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lillaydee · 1 day ago

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The Unlucky One Part 8

Joel Miller (No Outbreak AU) / F Reader

When it comes to love, Lady Luck seems to have lost your address. After being left at the altar without so much of an explanation, you decided love is no longer something you are interested in. Not even meeting an unlucky-in-love-himself Mr. Grump could change your mind.

Right?

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WARNINGS: Protective Joel (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Soft Joel (The Last of Us), Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Grumpy Joel (The Last of Us), Jealousy, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Idiots in Love, unlucky in love, Child Abandonment, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us)

@peelieblue, @vickie5446, @harriedandharassed, @lovefreylove @martuxduckling @kikookii @liciafonseca

SERIES MASTER LIST

Part 7

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“I don’t know about this one sweetie, I don’t think your Dad looks too thrilled either,” Frank said to you as your Dad grumpily opened and shut the same kitchen drawer for the eighth time in the fifth house they’d looked at. Kyle was standing next to him, the same disgruntled expression on his face, looking at the newly installed drawer as if it was spewing the worst smell they had ever smelt. Apparently, the silent close wasn’t quite silent enough for your Dad’s liking.

“Don’t need to hear that racket every time I need a spoon,” he mumbled. “You should’ve designed this kitchen, baby,” he had told you. “You would never use materials this cheap. And from what I’ve seen, Joel wouldn’t either.”

You pinched your nose with your fingers.

“Dad, it was just a stupid suggestion. You didn’t need to take it so seriously.”

It was your fault, really. You had no one but yourself to blame for this constant migraine you were suffering from.

They had been extremely excited to see your new house, ooh-ing and aah-ing at every single thing they saw on Facetime, although you’d known them both enough to know they were just doing it to make you feel better about this sudden move of yours. They were fully behind you, though, anything to help you move on. They’d been in your ears about visiting since they’d first heard you were moving. They agreed to wait until you got the keys, and then waited again until you’d furnished the place, and then waited again for you to settle down with your new job.

The moment they drove up your driveway, your Dad’s truck shockingly full of luggage, their eyes searched around, necks were practically swivelling, not so subtly asking Kyle a not so silent question, Kyle answering in the most pathetically unsubtle way possible, his head jerking towards the house to your right. You’d hardly pushed your front door opened when Frank suggested ordering takeout for the night. Why don’t you invite your neighbours over, sweetie?

You thought your eyes would pop out of their sockets, staring so hard at Kyle, who was busying himself looking anywhere but at you.

Your Dad adored Tess, thought Tommy was incredibly annoying, which was his way of saying ‘he’s alright’, but was extremely quiet with Joel, content with studying the man from afar after giving him a grunt hello and a much too firm handshake. Perhaps what he’d heard about how you and Joel came to know each other was the reason for his attitude towards him. The fact that Frank wouldn’t stop gushing about the man didn’t help either. Anyone would think he didn’t like the guy.

But you knew your Dad. He was studying Joel. Making up his mind about him.

It was the fact that Joel had done the renovation on your house, the quality of the work, the fact that he had worked hard for what he had up ‘til then. The fact that Joel didn’t try to impress him, talk himself up, kiss his ass. The fact that he had forfeited his rights to enjoy his youth for Sarah. That he was kind to his family, talked to his mother every day, apparently. And the fact that he was so respectful of you. The smile Joel reserved for you helped too.

You knew. Your Dad liked him. Respected him.

What you didn’t expect to happen was his immediate bond with Sarah. Your Dad melted for her, the little girl sound asleep on his lap by the time the night ended. You had a hard time remembering when the last time was your Dad had been around children other than you and Nell. And from what you remembered, he didn’t take too kindly to Nell. So seeing him cooing at Sarah, asking her questions as if she was the most interesting person in the world was something you never thought you would see.

Before you knew it, their original one week visit had turned into two, and now was fast turning into a month. Not that you were complaining. They spent their time gardening, your garden looking fabulous, unlike anything you could ever achieve on your own since you had famously managed to kill every single living plant you had brought into any household you were in. Your Dad cooked every single meal for you, serving you gourmet food every day, making you wonder how you were going to survive on takeout and canned pasta when they leave. Frank decorated your place, even going so far as painting some new stuff to hang around the house for you. You walked out of the office after every work day to a nice new decorated corner all done up as if some photographer from some fancy home and living magazine was coming. They left the house at some point when you were working, coming back with arms full of new things for your new house, determined to make it a home for you.

