This is Not the Last of Us

Chapter 27

The trip so far had been both exhausting and rewarding. They'd seen rivers and new animals and birds, and the two had used the time to talk about a lot. The two of them had always been good at talking to each other, knowing what the other did and didn't want to hear. It was as if their conversations were a well maintained machine.

The closer they got to Seattle, the more they noticed camps out in the middle of nowhere. They'd find a building to settle in for the night, and there'd be an area that had been cleared out and a pit made for a fire. They'd start to go to bed in the woods, and they'd find the perfect temporary shelter made from branches and weeds.

The best part had definitely been the cuddles so far. The girls at first were too nervous to even try to touch each other. They'd sleep on opposite sides of whatever shelter they were in and they wouldn't even look at each other. That night in Jackson had been the first time they'd ever slept like that, and Ellie was so embarrassed when she was fully awake that she had to fight the urge to do it again.

Ellie finally caved one night and turned to face her girlfriend, "Hey, are you awake?"

Her girlfriend was silent for a minute and then uttered a simple, "Yes."

Ellie sat up fully, and her girlfriend followed suit. The two girls looked at each other in the dim light and Ellie sighed and scratched the back of her neck.

"Do you wanna... you know.... Cuddle?"

The next minute of silence had been torturous. Ellie kept playing with her fingers, waiting for her girlfriend to say literally anything.

Why was she so quiet?

Finally, her girlfriend exhaled and nodded, "I'm sorry. I just thought– you know? I thought if we were to do something like that, it would make us more official."

"Do you not want to be with me?" Ellie whispered, sounding almost hurt.

"No! It's not that... It's just– I felt that if we cuddled or held hands or kissed again, it'd be like saying no back-tracking. I've never been great with people and I've never been in a relationship, so I thought maybe you would have changed your mind."

"Why would I change my mind?" Ellie said and cupped her girlfriend's cheek, "I'm currently looking at the most beautiful person I've ever seen."

There was a pause, and her girlfriend smiled, "I'm still getting used to this, I suppose."

"Can I hold you?" Ellie asked sweetly, "That'll make it permanent for you, right?"

Her girlfriend's face turned bright red and she laughed shyly, "Yes, you may."

After that it was like Ellie was on cloud nine. They held hands when they walked, they kissed each other good night, they fed the horse together, and they were now regularly cuddled up. It was heaven for Ellie. It made her feel guilty considering the circumstances, they were traveling to kill people– not bond.

Her girlfriend seemed to share that sentiment. She had often expressed her guilt for it, but Ellie wouldn't hesitate to comfort her. The two of them were people, and they were allowed to have feelings first and foremost.

She wouldn't lose any chance to be close to her girlfriend. She was sure that Joel of all people could understand that.

They arrived in a city one afternoon and found themselves in a dystopian nightmare at first. This city had been burned to the ground, it wasn't hard to tell. The houses were destroyed and the buildings were in ruins. Row after row of homes and houses all looked the same. Ruined.

The only bright side of it was that they found a group of horses traveling together. They all seemed hesitant to approach her and Ellie, but Ellie's girlfriend was a genius and knew how to get people to like her.