The Last of Us: Hot Chocolate and Sweet Dreams

She grabbed the machete and swung and swung and swung.

"Ellie!"

Had he not grabbed and pulled her away she could have started digging a hole through the wooden floor.

Good. Places him steps closer to hell.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Thinking he was someone else she fought to get out of his arms. Then he heard his voice. A sense of familiarity filled her and she was calming. She was safe. She latched onto him and he did not hesitate to return the embrace.

"Oh little rabbit." He soothed.

Her eyes flew open. She wiggled out of the embrace and found herself in his arms instead of Joel's. She turned around to where she thought he was.

And found Joel laying there instead, lifeless, his head turned completely to mush.

She screamed.

~T~L~O~U~

Ellie woke up with a start, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest and fall onto the floor. Her long hair stuck to her face due to the amount of sweat. Damn heater was malfunctioning again, pushing way more heat than necessary. She contemplated opening the window but they were in the middle of an intense blizzard. Unless she wanted her room to turn into Winter Wonderland, she had to keep it closed.

Ellie removed the sheets and sat on the edge of the bed, thinking back to her horrific dream.

It was the fifth nightmare this week.

A full year had passed since that event but she remembered it like it happened yesterday. She could still feel his hands on her, hear him cooing to her that she was special, see him pace the room machete in one hand and a bullshit promise that he won't hurt her in the other.

She never fully told Joel about what happened in that diner but Joel never really pushed either. He felt legitimate fear emanating through Ellie's pores, something he's never seen before from her or anyone else for that matter. Joel was able to deduce enough that the man Ellie was hacking away at was not someone she was exactly friends with. That's all he needed to know so he left it at that.

Fearing that her nightmare had somehow come true, Ellie lifted herself out of bed and walked over to Joel's room, just across the hall. She slowly opened the door and her fears were immediately squashed. Joel was on his back, deep in dreamland snoring softly. She watched him for a few moments more before deciding to get back to bed.

"Ellie?" She heard his snoring cease and she turned around, finding Joel now awake, attempting to sit up, and rubbing his eyes.

"How'd you know it was me?" Ellie asked.

"Well if we were on the outside I probably would have mistaken you for a clicker. But we're in Jackson you're the only one here with me so process of elimination I guess."

Ellie remained silent and nodded, even though Joel sure as hell couldn't see her.

"Everything okay, baby girl?" Joel asked, not liking the silence. He glanced over at the clock and saw it was just after 2:30 in the morning. Ellie was a girl that liked her sleep so for her to be up at this hour is definitely out of the ordinary.

Ellie didn't respond, unsure how to.

"Bad dream?" Joel tried.

Earlier in the week, he could have sworn he heard Ellie screaming during the night. But it coincided so well with his own dream he wasn't sure if it was even in his dream or reality. The other night he was briefly brought out of his sleep when he felt a presence suddenly snuggle onto him. He didn't ask questions and just brought him arms around it, holding tight.

"Yeah." Ellie said softly.

Joel nodded. "My dreams haven't been too pleasant either, but I've got an idea." Joel removed the sheets covering him (though he questioned why he even bothered to use the sheets when the heater had been stuck on full blast), swung his legs over and stood up. He stretched out his back and let out a little wince, his body reminding him of his age.

"Come on, follow me."

The two of them walked downstairs and Joel led her into the kitchen, turning on the light.

"Hang back a sec." Ellie opted to sit on a stool at the counter and watched as Joel opened up a cupboard. He pulled out what he'd need; two mugs, a bag of marshmallows, and cocoa powder. He went to the fridge and took out a carton of milk.

Joel was sure to stock up on these when they came to Jackson. It was the closest thing he'd probably ever get to coffee. And on nights like these, they were a godsend.

"What are you making?"

"Hot chocolate. Always good on a sleepless, winter night."

"Never had it before."

"Well you've never lived until now, baby girl."

"What's that white stuff?" Ellie asked, pointing to the bag.

"Marshmallows, never had them either?"

"They always gave them to us burned." Ellie responded.

Joel opened the bag and took one out.

"Here catch." Joel tossed one her way and it landed in Ellie's mouth.

"Mmm, kinda fluffy, melts in your mouth."

"Tastes better in the chocolate."

After some time, Joel poured the hot chocolate into the mugs, placing some marshmallows on top. He carried the mugs to the counter along with the bag of marshmallows. One could never have too many marshmallows after all. He took a seat and grabbed one of the mugs for himself and handed one to Ellie.

