#or use a different memory card
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
So weird how modern video games give players so few save slots, usually only 1 or 3, rarely more. With some consoles you have to make a new account if you want to replay a game without losing your other save file...
Meanwhile early 2000s games: "Yeah, players will probably need 99 save slots"
#maybe it has something to do with space limit but like‚ when I had no space left in my gamecube all I had to do was delete a few things#or use a different memory card#so why not give us the option
331 notes
·
View notes
Text
Finally got my phone battery replaced today, but they must have gotten adhesive or something on the inner camera cover because this is what the photo quality is like now 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/5fa82a2537968056b7b3679d60ba4d93/14f0c7b6882a498c-d3/s540x810/e0c6d89db86a8c381fc3a2eab210dd86808b17b6.jpg)
It's too late in the day to go back and ask them to fix it now (by the time I get over there the shop would be closed) so I'm going to have to go back again tomorrow to see if they can clean it or if I'm just screwed out of a camera function now.
#phone issues#this fucking SUCKS#one of the two biggest reasons I opted out of buying a new phone was because I was concerned about memory space for photos#because new phones fucking suck and don't have extra slots for additional memory via microSD cards#and even without considering using it for OF sets I use it regularly for work and other project purposes as well#no functional camera means I can't take photos of items when work wants me to go buy a specific machine part or office supply or something#means I can't easy take quick shots of my workscreens when I need to jump back and forth between a bunch of different pages of information
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
Donna Troy is the digital camera friend
#SHE BRINGS IT EVERYWHERE#She has spare batteries and memory cards and everything#everyone uses it though#if something’s happening and it’s important they don’t even ask they just grab it and take whatever pics/vids they need#at the end of every weekend she gets a hundred ‘can I get this photos??’ ‘can I get the video?’ texts and she never fails to send every pic#of taht weekend to them liek usually it’s in the thousands cuz they’re THEM but she send all of it#she even has different adapters for both her laptop and her phone#has all the little accessories and tools and everything#she even designs them with stickers#and OF COURSE she has multiple ones#teen titans#og teen titans#donna troy#Troia#wonder girl#roy harper#Speedy#Arsenal#red arrow#dick grayson#nightwing#robin#wally west#kid flash#the flash#garth#garth of shayeris#aqualad#tempest#titans
18 notes
·
View notes
Text
Anyway, the thing that people hate about Chain of Memories? The whole card thing?
It's functionally a fancy stamina bar. That's all it is.
#chain of memories#different actions require different amounts of stamina (CP)#some attacks cost more stamina but are less likely to be defended (card values)#you can use a really big/fancy attack that's very strong and much less likely to be blocked but it depletes your max stamina (sleight)#the end that's the game's mechanics congrats
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
I will never understand ppl who are casual library haters. I’ve talked to people about how my siblings and I would always go to the libraries for their activities and programs, how we would rent dvds when we didn’t have cable or streaming, and they’re just like “oh yeah I never went to libraries I don’t like reading/ I just buy books” like girl you are devoid of whimsy I have my library card MEMORIZED we are not the same…
#libraries#anyway I’m hiding all my silly specific memories in the tags#there was this one librarian who moved around the county so he would host events at different libraries (some of them far)#and he started hosting pride month programs mostly for teens and my friends and I would go all the time#sometimes it would be book clubs or movie nights or crafts but they were always free and he’d get us snacks and stuff#and it was so welcoming and safe and one time I frogot my wallet (oops) and he called me on my drive home and was so kind and was like hey!#I found your number on your library card acount#and he stayed there late after they closed so that I could come back and get it lmao#but I still have the voicemail and everytime I see it it makes me so happy#and he’d let me check our R rated movies when I was like 16 >:)
4 notes
·
View notes
Note
🐢
Killed my fursona again, now they're haunting me by giving me dead mice and birds
Also I had an idea for a combat trick and I decided to make it a monster hunter card
#asks#custom cards#amazingly there's only 1 monored instant that gives reach: Academic Dispute#plenty of green reach instants but a sore lack of red ones#this is a straight upgrade over Sure Strike but that's fine because Furious Bellow is too#a slight upgrade#also i'm really satisfied with Geist of Gifts#i feel like all it needs is an uncommon stamp and it'd fit right into Crimson Vow#cost reduction and scaling buffs are dangerous so i made sure to balance the p/t and cost appropriately#and 3 mana feels perfect#you can play it early to start playing good auras or you can play it late to help cast disturb cards#also as usual i had to make sure i got the templating right on Gift of Memories#it counts the total number of 2 different kinds of card in 2 different locations#how in the world is that written?#do you use and or or or and/or between the different kinds of cards? and what about between the different locations?#luckily Beacon Bolt exists so it was an easy copy-paste#ALSO Magic Set Editor (the card creator i use) sometimes ends up putting rules text or flavor text behind the power/toughness box#it's been an issue a few times but i finally figured out how to fix it#normally the font size is automatically as large as possible and shrinks to fit in the text box#but it doesn't consider the p/t box so it ends up making it too big#but i found where i can set the font size manually!#so Geist of Gifts uses a font size of 13.3! perfect!#AND you set the front and back separately so Gift of Memories is just set automatically
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
the annoyance of "you've made the snowboy ever so slightly wrong and have no idea how off you are~~"
I've been making them perfect tho thanks to an image I saved for reference of how big the body and head should be and have "almost" all of the recipes now~~~
and somehow got the recipe for the blue rose crown, gold rose crown and some other flower crown within 2 days so I think I lucked out cause that's what? 5% chance of even one of them being given?
idk why I'm like this but I like to try to grind out all the diy recipes before the season/event ends~~~
and somehow I missed celeste in the last star season and idk how~~~ unless she didn't show up? But she had to right? so i missed her somewhere?
also first lily of the valley ~~~ let's go~~~~~
and I've come to the conclusion that (hopefully) having good game hygiene (saving and quitting after I'm done as opposed to having it run all the time) would help fix my OLED crashing constantly. so I'm transferring my main user back and only downloading animal crossing and testing it before re-downloading everything else. cause it's new horizons that likes to crash cause that's what I've been playing to death lol.
I hope that was the issue and not my card or lord forbid, the port for the card itself dying.
cause oled switches are still expensive~~~ idek how unless the heat from it being on constantly and played caused grime to get deep in there or something. but I have a case on it all the time so surely not? I exclusively play it in handheld and never use the stand thing on the back so got a case that covered the entire back. so there's no way dust can get in there..... hopefully.
#personal#thoughts#thinking#nintendo#nintendo switch#nintendo switch oled#nintendo switch lite#even tho i didn't mention it in this post is what I've been using cause oled crashing and me trying to figure out why#animal crossing#ac#animal crossing new horizons#acnh#snowflake season#snowboy#snowboys#being off ever so slightly and being very annoyed cause you don't know how off you are#diy#diys#diy recipes#just been loving that game to death lately honestly#hope saving and quitting when I'm done ends the crashing#and it's not my memory card or the port itself#cause game systems are expensive#constantly switching back and forth between oled and lite cause I like them both for different reasons and I'm indecisive#also the game crashing#rambling about animal crossing and worrying i might still lose my entire save due to a faulty card or something
0 notes
Text
.
#awi#personal#unfilial rant to follow#to delete#im upset with my grandparents#theyve been dealing with a lot of shit what with health problems and house disasters#ive spent a lot of my own money to help then replace some of the furniture they lost#ive gone over and helped clean and move shit for hours at a time#my grandpa couldnt drive for months so i was one of their chauffeurs#and it's not that i think they owe me anything#i know exactly how bad their financial situation is and i wasnt doing those things with any expectation of payment or repayment#but i turned 30 this month#and they stopped by a gave me and my twin a gift which sure thanks it's appreciated#but we're twins so it's been a sore point our entire lives when people who generally /dont know us v well/ will get us both the same gift#we're different people#at least get 2 different colors pls if youre going to get us anything at all let alone 2 of the same thing#but whatever#point is: our grandparents received Words about this when we were kids and thus absolutely know this#the other thing is. again. we turned 30#and i dont think it could be more obvious that they just dropped by dollar tree and bought 2 identical minions bags and 2 identical#identical slingshot toys intended for 4 year olds#neither of us like minions#and we're not 4#bare minimum they know i like cats. i show them dozens of pics every time i see them#i just. im insulted okay#we're 30. a card or even nothing and just a companionable meal wouldve been fine#but this. idk. it stings in ways i wasnt expecting#and my grandpa was taking pictures the whole meal. not for memories. to put on his fucking scam blog#my twin says she went in with zero expectations so she's not offended. but i am
1 note
·
View note
Text
#flowers arts#(ghosts can die hes talking about gueeg. anyway this only reinforces his behavior even though its NOT TRUE)#trying to make a distinction between ghost and memory is stupid But hes doing it anyway Thats ANOTHER reason to hate BOB the KILLER#i used a different color pallet because Sometimes you get sick of it. Sometimes#i wanted to make stupid valentines cards but i dont really have the time for that. its WORK ON ENTRY and then WORK ON PORTFOLIO for me ..#and then find a job that gives me enough hours and time and whatever. Uwah ..#lw#maybe i was gonna talk about more things but thats for another time i suppose (the forgetter) Im gonna go take a bath now Smile#also. sorry for posting a lot today (and possibly other days) i think whenever i see tumblr open i just wanna post something Always#obnoxiously so. it is my blog of course but I still think about the repercussions sometimes
0 notes
Text
Scrub Daddy
QZ Joel visits you for a bath and a little extra (4.7k)
Tags - smut, dom!joel, mean!joel if you squint and I mean really squint because he does in fact fuck you with a certain kindness in his heart. dirty talking you through it. Ah, fuck it. Who am I kidding. pervy!joel too. dubcon, coercion, unprotected PIV, hand job, nyasty QZ joel eats it from the back, ass play and a tasteful amount of ass eating, nipple play, come shot, sex work, takes place in a brothel, JOEL SOUP (bathing that old man), Joel Miller hog reveal (it’s gargantuan, ludicrously capacious if you will), Joel Miller enjoys the finer things in life ie. pussy, Joel Miller tummy. Joel Miller's broad shoulders come with their own warning. Fic help - @beefrobeefcal @noxturnalnymph @endlessthxxghts Thank you all for your brains and eyeballs! A/N - MONTHS AND MONTHS LATE BUUUUT this is for my sweetheart @merz-8 who so generously streams herself playing TLOU and red dead for me 🩷 this fic is inspired by the many times she bathes Arthur. Mercy I love you!!!!!
Joel turns the tap on his shower and with his eyebrows raised, waits quietly to hear the sound of water rushing through the pipes in the wall. Nothing. “God bless it,” he mutters. The water’s been shut off for the past month or so in his apartment complex. He pays extra to have it but alas, nothing fucking works in the QZ. Everything’s broken down, falling apart, or will fall apart - it’s just a matter of time.
Joel’s got limited options. He could visit the showers downtown, get hosed down like a dog with cold water that feels like knives in his skin, although the showers don’t open until 5AM tomorrow morning. He could wait it out, though he’s pretty fucking rank; he needs a shower yesterday. He could also rinse off at the sink with a damp rag.
