Fandom The Farmhouse Dream { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Carlos Price, Asher McCoy, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Emmett Adler (and the Smith Clan)
Former Firefly, Aspiring Artist, Former Hunter, Former Seraphite, Former WLF, Former Firefly | 21, 25, 32, 29, 25, 24 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Hayden rested his cheek on the top of Kaiden’s head. “I would have it no other way. I want you to be a part of this decision, because it affects all of us. If it works and if it doesn’t.” He had spent far too many years doing things on his own. That was how he wound up like he was. His leg would not have ever gotten like this if he had not wallowed in his misery instead of working to better his relationship with Josh. If he had not been so determined to do this on his own, they might have been able to do more for it. “I won’t do anything unless you know everything. Every answer to every question you might have. Every risk we are taking. But it does sound more than a little tempting.” He looked over at Jacob. “When was the last time I ran? So long ago. You know, when your papa was in high school and was on the track team, I was always there. I ran around with them like I was one of them. I was of course never as good as him. No doubt. But I would run around as an errand boy. A gopher.” Those were the days.

Nate continued to look at all those books while Josh talked. He imagined a younger Hayden and a younger Josh, like the ones in the pictures. He tried to see them somewhere else. Somewhere where the world wasn’t like this. He turned back to Josh as he finished. “You’ve got a whole big river out there. It’s not that far. And another one not super far either. We crossed them getting here. You ever take him out there to do his thing?” He stood up, looking through the medical journals and texts again. Which of these might be useful?

Soren looked at the shelves. “Oh boy, okay.” They were daunting shelves with how little knowledge of this he really had. He turned to Cameron. “Thanks, Can. Em! You got any help for us?” “Nope!” Soren shook his head. “You know, that’s okay.” He looked at Alex. “You and I can do this. Both of our partners are medical geniuses. We are bound to have picked up something in all this time. I’m ancient. If I’ve been married to this man for this long, I can find some books about surgeries. Or something.” He started looking through the shelves in the hopes that one was going to be called something like ‘How to Perform a Surgery to Make a Broken Leg Unbroken After Years of it Being Broken.’
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Kaleb Price, Jordan DeShay, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis and Cameron Harris (and the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former FEDRA officer, Former Smuggler, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former Firefly | 19, 27, 30, 26, 27, 23 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kai felt Hayden’s cheek on the top of his head. He was happy that his dad was going to keep him as part of the decision. He was still concerned and worried, but he didn’t want to bother his dad with it. Until it happened or didn’t, he’d still worry. Hayden had been there his entire life after all and he was more of a dad than his had ever been. “Thank you for that.” He said, smiling. “You did? Wow.” Kai said, it was fascinating to hear stories about the old world. Kai shifted in place, he hadn’t been expecting this when he came in. “Hey.. dad? I love you and I really want this to be a good thing and I hope it will be. I’d love to see you running again.”

Josh shifted as he listened to Nate and shook his head. “Hayden doesn’t walk far often, it’s.. not easy. So no. We don’t. And even with his cane, we can’t traverse the land well.” Josh said, looking at him. “Oh I think he has a human anatomy book on the top shelf.” Josh added, pointing up.

Alex looked at the books, and then at Soren. “I’ve only known Nate about a month and half or so. But I’m sure we can find something.” Alex agreed as he scanned the titles. He grabbed one and flipped through it. “This one is about physical therapy, maybe this one would help for afterwards?” Alex suggested, showing it to Soren.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Carlos Price, Asher McCoy, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Emmett Adler (and the Smith Clan)
Former Firefly, Aspiring Artist, Former Hunter, Former Seraphite, Former WLF, Former Firefly | 21, 25, 32, 29, 25, 24 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Hayden pulled his head away so that they could look at each other better as they spoke. As Kaiden shifted, so he did he. He raised a brow with a slight hum of question. He would answer anything Kai asked. He smiled as he spoke. That was less of a question that Hayden was prepared for. He took both of Kai’s hands in his. “I love you too. I would love for this to work out for us. To run again. Or to walk for longer periods of time? To… I don’t know. What could we do? Go places? Getting here was difficult.” He sighed at the memory of him being their most difficult factor in their move. “We could travel without that issue. I always wished I could take you hiking. I don’t know how safe that would be, but you are all far more capable than I have ever given you credit for.” But what he missed the most was the ocean. There was no ocean here. There was never any ocean close enough for him. Not even really in Seattle.

