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

[icedthemoon]

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

Carlos was not a particularly jealous kind of person. He always believed that everyone should have exactly the kind of relationship with someone else that they needed. If that meant that they were meant to be more romantic with numerous people, that was fine. He had a whole wealth of people he was varying levels of intimate with. Or at least he did. So, when it came to talking about things like his relationship with Jade, he was perhaps not the most aware of how that might make someone else jealous. It was something he was going to have to learn and work with Kaleb to find a good middle ground for them both. “Oh, she’s one of the crew I shared the room with. Part of the uh trouble.” He grinned as he raised both brows before shoving more beans into his face. “She was the one always in the overalls that looked like they’d seen somethings.” He shook his head. “They’d seen some things alright. The darker curly hair. Beautiful, strong arms.” He shook his head again with a slight hum. “Could kill the whole world attitude. Not to be confused with Basira, the other one. Same attitude. Same beautiful arms. Not sure what happened with Salim? Where did the arms go in that gene pool?” He shrugged and took another bite.
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[EquineGurl23]

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


Kaleb sat back as he listened, his appetite vanished as he did. Was he just another person to Carlos? Was whatever this is, just his current fascination? Kaleb put his spoon down and pushed away, sitting back against the headboard. Arms crossed over his chest. Cold once again. Now was Kaleb a jealous person? He didn’t think he was. But he’d also never opened up to someone like he’d done with Carlos. So it made him reconsider again just what this whole thing or whatever was between them. His eyes were hard, mouth set in a tight line as his mind ran in overdrive.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

Something was wrong. Did he say something wrong? He eyed the food that Kaleb did not eat. “Hey, what’s wrong? Beans not good enough for you?” He smiled, because really something was wrong and he had no idea what it would be. Was it him? It was probably him. He kept doing things that made Kaleb shrink back into that hard shell of his. What Carlos would give to throw it away and let Kaleb free. No more Officer trying to take away the beauty in those blue eyes.
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[EquineGurl23]

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


What’s wrong? Now that was a question wasn’t it? Just what was wrong. Kaleb was only protecting himself, push away anyone that could break the rest of his heart. The heart he spent fifteen years piecing back together. The heart that shattered when his mother was brought in. Gone. “Beans were fine. I’m not hungry.” Kaleb replied, his voice as cold as his demeanor was now. “We should get moving soon.” He added, noticing the brightness against the curtains. It was daybreak. Time to continue on. Search through more of this city before finding somewhere else to spend the night.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

That was another one of those lies, but he was not sure he had the energy for another argument that led to pouting in the bathroom after making Carlos feel like the worst person on the planet for wanting to be with him. So, okay, fine. They could circle back to this later if he was still in a mood. “Okay, but when you starve, I am going to be very upset with you.” He took the spoon and beans to put away as well as the journal. He slipped off the bed to find all the colored pencils that fell during his dream before. “Alright, gorgeous.” He moved the chair blocking the door after picking up his pack. “You ready to go?”
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb shrugged as he moved off the bed. "I won't starve. I'll be fine." He said, standing first on his good leg, before he tested his bad leg. It didn't hurt as much as it had before. Kaleb would be fine to use his leg for the majority of the day. He walked with a slight limp towards the door, picking up his pack and throwing it on his back. "I'm ready" He said, standing there, avoiding any contact, ignoring his words. Kaleb opened the door and looked in the hallway. Clear. He stepped out into the hallway and moved so Carlos could come out.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

Carlos walked out into the hall as well, running a hand across Kaleb’s arm as they moved. You are not alone, beautiful man. If only he could see what was wrong this time. What did he do to hurt him again. It so often was him saying how much he liked Kaleb, but not this time? Unless it was? They were talking about the drawings. Did they freak him out? Maybe he wouldn’t pull it out as often. He could find other things to do? Or maybe other things to draw? He could work on that. That wasn’t too big of a deal. He moved silently but still with a pep in his step as he tried to plan what he could do to make Kaleb more comfortable.
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb flinched at the hand running across his arm. He moved away from Carlos, choosing to check the rooms on one side of the hall. He didn't want to be touched if this, whatever this is, doesn't survive or ends up being broken in any way. This was all to keep himself safe, and he wasn't going to let himself get hurt again. He made it to the first room, checked the door, listened and stepped inside, searching it and finding nothing but a few rags. He headed back into the hallway to keep going.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

Flinching. Cool. Loved that. That was super awesome. Moving away again. Great. Definitely had to stay away from the drawings then. And they were doing so well. He thought maybe they’d broken through something. Not saying that he thought everything was magically fixed but to have this happen so soon after? It hurt a little. He would never tell Kaleb that. He hurt too much on his own to bear someone else’s pain too. This was okay. This was a little bit of pain for the best life. He was absolutely confident that he would win. He chose to do the same, checking doors on the other side. There were not a whole lot of supplies in this hotel. He was not shocked by that. People probably stayed here when they traveled. He would search around here as well if he thought it was safe. And overall, it seemed pretty safe.
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb finished checking the rooms on his side. He had made it to the stairwell door and looked around. He rubbed his arm as he felt himself breaking. He had gotten so close to realizing that he might've found someone for him. Those drawings at been beautiful and Kaleb loved them. He didn't like the fact that it sounded like Carlos loved other people, that Kaleb was just another person he found beautiful. Just one more person. Kaleb waited by the door for Carlos.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

