Fandom Life in a Quarantine Zone { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb heard Carlos and looked back with a sheepish grin. He watched as Carlos came over. He heard the groan but they were almost done with the building, it should be okay to talk a little. He saw the raised brows and hands out. Kaleb shook his head, pointing at his leg and then moved forward. Need to use it on flat ground. He was still stubborn, but this time it was directed to working his leg and getting so he could walk again. Kaleb couldn’t check rooms yet since he couldn’t get away quickly. So he left the last few rooms for Carlos to search.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Carlos tilted his head, giving the leg another look before sighing and nodding. Fine. But he was going to never let him walk again if this went poorly. He moved to the next room. Listened. Opened the door. Checked around. No infected. Good. Okay what supplies? Handful of sharps, couple of rags he might be able to cobble together, and bullets for a gun they didn’t have. Great. Last room. Listened. Shuffling? For sure shuffling. He shook his head. He was not in the mood for another battle. He jerked his head back towards the stairs. Time to go?
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb let out a little sigh of his own. He nodded and walked up to the door of the next room. He looked around, tested his leg and watched as Carlos came back out. He noticed that he stopped at the last door and shake his head. Okay. Infected. Don’t go in. Kaleb followed the jerk of Carlos’ head and nodded. Time to go. He made his way, using his leg every so often and gently. Just enough pressure but not too much. At the door, Kaleb waited, he didn’t want to push his luck and pointed to his leg, then the stairs and shook his head. Not ready for stairs yet.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

He walked at Kaleb’s pace without effort. Really, if there was only that one infected left all the way down there and maybe the clicker he ignored on the other floor, talking should not be a problem. Once they reached the stairs, he moved in close for in case of infected and not because he loved to be that kind of close always, “I’ll be right back love.” He took both packs and ran down the stairs. All the way down to the bottom floor to deposit them by the first floor door and then run all the way back up. They were going to be smart about this this time. He slowed as he got to the top, arms out with his big smile. “You ready to go?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb appreciated that Carlos walked at his pace, though he hated being so slow. He nodded when Carlos said he'd be right back. He waited patiently at the top of the stairs. Kaleb was glad that Carlos was being smart about this, and not trying to carry Kaleb and both packs. He smiled as Carlos came back up to the top and had his arms out. "I'm ready to go." He told him happily. He didn't want to admit that he was enjoying being carried, and he would probably refuse to admit it for a while.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

One of the worst things was that Kaleb was hurt, but at the same time, one of the best things was how he got to carry him. So the horrible led to his favorite thing he’d done in a while. He was not sure how he felt about that. That was okay. He was allowed to be a little conflicted. What he knew for certain was that he would not give up this moment as he gathered Kaleb in his arms and lifted him into his now usual cradle for anything in the world. This was what he wanted a month ago, he just didn’t know it yet, though he was sure month ago him would not object. “Hey, there, sweetness,” he nearly whispered as they began down the three flights of stairs. Three whole flights. That meant more time. He would take that time.
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb couldn't stop the smile that crossed his face when he was picked up in Carlos' arms. He loved the safety they provided, like he didn't have to be anything other than himself. He looked up at Carlos when he heard the near whispered words. "Hello there." He said just as quietly back. Then he rested his head on Carlos' chest. He was happy that it was three flights of stairs, it meant more time in Carlos' strong arms.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

“It’s so nice meeting you here again,” Carlos said as he slowly moved down the stairs. Could he have moved faster. Yes, quite a bit actually. Would he pretend like this was for safety? Yep. If anyone asked, it was certainly for the safety of both him and his companion. “It’s like we were destined to keep crossing. That’s, what, three times on these stairs now? And so many other times too.” He chuckled to himself. “I wonder how we could manage such fortuitous events.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb chuckled lightly. "It's a rather curious way to meet I'll admit." He said, a smile on his face. He could tell that Carlos was moving slowly down the stairs, but he was okay with it. "Destiny, injury, fate, circumstance." Kaleb teased, but he believed that it was destiny. After all, how would two people that led such different lives end up meeting in a QZ, and leaving together shortly after?​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