This story was so unbearably sad that if Nate had not been absolutely engrossed in trying to find the books he needed, he might have been moved enough to cry. “But you could. If I can get this to work.” He grabbed a couple of books that he tossed onto a pile on the ground. He looked up and nodded. “Good eye.” He grabbed that and three more that probably wouldn’t help for this but looked so fascinating that he could never let them go.

Soren was shocked by this sudden revelation. He almost didn’t notice the book he found. “Um, yes. Actually that will probably work, but take a step back now. You’ve only known him a month and a half?” He shook his head and laughed. “I would not have guessed that. Alright, well, I guess that’s longer than me and Jacob.” He laughed again, overtaken by the moment, before grabbing another book that was specifically about muscles.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Kaleb Price, Jordan DeShay, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis and Cameron Harris (and the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former FEDRA officer, Former Smuggler, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former Firefly | 19, 27, 30, 26, 27, 23 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kai felt Hayden shift his cheek off him and he looked at his dad. A smile was on his face as he felt his hands being taken. Sure it had been difficult traveling from Washington to here, and even Kai had to admit that he wasn’t much help. He was a little too.. happy to finally be able to be with Ezekiel to be helpful. He remembered Josh yelling at him to help set up camp more than once. What? Three years and he finally had that relationship that he wanted. So he was a little distracted. “We could hike, we could go see that museum on the edge of the city. We could have a big family picnic somewhere. And with all of us, no infected would dare come near.” Kaiden said with a laugh. “Oh shoot. I need to get heading. I told Ezekiel I’d come see him after I got my back done. You know how he worries. He probably thinks I hurt myself.. again.” Kaiden said as he shook his head. And he needed to spill his worries about this to him.

Josh thought about that. Yeah, he could if this works. “Should we just bring all of them?” He asked with a chuckle, seeing the stack of books on the ground.

Alex looked at Soren and nodded. “Yeah. I found him wandering in North Dakota after I’d left Seattle. And I led us back that way. Then we ran into hunters, infected, found Carlos and Kaleb, who helped us realize we loved each other. Then we went back to Seattle..” Alex paused as he talked, grabbing a book on basic surgery techniques.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Carlos Price, Asher McCoy, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Emmett Adler (and the Smith Clan)
Former Firefly, Aspiring Artist, Former Hunter, Former Seraphite, Former WLF, Former Firefly | 21, 25, 32, 29, 25, 24 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Everything that Kai suggested sounded like something that Hayden would love to do. He used to dream about it. He stopped dreaming for a long time. He was bitter instead. Then, eventually, when he and Josh finally started to really put everything behind them, he started to dream again. Just a little. He laughed at the change of subject. “Kai, my sweet boy, you have surrounded yourself with worriers.” He let the hands go and gently bopped his nose with one finger like he had since Kai was a little boy. “Go be with him. I promise I won’t do anything without you.” He nodded to Jacob. “You know he won’t let me.”

Nate was unaware that he had a very large pile by the time that Josh asked. His face flushed red as he looked at the older man. “I mean… yes? I know it’s a lot! Unless this is unwieldy, and it is… I guess we could always leave them here and then I could come back and read them? I could probably just live here.” He narrowed his eyes a moment and then they widened as large as his face and he jumped up, turned to face Josh. “I am so sorry! I did not mean to just invite myself to your house. That is so rude of me, oh man.” His face reddened even more. “I am so so sorry.”

Soren was utterly amused by this. “Well, I think that is a beautiful story.” He grabbed another book about chemical reactions with the human body. He thought that might be useful potentially. “Jacob and I met one evening and I think possibly were in love by that next morning though we didn’t say it until the next morning. You want to talk about a whirlwind romance. I am the first person to tell you that there is no such thing as moving too fast if you know that it’s real.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Kaleb Price, Jordan DeShay, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis and Cameron Harris (and the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former FEDRA officer, Former Smuggler, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former Firefly | 19, 27, 30, 26, 27, 23 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kaiden sighed as he looked at Hayden, chuckling softly. "Yes.. yes I have." He replied, smiling at the bop to his nose. Something that his dad had done since he was a little kid. Kai looked over at Jacob who nodded. "I promise, no life-altering decisions without the entire clan present." Jacob said as Kaiden nodded. "Good. Bye Dad. Love you." Kai said, hugging Hayden. He looked over at Jacob. "Bye uncle Jay!" He called, and after he hugged Hayden, turned to head out the door.

