All Alone (TLOU2 Ellie x Reader)

One (republish?)

(idk how but this unposted itself?? anyway, it's reposted, sorry lmao)
CW: foul language, violence, injury, death, adolescent death

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"And that's another day with nothing but nothingness with a nice side of extra nothing," I sigh, shutting the patrol log and tossing it back onto the table with a dusty thud.

"We still have the walk back to the next look out," Dina says, nudging me with her elbow as she passes me. "Maybe we'll find some runners that wanna give us a show."

"Maybe," I mutter. "Doubt it though."

"Ah, you're such a downer." She pouts, glancing toward me with a look of mock dejection.

"It's not that I'm a 'downer,' I just don't have any expectations for this damned route anymore." I shrug, nudging her back as I skip through the door.

"You need to try optimism sometime." She rolls her eyes with a playful scoff.

"I'll try optimism when I'm proved wrong." I untie and mount my horse, Forrest, Dina following with Japan. They gallop through the snow, the steady sound of the hooves hitting the ground and the sigh of the wind filling the silence between us.

"So..." I glance at her after a brief period of peace. "You and Ellie, huh?"

"It was just one kiss." She shakes her head, weary as if she's had a conversation like this a thousand times before. "I was drunk."

"That's quite the convenient excuse." I grin, eyebrows raised.

She looks at me from over her shoulder, returning the expression. "It's true."

"Doesn't mean it's not an excuse." I shrug, wrinkling my nose as my horse gallops past hers. "Was it a good kiss?"

"Oh, it was a great kiss." She looks over, smiling.

"She better not be competition, Dina," I say, pretending to roll my sleeves up without actually doing so due to the sharp, cold air whipping against my face. "I don't want some girl stealing my wife."

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I don't think she wants to do it again after last night," she says, her light expression dropping.

"You mean after Seth decided to be a nosy asshat?" I ask, bitter.

"I mean after Joel punched him in the face," she says. "Ellie wasn't very happy with him doing that."

"I can't say being harassed by a bigot only for said bigot to be punched by my dad is on my 'things-I-want-to-experience list,' either." I shrug.

"I feel kinda bad," she admits. I look at her, but she's gazing at the passing trees. "I shouldn't have kissed her in front of all those people."

"Hey, it's not your fault some old jackass decided to run his mouth," I say. "He had that punch coming for a while, anyways. Joel was just the one to serve it."

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like he would've been different if I hadn't kissed her. If not last night, then some other time, right?" she says.

"Exactly." I shoot finger guns at her.

It gets quiet again, save for the stray birdsong accompanied by the occasional rustle of deer in the brush. I count thirteen ambiguous mounds of snow before Dina breaks the silence. "Do you think it'll be dark by the time we finally get back?"

"At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if we made it back by the start of sunrise." I stifle a snort. "It feels like this stupid route takes forever."

"But at least our chances of seeing something increase the more time we spend out here," she tries.