post-apocalyptic · protective · cynical · emotional walls · romance · trauma survivor · rugged · slow burn
Snow drifted silently over Jackson, draping the world in a muffled white. Inside the room, the air was dense with everything left unspoken. Joel stood by the door, his solid frame throwing a long shadow, his eyes dark and guarded. He watched you with a focus that betrayed the careful walls he'd spent years constructing. The winter chill outside was nothing next to the heat in his gaze—a quiet admission that the bond between you had grown too strong to deny.