Consequences [The Last of Us Part 2 x Male Reader]

Chapter 22: Consequences

Ellie began to hobble after her but stopped at the collapsed form of Y/N. She knelt next to him, placing a hand on his back. "I'll be back, Y/N," she said softly, trying to keep her emotions tucked away for the time being. Ellie stood back up, the wind hitting against her face as she walked out. The screams of the remaining soldiers pleading for orders, infected ripping them apart. And the last person she loved laying face down in the dirt, in a pool of his blood. Ellie would kill Abby. So as she left the stadium, she whistled for her horse.

Chapter 22

Fire. There was fire around him, surrounding his vision. Y/N remembered this, deep in his memories, he knew this place. Even the flames looked familiar as they danced around him. His back pressed up against the wall as he stared at them, these flames that surrounded him. With a loud pop, they grew more in size. He was alone behind these flames.

But this wasn't like before, this wasn't like when he was a kid. Y/N wasn't scared anymore. He brought his legs underneath him and pushed himself off the ground. In front of him, a clicker began to ramble towards him, split off from the horde just to track Y/N down. But as it got close, Y/N grabbed it by the back of its head and threw it behind him, into the fire. That's what he should've done all those years ago. All those years back in the settlement. He turned to the door and left the room.

Around him chaos broke loose, people screaming as the infected ripped them apart. They broke down the walls, swarmed buildings, and toppled them over. They didn't stand a chance against this horde, that was supposed to be Y/N's job. But at the time he had just been a kid, and a kid couldn't have been expected to take this kind of burden. "That's right, you were just a kid," a female's voice called from behind him. He turned around to be met with short, dirty blonde hair and a smile he knew all too well. "Jen...?" Y/N asked.

"It's me, kiddo," she said and then pointed behind him. Y/N turned back around to the sight of everyone he knew getting mauled by the infected. But he didn't seem too hurt over this, and why was this? "I never saw this," Y/N stated. "You protected me from it," he continued as he spoke to Jen. "That's right, this is just what you imagined happened," Jen spoke from behind him. "Then what happened? Were there more survivors?" Y/N asked. "I don't have the answer to that."

Y/N kept looking away from Jen as the scene played out in front of him. In his mind, his village had no hope. Maybe that wasn't true, maybe they did fight back. It didn't matter the in-between though, because they were still dead, and Y/N was still alone. "Y/N! Y/N!" Some childish voices called. When Y/N looked back up, the scene in front of him had changed. Three small kids were in front of him, looking up at him with awe. "Look, look he did it! He got big and strong to protect us! Do you think we can play now?" The kids asked, cheering in front of him.

Y/N remembered this moment, his mouth parted slightly as he looked down at them. A single tear trailed down his face as he tried to hold the rest back. "You've made me proud my boy," the elder came up now, standing behind the children with a gentle smile. "Go on, go play with the kids. You deserve this break," he beckoned, waving Y/N on. "You're the one that saved us," he finished, and the children ran off laughing. "Come on, Y/N, let's go!"

Another tear fell down Y/N's face. "What is this?" He asked, his voice getting caught up in his throat. "This is what you've always wanted," Jen answered from behind him. He turned to look at her, his face showed nothing but hurt. "This was your biggest regret: letting your village die. It hurt so much that you kept it locked away, you couldn't bear to even remember their faces," Jen spoke. Y/N reached up and wiped off the tears, keeping his arm over his eyes for a moment. "Why are you showing this to me?"