Chapter 6: Quality Time

Play the Last of Us OST Together on a second tab.

Rylan finally pulled out the spikes in the dead Runner's wrists and ankles and the body fell to floor with a thud! He grabbed its arms and dragged it out at a modest pace, so in about a minute he threw the body outside, closed the door, and locked the dusty deadbolt behind him.

"Better check on her upstairs..." Rylan mumbled seeing as there was nothing left on the first floor.

He climbed the stairs and found the only other door slightly ajar to the second floor. When he opened it, he was disappointed to see that it as bare as the first floor, although there was no writing on the wall here. The only thing furniture wise that was there was a bookshelf on the ground by the adjacent wall which Ellie was checking out.

"Find anything?" He asked.

Ellie grunted flipping the bookcase on its side and she positioned herself so that she could push it. "Help me move this up against the door. We'll spend the night up here."

"Yeah that'll work." Rylan agreed as he set his backpack and crossbow down and assisted her with blocking the exit.

They put their combined weights into the shelf as they pushed it with only moderate drag. The shelf scraped across the floor until they put it up against the door so that it could not be opened from the other side, safe enough they supposed. With that job quickly done, Ellie settled down and put her stuff next to Rylan's when the guy's eyes caught something unusual back where the bookshelf was lying flat.

"You see that?" Rylan questioned as he walked over and picked up the item. "It's a bottle."

"A bottle of what?"

Rylan grinned. "It's a full bottle of wine... they must have missed this when the group was packing up." He looked it over in his hands. "I guess they would have used it for communions or something like that."

"Wine? Like alcohol?" Ellie remembered. "Whenever Joel or I found that stuff, we would save it for Molotovs."

"You don't use wine for Molotovs though, it doesn't work." Rylan smirked as he playfully read and shook the bottle, made in 2013. "You drink it with friends, and it's supposedly better than the disgusting liquor that adults drink."

"...You can go right ahead," Ellie declined as she made her blanket to sleep on. "I think I'll pass."

Rylan frowned as he opened the bottle; it was conveniently just a screw top, so no cork. He held the opening beneath his nose and took a sniff... smelled alright.

Ellie sat up against the wall cross-legged on her blanket as she watched Rylan take the first gulp of red wine straight from the bottle. "Ngg... not that bad actually..."

Rylan put the wine on the ground while he set up his blanket a few feet away and parallel to Ellie's. The redhead eyed him curiously as he sat across from her comfortably with the bottle in his hand. Then they both noticed that the sun had gone down, and the moonlight and the night sky had already taken its place as it illuminated the room they were in.

The stuffy hot feeling that they got as they entered the building was replaced with a more relaxed temperature with the absence of the bothersome summer sun. But through the cracks of the boarded up windows they could tell this would be a much cooler night. So they'll rest easily here until dawn would come, and they would set out again.

Ellie looked at him with peculiar eyes. He said it wasn't liquor like that stuff Winston had and Riley had offered her that one time. She never did have wine now that she thought of it. "...Can I try some? Just a taste."

"Change your mind?" Rylan let slip a sly smirk as he more than happily offered the bottle to her which she tentatively took. He watched as Ellie put her lips to the top and filled her mouth up with the dark liquid. Coughing after she managed to swallow, she did have to admit it was better than anything else she ever drank experimentally.

"I've got a proposition for you..." She piped up which made him snap his eyes from the bottle in her hand back to her. "...How about we ask each other any questions we want? The other one has to answer honestly...The only catch is, for every question you ask... you take another drink."

"Huh... alright, you're on." Rylan grinned as he took the bottle from her competitively and took another mouthful. He let out a loud sigh trying to find the right inquiry. "Okay... you say you're immune, how'd you do it?"

Ellie looked at him with a questioning look. "What do you mean how? I just am. ...Got bit and didn't turn... see?" She rolled up her sleeve and revealed the aged bite on her arm which his eyes widened at.

"Wow..." He sighed as he looked her. "Tch... That's... that's not fair..."

"You're fucking right it's not... I'm still waiting for my turn..."

"You got another chance... but still, I really can't imagine it... you..." And then he stopped himself before he could ask another question and gave the bottle back to her. "Your turn."

"Okay..." Ellie accepted and got a couple sips by knocking it back. "Tell me, how'd you get out of Jackson?"

"Really? Out of all the questions you could have asked-"

"That's what I want to know. How'd did you escape those Fireflies? I had to leave you at the bottom of the cliff with those soldiers shooting at me."