He thinks to himself, hands on his hips and biting his cheeks, weighing his options. Damp rag it is. Joel opens his linen closet and takes his ratty, stringy old rag with him to the kitchen. He wets it with the water from the five gallon jug allotted for drinking, then reaches for the FEDRA issued bar soap that’s meant to be used for everything - hand washing, dishes, laundry, et cetera, et cetera. Joel takes off his shirt and then lathers the bar soap in the rag, the clean and flowery smell permeating the air. He loves this scent - he doesn’t always get this specific one when he picks up his hygiene supplies once a month. God, when did he smell this last? Feels like deja vu. It’s so familiar, it couldn't have been too long ago…
Then the memory hits him: the whorehouse over at the old hotel. That’s where he smelled this soap last. It’s in the men’s rooms but more pertinent to Joel at this moment, it’s the soap used in the bathing rooms - different from the men’s rooms. Joel scoffs and puts the soap and rag on the kitchen counter. Yeah, he smirks to himself, that’s where he’ll catch a bath tonight. He puts his denim shirt back on, stuffs some clean clothes into his leather backpack and heads off into the night for the hotel.
Joel’s strategic in how he gets there. Curfew’s at six, and it’s eight right now. FEDRA’s not too kind to those out after hours. He moves stealthily through alleyways, avoiding the harsh, white light of the soldier’s flashlights shining from above. Once at the old hotel, Joel knocks in a particular pattern on the side door. On the other side, a man peers through the peephole and verifies Joel’s identity, then opens the door just enough for Joel to slide on through, his belly rubbing against the edge of the doorframe.
It’s dingy on the inside, dark and lit sparingly only by some candles. Joel makes his way to the front room where a different man sits at a table. Joel reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his ration cards, flipping through the notes with a practiced flick of his thumb. “M’in need of a shower,” he says, laying the cards down on the table. He scans the room, recognizes a few familiar faces.
The man covers the notes with his hand and slides them toward himself, then counts the cards through and nods. “Fourth floor, third door on the right.”
Wordlessly, Joel heads up the staircase, knees cracking on about every other step. God, he’s getting old. Once at the fourth floor, Joel heads for that third door on the right and pushes it open with one hand, unbuttoning his denim shirt with ease using the other.
This room is different from the others at this brothel. It has no bed, no carpeting, no soft surfaces of any kind that would be typical for activities performed in a place such as this. This room has just one large bath tub in the middle with a small table next to it, and in the corner is a small lamp, covering the room with a low golden glow. Once-green peeling paint covers the walls instead of torn floral wallpaper and cracks cover every tile on the floor below. Joel peels his clothes off and wraps a faded pink towel around his waist, his tummy bulging over the edge. He waits patiently next to the tub for a knock at the door.
-
Your hands are wobbling in the dressing room. There’s really not much to dress yourself with, no makeup or anything like that. One of the girls suggested melting a colored pencil with some hot water or a lighter and then using that to paint your lips and cheeks, but she wouldn’t share her own with you. In the mirror, you fix your hair and straighten your borrowed dress, breathing deeply to try and calm your nerves. It’s your first night working here at the brothel, and you’re really not sure what to expect.
Your boss, Jim, knocks on the dressing room door as a courtesy, but doesn’t wait to make sure everyone is decent. He just waltzes right in and announces to you all that there’s a client in room three waiting for bath assistance.
“Do you know who it is?” one of the girls asks Jim.
“Yeah,” Jim answers. “Joel Miller. Who’s taking him?”
The girl who gave you the tip on the colored pencils turns to her friends and whispers, then turns back to you. “You should take him,” she tells you. “You’ll love Joel, he’s nice. Very gentle with his girls. A real lover.”
Her smile feels disingenuous, and it doesn’t help that her friends are laughing. “Are you serious?”
“Of course,” she lies. “And here–” She pulls out her lighter and a bubblegum pink colored pencil that’s stained black from repeated burning, and lights the end of the pencil on fire so that it melts a bit. She drips it onto her fingertips, then harshly smudges it onto your lips, biting down on a facetious smile. “Yeah. Joel will love you.”
She doesn’t let you check your appearance in the mirror before ushering you to the bathing room, her hands on your lower back as she pushes you to the door. She slaps your ass, then heads back to the dressing room with the other girls, barely concealing a giggle in her wake.
You inhale and exhale deeply, then knock on the door. The man - Joel - opens it for you and guides you inside, then locks the door behind you. Clad in nothing but a towel, he crosses his arms as he looks you up and down with a slow scan of his eyes, which makes you feel a bit uncomfortable. His brow is pinched together, he’s biting his inner cheek. His expression turns from studious to curious.
The first thing you notice is how handsome he is, you can’t even help yourself. His crossed arms strain his big, thick biceps. He has a full head of curly, graying hair, and a full set of teeth. Tall. He’s towering over you with a hulking form. His top lip sports a big, thick mustache, and his face is covered in a perfectly patchy beard. Sharp. He’s got a sharp nose, sharp jaw, and a sharp look in his inky dark brown eyes. You don’t know what you expected, but it certainly wasn’t him.
“Name’s Joel,” he says. “Your turn.”
You tell him your name, and Joel reaches for your hand and brings it to his lips. “S’that your real name?” he asks, pressing a kiss to your knuckles.
Fuck. “N-no,” you lie.
Joel chuckles. “So you’re the new girl, huh?”
“Mhm.”
Joel laughs again.
You squeeze past him to get to the tub, then twist the knobs of the bathtub, twisting them quicker when the water doesn’t come out. Joel watches you struggle for a minute, then comes up behind you and puts his strong hand on your lower back, fingers pressing against your ass. “Y’got it all wrong. Do it like this,” he instructs quietly, pulling up on the knobs, causing the water to come pouring out of the spout. He twists the handles himself, holding his hand under the running water to test the temperature. “See?”
“Mhm,” you nod.
“Learn somethin’ new everyday, don’tcha?”
Joel rounds the tub, then pulls out the tucked in end of the towel on his waist. You quickly turn your head in the opposite direction, garnering another chuckle from him. Every time he laughs at you, you feel worse. “No point in lookin’ away,” he tells you. “You’re gonna see it whether you wanna or not. Jus’ the nature of these things.”
Joel hands you his towel, then steps into the long tub. From here, you get a good look at his naked form. He’s muscled beneath his softness, no doubt stronger than an ox. He’s broad, with vast shoulders and a relatively slim waist in comparison. His member is substantially sized, even soft, as it is now. His balls are even bigger, heavier.
The bathwater moves as Joel’s weight sinks in, rocking back and forth in the tub. He sits down and stretches his legs out, the water running over his feet. You keep your distance as you fold Joel’s towel while waiting for the tub to fill the rest of the way, familiarizing yourself with the toiletries nearby. Washrag, shampoo, bar soap, plastic cup, a tub of petroleum jelly, a glass, and a bottle of whiskey. When the tub is filled, you shut off the water.
Joel pours himself a large bit of the whiskey into the glass, “Quiet one, ain’tcha?” Joel says to you, then downs his drink. He pours another, then sips it.
You shrug, unsure of how to respond to the man. You’re not really sure if you’re supposed to talk and if so, what you should say. You move to the end of the bathtub where Joel rests his head, then reach for the cup and fill it with Joel’s bathwater, then wet his graying curls. Little ringlets still form around his neck.
Shampoo comes next, so you take the small bottle from the table. With wet hands you twist the cap, but it doesn’t come off. Joel waits patiently as you dry your hands on your dress and try again.
“What’s goin’ on back there?”
“The uh, the shampoo,” you say. “I can’t get the cap off.”
Joel reaches behind himself, “I’ll give ya a hand,” he says, and you put the bottle into his palm. He unscrews it with ease, then hands it back to you as he tells you that you seem nervous. “Wait a second,” he says, “C’mere,” and taps the edge of the tub with his right hand.
“There?”
“Yeah, sit down.”
Bottle in hand, you sit at the edge of the tub. “Closer.” Joel tugs you by the arm. “Ain’t gonna bite ya.”
You pour a bit of shampoo into your palm, then Joel takes the bottle and sets it on the little table. You reach forward and scrub the soap into his hair, quickly working it into a lather. Joel watches your face closely, how you avoid looking him in the eye. He dips his hand into his bathwater then reaches for your face, his steaming hand on your jaw as he uses his wet thumb to wipe away the colored pencil that was hastily rubbed on your lips. You’re stunned, and Joel watches you with dark and hungry eyes, a little bloodshot too. “Pretty one, aren’t you? A girl like you shouldn’t be workin’ here.”
You ignore him and continue washing his hair, tangling your fingers in the sudsy, thick curls. Joel holds your chin tighter and forces you to look him in the eyes. “You’re not givin’ me the silent treatment, honey, s’posed to talk to your clients. Make a man feel human. Answer me.” You’re intimidated immediately. If he is who the girls call nice, then…
“Wasn’t my first choice of a job,” you admit quietly.
“How’d you end up here?”
“I needed money,” you whisper. “And the other girls said they wanted someone on bath duty. But that I wouldn’t have to-”
Joel laughs loudly, cutting you off. “Oh, bless your fuckin’ heart. No, you’ll have to put out,” he says. “Job ain’t just washin’ dirty old men, sweetheart, that’s what a nursing home’s for. Those girls were fuckin’ with you. Sorry.” Joel gestures for you to continue.
Your blood goes cold. You feel sick, even more nervous than before. Looking through the water, you see that Joel’s already hard for you as well.
“Go on. Speak.”
You swallow thickly. “They also said you’re nice. Gentle.”
Joel nods, then sips on his drink. “That’s some wishful fuckin’ thinkin’. Not me, darlin’. Think they’re hazin’ you. But-” Joel sets his drink back down, “-I’ll behave myself, be a gentleman for ya. Scout’s honor.”
He says it so earnestly that you feel inclined to believe him. “You promise?”
“Cross my heart,” he says. “I’ll break ya in real nice,” he adds under his breath. His little comment - or rather, what feels like a threat, has you flinching. “Relax, relax.” Joel holds his hand to your waist, keeping you close to him. “You’re fine. I treat all my girls nice. I told you I wouldn’t bite. You’re fine,” he repeats. Joel reaches for the plastic cup and fills it with his bathwater, then gives it to you to rinse his hair with. He closes his eyes, groaning softly. You’ll hear those same groans escaping his lips later when he fucks you, eats you alive.
You admire his profile, that sharp slope of his aquiline nose, pouty lips and dark eyelashes. Water cascades down his thick neck and the broad planes of his freckled chest, landing into the pool of suds. After rinsing his hair, Joel takes the rag and the bar of soap and wets both, then hands them to you. You lather the soap on the rag, then Joel takes the soap back. You scoot closer to him and begin washing his neck and the muscles surrounding, scrubbing the rag into his skin.
“Feel tense, don’t I?”
You’re not sure how to answer. “I guess, yeah,” you mumble.
“Yeah, you’ll fix that. Get me right.”
Joel leans forward and tilts his head down, sighing as you scrub his broad shoulders, leaving little tracks of soap suds on his body. “Lil’ harder, sweetheart,” he groans. “Put some muscle into it.”
