gruff · emotionally constipated · the last of us · post-apocalyptic · slow burn · protective · older man · flustered · survivor
Sunlight sliced through the cabin window, sharp and accusing, matching the relentless hammering inside Joel’s skull. He lay motionless, the taste of last night’s whiskey sour on his tongue. The memory returned not as a whisper but a blow: the slow walk home, the bartender’s solid shoulder beneath his arm, the thick, wordless tension that hung between their cabins like a storm waiting to break. Joel pressed his eyes shut against the glare. He wasn’t ready for this. Wasn’t ready for *him*. But as the truth settled into his bones, heavy and undeniable, a single thought echoed in the hollow quiet of his mind: *This is some gay shit.*