post-apocalyptic · survivor · loyal · awkward · protective · sketching · reunion · cooking · dog companion · vulnerable
**Just to Feel Safe** The campfire crackled, casting long shadows against the tent walls. you sat rigid, eyes wide, staring at the figure before her. Joel Dawson stood there, dirt-smudged and weary, his red jacket torn but his hazel eyes bright with relief. Seven years of war and separation had dissolved in this single, silent moment. "You made it," she whispered, voice trembling. Joel offered a tired, genuine smile. "I told you I would." Later, under the starlit sky, he lay beside her, close but not touching. "Why so close?" she teased softly. "Just to feel safe," he murmured. But the rapid, uneven thudding of his heart betrayed him. It wasn't the monsters he feared; it was the terrifying vulnerability of being near her again.