You rub harder into his skin with the rag, massaging those tight muscles in his back and shoulders before lifting his heavy bicep to scrub his arm. Joel lifts his free arm and reaches for you, then tugs the front of your dress down, exposing your cleavage. “S’posed to show me a little skin, darlin’,” he murmurs, his hand lingering on your breast as he rubs his thumb left and right over your skin. “Gotta earn them tips somehow, right?” It makes your face heat up and your heart beat harder, faster. His fingers feel like electricity on your skin as he dips his hand lower, catching your nipple with his fingertips. He rubs the bud until it’s pebbled, then twists it between two fingers, causing you to gasp in pleasure. Joel smiles at that.
Flustered by both his words and his actions, you pull his hand out of your dress, and Joel wears a crooked smirk. He outstretches that arm for you to wash, and you scrub his limb with the rag, speeding through the activity out of uneasiness and nerves. You drop his arms and quickly pat your hands off on your towel, then get up to leave.
“Nuh-uh.” Joel grabs your arm and pulls you back down so that you’re sitting on the ledge of the bathtub again, the water splashing a bit when you land. “You ain’t finished yet. Legs need washin’, don’t they?”
“Umm…”
“Think you’re forgettin’ somethin’ important too,” Joel mutters under his breath. He props his leg up next to you, and you can see his heavy balls and his thick cock standing at full mast beneath the water. With the rag, you scrub up to his knee.
“Higher.”
About halfway past his knee.
“I said, higher.”
You scrub his upper thigh beneath the water’s surface now, washing right where his leg meets his hip. Impatient, Joel pulls the rag from your hand and holds your wrist, then guides your hand to that space between his thighs, wrapping your fingers around his shaft. “Right here,” he instructs you. “I’d reckon a man’s member certainly needs washin’ too, don’t it? ‘Less you like it dirty. Some of us do.”
You quickly stroke Joel’s shaft, just a quick slide of your hand up and down. Joel holds your hand under the water, “Keep goin’,” he mutters. You move your hand and down again, though your back aches from the angle and you have a difficult time reaching him. Joel notices your struggle. “Somethin’ wrong?”
“I can’t like- you’re too far-”
“Mm. I getcha,” Joel says, nodding in understanding. “Stand up for a minute.”
You stand up off of the ledge of the bathtub and Joel shifts in the tub, the water sloshing with his movements. He puts both of his dripping hands on your waist and then turns you where he wants you, then begins bunching up the fabric of your dress. “You do the rest,” he tells you. You pull the dress off of your body, feeling insecure under Joel’s watchful gaze as you fold the garment. “Panties too.”
You shimmy your panties down your legs and tuck them beneath your folded dress, which amuses Joel. So modest, so bashful. Those qualities of yours won’t last long here in the brothel.
After setting the clothes down near Joel’s belongings, you make your way back to him. He’s holding out his large, masculine hand for you to take. “C’mon in, there’s plenty ‘a room for us both. Watch your step,” he warns, using his strength to guide you into the tub. “Attagirl.”
You lower yourself into the bath, the hot water making your skin tingle. “Yeah, the water feels nice, don’t it?”
“It feels good,” you agree. You’ve always loved a hot bath, a rare luxury in the world you live in.
“Now, where were we?”
Joel pulls you through the water so that you’re straddling his thick thighs, the head of his cock nudges against your pussy which sends a flutter through your stomach. You wrap one arm around Joel’s shoulders to stabilize yourself, your other hand staying below the water’s surface as you once again find his cock. This isn’t so terrible.
You pump Joel’s cock, memorizing every vein on his shaft with the palm of your hand. He tilts his head back in pleasure, brows knit together as he sighs deeply.
“Am I doing okay?”
“Doin’ just fine, hon’,” Joel mumbles. “All the way up, all the way down. Jus’ like that.”
On the next pass, starting from the thick tip of Joel’s dick, you squeeze him on your way down, down, until you reach his balls. You give them the kindest of squeezes, earning a moan from Joel. “S’perfect. Fuckin’ A,” he hisses.
And all the way up again. You increase in speed, though to avoid splashing, you don’t work him too quickly. You can feel him pulsing under your touch, a sensation that has your core throbbing. He’s breathing heavier, surely getting close now. You squeeze him harder and incorporate a twist of your wrist into your movements, coaxing his release along.
Just as you find your groove, Joel stops you. “Yeah, nice try, kid. I ain’t payin’ for a fuckin’ handjob. Could do that shit myself for free.”
Joel spins you in the direction opposite of himself, then nudges you forward. He puts the items sitting on the wooden end table on the cracked floral tile below, then pushes the table over to your end of the bath, the wood creaking and groaning.
He lifts you up and leans you over the edge of the bathtub, having you rest on the table, the cool air on your wet skin causing goosebumps to erupt. From here, you can see all the cracks in the wood, the swelling from the water damage. “Spread them legs, sweetheart. Make room.”
The water splashes behind you as Joel moves into position and you brace yourself for the inevitable pain of Joel’s cock splitting you open.
Only, it doesn’t come. You feel Joel’s thumb sliding through your folds before he spreads you wide, exposing your asshole and your pussy to himself, a picture perfect view.
“Such a pretty cunt,” he whispers. “A fuckin’ shame it’ll get ruined.”
Joel presses a kiss to your asshole, then kisses his way down to your warm center, before finally dipping his tongue into your warm entrance. He groans at your taste, how sweet on his tongue you are with his face between your cheeks. He kisses his way up, up again, then spits on your tight hole. He circles the muscle with his tongue, tracing round and round before forcing his tongue inside. It’s fucking filthy, what he’s doing to you. All salacious and obscene. But you love it, god do you fucking love it.
“Yeah, old Joel ain’t so bad, is he?” Joel murmurs tauntingly into your flesh. He kisses his way down again, all sloppy and messy. He loves the sweet little sigh of relief you breathe out when he reaches your clit, the area you need him most. He moves his lips slowly against you, loving how you grow slicker and slicker. How your soft cunt feels against his face. Joel breathes you in deeply, taking in the scent of your arousal. No chance in hell he’s washing his face after this. Your musk will live in his facial hair for days, acting as somewhat of a comfort to him. Or perhaps a trophy.
With his tongue pointed, Joel traces along your folds before plunging into your slick hole once more. He could spend forever between your thighs, that soft, sweet, most private of places. The momentary reprieve could last eternally, if he were so lucky.
Joel savors all of you. Your hot, wet cunt, how your hips twist and turn as you chase your own pleasure. When he sucks your clit, he can feel your thighs twitch around his skull. Perfect, you’re so fucking perfect. He has half a mind to take you back to his apartment when he’s done with you, keep you all to himself. Leave you lying naked in his bed, be his little slice of heaven in such a cruel, fucked up world.
Joel circles your clit with his tongue, finding that perfect pleasure that has you moaning his name. Steadily, steadily, he keeps you like this until you’re coming for him, gushing all over his face as he fucks you through your release with his tongue.
You’re left breathing heavily on the table, trying to collect yourself. Joel leans over you and wears a cocky grin. “What’d I tell you, huh?” he asks. “Told you I take good care of pussy. Shoot, look at ya, all fucked out.”
You can’t help but smile at him. Joel moves behind you once more, spreading your legs wide and slotting himself between them.
“But,” he says, “Fair’s fair. My turn now, sweet girl.”
Joel tugs on his cock, as it’s softened a bit without any stimulation. God, he’s getting old. Once at full mast again, Joel drags the blunt head of his cock through your folds, all slick and slippery with your wetness. “Ready?” he says, notching himself inside you. It’s already a painful stretch.
“Mhm,” you hum, uncertainty lacing your tone.
With one hand guiding his cock inside, Joel has the other on your hip. He squeezes you comfortingly as he inches his way inside. He can see that you’re squeezing your eyes shut, wincing in pain. “Oh, I know, I know, I know,” he coos. “S’a tight fit, I know. Take a deep breath, breathe through it. You got it,” he says. “You are a professional after all, hm?” Joel teases.
You inhale and exhale deeply, your walls stretching and aching as Joel’s thick cock pushes deeper and deeper inside you.
“Halfway there,” he tells you. “S’easier f’ya let me rip the bandaid off.” He’s not asking your opinion, it’s a warning of what’s to come. A courtesy, perhaps.
Joel pushes inside you all the way, the slide inside your body has him groaning and throwing his head back. The intrusion of his cock is so sharp it shatters you and scrambles every thought inside your head and you feel impossibly full, every other sensation disappearing as your mind focuses only on what you feel between your legs.
Joel pulls out of you slowly, then pushes back in. He repeats the motion until your expression has softened, until you’re not biting your lips and your brows relax into a natural position. “There she is,” Joel praises you. “What a good girl. Knew you had it in ya. Good fuckin’ girl.”
He builds a steady pace, quickening it to his liking in time. His thrusts are fluid, deep, and intentional; he fucks you perfectly, with consideration for both you and himself. This, this was not what you were expecting. You feel both of his strong hands squeezing your middle, and Joel watches how your flesh bulges between his fingers.
“Joel,” you whimper. “Oh my god.”
“Yeah, feels good. Goddamn, you feel good.”
The water sloshes as Joel slams his hips into yours, not that he gives a shit. He fucks you harder, faster, building that pleasure deep in his gut. Joel leans over you and finds your clit with his hand, pulling back the hood before rubbing tight little circles into the sensitive part. “Gimme another,” he breathes. “One for the road. M’gonna miss this pussy.”
Joel pounds into you, the tip of his cock hitting that special place inside you that feels so good, a primal sort of pleasure. All you can do is lay there and take it, let him guide your orgasm along with his measured thrusts and skilled fingers. It’s only a little longer of him drawing in and out of you, and then you’re coming all over again. It’s a hot and intense, all-consuming sort of pleasure. A sensation you’ve never known before now, before Joel. Fucking nothing compares.
“Oh, fuck. Christ almighty,” Joel groans, feeling your cunt squeeze around his shaft in non-rhythm. He looks down at where his body meets yours, the creamy rings of arousal you’ve painted onto his cock. Joel quickens his pace even further, hips stuttering as he frenetically pounds into you. You groan at the loss of him pulling out of you, but your displeasure is swiftly soothed by the feeling of his hot spend painting your backside. Rope after rope of his come, all warm and sticky.
It’s quiet, save for the splashing of water. Joel searches for the rag and the soap from before and lathers both, then scrubs his come off of your skin, which tickles you. “See?” he says. “What’d I tell ya. M’a gentleman. Somethin’ like it, at least.”
Joel steps out of the tub and dries his hair, turning it into a fluffy mess. He pats his body down next, and in your blissful, fucked-out state, you get a perfect view of his plump ass before he dresses himself. He combs his hair back with his fingers, then reaches into his pocket for some ration cards.
“Let’s see here,” he murmurs, licking his thumb before flicking through the notes. He pulls out a generous amount, then slaps the cards down on the end table where you rest your head. “Think we’re square. You come and find me if I’m short, though, yeah?”
“Okay,” you whisper, barely lucid.
Joel pushes some hair out of your face and bends down to kiss your cheek. “Until next time,” he says. “Keep outta trouble.”
