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It had been a long day at work and all Tasha wanted was to drink a beer and relax with her girlfriend. It felt like her shift was never going to end because it was Patterson’s day off, which was a rare occurrence seeing that she never took days off - until she started dating Tasha, that is.
Ever since they started going out, Tasha made sure to take care of Patterson in the best way she could, meaning she wouldn’t let the blonde push herself to the limit and making sure she was eating properly; no more of that gogurt stuff, those shouldn’t be (and weren’t) considered meals anyway.
Now, six months later, there she was: leaving work and heading straight to her girlfriend’s apartment.
Girlfriend.
The word still made her stomach flutter, mostly because she still couldn’t believe that she was dating her best friend. After everything that happened with Borden, she considered herself lucky that Patterson had forgiven her and was willing to start again – even if it had taken quite some time to get her trust back.
Their relationship was tainted for a while. It was hard going to work and being ignored by one of the people she loved most. It hurt but she never blamed Patterson for hating her, she only had herself to blame and thankfully they were able to get past it and get back on the right track.
Tasha arrived at the apartment, unlocking the door with her key (yes, she had a key, and yes, she did spend more time at Patterson’s apartment than her own) and finding her girlfriend on the couch, eyes glued on the TV as she shot a zombie’s head off.
The blonde was so concentrated on the game that she didn’t notice that she was alone anymore and Tasha took the opportunity to come up behind her and blow a raspberry on her neck, softly biting down on the skin causing Patterson to shriek.
“Tasha Zapata!” Patterson exclaimed, pausing the game and letting the controller fall on her lap as she put both hands over her racing heart.
“You’d be dead by now if I were a zombie,” Tasha laughed, sitting down next to Patterson and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
Patterson rolled her eyes, trying to fight back a smile and failing. “But you’re not a zombie,” she replied and tugged at Tasha’s shirt, pulling her in for another kiss. “You can bite like one though.”
“Nerd,” the brunette whispered against her lips and pulled back. “Did you spend the whole day playing?” She questioned, raising a brow at the guilty look on Patterson’s face. She knew it all too well.
“Maybe…” Patterson shrugged and fidgeted with her fingers. “I did eat, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she stated, easing Tasha’s worry.
Tasha nodded and grabbed the controller from her girlfriend’s lap. “How do I play this thing?” She asked, her heart skipping a beat at the look of pure joy on Patterson’s face.
“You want to play?” Patterson asked excitedly, her smile widening when Tasha nodded. “Okay, so you move the character with the left stick, you can look around and move the camera with the right stick. Hold the square for melee attacks, the cross to climb, the circle to crouch and the triangle to interact with the other characters and pick up supplies.” She explained, grabbing the controller back and showing her what those buttons did. “Press L2 to aim and R2 to shoot, you need to press R1 to reload when you’re out of bullets and if you’re carrying a bottle or a brick, press R1 to throw it at the zombies and press L1 to sprint.”
Tasha frowned, trying to digest all the information Patterson had just thrown at her. “Is that all?” She asked and tilted her head.
“Kind of,” Patterson shrugged. “These are the basic things you need to know. But tutorials will show up on the screen as you play so you don’t really have to worry about it,” she grinned and saved the game she was playing before starting a new one and changing the difficulty level to normal. “Playing the last of us is a magical experience.”
Tasha chuckled, accepting the controller and placing her thumbs on the left and right sticks, trying it out. “Fine, just don’t laugh at me when I die.” She mumbled and looked at the TV.
The game started showing a little girl asleep then cuts to a man talking on the phone. She tilts her head as she watches as the story plays out, feeling Patterson vibrate in excitement next to her. Finally, she’s able to move the little girl – Sarah – around her room. “What do I do now?” Tasha snorted when her girlfriend groaned at her question.
“Get out of the room and find Joel.” Patterson said as if it were obvious.
Tasha led Sarah out of the room and down a dark hallway. “He’s probably in his room, isn’t he?” She asked and the blonde simply ignored her. “Fine, I don’t need your help,” she rolled her eyes playfully as the character on the screen walked into her father’s bedroom and didn’t find him there so she turned around and walked downstairs.
