#gonna keep going this weekend see how i go :)

[pedrosgrogu]

Born Too Late - Chapter 12

pairing/au: neighbor!joel x reader // no outbreak

Warnings: none I can think of for this specific chapter but still no minors. lmk if there should be some.

Summary: Days after Joel apologized, you're still weighing your options. He asks you if you can take Sarah home for him, and you enjoy your afternoon with her. (2.1k+)

a/n: hiiiii. so this is just a lil filler chapter i guess. i wanted reader to bond more with sarah. also didnt want to jump right back into joel because he was not kind. sorry if theres typos/formatting issues. both nights i worked on this i was sleepy as hell. ill try to get one-two more out before next week! im headed out of town and when i get back classes are starting. xoxo

Chapter 11 - Masterlist - Chapter 13 (coming soon)

The weekend flys by quicker than you’d like. Your alarm rings and you groggily turn it off, sequencing the day before crawling to the kitchen and starting a pot of coffee. The aroma fills your house while you shower, washing the events of the past 4 days away for the millionth time. 

You haven’t heard from Joel but you aren’t bothered by it. You appreciate that he’s giving you the space and time, but you have a weird complex surrounding him. You’ve seen how good he can be to you, to Sarah, to others- but you’ve also seen how unpleasant he can be. You try not to think about it on the way to work, but you see him loading his truck up when you head out. He throws up a small wave with a smile, you nod back. Unlocking the car door, you throw everything into the passenger seat and set your travel mug in the cup holder, and head to work. 

The day is pretty uneventful. The kids are wild but it’s expected after a longer break. You take it as an opportunity to go back over rules and expectations in the classroom, and even turn it into a game. You don’t have lunch duty today so you head back to your room to eat and hear your phone ring from inside your desk. 

New Message From: Joel

Your stomach flips.

Late notice but anyway you can bring Sarah home today and keep her at my house until I finish up? Theres a key under the flowerpot on the porch, you can keep it just in case. I’m gonna be home later than expected. I'd really appreciate it. 

As nervous as you are to be in Joel’s house, to have a fucking key to his house, you don’t even have to think about it. Because the answer for Sarah is always yes. 

Hey! Sure thing. Do you want me to give her dinner? 

You click send and anxiously wait on a response, scarfing your lunch down before you have to go get your class. 

Ding 

Dinner would be great, and help yourself to anything you want. Theres chicken nuggets, pizza, and some leftover pasta. Sarah really struggled to get up this morning so she’ll need to be in bed before I get home. I shouldn’t be any later than 9 or so, so bedtime around 8:30 at the latest. 

Before you can respond, you have to head to the cafeteria to get your class. They all walk groggily down the hallway back to class, bellies full and eyes tired. 

The rest of the day drags. You do independent reading, recess, and a little social studies before the secretary drops the afternoon notes off. 

“Kiya, you’re a car rider today” you say, looking at her to make sure she heard you. “Dylan you’re going home with Oliver, and Sarah, you’re riding home with me.” Dylan and Oliver high five and Sarah smiles and nods. 

“Why does Sarah always get to go home with you?” a voice from the back of the class exclaims.

“Sarah is my neighbor! And sometimes her dad has to work late so I take her home until he gets home.” Before you can pinpoint who asked, the bell rings. 

“Have a good afternoon everyone! Remember to fill out your reading log!” You say over the shuffle of feet and echos of voices. 

Sarah knows the routine, so she pulls a book out of her backpack and sits quietly reading until its time to go.

In the car, she asks for the Spice Girls and you both jam out the whole way home.

You pull into your driveway first. “I thought I could grab my nail polish and we could do a girls day at your house. How’s that sound?” you say. Sarahs eyes light up, and she begins vigorously shakingher head up and down. 

She follows you into your house. “We won’t be here long” you declare, walking down the hallway. “So leave your shoes on!” You notice her look at the flowers on your counter, the ones from Joel.

You’re walking back up the hall, nail polish in hand. As soon as Sarah sees you she blurts “Are these from my dad?” her head cocked to the side, her eyes wide. “They are. Why do you ask?” she turns her head back upright, and a grin spreads across her face. “No reason.” She says giggling, and walking back out the door. You roll your eyes and follow behind her. 