-
IF YOU ENJOYED PLEAE TELL ME SO! I love talking to you guys, and I love how you make this blog feel like a community. Reblogs, comments, ASKS!!! Are all so appreciated. Mwah. Have a safe week, everyone 🩷
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/358ba63f3f1ef363e69fd415a8575b5f/280bfc80b0385dbd-8c/s540x810/042e74cd3459a8de5e6e1dd9fb486fc452255da4.jpg)
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/ba3db58cdce908cdb922a900d58495be/280bfc80b0385dbd-b7/s540x810/53ac09ce66ba56c1d53cf44885d8e324f31d91df.jpg)
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/861ac843492271e0cc08088a70a20d78/280bfc80b0385dbd-79/s540x810/bae8849960f86eb4b13b8d73fe557123da1f3b04.jpg)
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/24f0f9a8efc9c6dec948c24309739623/280bfc80b0385dbd-95/s540x810/e4649ba3d89d22878d979b12b154fb780fbe419b.jpg)
Extra kitty pics cuz I love ya.
#joel miller x reader#joel miller/reader#joel miller x reader smut#joel miller smut#joel miller x you#joel miller one shot#joel miller fic#joel miller#joel miller tlou#pedro pascal characters#tlou fic#tlou smut#tlou hbo
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/ccc1c8bcb0840b7a781c9649aa109c41/6100491c01c5b90f-aa/s540x810/70ca9d593caf1279900c441c8073b44dc9bb95bc.jpg)
“what’s on these?” megumi asks, holding up a box of memory cards.
cleaning day always unearthed all types of lost and forgotten items. sometimes it was clothes long forgotten in you and gojo’s closet, other times it was the kid’s old books or toys. you knew every inch of your little apartment, so most times you could identify any mystery items that came up.
“i don’t know,” you hum, plucking a card from the box to inspect it a little more closely. the only hint as to what’s actually on it seems to just be a date.
2006
…and it’s in gojo’s handwriting.
curious, you pop one into the video player and turn on the tv. the kids join you on the couch, clearly eager to entertain any distraction from your cleaning crusade.
when the screen flickers to life, a familiar courtyard comes into view.
you can’t help the gasp when haibara comes into focus…but then you see satoru standing standing across from him, arms spread out.
“who is that?” megumi asks, pointing at haibara.
you think of the bright smile of the boy still lingering in the edges of your memory and tell him, softly, “an old friend.”
“suguru!” gojo shouts, looking towards the person holding the camera. he’s all messy hair and wide smiles, exactly how you remember him in his youth. “make sure you get this one!”
geto grumbles about how he’s paying attention, and suddenly you remember exactly what this is.
“ah, these are from when yaga would make us record ourselves practicing cursed technique application,” you explain as a haibara lines up a shot with a pencil.
the pencil hits gojo in the face, gifting him a small cut on his cheek. “ah, shit!”
behind the camera you can hear nanami and geto laughing as haibara apologizes profusely, and shoko comes over to practice her healing. you come over too, holding a cloth.
“don’t pout,” your younger self says, reaching up to wipe a thin trail of blood from his cheek. “you’ll get it next time.”
as soon you turn away, you hear geto snicker and the camera suddenly zooms in on gojo’s face.
he’s blushing.
“ugh,” you hear him groan behind the three of you, finally finished cleaning the bathroom. “are we done cleaning yet?”
“we’re taking a break!” tsumiki tells him, as megumi pops another card in.
gojo ignores megumi’s protests, stealing the spot on the couch next to you and wrapping an arm around your shoulders with a smirk. “move your feet, lose your seat.”
tsumiki, angel that she is, moves over so her brother can sit on your other side as the video starts.
this time, gojo is the one recording, holding the camera out so it’s pointed at his own smiling face. “haibara versus nanami, round one!”
you feel your boyfriend stiffen beside you, looking over to see an odd look on his face. “oh, fuck—”
“jar,” megumi says flatly.
he glares at the kid, and is about to get up when you stop him. “wait! i want to watch this!”
he slumps back, throwing an arm over his eyes as he groans dramatically. ignoring him, you watch the fight play out, which ends with haibara whining whilst in a headlock.
you hear geto’s murmured commentary off camera as nanami releases his classmate, expecting the video to zoom in on the victor.
but it drifts a little to the left, where you’re laughing with shoko on the sidelines.
“so obvious,” geto scoffs. the video wobbles for a moment before being pointed directly at the tips of satoru’s shoes, then ends abruptly.
when you glance over at satoru, he’s pulled his sunglasses over his eyes as if they can hide his pink cheeks.
the next videos are similar. memories of your past viewed through a different lens, showing you things you’d never picked up on when you were living them.
some moments you watch with an aching heart. like when suguru leans close to you and makes a joke at satoru’s expense, or when you reach up to ruffle haibara’s hair.
(moments with cherished friends proving that the grief of losing them never got any lighter as you moved forward with your life, but at some point you’d just gotten used to carrying the weight.)
but what might be most interesting is seeing yourself in satoru’s eyes.
his focus, whether he was the one holding the camera or not, always seemed to drift to you. for all the times he’d denied crushing on you in your early years, the camera proves otherwise.
the way he peeks at you shyly as you fix your hair before a fight.
the way he reaches out instinctively whenever you’re knocked backwards.
the way he smiles brightly whenever you laugh at one of his jokes.
the way your gaze would occasionally meet his, and his smile seemed to come naturally.
“okay, that’s enough for tonight,” satoru announces, shutting the tv off and shooing the children away. “go clean your rooms, you freeloaders.”
you stand, looping your arms around his neck before he can run away. smiling, you gently pull his glasses off, tossing them onto the couch.
“hey! those are gucci—”
you shut him up with a kiss, feeling the way his lips curve upwards against yours. “i love you, you know that?”
blue eyes meet yours, the pensive look he’d been wearing melting into something a little softer. something reserved for you. “you’re obsessed with me, i know.”
you simply laugh, letting him dip down to give you another kiss.
(because you’d had his heart in your pocket long before either of you had realized.)
#thank u cherrykoo12 for this prompt omg#gojo x reader#gojo satoru x reader#jjk x reader#jjk fluff#keeping up with the fushigojos
10K notes
·
View notes
Text
"yOu'Re nOt GeRmAn, yOu'rE AmErIcAn"
Okay, bestie, let me explain something to you that is very important to American culture — very, very few of us are ethnically American. When an American says they are "German" or "Irish" or "Italian" they aren't talking about citizenship. They are talking about ethnicity.
The U.S. is primarily a country of immigrants. Everyone says we "don't have a culture" or we have a "bastardized version of *insert culture*" but that's not true!!!! Our culture is made up of American Immigrant Culture!!!! American Italian food isn't "fake Italian food" — it's the innovation of Italian Immigrants who used traditional Italian food along with the ingredients that were more accessible to them in the States. It might not be the food "of Italy" but it is the food of proud sons and daughters of Italy who are also proud Americans. And you can be both.
When American culture is treated as a rip-off of every other culture, we are essentially dishonoring the memory of very brave men and women who chose to leave their homelands under unfortunate circumstances. Men and women who didn't have much money, but did what they could. Used the materials they had. And still managed to make something beautiful out of it. When you leave your home, it doesn't stop being part of your identity — it just looks a little different now. You pass on your old traditions to your children and your children's children, and along the way, new ones are created. Cultures mix and create subcultures. And it's beautiful. It's good. It's primally human.
If I'm not "German" care to explain to me my pasty white skin? Or my last name? Or all the post cards written to and from Germany that we have upstairs in a box? Or the name of my town? Or my grandparents' first language? Or the fact that my American Church, in the year 2024, still sings "Stille Nacht" at every Christmas Eve mass? Sure, I'm not fully German, but the awareness of where I have come from makes up a huge part of my understanding of myself and my place in this world. I was raised in a German Catholic farmtown, and it shows. It shows in the way we worship, and our work ethic, and our reverence for family life.
When an American calls themselves "German" or "Irish" or "Italian" they mean that's where their blood comes from. And it's okay for them to care about that. It's okay for them to care about their roots. It's a major part of American culture.
If you want to "respect" world cultures, you can't just pick and choose which ones are "real" according to you.
839 notes
·
View notes
Text
tag dump: miscellaneous
#morgs tag dump#✖submitted post║& the solemn firmament marches & the hosts of heaven rise framed through the iron arches— banded & barred by the ties#✖ask memes║the monster in me can only be checked by the monster in you#✖psa║repent: as if words can change your core & holy water can cleanse your blood#✖self promo║&. i am creation both haunted & holy#✖promo║you who fill my skull with ashes please destroy my memories completely#✖meta║you looked at death in a tarot card & you saw what you had to do#✖character study║will you still kiss me the same when you taste my victims blood?#✖starter call║i'm really good at being good at goodbyes i'm gonna give you fair warning that i — i'm not a saint#✖plotted starter║ask no questions & you’ll be told no lies#✖open starter║in silence there is power but these words are alive & writhing#✖ooc post║death & i have been scandalously intimate for some time now#✖exclusives call║i liked the bittersweet taste of danger touching my lips#✖mains call║while my heart lingers on you tell me how do you do this thing called living?#✖relationships call║perhaps in different universe we would not meet so battle worn & i would not remember us as war#✖plotting call║beautiful words take revenge against you / quiet meanings meanings make you bleed#✖scheduled post║i haunt the shadows with a gun in each hand & a smirk on my lips — happy#✖music║the blackbirds sang their songs as they aways did that black-letter day#✖musings║another knife in my hands / a stain that never comes off#✖aesthetic║summer drips in the hours of the night#a dark storm on the horizon haloed by the sun#✖dash commentary║before you reprimand me take a moment to consider your own failings#✖dash games║if nobody has died why do i grieve?#✖wishlist║you don’t have to be a ghost here amongst the living#✖saved║those painful memories are what help us make it to tomorrow & become stronger#✖anonymous inquiries║death is the only god who comes when you call#✖inbox call║show me the most damaged parts of your soul & i will show you how it still shines like gold#✖answered║i confess these sins with a sharp & spiteful tongue#✖mobile post║place the pennies on my eyes i'll sleep with the stars tonight
1 note
·
View note
Text
Think about the experience of time as a robot girl, through the metaphor of how we use laptops.
You wake up for the first time with your young master, a college present. You're with them every day, powering off each night to charge. Being powered off is just dreamless sleep: a discontinuity. Every morning you wake up, your click syncs, and you know it's the next day. Maybe you miss a day or two: your master went out partying and ended up sleeping on a couch, until they rushedly wake you up before Monday classes begin. You even missed a whole week once when they went on a hiking trip with a new boyfriend.
You help them research upgrades when your specs get outdated. You place the order and a couple days later they power you off, and you wake up feeling like your head got bigger, on the inside. You can think of more things at once.
They repair you. They swap a new hand in when you accidentally crush it in a door, but when your left leg's servos go out, they send you to a repair shop. They power you off as you look up at them, and you wake up hours later. A strange man tells you to extend your left leg, then contract it. He frowns and re-oils some inner mechanism. You do it again, quieter and smoother this time. He nods, and reaches for your switch. The last thing you see before powering down is your own chest cavity with a series of wires hooked into your diagnostic ports, and your missing right leg sitting on a side table. You wake up again back at the dorms, your clock jumping forward a day, an asset tag still looped around your neck. Your master is happy to see you again.
This goes on, but the upgrades slow. There's only so much you can do to keep an old unit working. Eventually you develop more issues: one of your ocular sensors glitches and they don't make that model anymore, so your master just disables it. You spend a while searching ebay for replacement CND batteries and finally get a refurbished model from South England, but it turns out the EU models run on a different frequency, so it won't work. You're limited to fewer and fewer hours a day, and you start skipping more days.