He checked rooms, grabbed supplies, and wished that he could just ask the question. What makes you uncomfortable? Not what makes the Officer uncomfortable. What makes you, Kaleb, uncomfortable? Then he could figure out what to do with him that could make him see how much he meant to Carlos without making him feel like he had to hide behind the barrier made from broken parts. When he reached the stairwell, he grinned at him. Even if everything was hard, he still loved seeing that face. The most beautiful face in the world. “How do you feel about stairs?” He asked as he leaned on the doorway. “If that limp is still not super fun, I don’t mind being your train.”
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb shifted himself as he watched Carlos approach the stairwell. He didn't return the grin, no smile, nothing. Kaleb pulled open the door and stepped inside, holding the door behind him. Once Carlos was in the stairwell, Kaleb shook his head. "I'm fine. I don't need your help" He said. Kaleb put a his good foot on the stair, hand on the wall and lifted his other foot up. Testing it and nodded. He would make it up the stairs just fine. He might be a little slow but he managed to get to the second floor.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

Carlos watched appraisingly but decided in the end that he did not approve. Yes, Kaleb was doing better, but was it better enough not to hurt himself any further? Maybe. He wished Kaleb would talk to him. What was happening in that hurting brain of his? If only he could read minds. “I’m glad you’re doing better, love.” As he moved as slowly as Kaleb, he resolved to just ask him what was wrong. But not yet. Not until they were moving. Once they had the blood pumping again after all that sitting around they did, then he would bring it up. It was not like he was embarrassed or ashamed. He would talk about anything. Maybe that was what Kaleb needed?
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb chose to ignore that comment, pushing open the door to the second floor, looking around before decided it was clear. Kaleb walked into the hallway and chose one side to start going through those doors. Kaleb stopped at the first door and listened in, but it sounded clear. He shifted as he opened the door, stepping inside and seeing nothing of value except a few cans for explosives that he shoved in his pack. Kaleb was using both legs, but still limping a little with less pressure on his bad leg. The wounds were closed, but the muscles were still protesting every so often at being used. Kaleb made his way to the next room.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

He still didn’t like it. Very much. He still didn’t like whatever was happening in this brain of his. They were playing a dangerous game of seesaw, and Carlos just watched Kaleb slip off. That big piece of wood was either going to smack him in the face or send Carlos crashing down. Or maybe both. His only hope was that he was going to be able to fall off sooner rather than later and catch the wood before it hit Kaleb. So was he worried about Kaleb refusing to speak to him and disappearing into a room all by his lonesome? Oh yes. But it was going to take so much longer if he followed Kaleb everywhere. And he really was doing well with his leg. He pulled himself to the other side to start checking rooms. One was boring. One was an interesting room but had nothing of use. One he thought was boring until he was moving around and realized too late that there was a hole in the wall to the next room, so when he was admittedly making quite a bit of sound opening and closing drawers, the clicker came running at him before he noticed. it screeched, he yelped, and eventually their tango came to an end when his crowbar and the clicker's face had a chance meeting. He checked the next room over just for fun after that. It looked gross. He left that without another thought and moved to the hall to see how Kaleb was doing.
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[EquineGurl23]

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

As Kaleb made his way through each of the rooms, he stopped at the last one when he heard the screech of a clicker. A yelp and then Carlos came out into the hall a little later. "Did you get bit?" He asked simply as he walked towards the next room. He didn't really wait for an answer as he ducked into the next room. His attention was straight ahead, not seeing the hole in the floor. A hole just big enough for his foot to catch on. His leg twisted as he fell sideways, pain radiating through his bad leg. He hit the floor with a grunt and a thud, looking at his leg that was looking red. Oh no. No. He couldn't have reopened the cuts. But then again, the cuts were still fresh and the skin was fragile while it healed. That really bad twist on his leg must've ripped the skin and reopened the cuts. Kaleb huffed, let out a soft grunt of pain as he tried to stand up.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

Carlos was shaking his head, grinning like he won a game, and was just about to say that when Kaleb walked on. “Okay, Officer,” he muttered to himself. “If you don’t care then, that’s fine. I’ll just bite you in your sleep.” He moved forward, running out of room on his side since he accidentally did a fourth, and meandered his way to the other side. Hmm, actually, maybe now that he thought about it, he might still do that. He grinned at the thought. He was moving to one of the last rooms when he heard the thud. It wasn’t particularly unusual, but with Kaleb’s leg, he thought he’d check. “Are you good?” He poked his head into the room and walked through, meandering again as he looked through. Well until he saw Kaleb. “Kaleb?” He moved quickly to him as he tried to assess the situation. He was on the floor. Why? Did he fall? He quickly moved forward seeing all that red. “No no no are you okay? Let me see, and don’t give me this you don’t need help nonsense, no one has time for that right now, Officer.” He slipped down and gently touched the leg. “We can get you up after we determine how bad it is, okay?” And then without letting anything tell him no, he pushed up that pant leg to see just how bad it was.
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb had been trying for the last few minutes to get up, but it wasn't working. He heard Carlos call for him, then he saw him. No. Leave me alone. You don't need to pretend to care. How could he argue if his argument was taken away from him? Kaleb huffed, rolling his eyes at the touch on his leg. He hated feeling like he needed to be helped all the time. "Clearly I'm not okay. So just check it out." Kaleb said, his eyes were wet from the pain in his leg. It definitely got reopened, it feels like it anyway.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