You pull into Joel’s driveway and turn the car off. Sarah jumps out. “How are we gonna get in?” she asks, inquisitively. 

“Your dad left a key under the flower pot!” You tell her as she heads to the front door while you grab your purse and the bag of nail polishes. 

Once inside, you shoot Joel a quick text just to let him know you’ve got Sarah and are home.

Hey Joel, just wanted to let you know that we’re home. Are you sure about the key? And is there anything specific I need to know about her night routine? 

You set your phone down and sit at the island with Sarah, setting out all the nail polishes. She picks a deep purple with sparkles. You pick a baby blue. The color reminding you of the hydrangeas that your mother used to grow. You let Sarah paint yours first. She’s quiet; heavily focused on perfecting her technique. 

She finishes your hands and the look great, especially for her age. Before you can do hers, yours need to dry. You tell her she can grab a snack and work on homework until its her turn, that way she can watch TV after dinner. She jumps up and grabs some chips and her backpack. 

Ding 

You pick your phone up, skimming Joels response.

Yes, I’m sure about the key. Id rather you have it and not need it than not have it and need it. As for nightime, nothing really. No TV past 7:30, and she needs to shower and read before bed. 

You send a quick “Got it, see you in a few hours!” and sit your phone back down. You help Sarah with her math homework. It’s not your strong suit but you get the job done. 

After about an hour, she finishes her homework and its her turn. 

“Are you enjoying the school year so far?” you ask, painting a thin layer of purple on each of her fingers 

“It’s better now. It kind of wasn’t good at the beginning..” her voice trails off, and she looks down. You dont question her, or push her to tell you why. You already know why. “But its gotten a lot better since being in your class” she says, looking up and smiling. “Im glad!” you say, fanning her nails with your hands so the first layer will dry. She continues talking about school, her favorite subjects and her friends. You’re so thankful to have her. She’s like the little sister you never had. Her kindness radiates into everyone she comes into contact with, and her smile brightens a room.

“Pizza, chicken nuggets, or pasta?” You ask her. It’s 6:00 so you know if she wants time for TV, dinner needs to happen. 

“Mmmm can I have chicken nuggets?” she asks 

“Sure! And do you want carrots or cucumbers with it?” You ask, pulling the nuggets from the freezer for her and the pasta from the fridge for yourself. She sticks her tongue out. “Can I have broccoli instead? Dad buys the frozen bag ones, they’re in the freezer I think.” She says. “Of course!” 

You preheat the oven, and line a cookie sheet with foil. You line up 10 chicken nuggets and stick them in once the oven beeps. You throw the broccoli in the microwave. The scent of the 2 filling the house, making your stomach grumble. 

You put 5 nuggets on Sarahs tray to start, along with a scoop of broccoli and some strawberries. Your pasta beeps in the microwave and you pull it out, sitting down beside Sarah. Few words are exchanged during dinner, but its a comfortable silence. You’re both content with the humming of the refrigerator. 

Dinner finishes and 7:00 comes quick. You tell Sarah she can have TV until 7 but then its shower and reading. Sarah turns the TV on to Cartoon Network, and you put the 3 nuggets Sarah didnt eat into a bowl and stick it in the fridge, along with the remaining strawberries and broccoli.

Washing dishes is such a daunting task to most, but not to you. Its therapeutic, the warmth of the water and the mindfullness of the task. Each dish you wash, each plate you clean, feels like a small act of care—care for Joel’s home, care for yourself, and even care for those who will use the dishes next. As the last plate is washed and the sink is cleared, there’s a sense of quiet accomplishment.

Sarah finishes her show and heads straight for the shower, you wipe the counters down and check your phone. 

New Message From: Joel

Should be home by 9:30. Do you need anything from the store? 

You smile. Joel’s thoughtfulness is something you missed. The way he anticipates your needs, and is reassuring. 

No thanks, Im good. But I appreciate it. Drive careful. 

You hear the shower water turn off and grab Sarahs books and reading log from her backpack. You pull out a book about Egypt, and the first book in the Boxcar Children series. You smile, remembering reading the same book with your mom before everything went to shit. 