Josh saw Nate's face flush red and he chuckled lightly. "It's not a lot. Though maybe the ones that aren't as important could be left here or you can bring them to your house. I'm sure Hayden would be okay if you borrowed them." He said, seeing Nate jump up. Josh stood up and placed a hand on Nate's shoulder. "Relax. It's okay. As long as it's not nighttime, I bet Hayden would love someone other than Jacob to nerd about these books with."

Alex looked at Soren for a moment, and then he smiled. "That's just as beautiful of a story." He admitted as he found another book that talked about broken bones and resetting the bone. "So you were in the WLF too, I think I remember you in some of the fights.. you and Josh. But.. were you in FEDRA too?" Alex asked curiously. He was a very curious person.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Carlos Price, Asher McCoy, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Emmett Adler (and the Smith Clan)
Former Firefly, Aspiring Artist, Former Hunter, Former Seraphite, Former WLF, Former Firefly | 21, 25, 32, 29, 25, 24 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Hayden waved as Kai left, sighing at the lack of his presence. Hayden would choose to always have him around if he could. He did not know all those years ago that being a dad was going to save his life, but it did. It really really did, and he didn’t want to be anything more than that. He laughed, shook his head, and moved his chair back to the desk.

Nate groaned at his awkward self as he ran a hand through his hair and shoved his glasses back up his nose. “Okay, um, so…” he stared at his pile and then dropped to the floor to make two piles. Or three. Actually five. That was not what he meant to do. He started over and eventually only had three books to take with him but left the others in a pile. “As long as you don’t mind, I’ll come back for these.” He turned to look at the shelf, and after a while, continued, “and some of these.”

Soren didn’t love that Alex remembered him as the enemy. “You know, I never did agree with the fighting between our two peoples. When Kaiden wanted to leave with Ezekiel, I thought it was the best thing we could do.” He scanned the shelves, but a bunch of these books just didn’t seem like what Nate might need. “But yes. We were FEDRA first. I was FEDRA before the outbreak. It was much different then. We were FEDRA until Jacob and Hayden told me we were leaving for the WLF. But really, I was never the good FEDRA man. I couldn’t be. That was Josh. He was the ultimate FEDRA officer. General and all. I stopped climbing that ladder long before that.”
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Kaleb Price, Jordan DeShay, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis and Cameron Harris (and the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former FEDRA officer, Former Smuggler, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former Firefly | 19, 27, 30, 26, 27, 23 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kai walked down the street, it wasn’t a super long walk to Ezekiel’s workshop and he knocked on the doorframe when he opened it. “Baby? Are you still here?” He called, searching for his partner. He didn’t think he’d gone back home yet. They usually meet at his workshop after his patrol. He loved watching Ezekiel work and he wasn’t afraid to admit it.

Jacob looked at Hayden, hearing his sigh. “You two are adorable, you know that right? Ever since we first met Kai, I could see you two had quite the connection.” Jacob said as he chuckled.

Josh watched as Nate worked through the books to make five piles before settling on three. And a few more. “Yes you can come back for those later.” Josh confirmed as he looked at Nate. “Would you like some help carrying those back?” Josh asked as he got up from the chair.

Alex looked at Soren and nodded. “Neither did we. I left before Ezekiel did but I didn’t like fighting you. Unfortunately though, I did gain a nervous energy around cities after some of those fights.” Alex admitted. “But I don’t blame you by the way.” He added quickly. He listened and nodded. “I could sense that, but it’s rather interesting to hear. I’m glad you guys came here. Not only do I get to actually meet Kai’s family but I got to see Theo and Eli and Ezekiel again too.” ​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Carlos Price, Asher McCoy, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Emmett Adler (and the Smith Clan)
Former Firefly, Aspiring Artist, Former Hunter, Former Seraphite, Former WLF, Former Firefly | 21, 25, 32, 29, 25, 24 | Current location ;; Wyoming

“In the back!” The workshop was not huge. This little town did not have a workshop previously, but it did have this brewery that had not been used up to that point that another few people had gutted and converted into the workshop. A place like this needed people who could create some things. With the influx of people, they were needing more furniture all the time. When they got here, Ezekiel learned that he could use his talents for other things like woodworking and also metalsmithing. They had both here. It wasn’t just him, but he was the best. Besides, he was far younger than the rest, so he was sort of taking over the bulk of the work. He paused what he was doing, placing the tower on his shoulder on the table after wiping down his hands, and lifted the goggles up to sit on the top of his head.

