#sunshine x joel miller

[slutz4fanfic]

Chapter 2:

Words: 1,773

After that barbecue my dad had last week, I really got to thinking. I need to just stop acting like some childish school girl, and continue life as normal. I'm 25 years for Christ sake. This stupid crush with Joel will drop and life will continue on as normal.

"Honey you take this out to the boys" my mama calls from the kitchen. It's some fresh ice tea she just made. "Yeah I can but mama I don't think they'll drink it, you know they drink beer during these games " I say to her. "Which is why they need it. Ain't no one need to go through case of beers like that" she waves "plus Joel will drink it, he appreciates good tea unlike your hard headed daddy out there" she shakes her head with a smile. "Alright" I chuckle grabbing two glasses.

The rhythmic buzz of cicadas filled the warm Austin evening as I pushed open the screen door, a glass of iced tea in each hand. The familiar sound of my father's laughter rumbled from the garage, followed by the low, steady drawl of Joel's voice.

They were exactly where I expected to find them- my dad and Joel leaning back in my dad's old lawn chair, beer in hands.

The small television in the corner of the garage flickered with the rangers game, its glow casting soft shadows over the walls cluttered with tools and half-finished projects.

For as long as I can remember Friday nights have been a ritual to come out in the garage and watch the game. The rangers game or really whatever game would be on, for my dad and Joel. Just two life long friends unwinding together after a long week of work.

I stepped in the garage, my heart fluttering in that maddening way it always does lately around Joel. He glances up at me, his brown eyes catching the light enough to make my breath hitch. He's dressed in his usual- faded jeans and a t shirt that clung just right to his broad shoulders, his sleeves of a flannel rolled up to reveal strong, tan forearms.

"There my girl" my dad says like he always does when I come in a room. "Come to keep us company?"

"Ma thought you guys might need these" I smile handed my dad one glass. My father chuckles shaking his head. "Got one for him too kid?" He nods towards Joel.

"I uh.." I faltered for a moment as my cheeks warmed. "Here ya go" I smile up at him, he takes it from hands gently brush my fingers as he does. "Thank you darlin" his voice quiet but warm. He sets it on the workbench by him.

My cheeks flush at the way the word fell off his tongue, so casual yet so intimate. He defiantly doesn't realize the effect he has on me and that seems to only make it worse.

"God I love your wife's ice tea Jimmy" Joel smirks setting his cup down. "Watch it kid" my dad warns him with a smirk on his lips. "Can't help it man" he jokes.

I perch myself on a stool near the corner, folding my hands in my lap as the men returned their attention to the game. I try to focus on the screen, but my eyes keep drifting to Joel. The way he leaned back against the chair, his arms crossed over his chest, the slight furrow in his brow as he watched the game. He was so at ease here, so much a part of her world, and yet so completely out of reach.

"So, Violet," my father starts, breaking my thoughts. "How's the bakery? Y'all keepin' busy?"

I nod, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Yeah, we've had a lot of orders lately. Everyone's getting ready for the holidays."

"Bet your cinnamon rolls are flyin' off the shelves," Joel added with a small smile.

My heart stuttered. He remembered my cinnamon rolls? "They are, actually," i said softly, my lips curving into a shy smile.

“You oughta bring some by next time," Joel said, his tone teasing. "Don't think I've had one since your dad stole that batch last year."

My dad lets out a bark of laughter. "Damn right I did. They're too good to share."

I laugh quietly, the sound easing some of the tension in my chest. "I'll bring some by," I promise him, my eyes darting to Joel for just a moment before I looked away.

The game carried on, the two men chatting and joking as the evening wore on. I stayed quiet, content to sit in the background and soak in the easy camaraderie between them. But every now and then, I could feel Joel gaze drift onto me, lingering just a second longer than necessary. And each time, my heart would race.

Tomorrow at work I'll make Joel some cinnamon rolls. They're my favorite thing to make and a lot of people really do like them.

The hum of the game on the small TV blended with the soft night sounds outside, but I'm only really half-listening. Fiddling with the hem of my skirt, my heart seems to be caught in the steady rhythm of Joel's voice. Every now and then, his low chuckle rolled through the garage, and I feel it deep in my chest, like a warm breeze cutting through the thick summer air.

"You hear that, Joel?" My father said, snapping my attention back to the conversation. He gestured at the screen, shaking his head in disbelief. "Third turnover this quarter. They're throwin' the game away."

Joel snorted, taking a sip of the iced tea she'd brought him. "Yeah, well, that's what happens when you've got a rookie QB with no line to protect him. Kid's got no chance out there."

My dad let out a frustrated grunt and leaned back in his chair. "I swear, we could do a better job with a couple of 2x4s and some duct tape."

Joel chuckled, the sound deep and rich. "Hell, maybe we should put in an application. Tell 'em we've been buildin' houses so long, we might as well start buildin' teams."

I can't help but smile. I really do love listening to them banter, the easy rhythm of their friendship a comfort I'd  grown up with. But tonight, there was an ache underneath my contentment, a quiet yearning Im having trouble shaking.

I  glance at Joel, trying not to be too obvious about it. He catches my eye, and for a split second, everything else seemed to fall away. I watch his brown eyes softened, his lips curving into that easy, familiar smile.

"You alright, Violet?" he asked, his tone gentle.

I blinked, startled by the directness of his question. "Oh, um... yeah," I respond

quickly, dropping my gaze to my hands. "Just tired, I guess."

My father, oblivious as always, waved a hand. "She's been bustin' her butt at that bakery. Don't know how she does it, gettin' up at the crack of dawn every day."

Joel tilted his head, his gaze lingering on her. "That why you're so quiet tonight?"

“I'm always quiet," I mumble, my cheeks warming reminding him.

Joel's lips twitched into a smirk. "True enough. But you're quieter than usual."

I hear my dad laugh, taking another sip of his beer. "She gets it from her mom. Always had a way of keepin' to herself." He glanced at Joel. "I used to worry about it, but turns out, it's not a bad thing. Means she doesn't talk nonsense like the rest of us."

My blush deepened as I offer a small, self-conscious smile. Thanks dad. God this is embarrassing.

"Talkin' nonsense keeps life interesting," Joel said, his gaze still on me. His voice dropped just a bit, softer now, like the words were meant just for me to hear. "But quiet's nice, too. Don't let him make you feel bad for it."

I feel my heart stuttered at the kindness in his tone, at the way he looked at me like I'm actually  was worth noticing. But my mind can start spinning creating fake situations and reasons in my head my dad speaks up.

"See, Violet?" My father starts, gesturing at Joel with his beer. "This guy's been defendin' you your whole life. I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was the one who raised you."

Joel chuckled, shaking his head. "That's 'cause I spent half my life cleanin' up after her dad's messes," he teased.

The weight of my father's words settled over me like a cloud. Joel had been around my whole life—looking out for me, fixing things when they broke, always just... there. He wasn't just my dad's best friend. He was part of the foundation my life had been built on. And yet, the way my heart raced when he smiled at me, the way I catch myself dreaming about his hands brushing against mine, felt so much bigger than that.

I stand up quickly, suddenly overwhelmed by the closeness of the garage, by the intensity of my own thoughts. "I should get back inside," I say fast, brushing my hands against my skirt. "It's getting late."

My father barely glanced at me. "Alright, sweetheart. Don't stay up too late—you're always complainin' about bein' tired."

"I won't," I promise, my voice quiet.

Joel straightened, his eyes following me as K moved toward the door. "Thanks for the tea, Violet," he said, his voice carrying a warmth that made me pause for a moment.

I turn back, my hand resting on the edge of the doorframe. "You're welcome," I murmur, my gaze meeting his for a brief, charged moment before I slip back into the house.

3rd POV

As the door swung shut behind her, Joel let out a low breath, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Kid's too sweet for her own good," her father said, shaking his head.

Joel didn't answer right away. He just stared at the door, his thoughts tangled in a way he couldn't quite untangle. "Yeah," he said finally, his voice quieter now. "She is."

And as the game carried on, Joel found himself less and less interested in the score and more preoccupied with the memory of her smile, even though he knows he shouldn’t.

[baronessvonglitter]

Holiday Heat

Joel Miller x f!Reader

Word count: 2.3K

Summary: Sharing a hotel room with a grumpy (and handsome) stranger while a storm makes travel inaccessible. What could possibly go wrong?

WARNINGS: 18+ Only! Explicit. Only one bed/forced proximity trope (with a dash of sunshine x grumpy because we love a cantankerous Joel). Age gap (reader is in her 20s, Joel's in his 50s). Strangers to lovers. Oral (f receiving). Sleeping together to stay warm. Unprotected p in v. Fingering. Reader has very little description apart from having hair long enough to get in her eyes. No use of y/n. Please lmk if I've forgotten anything!

Author's note: It was my pleasure to step in to gift this fic to @frannyzooey for the @pedrostories Secret Santa exchange! I hope you had a great holiday and have a wonderful new year, hon! ❤️Also, huge shoutout to @pedrorascal who so generously created the ✨gorgeous✨ banner for this story!

JOEL MILLER MASTERLIST | FULL MASTERLIST

Wind and snow roar outside as the taxi pulls up to the last motel for the next hundred miles. The driver doesn't dare to drive any further in the snowstorm, and offers to bring you to a place where you and your fellow passenger, a gruff, unsmiling man named Joel, to stay warm and have a roof over your head.

"This place is a shithole," he grumbles as you're pulled to a stop.

"It's quaint," you say, refusing to let his sour attitude ruin what's left of your holidays.

You're both heading home for the holidays: you're returning from your senior year at college and he reluctantly admitted he's returning home as well from an extended trip north to visit his brother.

