you’re covered in the stalker’s blood.

her eyes are wide, “are you hurt?” she’s pulling you to your feet and scanning you for cuts and bite marks. your ears are still ringing from the bang of her gun.

you feel dazed and scared, “i…i don’t think so.”

she pulls a cloth from her bag and wipes your face. you snap back to reality and push her away.

“i’m fine.” how could she act like this? hate you and be so kind and gentle with you.

she looks a little confused, “are you sure? that was close…i…if you need a minute we can take a break.”

“i’m fine, ellie. we should go before more find us.” you get up and stomp your way out of the building.

“right.”

you two get back to your horses. you pull a rag from your own bag and slash it with water, doing your best to clean the blood and bits of zombie brains off of your face. you’re still shaken from the close encounter.

patrol goes on like usual, you make your way through the woods, following the path made by other patrollers. you’re looking through a pair of binoculars at the countryside when you heard ellie sigh.

“shit.”

the bridge over the river in front of you has completely collapsed. well at least it didn’t give out while you two were on it.

“what d’you want to do?” you ask.

“uhm,” she looks around, “i think there’s a town a mile or two south. maybe there’s another bridge there? it’s probably overdue for a sweep anyways.”

“yeah, okay.” you nod. you seriously fucking hope that it’s quiet, you don’t think you can deal with more infected today.

the hike is nasty, what were once roads were now rubble and weeds. it took nearly an hour to travel the two miles.

the town is as equally run down. the few houses that are still standing are covered in vines and look to be on the brink of collapse. there is a bridge, however.

ellie gives you a cocky smile, “told you.” cute, you think before you can stop yourself.

“you’re just going to walk across it? what if it gives out like the other one?” you ask, keeping you and your horse a safe distance away from the bridge.

“eh, it’s probably fine.” she’s already moving her horse across it.

“ellie!” you say, over annunciating the uh noise at the end. what the hell. if joel and tommy wanted you on patrol with ellie to protect her and she dies from falling into a fucking river you were so dead.

but she makes it across and yells from the other side “c’mon!” her tone is playful, like she’s daring you to walk across it.

you sigh and reluctantly step onto the bridge. surprisingly and thankful it holds. when you reach the other side she’s smirking again.

“told you it would work.”

“good thing. what if it broke while one of us was on it?”

“c’mon i wouldn’t let you get hurt.” she playful taps your thigh with the back of her hand. your legs tingle all the way down to your toes and you feel heat rush to your face.

you feel stunned for a moment. that felt flirty. was it flirty? no i couldn’t have been.

“we should keep going.” you steer your horse away so she can’t see your reaction.

“okay.”

forest surrounds you, thick and unkept. it’s unlike the patrol routes your used to, it reminds you of your time with your parents on your journey to jackson.

“do you know what’s on this side of this bridge?” you’re in front of her but not really leading, just trying to put some space between the two of you. if she touched you again you think you might explode.

“not really, not this far south.” you hear her voice get closer and her horse speed up pace.

“okay, then let’s head back north.”

heading back north turned out to be easier said than done. the two of you make an attempt to follow the river but thick, overgrown bushes and vines stop you. so you walk into another into another town and discover why the first bridge was broken.

“does this feel off to you?” ellie asks.

“what do you mean?”

“i dunno like i just have a bad feeling.”

you shake your head. and you thought you were paranoid.

you’re heading toward’s the town’s main road, when you turn the corner onto the street you see it. infected bodies litter the street. it’s like a fucking bloodbath. they must have gotten into an altercation with an animal of some sort. from the tracks leading away from the town your bet is wolves.

“ellie…”

“hm?” she’s hasn’t yet made it to the turn yet.

when she rounds it all she can say is, “holy fuck.” she pulls out her hand gun from her holster and you mirror her.

she looks at you, “we need to get out here.”

before you can nod in agreement you hear the click, click, click followed by a screech behind you.

you shoot before you can think. you take the clicker down but as it falls screeches sound from the houses and stores.

“fuck.” is all you can say before ellie is yelling at you to run. once she sees you bolt past her she’s hot on your heels.

your horse must recognize the danger because she’s hauling ass like you’ve never seen before.

“where do we go?” you yell, you dare to glance behind you infected at all stages are right on your and ellie’s ass.

“i don’t know! i’m following you!” great, you think. joel was definitely going to kill you.

higher ground is all your can think. it’d wear the infected out to climb a mountain. it would wear your horse out too.

you make your way towards the ski resorts. as your horse gallops you here shots behind you, ellie must be firing blindly at the infected. a waste of bullets, you think.

by the time you make it to one of the cabins the horde has mostly subsided, killed from the run up the hill or distracted by other prey.

you find a lodge with a garage to store the horses in, while you work on getting the door open ellie picks off some of the more persistent infected that followed you.