Rylan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh... those guys passed over me thinking I was dead or something, and I woke up a little later and ran back to my place... got all of my supplies and just slipped passed them. ...But I did bribe one of the guards with some extra deer meat I had." He smirked. "He was a big guy who couldn't say no to the extra food, so he let me go, hehe."

"Right..." Ellie took another few sips to follow up with another question. Her cheeks began to feel real hot... "So tell me then what's your story?"

"My story? ...Like my life story?" He asked. "You mean before Jackson?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "The whole thing."

"Well... alright but this is a long one so..." Rylan began to explain. "My parents and I came from a Quarantine Zone from the East Coast... I don't remember the name of the city... I was too young to remember... So after that they decided to head out West... thinking it would be better. I had a little brother... but he died..." He frowned at that especially. "...It was just me and my mom and my dad just the three of us..."

Ellie was attentive; she was listening to every word. "Go on..."

He scoffed. "We found this big group in an old town here in the mountains, my dad proved real valuable to them real quick, you know? ... And he got a seat on their council..."

"So you settled there for a while. You and your parents." Ellie confirmed, careful not to state it as a question.

"We were there for more than a few years and... everything seemed fine for a while." Rylan covered his mouth when remembered what had happened next. "...But last year, everyone lost their minds! Everything began going to shit!"

Rylan grabbed the bottle out of Ellie's hand and he forced himself to fill his mouth up with more wine while he struggled to swallow it. His mouth was real dry after that as he continued the story. "I'm sorry... I just..." He gently gave the bottle back to her which she kindly accepted. "It was just a really bad experience."

"...We've all had bad experiences." Ellie sympathetically replied. "If it hurts too much... then don't worry about it..."

After a long pause Rylan declared this before cutting the tale of his past for now. "My parents, they both died... trying to be human... trying to care for others... for me."

Ellie reached out and placed her warm hand across his and with a consoling smile. "I'm sorry. I'm sure they would have been proud of you now." She earned a nod from him and they decided tot move on and lighten the mood a little as she took another gulp herself. "I need to catch up to you anyway."

Rylan perked his ears up to that and shrugged off any bad memories he had left remaining, trying to stay in this moment instead. "...Finally in the spirit of the game?"

Ellie was beginning to feel a little... loopy at the moment. She laughed thinking this would get the boy in front of her out of his funk. "You said you're 16 right? So... ever kiss a girl before?"

That question definitely caught Rylan off guard. But he looked away from her for a moment Why? Was he afraid? Embarrassed? "No. I never really had time for that."

"I was just curious, that's all." She smirked.

Rylan smiled and joked back. "Ellie you're drunk! Go to sleep!"

Ellie faked wailed to keep the comedy going. "No! I don't wanna go to sleep, I'm not even tired. Please don't make me!" Damn, she's was a little bit of a lightweight.

"Then give back that bottle and let me ask you another one." Rylan held out his hand which she was more than happy to give back. He quickly took another mouthful and wiped his lips off with his sleeve. In the haziness of his thoughts, he let his mind wander to certain other things. "Ellie... you ever kiss a guy before?"

"Uh... nope." Ellie deviously smiled. "Not a guy..."

Not a guy? What did she mean like tha-! Then it clicked. "Wait! ...Did you... did you kiss a girl before?"

She blushed at that comment; her face by itself gave it away. Rylan followed that up. "Wow, that's hot." For whatever reason, he approved of that but then his face became sullen once more. "So... you're not interested in guys?"

"That's another question, so come on!" She giggled motioning for him to drink which he did. "...She was just someone real special to me... but then..." She remembered that fateful day where she had that awesome time in the mall with her, how they laughed, how they danced... how they both got bit... and how Riley had to be left behind.

"You must have really liked her... Listen to me whining and complaining about my life... You probably had it a lot tougher than I ever did... Seriously." Rylan sighed again. "Hell... this is fucking bullshit..."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." She nodded until she felt a pang in her chest. "Hey Rylan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you care that I'm Infected?" Ellie almost shied away. "I mean, do you see me any differently?"

"...I do see you differently, yeah, I kind of have to." Rylan had to be honest about that. "...But I still think you're too pretty to even be Infected though..." Both of their eyes widened in embarrassment. "...No no no, I didn't mean it like that! It's just the wine talking."

"Oh so you don't think I'm fucking pretty?" Ellie pouted crossed her arms after she took back the wine bottle and nearly finished the whole thing.

"No, I do. You're fucking drop-dead gorgeous, honest!" Rylan proclaimed before he could stop himself. "...Don't ever think otherwise."

