Fandom Tale of Two Survivors { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

At least Denver was a real name. Nate almost laughed at the thought. Who named a horse Ireland? Carlos. And also them. It only seemed appropriate. He watched as the world grew darker, and he wondered just how far they could walk before it was too dark to keep going. “I bet they are. With bright blue eyes and big, strong arms.” Nothing could take that from them anymore.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex knew they weren’t going to make it much further but he would keep going. He was determined to get as close to Wyoming as he could before they stopped for the night. He heard Nate’s comment and his mind flashed back to the first time he ever met Carlos. And those big strong arms of his. He could understand why Kaleb fell in love with him. Being carried like that had created a kind of security that Alex kind of missed. But he also got it when he hugged Nate, or when they cuddled together at night. “Yeah. They are. I don’t think we’re going to get much further. Why don’t we make camp here.”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate was going to miss the dynamic that they brought. No, he already did. He missed it so much. He didn’t think he could miss anyone like he missed his mama and his other brothers, but he did. He missed everyone. “Okay. We’ve made it a pretty far way already. We hit Wyoming tomorrow?” Just to make sure that he was remembering correctly. It was amazing how much distance they could get when they didn’t stop anywhere.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex looked at Nate when he spoke and nodded. “We should be there around midday and in Jackson by the afternoon.” He said as he stopped and pulled out the blanket, laying it on the ground. He proceeded to sit down and looked at Nate. “Come on baby. Join me for dinner?” Alex asked as he pulled his pack into his lap and looked through to find something to eat. He pulled out a can of corn and smiled. “What about corn for dinner?”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate slowed as Alex found a place for them to stop. He waited as Alex pulled out the blanket, unsure of what to do. He was so unsure of everything now. He hated how his hands felt like they were shaking. When he looked at them, he couldn’t tell. Were they? Was that an imperceptible movement? Maybe. He didn’t know. He hated that he couldn’t tell. What if it was and he couldn’t patch up Alex? What if- Nate pulled his attention away from his thoughts and down where Alex sat. “Okay.” He stood there another second. “Corn sounds good.” He slowly lowered himself, working around the awkwardness of the bag still on his back. He pushed it away from him. Still unsure.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex could tell that something was off. He had no idea how to fix it, how to make Nate better. There really was no way to do that. Not really. He watched Nate for a moment, seeing him standing there and then he lowered himself to the ground. Alex gently took his pack from him to grab the utensils and then held on out to Nate. “You okay beautiful?” Alex asked, concern on his face as he looked at him. ​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate nodded. He was going to lie. “I’m okay.” Or maybe he wasn’t. Maybe that was the truth. Maybe he was just okay. Maybe okay was better than anything else. “Sorry.” That was not a lie. He was so sorry. He took the utensil and stared at it like he was examining it. Like he was determining if it could be trusted. Corn. Corn was good for now. “How long does it take for wheat to grow?” he asked as he stared at his utensil. Not eating. Not yet. But at least he was talking.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex couldn’t discern if that was a lie or if Nate was being truthful. He chose the latter because it felt more right. “Don’t be sorry. It’s okay to not be okay.” Alex replied as he looked at Nate for a long moment. “Wheat takes a couple months to grow unfortunately but, once it’s grown, it won’t take long to make bread.” Alex explained as he forced himself to take a bite of corn.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

A couple of months. That was a long time for anything to grow. Nate knew very little about plant growth and farming. Italy was not part of his repertoire of science nerding. He stuck to mostly human bodies and medicines. Sometimes he would learn about animals purely because it was fun. And interesting. He loved interesting things. He nodded as he took a bite of the canned corn. He could do this. He could eat. “How do you make the bread?” The culinary parts of science were also not something he knew. He was learning that his knowledge was lacking quite a bit.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex didn’t have an answer for that. He hadn’t made bread in ages. “Well. We grind the wheat into flour. And we mix it with water, let it ferment for a few days then cook it until it turns white.” Alex explained as he ate another bite of corn. “It’s rather simple once we get the wheat honestly.” Alex added as he looked over at Nate with a smile on his face. He was more than happy to explain how to make the food.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate tried to imagine what Alex was explaining. He tried to fill his mind with the movements. The instructions. “Ferment.” That was such an interesting word. He never really understood it even as he learned it. “Like… cultivating?” It was the closest thing he could think when he did not know what else to compare it to. He ate as he thought. “How much wheat do we need for one loaf of bread? How many loaves could a field make?” He thought of some of the fields of what that he had seen before. He saw fields of many things all over the country. “How much of a field is too much for two people to handle?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex nodded as he heard Nate and took another bite of corn. “Ferment is the process when oxygen is taken away and things change with the lack of it. So we wrap the dough up in a wrap or use a container and cover it with something to keep the oxygen out.” Alex explained as he put his utensil down, he was full. “One loaf of bread takes about four stalks of wheat. An average field that’s roughly 10’ by 10’ can make about ten loaves of bread, roughly. And I would only do two fields of wheat.” Alex said as he cleaned his utensil off.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate listened as he ate. He thought about this math. Considered. It. Spun it around in his kind. “So what you’re saying is that I must savor the bread.” That seemed like the logical thing to take from this explanation. There wasn’t enough bread for as often as he joked. He could ration. He had his whole life. He rationed everything. He came up with exact portioning. He finished his portion of the corn as he thought about this.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex looked at him, listening to him and nodded. "It would be smart to savor it, although who knows, maybe they have a way to store bread or make more of it." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "And if we can store it, then we can make more of it at once so we don't have to ration it." Alex added as he put away the corn once Nate was done and took the utensil from him, cleaning it and putting it away. He laid down on the blanket a moment later and opened his arm out for Nate with a smile.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