“here! i got it.” you say and tuck your horse inside. ellie is just behind you and when she gets inside she slams the garage door down.

“we have terrible luck.” she laughs in disbelief. “two bad run ins in a day, that’s got to be like a record or something.”

you know she’s trying to lighten the mood but you can’t take it, “we should make sure this place is secure. the horde dissipated but infected will be all over the mountain and i’m almost out of ammo.”

she just looks at you for a moment before she checks her guns, “yeah, me too.”

you’re stuck here, you realize. alone, for god knows how long with ellie williams. ellie was right, you have terrible fucking luck.

the next half an hour is spent finding and securing all the possible exits of the home. the lodge was in almost perfect condition, it looked to be nearly untouched since the outbreak. you’re working on barricading the back door when ellie wanders in from the kitchen.

“check this out, they still have a shit ton of food from pre-outbreak.” she’s holding up cans in her hands.

“why haven’t we raided the cabins before?” you take one of the cans from her, ravioli.

she shrugs, “joel told me rich people would vacation here in the winter, i guess since the outbreak happened in september we figured they’d be empty?”

“that’s dumb. when we can get out of here we should bring a crew back, gather supplies.”

“mmm, always thinking.” she was definitely teasing you. but it didn’t feel mean, just point fun at you.

you scoff, “whatever,” you feel heat rush to her face and you don’t want her to see so you turn, “i’m going to see if there’s any firewood laying around.”

that evening for dinner you eat 25 year old canned ravioli. it’s actually not that bad and ellie told you that joel used to cook it for her all the time.

“it’s getting late, we should head to bed.” you gather blankets ellie found in one of the bedrooms and making a makeshift bed on the floor.

“you take the couch.” ellie juts her chin in the direction of the sofa.

you hesitate for a moment. today as been so fucking weird, you were attacked by infected and ellie was being kind to you.

“you sure? i-”

“i wouldn’t have offered if i didn’t mean it.”

“okay. thanks…thank you.”

you doze off, ellie on the floor, the fire keeping the two of you warm.

the next morning when you wake up ellie is using your binoculars to scope out the mountain.

“hey,” you say, sitting up, “how’s it lookin’?”

ellie jumps a bit, like she almost forgot you were there, she’s so cute, “uhm, better, i think that if you’re up for it we could make it back to jackson. the infected are pretty sparse so we’d just have to be careful to avoid them.”

“yeah, okay.” you’re nodding and getting off the couch. “i’ll go grab my pack.”

when you and ellie finish grabbing your things you head to the garage.

as she’s raising the door her shirt lifts to reveal some of her middle, before you can drool all over yourself you see the distinct indentions of a bite mark.

“oh my god.” you whisper.

“what? what’s wrong?” she turns around to face you.

“you…you’re- you got bit.” you point at her abdomen. she was bit. she was going to die and it was your fault. there was no saving her. it wasn’t a bullet wound or gash that could heal with time. ellie would turn and it was your fault.

“fuck.” she says more to herself than you, then, “hey, it’s okay.”

you feel like the breath was sucked from your lungs and you’re trying to blink away your tears before they fall. she was going to die. ellie was going to die.

she walks to you, until she’s in your space. her hands are firm on your biceps, she says your name. “listen. it’s going to be okay.”

“no, no you’re bit. you’re infected.” maybe it should scare you that she was touching you. if it was any other situation your belly would be doing flips but right now you just feel sick.

ellie squeezes her eyes close like she’s contemplating something then blurts out, “i’m immune, i’m not going to die.”

what?

she takes her hands off your shoulders and pulls the sleeve of her right arm up. was she seriously showing you her tatttoo right now?

“i got bit here, when i was fourteen. i never turned. i’ve breathed spores and never turned. i’m going to be okay.” she’s talking slowly, like she’s explaining something to a child.

your breathing is still raged, “what? what do you mean immune that’s impossible?” you shake your head.

“i don’t know i just am.” she’s quiet for a moment before she says, “you can’t tell anyone, though. joel, tommy, and maria are the only people that know. no one else knows.”

her eyes bore into your own, wide and mossy green. “i’m serious.”

you nod, “okay.”

what was happening? she’s immune, what does that even really, truly mean? how many bite marks does she have hidden beneath her clothes?

she steps back and laughs, “maybe i should have gotten bit in front of you sooner, you actually gave a shit about me just now.”