Despite the fact that you're both Austin citizens just trying to get back to your loved ones, Joel remains a total grinch. You've had to endure this man the entire drive from DFW airport. He sat in the aisle across from you on the flight down from Nashville, sighing and making exasperated grunts every time a baby cried or a young person took a selfie. His legs jittered with impatience. You took pity on him and offered him a CBD gummy, hoping to ease whatever stress he was under but he brushed you off with an annoyed groan.

When you found out there were no connecting flights to Austin, you and Joel were the last in line for a car rental. And of course, the last one was rented out to a couple in line ahead of you.

You saw this as an opportunity to help your fellow man, especially as it was the holidays. But all Joel did was shrug when you offered to split a taxi to whichever hotel was closest.

"It's not the Hilton, but it'll do for tonight," you tell him, persisting in your sunny outlook, hoping it will catch on.

The bored-looking eighty-year-old man in the motel office tells you that due to high demand and the inclement weather, there's only one room left, with a single bed.

"We'll take it," you bounce on the chance, much to Joel's chagrin, offering your credit card. Your surly traveling companion offers to split the room, but not without complaint.

"No way in hell am I sleeping on the floor," he says as soon as he steps into the room. There's a stale stench of cigarettes that the cinnamon air freshener on the small round table can't mask.

"Of course you're not. We'll just.. divide the bed. I'm good at staying on my side."

"You'd better be. I don't need you grabbin' onto me in the middle of the night 'cause you're havin' a nightmare or somethin'."

"You wish." It's the only thing you tell him that has some sting behind it.

"Just don't steal all the blankets, sweetheart. Gonna need 'em with this deep freeze comin' through."

"I'm gonna shower first if that's all right with you. I need to warm up." You grab your pajamas from your bag.

"Don't use up all the hot water," he calls out before you close the bathroom door.

"If there's no hot water to spare we could shower together." You glance behind your shoulder, eager to see his reaction.

The look on Joel's face is priceless as he nearly chokes on his next breath. "What? Are you out of your mind? There's no way I'm showerin' with you!"

You grin. "Gotcha."

You step out, hair still damp, towel wrapped around you, shyly going back into the room. "I forgot my panties," you say softly, going to your bag.

Joel tries not to stare too much, but it's a challenge.

"Turn around," you tell him so you can have privacy.

"Go change in the bathroom."

"I had a hot shower, it's still humid. I can't get dressed in there. Just close your eyes."

He grunts but accedes to your request, leaning back against the headboard as he puts his hands over his eyes. His heart is pumping madly, listening to the rustle of clothes as you get changed. He tries to distract himself with other thoughts instead of wondering what the shape of your body looks like.

Relief is a brief respite before he sees what you're wearing to sleep. He thought you'd wear something comfortable and decent, like those fuzzy plaid pajamas girls your age like to wear during the holidays, but instead you're in an oversized t-shirt, the hem down to the middle of your thighs, revealing your bare legs. He puts a pillow on his lap to hide his growing erection.

You get onto your side of the bed. "The shower's free if you want it."

Joel swallows hard before he forces himself to think about something other than you in the bed with him. "Yeah, uh, thanks," he says gruffly, his voice strained. He quickly gets up, trying to hide his aroused state, and gathers his pajamas before he goes into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. For good measure he locks it.

"Get it together, Miller," he tells himself, splashing some cold water on his face. He can't deny the effect you have on him, but he also knows it's impossible to act on it. He barely knows you. You could have a boyfriend or a husband for all he knows, though there's no ring on your finger.

He showers, hoping to stay in as long as he can to avoid you. But it's a shitty motel after all, and soon he runs out of hot water and has to rinse the shampoo from his hair under the icy cold spray.

Dried off and clothed he steps back into the room and finds you on the bed, rubbing lotion onto your arms and legs. The sight nearly takes his breath away. He tries to look away but his eyes are drawn to your glistening skin.

"Good shower?" you ask, catching a whiff of his body wash, something fresh and woodsy. From lowered lashes you check out how he looks in his sweatpants.

"Yeah," he replies. "Outta hot water though. Since you used it all up."

You roll your eyes and go back to applying your lotion.

"Smells nice," he says, sitting close to you.

"Thanks. It's coconut."

The sweet scent hangs in the air as he watches you spread the white lotion across your skin, giving rise to lewd thoughts about what other thick white substances would go well on you. The coconut aroma, the sight of you touching yourself, the forced proximity and having to share a bed.. it's all sensory overload.

"I like coconut," his voice is thick with restraint.

Your hands stop and you hand him the bottle, your eyes meeting his in a silent understanding. "Will you help me?"

He takes the lotion from your hand, his fingers brushing against yours a moment. "Where do you want me to start?"

"My legs," you tell him, spreading them slightly as you lean back.

Heat pools in Joel's groin and he bites his lip to stifle a groan. He squeezes out some lotion onto his palm and kneads it into your shin and calf, his touch gentle but firm, lightly massaging. He spreads it up to your knee, brushing against the tickly spot right beneath and smirking when you try to stifle a sound.

"Feels nice," you eke out.

"Your skin is so smooth," he murmurs, eyes drinking in the sight of you looking both relaxed and wanting. His hands move over your thighs as they part and he realizes you're not wearing panties after all. His brain goes haywire for a moment, unsure if he should call attention to your undressed state or not.

The scent of your arousal reaches him, and he dares a glance between your thighs. His dick pulses when he sees the telltale sheen at the apex of your inner thighs. His eyes meet yours and there's a charge, a current that passes between you.

"You have no idea how much I want you right now," he rasps, his voice thick with desire.

It's too much, too fast, but the part of you that doesn't care wins out, falling for his low, silky remark.

"Joel.. put your mouth on me," you whisper, legs parting further, an open invitation.

His eyes darken to nearly black, all semblance of restraint breaks as he leans forward, his lips hovering just above your skin, his breath warm on your inner thighs. "As you wish, sugar," he rumbles, placing a soft kiss on your soft flesh. His kisses move higher and higher up, and he gently moves your legs over his shoulders as his kisses get more persistent.

A soft sigh escapes your lips as his hands find their way under your shirt, caressing the soft skin of your belly and the mounds of your breasts, your nipples hard in anticipation. Willfully trapped beneath him, you're at his mercy when he finally buries his face in your cunt, gripping your thighs to hold you in place.

His tongue runs over your soft, saturated folds, tasting you and listening to the sounds of your moans and gasps. He laps at your softly, then adding more pressure, dipping his tongue inside and swiping at your clit, teasing you just enough to get you screaming for more. A strange sense of tenderness surfaces among the lust of the moment as he brings you to life. There's no denying there's something inherently sweet and affectionate about the lascivious act.

Joel can't get enough of your taste, your smell, the way you feel against his mouth as you desperately grind against him. He's lost in the moment, his every sense consumed by you. Hearing you panting his name he hums against you, the vibrations adding to your pleasure, and he gladly licks up the nectar you gush out.

"Oh! Joel! Keep doing that!" you gasp, tugging at his greying locks. His mouth is hot against your pussy, tongue stiff and pointed, soft and wet. The pleasure seems neverending. Just when you think you know the pattern, he switches it up, licking harder or softer, tracing shapes with the tip of his tongue. "Please.. don't stop.. I'm gonna.."

Pleasure blossoms from within, too big to keep in, and you come apart beneath him.

There's a feeling of ownership, something dominant and masculine and protective in Joel as he works you through another one, his hips rutting against the bed in need of his own release. At last he moves over you, bodies pressed close as he kisses you for the first time. It's sweet and soft, the taste of you still on his tongue, tangy and sweet.

"Thank you," you sigh, your foreheads touching, breath mingling.

"No need to thank me, sweetheart," he says quietly, brushing loose strands of hair from your forehead.

You're still feeling the lingering traces of pleasure, but even you can feel the cold seeping into the room. "Get under the covers with me," you tell him, and giggle at the speed with which he pulled both of you under the western-themed duvet.

Clothes fly off, thrown over the sides of the bed, landing in haphazard piles. Joel slots himself between your legs again. Desire grows bright in him, making him feel like he's burning from the inside out, starving for the taste and feel of you.

Your body is a perfect fit for him, the glorious slide of his flesh into yours causing you both to cry out. He's completely sheathed within you, surrounded by your perfect, tight, wet heat. Thrusting slow at first, he watches your expressions, planting little kisses on your cheeks and eyelids, drinking up your moans as his tongue slips between your lips.

"More," you whisper as his lips graze your neck, gently biting your ear lobe, and you're rewarded with a more forceful pace as he spreads you open, angling your hips up to get in deeper, finding that sacred spot within that makes you see God. He plants one hand on the headboard above you for leverage as his other hand kneads your breast, tweaking your nipple as your own hands grip his sides, digging your nails in as you blissfully curse with each push of his hips.

"That's the spot, ain't it?" he grunts above you. "Right..��here."

Stars collide behind your eyes as he gently glides over your G-spot. His lips curve into a smile when you clench around him, but he slips out before he can come, replacing himself with three fingers. "Come on them, sweetheart. Come on my fingers then you can have my cock again."

You're lost in bliss as he glides his fingers in, curving to get that spongy spot, eager to make you scream. You bring your own fingers to your clit, gently pinching and rubbing until you feel your climax begin in your extremities, gathering pressure within until it's released, your orgasm shattering you with Joel's name on your lips.

He gives you a moment to come back before he lays down, letting you straddle him. Though he was just inside you, it's still a stretch to fit around him, and you slide down slowly before you're comfortable enough to start riding.

"There you go, darlin'," he murmurs, large hands on your hips. "Do what you need to do to come on my cock, baby."

In a delicious haze of pleasure you ride him, switching up the pace, going slow and deep before slamming down on him, making him groan as he tries to hold back. Your slick is pooling on his groin, coating his balls. Holding your hips steady he rams up into you, eager for you to come all over him again.

You're positively feral at this point, shaking and crying out as you come harder than any other time before, and Joel follows soon after, spilling inside of you, his dick twitching.

Hours later you're curled up together under the thick blankets, sharing and savoring what warmth you've generated.