He laughed, because it was pretty silly. “You know what I think? I think Destiny looked at this and said ‘whoa, there’s no way I can’t be having two of the most beautiful people in the world together.’ So she, I’ve decided the personification would be feminine for no reason other than I knew a girl named Destiny once, plopped us both on the same place. Beauty finds beauty.” Otherwise known as Carlos got obsessed with beauty and wouldn’t stop following him around until he accepted him. Both versions were definitely accurate.
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb chuckled at that. "Yes. Destiny definitely was the reason I was assigned to Denver. I could've been assigned to any one of the zones and I get sent to Denver. Where I found a trouble making artist that decided he wanted to follow me to the scary outside world." Kaleb said with a smile. He never imagined that he'd leave the training school, being assigned to Denver where he'd grown up, and meeting Carlos. He also never imagined that he'd leave the zone, leave FEDRA and make his way out in the country with the man.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

“Mm he sure did,” Carlos mused as he thought back on his own recent past. That was exactly what happened. Something brought Kaleb to Denver, and he found trouble in the form of Carlos who wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his days in his company. That was both normal and not at all crazy. No, it was crazy. His crew used to call him crazy all the time. You’re crazy for painting on that in broad daylight. You’re crazy for flirting with that guy’s girl. You’re crazy for flirting with that girl’s guy. You’re crazy for talking to an officer like that. You’re crazy for still talking to that officer. Crazy. And all this crazy wanted was to be close to this sweet all bundled in his arms. So much of his being wanted to stop and sit down in some corner of these stairs. Move those arms around him better. Find those lips again. They tasted like a hot and hard day’s work. Okay, Carlos, you’re getting lost again. If you keep staring at your boy, then you’ll probably trip over some of the stairs. He pried his eyes away so that he could take in a better visual of their surroundings, making it down the first flight of stairs finally. Two more to go. Too short.

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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb chuckled lightly at that. He had never expected that his life would change and he'd up being carried up and down stairs. That he'd have found such an amazing man that would do that for him. And to think he'd tried so hard to be on his own. He would not have lasted as long as he did out here on his own. He froze the first time he met a runner, and now with his leg? He'd invited the chance to be killed had he been on his own. So, yes. Something else had been at play for these two, some connection whether that be fate or destiny, he didn't much care. "Hmm, my savior" He whispered.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

He liked that. He liked that a lot actually. Savior? That sounded far better than some simple companion. Savior had a whole different connotation. It felt a lot more like a hero. Maybe even better than that. Carlos Da Silva, savior to Kaleb Prince. Yeah, that had a nice ring to it. “You know what I think about that too? I think your savior does a lot for you.” He peered dramatically down the stairs. “This is an awful lot of stairs. Im thinking the stair toll maybe have to be a little bit more than just your average going up some stairs. What do you think love?”

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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb had been lost in his thoughts but tilted his head up and smiled at Carlos with a little laugh. "You have done a lot for me.." Kaleb conceded the point. And he had, Carlos had effectively saved Kaleb even if he didn't realize yet just yet. He had given Kaleb the courage to leave, even if it was to originally get away from him, and he stayed with Kaleb. Cleaned and wrapped his leg twice, helped him walk, carried him up and now down stairs. His eyes watched him, mulling over his second comment in his head. "And just what would an appropriate stair toll?" He asked Carlos, that smile on his face getting bigger.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Carlos bit his bottom lip as he tried not to make it very obvious what he could not stop thinking about. “I don’t know.” He moved one hand to caress his cheek as the finished the second set of stairs. One more to go. “I did like the stair toll from before.” Who wouldn’t? He dragged a finger to those lips. Well there went trying to behave. He only let one side of his mouth curl a little. Just a little. Enough.

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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb looked at him as he felt a hand caress his cheek. His face flushed red at the first comment, and it got darker at the finger dragged to his lips. "Is that so? Would one like that be enough for you?" He asked, an eyebrow quirked as he saw that curl on one side of Carlos' mouth. Kaleb tilted his head to the side as he noticed they had started down the final set of stairs. Then being carried would be over, and it would be time for the stair toll.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Was that enough? That was certainly a question. Would it be enough? Yes. He wanted to say yes. Yes, anything is enough. But also, no. Was anything enough? Would anything be enough again? Wasn’t that the silliest question? “I don’t know.” An honest answer. This one was not as confident as the rest. It was just true. Carlos considered how he felt after the last. How would they ever get better than that? He thought so long they were nearing the end of the stairs. He probably should figure it out.
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb let out a small chuckle at that answer. He could see that his words weren't as confident as the others had been. He could tell they were getting close to the bottom floor. "How about we decide when we reach the bottom if that will be enough of a toll payment." Kaleb told him, looking up at Carlos with a small smile on his face. It wasn't as big or as happy as it could be, but he was still working on figuring out his feelings.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

