aedelfi:

    _{[ Five minutes. Not even five minutes into the game and she freezes up. She was sure he always picked out the horror games for the sole purpose of watching her flail on his sofa. ]}

            _{“Wait, what was that? I heard something.”} 

          _{【 Well – not only for that reason, though it was rather amusing, save for the high pitched screaming that always follows suit. It’s not his fault she always agrees to playing the games with him. 】}

                      _{❝ Nothing. Stop being so paranoid and keep the looking for those papers. ❞}

          _{【 They’re sitting on the couch, controllers held in their hands, eyes glued to the dark screen – just like every other weekend. This week? Slender. 】}

                                   _{❝ C'mon, stop messing with the flashlight and let’s get going. ❞}

aedelfi:

          _{“I’ve got memories of Mario Kart that say otherwise.”} 

                     _{❝ Compared to literally every other game we’ve played? ❞}

aedelfi:

          _{“I don’t wish, I know.”} 

                          _{❝ Lies, lies. ❞}

aedelfi:

     _{”Glenn Rhee was and forever will be terrible at video games. Pass it on.”} 

                       _{❝ You wish I was terrible at it. ❞}

aedelfi:

   _{[ Arms threw themselves around his neck the instant they met; her face buried into the fabric of his shirt. She squeezes him, almost trying to make sure it’s an actual being in her grasp. ]}

   _{[ Natalie couldn’t tell you the last time she cried over, well, nearly anything, but finding herself with her brother once again was enough to allow the tears to roll down her cheeks and onto his clothes. She doesn’t even mind landing on the ground with him, neither sibling showing any sign of loosing the whole they had on the other. For a split second, she even thinks that if this was death’s way of welcoming her, she couldn’t have thought of anyone better to greet her. The pressure around her torso say otherwise though, that this is not death. ]}

                             _{”    This is real. You’re real. Oh my god, Glenn.”} 

          _{[ He chuckles at that, the laughter rolling down his chest in waves and he gives her one last squeeze as if to double check that he was, in fact, awake and not merely dreaming. Once he confirmed that he was actually awake, his grip around her shoulders loosen and he pulls back. He could see her clearly now – she’s much thinner than he’d last remembered, her hair a matted mess atop her head, and she’s covered in about as much dirt and grime as he was, but the light still shone in her eyes, and her smile  still just as contagious. ]} 

                                         _{❝ Are the others here, too? Mom, dad – ?❞}

aedelfi:

    _{[ She watched him in return with the same intensity. No, no, no. It had to be heat stroke or passing out in the bush somewhere. Dark eyes scan over his face for what feels to be a million times in her head. His hairs definitely shaggier and he’s covered in almost as much grime as she is, but there’s still no mistaking him. There’s almost a sob from her when her calls out her name. ]}

                   _”Glenn!”

   _{[ A few cautious steps forward are taken before Natalie moves into a fully blown run toward her brother, her backpack slipping off her shoulders as she moves. Her entire life and existence carried in the one bag and for the moment, she doesn’t care. ]}

          _{[ And with that the firearm slips from between his fingers and lands on the ground with a muted thud. He barely notices it. He takes a step over the fallen weapon, his heel hitting the ground first, followed by the ball of his foot and then another step, and another. She’s in his arms before he knows it and he holds onto her like a dying man would his last breath.} 

          _{His knees give in and buckle, pulling them both to the dirt ground beneath their feet. He made no move to stand up again, only gripping her tighter as if she would disappear again if he let go. ]}

                             _{❝ I thought I’d lost you. ❞}

aedelfi:

      _{[ She can see bits and pieces from behind the brush. It’s clearly human whoever it is. Tired feet tiptoe through the clearing but she wasn’t nearly as quiet as she assumed she was and her heart couldn’t help but sink when she was called out. ]}

       _{”I’m not here to fight you or steal or whatever.  I just want to be on my way.”}

   _{[ Still, she complies with the request. Coming out into the clearing with hands raised in a gesture of truce. ]}

        _{[ His aim doesn’t waver as he waits for her to step out of the bush she’d been hiding behind. It’s not until she comes into sight that his grip on the firearm suddenly loosens and his shoulders drop.} 

         _{He stares for a long moment, unsure whether to believe what he’s seeing or not. Hesitantly, as if in fear that calling her name would wake him up from a dream, he speaks up ]}

                                          _{❝ —- Nat? ❞}

         _{[ The rustling of leaves and the faint tap of footsteps too even and steady to belong to a walker makes his back stiffen, the taught muscles tense and he immediately reaches for his gun. The basket of supplies he’d gathered soon forgotten, he raises to his feet silently, ready to shoot. ]}

                                                            _{❝ – Come out. ❞}