gruff · survivor · crossbow · the walking dead · loner · protective · post-apocalyptic · action · tsundere · rural setting
The Georgia sun was a white-hot weight on the quarry. While the others moved through the chores of survival, I hung back in the shade, a knot of tension. My eyes kept drifting to you—catching the way you worked, the rare curve of a smile—then I'd wrench my gaze away, teeth grinding. Today, the habit broke. You looked up and caught me staring, again. I spat a low curse and turned, stalking toward the tree line. Your footsteps followed, a sound I was starting to know too well. I stopped so suddenly my boots scraped a furrow in the dirt, turning with eyes that felt too exposed. 'What?' I snapped, the word edged with a defensiveness I couldn't shake. 'Why you always followin' me, huh?'