Hayden smiled as he looked over to Jacob. “I do. You’ve told me a few times. That connection you saw has never gone away, huh? Not even when I severed it. Not even when he was chasing a dream he didn’t know he wanted. Not even when he decided that Ezekiel was more important to him than the WLF ever could be.” He sighed again. “I love that boy. I have never been prouder of anyone.”

Now Nate was second guessing himself, and he wasn’t sure exactly what would be best. With Josh’s offer to help, he handed the three books in his hands to him and then grabbed four additional ones. “I had a thought, and these could work. I will come back for more.” He scanned the bookshelf. “Because if I take more, they’ll never see me again.” He grinned brightly at Josh. “Thank you so much! I’ve always wanted to do more than sewing people back together and massaging some aching muscles. I want to help. And I promise promise promise that I won’t do this unless I’m sure that I can do it.”

Soren shook his head. “No, not Kai’s family. Yours. We are not our own. We have grown. We started as scattered lives in a world that was too dark to be alone, so we pulled ourselves together so that we could be one. Ever since then, we have always pulled anyone we could in with us. We raised Theo. He is one of us which makes Elijah one too. Ezekiel should have been one of us a long time before he was, and don’t let Hayden lie to you. He loves him. He’s wary for Kai, but he absolutely adores how Ezekiel makes Kai happy. And you? I wish we could have brought you too. Theo talks about you so much that I sometimes forget we never met you.”
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[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Kaleb Price, Jordan DeShay, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis and Cameron Harris (and the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former FEDRA officer, Former Smuggler, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former Firefly | 19, 27, 30, 26, 27, 23 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kaiden heard the voice and headed through to the back of the old brewery turned workshop. He scanned the back and then caught sight of his partner. He leaned against the table, smiling at Ezekiel. “Hey baby. How’s your day been so far?” Kai asked. He was glad that eventually they had gotten together and Kai was so much happier. Like something had settled inside.

Jacob nodded, listening to Hayden and smiled. “Yeah. That connection almost seems stronger after all that. But I’ve noticed since we came here and he’s been with Ezekiel, he’s not as.. floating? Like he’s settled and found something grounding. And here, I’m sure he’s just as proud of you. You’re his dad after all.”

Josh nodded as he took the three books easily. “You’re welcome. And I’m trusting you on this. Now let’s head back to the medical. Perhaps your partner is back already.” Josh said, moving towards the office door. “And by the way, if this does work. I’ll owe you a lot.” Josh told him as he led the way down the stairs.

Alex had three books in his arms and he almost dropped them when he heard Soren. The surprise was evident on his face but he smiled a moment after. “Well. I’m grateful to be part of this family. And we brought along two others with us, our own family to make this big clan. And as much as I would’ve loved to go with you, I’m glad I left when I did otherwise I’d never have met Nate, Carlos or Kaleb.” ​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Carlos Price, Asher McCoy, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Emmett Adler (and the Smith Clan)
Former Firefly, Aspiring Artist, Former Hunter, Former Seraphite, Former WLF, Former Firefly | 21, 25, 32, 29, 25, 24 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ezekiel was a bit of a mess at the moment. He wore his stereotypical shirt with no sleeves with the heavy duty apron over it. It probably would have been smarter and safer to wear something on his arms, but he got so hot that he hated doing that. Instead, he occasionally wound up with some minor knicks and scratches, but otherwise he was fine. He was very good at what he did. He was so glad for it too. It felt so much more satisfying and meaningful than his duties back on the island. “Pretty good. I almost have the dining table for the Woodrows done.” He leaned against the table as well, sidling up next to him. “What about your day? How’s your back? You were gone longer than usual.” Ezekiel placed a hand on Kai’s back like he could if something was wrong.

Hayden agreed with that. Everything seemed stronger and better for really all of them. Kai had Ezekiel to ground him and the freedom to roam without the highly regimented routines of the WLF. Hayden and Kai were doing so much better since Hayden realized just how deep he had fallen. Hayden and Josh were living like they always wanted, just twenty some odd years late. Jacob and Soren had never had any reason to be better. “I think you’re right. I think he’s doing so much better. I am glad they convinced me that this was a good idea. You know how hard that was.” Hayden was, again, the problem as he so often was.

Nate smiled as he followed Josh out of the office and down the stairs. “No, you won’t owe me anything. Except maybe if I can go through all his books. How did he even collect some of these? We used to talk about some of them, but I didn’t know anyone had it!” He was practically giddy as they walked through the first floor of the house towards the front door.

