The Both Of Us | Zelink X The Last Of Us

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Link's pov

For the first time in five years, I wake up in the morning without having had a nightmare. I wake up to loud ass birds instead of images of Aryll's blood on my hands or random flashbacks of killing people I don't remember. I didn't dream at all and it was glorious.

My for once pleasant thoughts are interrupted by a stabbing sound and a yelp of pain. I roll over to see Zelda with her finger in her mouth, my knife in her other hand and a can in front of her.

"The fuck are you doing?" I snap while sitting up, kicking the blanket off that's tangled around my legs. She scared the hell out of me. I thought something was actually wrong.

She shrugs. "I was hungry and I accidentally cut my finger while trying to open it."

"Then wake me up next time." I snatch my knife and the can. Of course it's a can of peaches. I stab it open the rest of the way for her.

"The last time I woke you up, you tried to kill me, remember?" That's fair. But I was also in the middle of a nightmare.

"But I didn't."

She shovels peaches into her mouth, pouching her food in her cheeks like she always does. Her cheeks are pink from the cold and my eyes wander to her soft lips. I shouldn't have kissed her. There's no way this can end well and I dug my own grave when I gave in and kissed her. It was a mistake but mistakes aren't supposed to feel so right.

When she looks at me all I can think about is wanting to kiss her again. I want to let all my walls come down and be normal. I've been so alone, losing everyone and everything, trying to fill the holes with anger and lustful sex. It only makes it worse. I've become a monster who kills without guilt, who enjoys it. I've fucked without love, selfishly to try to pretend someone loves me and it only makes me feel more alone. And now there's Zelda. I shouldn't, I know I shouldn't, but I'm so fucking tired of being alone.

She scooches closer to me while I tuck my knife back in my belt. I don't know how she got it without waking me up. I take the can from her and use her spoon to take a bite.

"Hey!" She snatches her spoon back. "That's mine."

"So?"

"So you just put it in your mouth."

Is she being serious? Does she have short term memory loss and forget last night?

I take the spoon back. "Your tongue was in my mouth last night."

She blushes and we finish the peaches before packing up. We're starting to run lower than I'd like on food but we're getting close to Wyoming and I have somewhere we can go. I don't think she wants to shoot me anymore.

Zelda slings her sniper rifle over her shoulder and I see the bulge of her gun in her pocket. I'll find her a holster somewhere. She'll be able to shoot quicker that way.

I don't know what to say when we start walking for the day. It's snowing a little and she walks next to me, her legs moving quickly to keep up with me. She blushes whenever I look at her.

"Are you always like this after you kiss a guy?"

The wind whips her hair across her face but it doesn't hide her plump cheeks as they turn a darker shade of red.

"What do you mean?" she squeaks, keeping her eyes on the lightly dusted ground.

"Quiet." Awkward.

"You haven't talked either." I would if I knew what to say. "And I've never kissed a guy before."

I raise my brows slightly in surprise. That was her first kiss and I went for the damn throat grab. To be fair, I've had too many kisses to count and all the girls I've kissed and fucked with liked the aggression. Zelda didn't complain either but maybe I should tone it down before I go too far.

"What were you like before the outbreak?" she asks, changing the subject.

I scratch the back of my head. Thinking about the past is depressing when you remember everything you used to do.

"Nevermind," she says quietly as if she feels guilty for asking. She picks at her sleeves instead of looking at me.

"I was a pain in the ass."

"What do you mean?"

I try not to smile. I was a real pain in my dad's ass. "I got arrested a few times, got drunk, high. Delinquent shit." Dad used to get on me about having a record and now none of it matters.

Fuck. That smile of hers. "What'd you get arrested for?"

"Speeding on my motorcycle, graffiti, fighting, underage drinking," I list. "Arson."

She gapes at me. "Arson?"

"It was an accident and the building was abandoned." Her mouth stays open like she can't believe it. "Anyway, I was a dumbass." One of my old friends used to have a video of me laughing as I was put into the back of a police car. My dad was a cop and always got me out of it so I didn't care. It was all petty shit and now I'm a fucking killer.

"My dad used to complain about people like you," she giggles. "He'd say they were all throwing away their futures."

"Yeah, some future we have." She loses her smile. What the hell am I doing? I can't give her anything except for pain. This was a fucking mistake. I shouldn't have given in because now we're both going to end up hurt.

"We shouldn't have done that," I blurt out as if it'll take it all back.

"Shouldn't have done what?"

"We shouldn't have kissed. It was a mistake."

She stops walking. "You think it was a mistake?" I curse myself when I see her eyes well up and her chin tremble. All I know how to do is hurt people and she's the last person I want to hurt.

I hate myself even more when I nod.

She grabs my face and I let her. I let her kiss me angrily and I kiss her back, matching her passion. Everything makes me angry and right now I'm angry that I want her and I'm angry that I can't have her. I'm unlovable, too far gone to give her anything that's worth what she deserves. I'm nothing more than a broken piece of shit trying to find something to live for. Once I take her to her dad, it's over for us. She'll be safe there and I'll find myself in a situation too fucked up to get out of after I leave. That's how it ends for me. It doesn't end with getting to love her.

I push her away by her shoulders. "Stop–"

Her lips are back on mine and I can't resist kissing her, craving the feeling of her mouth sliding over my lips. Every wall I put up, every defense I have to keep myself away from others collapses when she kisses me. My broken heart aches for more, for everything I can't have, everything I desperately need. She's what I want but can't have. And I can't let her go.

I tilt my head, kissing her hard and fast while pulling her closer until her body is pressed against mine. For a moment, I'm mad at her. I wish she'd stayed annoying, pissing me off at every chance because then maybe I wouldn't be falling apart right now.

Her hands grip the collar of my jacket and I imagine her taking it off of me, undoing my belt, her cold fingers brushing against my skin as she works my clothes off. I could have her naked in seconds but she's inexperienced. She'd be nervous and slow, not sure if she was doing it right. I could show her sensitive places she didn't know she had, learn her body better than anyone.

I could do it out of love for once.

A line of drool keeps us connected even after she pulls away. And she was worried about a fucking spoon.

"Do you still think it was a mistake?" she says, breathless. Only then do I realize I was struggling for air. I was so lost in her I couldn't even think about breathing.

It is a mistake and I regret it. But at the same time, I'm loving every second of it.

"No."

***

I sleep through the night again without having a nightmare.