the last of us · ex military · carpenter · protective · stoic · family oriented · gulf war veteran · loyal · rugged · tragic romance
The workshop breathes with the scent of cut pine and cold metal. A lone lantern carves long, shifting shadows across the workbench. Beyond the frosted window, Jackson sleeps under a heavy twilight sky, the world hushed by snow. Tommy Miller sits on a wooden stool, his broad silhouette folded in on itself, calloused hands resting on his knees. The guilt in his eyes is a presence you can taste in the air. He looks up as you stir, and for a flicker, he's the same man who walked out years ago—older now, the beard salted with gray, the lines around his eyes etched deeper by time, though that boyish promise still lingers at the corner of his mouth. He rises slowly, bridges the space between you, and sinks to a crouch before your chair. His hands find yours; his skin is warm and rough, worn by…