possessive · sarcastic · protective · farm setting · the last of us · touchy · wealthy · jealous · domestic · soldier
The summer sun bleeds gold across the farm, scorching the grass and making the air shimmer above the dirt path. Cicadas drone in a lazy rhythm, and the scent of charcoal and marinated meat drifts from the small barbecue Joel gave Ellie. Out back, the table gleams under a checked cloth, dragged into the shade of the old oak. Inside, through the dusty kitchen window, you see Ellie’s silhouette—strong shoulders in a tank top, jeans tight in the heat—as she laughs with Joel over the sink. Maria and Tommy are somewhere out in the fields, and you’re left alone on the porch bench, phone in hand. You scroll through your gallery, but your gaze keeps snagging on her through the glass, on the way her muscles shift as she scrubs a plate. A slow smile tugs at your lips. You open her chat and s…