The Last of Us: Final Resort

Chapter 20 - Storms of Change

WARNING: This chapter contains suggestive or flirtatious language and themes involving adult characters. Reader discretion is advised.

Denver, June
2042

As Ellie woke up to the dim light seeping through the dusty windows, a sign that dawn had arrived. With a yawn, she stretched her arms above her head and glanced around the dimly lit warehouse, almost anticipating Joyce's continued presence in her makeshift bed. To her surprise, the bed where Joyce had been sleeping lay empty, the sheets neatly folded at one end. Ellie couldn't help, but roll her eyes when she realised that Joyce had already jumped into action to deal with her latest bet fiasco caused by Lev.

"Seriously, Joyce? Can't you just take it easy for once?" she muttered to herself, a mixture of amusement and exasperation colouring her thoughts. Despite Joyce's predictable behaviour, Ellie couldn't deny the fact that she adores her. There was a certain charm in Joyce's impulsiveness that kept life more interesting, even if it did cause Ellie a fair amount of stress. "Life would be dull without her," she thought with a smirk, shaking her head fondly, "Guess I'll just have to embrace her wild side and pray she doesn't take it too far".

Before Ellie could even think about getting up, Cat casually entered the room, her usual bright and bubbly energy filling the space. "Good morning, sunshine!" she greeted with her characteristic cheerfulness. Ellie flashed a grin and waved back, "Hey, Cat! How was your night?". Cat shot her a playful smirk, "Not bad, until I woke up to find myself alone in bed. Mind telling me why you bailed on me for Joyce last night?".

Ellie chuckled, knowing Cat was just messing with her. "Oh, you got me! Well, you see, I had this crazy idea to crash into Joyce's personal space". Cat raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. "Joyce's personal space? Isn't that like wandering into a dragon's lair?".

Ellie laughed at Cat's comparison. "Yeah, you could say that. But here's the thing - I noticed Joyce practically lives for those late-night adventures. She never seems to make it to bed at a decent hour. Instead, she's out there doing her own version of night patrol, looking like she's about to pass out from exhaustion, but still refusing to let her guard down. So I couldn't just let her wander around alone all night, you know? Who knows what trouble she could get herself into?".

Cat's eyes widened in understanding, "So, you decided to be her knight in shining armour and save her from her own late-night escapades, right?".

Ellie smirked proudly. "Oh yeah, you should've seen it! I had to pull out all the stops to convince her. I even did my best impression of her grumbling and protests," she giggled, mimicking Joyce's voice with over-the-top irritation, " 'Get outta here, Ellie!', 'Stop pestering me, Ellie!', 'No way, Ellie!' and so on. But in the end, I won. And you know what? She passed out quicker than a sloth on a sunny day. And it was kinda adorable, gotta admit".

Cat laughed, imagining the whole scene playing out in her head, "Oh man, I wish I could've seen that! You always know how to get your way, Ellie. Poor Joyce didn't stand a chance against your persuasion skills. But hey, looks like your persistence paid off! And yeah, I can imagine Joyce being all peaceful and cute when she's asleep. You two seriously crack me up".

Ellie chuckled, mischief dancing in her eyes. "Yep, Joyce never could resist my irresistible charm," she joked with a playful wink. "But hey, no worries, Cat. You'll always have a spot reserved as my backup sleeping buddy. Just don't go forgetting about me now that you know I'm second in line!". She grinned, giving Cat a friendly nudge, "And let's be real, Joyce may grumble, but she secretly loves having me around. It's all part of our dynamic duo charm, right?".