Carlos cocked an eyebrow and pursed his lips. He was trying not to feel upset, because it seemed silly to be upset, but that was becoming increasingly harder to do when Kaleb was like this. “Okay, you know what I think? I think I’m going to look at this leg here, and you’re going to tell me what I did to offend you, again, and then I’m going to tell you why you’re wrong.” His smile spread across his face. “I know you can resist me, so there’s no use trying.” He looked at the wound, and yes, it was for sure reopened. He opened up his pack and started cleaning it.
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb rolled his eyes at the comment, and shook his head. "I think you should check my leg, and we'll leave it at that." He said, not wanting to give an answer. "Why should it matter if you offended me or not? We're traveling together that's it. So my feelings are not your problem." Kaleb said with a curt tone of voice. He refused to acknowledge that he'd feel jealous earlier, that he was just another person to him. Kaleb hissed a little as Carlos started cleaning his leg.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

Carlos shook his head, trying not to show any shock to this. He was not shocked. This was the Officer talking, not Kaleb. “Yes, because sleeping curled up and cute, sharing kisses, and professing all but my undying love for you really does speak to someone who would not care if you were offended or not. Certainly have no reason to care about your feelings.” He finished cleaning the leg and began wrapping it. “Want to try that again?”
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb groaned, hearing that and rolling his eyes. "What happened doesn't matter, it's in the past. I'll be just another person to you in a few weeks when we find someone else better than me." Kaleb grumbled, looking away. "So just finish the leg and get me up." He added, working to ignore Carlos. He didn't want to allow feelings to get involved.​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

That was like a punch that opened up a wound he didn’t know he had, fingers like knives yanking on everything that kept him alive and well. This was more than shock. This was not just the Officer denying attachment. This was a dig he did not understand. He froze, unable to continue to be his cheery self as the words sawed at his body. “I’m sorry, what?” He hoped the words did not come off as harshly as they sounded when he heard them. They were incredulous. They were confused. They were the blood of his wound. “What exactly makes you think that I’m about to drop you for some person like that? How has following you out of the QZ and showing you the art which I’ve been told is the gateway to my being telling you that I’m going to find someone else better?”

He needed to slow his words down. He needed to breathe. But he was feeling desperate. “I have never found anyone who has ever compared to you. Ever. And I would know. I have met very many people. I made it my own personal job to know people. I love getting to know people. But with as many people as I’ve met, I have never once met anyone who was better than you. I don’t even know what that means.” He looked down at the leg, afraid to finish now because then he would just get up and ignore him again.

“So let’s start over. I follow you out of the QZ which you insist is horribly dangerous but I don’t care, I learn all of your highly specific rules for survival, I clean you up when you get hurt, I carry you any time you need it, I find you shelter, I listen to your worst nightmares, I help you through those nightmares, I tell you that you are the most amazing person I have ever met, which is true so don’t deny it just because you’re in a mood, I draw you constantly because you’re all I have been able to think about for I don’t know months?, and that’s not enough to prove to you that you aren’t just some guy I like today?” Apparently patience just flew out the window. He needed to get this under control, but his rapid breath told him otherwise.
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[EquineGurl23]

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

Kaleb blinked in shock, hearing those words. He rolled his eyes again, listening to his words, his hands fisting into the floor. "I didn't ask for you to follow me." He said at first, words clipped. And then because Kaleb doesn't know how to shut his mouth, kept going. "I can tell you have met many people, I'm sure you know them all personally, so what's stopping you from finding someone else to personally know if we come across people?" He asked, his own irritation flaring up again. "There are a lot of people better than me out there." Kaleb added.

"I didn't ask you to follow me! I didn't ask for you to clean me up at first, carry me at first, shelter wasn't hard to find in a town.. and it's because of you that I had those nightmares reoccur again." Kaleb's chest was heaving as he finished his rant, his voice sharp and short as he talked. "Now if you finish up my leg, or I'll do it myself."​

 

[icedthemoon]

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

Control. Regain control. This is what the Officer likes. He likes to prove that no one can be trusted. He likes to be alone because it’s safer. It isn’t. He just thinks it is. “What are you going on about? We were having such a good morning.” Control, dammit. He closed his eyes and breathed. Finish the wrapping. So he did. And while he did, he kept on thinking. Why was this the hill he was dying on. Think back to the conversation. What exactly was the problem? “Is this about Jade? When I said she would be jealous?” He narrowed his eyes as he thought on the conversation. That was the last good one. “Because if it is, I promise you, she is not better than you.” He finished the wrapping and put out his hand. Fight or not, he was here for Kaleb.
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