Still no sight of Joel. Tasha was starting to worry for Sarah’s sake. How did a father leave his twelve-year-old daughter at the house by herself when hell was breaking loose outside? She shook her head, leading Sarah through the living room, kitchen and what looked like an office.
Then the game cut to another scene. Joel, out of breath and his body covered in blood. He looked worried and made up an excuse about their neighbors not feeling well and telling Sarah to stay away from the windows. Suddenly a man crashed through the glass door, making Tasha jump and Patterson laugh at her reaction. Then Joel shot the man – or zombie, she wasn’t sure – in the head and it’s time for them to leave the house and the city.
“What the hell was that?” Tasha asked and glanced at the blonde, her insides melting when she smiled.
“That, my love,” Patterson paused, placing her hand on Tasha’s thigh and squeezing, “was the beginning of the outbreak.”
Tasha was playing as Joel now. Sarah, Tommy and Joel had been in a car accident and the little girl couldn’t walk so Joel had to carry her. The situation in the town was chaotic. There were people running from zombies, buildings on fire, explosions. She was an FBI agent and she’s not sure she would survive something like that. The only thing Patterson told her was to run and not look back and that was exactly what she was doing.
They were running but there were way too many zombies and she wasn’t sure if they were going to make it out alive. That was making her antsy. Tommy was taking one for the team and she respected him for that because she’d probably do the same in the same situation. She led Joel through a path that ended up in the highway and she could hear the zombies coming for them.
She didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. But she did.
She was still a beginner at the game and accidentally moved the camera button, making her not know where she was and that was when a zombie jumped on Joel’s neck and bit his neck. Tasha jumped and scoffed whereas Patterson cackled. She cackled at her. “That was terrible, baby,” the blonde said, still chuckling a little. “You’re doing great so far. Keep it up.”
“Shut up,” Tasha rolled her eyes playfully as she guided Joel down the path and to the highway and this time she outran the zombies. She smiled triumphantly but it didn’t last long as the game cut to a scene where a soldier killed all the zombies and then started shooting at Joel and Sarah.
The duo rolled down a hill and Tasha bit her lip. “Oh no,” she whispered as she watched the soldier point his gun at Joel’s head. That was it. He was going to die. A gunshot resonated across the open field and the soldier fell down. Tommy. Tasha let out the breath she was holding and gasped because Sarah had been critically shot and was bleeding out.
Joel pressed his hands to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding and it made Tasha think about the time she was shot and bleeding out. She had told Reade to leave her and protect Patterson because she was dying. She was dying but her two best friends were okay and they had to get out of that situation alive. She would have died for them, but she was quite glad she lived because two years later she was exactly where she wanted to be with the woman she loved.
Still, her heart broke a when Sarah died. It broke for Joel because she knew how painful it was to lose someone you love. She felt it when her old partner died and felt it again when Patterson froze her out.
“Hey,” Patterson said softly, shaking her leg a little. “Are you okay?” She asked with a concerned look on her face. The opening credits were rolling and Tasha was frozen looking at the screen.
Tasha shook herself from her stupor. “I-“ She sniffled and shook her head. “Sarah’s death made me think about when my old partner died. When I almost died. And how I almost lost you,” she whispered and closed her eyes, sighing heavily.
Patterson’s face softened. “It’s okay, Tash,” she said gently and caressed her arm. “You’re here now and you’re not losing me. Never again.” The blonde promised, making Tasha’s lips curl up slightly.
There was a time jump twenty years into the future and Joel was still alive. Color her shocked. She thought they would tell a completely different story after the opening credits because Joel had died but the man was holding up just fine. A woman named Tessa is introduced and the two of them are planning to go find a man named Robert. Time for some action.
“When am I going to kill some zombies?” Tasha asked, quickly glancing at her girlfriend before looking at the screen.
“Soon,” Patterson replied and smirked. “Excited to blow some heads off?”
“You seem to have fun doing it so, yes, I’m excited.” Tasha chuckled. Joel and Tessa were crossing a tunnel to get out of the quarantine zone unseen by the military and soon were at a house. She searched for supplies and was quite content when she found some and kept walking. They found a man whose mask had broken and if he kept breathing the spores, he would turn into a zombie soon.
