Secrets And Hope {The Last Of Us Fanfiction}

XXI

The ranch was untouched. Not a single bit of damage, be it from ransackers or the dead. Being in the middle of nowhere and far down a single track, it was not somewhere anyone would think to go. The three reached there, finally, when the suns warming light of an illuminated orb began to almost touch the horizon, setting alight the sky in various tones of fiery red and orange. It was like the whole world was on fire. They weren't sure if it wasn't, but in that moment, there was a sense of calm. Content, the three sat out on the porch, relaxing with guitars in hand, like life was meant to be as normal and carefree as this.

"Have you been practicing?" Joel asked Ellie, his eyes glancing to the guitar that sat comfortably in her palms. As soon as they had reached Jackson after fleeing Salt Lake City, Joel gave her the guitar as a gift, knowing that she wanted to learn how to play.

"Yes, Joel," Ellie nodded with slight sarcasm, "Almost every day,"

Joel smirked, watching as she strummed the strings. She strummed them well, but not perfect.

"Remember, lighten up on those strings," Joel instructed, Nora sat on the steps as she watched, a small smile etched on her face, "Can you show me the three basic chords?"

Ellie nodded as she positioned her fingers, and then strummed the first chord, "G Major,"

Joel hummed in agreement, and watched as she repositioned to the next chord, "C Major,"

She positioned to the final chord, gave the strings a strum, and then looked in at Joel, "D Major,"

"Good, see, you do listen to me," He jabbed, and Ellie feigned a broken heart as her hand rested on her chest playfully.

"I can't believe you don't trust me," She gasped, and Joel laughed out as he shook his head. As the three fell in silence - sweet, content silence - Joel looked down at his guitar and began to strum effortlessly on the strings. Nora's head snapped over to him. She had heard him practice random tunes before, but never had she heard him play a full song.

Instantly, Nora recognised the song, and her body melted with her back against the stairs wooden rails, and with a deep breath, she began to sing along, her voice not perfect in the slightest, but enough to cause the atmosphere to fall silent to her words.

"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold,
And she's buying a stairway to heaven,
When she gets there she knows,
If the stores are all closed,
With a word she can get what she came for," She sang softly, and Joel's eyes twinkled as he watched her, and Ellie sat blissfully relaxed in the sweet melody.

"And it makes me wonder,
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the May queen,
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run,
There's still time to change the road you're on," Nora continued softly as Joel's strummed gently against the silence of the night, not a single sound besides the hooting of the owl and the calling of distant animals.

"And if you listen very hard,
The tune will come to you at last,
When all is one and one is all, that's what it is,
To be a rock and not to roll,
And she's buying a stairway to heaven," The song gently ended, Nora's voice drifting off into the breeze and there the three sat content and in a state of bliss.

Ellie eventually broke the silence, "Wow,"

Nora looked over to Ellie with a soft smile and a slight giggle, "I used to be a big Led Zeppelin fan when I was younger,"

"I've never heard it before, besides a few chords Joel sometimes plays when he's messing around on the guitar, but that song is long as fuck," Ellie said with such exaggeration, which made both Joel and Ellie laugh loudly.