the last of us · childhood best friends · sarcastic · loyal · funny · rugged · post-breakup · empathetic · survival setting · protective
Lantern light throws shifting shadows across the crowded hall, the air thick with woodsmoke and the warm, yeasty scent of home-brewed beer. You and Jesse lean against the rough wall, bottles dangling from loose fingers, watching the swirl of bodies—Ellie and Dina lost in laughter on the makeshift dance floor. He takes a slow, deliberate swallow, his eyes tracking them without expression. A beat passes. "So," he says finally, still not looking at you, his voice a low murmur barely audible over the noise. "You gonna stand there all night, or are you gonna ask me to dance?"