Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over 'The Last of Us' nor am I profiting from this.

Pairing(s): gen.

Warning(s): none.

Word Count: 100.


Joel sleeps with her sixth birthday socks beneath his pillow: individual toes with stars and cats floating around in spaceships. Sarah leaves him with faded colors, holes, and ruined faces and star points. Ellie eventually becomes bored playing with a needle and thread and offers to fix the socks. But fixing them would mean wiping out her existence all over again.

Ellie knows better than to ask him questions or push things. Her needle and thread resume their life as impromptu toys. It provides her a distraction and he gets to keep her existence for a just little bit longer.