The Last of Us (Male!Ellie x Female!Reader)

Chapter 3: Meeting Joel And Tess

3 Weeks Later

"(y/n), can you stop pacing." Elliot said to me as I pace across this room we were hiding. That's right, even after being bit, Elliot was still alive. When Riley and I noticed that his bite hadn't gotten worse like Riley's, she told me to take him to Marlene and leave her behind. I argued with her but, eventually, she convinced me and I took him to Marlene while Riley was left behind at that mall.

"I'm sorry. I'm...I'm just nervous and it's been awhile since Marlene left." I said and he comes up to me and places his hands on my shoulders. "(Y/n), calm down. She'll come back." He said and I look up at him. "How can you be so calm about all of this?" I asked him. "Someone's gotta be." He said, shrugging. I let out a laugh and shake my head at him. "You're always so optimistic. It's one of the things I like about you." I said and he smiles then leans in and kisses my forehead.

Suddenly, the door opens and Marlene stumbles forward on her knees. "Whoa, whoa, whoa...Come on now, get up." An older man said as he kneels down to her. "Get the fuck away from her!" I shout as I go over to him and hold up my knife, but a woman catches my arm before anything happens. "Hey, hey, hey." She said to me.

"Let her go." Marlene said and Marlene let's go of my wrist. "You're recruitin' kind of young, aren't ya?" The man said to Marlene as he nods towards me and Elliot. "The boy is not one of mine. But you are correct about her." Marlene replied to him as she gestures towards me.

"Shit. What happened?" Elliot asked Marlene and I looked over and noticed her wound on her stomach. "Don't worry. This is fixable. I got us help...but I can't come with you two." Marlene replied to him. We stare at her in shock. "Well then I'm staying." Elliot said and I nod. "Same here." I said to her.

"Elliot, (y/n), we won't get another shot at this." Marlene said to us, firmly. "Hey -- we're smuggling them?" The old man asked, pointing at us. "There's a crew of Fireflies that'll meet you at the Capitol Building." Marlene replied to him. "That's not exactly close." The woman informed her. "You're capable. You hand them off, come back, the weapons are yours. Double what Robert sold me." Marlene replied to the woman.

"Speaking of which, where are they?" The woman asked her. "Back in our camp." Marlene replied. "We're not smuggling shit until I see them." said the woman, firmly. "You'll follow me. You can verify the weapons, I can get patched up." Marlene said then she nods towards Elliot and me. "But they're not crossing to that part of town. I want Joel to watch over them." 

"Whoa, whoa. I don't think that's the best idea." The man, Joel, said at the same time while Elliot and I exclaimed in anger. "Bullshit! We're not going with him."
"Elliot! (Y/n)..." Marlene said to us, sternly. We look at her then I asked. "How do you know him?" Marlene looks over at Joel and replied. "I was close with his brother, Tommy. Said if I was ever in a jam I could rely on him."

Joel scoffs. "Was that before or after he left your little militia group?" He asked. "He left you too. He was a good man." Marlene said to him. "Look, just take them to the north tunnel and wait for me there." The woman said to Joel. "Jesus, Tess." Joel grumbles then the woman, Tess, goes up to him. "They're just cargoes, Joel." She said to him, calmly.

"Marlene..." Elliot and I plead to Marlene. "You two will be fine. Now go with him." Marlene said as she nods at Joel. Joel stares at us then looks over at Marlene before letting out a heavy sigh. "Don't take long." He said to the woman then he turns to us. "And you two-- stay close. Let's go." He said and we walk out the door.

"Whoa...we heard all the shooting, but...What happened?" Elliot asked as we walked past the dead bodies of the Fireflies. "The Fireflies. Same thing's gonna happen to us if we don't get off the street." Joel said as we head towards a set of stairs. "You're the pro. We're just following you." I said.