But mostly, they spent their days waiting for Sarah to come home from school, taking her out for ice cream and buying her new toys, playing in the yard with her, helping her with her homework, all the while insisting Joel come along to help them, and then somehow the whole thing ended with you and Joel spending some time alone, just talking and laughing, getting to know each other better.

And Joel seemed happy to just… let his daughter go with these older men he’d met for the first time just a month ago.

You woke up one Sunday to an inflatable pool in your backyard and so much meat marinating in your freezer. And as Sarah was squealing in the pool, splashing Ethan and Frank with hosepipe water, your Dad came up with the idea of installing a pool in your backyard, since Sarah loved that tiny inflatable thing so much, even taking Joel and Tommy away from the grill to ask their opinion on the possibility of one.

Uhm, what? No! You didn’t have the time, nor the will to maintain a pool! What if Sarah fell in? Oh, God, the horror!

“She loves your dads,” Tess whispered to you, “She’s never had grandfathers, my Uncle Jake passed before Joel even met her mother, and her only grandad died when she was one. Now she has two!”

Joel looked at you, a huge grin on his face as his little girl squealed to no end. “You don’t mind my dads spending so much time with Sarah, do you? It’s okay if you do, I’ll tell them to back off,” you asked him, worried that your dads were bogarting the little girl.

“Are you kidding? Listen to that,” he said, pausing to let you hear her little laughs and squeals, smiling so widely his eyes practically disappeared. “She’s happy, I’m happy.” He went off to join Tommy and your Dad at what they’d all somehow decided to be the perfect spot for a pool.

“Dad, I’m not putting a pool in!”

“What? Why not?”

“I don’t want to take care of one!”

“Oh, come on, it’ll be great! We’ll help you take care of it!”

“From your condo, the one that’s a six hour drive away? I don’t think so.”

He mumbled something about not minding the drive.

“Well, if you want a pool so badly why don’t you buy a house with one and we can all go swim there!”

And that, that one little line you spouted out of frustration, was what led to today. They announced the next day over breakfast that they were moving to Austin, and they wanted a house with a pool, within walking distance of you and Sarah. They had met her, fell in love, and were buying her a house with a freaking pool for her to swim in.

The reality was you were nervous. Your dads were making this huge change in their lives so they could include Sarah and Joel more, but what if things didn’t work out? You and Joel were nothing more than friends. He took your wish to take things slow seriously. Nothing more than a quick peck on the cheek and a quick hug from him.

And truthfully, you were thankful. It’s been less than three months since you got dumped at the altar, and you were still thinking of Andrew as you went along your new life. Making coffee? You sometimes still open the fridge to get the 2% milk he preferred, only to remember you no longer buy them. You saw that the socks he liked were on sale and picked up a few pairs, even queueing at the checkout before remembering you were no longer attached to him. You made eggs over easy before reality came flooding, quickly lifting the pan off the heat. You hadn’t heard from him, not since you changed your number and email address. You even deleted your LinkedIn account, not wanting him to find you. Thankfully, the days you thought of him were steadily lessening, although you very much look forward to the day when you no longer think about him.

You and Joel had been spending more and more time together. It seemed, your intuition about him were right. He was a great guy. You loved spending time with him, and it seemed that he loved spending time with you too. Even if your bedroom windows were practically facing each other, the two of you spent time before bed talking to each other on Facetime before you could go to sleep. And you had to admit, you thought about him a lot. A text from him was enough to make you smile for hours. A phone call? Bye-bye whatever you were doing then. That call was more important, surely? And if he visited or asked you to keep him company running the stupidest errand ever? Then rest assured your face would hurt from smiling and laughing.

He did do that a lot these days, ask you to accompany him on the stupidest errands. He needed to fill up Tess’s car, come keep him company? He needed to deposit the paycheques for his workers, are you free? You did sit in the truck while he went into the vestibule with an envelope wondering who the fuck still uses cheques to pay people these days? Was he not aware he could just do that online?