Tasha pressed L2 to aim and moved the stick. Okay, that was kind of hard. She was aiming everywhere but at the dude’s head. After a few tries though, she did it and shot him. “I’m getting the hang of this.”
Patterson laughed as she stood up. “Keep going, baby,” she encouraged and went to the kitchen to get something to drink for herself and Tasha. She could hear the clicks of the buttons getting louder and gunshots coming from the TV, she figured that Tasha had found the zombies and was taking them out.
As she sat on the couch, she noticed that Tasha was still inside the house. “Did you die?” She asked, putting the beer she got for the brunette on the coffee table.
Tasha grumbled and nodded, shooting at the zombies and missing a couple of shots. “I can’t aim,” she complained just as a zombie jumped on Joel and killed him.
Patterson let out a small laugh as she put her hands over Tasha’s and showed her how to do it. “Keep pressing L2 and just move the camera around. It’s easier,” she explained and took the shot, hitting the zombie in the head.
Tasha gulped and bit down on her lower lip. Patterson teaching her how to play was hot and she shouldn’t be turned on by it but she was. “Thanks,” she whispered huskily and cleared her throat, aiming and shooting at the zombie coming for Joel. She hit it this time and felt a little proud of herself.
Patterson watched Tasha play for a few minutes but her eyes slowly found her girlfriend’s face. Her eyes were glued to the screen, following each movement the characters made; her brow was furrowed in concentration and she was gnawing on her lip. She looked absolutely stunning. The butterflies in her stomach started to make themselves known. She got them whenever she looked at Tasha.
Her eyes traced Tasha’s strong jawline and the line of her neck, the way her shirt seemed to hug her curves in the right ways and her hands. She watched as the brunette’s fingers worked on the buttons. Her thumbs were moving the sticks, her middle and ring fingers were strategically positioned over the buttons on top of the controller.
Tasha had nice hands. They were the perfect size and fit perfectly with hers. Her fingers were long, slender and strong. Her touch was always soft but she also knew how to be rough. She knew how and where to touch Patterson. She knew how to drive her crazy only with her hands.
The blonde was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice when Tasha called her. “Corazón,” Tasha called and narrowed her eyes when she got no answer. “Patterson,” she tried again and poked Patterson’s leg with her finger quickly before bringing it to the controller and pausing the game.
“Mhm?” Patterson hummed and looked up to find Tasha looking at her, her brown eyes burning into her blue ones.
“You zoned out there,” she furrowed her brow and placed her hand on her girlfriend’s leg. “Are you feeling okay?”
Patterson licked her dry lips as her gaze fell on Tasha’s hand on her leg. It felt like it was burning her in a delicious way. “I- yeah,” her voice came out husky. “I’m great.” She nodded, grabbing Tasha’s hand and caressing it.
“I kind of need my hand back to play, P,” Tasha teased and her breath hitched when Patterson brought her hand to her mouth and started kissing her fingers, each kiss sending a jolt of pleasure up her arm that settled right in her core.
Patterson scooted closer to the other woman, grabbing the controller from her and setting it down on the coffee table. She straddled Tasha and cupped her face, bringing their lips together in a heated kiss.
Tasha sighed against the blonde’s mouth, her hands finding her legs and squeezing before resting on her hips. It was a deep, hot, passionate kiss. It was the kind of kiss that ignited every cell in your body and made them beg for something – anything.
They pulled away to catch their breaths, eyes finding each other’s. Patterson’s pupils were blown and her lips were slightly swollen. It was a sight Tasha would never get tired of seeing. “Patterson?”
“Yeah?” She asked, kissing her lips again then her jawline and working her way down her neck.
“What about the game?”
Patterson’s kisses ceased for a moment before she kissed and sucked on her neck softly. “You can play it later,” she replied, sucking her neck hander, making Tasha’s body shiver in response.
After their impromptu sex, the two women were snuggled together in the small couch. Patterson was resting her head in the crook of Tasha’s neck, breathing in the fading scent of her perfume and something that was uniquely Tasha while the agent ran her fingers up and down her back, making her shiver slightly.