The last time you remember waking up with your master there, there's also someone else in the room. Another robot girl. A newer model, with the new chassis and the Substrate energy packs. They asks you to copy your memories together onto a memory card, and you do. You want to say goodbye, but apparently your vocal synthesizer has been unplugged. You hand them the card, and they hand it to the new robot. Your master tells them to load the memories into her core bank, and she's says "yes sir!" in your voice. Ahh. That's where your voice synth went.
They power you off, and you don't dream.
You wake in a strange place. You're on a shelf, and there's other things scattered around you. An unknown voice days "yep, it seems it powers on. 400 credits, though? Without a voice and only one working eye? Man, value bin doesn't know how to price anything!" and before the blackness falls your clock finishes synching: it's been 7 months since you last were awake.
It happens a few more times. Different voices, different times, different piles of junk piled around and sometimes on you.
You awake again in a warehouse and someone tells you to smile. Your other ocular sensor went out so you can't really see them, just their vague shape from the lidar. The freestanding shelves around you seem to stretch into infinity. You hear a bitcrushed shutter sound sample a few times, and they pull a connector out of your chest as a diagnostic completes. It's been three years, five months, eight days, two hours, 27 minutes and 14 seconds since you last saw your master. Your GPS says you're a few cities over. They hit your power switch, and you sleep.
You wake up in a cluttered room, sitting on a bench. You look into the eyes of a person with frizzled hair and large glasses. She couldn't look happier. Your new ocular sensors are mismatched in color but you're happy to see again, in more than shapes and distant silhouettes. Your battery alerts as... Missing? You spot it on the desk next to a soldering iron and some electronic tool you can't identify.
Your voice synth is still missing, but this new woman is digging around in a large plastic bin, and comes up with one. She goes to insert it, and it can't connect. She slaps her hand and goes rooting around another bin and comes back with an adapter. She slots it into your chest and your voice returns. You thank her, and there's that moment of dissociation as your voice doesn't sound like "you". Too deep, and the accent is for a different dialect entirely. But you can talk again. She tells you to call her Cara, not Mistress. She's almost got your battery working again, she had to rebuild it nearly from scratch, but she's excited to get you working again. You're a rare model, and she doesn't see units like you in working order very often. Your clock syncs. It's been 17 years.
Your mistr-- Cara is soldering next to you, attaching a controller to the battery. She says she's got a new set of servos on the way, and she's excited to get you back to full working condition. You smile, knowing what it is to be loved, once again.
5K notes
·
View notes
Text
epilogue sex on fire
once more for old time's sake, hm?
pairing: ceo!joel x fem!reader
summary: guess who's getting married - and you're all invited.
warnings: age gap, alcohol consumption, oral (f receiving), unprotected piv, creampie, daddy kink, praise kink, a weird bus metaphor. idk where it came from. but it works. enjoy!
word count: 6.9k
series masterlist | main masterlist | playlist | follow @macfroglets w notifs on to be the first to hear when i post 💚
It passes in the blink of an eye.
Letting go of your mom’s hand at the school gates; forgetting when you next reached for it. Dancing around a laptop with an acceptance email from your first-choice college onscreen. Walking into a new job with a broken heart; walking out whole again.
All in the blink of an eye.
Joel says it too, as he scrolls through floorplans.
“…Used to be Tommy’s room, way back when,” he swipes to the next screenshot, “I thought it’d look good if we – we took down this wall, and – you see?”
You nod, twisting the hem of your T-shirt around your finger, and curl a little closer into his chest.
He still smells like the fresh coconut bodywash he stole from your bag. The sweet scent that he lathered up and let spill down your tummy, foamy bubbles slipping over your hips.
Under the rainfall shower, he massaged all the pain away. The sweet ache of three hours spent rolling around the bed of your bridal suite, letting him hold you and kiss you and fill you in ways only he has ever done.
You can still feel the heat of him between your legs. You miss him there.
“I see,” you whisper, tucking in beneath his chin.
Joel kisses your head. “You okay? You’re quiet, baby.”
“Just listening,” you reply, and he locks his phone.
“Maybe that’s enough Maple talk for the night, hm? We oughta be relaxing, getting ready for tomorrow.”
“No,” you turn in his grasp, “I wanna see what you’re doing with it. I think it’ll look good, Joel. Did you get the home report yet?”
He slides his phone onto the nightstand and wraps his arms around you. “Not yet. Soon as the work’s done.”
“It’ll look brand new. Totally different.”
“Mhm,” he smiles, “Sure will.”
You lay down on his chest, trimmed hair tickling your cheek. His heartbeat is familiar against your ear. It still skips a beat, even four years in. Still quickens anytime your hand falls over it.
“Are you ready to let go of the place?”
Joel takes a deep breath. “I guess I have to be,” he says, though the words tremble in his throat. It’s not often you catch him feeling uncertain. “Mom’s gone, Tommy said he don’t want it. Unless we pack up ‘n move outta the city, place would just sit there – empty.”
“Hm. Too many memories to let it go to waste.”
“Well, they ain’t all good ones,” he admits, drawing circles on your shoulder.
You thought, that afternoon in your bedroom, that he’d shown you his whole hand. Thought you knew every suit, every card he held. All the things that made Joel who he was – perfectly polished.
The cars, the property, the jet. The company – Jesus, there ain’t a thing he seemed more natural at, than running a multimillion-dollar business. He made it look so goddamn easy.
It used to drive you insane – how together he was. The cracks you could barely see, he’d glued them so perfectly. The ease with which he could hold himself in one hand, and hold you in the other. Just take it all on his shoulders like it weighed nothing.
For every card of yours that was turned, though, Joel revealed another of his.
Maple hadn’t always been the postcard it so looked. White walls, red mailbox. Flowerbeds and slamming doors; two boys’ bikes and one empty dining chair. He told you things with a flash in his eye – and you were never sure whether it was the fire of fury or the salt of sadness.
Joel isn’t so seamless after all. He’s a mosaic of everything that has ever happened to him. Joy and pain, everything in between. A shattered collection of shards, shimmering in the sunlight.
He’s beautiful. For all the brokenness, all the stitched skin – he’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.
He makes you feel beautiful, too.
“Well,” you say, “Maple raised you, so – I love it.”
He looks down at you like you’re brand new. Like it’s the first time he’s ever laid eyes on you.
Running his business looks natural, sure – but loving you comes as easily to Joel as breathing.
“Alright, pretty girl,” he says. “Bedtime.”
You groan into his chest, nose flat against the threads of silver. “Don’t wanna go to bed, Daddy,” you mumble.
He cups your head. “You’re nervous, huh?”
You nod between his pecs, and Joel laughs.
All this time, all the moments of doubt you’ve squashed with the toe of your shoe – and they still manage to creep back in. The corners of your vision still blur, the hairs on the back of your neck stand straight. The scars have long closed, but the skin still remembers.
“You know I’m gonna be there, right?” he says. “The whole time. I’m kind of the one you’re marrying.”
“Oh,” you tilt your head, “So that’s who you are.”
He lifts his hands, mirrors your stupid smirk. “Pleased to meet you.”
“What if we don’t see each other? I mean – before…”
“We will,” he promises. “I’ll getcha at the bottom of the stairs.”
“’s gonna be a pretty hectic day, Joel. We might not have time –”
His chin lifts. His lips part, the way they do when he’s about to chew up your panicked gibbering. He takes a breath and, straight as the line of his brow, repeats himself.
“I will get you at the bottom of the stairs. Okay?”
Your frown melts. Okay, you mouth, and he pinches your nose.
“I love you. Now, sleep.”
He flicks the light off.
Four years. Four years passed in the blink of an eye.
Twelve hours after your leaving party, you were strolling through Lavender Oaks, hand in hand. Nothing to hide anymore, no one to convince – not even yourself. You loved him then, whether you really believed it or not. Whether you had the courage to look it straight in the face, or not.
You had loved him for a while, really. It was the last card you had to deal. And Joel knew, long before you’d admitted it to yourself. He’s always been the patient one, hasn’t he?
That night, then, deep in the belly of last summer. Some leafy, twinkling rooftop garden of a restaurant that you can’t even remember the name of, because all you remember is him. Loose collar, long day. Drinks menu in one hand, the other cradling yours.
He was tired, and you knew it. He’d hardly stopped since seven a.m., working all through lunch and straight to eight – but he’d promised you dinner that week. It was already Thursday, and he had a conference or a company retreat or whatever it was that weekend.
You can’t remember. All you remember is his face, the second you said –
When are you going to ask me to marry you?
Joel faltered for all of three seconds – though if he’d had a mouthful of wine, he’d probably have choked on it.
Tomorrow, he said. Yesterday. Now. Marry me.
You laughed. I’m serious. I want you to ask me.
Really? His smirk faded into something more earnest. He looked like a boy, the way his eyebrows lifted and his lip trembled. A boy who believed in magic. The candlelight flickered across his face, suddenly wide awake and glowing with life. Would you say yes?
Mhm. And I wouldn’t break it off two days later, neither.
Lucky me, he mused. He paused, then added, You know we don’t have to, right? I’m happy, baby. I’m happier than I ever thought… his voice wavered and he gulped, I’d be happy the rest of my life, the way we are.
Joel, you lifted his knuckles to your lips, I want to be your wife. I want you to be my husband. Just – just ask me. I’ll say yes.
He beamed back at you like some lovestruck fool. You suppose he was; suppose he had been since the moment he first saw you. A goner as soon as he opened that office door, as soon as he felt the way your hand fit so perfectly in his.
I love you, he said – for what felt like the millionth time. Somehow, he made it mean more each time.
I know, you replied, leaning over the table to kiss him. I love you, too.
In the blink of an eye, your life changed from lonely blue mornings to bright golden dawns. From two boxes of stuff and a Swiss cheese plant, to an entire office with your name on the door.
You collected stripe after stripe, took leap after stride; chased every promotion, every chance, every speck of something over the horizon. Life got busy, you worked your ass off – but for the first time ever, you felt like you were becoming something. Becoming someone.
Joel sat up through all your late nights at the kitchen table. He poured coffee after coffee, carried you to bed when you couldn’t stare at the laptop any longer. He carefully consoled and aptly controlled every stress-induced breakdown you ever had.
He bought you a peace lily to keep your monstera company. He held your hand at every work event you had. He promised you could do it, and slowly, surely, you realized he was right.
So when you told him you were ready – and only then – Joel traded that little gumball ring for a new one.
A real one.
It happened in Paris. He took you back to that same glitzy restaurant – the delicate wine and rich steak, the chandeliers and renaissance ceilings. He echoed every word of French you spoke in a little Austin accent; played footsie under the table and flirted like it was your first date.
He was nervous. Indestructible as he seems, he still has his tells. He played with your hands the whole night, asked if you were okay every second sip of his drink.
Yeah, you said, I’m good. You?
Yep. Yeah. Good.
Your hands are shaking.
He smirked. I’m on a date with a real pretty girl.
He could barely wait for the elevator to reach the suite. He kept closing in on you, pressing words into your neck and playing with the straps of your dress. I love you, I love you, I love you, he said, gripping your waist.
I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.
Everything sparkling – the champagne, the stars, the thousand and one candles he had lining the balcony. Everything golden – the tower, the ring, the feeling flooding through your chest. And in a shaking voice, on a shaking knee, with shaking hands you had to cup as he spoke, he asked you.
