coincountโ:
Itโs been a few weeks and a lot of favours in the making, but Abby drags Ellie out with a hand wrapped around her wrist and the ease of a very hush-hush borrowed boat. There are the usual precautions โ Scars here or there, trespassers, clickers hiding in the fold, but for the most part, the journey is stress-free and the knowledge that theyโve both been put in for a couple of rest days on the trot is pretty fucking liberating. (Rather, Abbyโs swapped hers with Manny and Nora to put the whole thing into motion, along with some extra protein bars and a night shift for their help with moving some shit over and sourcing some much needed equipment. She might regret it at 4am next week, but for now, itโs fine.)
Ellie doesnโt shut the fuck up. She never has โ that damn kid likes to run her damn mouth, as has been said many, many fucking times, but Ellie asks where theyโre going, why theyโre going there, what sheโs got planned and whatโs going on, whilst simultaneously trying to guessย whatโs happening, and Abby only offers a wry smile out of the corner of her mouth as they draw closer to the aquarium. She figures Ellieโs about to burst with curiosity, so itโs fitting that she kills the engine and eases them in to the side of the shore.
โHere.โย ย So maybe itโs not so exciting from the outside โ they go to the aquarium pretty regularly, in between fretting about training and keeping an eye on the clockย โcause they have to be back by six (from Abby), but itโs different. She slings her backpack over a shoulder and tugs the rope into an easy loop around the port-side cleat and ties it before offering out her hand.
ย ย ย ย ย ย โI think I remember leaving some stuff in the cafรฉ. Figured itโd be a good time to clear it out โ take stock of what we have here and stuff. Some of those Scars left some belongings and shit we should sort out too, so.โย ย She canโt resist โ pick the dullest job and pretend Ellieโs birthday isnโt coming up, just to see the look on her face.
abby doesnโt answer a single question and ellieโs the annoying one. sheโs not asking her to give the whole thing away (at least not at first. by the time theyโre bobbing along on a boat, ellieโs definitely angling for full and complete spoilers) she just wants something. a hint. even if she knows sheโs not going to get it. this isnโt the first time theyโve done thisโ abbyโs a little too good at the whole surprise thing and ellieโs learned that, whatever it is, itโll be well worth it in the end. even if she canโt stop talking the entire time and her kneeโs jiggling in anticipation and abbyโs got that smug little smile going on thatโs both irritating and kind of hot.
she loves the aquarium. she does. itโs the only place in seattle that feels like itโs theirs. as dedicated as ellie is to honing their skills so they can make joel pay for killing jerry and marlene when they find him... itโs nice to escape all that every once and a while. just be in their blue-tinted hideout. abby promises the most mundane set of tasks as she hauls ellie out of the boat and onto solid ground and while itโs not exactly what ellie was expecting, itโs not the worst thing sheโs ever heard. (she refuses to give abby the satisfaction of any sting of disappointment).
โthat sounds like it could take a while. we might not make it back for training.โ abbyโs always griping about making it back for training. like clockwork. theyโre out here for an hour or two and then abbyโs looking at her watch every five minutes and reminding ellie when they have to leave to make it back. ellie makes a show of dawdling around the makeshift dock for emphasis, like sheโs not dying to head in and see what abbyโs really planned.