Weirdly, every single one of those silly errands always detoured to ice cream parlours and cafes, at one point, even a lookout point.

And still, only a quick peck and hug as he said goodbye to you at your door, making sure you were inside, heard your bolt slide in before going back to his own place a few steps away.

It wasn’t as if you didn’t want to take things further with him. You did, you really did. But there was a nagging thought at the back of your head telling you that something was not quite right. That having him in your life like that would only cause him hurt. That drama was coming, and the kind thing to do was to leave him out of it, have him around as a friend, as you really couldn’t imagine your life without the whole Miller clan anymore.

You didn’t quite understand why you were feeling so at unease, until one day when you were at the grocery store with him. You had separated from him, going to get some toiletries as he went to get some toilet paper. You were looking for your toothpaste brand when you got that feeling. The feeling you’d heard people say but had never really experienced. Like you were being watched.

There he was again. That man you kept seeing. He was holding a basket, picking up a deodorant, tossing it into the basket before leaving. As you watched him disappear behind some shelves, you shook your head, feeling silly that you had made up such a scenario, scaring yourself silly. But then, you turned the corner to get back to Joel, and there he was again, looking at something on the shelf. He stood there a while, reading the labels, placing the item in his basket and continued browsing, making you feel even sillier.

You were still mulling over the whole thing when Joel deposited the toilet paper in the trolley. You were about to tell him about that man you saw, but a chirpy voice interrupted your thoughts.

“There you are. You disappeared on me, oh! Hello!” Lucy appeared out of nowhere, smiling merrily at you. “This man! I looked at my phone for a second and he disappeared!”

You gave her a small laugh. You were about to make a witty retort when Joel mumbled something about having somewhere to be and pushed the trolley away, taking your hand in his, letting go only as you reached the checkout. When you turned around to bag your purchase, Lucy was at the next checkout, giving you a small wave as she paid for her own shopping. She finished before you did, stopping by your trolley, slipping Joel a piece of paper, whispering something to him before leaving.

You didn’t ask, of course, you knew better. But there was a pang of something in your chest as you watched her smile sweetly at him. She was so sweet, a cute little thing, and they would make a great looking couple. And then, just as you were leaving, you saw him discreetly deposited the paper in a trashcan, and just like that, that pang in your heart disappeared.

You were not dumb. Maria kept telling you that men like him did not grow on trees. She and Tommy were now officially a couple, Tommy spending more and more nights at her condo than at home. And yet, you were still hesitating. You knew she was right. Joel was a hot commodity. You saw how women look at him whenever you were out together, saw how women gave you the once over immediately after, as if judging you, deciding whether or not you two were together. He didn’t seem to notice, but you always did. Still, you couldn’t get rid of this voice that told you to hold off. Spare him from the drama that was your life. If things were meant to be with him, it will be.

But Lucy… she seemed perfect for him. The sunshine to his grumpy demeanour. You would bet anything she didn’t have your mother or sister, and a passive aggressive ex-fiancé who wouldn’t leave you alone after leaving you. And she was there in his life first. So, every single time the two of you ran into her, you stood back, let them talk – well, she talked, he just looked grumpy – you were not his girlfriend, what rights did you have to control who he could and could not talk to, even if he was?

**********

You, Tess and Maria had become really good friends, going out together whenever you could. Joel would always linger though, magically appearing wherever you were, asking if it would be alright for him to drive you home instead, as if Tess didn’t live in the same house as him. He got shooed off one day as you were walking into a spa for a double massage with Tess, your present for her birthday, Tess barking at her cousin brother that it’s girls’ time, boys needed to wait at home, the man sheepishly leaving with a silly grin on his face.

She told you the story of how she came to live with Joel and Tommy in the first place. She grew up with them, of course, but she left the house when she got married. She married young, they were working for a local store the next state over back then. He quit his job to go back to school, Tess supporting him as he did. He seemed to be doing well too, but since their apartment was too small for him to have the space to study, she had paid for him to have a private room at the library at the university he was studying at so he could focus. She got off work early one day and decided to bring him lunch at the library, only to walk in on him and his study buddy doing the nasty on the table.

