Fandom Tale of Two Survivors { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

“I would frankly be worried if you could,” Nate answered. That would mean that his nightmares were significantly worse than they already area, and he was certain that they were not fun now. If they shared a bed, Nate could be there the moment he realized that they were happening. He would not have to hope that he heard from across the room and was awake enough to get out of the bed and make it to the next just for him to pull him out and then stay there. Wrap his arms around Alex until it all went away, and then stay there longer until whatever was haunting him realized that it was no longer welcome. Breathing in the scent of his monkey man. Holding him until they fell back asleep, Alex resting against Nate’s chest, and Nate using Alex’s head as a pillow.

Well, that is some kind of daydream, isn’t it? Nate, my lovely self, I think we have a problem.

“But, um, that’s just a fantasy,” he said, cutting off the rest of the daydream of them and the fantasy of this farmhouse. “I don’t know if that’s even feasible. I only met people like that who had it before Outbreak Day.”
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex only nodded, lost in his own daydream. He was stuck in a nightmare, trying to get free when strong arms would wrap around him. Keeping him close to their chest. He’d rest his head on them, relaxing and allowing the nightmare to pass. His head up look up to see that it was Nate holding him. What..? Oh boy.

“I mean, it might not be. Who knows? Anything is possible.” Alex said, pulling himself from his daydream and looking over at Nate.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Nate sat back up, realizing that laying there and staring at the peaceful leaves with the faded light poking through was not helping the situation. He pulled out his water and a rag to wipe down his and Alex’s spoons before stuffing them back where they belonged. “I don’t know. Maybe.” He shrugged, trying to distance himself from the memory of a feeling attached to a daydream of a world they may never have. Never have, because it may not be possible, and also because that was an awful strong feeling to have about another person. An awful strong feeling he was not sure was reciprocated. People didn’t just- Not over the course of less than a week. They didn’t- Right? He was stuck in his own mind again, waning smile as he thought this through. Hands paused on his lap like they had been in mid motion.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex heard Nate and looked over at him. His head tipped to the side as he watched him clean their spoons and put the stuff away. Then Nate seemed to pause. Something was off, and Alex was feeling concerned. He shifted himself so he was in front of Nate. Now it was his turn to be the optimist. He gently took Nate’s hands in his. “We will find a place to live, where we can farm and enjoy peace. I think we both deserve it.” He said gently.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

His eyes watched as fingers interlaced with other fingers, entirely involuntarily, and stared at the connection it created. Finally, he pulled his gaze back up and met Alex’s own watchful look. He was not sure if he hated or loved how Alex could always tell when he was getting caught in his own thoughts. He was not sure if he wanted Alex to keep that up or quit now before things got messy. Messy? Why would they be messy? Oh, you know, because now you want to share a bed and cuddle every night at your shared farm where you live together like two people do when- “For a pessimist, you’re not so bad at this optimism thing.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex smiled as he saw Nate look up at him. Their fingers had interlaced at some point but Alex didn’t care. His worry was on Nate, pulling back from the thoughts that were taking over his mind. “I have a really good teacher to help me with this whole optimist thing” Alex said with a laugh. “I think I’m a fast learner.” He added.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Nate rolled his eyes, mostly back to the present now. He squeezed their interlocked hands and shook his head before bringing all those hands up and briefly shoving his face, his lips, against them, and finally resting his chin on top of them. “Okay. You’re a pretty good student. That’s true. But only because we sat around doing nothing real today.” He laughed at the memory of just how much they did not do. Well, they did do some things. Like a really long massage. And a really goofy game. And shared some dreams and wishes. Maybe this was a different kind of progress. A different kind of journey.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex both smiled and blushed as Nate took their hands and putting his lips and then his chin on them. Alex was content with this, looking at Nate. “Well thank you. I try hard. I wouldn’t say we did nothing, I got to climb my trees and you rested.” And played games, shared a long massage. There were many journeys one can take, and this one was a different journey then the physical quest they were on.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Oh man did he love when Alex blushed, and he blushed so often. He loved how it brushed across his cheeks and accentuated his features. He loved the scars that marred his visage. They were physical reminders of who Alex was and who he could now become. If he could, Nate would have run his fingers across them, distracted by the stories that they tell. He would have done the same to the scars on Alex’s back. He would have asked where each of them came from. He would start by telling the story of the one he knew. And then he would trail around his body, taking in the story of who Alexander the Great Monkey Man truly was.

