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

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Somewhere far away, there was Alex. Somewhere that Nate would like to go. But everything was so confusing. So bright. His body moved towards the voice, though the words he couldn’t make out. They didn’t matter as long as they led to Alex. His guide. His light in the darkness. Was that why it was so bright? He moved his arm away from his face, and he wanted to shake it away. The bright hurt. It hurt everywhere. Where was Alex? He hadn’t opened his eyes yet, because his body hadn’t figured that part out. What it did know was that he could reach. He could reach with his hand. Fingers curled in feebly before opening again. Shutting and opening. Trying to find him. Another moan slipped from his throat and through his lips that parted ever so slightly.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex watched as Nate moved his arm away from his face. Oh. Was it too bright? “Kai do the lights need to be on?” He asked and Kaiden shook his head, moving away from Ezekiel to flick off the lights. The only light now was the sun in the far window casting a little light but not near as much as there had been. Alex nodded before seeing Nate’s hand reach, fingers curled in and out, and he took Nate’s hand. “I’m here love. Open those beautiful eyes of yours. Come to me.” Alex said, squeezing his hand gently.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Everything was just a little bit easier to bear in the moments following. Not so bright. Not Alex? But where was Alex? Why couldn’t he find him? Oh. Fingers. Fingers around his. Were they from his light? The voice caressed his ears again, and a hint of a smile poked at the edge of his lips. They parted as he tried to speak, but his voice wasn’t there. He narrowed his eyebrows in frustration. Slowly, his eyes began to open, but it was just so hard. They parted briefly and closed again. Opened and closed. He pulled the hand that came to him closer. He knew that was Alex. He could hear him. He also knew that his hand hurt. The other one. The one that felt so heavy. He tried to turn his head that way, but his head hurt too. Why did he hurt so much?
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex saw that hint of a smile poking at Nate’s lips and he smiled wider. Though he noticed him try and open his mouth speak, saw his eyebrows narrowed as he tried to open his eyes. Alex shifted so his hand could move when Nate pulled it, and he saw him try to turn his head too. “Nate, baby you need to lay still. Relax. Wake up for me baby. We’ve got some more people to meet. We’re home. Kaiden, can I have a glass of water?” Alex asked, and Kai moved, grabbing one and brought it over. Just in case.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Sounds were finally becoming words, though he didn’t really understand them. Something about more people? He managed to open one eye, though it was mostly closed still, and the world was blurry. That was either because of this groggy state or because he was blind. Either way, he couldn’t see anything but the blobby shape above him. He opened the other eye. It became only marginally clearer. He closed his eyes again, liking the world of darkness better. No, he was waking up. Alex wanted him to wake up. So he tried again. This time, he was marginally less unsure. The world was still blurry but not as blurry. Was that Alex? He tried to sit up, and it went poorly for him. He tried to brace himself with both hands, but one didn’t want to work right and it immediately fell away. He didn’t like that at all. What was wrong with his hand? He tried to speak. Tried to say that he didn’t know what was wrong but something was wrong. It didn’t feel right. It hurt. It hurt a lot actually. He couldn’t see it either. Vague sounds and syllables left his lips as he tried again to sit up and look at his arm. Ezekiel moved to the other side and gently put a hand on Nate’s shoulder to keep him down. “I believe you are not supposed to do that yet.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

He saw one eye open, and he reached beside him to grab the now clean glasses. Alex had cleaned them when Nate had been under. He gently placed them on his face before he winced seeing Nate try and sit up. Twice. No. “Nate, baby, you need to stay laying down. Please do not try and sit up. You were hurt, and we can’t risk injuring yourself.” Alex said, taking his other hand and gently pressing on the opposite shoulder as Ezekiel. “Just open your eyes. Do you need a drink? Is your throat hoarse or sore? You can nod or shake your head if you can’t answer.” Alex said, fear gripping him as he didn’t want Nate to hurt his wrist when they just fixed it.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Not supposed to do what? Move? Nate didn’t like that either. He wanted to sit up. He wanted to move. But he couldn’t move. So he opened his eyes again. Alex was on one side, Alex who gave him his glasses which did mean he could definitely tell that was Alex, and someone else was on the other side. He didn’t recognize him. Was he the reason that he couldn’t get to his arm? Hurt? His attention moved back to Alex as he laid there. “A-Alex?” His voice was hoarse like he hadn’t spoke in a long time. It was as small as it was before they put him under. Drink? All of these words kept swimming around in his head, and he couldn’t keep them straight. He brought Alex’s hand to his cheek and closed his eyes again. If he couldn’t move, which was just as well since it hurt so much, he would lay there with that.