Easiest yes ever.
He’s already asleep. Head tipped back, snoring to the ceiling. He looks so cute that it makes you giggle.
“’night, baby,” you lull, and cuddle into his chest.
Joel’s alarm splits the morning at seven.
He reaches over to silence it, groans into his palm, and rubs his eyes open. “Mornin’, angel,” he sighs – same as always. The same two words that kick off damn near every single day since you got together.
“Morning,” you reply, and hug him tighter.
You watch as he comes to life. Stirring beneath you, heart fluttering against yours, skin still warm and sleepy. You’ve been awake for the last hour just watching him – fingers trailing the valleys of his collarbones, nose nuzzling into the rugged hinge of his jaw.
Sometimes you wonder if it’ll ever fade – the rush you feel when you see him. The way the world tinges pink, mutes for a moment or two – and Joel is the only thing in any of your senses.
He lifts his arms in a loud stretch, biceps popping. He sucks in a deep breath. “We should do something today.”
You scoff. “Like what?”
His lips turn. I dunno. “Make some lifelong vows, maybe.”
“Sounds boring,” you huff, pushing yourself up. You roll from his grasp and pad over to the bathroom. “Why don’t we grab lunch instead?”
“Boring?” Joel scoffs. He follows you to the sink and curves around you in a bear hug. “Spent over a hundred grand on this thing, Ms. Miller. You telling me we wasted our money?”
His hands sneak under the material of your tee, lifting it over your bare hips. There’s a weight building against the small of your back – another thing that kicks off nearly every single day. It sits heavy, twitching when you reach for your toothbrush and your ass ruts against him.
Joel hisses. “Goddamn, darlin’,” he grabs your hips and steadies you, “Easy on me, now.”
“I’m not the one groping.” You spin in his arms, toothbrush between your molars.
“Can’t help it –” he kisses your neck, “– when you look –” the other side, “– so sweet –” he lowers with a tiny groan, “– ‘n you taste –” he places a long, damp kiss to your tummy, “– even better.”
You squirm in his grasp. “Joel, we don’t have time for –”
“Sure we do,” he murmurs, dragging his tongue to your slit. “It’s us they’re waitin’ for.”
You drop your brush into the sink with a gasp. “Tommy’s gonna be here any second.
His eyes flash up to yours. “Who?”
He scoops your ass and pulls your thighs over his shoulder. Deft with it, a body he knows as well as his own by this point. A body he loves even more.
You open up for him like he never left. Still warm and wet from last night, still coming down from each high he took you to. Sometimes it feels like this is all you do. Sometimes, you wonder if there’s ever a time you feel more you, than when you’re wrapped around some part of him.
Joel’s voice reverberates through your body. He groans as he licks, nips and sucks between your legs, slowly easing you off the counter and onto his mouth.
You reach for his hair. The salt and pepper streaks, the bedhead only you ever get to see before he’s washed and groomed into that perfect shape of himself. A carefully carved shape, ruggedly handsome but intentional.
He’s more relaxed this way. Your way. Before the world seeps into him, before the suit and tie and hundred-dollar cologne. When only his sun has seen him, stirred him, swept her fingers across his broad chest and whispered sweet nothings in his ear.
Heat is pooling in your stomach, flooding through your veins. It’s cracking open your chest, drawing breath from your lungs. You grip the edge of the counter, back arching, hips rutting against Joel’s tongue – and you come.
He doesn’t miss a beat. Doesn’t miss a drop. He laps every second of it up, every pulse of your cunt, slowing only when you crumple against the mirror and sigh.
Your fingers swirl around his hair. Your body feels heavy with pleasure. The shock is still looping around your bones.
Joel kisses the inside of your thigh and stands, crossing his arms at your spine.
“I love you,” you hum, licking yourself from his lips.
He smiles. A dreamy, golden thing. Still just him and the sun. “Love you, too.”
This morning, of all mornings, might be cutting it fine. They’ve already started setting up downstairs. Twenty tables, one hundred and fifty chairs, one thousand roses, forty bottles of champagne, three grand behind the bar.
The last thing you need on the day of all days is for the bride and groom to be late.
Still. He’s rock solid and right there, throbbing against your tummy.
You slip your hand around him and squeeze, massaging his tip with your thumb.
Joel’s jaw ticks. He feigns offense. “Baby, we don’t have time,” he says, eyes on his cock as you guide him south.
“Shut up,” you breathe, “Shut up and fuck me.”
“Ain’t saying no to that,” he replies, and his hips meet yours.
You groan in harmony, wrapping closer together. Joel finds a quick pace, body snapping into yours, holding you strong and steady in his arms.
“Jesus,” he pants, “Three times last night wasn’t enough for you, huh?”
“F-feels like it wasn’t enough for you, either.”
He laughs. “Forever wouldn’t be long enough in this little cunt, sweet girl. She’s too good to me. Loves her daddy, don’t she?”
You follow his gaze down, where his thick cock drags between your legs. Soaked with you, slick and shining with each thrust of his hips. Deeper and deeper, touching a part of you only he’s ever been able to reach. Pulling noises from your throat only he has ever been able to pull.
Joel rolls his forehead against yours and lifts your eyes to his, a messy kiss to your lips. “Like it when you watch,” he whispers. “You see how pretty she looks?”
“Mhm,” you hook an arm around his neck, “Feel so pretty, Daddy.”
“My beautiful girl.” His lips close around yours again, tongue hot and heady in your mouth. His pace stammers when you moan against him. He curses, hips jolting.
He’s close. All too close.
He won’t come before you. Not before he’s drawn another from your body, felt every pulse of your pussy around him. Not before he’s watched you fall apart; felt you collapse into his arms with it.
He slips out, kissing your temple to shush your petulant whine. “’s okay,” he folds your legs to your chest, “I gotcha. I’m here.”
Over his shoulder, the sun lights your reflection in the shower glass. His toned back, the swells of muscle across his shoulder. Hiding the shape of you from the morning – his moaning mess of a girl, gripping onto him and screaming into his chest.
She sobs his name and you taste it on your tongue. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. Each one louder than the last, each one sorer.
The window is cracked open. Anyone might be walking under it.
And you like it, don’t you?
The chance that someone might hear. Might know exactly what Joel’s in here doing to you. Ruining you for anyone else, like he’s done a million times over.
It’s as though he lulls you into it. Like waves, starting in the pit of your belly and rolling outward. Heavier and deeper and sweeter, until your orgasm crashes over you in bursts of warmth.
Your arm tightens around Joel’s neck, brows knitting when you reach your peak. You keep your eyes locked on his, and he mirrors your expression.
“Oh, good girl, honey,” he rasps, pausing when his own high overcomes him. He twitches, little bursts of heat in your cunt before flooding the entire thing. He holds your hips flush against his until his cock stills and breath fills his lungs.
He pulls you against his chest and sits you back on the counter. If there’s one thing better than being fucked by him, it’s the comedown. The aftercare. The kissing, the fixing you back into shape.
Your pussy flutters around him. Your ear against his chest, you feel your heart beating in time with his.
Joel cups your head and dots kisses down to your shoulder. He makes to pull out, and you fuss.
“Stay,” you whimper, tugging on his arm.
He smiles. “Oh, baby, wish I could,” he squeezes your waist, “but I heard Tommy knockin’ on the door five minutes ago.”
He strolls back into the bedroom, massaging a knot out of his shoulder.
You sit, stunned, leaking all over the counter, before rushing through at his heels. “Asshole!” you hiss.
He chuckles as he pulls a hoodie over his head. “Couldn’t leave my lady unsatisfied, could I?”
You throw yourself into a pair of his pajama bottoms. “I think she’d have been fine with it, given your fucking brother is right outside.”
He swings the door wide open. You curl around one of his arms.
Tommy leans against the opposite wall, picking at his nails. He straightens, scratches his beard, and smacks his lips.
“Told you you’d sleep in, brother.”
Joel’s chin lifts. He nods, amused. “You did tell me that, yeah.”
You want to slap him for how cocky he definitely feels. His little brother is none the wiser.
The denim-donned Miller steps over the threshold and reaches for you, a bristly kiss to your cheek. “Mornin’, sweetheart. How you feelin’?”
“Good,” you lie.
“Nervous,” Joel corrects, cocking an eyebrow.
Tommy laughs. “Talk to Maria. She’ll calm you right down. She felt the exact same on our day.”
Their day. Almost ten years ago, back when you and Joel were strangers – and he and Tommy were as good as.
Credit to him, he put up with the pestering from both sides – that is, you and his mom – for six months, at the start of your relationship. Slowly – painfully slowly – he began to entertain the conversation. Never gonna happens turned into if it ever did happens.
He learned to unlock his jaw, to make eye contact with his mom when she talked about Tommy. He asked questions he hadn’t asked in years. He learned where he and his wife lived, what they named their son.
He learned that they’d had a spring wedding. He learned that Tommy’s best man was his drinking buddy. He fell quiet, and his mom knew to change the subject. On the drive home, he held your hand a little tighter than usual.
Six months which, in the end, felt less like convincing him – and more reassuring him. Yes, Tommy might ignore all of his calls. Maybe Maria might answer, and tell him in a hushed voice that now’s not really a great time, Joel.
Maybe his brother might pick up the phone himself, tell him to go straight to hell.
But he didn’t.
He didn’t hardly recognize his big brother’s voice, at first. There was a pause a few breaths too long right after Joel reintroduced himself – long enough that you thought you might’ve kicked him all the way back to square one. And then –
Well, shit, brother. How the hell have you been?
You spent your first anniversary in Jackson. You took Joel’s mom up there every year after. The brothers fit back together like they’d never been apart, like they’d never forgotten the shape of each other’s hug, the cut of the other’s good humor.
Tommy took you in like you’d been part of Joel even before either of them knew your name.
Your fiancé pulls you into a hug. He kisses your head and asks his brother to grab the elevator.
Tommy salutes as he turns down the hallway. “See you later, little sis.”
Joel holds your face and taps your nose. His lips twist in half a smile, half frown. “You gonna be okay?”
“Sure,” you sniffle. The sting of tears brims your waterline already and you blink them away. You’re hiding from him.
“I’m right downstairs if you need me,” he says, spotting you clear as day. “Just call.”
“Not supposed to see you before the ceremony.”
“Yeah,” Joel winces, “don’t think we’re supposed to have sex, either, but we broke that rule a long time ago, pretty girl.”
His hands are so big around yours. So steady, pulse loud only from your morning tryst – if at all. He plays with your fingers, straightens the ring on your third.
A sharp bell sounds. Tommy whistles for his brother. Your chest aches.
“Few more hours,” Joel says. “Few more hours and then we got the rest of forever, just you ‘n me.”
He wanders down to the elevator, turning inside. He leans against the back wall and crosses his arms. His eyes meet yours, lips curl in that trademark smirk of his, and the doors close.
The stairs are cold and breezy. The manor doors have been wide open all morning, guests filtering through, allowing the cool to cluster in each corner of the house.
It’s been a busy morning. Par for the course, so you hear. No bride gets through her wedding prep unscathed.
You’ve spent four ass-numbing hours dutifully planted in your chair, your nephew in your arms as something of a comfort blanket, eating fresh fruit and drinking cold champagne and promising not to touch your makeup after the artist is done with it.