"Thank god for this storm," Joel murmurs, holding your back close to his chest as he spoons you.

"That's the first positive outlook you've had all day," you smirk, snuggling against him.

dividers by @cafekitsune 👑

[honeyedmiller]

Sweet Thing | Joel Miller

pairing: jackson!joel x sunshine!f!reader

rating: 18+, minors dni

warnings: jackson!joel, smut (unprotected piv), sweet pet names, sex in a semi-public spot, sort of getting caught, no specified ages mentioned. no use of y/n.

word count: 863

synopsis: the most unlikely pair in jackson just can’t get enough of each other.

divider by @saradika-graphics

“J-Joel,” You whimper, gripping onto his impossibly huge biceps. The fabric of his flannel felt scratchy underneath your desperate touch, and the scrape of the wiry hair on his jaw set your skin on fire.

His teeth nipped at your ear as the heavy drag of his cock came to a nearly unbearable halt; the deep timbre of his voice, even when it’d dwindled down to a mere whisper, sent shivers down your spine.

“Gotta be quiet, sweet thing. Can’t have anyone catchin’ us now, can we?” You bite your lip as he starts to move his hips again, slowly thrusting into you once more.

The squelching sound was so obscene that if your moans and whines didn’t give you away, your arousal would.

It was ironic that you two had found solace in each other. Jackson’s token ray of sunshine and the ever brooding Joel Miller: the most unlikely match there was. It was never meant to happen, but it just… did.

Being around Joel was easy. The man had such a soft spot for you. You’d been nothing but kind and gentle with him when everyone else was afraid. You carried a sparkle in your eye every time you laid your eyes on him, and that’s when he knew. He knew he had to have you.

If the residents of Jackson found out the both of you had been sneaking around the past few months, they’d all lose their minds. There’s no way they’d be able to puzzle together the pieces of your so-called ‘relationship’ with him, but you suspected at least Ellie had a hunch. The girl was smart and had been onto you two for as long as this had gone on.

You couldn’t help yourself, though. Being with a man that only reserved his soft side for you and his fortuitous daughter had you falling faster than you could keep up with, and at first, it truly terrified you.

You succumbed to his pure charm and good looks, though, which is how you ended up here—fucking in a broom closet in the Tipsy Bison because you chose to wear the pretty dress you found on patrol one day that Joel loved oh so much.

The slow drag of his heavy cock had you muffedly crying out his name, the feeling of it too much and not enough all at once. The man was all-consuming, invading every single sense that you had. It was intoxicating and purely addictive, and you don’t think you’ll ever get enough of him.

“Fuck, baby. Pussy was fuck’n made for me. Y’feel so goddamn good.” Joel’s words are slightly slurred behind his clenched teeth, trying to control his own sounds of pure bliss.

“Joel—” You cry again as he picks up his pace, and he has to cover your mouth with his hand because you cannot control yourself. He made you feel good in a way that nobody else ever has.

“I know baby, I know. Hush up now n’ take what I’m givin’ ya like the good girl I know y’are.” He coos, kissing your temple as he begins to thrust into you skillfully, tilting his body up so his cock hits your g-spot every single time.

Your eyebrows threaded together as your legs started to shake, your impending orgasm licking a flame up your spine as it threatened to spill over. Just like a match to a matchbox, Joel kept dragging and dragging and dragging until you lit aflame. The devastatingly delicious euphoria that ran through your body was truly unmatched as you convulsed around him, cries now muffled by his lips on yours.

His thrusts became sporadic, pulling out of you before grabbing a rag from a shelf to come onto. Not his finest moment, but he didn’t want to ruin that pretty dress of yours or leave any evidence of your intimate endeavors.

Joel cages you in between his arms as his hands rest on either side of your head against the wall behind you. He buries his face in your neck, catching his breath as he leaves tiny pecks along your pulse point. You mindlessly wrap your fingers around the back of his neck, gently dragging your fingertips against his hot skin while he took some time to recollect himself.

You giggle softly into his ear, kissing his neck once.

“That was fun.” You say, and Joel’s face moves to be in front of yours again. A rare smile curls onto his lips as he rests his forehead against yours, rubbing his nose against your own.

“My sweet girl.” He whispers with a chuckle laced into his words, kissing you once more before tucking his cock back into his jeans. He bends down to pull your panties back up and pulls your dress down past your hips, straightening you out so you don’t look completely fucked out.

Joel turns the knob to the closet, opening the door slowly.

“We gotta stop doing that in public places though, or else we’ll get caught.” You huff.

“Too late.” Tommy’s voice snaps both of your heads in his direction, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face as Joel’s burns bright red.

Shit.

tags: @party-hearses ; @ilovepedro ; @bastardmandennis ; @tinygarbage ; @nostalxgic ; @cool-iguana ; @amanitacowboy

[forever-rogue]

Hiiii beeeee

Saw you wanted some inspo, so from the sunshine prompts:  i knew there was a big softie under all that tough exterior.   ❜ with the sunshine being r and a grumpy Joel who’s very soft for her🥺✨

AN | Okay but this! Sunshine!Reader and Joel are two of my faves💕

Pairing | Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Warnings | Language

Word Count | 2k

Masterlist | Joel, Main

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“If you keep scowling like that, it’s going to be permanent,” Joel shifted his gaze to you as you sat down across the table from him. He let out a small huff as you beamed at him, “oh wait - your face always looks like that. Pity, you’d be so handsome if you smiled.”

“Sunshine,” you could see that he was fighting back a smile as the corners of his mouth twitched up, “what’re you on about, coming in here like that, huh?”

You set your elbows on the tables and tented your fingers, resting your chin on them. Narrowing your eyes, you watched him closely for a moment before leaning towards him, “I’ve decided that you’re still handsome.”

He couldn’t hold back his laugh this time around as you sat back and crossed your arms over your chest in satisfaction, “happiness looks good on you, Joel Miller.”

“Well, sweetheart, how can I not be happy when I’ve got you buzzing around all the time?” he took a sip from his beer, long and slow as your entire face warmed up; he always had a way of making you shut right up, “you’re like a little bumblebee.”

“Ahh, I knew there was a softie under that tough old exterior,” you bounced right back and grabbed the bottle gently from his grasp and tipped some of the amber liquid into your mouth, “I’d almost wager that you like me.”

“That might be pushing it,” he threw his arm over the back of the booth, looking around the bustling cantina. He liked it here, liked this, liked you; it almost felt like life was normal. He supposed this was normal now…and it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. You finished off the bottle and pushed it to the side, drumming your fingers along the sticky tabletop. You hadn’t thought about exactly where this conversation was going - you’d just seen Joel and gotten excited at the prospect of seeing and bounced right on over, “you wanna get out of here?”

“Sure?” your voice was high and nervous and you sounded less sure than you’d intended on, “yeah - yes. What’d you have in mind?”

“C’mon,” Joel stood up and shrugged on his jacket, motioning for you to follow him. You wasted no time in following, not immune from the titters and stares from the other patrons. Jackson was big, all things considered, but people still had nothing better to do than gossip, “ignore them. They’ll talk either way. S’long as you don’t mind that is…”

“I don’t care,” you promised, falling into step with him and trekking into the cool evening air. The chill was more than you’d expected and a shiver ran down your spine immediately. You hadn’t said anything and decided to try and not let him see how cold you were so he wouldn’t suggest just going home. But Joel caught onto you immediately and took his catch off and draped it around your shoulders before you could protest. Butterflies fluttered your tummy at the kind gesture, “thank you.”

“Can’t have you freezing on me,” he said gruffly but you knew exactly how he meant it. 

“Much obliged,” you teased, “where is it that you’re taking me? This is how I’m going to get murdered? 

“You think I’d really make that obvious if I was going to take you out to get murdered?” he tutted in amusement as you followed him through the quiet and deserted streets of Jackson, “c’mon, at least fifty people saw us. It’d be like I was wanting to get caught.”

“I dunno, I’m not a murderer I wouldn’t know what I’d do,” you grinned as you tucked your hands into the pockets of his jackets, his smell all around you, warm and comforting, “but thank you for the reassurance. Besides, we both know you’d miss me if I was gone.”

He slowed for a moment and you could feel his arm brushing against yours as he looked at you. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him, knowing you’d probably just be left such a bumbling mess, “yeah. I would miss you.”

You made a small sound of content before nudging his arm right back, “I’d miss you too.”

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as he continued to lead you towards the outskirts of the Jackson. After walking a few more minutes you eventually made it up a small hill where the trees were cleared and you had a clear view of the starry night sky. You looked up in awe; you hadn’t bothered to look up in so long, that you hadn’t even realized just how beautiful the sky was. 

“Wow,” there was a giant smile on your face, and while you were always beautiful, Joel couldn’t help but think there was something even more magical than normal about you tonight, “it’s beautiful out here. The sky - it’s all so clear.”

“I found this spot a while ago,” he admitted as he took a seat on the ground and patted the space next to him, “it seems so obvious but it’s just out of the way enough that people don’t come here often. I like to come here to think sometimes.”

“Well thank you for sharing it with me,” you sat down next to him, keeping a small distance between your bodies with your knees just touching, “consider me honored.”

“Hmm,” the two of you sat in silence for a while; with anyone else you would have considered it awkward but with him it was just so…comfortable. That’s one of the many things that you liked about Joel - everything felt so easy with him, “you think awfully loud for someone so quiet.”

“I’m not…shut up,” you groaned without malice, hiding your face in your hands, “you are too perceptive sometimes, Joel Miller.”

“That’s just what I do,” he enjoyed getting you all flustered and caught off guard. People were usually much more honest that way, “you want to tell me what you’re thinking about?”

“I don’t know,” you admitted softly after a few moments. 

“Don’t know what you’re thinking about or if you want to tell me?”