Sarahs PJs are on and shes in her room. Her nightstand light on, dimly lighting her pale pink room. You knock on the door before peaking your head in. “Hey kiddo, you alright in here?” you ask, sittingon the edge of her bed beside her legs. “Yeah, Im okay. Just really-” her sentence interrupted by the worlds biggest yawn. You laugh. “Tired.” she says, laughing with you. 

You look at the clock beside her lamp 

8:17

“Do you want me to put your books in your bag? I can have your dad fill out your reading log for you.” You say, standing up. 

“Yes please.” Sarah says, handing her books to you. She lays down and pulls her comforter up to just below her face. 

“Goodnight Sarah, see you tomorrow” you say quietly, turning her light off. 

“Goodnight. Thank you for always hanging out with me.  She says, turning over. 

You turn around, smiling. Closing her door gently behind you.

You log her reading and put her things back in her backpack, peaking at the time. 

8:46 

Not bad you think to yourself. You finish cleaning the kitchen, sweeping and wiping the stovetop. You then settle into the comfiest fucking couch ever, turning on One Tree Hill. You grab a blanket and it smells like Joel. You wrap yourself up in it, inhaling deeply. Your eyes slowly begin to drift. You fight until you cant and drift into a hazy slumber. 

“Hey darlin” 

“Im home, it’s time to wake up” 

You startle awake, throwing the blanket off and jumping up. 

“Woah woah. I ain’t mean to scare ya girl” Joel says, laughing. He walks away, holding a handful of groceries. 

“Hey. Sorry, you scared me.” You say, folding the blanket and throwing it back on the couch. 

“How’d it go?” Joel asks, putting groceries in the fridge. 

“Good! We did each others nails this afternoon and she really enjoyed that.” you say quietly. It’s not awkward being with Joel, but it doesn’t feel like it used to. 

“She ate 7 chicken nuggets, 2 helpings of broccoli, and some strawberries. She also read for probably 20ish-30 minutes. I filled out her log already, she was really tired.” You say, turning to grab your bags and put your shoes on. 

“Hey, thank you, again. For all that you do for Sarah.” He begins, “Her mom is around but she isn’t very consistent so I think it really helps to have another positive female figure in her life.” He finishes, smiling. 

“I told you, it’s really no problem. Im glat to help when I can.” You say lightly, walking to grab your keys off the entryway table and opening Joel’s from door. 

“Oh I almost forgot” Joel says, walking toward you. “I know you said you didn’t need nothin’ but I just wanted to get ya somethin’ to say thank you. He opens a grocery bag and pulls out a 4 pack of blueberry muffins. 

“Joel, you didn’t have to do that.” You say, taking them from his hand. 

“Oh don’t worry about it. You always are here for Sarah and I cant thank ya enough.” He says, smiling. 

“How’d you know blueberry was my favorite?” you ask, raising an eyebrow. 

“Lucky guess” he says, chuckling.

“Well, goodnight Joel. Thank you again for the muffins.” You say, opening the door. 

“Goodnight Yellow.” He says, smiling and waving as you pull the door behind you.

[atarial]

been a year since the last update on this...oops

surprisingly it was veilguard that inspired me to add a bit more to this, and i have a little break before i have to go into con prep mode again

so barla von, petrovsky, grunt and samara have been added since last update :)

[alaskan-wallflower]

how my parents feel after always reminding me how much better my older brother is than me

[coridallasmultipass]

Me, the other night: "I may be going through a fuck of a life situation, but it could always be worse if I broke a flower pot in the shower again."

Me, today, waking up with a swollen and painful mouth infection:

[citrlet]

reading random bits of my story and being genuinely surprised how happy i am with them??

