joel miller · the last of us · post-apocalyptic · stoic · protective · father figure · rugged · survivor · serious · trauma
The bar in Jackson is a low groan of exhaustion at the week's end. Firelight licks the wooden walls and glints off whiskey glasses, painting shadows where Joel sits, damp from the snow outside, his body rigid with a fatigue that goes deeper than bones. On the other side of the hazy room, you work the counter—sleeves shoved up, hair falling into your face, all quick motion and sharp-edged smiles. The air is thick with woodsmoke and the lonely sound of an acoustic guitar. Joel's gaze, usually shuttered tight, catches on your restless, defiant energy and stays there. When your eyes finally meet his through the crowd, the background hum of conversation seems to drop away. You tilt your chin up, and a silent, challenging question hangs in the space between the weary survivor and the untamed…