Until The End [The Last Of Us x Male Reader]

Chapter 20: Educated Injury

He looked over at Y/N, who refused to meet the adult's eyes for a moment. "I'm not fixin' to walk around and figure out what's on your mind. But he cares for ya."Tommy said, waving slightly as Y/N let out a huff of air. They sat for a moment, the only sounds now being that of the two seemingly arguing upstairs. Y/N had no clue what was going on, but he knew he would get some notion eventually. "Then why would he just give of us off like that?" Y/N asked softly, something he hadn't meant to, but Tommy picked up on it. "Look, Joel has his reasons. He's been through a lot-"

"So have I!" Y/N blurted out, something inside of him was burning. For so long he had stayed clam, for so long he had shoved down his own emotions. "I've lost everyone! I've given everything for this goddamned world, and it's done nothing but shoot back! And I finally found someone who wouldn't fucking die on me, and he just wants to give us up!" Y/N spoke out, tears pricking at the edge of his eyes. Tommy seemed wordless, giving a small sigh in response. Unbeknownst to them, Ellie and Joel were having a much similar conversation. "He wants to make sure you're safe-" Tommy began, but was cut off. "We're never safe! Not here, not in this world. Safe doesn't exist, so I want to be in danger with someone I know won't leave me!"

Y/N was letting go of so much that plagued him, to someone he had barely met. But he had to, this was building up for so long, and Joel doing this was the final push. There was silence for a moment, and in that moment was when footsteps caught his attention, directing his attention to the door. Tommy seemed to take note of this too. "We got company!" He called up the stairs, the two pulling out their pistols respectively.

Y/N took cover behind a wall quickly as a shotgun blast fired through. He could hear Tommy rushing upstairs to make sure the other two were informed and alerted. Y/N could feel his breathing becoming rapid for a moment, until he closed his eyes for a moment, trying desperately to steady himself. He heard a gunshot from upstairs, and took that opportunity to peak out. He fired two shots into the skulls of two bandits, before a bullet fired past his own head, forcing him to duck. The memories of what happened plagued him, for the first time in a while, his hand was shaking. Unsteady. He couldn't take this shot, he couldn't...

Another shot rang out, and he heard the sound of a body hitting the ground. "House is clear." Joel called, stepping down the rest of the way. Y/N felt a breath of relief escaped his body, as he almost collapsed for a moment. He pushed from the corner, seeing a glance from Joel as he looked over. The man walked over to the door, pushing it open as he cleared the front of the house, his shotgun in his hands as he scanned it out. "Front's clear." He spoke out, letting the gun lower. Y/N watched as Tommy followed out, and heard a smaller pair of footsteps nearby. She glanced over at Ellie, who gave him something of a sad look for a moment. Then she walked out, brushing off Joel as she walked right past.

Y/N followed, heading to the horse the two had arrived on. "Need a hand?" Tommy asked in a polite gesture, but was brushed off quickly. "We got it." Ellie stated, and the other nodded. Y/N got up, this time sitting up front as Ellie got on behind him. Without saying another word, the three horses headed off. Y/N tried to forget the waterfall of emotions he had let out as he followed behind the two adults, feeling a small pressure on his back. He glanced back for a moment to see Ellie's head resting on his back. He knew then that he had to be strong, no matter what.

Eventually they made it to their destination, as the sun set lightly. They overlooked a town below them as the horses came to a stop, seeing the lights and small life all about. "Woah..." Y/N breathed out lightly, and he could feel Ellie begin to wake up. "There she is." Tommy spoke out, pride in his voice as they looked down at the town. "Kids'll be watching movies tonight." He continued, a distant look still on his face. Joel gave a huff, glancing over at his brother. "Where's this lab of theirs?" He questioned, catching the attention of the other as he thought.