The sweet husband she was so in love with disappeared that day, she said. One with a bad temper and a tendency to silent her with his hands took his place. She was already planning her escape when Joel stopped by on his way home from a job the next state over, and while he didn’t see her husband do anything to her, he saw the mark on her neck. He packed her bags that very night and brought her home to Austin to his Mama’s house. Her husband came after her, demanding she return, making a scene in front of her aunt’s house, threatening to come back and kill her.

Joel, Tommy, their workers and some of their police buddies visited him at the parking lot he parked at that night. Whatever they said to him resulted in signed divorce papers delivered to her within weeks. She didn’t have anything to her name, having left in a hurry. Joel paid for her to go to nursing school, and later asked a doctor client of his to ask around for any job opportunities for her. He moved her in when she got a job.

“He’s a good man, Aria. And he hadn’t been down this bad for anyone since I’ve known him. I may tease him a lot, but just know, I’m rooting for the two of you to get together,” she said as the two of you soaked in the milk bath.

“We’re taking it slow, I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Joel, taking it slow? Oh, Aria,” she said, shaking her head, smiling. “You may think he’s taking it slow, but he’s doing everything he could for a chance to be alone with you.” She shuffled closer to you, an eyebrow raised, her voice lowering as if she was about to tell you the biggest secret of all, “Just so you know, he pays his workers online, and yet, he took you to the vestibule every Friday night to deposit their paycheques?”

What?

No…

“I also did all the grocery run before you moved in, in case you didn’t know.”

Right…

**********

Tess came knocking one morning, asking a favour. Would it be possible for you to pick up Sarah from school that evening? Joel and Tommy couldn’t get away, she had to go to work, your Dads were back at their condo, preparing for the move, and Mrs Adler was sick with the flu. They’d pay for the Uber, obviously. You waved that offer off, telling her you would be happy to. She heaved a sigh of relief, immediately calling the school, giving them your information and picture so you could pick her up that day.

As the Uber drove into the school yard, you immediately spotted Sarah, standing with her hands covering her ears, Lucy bending over her, asking her something. Sarah was shaking her head, looking like she was about to throw a tantrum. You asked the driver to stop at the parking lot and walked out, asking him to wait for you. Sarah’s face lit up when she saw you, immediately running over, putting her hand in yours.

“Hi, Aria, what are you doing here?” Lucy asked, looking uncomfortable that you were there.

“I’m here to pick up Sarah,” you said. “Her aunt called ahead to inform the school.”

Lucy looked at the iPad she was holding, “I don’t see your name here,” she said. “I could get in trouble if I let her go home with you. I could drive her, you know, it’s no problem.”

“No, I go with Aya,” Sarah protested, pulling your hand a little, eager to go home. “Auntie Tasche said I go with Aya.”

“You can’t, Sarah, her name is not on the list,” Lucy coaxed.

“No! I go with Aya!”

You might have imagined it, but for a split second, you saw the smile Lucy usually wore falter. She straightened up, her smile refreshed, reiterating the fact that Sarah should go home with her, since your name was not on the list.

“NO!!! I go with AYA!” Sarah practically screamed.

An older lady came over, asking if everything was alright. Lucy explained the situation to her, the administrator of the school, apparently. Her face lit up with recognition, “Miss Stevens, I assume? Yes, Sarah’s aunt called me. That’s odd, I put you on the list myself,” she said, taking the iPad away from Lucy. She glanced at it, “Ah, there you are, complete with picture!” she showed Lucy the screen, glaring at her a little.

“Oh my God,” Lucy said, laughing a little, “The internet is a bit choppy out here, must’ve just uploaded. Well, okay then, see you Sarah!” she waved, a friendly smile accompanying it.

Sarah pulled at your hand, and you gave the two ladies a polite smile, taking Sarah to the Uber. As you waited for Sarah to get in, you turned around and saw the lady saying something to Lucy, a stern look on her face. Lucy looked as if she was about to say something back, but another parent had pulled up in the line, and the lady left Lucy to get the kid in question instead.

“You okay, Sarah?” you asked her, the grumpy look on her face not unnoticed by you. She hid her face in your side, telling you she’s hungry. You brought her home, still puzzled at the mix up. You stayed with her as she had a snack and took her up to your office while you did some work. She laid on her belly in one corner, colouring quietly.