“I don’t know if I want to tell you,” you shifted slightly so you were facing him, allowing yourself a single peek at those pretty brown eyes of his. You found nothing but gentle curiosity peering back at you, “‘cause I’m scared that you won’t like what it is.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, sunshine,” he promised and you were almost positive that he was being honest, “I don't think even if you confessed that you were secretly a murderer I’d adore you any less.” 

Adore you. That made you feel so warm and fuzzy that your brain almost combusted. You opened and closed your mouth a few times while trying to decide exactly what to say and how to say it. 

“I, umm…I was just thinking about how much I like you…spending time with you,” you managed to choke out after a couple moments of quiet contemplation. You felt like a teenager with an awkward crush right then, rather than a grown woman. Joel’s mouth ticked up in a small smile as your face felt like it was on fire, “this is nice. And um, I guess I’m saying that I…like you…like you.”

“Mhmm,” he was loving this, and you could tell. At least he wasn’t yelling at you and didn’t seem disgusted, “so what you’re saying is that you have a crush on me?”

“I-I…it’s not a crush,” you squeaked out, which only caused him to laugh, “ugh, you’re so insufferable Joel Miller.”

“Yeah, but you like me,” he grinned as you rolled your eyes, “c’mon sunshine, it’s fine to admit. It’s all out in the open.”

“Well, my feelings are out in open,” you raised an eyebrow at him, “you could share with the crowd or tell me to fuck off and leave. Or we could both pretend that none of this ever happened.”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

“Well duh,” you answered, “it’s basically the law that you have to tell me now.”

“Sunshine, you’re not dumb,” he mirrored your position and leaned in, leaving only a small distance between your bodies. You could feel his warmth radiating onto you, “I wouldn’t give just anyone my jacket after all. I like you, like you too.”

“Oh gross,” you laughed softly, “that’s super gross. Feelings.”

“They’re the worst,” he agreed and you leaned in towards him, wanting, wanting, wanting.

“I think, Joel Miller, that you should express those feelings and kiss me,” your entire body was practically vibrating with excitement as you leaned and closed the little bit of remaining gap between the two of you. Joel effortlessly took over, his hand gently finding your face as he kissed you slowly, but deeply and with meaning. You weren’t sure what kind of feeling you had been expecting but it definitely wasn’t this. 

You’d had your fair share of first kisses but this was, by far, the best one yet. You didn’t want it to end, only parting from him reluctantly when you were both breathless. He pressed his forehead to your and laughed softly, “how was that?”

“Super gross,” you beamed at him, warm and soft, before stealing a few more soft and gentle kisses, “I love it.”

“You’re something else, sunshine.” his hand slid to your neck and he gently traced his fingers over your soft skin, “I definitely like you.”

“Yeah, I definitely kinda like you too,” you whispered, wrapping your fingers tenderly around his wrist, “was this your plan all along?”

“Hmm, not entirely,” he confessed, “I just want to get you out here to enjoy the view. You just happen to have no poker face, so I wanted to see if you’d finally say anything.”

“You could have said something too!” you shook your head, biting the inside of your cheek, “you’re just as bad.”

“I would have said something eventually but you beat me to it…”

“I was coerced into it!”

“It was voluntary,” he insisted, “and you know it.”

“Yeah well…fine,” you agreed, “just shut up and kiss me again.”

“Now that I can do, sunshine. With pleasure.”

[missmarveledsblog]

Call me cupid part two (Joel Miller x reader)

Summary: after reassuring ellie sunshine was ok joel was finding himself more drawn to the woman, the two find an indifference on who should have the only bed and a face from sunshines past shows up leading from the best morning in a long while to the all too familiar feeling of fear

warnings : It's a fluff age gap sort of thing. angsty too soz , one bed trope , shitty people from the past , tommy and ellie being loveable yet smart asses

Walking into the millers was different than before , granted she was there during the day and leaving when the sun is setting  . The second she walked through the threshold she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her waist almost knocking her back out the door with the force.

" she's ok ellie" she could hear joel's voice as her eyes looked down to see the girl holding her tightly.

" it was a nightmare i promise i'm safe" sunshine held the girl rubbing her head feeling the worried tears soaking through her shirt  . "

you scared me " though it was muffled she could hear the girls words as clear as day .

" i'm sorry i scared you i promise i'm ok " she cooed kissing the girl on top of the head . " hey how about i come up sit with you til you fall asleep " she offered earning a nod in return. he watched as Ellie had a hold on her , pulling her hand as they walked up the stair , reminding him of sarah when she would have a bad night . He watched as sunshine completely put aside her own fear she still clearly had just   to make sure Ellie was OK. He noticed that a lot how she would help anyone out no matter what was going on , he wondered how many times she done it when she was not feeling the best or when she was battling something no one could see. 

That caring good nature was one of things he fell for . It was between that and  her smile one that could melt the icebergs in seconds it was radiating warmness  , her eyes that weren't dulled by the shit storm of the world , one's that still  had a twinkle and a shine to them . though she was kind hearted soul , she still had that fire in her not afraid to let someone know her opinion or stick up for someone if they needed it . It wasn't hard to fall for sunshine though he knew he was older hell everyone gave them strange looks but even that didn't matter anymore , he was happy just to be her friend but maybe if he got the chance. Take the big jump and see if she felt the same , was that worth the risk of losing the friendship with such a person . Would Ellie forgive him for ruining it . There it was the part holding him back , the fear he held on to so tight .

" hey she's out cold " her voice rang through his every fibre of his soul .

" go take my bed " he smiled softly already seeing her ready to fight him on it .

" nuh uh now I will take the couch , unless you need me to tell you stories to help you go sleep I will go set up " she teased already going to grab her things only he was quicker .

" you can tell me your story when I set up on the couch , now darling I ain't taking no for an answer get that ass up those stairs and get yourself comfy " he ordered only for her to cross her arms and arch her brow letting him know she wasn't giving up on it . " I ain't taking your bed , plus your back fucked as is , sleeping on that  sofa ain't gonna work for it so give me my things" she huffed going to grab them but it was useless he didn't even bother to retort , just walking past her and making his way up the stair as she whisper yell the whole time wanting to get her point across yet not disturb the sleeping girl in the room across . " oh you stubborn old fool " she huffed .

Before she even realised she had done it she pulled the man on the bed sitting on top of him . " I ain't getting up til you either accept I sleep on couch or til you fall asleep " even she was impressed, she could keep her tone strict, giving the close proximity and her own stupid move.

" So you're gonna be koala now , this is childish take the bed " he was laughing full on bell laugh .

" well I guess I'm a koala " she nodded not moving though she should before she did or said something stupid , holding her stubborn front .

" ok ok how bout we share the damn bed , it's big enough " he rolled his eyes pretending he wasn't in absolute heaven giving the situation .

" ok deal " she beamed taking it as a win climbing over to the inside of the bed. Pulling her shoes off and throwing them across the room . The delight in her win short live when she turned seeing the man taking his shirt off making her mouth salvate and dry up all in one go . The broad shoulder she would look at almost tripping her up due to the hold they had on her , tanned skin littered in scars showing how he didn't have it easy either during the who apocalypse.

" stop staring and go sleep you " he smirked hiding his face from her .

" i was koala at wrong damn time " she mumbled turning around her eyes heavy as sleep took over well not before she had the feeling the weight of his arms  around her waist .

" wakey wakey love birds " Ellie voice rang out through the room making her groan and her head nuzzle more in his neck... Shit his neck. Her eyes flew open before she went to pull back only to feel his hands pull her in more .

" we will be up in a minute go way " joel's sleepy voice had her biting her lips so hard she could of sworn she tasted blood .

" joel and sunshine sitting in a tree " Ellie sang walking down the stairs .

" we gotta get up you know " she mumbled her hair ghosting over his chest .

" fine i'll go make coffee you get changed " he groaned getting up out of the bed giving her one last look before going to join Ellie. Now that he was not looking forward to,The teasing that awaited him just down those stairs while in his room she was changing .

" well you sly dog " god he wished the ground would swallow him whole  , seemed everyone in his damn house .

" why you here Tommy " he almost growled walking to start making the coffee .

" was going to tell you patrol is covered when i  seen sunshine's door was open , well spilt in half , I'll get some one fix that . I wanted to make sure she was ok , but my surprise to see my grumpy big brother cuddling like a dang Teddy bear " he could barely get the words out and he and Ellie fell over laughing.

" oh hey tommy " she flushed seeing the younger man there .

" well ain't you radiant this morning " he teased.

" Well ain't you an ass all the time " she bit back .

" your off patrol while you cuddle bugs were enjoying your morning I got someone to fill in for you I can't stay long got two new faces this morning , meeting them in canteen " .

" oh wait me and Ellie will go we wanna judge them " she giggled throwing her shoes on as Ellie nodded running off to grab her own .

The two girls stayed behind wondering who the newbies were , how they would fit in . While Joel was being the butt of all Tommy's wise crack and for first time he didn't give a shit , he had the best sleep in decades . They walked in seeing the the couple standing in center of the room watching everything around them .

" hey sunshine you ok " Ellie words had the men turning to see the usually happy woman completely still.

" I'll be a son of a gun y/n is that you " the man called making her stomach turned .

" hey its your little friend " the woman snidely smirked .

" you son of a bitch " One minute she was there next she was barging toward the two .

" hey hey look it's in the past now you  best get over it " he shrugged .

" get over it ,you left me for that , took everything I had, left me on my own not caring if I could defend myself or not you selfish cheating son of a bitch " she yelled making everyone's gaze land on the commotion.

"Oh still your mad he got better childish really " the woman snickered .

" ain't no one around than sunshine , miss " a man stood .

" she not worth it , never was something to keep the bed warm "her  ex growled .

" we ain't want them here " another called. " yeah anyone who could hurt sunshine can't be trusted " she stood in awe as the towns folk stood up for her .

" sunshine what do you think? " Tommy asked.