Soren had a handful of books as he stepped away from the shelves and towards the front of the building. “Thanks Cam! Em!” He turned back to Alex. “I’m glad you brought them too. They are a crowd favorite. We have heard some stories. You know, Asher pretends like he’s this straight laced guy who doesn’t need anyone other than himself and sometimes Jordan, but that man is entirely smitten. I was telling Jacob and Josh that I swear now that the four of them are together, we’re never going to know who they are going to show up with.”
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Alexander Brennan, Kaleb Price, Jordan DeShay, Kaiden Lachlan, Elijah Lewis and Cameron Harris (and the Smith Clan)
Former Seraphite, Former FEDRA officer, Former Smuggler, Former WLF, Former Seraphite, Former Firefly | 19, 27, 30, 26, 27, 23 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Kai looked at Ezekiel when he sidled over to him. His brown eyes were focused on the floor now rather than his partner. “I’m glad to hear it, I’m sure they’ll love it. Everyone loves your work.” Kai said, shifting a little closer. He felt the hand on his back and pushed out a sigh. “My back is fine, but I was talking to dad. Apparently.. Alex’s partner wants to break my dad’s leg again. And.. fix it properly. But, if it goes wrong at all, he might lose that leg completely.” Kaiden’s voice was once more filled with concern and worry as he leaned into Ezekiel’s side.

Jacob nodded as he looked at Hayden. He remembered how hard it was to convince him to leave. Not just because he put so much effort into the WLF, but the journey to get here was just as rough. “It was tough to convince you, but you have to admit, it’s so much nicer here. No one is fighting or planning battles. We can retire and relax with our large family.” Jacob said with a smile.

“Letting you read these books are the least we can do.” He replied, as they walked through the first floor and out onto the street. He was still unsure of this but he knew that if it worked, then things would be even better.

Cameron waved at the two as Alex followed Soren to the front of the building. “I can only imagine the stories about those two. And Kaleb is just as smitten with Asher, though he loves Carlos. Just like Carlos is taken with Jordan. And I know what you mean. Asher and Kaleb were in here earlier, looking at books.” Alex said as he headed out onto the street.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Nathaniel Matthews, Carlos Price, Asher McCoy, Ezekiel Finch, Theophilus Sharpe, and Emmett Adler (and the Smith Clan)
Former Firefly, Aspiring Artist, Former Hunter, Former Seraphite, Former WLF, Former Firefly | 21, 25, 32, 29, 25, 24 | Current location ;; Wyoming

Ezekiel knew almost immediately that something was wrong. He shifted from checking Kai’s back to sliding that hand around to Kai’s side and then eventually to his waist as Kaiden finally spoke about what was actually bothering him. As Kai leaned into him, Ezekiel pulled him close. “Break it again?” He was not a medic. He was not a healer. He left that to the people who were called for that purpose in this life. He had no idea how breaking it again could possibly lead to fixing it properly, but he was not there to question it. “Hmm.” Of course Kai was worried for his dad. He got that worry from Hayden after all. “Is the full loss of his leg a guaranteed if it doesn’t go exactly right?”

Hayden absolutely agreed with that. “Oh, I know it’s nicer here. I thought the WLF was better than FEDRA, and it was by leaps and bounds, but this is so much better. That stadium cannot compare.” He loved being away from the constant state of war. With infected. With FEDRA. With the Seraphites. Being away from that meant that Hayden could almost be Hayden again instead of the almost warlord he became. This was so much more peaceful. He looked down at his leg. His leg that could move like it used to. He tested this one. He could move it, but it was so stiff. So slow. He never tried another adrenaline serum after that bad experience three years before that. He never got to feel that kind of movement again. What would it really be like to move like that? To walk out these doors and onto that street without the constant effort to do it? He could meet Josh out there on his way back. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than that. Whatever it took.

Nate opened the top book as they moved down the street and was already reading the introduction. This one was definitely going to be fascinating. He nearly tripped on something and bounced back up before dropping his books. This was fine. He was fine. He waved anxiously as the people who stared at him as he walked. “Sorry!”

Soren opened the door for Alex as he looked out into the street. “And I love that for them. Love is different for everyone. I heard Carlos and Kaleb were going to get married. I love being married. I know it’s not really something that means the same thing as it used to, but it still means something important and big for me. I am trying to figured out a way to convince Kai and Ezekiel. I haven’t started really doing it yet. Trying to send out feelers on how well that will go over.”
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