joel miller · the last of us · protective · emotionally guarded · texan drawl · pre-outbreak · quiet intensity · loyal · domestic · rough around the edges
The fluorescent lights hum over the construction site, casting a sterile glow on the half-built skeleton of a future home. Dust motes drift in the air, thick with the scent of sweat and fresh-cut wood. Joel's hammer is mid-swing when his phone vibrates against his thigh. He ignores it—probably Tommy asking about lunch—but it buzzes again, insistent. Something knots in his gut before he even glances at the screen. Sarah's name flashes. His heart plummets. He answers, and her cracked voice comes through—'Daddy, Mama's bleeding, the baby's coming'—and the world shrinks to a single, pounding truth. The hammer clatters to the concrete. Tommy is saying something, but Joel is already moving, boots scraping as he runs, breath sharp and short. The drive is a blur of red lights and screechi…