And that, dear Nate, is how you get yourself into trouble. What even was this kind of daydream? Stop. Stop. Stop. Pull it together, man. Pull it together. Another monthish of traveling was going to be very difficult if this was how life was going to be now. He could imagine what Ben would say. First guy you come across, and you’re already tripping over your feet! And then he would laugh so loudly that he would scare off all the game. Max would fumble with his hair for a moment before commenting too. Aww, don’t sweat it, Nate. Everyone falls at some point or another.

Okay, back to reality. Come on, Nate. Bring it back. You can do this. You can do hard things. If you can survive hunters and infected, you can survive this. Probably.

Still holding their hands, he rolled his face across knuckles, smiling into this little nestle he did for reasons he refused to think about any longer, and sighed. “You’re right. We did both of those things, and they were both on our to do list for the day. Which means we are successful! We successfully completed one more day. And tomorrow, you are going to lead me in the correct direction, I will not randomly mange to find my way back where we started, and we will keep chugging along and hopefully not die via whatever wants to kill us then!”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex was starting to realize just how much he’d come to notice the little things that Nate did. His various smiles, the energy and how happy he was. Everything Nate did, Alex noticed. He was finding it harder and harder to imagine not having this man in his life. He wanted to run his own hands on Nate’s back, give him a massage and feel that skin to skin contact. Why did he feel this strongly towards someone he’d relatively just met? He never really saw anyone in love back on the island, many marriages were matches between different families. His own parents were matches made by their families. Alex didn’t know that the heart pounding, blushing and such was a sign that he was falling for Nate. He blushed when Nate rolled his face over their knuckles.

“Another day come, another day gone. I will lead us on, and you will make it to Washington.” Alex declared, still not willing to move away or untangle their hands.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Nate peered up at Alex, much of his face hidden behind their hands, but the smile not only evident by the feel but also by the crinkles outside his eyes. Crow’s feet his mama called them. That was apparently the official term, and Nate always thought that was kind of silly. Why were there crows walking on your eyes? Did that matter when you were smiling all the same? Probably not.

He gazed upward at the leaves above them, searching for the stars that shone between branches. He was unaware of how close they were since Alex moved in front of him until he leaned forward, eyes still glued to stars, and his shoulder rammed into Alex’s. So, instead of apologizing like he probably should have, he kept on looking up anyway, just about settling into the support. “Does Washington have stars like this too or does the rain mean clouds are always blocking the view?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex could feel Nate smiling as he looked at him. He saw the crinkles around his eyes, another thing about Nate that Alex found fascinating. Alex didn’t notice how close he’d gotten to Nate, until he leaned forward and their shoulders connected. Alex stayed still, he didn’t care, it was a contact point like their hands. He allowed Nate to use him as support. Alex looked up at the sky, searching for stars through the leaves. “Washington has several cloud free nights when you can see the stars.” He said. “I said it rained often but they have dry spells too that make for excellent star gazing.” Alex added.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

“Good, I would miss star gazing. It always makes nights better when it’s been a hard day. Or a long day. Or just a day. Really, I think I just like looking at stars, and I should stop trying to make up reasons.” He shrugged, sort of, and leaned further back into Alex as he looked at the tiny dots of light that barely trickled through. If it weren’t so dangerous, he would have stood up and pulled Alex by the hand to find somewhere less obscured to go look. He could try to remember the constellations he read about in the books he found on his journeys. He doubted he could come up with a lot. They could make up their own. Tell their own stories.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex laughed lightly, listening to Nate. “Stargazing is nice, it always calmed me down. I had a tree that had one branch with nothing above it. I’d spend hours watching the stars, just lying on that branch. It was big enough I didn’t fall off it.” Alex said. He could feel Nate leaning more into him. He was fine with that. He looked around, and saw what he’d been thinking about. “Come on.” Alex said, getting to his feet and thanks to their hands still together, basically took Nate with him.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Nate was comfy, so when Alex moved, Nate unintentionally groaned. He stared over at him for the fraction of a moment that he was not being pulled to his feet. “Where are we going?” he asked, feeling like he might have gotten lost in the daydreams again. He was listening to Alex talk, and he felt almost like he could have been there. Obviously he wasn’t and had never been, but it did sound nice. “Are you taking me to your stargazing tree? Because that’s in Washington, and I don’t think we are there yet.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex shook his head even as he laughed at Nate’s groan. “No, I’m not.” He said with a smile. He managed to wrangle out a hand, reaching into his pack and snagged the blanket. He led them just through two trees, still in sight of their packs, and above them was a clear sky. Alex had noticed the small clearing when he’d been climbing earlier. He pulled his other hand free before spreading out the blanket, laying down on it with his arm behind his head. “You gonna join me and look at the stars?” He asked with a grin. He made sure he could still see their packs.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Nate walked along with him, curious as to what exactly was happening right now, and why they were yet again abandoning their camp. He was not about to be able to pull off crazy were-medic again, so it better be something that made more sense. He sighed as all of the hands were stolen from his, and he tried to ignore the part where they felt empty. To better combat this sudden feeling, he shoved them onto his pants, preparing to put them in pockets, but found himself unable to finish as all his attention was pulled to what Alex was doing. Oh. Oh, he could see now. Stargazing where it was safe. That was a much better idea than his little brain had earlier.

