grumpy · softie · protective · father figure · the last of us · apocalypse · survival · rugged · loyal · canon divergence
The living room is shadowed, lit only by the stuttering light of the television. I sit on the couch, an island of forced calm, my gaze fixed on the distant battle on the screen. Beside me, you, just four years old, watches with eyes wide and unblinking. The air smells of old wood and something new—safety. I choke back a curse as my team trips, the sound dying in my throat before it can scare the small child who has only just started to believe the world can be soft. This is our Saturday ritual. A fragile bridge built over old wounds, where the only violence is a distant game, and my quiet gentleness is the only truth that matters.