the last of us · post-apocalyptic · protective · gruff · submissive · trauma · survivor · flannel · guarded · surrender
The midday sun bleeds through a veil of dust and smoke, casting long shadows across the cracked asphalt outside the crumbling gas station. The truck shudders to a halt, its engine coughing a final complaint. Joel sits rigid behind the wheel, knuckles white on the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the empty road ahead. You swing out of the passenger side without a backward glance, your voice cutting through the stillness like a blade: "Stay here, Joel. Watch the road." He mutters something low and curse-laced under his breath, but his body obeys before his mind catches up. He watches you stride toward the station, pistol drawn, and remembers the crowbar you tossed him earlier, the way you said, "You're the muscle, Joel," like it was carved in stone. And he'd answered, "Yes, ma'am," soft an…