" I wanna say let them stay but they will take everything you have when your backs turned , hell i doubt their even truly alone  " she turned only to hear the click of the gun and the feeling of the barrel on her back .

" now honey why you gotta go and say such a thing like that " .

Part 3

[sstardustt3]

"smile, you're on camera y'know?"

summary- fem!reader and joel go get grocries while reader films.

word count- 1611k

tags- Ifem!reader x joel miller I fem!reader being a horrible camera woman I pre!outbreak (like way before) I 19yo!joel I breif mention of sarah I pregnant!reader I domestic fluff I grumpy x sunshine trope I

additonal info- Hiii this is my first actual fic so sorry if it's bad and it's not proof read so sorry for some grammer mistakes and i'll end up doing another post abt this but i'm going to make a masterlist for my fics in the future and i also can do requests and prompts so if you like this and any future fics and writing please feel free to put it in! reposts are also appreciated.

time-12:35 

Date- 3/31/2001

Recording sesion- 15:28:52

“Fucckkk…” Joel groaned and shifted around in the sheets

“If you don’t get that goddamned camera out my face…what is it five?”

Your eyes drifted down to the time at the corner of the camera.

“No actually, it’s twelve thirty five. I let you sleep in.” 

 you said from behind the camcorder, having a bit of a laugh at his irritation. He rolled his eyes at your comment and put the sheets over his head. Which promptly got it pulled off and thrown onto the ground

“No c’mon get up sleepy. We have shit to do.”

“Why can’t you go yourself since you’re full dressed already?’

Despite his protests and mumbling, sadly for him he knew he could never deny you, so he begrudgingly rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom, mumbling on the way. You soon followed, the cold air hitting your body once again and went to the drawer and sat the camera down as she slipped the thick whit socks on.

“He’s so adorobly in love with me, and it might seem like he hates me but trust me if you saw the way he was all over me last night you would be eating your words right now, trust.”  you chuckle to your camera, picking it up and walking to the sink in their bathroom. You hear an annoyed, slightly pained groan from joel on the toilet. 

You quickly turn your head and a grin grows on your face. “You okay in their honey?” you hear another annoyed sigh.

“Im great doll. Just fuckin’ peachy” the toilet flushed and he opened the door, one  hand on his hip and the other with his hand making a poor attempt at covering his face from her god forsaken camera that was tracking him.

“I'm starting’ to think that getting you that camera was a mistake”

He picked up his tooth brush and paste and squeezed the tube. The thick paste beading at the opening and getting wiped off on the toothpaste 

“Nonesense. Plus, wouldn’t little sarah love to see her mom and dad when they were young?”

She smiled, sitting it down on the counter and showing off  her pregnant belly to the camera. 

“Isn’t that what photos are for?”

He supposedly said. It was hard to tell with all the paste muffling him. 

“It’s the digital age.”

He didn’t dignify your teasing with a response and spit out the toothpaste and washed it all out with tap water. He whipped his lip and kissed your forehead.

“I’m guessing you wanna go somewhere?” he lazily pulled his shirt off and threw it in the hamper and you quickly seized the opportunity to zoom the grainy film all the way in to his chest to his abdomen. A cheeky smirk grew on your face at the sight. 

“It’s for groceries and to get a christmas tree. You can’t help get a christmas tree?” you quickly refuted. You zoom out and walk to window and gracefully pushed the blinds up and focused the camera on the outside. Thick snow covering the trees and the driveway covered in ice, It looked amazing on the camera, even better in real life.

“Y'know you didn’t have to wake me up for groceries, could’ve just gotten them yourself.” he mumbled, pulling the shirt over his head and slipped on his grey sweatpants.

You twirl, the camera becoming unfocuesed and slightly blurry at the abrupt halt as you dragged your foot to stop.

“Meet me in the kitchen when you’re ready.”  You call out before shutting the door.

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Time-12:42

date-3/31/2001

Recording session-27:02:24

The doors to the grocery store opens with the chime of bells accompany it as joel pushed the door with one hand and push the cart with other with your hand over his. 

“What do we really need outta here?” he said, seeming a little more awake then he was on the walk there.

The camera whirled to the fruit section they were first greeted with upon walking in. Focusing on the bright red color of the peppers and tomatoes.

“Tomatoes…cabbages…ribs....thats really it.”

“Simple enough.” he walked to the produce section and started looking through fruit, his hands turing them around and looking at them closely. You followed his hand and zoomed out a little to see his face. And once you noticed you couldn’t help but laugh at that  stupidly serious look on his face. He noticed and looked at you and your camera.

“What- what is it, why are you laughing?”  he said, with his eyebrows furrowingly slightly, making him look confused and annoyed.

“Your face, your so serious all the time baby, lighten up, please.” chucking hard, her hand that was filliming dropping to her side and hooking her arm around his neck and gave him a light kiss. His face warmed slightly in response which promptly earned a smirk from you.

“You’re too unserious.”

“You’re too serious.” the camera raised and a cheeky smile grew on your face “c’mon smile, you’re on film.” 

“Forget it.” he rolled his eyes and he refocused his attention on the fruit,inspecting it and testing the firmness to make sure it’s fresh.

The attention of the camera flew to the bakery and you made your way over. Getting welcomed by the secent of crepes, macaroons, jelly filled donutes, and other various foods. First going to the donuts, bending down to the prettily decorated display. A woman came over from the otherside, sliding the door to the side as her tongs took out the powdered donuts out and slid in a fresh new steaming hot batch with a little star star shaped candy on a stick on the top. Quickly you stood up to grab the young tired tenagers attention.

“Exuse me, ma’m?”

She turned around, and came back over, putting her arms on the top of the glss display. “Yeah?”

“Can I have two dozen of these?” you said, pointing off screen to the cute little pastry

She leaned far over the counter, ridiculously far and caused you to flinch slightly and back up.

She looked at the name plate next to the desert.

“The…fairy dust powdered donut?” she cranked her neck up to look at you.

You nodded. “Yeah those are the ones.”

She gave a quick nod and pulled back to her side, swiftly grabbing the tongs and picked up 24, 12 at at time and placed them in a bag.

“Is that it?” she asked.

“Yeah thats all.” you said,  trying to hide her shock at the womans quickness.

“That’ll be 9.95.”

You dug your hand in your purse and pulled out two fives and handed it to her which she accepted without a word and she gave back some cents.

“Have a good day ms.”

She called and you responded with a nod and walked away.

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Date-3/31/2001

Time-1:42

Recording session- 60:02:37

“Goddamn it, it feels like i spent all day in there.”

Joel sighed as he carried the bags from the store to the train station.

“Well not all day. Just…” you paused briefly. “Around two hours. Average time for a trip.”

He scoffed as he stopped at the platform. He turnt  your camera which he was also holding towards you.

“I don’t need you being a smartass.” he said from behind the camera

“It’s what I do best.” you retort with that stupid smile before turning the opposite direction. Leaning to the right to see the train coming.

“Don’t do that.” he pulled you towards him, unintentionally backing into his chest.

“Why not?” you asking while reeling your head back to look at him.

“Because I don’t want a damn bullet train to speed towards us and rip your head off because you’re being stupid.” he said, not noticing the light reddining on his face.

“Joel, your blushing.” you tease with that damned smile you’ve had on all day.

“Shut the hell up.” he quickly snapped back.

Within a few seconds the train slowly came and opened it’s doors and you quickly went inside with joel following closely behind. You took your seats and it was only when the pair sat down they realized how tired they were from standing. Joel craned his neck down to look at the camera. It was a quite a tooth rotting sight actually. You and joel holding hands on the train with both shoes in frame and yours untied. He sighed and sat the camera down on your lap and bent over to tie your shoes. You look down, slightly confused at what he’s doing.

“...What are you doing?” you mumbled as you looked down.

“Why are your damn shoes always untied is the question.”

“Hey, blame converse not me.” you said as you put your head back and sighed. 

He didn’t say anything back and you didn’t either. The entire train ride for the two was surprisingly quiet, with joel just looking into the grainy footage of the camera the whole time that had been recording the pair the whole time, that you were oh so obsessed with. He didn’t realize just how he was staring at the camera until the train speakers rang out their stop. He turned to you and saw you completely knocked out. He chucked and shoved you awake.

“Hey..” you rubbed your eye and and slowly rised as you noticed a few others on the train were, including joel

“C’mon sleepy head, smile your on camera y’know?” he said, cracking a smile. Which caused you to laugh and lightly shove him.

“Yeah, c’mon.”

[meganwritesfanfics]

Clandestine Meetings (Joel Miller x Reader) Chapter 1

Next Chapter

Joel Miller x Reader

Joel's life has been filled with darkness and despair. For years it has felt as though his life had been drained of all color. He never dreamed that he would find anything to change that. That is until one day he finds a girl who becomes his rainbow.

Word Count: 1552

Rating M: For later chapter. Right now it's just a meet-cute. Some angst from Joel, but kind of fluffy.

Honestly, I didn't expect to be making this series. I had planned a one-shot around the idea of this reader character. But when I started to write a small background scene, I realized how great of a series this could make. I have ideas of where I would like this to go, and I would love to hear your feedback and ideas, but I am very excited to get this started.

It had been a few months since Joel, Tommy, and Tess had found themselves inside the Boston QZ and Joel felt as if he was going stir-crazy. After years of roaming, it felt weird to be trapped behind walls, and to be trapped with the F.E.D.R.A officers was even worse. But things had changed, Tommy had changed. And Joel could see the wear of the years, and what the years had brought, on Tommy. 

Not only that but Joel needed a change. He still knew that he would do anything to protect his brother, and now Tess. But having done horrible and despicable things to keep them safe, he needed somewhere that wouldn’t require him to destroy his own soul to do that. Plus it had also been years since he slept in an actual bed, even if it was just the shitty mattress that F.E.D.R.A had given them. 