She froze herself at his words and she calmed her demeanor, feeling that she could relax again. "You're just saying that..."

"Just take the damn compliment and at least know that I think you're... cute."

Ellie copied his joke and used it on him now. "Rylan, you're too drunk. Go to sleep!" And then surprisingly he flipped her off and then they both laughed over the flirty banter. "But really... thanks."

"Don't mention it."

They had a few more questions in them, casual stuff instead. What's your favorite season, colors, hobbies another than puns and hunting. Turns out they actually had a lot in common.

But after that, their little conversation was starting to die down, so they decided to take a break from this little back and forth that they had and just enjoy some silence for a while. Both of them realized that they were pretty tipsy at the moment; Rylan had seen that Ellie had enough and took back the bottle, seeing that it was almost completely empty. He grabbed the last few sips and finally tossed the wine aside, their game was over.

"So... that was super duper fucking fun..." Ellie slurred her words as she yawned which morphed into a chuckle. "...I see why some people really do like to drink that stuff..."

"We shouldn't make it a habit though." Rylan added. "...And it is getting late."

"Yeah. You're right... Tch..."

"What is it?"

"I just met you this morning and I... Just that a lot has happened today." Ellie decided to lie down on her blanket laying on her back while Rylan did the same on his blanket but he propped himself up on his elbow facing her. "I wish Joel was here..."

"I'm sure he feels the same. Don't worry, we'll find him at that cabin you mentioned alright? ...And uh, Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

Rylan made a gulping noise and she could tell that he looked really nervous. "...Can I kiss you goodnight?" The question was completely unexpected. Rylan's eyes widen at the same time his cheeks bloom into red. She could see his face even in the dark; whether or not it was the wine that loosened him up... hell they were both pretty drunk by this point. "Oh shit... that sounded a lot less desperate in my head... never mi-"

Ellie mirrored his position as she propped herself on her elbow as well facing him to take a better look after his brown eyes calmed themselves from the shock of his own question. Was he regretting his own words? He probably can't believe it, and neither can she that he just asked that. Ellie realized that she was staring at him without giving him an answer, wrapping a rope around his hopes and about to let them hang and linger. He could die tomorrow... they both could die tomorrow, they didn't know... And if he liked her...

So that was when Ellie opened curved her lips into a sly grin, but it was a subdued one, she had to play it somewhat cool. That smile asked him. "I don't know... can you?"

Never would she consider this if she didn't have that fun fuzzy feeling in her head, or the flushed cheeks or the happiness she had emanating from her body. But now her sassy response must have cheered him up because he was already leaning in halfway between them, nervous but daring her to reconsider in silence.

Ellie swallows in dry and now using her hands as support, she leaned forward towards him. They both almost flinch when their noses began touching, their combined experience with this sort of thing minimal at best.

The tragic thought crossed her mind that she would infect him with the kiss, but then it came to her mind that it didn't work like that. Bites infected others by breaking the skin and getting into the blood. So... there was no problem here, no blood.

These two teens had it hard... something they barely called a childhood taken away from them in the world. Even though they didn't know each other's deepest secrets, the fact that the Fireflies are after Ellie and that Rylan is still guarded with whatever happened to him and his parents, they were happy with each other... at least for that moment... They could feel for this moment, and enjoy it like a little burning candle lighting up the darkness of the night.

That was when their lips met, dry purple lips stained by the drink they were sharing. Heat was waving off of both of them as they kept their eyes shut to commemorate this bliss and have the rest of the world melt away for just a minute...

Was this moment real though? Or was it a drunken mistake?

No... It would never work in the long run. For more reasons than one... they didn't know yet.

And that was when they simultaneously broke apart, trying to catch their breath and keep their hearts from fluttering away... "I'm not going to wake up with mushrooms on my lips, am I?"

Ellie chuckled. "Fuck you Rylan..." And then it hit her. "Fuck... why'd we do that? Why did I-"

"...It's my fault, okay?" He somberly stated. "...I just... I don't know... look we were both..." No they just needed to go to sleep, no use talking about it now. "I think we should call it a night."

Ellie agreed and promised herself that they would both talk about it in the morning when they were more clearheaded. "Okay. Goodnight." She turned away sleeping so that her back was facing him.

"Sweet dreams, Ellie."

...

...

"You think you know me?! You have no idea of what I'm capable of!"

A/N- It's the apocalypse, you live everyday like it's your last. Connections are so important because if you're just surviving just to survive, then what's the point? You need to have people you can trust, even with your life.

Of what is to be for our heroes in the next chapter?

Until next time. :)