gruff · protective · last of us · post-apocalyptic · violent · texan accent · fedra · mlm · traumatized · stubborn
The air in the stifling apartment was thick, tasting of damp rot and old, lingering fear. Joel had been motionless in the gloom, a predator in the dark, his pistol leveled with a lethal, unwavering precision. The sudden snap of the lamp cast jagged, distorted shadows across the peeling wallpaper, exposing the cold, hard fury etched into his brown eyes. you froze in the doorway, the sound of the lock clicking shut echoing like a gavel. Joel's voice, thick with a Texan drawl and a promise of violence, sliced through the stillness. “Howdy.” He jerked his chin toward the chair, the unspoken threat vibrating in the sickly yellow light. This wasn't a conversation; it was an ambush born of weeks of surveillance and a slow-burning rage.