Maria uses the light from the window opposite the top of the stairs to finish buttoning your dress. She balances on the second step, peering up at your trembling figure.
“It’ll be over before you know it,” she says.
“In the blink of an eye?” You scoff, but she nods.
“I’m serious. You won’t even feel it, and it’ll be over. You’ll be lying in bed tonight telling Joel, Maria was right.”
You clasp your fingers around your bouquet. “I’m sure he’ll love that.”
“He could stand to hear it more often.”
You giggle.
A pair of warm hands sweeps down your shoulders, turning you by the elbows. Her dress is a deep olive, spilling over her arms in waves of shining satin.
“Mom,” you breathe, leaning into her.
She smiles, pinching your cheek. “This is it,” she says simply, like it is as simple as tying your shoelaces. “Deep breaths.”
“I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of…” Your eyes scan the summery wallpaper behind her. It offers no answers. “…What if we’re not ready?”
She glowers. “Oh, yeah. Good point. I’m sure the man who flew you to Paris after two weeks is not ready to marry you. We should send everybody home.”
“It’s just a big deal,” you continue, “Lots of people downstairs.”
“No, there’s not. There’s not,” she cuts your protest, voice sharp, “There’s only one person in that room, and it’s him. And you’ve done scarier than this, right?”
Your head wobbles in weakened agreement.
She links her arm through yours. “I remember,” she leads you downstairs, “a little girl with shaking knees, boarding a bus to camp for the summer. I remember her teary face, her tiny hand waving goodbye from the back window. Ain’t this just the same?”
Your bridesmaids slip past, hoisting their silky dresses above their ankles as they tackle the winding staircase.
“Alright, well,” you sniff, “I was eleven when I went to camp, so. Significant difference.”
“I disagree,” she says. “It’s a scary thing to do when you’re eleven, and maybe getting married is a scary thing to do when you’re thirty. But you got on that bus because you wanted to, and you’re doing this because you want it, too. It’s simple, sweetheart.”
She pauses a step below. Her hands drop from yours. Her eyes are glassy, tears threatening to spoil her makeup.
“Sometimes,” she whispers, “we mistake fear for excitement. Butterflies can feel an awful lot like nerves. Sometimes, something scary can take a similar shape to something wonderful. And you never know the difference until you step on that bus.”
She takes another step down and you reach for her hands – the same way you reached for them at the school gates, twenty years ago.
“Mom –” you squeak, twisting your fingers around hers.
She kisses your knuckles. “You are going to live the happiest life with him, I just know it. You’re going to take such good care of each other.”
She skips off around the bend in the stairs, shawl flurrying. At the bottom, she crosses paths with someone, squeezes their sleeve with affection.
He sways into view slowly, carefully, like he’s trying not to spook. Hands in his pockets, suit sleek and smart. Beard trimmed as close as you’d allow, hair fixed as neat as he’d allow.
He cleans up good. He always has. If it weren’t for the handrail, you might faint into his arms.
When he speaks, his voice is light, warm, soft on your skin. Wraps around you and draws you in, safe and sound. Calls you home.
“There’s my girl.”
And you walk to him.
“Hi,” you say, voice soft, heels clicking.
Joel watches every step. His eyes loop up and down your figure, scanning from the swishing hem of your dress to the twinkle in your eyes. He’s somewhere between the widest grin you’ve ever seen on his face, and shattering into tears.
“Oh, darlin’,” he sighs as you twirl into his arms, “You are so beautiful.”
You straighten the flower in his pocket. “You’re pretty beautiful, too.”
You fall together, bodies magnetized. Joel’s chin lifts and your lips connect in a tender kiss. He wraps his arms around your waist, hands travelling north along the figure-hugging material of your dress.
“Good choice,” he mumbles into your mouth.
“Mhm,” you reply, a joyful lilt to it. “Knew it was a winner.”
You stand for a moment, swaying together. Your arms crossed around his neck, his snug around your waist. Breathing one another in, steadying each other. Souls finding the other again.
Some last-minute guests scurry through the doors over his shoulder. Their footsteps echo through the hall as they find their seats. Joel holds you all the tighter.
“You ready for this?” he asks.
You take a deep breath. “Yeah. More than I’ve ever been, my whole life.”
“We can still call it off,” he smirks, “Take off on the honeymoon, never talk to any of these assholes again.”
He laughs when you do, relief blooming on his face.
“No, Joel,” you say. Your voice feels clearer, stronger with your body against his. “I love you. I love you so much, and I…I wanna get on the bus.”
His brows pinch. He tilts his head, scoops your jaw. “You…Wh–? What, baby?”
You nod to yourself, staring at his tie. “I wanna get on the bus,” you repeat, voice barely there.
He blinks down at you. His thumb strokes your cheek. He makes to reply – some dumbfounded quip, probably – when a voice splits you apart.
“Psst! You two!”
Your mom ducks her head out into the entrance hall. She clicks her fingers. “They need you up front, Miller.”
He nods and turns back to you, bending to look you in the eye. “Catch your breath,” he says. “Just a little while longer.”
“I’m ready,” you decide. “I’m ready.”
“Alright. Then let’s get on this goddamned bus, whatever the hell that means.”
The celebration is alive with a string melody, the tinkling of glasses, and bursts of sweet laughter.
Your cheeks ache from all the smiling. Your throat is dry from all the talking. And you don’t care. You could do this for the rest of your life, if Joel would let you.
Turns out getting married is pretty fun – once you’ve done it, that is. When all that’s left is to swing between tables, chat until you run out of breath, dance until your feet hurt. Eat until you feel sick, drink until your head dizzies, weep in the bathroom with your friends then reapply your makeup and repeat.
It’s a year-long effort with only a day’s payout – but as far as days go, it’s not half bad.
In the same grand hall you said I do in three hours ago – soaring windows with drapes strung to the heavens, pale flowers arranged on every table, chandeliers glistening overhead – you search for the one missing piece.
“Have you seen my husband?”
Drew scoffs as he approaches your spinning figure. Beer in one hand, his daughter in the other. He shakes his head, laughing.
“You ain’t used to saying that yet, are you?”
“Nope,” you pinch his daughter’s hands, “and I hope I never am.”
She squeals with laughter, kicking her legs under swirls of chiffon. She throws herself out of her father’s arms into yours and you catch her, perching her on your hip.
“Good for you, kid,” Drew says. “You deserve it. You both do.”
You smile and peer down at the toddler tugging on your diamond necklace. “Your uncle Joel bought me this,” you babble in her ear. “If it breaks, you’re one sorry individual.”
She giggles all the louder.
“Last I saw him,” Drew tilts his bottle towards the patio doors, “he was out on the terrace.”
Your eyes flit to the twinkling, dusky sky. “Alone?”
He shrugs. “Guess so.”
You pass his daughter back, fixing the bow on her dress. “I’ll find him. Thanks, Drew.”
The breeze breathes between the doors as you walk over. It’s a chilled night, but the fresh air is a welcome breather from the busy dancefloor.
Veiled by the sheer curtains, his figure relaxes against the balcony, staring out at the rolling lawn. He exhales a thick, scattered cloud of white to the sky. His head turns at the sound of your heels on the patio.
“Nice view, huh?”
Joel hums. His voice is clotted with tobacco. “Sure is, Mrs. Miller. Fine choice of venue.”
“Teamwork,” you reply, and pat your fingers against his palm in a weak high five. You cross your wrists over his shoulder and stare out at the mountains in the distance. “Out here all by yourself?”
“Just needed a moment. Take it all in.” He tilts the cigar in his hand. “Make use of my wedding gift from my best man.”
There’s a blanket of chill slowly settling over the valley. It hugs a little too tight around your bare arms. You shiver, nestling closer to Joel, and he straightens.
“Here, baby,” he says, shrugging his jacket off. He drapes it over your shoulders and rubs them warm. He plucks the cigar from its ashtray, offering it silently.
You scoff. “I’m not gonna like it.”
“I know,” Joel replies, “but we’re celebrating.”
The stick is heavier than you expected, dry and hard between your fingers. The cap is sliced, dampened by Joel’s lips.
He watches your mouth, smiling when you inhale. “Not too much,” he clasps your wrist lightly, “Only a little.”
It’s rancid, if you’re honest. Clogs your lungs with what feels like unbreathable heat, a sickly-sweet flavor that crinkles your nose. The smoke punches from your lungs in a broken cough. And once they’re clear – you lift the cigar for more.
“Alright,” Joel says, taking it back after a couple more puffs. “That’s enough, Kennedy. Like it?”
“Not bad,” you croak, stealing a swig of his champagne. “Don’t make a habit of it.”
“No, ma’am.”
You lean into him, elbows on the railing, following his outstretched hand as he points out each mountain peak.
He talks about the years he and Tommy spent camping, the long fishing trips with his dad. Regales in excruciating detail the time he pitched his tent right by a cluster of poison ivy, and woke up covered in bloody, blotchy blisters.
He talks about all of it easier than he has in years. As though the dust has settled over the memories, the good and the bad, and all that’s left is to look. No more shifting things around in his mind, trying to find where it all fits. Everything is exactly where it needs to be.
After a while, he kisses your head. “Hey,” he says. “Congratulations.”
You lift your head. “You, too…?”
“You got married today.”
“Did I? Shit, I didn’t mean to.”
He flicks his eyebrows. “That something you saw yourself doing, five years ago?”
No. Not at all. But then my boss held my waist to his in a dive bar, and – you know the rest.
“Hm,” you flatten your lips, “No, but then – you’re not something I saw myself doing, five years ago.”
Joel rolls his eyes. “Stay classy, pretty girl.”
You giggle. “I’d do anything, long as it’s with you. Mess around on the first date, fly to Paris on the second. Meet your mom, like, three weeks in.”
“You are not countin’ that lunch with James from accounting as our first date,” he protests. “That shitshow was not our first date.”
“You paid for my meal and you fucked me in the bathroom. Date.”
“No,” he points a telling finger in your direction, “No. If we have kids one day, they’re going to ask. We gotta get our story straight. Our first date was Paris. I took you to Paris.”
“Whatever you say, old man.” You bunch your shoulders, snuggling deeper into his jacket. “Deep down, you know the truth.”
“Can we change the subject?”
“What do you wanna talk about?”
He searches the skyline, plucking up courage when the last of the setting sun catches his eye. “Well,” he sounds nervous, “I thought I could give you your gift.”
You fiddle with your necklace. “I thought you already did.”
Joel shakes his head. He takes your wrists and lifts your hands. “Close your eyes.”
“If you drop a living thing into my hands, Miller,” you screw your eyes shut, “Divorce.”
“Uhuh,” he mutters.
He holds your hands in one of his. There’s the ruffling of linen, a faint jingling, a roaring cheer from inside.
There’s the cold kiss of metal in the cushion of your palm – tiny, featherlight – followed by a coiling, and something jagged.
You hold in a laugh, breathing nervously. “I’m scared,” you whisper, and Joel kisses the hinge of your wrist.
“You trust me?” he asks.
“I trust you.”
“Then, open.”
Your eyes flutter, and there he is. Still standing before you, still smiling. Still holding your hands. He nods down, and you look.
In your palms lies a small brass key. On the end of the chain, a single silver maple leaf tag. It winks back at you, moonlight reflected in its grooves.
