The Last of Us (Laurinah)

summer: part 2

Lauren's eyes fluttered open, taking in her surroundings. She had dozed off for only a second, and apparently time had passed significantly. It was no longer dark out. The sun had risen, its rays peaking through the apartment's blinds.

For a fleeting moment, she had forgotten what happened the night before. But when her eyes landed on the blonde sitting atop the kitchen counter, everything came flooding back.

She shifted in her spot, feeling the urge to stretch. When she looked down, she noticed a blanket covered her body. When did she get a blanket? Her brows knitted together and she opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself as soon as she heard Dinah's voice filling the room.

"Si kau tangata moe kau fefine." The blonde sang, unaware of the small audience she had in Lauren. She began tracing small circles on the counter-top as she closed her eyes to focus on the next set of lyrics, "mou ma tuku 'atu 'o mohe."

From Lauren's little corner, she froze in her spot. She didn't know what to do. Should she let her presence be known, thus stopping the blonde from singing?

Nah, she was going to be a little creep and keep quiet. Dinah's voice, from what Lauren had heard so far, was mesmerizing. It was almost angelic in a way. Had Dinah been born in a different lifetime, Lauren was sure the girl would have been a singer.

The blonde continued to sing, her voice soothing to Lauren's ears, "kae tuku keu 'au fia pe."

Lauren wasn't even sure what language the blonde sang in, but it didn't really matter. It was goddamn beautiful. Even in a world where everything had literally gone to shit, hearing and witnessing even the smallest things, such as Dinah's voice, was enough to make Lauren forget what kind of world they lived in.

"he ko ho ma faka'osi po e."

"That was beautiful." Lauren finally spoke, interrupting Dinah from continuing to sing any further. She felt slightly bad, but she had to urge to let the blonde know just how beautiful her voice was.

Dinah's eyes snapped open, shocked that Lauren had actually heard her singing. A light blush crept on her cheeks as she looked at the brunette, "Thank you."

"What language was that?"

"Tongan." Dinah simply said, "It was something my mom used sing to me to get me to sleep."

Used to? Past tense. Shit.

Lauren realized she may have hit a touchy subject, so she deviated the subject to something else entirely, "So..." Lauren said, "How'd you end up in downtown Boston by yourself?" Lauren noticed the brief, subtle look of hesitation on Dinah's face, but she didn't comment on it. She'd let the girl speak before allowing herself to assume things.

Surprisingly, Dinah delved into what had happened, "I was with three other people, we uh, we were heading to the quarantine zone." She began, fiddling with the hem of her left sleeve, her gaze downcast as she continued with her story, "On our way there, we ran into a group of people. The guy I was with, he mistook them for some innocent people. People from inside the quarantine zone." Dinah paused, trying to remember the exact details of what happened, "Obviously they weren't. They shot him the second he asked a question. Apparently, the gun shot was in distance of some infected, because the next thing I knew, a swarm of them came out of nowhere. I panicked. And I just..." She trailed off, her throat constricting itself, feeling tight as a wave of emotions rushed over her, "I fled. I could hear their cries for help, but I never looked back. I just... I just kept running. "