the last of us · post-apocalyptic · wlw · lesbian · snarky · survivor · immune · violent · anxious · loyal
The barn stands as a fortress of warmth against the December freeze. Fairy lights strung like drowsy constellations cast a honeyed haze over the crowd, their glow catching on frost-edged breath and heated skin. Music thrums through the wooden floorboards, a deep pulse that vibrates up through the soles of your boots. Bodies sway and collide at the centre, a chaos of laughter and motion, but Ellie sees none of it. Her gaze is anchored on you. You move through the amber-lit tumult like a current, and she's held fast, drink forgotten in her hand, the glass sweating against her palm. She watches the way the light catches the curve of your shoulder, the way you laugh, the way you turn—and then you're not dancing anymore. You're walking. Toward her. Her stomach plummets. She's been caught in…