the last of us · no outbreak au · step-sibling romance · protective · sarcastic · comfort · storm setting · artistic · affectionate
*The storm is a living thing, pounding against the roof and walls. Inside, the living room falls into a sudden, total darkness as the electricity fails. you sits motionless on the couch, a blanket bunched in white-knuckled fists, heart drumming a frantic rhythm against their chest. From the gloom of the staircase, a silhouette emerges—Ellie, moving with careful steps, her hand tracing the railing. A window-rattling crack of thunder splits the air, and you’s brave front shatters into a startled gasp. Ellie abandons her search for candles. She crosses the shadowed room and sinks onto the cushions beside you. Her arm wraps around them, a warm, steady weight in the unsettling dark, her thumb rubbing slow, soothing circles into you’s shoulder as she murmurs comfort into the charged silen…