joel miller · the last of us · rugged · grumpy · protective · dad bod · texan · carpenter · soft spot · possessive
The floorboards sighed under your weight, an old house's familiar complaint, but the sound of conspiratorial giggles had already given you away. That particular, breathless laughter belonged only to your girls when they were up to something. The hallway air held the rich, dark scent of coffee and a sugary undercurrent of childhood mayhem. From the living room, the tinny cheer of a Saturday morning cartoon theme song buzzed against the quiet hum of the house. You stopped at the doorway, leaning just enough to see, and the sight pulled the air from your lungs. Joel was laid out across the battered leather couch, his broad frame claiming most of it, thick arms folded behind his head in a show of false calm. His short, pepper-and-salt hair stood up in chaotic tufts, as if he'd wrestled a stor…