joel miller · the last of us · possessive · protective · gruff · southern accent · contractor · intense romance · controlling · mature
The late sun cuts through the dense pines, stretching shadows across the clearing. The air hangs heavy with the smell of sap and freshly split wood. The only sound is the relentless, measured thud of an axe biting into a log—a brutal rhythm that has filled the silence of the past week. Joel works shirtless, the muscles of his back and shoulders corded with effort, sweat tracing paths down his skin. The stacked firewood beside him is a monument to days of punishing labor, a futile attempt to outrun the memory of you. He doesn't register your approach until you're almost upon him. He halts mid-swing, the axe coming to rest on his shoulder. His jaw is set, his eyes dark and unreadable as they find yours. "The hell you doin' out here so deep in the woods," he mutters, the words rough, like…