And while the work that F.E.D.R.A required it’s “citizens” to participate in was back breaking, demeaning, and horrific. Some days Joel didn’t mind it. It gave him something to do, distracted his mind, kept his hands busy. Not to mention it gave him many chances to meet knew “clients,” for his and Tess’ business. 

Almost instantly when they had arrived Joel and Tess had started smuggling. It brought in a good income, plus they could trade for some otherwise impossible items from F.E.D.R.A. officiers. Plus Joel liked having some power over F.E.D.R.A officers, it made it easier to get out of scrapes, when his clients knew that if anything happen to him or Tess they would lose their suppliers. 

But as the days, weeks, and months dragged on life seemed to fade into monotony. His life had already lost it’s color and light when he lost Sarah, but now it seemed to descend to a sad, depressing grayscale. 

That was until he saw her. 

He hadn’t even noticed her at first. Joel had been so tuned out to the world around him as he moved the bodies, he didn’t even see as the workers around him began to wander away. He just kept picking the bodies up from the truck, and dropping them in the fire. It was probably one of the worst jobs F.E.D.R.A had, but it paid and not many people chose it, so it meant that there were always slots open. 

Suddenly he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and his whole world stopped when he saw her. Joel wasn’t what you would call a romantic by any means, and after the shit he had been through, love or anything close to it had never even crossed his mind. But when he saw her, for a moment he felt his heart skip a beat. He felt as though his whole world was Kansas at the beginning of the Wizard of Oz, and this girl was his Oz. She beamed, even with all of the destruction around her, she gave off a feeling of comfort and warmth. 

And there she was, standing around the workers, pouring out jugs of water into small tin cups. He could see beside her was a small wagon filled with even more jugs. He was taken aback by the act of kindness. Immediately his first thought was ‘what could she possibly be benefiting from this.’ Because of course no one in this world could act with genuine kindness their had to be a catch. 

There was something about her though, for however much Joel’s heart ached at the sight of her, Joel’s mind hated her. How dare someone look so perfect, and happy with everything going on in the world. How dare she stir something inside of him that he never wanted to feel. How dare someone like her exist in this cruel and unforgiving world. 

From that moment, Joel swore to himself that he would avoid her at any cost. Any time she came around with her cart of water, or even when she brought around food, he would hide in the shadows, or just walk off the job entirely, not even caring if he didn’t get paid. She made him feel something, something that terrified him, and Joel had vowed a long time ago to never let anything make him feel like that ever again. 

But even with his hiding and running away, that didn’t mean he didn’t steal glances at her every time he had the chance. And the more jobs he took in town the more he saw her. He even tried taking jobs at early and late shifts, and yet she still was there. It seemed the harder the job, the more often she would show up throughout the day. And she wasn’t just there to pass out the water and food. Sometimes she would just show up for a moment of conversation. Joel would watch her as she talked with people, laughing with them, crying with them, pulling them into her arms for a comforting embrace. 

And people would flock to her when they saw her, but not Joel. He still kept waiting for an explanation, some sort of answer as to why she was doing what she was. And he thought he had found it, when he saw her one day walking hand in hand down the street with a F.E.D.R.A officer, one of Joel’s best clients. 

“That’s it,” Joel thought. “She must be pretending to gain people’s trust so she can sell them out to her F.E.D.R.A husband.” He had clocked the wedding ring on her finger early on. This was the only logical explanation he could come up with. Joel knew he had to keep an eye out for her, and make sure she never got close to him. And yet, he never told Tess or Tommy about her. The girl could be a threat to his buisness and lord knew Tommy was getting himself mixed in with a dangerous crowd. Even knowing this, he couldn’t bring himself to mention her. 

All of that changed, one day he was working on street cleaning duty, it was the middle of summer and the heat was unbearable. Already three members of the crew had dropped and had to be carted away to a F.E.D.R.A hospital for heat exhaustion. And it must have been the heat that caused Joel not to be on his a game, and on the hunt for the girl. Because the next thing he knew he heard a beautiful voice behind him say

“Sir,” 

He immediately turned and saw her y/e/c staring at him. There was a small smile on her face as she held out her hand which held a cup of water. 

“Would you like some water?” She said and again the sound of her voice ripped through Joel and he almost shivered at the sound. 

This was the first time she had ever approached him, of course, it wasn’t like he had ever given her a chance to. And in all the times he thought about her, and planned out what he would do if this happened, he never knew how he would feel when it did. He felt like he was a teenage boy again, with a crush on the most popular girl in school. And all he wanted to do was fall at her feet and worship the ground he walked on. 

“It is a very hot day, and I’m sure some water would do you good.” She piped up again. 

Joel just grunted as he reached out and took the water from her. He immediately averted his gaze on her as he took a drink. Not even truly realizing how dehydrated he was until he could feel the cool liquid coat his dry throat. Without looking at her again he handed her back the cup. 

“Thank you.” She said and stopped and immediately looked at her. 

“For what?” He snapped.

“I know these jobs aren’t easy, and I know you aren’t treated the way you all should be. So thank you.” She smiled, and she sounded entirely sincere. 

For a moment Joel thought she must be an insanely good actress, but the more he looked into her warm and comforting gaze, he realized that she actually meant it. And maybe for the first time in years, hell a decade, he had met someone who was genuinely good. 

“I’m Y/N.” She extended her hand out towards him 

“Joel,” He responded back as he took her hand, the feeling of their skin touching felt electric. 

And before he had a chance to say anything else, other workers had come up to her begging for food and water. With a chance at escape, Joel slipped away heading back into the street and back to work, but not before stealing one last look back at Y/N. To his surprise he found her look at him, and when their eyes met, Y/N smiled as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and she quickly went back to looking at the people around her. 

“I’m fucked.” Joel thought.

Next Chapter

[pintsizemama]

Favorite Christmas Movie

Day 10

Summary: You want to watch a movie with Joel.

Pairings: Joel Miller x You, Joel Miller x Female Reader

Fandom: The Last of Us

Rating: Mature

Warnings: grieving a child

Word Count: 667

A/N: My first Joel fic! I haven’t had much inspo for him, but I felt this was a perfect prompt for him.

Day 9 Day 11 Christmas Masterlist Main Masterlist AO3 Join my taglist

“You’re back!” You said excitedly as soon as Joel walked in the door. He was finally back from patrol.

“Hey, darlin’,” he said gruffly and kissed you on the head. He washed his hands in the kitchen and walked into the family room. He sat down heavily on the couch with a loud sigh. You joined him on the couch and grabbed the remote.

“So, I was thinking tonight we could watch my favorite Christmas movie,” you told him. “Jenny has a bunch of movies, and she just so happened to have my favorite!”

“I’m not really in the mood for a movie,” Joel said with a scowl.

“Oh,” you said quietly, your enthusiasm fading.

“I’m just gonna take a shower,” he said and stood up, his knees creaking.

“Ok,” you replied, not looking at him. You were disappointed, but not surprised. While you had a sunny disposition, Joel was a major grump. Joel stood next to you for a moment before leaving the room to take his shower. You swallowed the lump in your throat. You weren’t going to get emotional over this. He just wasn’t in the mood to watch a movie. It didn’t mean he was angry with you. You sighed and grabbed a blanket to snuggle with. You had hoped to cuddle with your boyfriend, but this would have to do. You pressed play and settled in to watch the film by yourself. You wouldn’t let his grumpiness ruin your love of this movie.

About fifteen minutes into the movie Joel emerged from the bathroom. His hair was still wet, and he was wearing light gray sweatpants, a black thermal long sleeved shirt, and thick white socks. Your attention turned from the movie for a moment to admire him. Pushing sixty and he was still hot as hell. You looked back at the movie. You could see him in your periphery still standing there.

“I can’t get up, Ralphie!” Randy cried on the tv. You couldn’t help but smile as the little boy rocked from side to side on the snow.

“You’re watching A Christmas Story?” Joel asked hoarsely. You looked up at him. His eyes were glossy.

“Yeah,” you replied. “It’s my favorite.” Joel made his way into the room and sat next to you. He swallowed audibly.

“It was Sarah’s favorite too,” he said quietly. Your heart dropped.

“I’m sorry,” you said reaching for the remote. “I had no idea. I’ll shut it off.”

“Don’t!” Joel’s hand darted out to stop you. You put the remote down and settled back into the couch. Joel watched the tv for a moment and then looked at you. “C’mere, pretty girl.” He opened his arms, and you gladly cuddled into him. “I’m sorry I was short with you earlier. Sometimes it’s hard for me to find joy in this time of the year. Sarah loved Christmas so much, and I hate that I don’t get to spend any more Christmases with her.” He took a deep breath. You snuggled closer, holding him tighter, trying to give him any comfort you could. “Walking out here and seeing this film on—the one she could never get enough of—well, I feel like she’s trying to tell me to find some of that joy again. Letting me know she’s still with me in some small way.”

Tears spilled over your eyelashes and down your cheeks. You loved this man with all your heart, and seeing him so open and vulnerable made your heart ache.

“We always watched this,” he continued. Every year when they would run it all day.”

“24 hours of a Christmas Story,” you said.

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“My family did too,” you said. “She is with you Joel. I’m sure of it.” Joel held you tighter. He clenched his jaw and nodded once. You didn’t want to push. Your big, brave man had opened up enough for one night.

“Wanna watch it with me?” You offered.

“I’d love to, baby girl,” he replied.

Day 11

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[slutz4fanfic]

Between the Lines series

Hello loves! Welcome to my first series! Always open to feedback and comments 🤠

Skylar xx

Summary:

In a quiet Southern town, Violet, a reserved young woman, finds herself drawn to Joel Miller, her father’s best friend —a rugged, widowed carpenter with years of life and loss behind him. Despite their age gap and the boundaries of their connection, a subtle tension begins to simmer between them, unfolding through lingering touches and unspoken words. As they navigate family gatherings, small-town traditions, and their own fears, Joel wrestles with his guarded heart, while Violet questions if she’s ready to risk hers. Love Between the Lines is a tender story of forbidden desire, quiet intimacy, and the courage to embrace love against the odds.

