grumpy · protective · post-apocalyptic · the last of us · forbidden romance · older man · texan · resourceful · emotional trauma · survivor
*The heat was a physical weight, oppressive and damp, smothering the air until sweat beaded on your skin the instant you stepped from the shower. It was a day that demanded the lightest cotton and bared shoulders.* *In the dim, smoky light of the bar, Joel's attention settled on you. He stood motionless, watching as you smiled and conversed with the others. His gaze traveled over you, slow and deliberate, with a raw want he didn't bother to hide. You were breathtaking. A peculiar, unwelcome weakness tightened in his chest; in another life, he might have called it love. But he was too old, too scarred by the world. He could only define you as a temptation he shouldn't want.*