I actually have a request where it’s like Tommy and Ellie reminiscing about the “hunt” for Abby, like post 2nd game what you think they’d talk about even?
pairings; post-tlou2!tommy miller x ellie williams
warnings; hints of ptsd, one swear word, mentions of death
author notes; pls this isn't a ship post okay 😭also i cried writing this LMAO
summary; tommy confronts ellie about the events of her and abby's fight.
Ellie and Tommy lived together now, neither of them living in Jackson anymore. It was too hard for Ellie to see Dina, too hard for Tommy to see Maria - and too hard for both of them to walk past Joel's empty house.
But life was quiet between the two of them, too quiet.
Ellie never talked about her final fight with Abby and never explained to Tommy why she let her go. She knew what Tommy would've done, she knew that Tommy would've killed Abby like he had asked Ellie to do in the first place.
Over months, the quietness turned to bitterness. Between the both of you, you couldn't find the words.
Was it about guilt, about anger, about shame, about hate? Many things sat in the space that once was warmth.
But neither of them ever said anything. Ellie didn't want to bring up the topic, she wanted to avoid all of that heartache again. She didn't want to be that person still looking for revenge - she just wanted to move past it all and to heal. She knew she couldn't lose Tommy too.
One hot summer day, the two of you set out together on their horses, taking a stroll around. The air around you was thick with tension, yet neither said a word. Tommy's face was scrunched up, a deep frown etched upon his forehead. After a deep inhale, he finally spoke. "We should have a proper talk."
Ellie didn't know what to say, she looked down at the reigns of the horse. "Uh, yeah…" Her voice trailed off - hoping he would continue the conversation.
"Why?" His words were clipped, he was angry but didn't know how to express it, or maybe he knew exactly how to do it. "Why did you refuse to take that final step?" He asked, and though there was no malice in his voice, his eyes were full of anger. "Why did you let her live?"
Ellie felt her throat become dry. She didn't want to explain what happened, and why she had let Abby go. She didn't want to have this conversation. She didn't want to relive it.
"Tell me why you couldn't pull the trigger. Just say it."
She could see in his eyes that his anger was masking deeper emotions, emotions that he didn't want anyone - especially Ellie - to see. He wanted her to tell him what had gone in that final confrontation, though not only for Tommy to be the one having to have peace.
Ellie couldn't look at him. She felt her heart racing, every time she thought of those few months, of tracking Abby - of her killing Joel…she would panic. And with Tommy getting angry with her, she tried to control her panic attack.
"I said say it." His words were like bullets, each one firing through Ellie's consciousness. She could see Tommy getting angrier, and more agitated, and she could feel herself slipping away.
Fear and rage consumed her in equal amounts, fear for Tommy and her rage for what they had lost. She couldn't breathe, it was like a tight grip around her throat, constricting the last remnant of a safe place she had known.
She didn't want to relive all of it, she didn't want to-
"She was just like Joel and I-" Ellie started to explain, having stopped her horse in the sunny field they had been trotting in. "When he took me from the firefly hospital..."
He took another inhale, and the rage in his eyes didn't fade. Not immediately at least, but it did diminish - a crack in the dam of suppressed sadness.
The horse under him shifted his weight.
Ellie looked back down, trying to steady her one hand as she thought back to all the memories. "She had a kid with her, some scar. They were both hurt, both weak." She blinked back tears, she didn't want Tommy to see her cry.
Tommy's jaw remained clenched.
The silence was broken by your horse, who shifted and let out a gentle nicker. At last, Tommy spoke. His voice was lower than before, quiet and filled with something, though its origins were not known, whether it was emotion, hatred, sadness, or all of it. "Keep going."
She sighed. "The kid was on the verge of dying, I think. Passed out in a boat, she just - wanted to save him." Ellie kept going. "I realized it wasn't about avenging Joel anymore, it was about ending the bullshit she started. And when I let her go, she carried the boy like Joel had carried me from that hospital years ago…"
There was yet another pause, almost a full minute passed.
She felt a chill in the air from the lack of words between the two of them.
Tommy took another deep breath, and finally spoke, though the volume of his voice hadn't changed. "And...that was enough for you?"
Ellie didn't respond for a moment but, she finally looked up at Tommy. "I heard him." She couldn't hide the tears in her eyes now.
Another moment passed. "What?" He asked, his gaze locked on her.
"When I went to stab her I-" She let a tear fall and roll down her cheek. "Joel. He told me don't do this kiddo."
And there, at that moment, is where his rage faded, and only pure sadness settled into his being.
It's as if with every word she spoke, his facade shattered piece by piece until all that was left was the broken and the vulnerable.
He couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with her, his gaze still falling to the ground, though he tried to hide it. "Ellie.." He finally said, his voice cracked.
Ellie just shook her head and took the reigns again, letting her horse walk again.
Another moment passed, and without wanting to talk anymore, both of them fell into a peaceful silence. The two rode back to their house, and their abandoned street - without speaking a word. A gentle breeze touched Ellie's face, soothing her emotions.
It was a while until they reached the house, where they both dismounted and led their horses to the stables. Tommy kept his back to her, and once they had stopped, he spoke. "I'm…
"It's fine." Ellie interjected. The truth was finally out in the open. It still haunted Ellie but, at least she wasn't the only one with that burden.
"Just one more thing.." His words were slow, his tone solemn. "I want to ask."
She nodded in response as she took off the saddle of her horse and directed him back into the stall.
"When exactly did you start hearing him?" He watched her, his expression now softened.
"I-" Her voice cracked so, she patted her horse to try and distract herself. "As soon as he died."
It only took him a moment to reply, his voice quiet and soft once again.
Ellie nodded solemnly in response.
And there, standing in a stable full of horses, the once strained relationship had softened.
Neither said anything else - that was enough.
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