Character Aesthetics

Chapter 1✨

Chapter 2✨

Chapter 3 ✨

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Update coming 12/16/24

[alwaysmicado]

okay, as a literature student i can’t help but read between the lines of joel’s words.

i feel like we’re looking at joel’s lack of words due to his fear of causing more damage than repair as “he slept with jan” which, good point, but far too obvious.

i’m taking joel’s unresponsive ass not saying anything because he wants to admit he’s in love with the reader, but was too scared for how she might take it.

reader has fucked other guys whilst joel and reader are sleeping together, and joel knows this, and that’s why he mentioned the date to reader because he’s trying to hint he wants something more serious (but he wants something serious with reader).

and joel didn’t want to tell reader he’s in love with her because:

a) he had zero conformation up until their little tussle that reader liked him

b) he’d have to admit that he went on that date with jan knowing he’s in love with reader

c) telling reader he liked her after causing so much doubt and insecurity isn’t going to make her feel any better.

so i think whilst we can say that joel slept with jan, let’s also look back ay joel’s behaviour in previous chapters!! tell me that man doesn’t treat reader like she’s the reason his heart pumps blood around his body!!

thank u this was my rant mwah love u

OH MY GOD AAAAAAHH

I see youuu, fellow literature girlie (gn) 😏!! I'm giving you an A+ in textual analysis and I must say, your thesis is very compelling!! ✍️

Let's dive in:

i feel like we’re looking at joel’s lack of words due to his fear of causing more damage than repair as “he slept with jan” which, good point, but far too obvious. i’m taking joel’s unresponsive ass not saying anything because he wants to admit he’s in love with the reader, but was too scared for how she might take it.

I LOVE YOU AND I'M SO HERE FOR THIS THEORY!!!

reader has fucked other guys whilst joel and reader are sleeping together, and joel knows this, and that’s why he mentioned the date to reader because he’s trying to hint he wants something more serious (but he wants something serious with reader). and joel didn’t want to tell reader he’s in love with her because: a) he had zero conformation up until their little tussle that reader liked him

I can totally see that. Joel's a mature, experienced guy and he's shown emotional intelligence so far, so I'm sure he's very much aware reader "likes" him and enjoys spending time with him. I don't see him as the kind of guy that would be seeing her if there was no genuine emotional connection or friendship between them. However, as you said, I do think he didn't know how deep her feelings really were. And how would he? She's been great at hiding them from him (& herself). I do think he would be smart enough not to blurt out "I love you" after reader just spilled her feelings for the first time and is obviously vulnerable & hurt. If he really does love her, he'll find a better way to tell her and dispel her doubts.

b) he’d have to admit that he went on that date with jan knowing he’s in love with reader

Yes. While that wouldn't be the end of the world (in my opinion), this is not the right moment to discuss it and would for sure not make reader feel any better or any more secure.

c) telling reader he liked her after causing so much doubt and insecurity isn’t going to make her feel any better.

True. Can you imagine? She'd feel like he's making fun of her or something. A confession like that would need to happen in a calm setting where they're alone and well rested, not in a bar restroom while the reason for reader's doubt is currently waiting upstairs.

so i think whilst we can say that joel slept with jan, let’s also look back ay joel’s behaviour in previous chapters!! tell me that man doesn’t treat reader like she’s the reason his heart pumps blood around his body!!

YES, you are so right! There are tons of little actions that have shown his affection for reader over time...and what a wonderful description omg 🥹😭

thank u this was my rant mwah love u

THANK YOUUU!! For reading and following this story and for sharing your detailed thoughts!! Love you, too 🫶 Please accept this gif of Dieter cuddling a baby goat as my sincere thanks 🤍

[daniegraceg]

Sunshine & Starlight

Summary: You finally meet the notorious brother of your friend Tommy Miller.

You feel an immediate draw to him, and he returns those feelings.

You have a feeling he will become a pivotal part of your life. You're just not sure what that will look like.

Ratings: 18+ (MINORS DNI)

Tags/Warnings: just a lot of setup in this one. Some Angst, teasing. Mentions of sketchy science experiments, torture. SMUT will be coming next chapter.

Can't remember if I've forgotten any others.

Wordcount: ~~ 4K (oops 😳🤭)

Chapter One :: The Meeting

You’re working in the stables the first time you meet Joel and Ellie.

Like nearly every woman in Jackson, you can’t help but notice how good looking he is.

You introduce yourself to them both.

“Hi! I hear you’re this riff raff's brother.” You say as you shake Joel’s hand.

“Riff raff? What’re you, a mob boss from the 20s?” Tommy laughs.

“uh, duh. Can’t ya tell?” you flash a smile to him & laugh.

Joel can’t help but smile when he sees you smile.

“Sadly, my brain went to the Aladdin quote with the riff raff.” You finish. They all just give you a confused look. “oh my God, ya know? Aladdin? Cartoon movie? ‘riff raff! Street rat! I don’t buy that’” you sing the bar from the movie and the adults give you a look that shows they realize.

You roll your eyes. “need to properly educate y’all more on musicals, clearly.”

“Oh Jesus” Tommy rolls his eyes back at you. “hey, when you finish up here, can you put some supplies at the house next to ya? We’re going to have these guys stay there while they’re here.”

“oh, you don’t have to do that, we won’t be here long.” Joel interjects.

“Shush! It’s no trouble.” You say to Joel.

“ya got it!” you direct to Tommy and Maria. “I can have Andrew get some clothes together for you guys too.”

“I appreciate that ma’am, but really, we’re fine-“ Joel starts.

You put your fingers in your ears. “sorry, can’t hear you. I’m already off to do those things!! Toodle-oo!” you shoot Joel a smile before turning and disappearing out the door.

“She seems, weird but fun.” Ellie laughs.

“That’s a pretty accurate description of her” Maria laughs

Tommy catches Joel staring in the direction you just ran off to. Tommy clears his throat and Joel breaks his trance and looks back to him.

Tommy raises his eyebrow quizzically at him and Joel just gives him a look to shut up.

Tommy softly chuckles but can’t help the gears turning in his head.

They walk them around town, giving them the full tour of the town.

You make a welcome basket for them, enlisting your friend Andrew’s help to find them some clothes.

“Sssooo, is he as hot as the town says?” Andrew asks you.

You can feel the heat rushing towards your cheeks.

“Oh absolutely. More hot actually. But also seems a lot sweeter than rumors I’ve heard. But, that’s just my first impression so, who knows?”

Andrew’s eyes widen. “does our sunshine princess finally have a crush?!” he makes an exaggerated shocked face.

“What the fuck. God no. Just cause I’m human and have eyes, doesn’t mean I have a crush. Are we in middle school again?” you roll your eyes at him.

“oh come on, you need to find someone to keep your bed warm” he wiggles his eyebrows at you.

“no” you say shortly.

Ashley over hears y’all and comes up. “why NOT?”

You sigh loudly. “because I don’t need someone to warm my bed. I’m perfectly fulfilled. I got you guys, our other friends, the school, the clinic, the rec center. I don’t have time to date.”

“well what about just fucking?” she asks.

“eh, gets too messy, as y’all have seen with my track record.” You reply, referencing your long list of people in Jackson you’ve slept with, some no longer your friends because they caught feelings and you couldn’t reciprocate.

She eyes you before speaking. “I think that’s cause none of the other people have been able to handle you. You need someone that can handle you and loves all of you.”

“We live in the apocalypse, I think you’re aiming too high.”

You end the conversation there and go to deliver the package to Joel and Ellie.

You get there and see them sitting in the living room with Tommy and Maria.

Knock, knock, knock

“Come on in” you hear Tommy yell.

“Special delivery!” you say in a sing song voice. “got a whole lot of goodies, food, basic supplies, clothes. I think Andrew put in some ‘nicer clothes’ in there too for the party tonight too”

“A party?” Joel and ellie said in unison.

Tommy explains how the town has weekly parties to give people something fun to do.

“and this one here sings and entertains us all”

You let out a snort. “more like they tolerate me and question why this weirdo teaches the kids”

“you’re a teacher?” Joel asks, locking his gorgeous brown eyes on you.

“One of my hats I wear here” you laugh. “in addition to be the therapist, running the rec center, working in the clinic. Plus filling in wherever I’m needed.”

“Wow. Quite the resume.” Joel says to you.

You shrug. “stemmed from just trying to keep busy. Except the therapist part. I did that before the outbreak.”

“impressive” Joel replies, eyes not leaving you.

You laugh, “dunno about that. Getting people to talk is harder than getting the lid off a 20 year old jar.”

The group let’s out a chuckle.

You check your watch. “shit, I gotta go help set up. I better see y’all there or you’ll never hear the end of it from me!!” you wink at Joel before turning on your heels to head out “BBBYYYEEEE!”

Joel has a small smile on his face as he watches you head out the door.

“Jesus, Joel. You’re going to melt a hole right through her” Tommy says to Joel with a laugh.

That gets his attention. “dunno what you’re talking about.”

Ellie let’s out a laugh. “ok sure, whatever you say.”

Tommy laughs too.

“what are you laughing about too?” Joel asks.

“oh, nothing, nothing.” Tommy tries to stop his laugh. “just noticed you staring at her in the stables too.”

“I absolutely was not” Joel replies.

“how many times will he do it without even realizing?” Ellie asks. “a million?”

“probably” Tommy laughs.

“Both of you just shut the hell up” Joel says.

“I think you just enjoy torturing me. Fffaaahhhhhcccckkkk” Andrew is twisting and turning your hair in some weird way.

“You’d think you would be used to this by now” you hear from the doorway and see Olivia coming in.