“what?”

“what d’you mean what? you’ve been pretending like i don’t exist basically since we found you.”

“that’s not true.” does she seriously not remember?

“yeah it is, you hang out with jesse and dina all the time and you don’t even acknowledge me when you see me in town.” her tone isn’t mean but it hurts. it hurts that she doesn’t remember.

“because you hate me.” you say, it’s quieter than you wanted. “i had a silly crush and it made you uncomfortable.”

“what?” she shakes her head.

you’re embarrassed to be admitting this out loud. “you obviously don’t like me, you sent your fucking girlfriend to essentially tell me to stop having a crush on you.”

“what?” she repeats, but it’s softer this time.

“you don’t remember? it was the spring after i came to jackson, at the bonfire? cat told me to leave you alone.” how could she have forgotten this? did it really mean that little to her?

“fucking cat.” she whispers under her breath, then, “i would never have told her to do that.”

“well you did, ellie. do you know how embarrassing that was? i’m brand new here and the cute girl’s girlfriend is telling me to fuck off because i’m acting creepy.” you cross your arms over your chest.

“no i didn’t. i had no idea she said anything. why would i ever do that?”

“i don’t know, ellie.” you say exasperated, “i’ve been trying to figure that out. but it made sense, i mean you have the perfect life out here. you’re well respected in town, you’re good at what you do, you have a friend group that adores you; you even managed to find a girlfriend that’s obsessed with you in the fucking apocalypse. and i come in and i ruin it. i’m quiet and i linger in the backgrounds of your hangouts. i’m the weird kid that liked you and you didn’t want me bothering you anymore.”

she’s quiet, her chest rising fast like it was the day you two met. this time though her eyes are flickering between your eyes and mouth.

before you can comprehend what she’s doing she’s grabbed your face and is kissing you. despite the intensity from the rest of her body, her lips are gentle against your own. your hands find her forearms and gently push her away.

you pull far enough away to see her face. you’re both panting like dogs. ellie’s eyes were wide like she herself was surprised she did that. you’re still deciding whether to ask her why the fuck she did that or kiss her back when you hear a voice.

some calls your name, and then “ellie?” and the two of you are breaking apart but not moving. still too stunned from what just happened.

dina.

you hear hooves pounding into the ground then dina getting off her horse. “are you two in there?”

she’s finishing lifting the half open garage door before she gets a response.

“oh my god. are you two okay?” she’s rushing over to you and taking your head in her hands like ellie did moments ago. she moves your head side to side, looking for damage. when she doesn’t find any she moves to ellie, repeating the motion.

“yeah, we’re fine, dee.” ellie gently pulls dina’s hand away from her face and looks at you. she swallows hard. how was she feeling right now? embarrassed? regretful? excited? you really needed to talk to her, alone.

another set of hooves and jesse is appearing. he joins the three of you in the garage.

“how’d you guys find us?” ellie looks to him.

“we saw the horde from the gates. they dissipated pretty fast and we saw the smoke from your fire this morning. we went out after you.” jesse says.

“we should get back to town and send out for joel, he went out last night looking for you and was up again this morning before any other patrollers could go out.” dina chimes in.

ellie nods, “yeah.”

“what the hell happened?” jesse is heading back towards his horse.

“we got stuck cutting across the river in a different spot than usual. we were thinking the infected took down the usual one and with our luck we ran into them on our way to the next checkpoint.” you needed to go home and take a bath. and think about anything but ellie. or maybe just about ellie.

the trek back to jackson is awkward, not the same cold awkwardness that you and ellie had shared on patrol. this was full of longing, you hoped jesse and dina couldn’t sense the change.

once the initial greetings subsided you led your horse back into the stables.

you were working on taking her saddle off when ellie walked to her stall, “that was crazy, huh?” you didn’t know if she was talking about the horde or confessing her immunity or your kiss.

“uhm, yeah.” you turn to face her, thankful for the stall door separate you.

“can we talk?” she rubs her tattooed hand on the back of her neck.

“i…i have to help maria set up for the dance tonight.” you look down at your boots and rub the toe of one into the ground.

“right. yeah.” she shakes her head, “i forgot that was tonight.”

“i’ll see you there?” you ask.

“yeah i’ll be there.”

TAGLIST @vahnilla @liztreez @yasmilks @cinnamqnbuns @hyperbabes @daughterofthemoons-stuff @leeidk87 @robinphobia @monki-nat @elliesfavwife @culuvr

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