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex looked at Nate, hearing him and he sighed softly. That hoarse voice and then his eyes closed again as he felt the hand go to his cheek. He looked at his brother, concerned as Kaiden stood up. "Let me give him some pain relief." He said, walking over and grabbing an injectable form of pain relief that wouldn't make Nate any drowsier. He came back over and, with the skill of watching Jacob work with how often he'd been hurt himself, he injected into the IV. "That should help him relax a bit."​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ezekiel was watching Alex more than he was watching Nate. He did, after all, have an invested interest in Alex. He was concerned, but not that concerned. This was not the first aftermath of a surgery that he had seen. “Good idea. That should help him in a moment.” Nate held onto that hand, wishing he could make the other one do what he wanted. He was not sure why, but he almost felt like crying. Why was he so sad? He opened his eyes again, and they were blurry but from the threat of tears this time. “Alex…” He gently pulled on the hand to get him to move closer. “My.. tongue.” He closed his eyes then opened them again. “Tastes… funny.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex looked at Ezekiel quickly then at Nate, seeing him open his eyes again. He felt the gentle pull on his hand and he moved as close as he could. That... wasn't what he was expecting to hear. He watched Nate open and close his eyes again and he thought for a moment. "It's the sedative, it numbed your body as you went to sleep. Here baby, take a sip of water. That should help chase away the taste." Alex said, grabbing the water in his other hand and slowly bringing it to his lips to guide the water into his mouth and not make a big mess.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

If not for Alex, poor Nate would have made a mess. He struggled to moved his mouth as he was supposed to. Everything was feeling so strange. Everything was so tingling. Numbed his body. Right right that’s what sedatives did. Why did he have sedatives? Where was he? He drank some of the water, trying to figure out where he was. He couldn’t remember. He looked at Ezekiel and was even more confused. With the one hand that could move, he sloppily touched his own face. His cheeks. “You..’re like… Alex..” He reached up to touch Alex’s cheek and then without waiting for permission, to touch Ezekiel’s as well. Ezekiel looked at Alex unsure what to do. “Such.. mm ‘ch pretty lines.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex was right there to make sure no mess was made. Once he drank enough of the water, Alex moved it away. He noticed him looking at Ezekiel and then took the hand that he could move to touch his face, cheeks and a little sloppily. Alex heard him and smiled at the touch to his cheeks before he saw that hand go to touch Ezekiel's cheeks. "He.. loves touching my scars and finds them beautiful. It's just.. him." Alex said while Kaiden chuckled softly. "I understand that. They are beautiful." He said, looking at Ezekiel. Once he realized that the scars were not.. what made him who he was, he really started looking at his partner and found the lines on his face beautiful.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ezekiel didn’t know if he wanted to back away or laugh. Either way, he was mildly uncomfortable by this. That was okay though. Whatever he had to do to help Alex and his partner. He smiled at Kaiden before looking back at Nate who had moved his hand back to Alex’s cheek. “Yours are better,” he whispered with a grin. That did make Ezekiel laugh. Nate closed his eyes once more and yawned. “Why.. am I so tired? Is it.. night?” He opened his eyes again to look around but he couldn’t move enough to tell. “Where.. are we?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex felt the hand touch his cheek again and he smiled at him, seeing that grin. "Is that so baby?" He asked, then he saw him yawn and found that just as endearing as anything else Nate did. "No it's not night time. You're still under effects of the sedative. You may be awake, but your body's still coming out of it." He explained, before he smiled bigger. "We're in Jackson baby. We did it."​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Jackson. They made it. They really did it. How had they managed that? Against all the odds, they did it. “You were coming here?” Ezekiel asked as Nate let that settle in. He seemed shocked. Nate thought that was reasonable honestly. Oh, wait, right, the sedatives. Why? He tried to scan his body. That went about as well as he expected in that it didn’t. He checked every limb and it felt like… well the most uncomfortable part was his arm. His arm that.. had a cast on it. What happened to his arm? “Um, can- can I ask why… why it’s…” he sort of wiggled that arm.