Later that evening, she asked if she could have a movie night with you. Of course, you said, but let’s ask Daddy first, okay? Daddy could come too, she said. And Auntie Tasche and Uncle Tommy and Auntie Maya. You snickered at her inability to pronounce your name and Maria’s properly, asking her what movie she wanted to watch, and calling everyone to invite them to movie night. You found the menu of a pizza place on your phone to let her choose what to have for dinner.

Everyone gathered in your living room for movie night, pizzas gone within the first 15 minutes of the movie. Sarah was sitting on Joel’s lap, head back on his chest, watching the movie intently. It was astounding how five adults could get so engrossed watching some princess with icy superpowers sing for the 10th time in a few weeks.

“Oh, no!” Sarah suddenly said, leaping from her father’s lap.

“What is it baby?” Joel asked, a look of concern on his face.

“I need to go potty,” she answered. Joel made to get up, but she shook her head. “No, Auntie Tasche take me,” she said, going to Tess, pulling her up and walking to the front door.

“Sarah, the bathroom’s that way,” you said, pointing towards the kitchen.

“No, I go home,” she said, opening the door, but not moving. Everyone was staring at her at this point. “Uncle Tommy, Auntie Maya, I need to go potty!”

“Okay, so go,” Tommy said.

“I need to go potty!” she repeated, her eyes wide, staring straight at Tommy.

A look of recognition flashed on Tommy’s face, “Oh! Yes, of course, come on babe, Sarah needs to go potty!” he said, pulling Maria up with him, pulling the door shut behind him as he left.

And just like that, you and Joel were left alone in the semi darkness, Frozen still playing on your new TV.

“She needs three people to help her go potty?” you asked him.

He pursed his lips, shaking his head. “She doesn’t really need anyone to help her go potty anymore,” he said.

Oh, so why did she insist…

Your thoughts were interrupted by Joel’s laughter. “She just wanted to leave the two of us alone.”

Oh…

Damn, that girl was a sneaky one.

You paused the movie. “Okay, since we are alone, I need to ask you something.”

“Okay,” he said, adjusting his position to fully face you.

“You know how you always ask me to go to the vestibule with you on Fridays to deposit the paycheques?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, a little bird told me you pay your workers online.”

“Right,” he said, rubbing his face, a shy smile on his face.

“So what were you doing in the vestibule every Friday night?”

He scrunched his face, scratching his shoulder. “I just stand in there for a few minutes, sometimes I play a game on my phone.”

“What?”

He shrugged, “I just wanted to spend some time with you. I couldn’t ask you out on a date, so I did what I could to be alone with you.”

You had to admit. You were touched. But…

“Joel…”

“Aria, I like you. I’ve liked you since the bar in Bali. Is it so wrong for me to want to ask you out?”

“No, of course not, and believe me, I want you to ask me out, it’s just… I can’t get this uneasy feeling I have out of my head… like it’s too soon, like something bad is about to happen, and with my history… I don’t know… I just don’t want to drag you down with me.”

“I have drama in my life too. I might drag you down with me too. You never know. We don’t know what might happen, but what I do know is I like you. I want to date you.”

“Joel…”

“Look,” he said, taking your hands into his, “We can go slow, but I can’t help but want to spend more time with you. We don’t have to go at warp speed or anything, but I would really like to ask you out on a proper date. For real this time. Please let me?” His face was hopeful, his eyes staring deep into yours before placing his forehead on yours.

God, he smelled so good.

Fuck it. You only live once.

You tilted your head, closed your eyes and nuzzled your nose against his, letting go of his hand, running your hand on his chest as his went straight to your waist. You could feel his breath on your lips, giving you goosebumps.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

“Please,” you whispered back, shuddering as his scruff landed on your skin, his hands tightening on your waist.

You felt his lips ghosting yours, your body vibrating with anticipation, very much looking forward to kiss him again.

A loud knocking sounded on the door.

“Go away, Tommy,” Joel said, annoyed.

Another set of knocks, more aggressive this time.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Joel grunted, getting up to open the door.

It wasn’t Tommy.

“Hello Aria,” a sneering face greeted you.

You shot up, panic coursing through your body.

You knew it was all too good to be true. You knew something like this was going to happen.

“Hello Mother, Nell.”