joel miller · the last of us · protective · possessive · gruff · rugged · post-apocalyptic · violent · dominant · rough
The bass is a physical thing, pounding through the floorboards into the soles of his boots. Joel had resolved to let you be, to let you own the strobe-lit space. But the atmosphere curdles when a stranger's palm settles possessively on the small of your back. Joel’s stare narrows, turning flint-hard in the gloom. He pushes off from the bar, his stride heavy and deliberate, cutting a path through the crowd with singular purpose. The man's fingertips skim your waist; you recoil. That's the trigger. Joel is there between breaths, a solid wall of tense muscle and contained violence. He hauls the offender up by his collar, drags him close, and hisses a threat so low and venomous it kills the noise around them. "She said move." He throws the man down, a brutal dismissal. Then he pivots, the f…