endure and survive. | tlou

࿔ ellie ( nothing left of me. )

ㅤㅤ✹⠀˖

𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
requested a long ass time ago, ellie teaches you to play the guitar.

࿔

"You were my fire, so I burned, 'til there was nothing left of me
I, I touched your face, I held you close, 'til I could barely breathe
Why give me hope, then give me up, just to be the death of me
Save the rest of me,"

Ellie's soft voice slowly sings along to the strumming of the guitar you're holding. She points her finger to a note when you hesitate, patiently teaching you the song. It had taken you a long time to convince her to teach you-she preferred having you watch and listen to her-but she finally relented and handed over the guitar.

You were doing fairly well, only missing a couple chords here and there. You'd been practicing nearly a month now and she finally thought it was time you play a full song without her assistance. The one condition that you'd given her was that she had to sing along.

" 'Cause I see you, but I can't feel you anymore, so go away
I need you, but I can't need you anymore, you hesitate,"

Ellie's voice flows through the atmosphere, accompanying the nervous strums of your fingertips on the guitar strings. She watches you through soft hazel eyes, grinning when you get a note right, just perfectly on time. You were getting better, definitely. Joel would be proud, it had taken her longer to play a song by herself.

She's more than happy to share the talent with you, you're her love. How could she deny you of the request you'd so sweetly asked? At first, she would tease you and joke around with you. But the more you eased into the process, the more you got better, and the more the jokes lessened.

She's proud of you, she's always proud of you. Seeing you succeed always makes her heart swell and her lips curve into a smile. There's just something about you.

" Now, now and then, you come around, like there's something left for me
We were one, we were everything
I'm still here, but I'll just keep the rest for me,"

You concentrate solely on feeling the strings of the guitar on your fingertips, making sure they flow smoothly and correctly to the rhythm of Ellie's voice. It was rare that you got her to sing for you, you needed to soak it up and enjoy the moment.

Little did you know, Ellie's eyes never left you. She was too busy admiring the way you looked so at ease, so content. So happy, for once.

"'Cause I see you, but I can't feel you anymore, so go away
I need you, but I can't need you anymore, you hesitate
We never made it, you hesitated, I don't believe,"

Ellie quietly scoots down from her place on the stool opposite to you, sliding across from you on the floor to watch you. You're nearing the end of the song, she needs to make sure you don't get nervous. Her palm rests on your knee, smoothing circles into the fabric of your jeans with her thumb. A small smile rests on your lips and she sees your eyes flicker to look at her for a second.

You just looked so good like this. She could definitely get used to it.

"That I see you, but I can't feel you anymore, so go away
I need you, but I can't need you anymore, you hesitate
'Cause I see you, but I can't feel you anymore, so go away
I need you, but I can't need you anymore, you hesitate, hesitate,"

Ellie tugs the guitar away from your hands, unable to resist running her hands over your skin. Her lips, smiling like a child, plant soft kisses all over your forehead down to your cheeks and your lips. You grimace, feigning annoyance that you didn't get to finish the song.

"I have a soft spot for you," Ellie tells you, palm lingering on your cheek. Her left hand, the one she's grown insecure of, rubs your skin fondly. "It's not good."

You can't help but chuckle, pulling her hand away to place soft as a feather kisses on the two shorter fingers knuckles. Ellie swears her heart could stop right then, the way you so tenderly treat her. Even after everything she's done, after everything you've done to survive.

You always treated her as if she were a prized possession. In Ellie's eyes, she was the one with a prize.

Ellie, leaning close to rest her forehead against yours, chuckles. Before she connects your lips, she finishes the song. It earns a laugh from you,

"You were my fire, so I burned, now there's nothing left of me."

᯽ ݁

❛ it's emo hours. if you'd like to check the song out i used for this, it's called hesitate by stone sour ! i originally wrote this to imperfect (stone sour), then lips of an angel ( hinder ) but they just didn't fit?? plus, i'm saving lips of an angel for something in my resident evil imagines. ( you can really tell that i'm secretly an emo bitch by my music taste. )

࿔ rhae ♡