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex looked from Nate to Ezekiel and nodded, hearing his question. "We were. We uh overheard about it from a WLF patrol in Seattle. Part of the long story I mentioned." He said before his attention turned to Nate when he asked about his arm. "You broke your wrist when an infected tried to grab you." Alex explained, looking at Nate. "Jacob put wires and rods in to set the bones back but they need to heal properly and that means a cast."​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

That was a strange way for them to find each other again. Ezekiel grinned. “Perhaps She does guide us. Or at least something out there does.” Nate blinked a couple of times as he tried to remember his wrist breaking. That wasn’t coming back to him yet. “Not her. Him.” He squeezed Alex’s hand. Smiled as he looked at that beautiful face with beautiful scars. He got him to Jackson. Home maybe. Ezekiel looked from Nate to Alex and nodded. “Uh huh. Kaiden. Have you ever seen two more in love than that?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex looked at Ezekiel and thought for a moment. "I guess She does. Even when we leave." He said, seeing Nate blink and then he felt the hand squeeze his and he heard Nate. His heart swelled with love as he heard him. Even if he still believed in Her, and he did to a degree and in the original teachings not what the elders turned her teachings into, he thought that was heart warming. He squeezed the hand back and kissed Nate's forehead gently. Kai looked at Ezekiel and chuckled softly. "Maybe Uncle Jacob and Uncle Soren." He said truthfully.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ezekiel nodded and grinned. “Yes, I believe you’re right. I don’t know if anyone can beat the two of them.” Nate yawned again though he was starting to feel a little less exhausted. He brought Alex’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it as he tried again to evaluate himself. Mending hand. Hurting body. Woozy head. These were all things that seemed reasonable now that he understood the context. Though something did bother him that he didn’t really want to think about. Oh. Well. Too late. “My wrist. My hand. If it’s broken, or well if it broke, I can’t… Alex, I can’t do anything.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex looked at Nate, feeling the hand press against his partner's lips for a kiss. "That's okay beautiful. You don't have to do anything. We're home and we don't have to go anywhere or do anything ever again if we don't want to. So you can kick back and relax for the first time in a while." He said as he looked at Nate with a smile. Kaiden chuckled, hearing Ezekiel and nodded. "It's definitely a hard thing to beat." He agreed.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Though Nate understood what Alex was saying, he did not see it that way. He could relax, and he planned to, but what he did, everything that he did, depended on this hand. “What if we need to? What if I need to… I don’t know. Put you back together again. I can’t… I can’t do that.” Ezekiel thought he might try to help. “Jacob did an excellent job with you. He could do that again.” It didn’t help. Nate sighed and bit his lower lip.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex sighed softly, using his free hand to run it through Nate's hair. "You won't need to put me back together beautiful, you wanna know why? Because I'll be sitting right beside you the whole time. Until you're completely better and Jacob gives the all clear to use that hand again, I won't let myself get hurt." He said, and he cast an appreciative smile to Ezekiel at his words, though he sensed they didn't help like he wanted. "Nate. We're safe, we're home and you aren't allowed to leave wherever they stick us to stay, until that hand is better and I won't leave your side either."​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Even if Alex was making sense and the gesture was beyond beautiful that he would be right there with him, that did not change the fact that for however long he had this cast on and then however long it took to get his hand back into working order, he would not be able to do anything. Nothing. His other hand could do a lot, yes, but it was not his dominant hand. All of his skills were medical, and he couldn’t do any of them. Yes, he could heal perfectly, but what if he didn’t? What if he couldn’t do the one thing that mattered to him? Who was he then? All he said was, “okay.” Because what else could he possibly say? Alex would shower him with magical stories of never being alone again. Of being home and happy. He wanted to believe those stories. He just… couldn’t. Ezekiel turned to the door. “Do we know how long you have to stay here? Or do you get to go somewhere else? Did we talk to Maria already?”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Cameron Harris and Kaiden Lachlan (And the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former Firefly, Former WLF | 19, 23, 26 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Alex wanted to know what was going on inside his partners head. What was he thinking? Sometimes that was something Alex could never figure out. “What are you thinking baby? I can sense you’re letting your mind rule again.” He said before he looked at Ezekiel and shrugged. “Emmett said he was going to find Maria but we don’t know much else and we don’t have anywhere here to go.” Alex replied, before he turned to look at Nate again, concern and curiosity in his gaze.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Emmett Adler, and Ezekiel Finch
Former Fireflies and Former Seraphite | 21, 24, 29 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Nate looked up at Alex and wasn’t sure how to answer that. Anything he said would make it sound like he did not believe or trust Alex, and that was not true. Definitely not true! It was himself that worried him. Just while he had a cast right? Then he could be back to normal. He hoped. He did not answer. Since Nate had not been awake long, and he doubted they were waiting for him too long before that, Ezekiel could assume that was why Emmett was not back yet. “You can always come stay with us. I mean, it’s probably not exactly what you wanted, but-“ That was when Emmett finally came back. “How is he?” Emmett called as he entered the medical tent.
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