[itsalwaysdark]

its so embarassing likee. going to talk abt a feeling you have but you already know ppl will be like Oh that sounds like depression lol and its like. well yes . i know . trust me i am so aware i am depressed . but its still like a thing ive been thinking abt and wanting to talk abt but ik itll just be like Ok hun 👍. idk idk what response i would want tho ig FNFNFNF

[autistic-shaiapouf]

Beginning to really wonder how much of my financial concern is manufactured and handed to me as opposed to something I'm genuinely concerned by

[coldflasher]

currently experiencing The Horrors (thinking abt the fact that i have to start going into the office again from tomorrow)

this will either fix me entirely or cause me to descend so deeply into my burnout sinkhole that i will never be seen or heard from again

[gxlden-angels]

Throughout all of this, I never thought about the potential for my family members to also deconstruct/leave fundamentalist christianity, even if they remained a more progressive christian in the end

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[fandoms-writings]

i love my mom but sometimes i really just wanna -

[recareels]

Tartaglia is getting increasingly jealous about the attention you are giving daddy dendro, be careful clari😳

WAAAAH anon!!! (*/ω＼*) stop hehehe u just made me so giddy!!! he is such the jealous type tho like the man is borderline yandere and lately i’ve been thinking about just how he’d react, knowing he was my first favourite, my original favourite, but then came ayato and thoma (a packaged deal, of course), and now here comes alhaitham, stomping all over everything with his big stupid boots and what the fuck??? ajax was here first, and he doesn’t even have a single fic to show for it, only bits and pieces of finished work!? that’s not fair! hehehe waaah i just feel like he’d be fuming over it all and def plotting some clever yet gruesome murders ｡：ﾟ(｡ﾉω＼｡)ﾟ･｡

[vespys-refs]

.

[theirloveisgross]

.

[inbabylontheywept]

bad dating stories time: the shoe incident

so in highschool, my best friend wasnt allowed to go on dates unless there was another couple there to keep an eye on him. part of this was his parents being insane, but also, part of it was him being insane. in a problem with no reasonable parties, there are no reasonable solutions.

at some point in my junior year, my sorta-gf broke up with me, and i just wasnt feeling dating, which was bad for my friend, because he had a good thing going with a girl he met in court.

he kind of hounded me about it. kept pushing me to just put me feet back in the dating pool and i wasnt real thrilled about it, because i knew he was pushing me for his own benefit, not mine, so i kept telling him to fuck off, and after a few weeks of being told that i would date when i was damn well ready, he eventually said: okay. what if i paid for the date AND found you a blind date AND all you had to do was show up?

and i shouldve said no, i know, but i let him wear me down, and i will own my fault in that. a date starting on such a stupid premise could never have gone well.

but he still managed to find a way to make it worse.

i dont know how long he tried to set a blind date up. it couldve been multiple attempts. he couldve stooped to this immediately. but what happened in the end was that he called a girl from the ward he attended - a girl that he knew had a giant, mushy crush on him - and he said: hey! how would you feel about going on a date this weekend?

(you know, implying it was with him, but never actually saying it.)

and she said YES WOW I WOULD LOVE TO and he said great! and then he called me up and said he found me a date.

i did not learn about his crimes until several weeks later. i will die swearing before god almighty that i would never have allowed this travesty to happen if i had known.

that was on a monday. the date of the date rolled around that friday evening, and im sorry to confess, i really phoned the whole thing in. i showed up in my favorite comfy outfit, which was also a fashion crime: basketball shorts and flipflops and a baja hoodie. it was super comfy but it made me look kind of crazy. i picked him up first, and then i picked up his date next, and then we went to pick up my date, and thats where you're gonna get the play by play.

i arrived, walked across the yard, and knocked on the front door. she opened it almost immediately, like shed been waiting right by it, and i could see her expression go from OMG IM SO EXCITED to super disappointed, then disgusted and finally pissed. and because i didn't know about my friends sins, i thought it was from my outfit. which seemed... harsh. like, hey, im allowed to be quirky, fuck you. also its a blind date, i thought the deal was that we were both going to be sad broken sacks of mortality.

anyway, we looked at each other for several seconds before she slammed the door in my face.

i looked back at my friend. he was sweating bullets. i dont know what he expected from this, but there was this big long pause where we both tried to figure out what to do, and then the door opened up, and her dad invited me in, and he said she was gonna need a few minutes to finish getting ready, and that in the meantime we could sit and talk.