“Yeah.” He remembered when he was Mr. Confidence Guy the big time trouble maker of Denver QZ. Well, he remembered when that was who everyone thought he was, because that was the role he played. That was who he wanted to be. He didn’t really show off the part where he was horrendously afraid of doing something wrong or being judged. Hard for that to be your fear when you do nothing but flirt with literally everyone around you. And tag the old buildings that aren’t scheduled for demolition. And ignore the fancy officer guy who was strict and no fun but also was looking out for you all the time. That didn’t mean that it wasn’t true. He did a whole lot of things in the hopes that everything would work out one day and stop being so freaky. Okay, but now, he didn’t even know what to do, because all of that Confident Carlos that he literally just was decided to go, and he was the ultimate struggle bug. As he stepped off the last stair, he paused like suddenly he was unsure. Like he hadn’t kissed him like they were made for each other at the top of the last set of stairs. Like he didn’t suggest a number of things he would like to do. He paused and then he gently set Kaleb down. Flustered. He was flustered.
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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb held on as they made their way down to the bottom of the stairs and he looked up at Carlos with a smile. He saw the pause and then he was set down gently. Kaleb could see that something was off and he tilted his head. A smile crossed his face as he looked at Carlos. He put his arms around the others neck and leaned up, kissing him much like he had before, one hand on the back of Carlos' head. He held the kiss for a few minutes before pulling back. "Is that worthy of the hard work carrying me down three flights?"​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

No. It wasn’t enough. It had nothing to do with the stair roll or amount of work he put in to things. It had nothing to do with payment and heroics or anything else. It only had to do with how much could ever be enough for him when it came simply to Kaleb. And the answer was no. It wasn’t enough. As Kaleb pulled away after what was the best several minutes, Carlos felt drastically without. He felt like this kiss was the only thing that mattered, which was a very Carlos thing to feel. Kisses were how he got to feel close to people. Nothing was as together as that. Well. For the most part. They were his favorite things to do with people. And he wanted more. Desperately. Kaleb pulled away to ask but before he could finish, Carlos was shaking his head and kissing him again. Again because once was not enough. Minutes were not enough. He wanted more time. He knew now was probably not the time. This was not their safest place. They needed to more. So he only allowed another several minutes of being one. Finally, gasping, he let it break, and his nodded. “Okay, that’s enough. I mean, it’s not, but it’s enough. He kissed Kaleb’s forehead and sighed. “We should probably keep going.” He picked up the packs and readied himself to be support if necessary.

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[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb wasn't expecting to be kissed again, just the same way. He had a feeling that this was still not enough, and after several minutes of kissing, Carlos broke it this time. He was breathing hard this time. His guess was confirmed when Carlos said it wasn't enough. Kaleb agreed, but they needed to find a safe place to rest. This time it was him to look at Carlos, leaned in for a quick kiss, before nodding. "To be continued." He whispered. "Alright, let's keep moving." Kaleb wanted the support, but he didn't need it. So he pulled open the door, and made his way through to the front desk area, looking around and nodding. "Clear." He said quietly.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Aspiring Artist | 23 | Current location ;; New Mexico

No. It wasn’t enough. It had nothing to do with the stair roll or amount of work he put in to things. It had nothing to do with payment and heroics or anything else. It only had to do with how much could ever be enough for him when it came simply to Kaleb. And the answer was no. It wasn’t enough. As Kaleb pulled away after what was the best several minutes, Carlos felt drastically without. He felt like this kiss was the only thing that mattered, which was a very Carlos thing to feel. Kisses were how he got to feel close to people. Nothing was as together as that. Well. For the most part. They were his favorite things to do with people. And he wanted more. Desperately. Kaleb pulled away to ask but before he could finish, Carlos was shaking his head and kissing him again. Again because once was not enough. Minutes were not enough. He wanted more time. He knew now was probably not the time. This was not their safest place. They needed to more. So he only allowed another several minutes of being one. Finally, gasping, he let it break, and his nodded. “Okay, that’s enough. I mean, it’s not, but it’s enough. He kissed Kaleb’s forehead and sighed. “We should probably keep going.” He picked up the packs and readied himself to be support if necessary.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
Former FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; New Mexico

Kaleb moved slowly out of the stairwell, looking around. He loved the kiss on his forehead. "I agree." He said quietly. Kaleb moved out into the front lobby and looked around, seeing it was clear. He knew that it would be tough to get through the front door, and he knew that.​