“Maybe. Preservation seems like such a difficult thing to get right.” Nate frowned. “My mama told me about the preservation, but I don’t really remember how they did that before the world changed, you know?” He thought for another moment as Alex cleaned everything and laid down. He smiled at him as he saw that arm. “Is that for me?” he asked as he lowered himself down and cuddled close, resting his head on Alex’s chest.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex hummed softly as he thought about what Nate said. He was right, it was difficult but possible. He looked up and saw that smile, nodding. “Yes, this arm is for you.” He replied as he watched Nate lower himself and cuddle close. Alex wrapped his arm around him as he felt the head on his chest. “I’m sure we can find a way to preserve it.” He said a moment later. “But right now? Let’s get some rest okay?” ​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate was tired, so rest sounded good. It sounded like the perfect thing to do. Everything was better after some sleep. He closed his eyes, but he didn’t want to sleep yet. Instead he lifted his head and kissed him. “Okay. Yes. You’re right.” He buried his face in Alex’s chest and closed his eyes. He hoped that he could sleep well.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex’s body was exhausted and his mind was tired. As Nate agreed to sleep, he too closed his eyes. His arm wrapped securely around Nate as he fell asleep. He didn’t dream, not really and it was.. a semi restful sleep he was having as well.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate fell asleep after a while of thinking and not thinking. He tried to think about bread and wheat until he found his mind wandering to other things. He focused on sleeping. Finally he did, and he stayed asleep for the most part. It was sleep, and that was about it. Before the sun rose, he woke up, and he was up. He laid there and stared at the dark of the trees, waiting for light.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex woke up when the sun filtered through the trees. He did not realize that Nate had been awake since before. He blinked and looked at Nate with a smile on his face. "Good morning." Alex said softly, leaning down and kissing the top of Nate's head. "How did you sleep?" Alex asked, looking at Nate with a warm smile.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate did not notice that Alex was awake until he moved. He blinked like perhaps he had been asleep after all. “Fine.” That was not exactly a lie. He did sleep fine enough. It was not as bad as it could have been. He would know, because he already slept through bad. “What about you? How did you sleep?” It was bound to be better than him since he struggled so much. It was like it used to be almost. He didn’t miss that. What he missed were those nice days where he knew he could fall asleep in Alex’s arms.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Alex sometimes wondered if Nate slept as fine as he did. But he couldn’t say much. He didn’t sleep well sometimes either. “I slept good. Ready to be in a nice bed instead of sleeping on the hard ground.” He admitted. “I hope you’re ready for Wyoming. We should be there today.” Alex added as he stretched his legs while he laid there.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

“I would love a bed to sleep on.” Nate did not think that the bed would solve his problems as it had not before, but it would help the stiffness in his back. It also may help that beds came with walls and doors instead of being just wherever. The sense of safety was always comforting. “I am certainly ready to find somewhere to stay,” he answered as he rolled to the side to lay next to Alex.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan
Former Seraphite | 19 | Current location ;; Idaho

Even if a bed did not fix things instantly, it would do wonders for sore back muscles. "Me too." He replied as he heard Nate and nodded. "Well, let's get something to eat and get moving?" He suggested, sitting up and looking at Nate who was laying next to him. He was ready to stop traveling, to find somewhere and just relax.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews
Former Firefly| 21 | Current location ;; Idaho

Nate’s eyes closed for a moment as Alex sat up, and without opening them, he moved his arm to find Alex’s hand. He pulled it close to him, pressing a kiss to the back of it and then eventually let it go as he slowly began to sit up. “Sounds good to me.”
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