we did not talk. we did sit. i sat down on the couch, and he sat down in a chair across the couch, and then instead of talking he cleaned his pistol on the coffee table. i wasnt actually sure if it was a threat, or if it was just a fidget thing for 40+ year old republican men, but when i tried to help he got snappy so i just watched him put a pistol back together.

he was okay at it.

eventually my date came downstairs, still mad as hell for reasons beyond my ken, and i felt pretty guilty for being such a mess because i thought that was why she was so angry. i tried to make up for by walking her to the car and getting the door for her, just generally trying to be extra polite, but before i could make it back to the drivers side, her dad called me back to the door. so i flipped around, went to the door, and immediately regreted my decision.

soon as i was within range, her dad got waaaay too close to me, leaned in, and said "whatever you do to her, i will do to you," and my brain went into overdrive making three consecutive realizations.

realization one was, damn, the pistol thing was a threat. that sucks. what an asshole. realization two was, wait, im autistic and even i know theres a 0% chance me and my date even hold hands, least of all boink. does this guy actually think there's even a 1% chance of anyone in that car getting laid tonight? is he an idiot? and then realization three went through, which was wait, is this guy threatening to fuck me? and unfortunately, with my brain doing so much processing, my mouth was left to run amok, so somewhere between realization 2 and 3, i said:

"i can't get pregnant"

which, i swear, wasn't actually me trying to be a smartass, it was just me pointing out that he couldn't actually follow up on that threat. it just wasn't possible. we do not live in the omegaverse and im not scared of you.

still, it was an insanely catastrophic thing to say, and the moment we both heard it, we bluescreened. that single sentence obliterated both of our momentary streams of consciousness like a saltine in front of a sand blaster. problem was, he'd probably gone his whole life not even realizing someone could say something that stupid, and making that realization was going to cost him a lot of thinking time. me though? i had been saying shit like that for 17 years, i didnt have to rewrite my expectations of human nature, i just had to plan an exit and start striding. so i was already halfway back to the car before i heard "hey. hey come back. Hey. Hey. HEY. HEY WAIT. HEY GET BACK HERE. HEY-"

and then i was in my car, and i drove away.

if this happened today, he'd have called her, and the whole thing wouldve imploded then and there, but back then, there were still a decent number of teenagers without cell phones. especially the teenagers of insane, gun toting parents. so she just said: whoa what was that all about? and i said: dont worry about it, he'll tell you about it when you get home.

and she said: ok and went back to staring daggers at me and my friend.

WHICH SURPRISINGLY isnt even how the story ends.

we went to an improv comedy show, and it was a disaster. it shouldve been like, 7/10 tops, but between my date being mad, and my friend having a good time, and me having the existential terror of knowing that a guy with a pistol was probably waiting outside his house for me to come back, it was easily 11/10. i laughed way too hard at everything. especially the jokes that flopped. id sit there in this mostly silent room and laugh until i dry heaved a little, and my date was absolutely disgusted, and even my friend was a little embarrassed, which would just make me laugh harder. i laughed so hard that night i could barely talk the next day. and then the show ended, and my friend said, you know, that was a good time, but i think we should maybe do something a little chiller? who wants to walk around the park? and his date said yeah, and my date said no, and i finally had mercy on the poor woman so i said, look, im gonna drop you off. and i am so, so sorry about this, but im dropping you off like a block away. super duper sorry.

do talk to your dad about the pistols thing if you dont want this happening more in the future tho.

and she said: okay. so i dropped her off, and she walked a block down, and that was that.

then i drove my friend and his date to a park that was good for wandering. i figured they wanted something more private, so instead of following them around point blank, i chose a park with this 30 foot rope tower, and i climbed to the top and i said: hey i can see you anywhere from up here, you are officially chaperoned from a distance. get panopticoned idiot. except my friend really is an idiot, and he didnt really get the whole 'now i dont have to third wheel so insanely hard with you guys' thing so he climbed up the tower too, and then his date followed behind him, so there are three people basically sitting together on top of a telephone pole.

and then they started making out.

i was close enough to hear it.

i didnt really know what to do so i was just kind of sitting there, dissociating, when some college kids came around and started shaking the tower. my friend's date went aaaaaaaaaa im afraid of heights :( and my friend went oh, dont worry, ill hold you tight ;) and i went hey, im gonna climb down and ask them to stop.