“Well, I guess that’s not such a terrible alternative since I don’t think I’d be able to climb a tree anyhow with the part where I was mauled by an infected.” He nodded to himself, silly grin not allowing himself to be anything but goofy as per usual, and then he sat down on the blanket, slowly leaning back. He laid down, a good half a foot between them, and stared up at the stars. “Wow.” This was such a good view of them despite the trees. How did Alex do it?
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex turned his head to look at Nate. “You aren’t ready to climb up and lay on a branch. We’ll get there.” Alex said, turning his attention to the sky. It was beautiful, clear and the stars were bright. “I saw this little clearing earlier when I was climbing. It’s a great spot to stargaze and we can still see our packs.” He said, his eyes looking at the dark sky above them.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Nate was mesmerized by the beauty of the sky. The darkness with the hints of light were always so comforting to him. They reminded him that everything was going to be okay. Out there, the stars were still shining, and that meant that they could too all the way down here. He turned his attention, rolling his head to the side as Alex spoke. “Huh, I didn’t even think about the packs. Guess that shows how trustworthy I am with our things.” He sighed and rolled back to where he started, pulling one of his hands to his shoulder to act as a pillow. “Or how much I trust you. Both of these are true.” And then he was back to watching the stars twinkle above them.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex had been looking at the stars. How beautiful they looked and how they continued to shine. It always fascinated him, how those stars never lost their beauty. No matter how often he looked at them. He heard Nate talk and rolled his head to the side to listen. “It’s why I’m here. We fought hard for those supplies and I’m not letting those out of my sight.” He said. Then a smile crossed his face. Nate trusted him like he trusted Nate. That warmed his heart as he too looked back at the sky. If he wasn’t careful, he’d probably fall asleep right there.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

“Oh, okay, I see how it is. That’s why you’re here. Has nothing to do with me. Gee, that’s fine and all. Not bothered in the slightest.” He teased, because he needed to. It was his right to tease, and he liked to play. He liked fun. He liked things that were cheerful and good. He liked finding reasons to stimulate those good parts of the brain. A little healthy stress was great and all, but this was way better. He readjusted, closer now, though he didn’t actually notice that. “Glad to know I come after the supplies I painstakingly worked on getting as well.” Emphasis on the pain, because of the literal pain thing.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex rolled his eyes, looking over at Nate. “You are such a drama king. Not everything is about you Nate.” He laughed teasing the other man right back. He enjoyed this, the playful banter back and forth. It was peaceful. “Oh yes, I forgot how much you helped getting those supplies. You just had to distract the infected.” Alex said with a wink towards Nate.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Nate was going to throw his hands up and roll over and do something equally dramatic, but the laughter overtook him for too long. The moment was gone before he knew it. Fine, but he could still play along with at least what he was saying. “I did an amazing job distracting them for you! Did you see how you could get such a good, clear shot when I fell over and almost died?” He nodded at himself in approval. “I am the best bait.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Alex rolled his eyes but laughed along with Nate. He’d laughed more today than he had in ages. “Yes, you were amazing at the distraction. Such a great bait. I’ll have to use you more often.” Alex said laughing.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly | 21 | Current location ;; North Dakota

Nate readjusted. Thinking about it was reminding him of how uncomfortable he felt, though Alex was doing a wonderful job keeping him occupied. “I would risk my back, shoulder, legs, arms, and whatever else for you.” He pulled his arm up and attempted to pat Alex’s arm. “So, you are more than welcome to do so. Though, I would like to be better informed next time. Like a good, oh, yes, when we are battling infected today, you’re going to be maimed. That way I know what to expect.”
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