She felt so comfortable and safe in Tasha’s embrace and she knew Tasha felt the same. With each passing day, she found more ways to keep falling in love with her.
It was the simple things.
The way Tasha would scrunch her nose up when she laughed, how her eyes crinkle when she smiled, how she smacks her lips together when she’s worried or doesn’t know what to say. The way she looked at her with so much love in those chocolate eyes that they didn’t need to say those little three words to know how they felt.
It was funny how she almost didn’t forgive Tasha. Looking back, she knew the brunette was doing her best to protect her and she had. She was grateful for that. She was grateful that Tasha didn’t give up on her when she had given up on Tasha and her friendship. She was grateful that Tasha let her heal and come to her when she was ready.
She was thankful for Tasha Zapata.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Tasha asked, looking down at the blonde head resting on her bare chest.
“Just thinking about you,” Patterson whispered and turned her head slightly so she could look at the brunette. “Us.”
Tasha felt her heart skip a beat and nodded. “It has been quite a ride, hasn’t it?” She asked with a chuckle.
“Definitely,” the blonde replied, smiling. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Patterson stated as she leaned up to peck her girlfriend’s lips.
Back to playing the game, Tasha had just passed the bit where Joel and Tessa met Marlene. The new character had asked Joel and Tess to smuggle something out of the city for her in exchange for their guns and the duo agreed. Now they were following her back to her hideout. Patterson got off of her and let her sit up to play, but she was still lying on the couch and had her legs thrown over Tasha’s lap and was watching both her and the game.
She had gotten way better at playing (or at least she thought so) and enjoyed how the story was playing out. She’s not a big fan of video games like Patterson is but she’s definitely becoming a fan of this one.
“You can take out all of them without starting a shooting,” Patterson said and poked Tasha’s thigh with her toes.
“How? There are too many of them.” Tasha frowned, trying to think of a strategy to kill the soldiers on the docks. It was the last checkpoint before the hideout.
Patterson simply shrugged and left Tasha to fend for herself. The brunette rolled her eyes and took out three soldiers before being spotted and starting a shooting. They killed the rest of the military patrol and followed Marlene. Then the game cut to another scene.
Marlene led them to the hideout as she collapsed and a little girl tried to attack Joel from behind but Tess stopped her. “Feisty,” Tasha commented, causing Patterson to laugh.
So, it turned out that they had smuggle this Ellie kid out of the town. Why? She had no idea, but it was probably important. Why would you smuggle a kid in the middle of a zombie apocalypse with soldiers everywhere? Maybe people were just dumb, Tasha thought.
There was something about Ellie, though, that reminded her of Patterson, she didn’t don’t what it was. She’d have to keep playing to figure it out.
“Ellie is my favorite,” Patterson commented. “She was born in a zombie apocalypse. That is pretty awesome.”
“I don’t know about that, P.”
“It is! I mean, of course she didn’t grow up the way we did seeing that people aren’t getting infected and won’t get infected. Or they will. Who knows? We can’t see the future.” Patterson rambled and shook her head. “Anyway, she didn’t grow up the way we did. She couldn’t go out and play in the street because it wasn’t safe. She didn’t have access to internet. All she knows is how to survive.”
Tasha pondered the things Patterson said before agreeing. Seeing things by that point of view, the way Ellie was brought up was pretty badass. She’s not sure she would survive a zombie apocalypse and she’s an FBI agent, for crying out loud.
As the game went on, she finally understood why Ellie reminded her of Patterson.
“Ellie sounds like you,” Tasha said out of the blue.
“Do I sound like a fourteen-year-old?” Patterson scoffed, a tad offended.
“Only when you’re excited.”
“Well, you cried when we first kissed. What does make you?”
“Someone who was overwhelmed because she was finally kissing the woman she loves?”
Patterson sat up and grabbed the controller from Tasha. She paused the game and pulled her up with her. “You can finish that later. Bedroom, right now.”
Tasha laughed as she let Patterson lead her toward the bedroom. She was a big softie when it came to her beautiful girlfriend and she wasn’t ashamed of that. Seeing Patterson happy made her happy.
And that is everything she’s ever wanted.