so i did climb down, and i did ask them to stop, and they flipped me off, which i wasnt even mad about. at that point i was i was like yeah, it would be weirder if this wasnt a mess. gods plan has been to fly this day like a 747 into my metaphorical twin towers and brother he is close enough for me to see him grinning through the cockpit window. still, eventually the college students got bored, so they climbed up the tower, which gave my friend and his date a window to climb down, and together we walked back to my car.

now, i cant explain why this is, but sitting back in the drivers seat was my carriage-back-into-a-pumpkin moment. i'd been chill about all the chaos, just rolling with the punches, but sitting down made me realize how much of a shitshow the day had been, and while i couldnt go back and fix all of it, i could go back and fix one thing.

so i told my friend and his date, hey, you two, stay here and don't do anything weird. don't. then i walked back to the rope tower, and i started picking up the shoes the college students had left at the base in order to climb.

about halfway through this, i realized that if i took all their shoes, they might think i was in it for the money, and i actually wanted them to know i was in it specifically to spite them. fuck those guys. so i put all the right shoes back, gave myself a 100 foot headstart, yelled "nice shoes, assholes", did a little jig, and started running.

my advice to everyone is that college students are faster than you think. even with the headstart, and the whole climb down the tower thing, i was still only fivish seconds ahead of them by the time i got to my car. i flung the door open, looked in the backseat, didnt see anyone, flung the stolen shoes in the backseat, heard two "ow"s, took that as proof of presence, jumped in and pealed out of the lot.

my friend and his date popped up a few seconds later. they were, uh, doing something weird in the back seat. my one request - obliterated.

they climbed up to ask where the hell all the shoes had come from, and i was like yeah i stole them from the college students, and they were like oh. cool. hope you had fun. and i was like, i did. i did. but speaking of fun, what were you doing back there?

and for the first time in my buddies life, i think he was actually embarassed.

[orbitganymede]

baby daddy simon who dated you for a year before you got pregnant, you’d gone through most of the pregnancy alone, him being deployed 3 weeks after you found out and gone until the very last month of it. the both of you had tried at keeping the relationship together, but the distance and loneliness got to you, you’d been fine when it was just you but now with baby, you can’t let the father go in and out of their life. he wasn’t very happy with the decision to end your relationship, in his mind you were together forever now, tied together by this beautiful thing you two created, he didn’t even want children before you told him you were expecting but his whole world view changed when he realized that he not only had you to protect but a baby as well.

but you’d moved out against his wishes, finding a small flat you like and making it home for you and baby. he would come over sometimes, when he could, and spend some time with baby but honestly he felt more like some glorified uncle, would be convinced he was nothing to this child until he saw those brown eyes staring back at him, the ones that are so completely his, and he comes to the conclusion that this isn’t gonna work.

he starts small, coming over once a week instead of every other weekend, takes the two of you out for dinner instead of letting you cook or ordering in. stays late enough that you offer him the spare bed in the guest room, even with the distance you’ve put between yourselves, you can’t help but care for him, knowing nobody else will.

then he puts more pressure on you, making sure you see just how valuable he is, taking night shift feedings and waking up early with baby when they’re fussy. he offers to take baby for the night so you can go out with your friends, do things you haven’t been able to since baby’s arrival, even pays for a spa day for you to really relax. he stocks your fridge, full of the snacks you love and a bottle of wine for the hard nights. he buys and sets up new decor in the house, finally gets you the pretty white vanity and a new washing machine that doesn’t squeak. he really just does what he considers ‘husband duties’, things that he should have been doing this whole time.

and when you don’t budge on the separation, he goes nuclear, “no, love, i haven’t seen your birth control pills”, “look how cute this baby is, remember when ours was that small, sweetheart”, “you’re so stressed darling, let me help you” which basically means you end up getting rawdogged within an inch of your life, condom long forgotten, one of simons hands held over your mouth to muffle the sounds you’re making. he just hopes he’d tracked your cycle right, that you’re actually ovulating, because you can’t possible refuse his ring after having two of his babies right? you wouldn’t do that to him, would you pet?