"Go ahead, give it a try. Be careful, it's hot."

Ellie blew on the drink for a few moments before taking a sip. The taste quickly hit her tongue and her eyes nearly flew out of their sockets.

"Holy shit." Ellie said. "This is fucking amazing. Compliments to the chef."

Joel chuckled. "Cheers baby girl." They clinked their mugs and each took a sip.

They fell into a comfortable silence, each of them drinking the soothing concoction, enjoying the relaxing effect it had.

"What happened at the diner, started when I went to get antibiotics for you. I ran into this group and they agreed to trade this deer I was hunting for medicine. That's where I met him, David. He figured out that you and I were the ones who killed his men back at Colorado. When I left to give you the medicine his group tracked me down. I tried to lead them away to keep you safe. But it quickly turned to shit, Callus got shot, and David caught me at the Inn, just as I was about to make my way back to you."

Joel nodded, taking another swig of the chocolate.

"They fucking eat people, Joel." Ellie took a sip. "But he said I was special. Sure I'm young and I'm not supposed to know about this stuff, but let's just say I found a book called 50 Shades of Gray while I was in Boston. I had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to do to me. And I didn't like it."

Joel could feel the heat growing inside him and it wasn't due to the drink in his hands.

"I managed to escape and got into the blizzard. I took out some of his guys with just my switchblade. You would have been proud."

"I bet I would've"

"I got to the diner, but he cornered me there. I was no longer special, no longer his Anastasia Steele."

Joel nearly choked.

"I fought as hard as I could. By some chance I managed to overpower him and I just...let go. Then you found me."

Ellie was tougher than he thought. He already believed she was tough, but this? She could even be considered tougher than him without a doubt. He owed her his life, forever indebted to her. And he didn't mind that one bit.

One day he'd pay her back.

"For just laying his hands on you, he's lucky I didn't get a hold of him. He would have been begging for death when I was done with him."

"I would've paid to see that."

"Oh? With what money?" Joel asked with a small smile.

"The money I make from selling drugs, duh."

"I'll keep that in mind next time you ask me to get you something."

"Yeah, sure you will."

The two of them shared a laugh and continued drinking their hot chocolate. Once their mugs were empty, and after small competition of who could catch the most marshmallows in a row with their mouth, they retired back to bed. Ellie chose to stay with Joel and he didn't argue. Once they were settled in, they fell into a deep slumber.

~T~L~O~U~

This time things were slightly different.

Joel spotted her just as she was looking for a route inside the diner. He called out to her and she turned around, relief immediately filling her face. She ran up to him and hugged him tight. He returned the gesture and promised that he would never leave her side again.

Then he showed up from around the corner.

Joel felt the fear coming from Ellie and that's all he needed to knock him straight into Spring. Ellie fully explained the situation to Joel, who he was, what this group does, and how she got here. Something in him snapped further. And Joel decided that death was too good for him.

Freshly off a torture, he was in the mood for another.

For her, he'd do anything.

They dragged his body inside the diner and Ellie lifted the key off of him. Joel continued to drag the body to the middle of the diner, before coming back to the front door to meet Ellie. He took off his backpack and left it by her. He handed her his rifle.

"Keep an eye out." He said.

Ellie nodded and stood guard at the door.

"What the hell..." Huh. Joel hadn't hit him hard enough apparently.

He stood up, rubbing his face where a large purple bruise decorated his face.

Rage immediately took over upon seeing Ellie.

"I'm going ki-" His threat was cut off.

"So David, " Joel began, bending down to pick up a machete and a knife.

His rage immediately turned to fear.

"You already know Ellie. So how about you and I get to know each other, yeah?"

David ran but Joel quickly went after him. For a man of his age and stature, Joel was deceptively fast. Absolutely no chance for David, he was trapped like a cow to slaughter. Joel punched him again and while he was stunned, Joel made quick work to tie him to a chair.

Ellie locked the diner door so they wouldn't be disturbed. But she had doubts anyone would find them in this blizzard. Joel probably killed most of them on his way here anyway. After locking the door, she was careful to avoid knocking the lantern over. She wouldn't want the fun to be over so soon anyway.

David's screams quickly filled the diner as Joel plunged the knife into his knee, embedding it deep and twisting it.

She couldn't help but smile.

Joel and Ellie slept better than they had all week.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night" taken to a whole new level, yeah? lol

I hope you enjoyed! Many thanks for reading. Please review =)