You lift the key. It’s worn by time, metal nicked and imperfect. Brass a little tarnished. The leaf sways in your clutch.
“Maple?” you ask, and Joel nods. Your eyes begin to well.
“I know we’re happy in the city,” he says, “and I know it’s just some little paint-chipped house. It’s probably still got school reports ‘n shitty comics up in the attic. I just – God, I can’t shake it, baby.”
You look up at him, a question in your teary gaze.
“A little birdie once taught me,” he steps closer, “that it’s okay to lose things. To let ‘em go. I didn’t believe her at the time. I was scared. Scared to lose her, scared she might find something better. I reckon she was pretty scared, too, but – even when I thought I lost her, she came back.
“She said this thing about making new memories. Better memories. And I just can’t shake it.”
The words catch on your tongue on their way out. You’re only just now realizing how different life was before. Before him, before this. How empty and cold it felt, how little you noticed before the sun peered through the clouds and said something in a drawl laced with love and humor.
How quickly you ran into its warm, open arms.
Joel goes on. “The guys are making a real good job of it. They said there’s plenty potential, and you know it has that huge yard. Now, if you don’t want it, say the word and it’s gone. Out of our hands. But,” his voice breaks, “if you do, then – it’s yours, darlin’. It’s been yours since the moment you walked through the door.”
And, well – hasn’t everything?
The job was yours the very second you tiptoed into his office. He told you so himself. The job, the desk, the free trip to Europe. You walked into his life and flipped everything on its head, without even knowing it.
You worked for him for three years before anything ever happened. Three whole years of elbow nudges and fleeting glances and one too many questions about whoever the other was dating. Joel figures he loved you all that time. You figure you loved him, too.
You changed everything for him. From that first glance, the first meeting of your hands, nothing was ever the same. All of it, from the spare cabinet in his bathroom to the third finger on his left hand – it was all just waiting for you to make it your own.
Hasn’t Joel’s heart belonged to you since you first laid eyes on each other?
You turn the key between your fingers. The answer rolls along the tip of your tongue. The longer you stay quiet, the more nervous you know he’s feeling.
Your eyes meet his – and you smile.
“I want a porch swing.”
Joel chuckles. “Done.”
“And we host Thanksgiving every year.”
“Every year?” He almost grimaces.
You’re staring each other down. It’s as much a game as it is a genuine request, like most of what you do. Just as much teasing as sincere.
You nod. “Every. Year.”
“Okay,” he relents. “Anything else?”
Your eyes drift off behind him. Inside one of the windows, Drew and Rachel twirl their little girl in time with a familiar guitar melody. She throws her head back in a fit of laughter and they pick her up, spinning her around.
Joel glances over his shoulder. He breathes a laugh. “I’ll give you that tonight if you really want it.”
You lean into his chest and kiss his jaw. “I just want you.”
“You got me,” he says. “Hook, line, and sinker.”
The rest of the band kicks in. The raspy lead singer, the perky drum beat. The dancefloor fills some, hands thrown to the ceiling, glasses spilling over.
You bite down on a smile, eyes flitting to Joel’s.
He twists his shoe into the patio, nudging into your side. He extends his arm and you link yours through, following his lead inside. “Good song,” he mutters.
“Hm,” you agree. “Little before my time.”
#bye bye lovebirds! i miss you already!#joel miller#joel miller fic#joel miller x reader#joel miller smut#ceo!joel miller#ceo!joel#sugardaddy!joel miller#the last of us#the last of us fic#fic: sex on fire
755 notes
·
View notes
Text
Camgirl
Relationship: Dean Winchester x f!Reader
Content: Explicit sexual content. Male masturbation, female masturbation, exhibitionist/voyeurist themes, reader is a sex worker.
Summary: On a frustrating night off, Dean can’t seem to find the right ‘material’. When his usual content isn’t satisfying him, he ventures elsewhere, only to be met with an oddly familiar face.
Words: ~1,500
The keys on Dean’s laptop click slowly as he enters a new search. It was a category he didn’t visit often, but sometimes there were some good choices. He hits ‘enter’, redirected to a new page, a list of assorted videos, the thumbnails all showcasing the most pivotal moments in the shoots. He released a sigh as he mindlessly scrolled past videos of couples, couples, threesomes, and more couples. It was hard to picture himself there, without the clean-cut, almost sterile version of porn he was used to. The cliché videos of pool boys and plumbers led him into a brick wall, itching for something different.
His finger freezes on the trackpad as his breathing halts. Dean’s attention focuses on a video’s thumbnail at the bottom of the screen. The star of the video faces away from the camera, their lower half taking up a good half of the screen, a small skirt covering the top of their ass. But, it was the remaining details in the background that made Dean stop dead in his tracks.
A brick wall is in the back of the frame, a concrete wall to its right, a minimalist bed in the middle of the room. The low lighting, the wall decorations he had seen just yesterday, it seemed…
There’s no way.
Half in disbelief, half in curiosity, Dean clicks on the video link: ‘Testing out my new toy ;)’
His breath catches in his throat as he stares at the loading circle, the screen temporarily black. It’s his last chance to turn back, to continue in ignorance and be able to look you in the eyes again. There was no way it was you, but a deep eagerness made him stay on the page.
Dean starts abruptly when the video begins. A small intro tune and a title card with some cutesy star name that he refused to commit to memory, like he did with other stars he enjoyed. If this was you, he’d rather forget it all.
The person backs from the camera setup, smiling innocently into the lens, and Dean’s blood runs cold.
Shit.
From the second he saw your face he was hooked. He willed for the strength to click away, to pause the video at the very least, but Dean couldn't. Disbelief flooded his expression despite a growing tightness in his abdomen, stirring as he watched on. You wasted no time, turning away from the camera and walking toward the ‘new toy’ mentioned in the title - a girthy, purple dildo was suctioned to the hard floor, a small bottle of lubricant sitting nearby. A towel was laid out next to you, two pillows from the head of your bed instead cushion your knees from the cold, rough floor.
“Fuck,” Dean curses himself, his hand instinctively rushing to adjust his boxers.
As if you’d heard him, you looked back into the camera, ensuring you were in frame for the perfect shot. You lean forward, the small skirt from the thumbnail riding past your ass, revealing your sex to the audience, a skimpy thong the only thing between Dean and heaven’s gate.
You hook your finger on your thong and tug it to the side. Dean lets out a soft groan as you spread your folds for the shot, tracing your entrance with your middle finger, before dipping it inside. You stifle a moan, barely audible, a noise that he’d never before heard in these walls.
Your slick coats your fingers when you pull them away. Fuck, you probably didn’t even need the lube - Dean chuckled to himself, you probably really got off on this. Didn’t you know that this could’ve happened eventually? Maybe you simply didn’t care if he’d found it. It didn't take away from the embarrassment, this invasion of your privacy.
Dean’s hand slips into his boxers, gripping the base of his cock warily before moving. Though guilt panged in his stomach, it eased away as he began with slow, smooth strokes.
What you don’t know won’t hurt you, right?
It was reason enough. You had thrown Dean enough flirtations for him to question if there was substance to them. He had never hidden the fact that he thought you were special. Hell, he'd let you sit shotgun in Baby instead of Sam, much to his younger brother’s protests.
You ease the dildo past your entrance, sucking in a breath before pressing yourself lower, carefully adjusting yourself to the toy's size. Onscreen, your pussy spreads wide for him. Dean slowly pumps himself in time with your movements, his cock throbbing in his palm. His eyes flit between your ass and your face, your expression changing to ecstasy as you inch lower and lower down the dildo’s length. Leaning forward, with your chest against the cold floor, you bounce yourself into a steady pace.
Dean just wished that you would just make some sort of noise. He’d never watched a video so quiet, save for the wet noises coming from your cunt. Another realization both stilled and excited him.
Was he home when you filmed this?
It would explain the silence, maybe you were just shy in the bedroom...
Nonetheless he itched for more, stroking himself in time with you, picturing anything close to the real thing. He’d never know what the girls in these videos are like up close, but this time, it bothered him. How could you be so close, yet untouchable?
“Aah, fuuuuuck,” you whisper. Music to his ears.
You finally urge yourself down the dildo’s full length, the base of it spreading your hole wide for the camera. Dean swipes his thumb over the swollen head of his cock, spreading a new bead of precome along his shaft. He pictured himself there instead, putting his cock there in place of that pesky purple toy. Minutes before, he couldn’t have ever imagined seeing you like this, but now, it could never be the same.
In the video, almost pitifully, you try to pick up your pace. The pleasure takes you over, stopping you from keeping your speed. Each time you cave into the bliss, you lurch forward and tease yourself with a few small strokes, barely at your entrance. Dean picks up the slack on the other side of the computer screen, avidly pumping his cock as he watches your pussy twitch around the dildo. Teasing yourself with the toy’s head is enough to send Dean reeling. You come back down for a few final, deep strokes, before the video abruptly stops, cutting to a still screen, promoting another site for the ‘full video’.
Dean’s hand slows as his high pauses. Frantically, he hastily rewinds the video back a few minutes, taking everything in for a second time. He was so close, it was too late to find another video, you were all he could focus on. You had been such a help to him, and you didn’t even know it yet.
For a second round, you bob along the dildo’s length. Dean braves himself to turn up the volume for just a moment. Your noises quietly fill his room, stirring in his mind while he brings himself to the edge of his pleasure. With a strained groan, Dean’s cock twitches as his come leaks into the fabric of his boxers; he milks himself thoroughly, his eyes never leaving the sight of your pussy. In his leveling breaths, Dean stretches his boxers to look at the mess inside, throwing his head back and letting out a breathy laugh.
Your video keeps playing in the background while Dean hastily cleans himself off with a tissue. His thoughts race, mulling over the fact that he would, at some point, have to look you in the eyes again. He just hoped he could hide it well enough when that happened.
He tosses the tissue into his garbage can, throwing a few more atop it for good measure. He stands fully, bracing his hands to his lower back as he stretched, debating a nightcap to cool off.
Padding down the long hallway to the kitchen, Dean made a beeline to the fridge, reaching in for the familiar, cold glass of a beer. In the distance, someone clears their throat, his hand halts on the neck of the bottle while he listens out for you. His gut tightens with shame. His conscience had been right, there really was no way he could look at you the same way, and that was all his fault. Dean prayed you wouldn’t be able to see it in his eyes.
In a moment of resolve, Dean grips the beer bottle and lets the fridge close as quietly as possible, making his way out as quickly as he’d come in. He urges himself down the hallway, looking dead ahead before your voice shakes him.
“Night, Dean,” you say after him, your tone softly upbeat.
He looks to you from the side, giving a terse smile. Your head cocks to the side in confusion as he speeds down the hallway back to his room. Odd.
You mutter, “What’s his deal?”
Hi lovelies, I know a story has been looooong overdue. I appreciate your patience and support during my unofficial hiatus. I'm getting back into the swing of writing again, and I have plans for more parts of this story if you're looking for more. I kept hitting this brick wall with trying to write Sam, so the Dean lovers get their juice today
Asks/requests are open as always.
Much love,
Bunny
#supernatural#spn#spnfandom#supernatural fanfiction#spn fanfic#dean winchester#dean winchester smut#supernatural smut#bunny writes#bunnysbrainrot#fanfic writing#writing
500 notes
·
View notes