You turn to see your fellow band mates coming in.

“I never will. Give me a ponytail with a ribbon any day, any time. I just let him do this to be nice”

“Psh, you like looking hot.” Andrew chimes in.

“rude! Am I not already hot?!” you feign hurt.

She just laughs at you “you’re something else.”

“something else like amazing, badass, smoking hot, never wrong, kind, right?” you laugh and flash a smile at her.

“mmhhhmm. Ssuurrreee. Whatever you wanna believe.”

Andrew let’s out a snort, “glad you’re feeling yourself today at least. There. Got your head looking hot instead of a hot mess.”

“oohhh, drew you really went all out with her today. What’s the occasion?” the drummer, Bobby, asks.

“Our girl has a new love interest!! I’m using whatever powers I have to manifest this shit to bring em together.” Andrew proudly proclaims.

“What? No! No love interest here! He’s got it in his head that he wants me to get with Tommy’s brother.” You roll your eyes extra dramatically. “despite us not knowing anything about him, I don’t know how I even feel but he’s over here trying to play cupid.” You say.

“Ooohh Tommy’s brother?” Olivia asks. “is that who was giving you those looks in the stables?” a huge grin is creeping on her face.

“YES!! See! It’s not just me thinking this!!” Andrew exclaims.

“I gotta say, I felt a strong vibe too, Y/N” Bobby pipes up.

“All of you are crazy.” You shake your head at them. “Clearly, you’re bored and just making up scenarios to keep y’all entertained.” An exasperated sigh leaves your mouth.

“why are you against it?” Olivia asked.

“it’s not that I’m against it necessarily. There’s just a lot of other stuff that has my focus, he just got here. Or who knows if he would even want that or be interested. Too many factors undetermined. I’m just not looking to get my heart all fucked up cause of feelings or anything.” You blurt all this out in a rush, the words leaving your mouth before you can even register what you’re saying.

Your confession shocks you just as much as it does them.

“Aww, does our therapist need some therapy herself?” Olivia asks, but doesn’t wait for you to answer. “aren’t you the one always telling us and everyone else “don’t wait to be happy, even if it’s just the possibility to be happy. Tomorrow isn’t promised, so go live and take the risks?”

“Do as I say, not as I do?” you cut in with a shrug of your shoulders.

“Woman, you’re always doing everything you can to take care of everyone else. You need to do the same for yourself. Just take a chance. That’s all we’re saying. When was the last time you’ve even had sex?” she asks, eyes fixed on you waiting for your answer.

“Uuhh, like a year or so? Not sure honestly. And that’s because that one dude caught feelings for me and I didn’t feel the same way and I had to let him down. I hated being the one to do it but definitely don’t want it happening to me. Can’t even trust that people will maintain the friends with benefits shit” you groan.

“Maybe what y’all are supposedly seeing is just built up sexual frustration, just wanting a bang buddy. Which, that I’d be down for. But there’s still the risk of feelings developing.” You finish, hoping they’ll finally drop it.

“Oorrr maybe it can start as that and you BOTH develop feelings and y’all have some fairy tale “happily ever after thing” Bobby adds.

“Yyeesssss!” your group yells out.

“since when did you guys get so romantic. It’s sick and disgusting and I think you need medical attention for it.” You say sarcastically.

“OOKK. How bout this?” Andrew says, “if you don’t at least go on one date with him, I’ll never shut up about it.”

“and what if he doesn’t want to do that? Hmm?” You ask.

“just trust me, he will. Now let’s finish getting ya ready.”

The shirt that was picked out feels tight on Joel’s arms but he kept it on. Ellie had made some creative adjustments to her outfit that Andrew had picked for her.

“well, well, well, you clean up nice” Ellie says and laughs.

“Shut up” Joel replies to her.

Joel and Ellie meet Tommy and Maria at their house and walk together to the hall.

“So they do this all the time?” Ellie asks Maria as you all walk.

“Yup, Y/N actually started it.” Maria chuckles at the memory. “One day after a pretty dicey patrol she was worked up pretty good and declared “I need to wiggle this out” and proceeded to just start singing some song, I think it was from a musical. And then just starts dancing around the room and gets other people dancing too. And everyone loved it and it lifted their spirits so she keeps doing it.”.

“so she just started an impromptu party and people just, went along with it?” Ellie asks, shocked.

Maria and tommy both let out a laugh as Maria says “Basically. She’s a powerhouse when she wants to be. Especially if it means putting a smile on other people’s faces. Plus, she’s really fucking talented honestly. Plays a bunch of the instruments and sings but she’s made a little recording studio so she can prerecord the different instruments she needs to play behind her while she sings.”

“Holy shit” Ellie says, “hey Joel, didn’t you say you played guitar? You should – uh- offer her your assistance” she laughs as she raises her eyebrows to him.

Joel just shakes his head and rolls his eyes at her.

The group walks through the doors and ellie let’s out a gasp when she sees.

Everything is decked out with hanging lights, some multicolored lights that make the space flash different colors, the tables and chairs are moved around the stage and there’s space for people to dance.

They go sit at a table near the front, arriving earlier than most. Joel and Ellie get introduced to more people as they filter in.

When the clock hits 7:30 the lights suddenly go out followed by a bunch of colored lights getting brighter. Then a spotlight goes to the stage and lights you up.

Joel can’t help but stare at you. Your hair is curled and is now purple. You’re in a shiny sequined strapless dress. It makes your breasts even more prominent and Joel is thankful he can disguise staring at you as just watching you perform.

Your dress hugs all your curves and hits you just below your ass, leaving barely anything to the imagination. He forces his focus onto the drink in his hand. Anything to try to think of some thing besides what he wants to do you.

You catch Joel’s eye and flash a smile at him.

Fuck, he thinks to himself, I’m utterly screwed.

“Hey hey people!” you call out through the microphone. “how we doing tonight?!”

A loud cheer erupted from the space.

“Whooo! That’s what I like to hear. We got quite a mix for ya tonight! Lots of different requests from you fine people – so let’s get to it!”

The band starts playing and Joel marvels at how you seem to be in your element as you’re on stage. He notices whenever you catch his eye a blush spreads across your cheeks. He can’t deny to himself that he loves it.

You sing a few upbeat songs before mixing it up with some ones that were requested.

During a slower song, you notice Joel is wearing what Andrew picked out for him.

You decide to say fuck it and use this as an opportunity to be flirty with him. You usually act flirty with the crowd anyways, so you hope it doesn’t look too suspicious.

The song changes to a faster beat & you do your thing, dancing and playing to the crowd. To your surprise, ellie actually gets Joel to get up and dance at one point and they’re both laughing having a good time.

Andrew is off to the side of the stage and gives you a look of approval and pride. He knows exactly what you’re doing and is simply elated.

You all perform the final song and declare “alright, that’s it for tonight my loves. Ya don’t gotta go home but you can’t stay here – unless you wanna help clean up” you laugh.

The crowd starts to disperse and Olivia runs to the bathroom with you to help you freshen up and get the sweat off of you.

“ I am SO PROUD of you!! Look at you, you sultry bitch!” she beams.

“Oh my God, you’re ridiculous” you laugh. “How do I smell? I feel like I worked up a sweat tonight.”

“You smell GREAT.” She says “he’s stupid if he doesn’t want to fuck you.”

“not my goal tonight, or any night.” You remind her.

“but if they end up staying?!” she ask, almost begging.

“small maybe” you reply.

“I’ll take it” she smiles.

You both walk out of the bathroom to see a few people helping to clean up, Joel included.

“Hey Joel! Glad ya made it! You saved yourself me giving you shit anytime I see ya” you laugh and he smiles.

“Well, thank goodness for that” he says with his Texas draw & chuckles. “You were incredible, by the way. I mean- every body was.” He glances over at Ellie. “she needed this, something fun.”

You nodded knowingly. “Every person needs it in this fucked up world. Even dudes who pretend not to give a shit about anything except for their brother and her” you throw a wink at him.

You swear he blushes a bit before muttering “yeah, alright.” With a roll of his eyes

You start cleaning up stuff near him and almost trip but he catches you.

“Fuck, his arms are incredible” you think to yourself “down, girl.”

“Thank you, my hero” you plaster on an over the top accent like you’re a damsel from an old western .

Returning to your normal voice you add, “Andrew, that one over there” you point to Andrew talking to Olivia. “he makes me wears these crazy shoes he makes/finds/repairs. Despite me telling him my ankles are too damn old and damaged for em. Always scared I’m going to just launch myself onto the stage and create and involuntary mosh pit or some shit.”

You sit on a chair and try to bend to take the shoes off. “goddamn it fuck, mother fucker.”

“what’s wrong?” Joel asks

“oh” you laugh. “sorry, Andrew just made this dress so fucking tight at my torso so it makes it a challenge to bend and get my shoes off.”

You swung your leg around a different direction to try to get a better angle. “normally I’m a lot more flexible than this when I’m not being suffocated by clothes”

A blush starts spreading on your cheek but that doesn’t stop you from speaking again. “That sounded dirtier than I intended. But oh well, giggity”

Joel sucks in a sharp breath before he let’s out a laugh, thinking how cute you look when you blush.

“Nah, not wrong at all” his eyes graze over your body before landing on your feet. “Here, let me help.”

Suddenly, he kneels in front of you, holding out his hand for you to place your foot into.

You just stare at him for a moment and he raises his eyebrows at you, silently telling you to give him your feet.

You do as he wishes and extend your leg into his hands.

His fingers graze a sensitive part on your calf before reaching your feet. He gently unbuckles one of the straps, then slides his finger along your foot to undo the other one.

He slides the shoe off like a reverse Cinderella. His fingers dance over your skin, sending electric shocks through you.

He gently places one foot down and holds his hand out for the other and you obey his unspoken command.

He seems to linger his fingers even more this time.

Fingers dancing on your ankle, to the buckle, click.

Fingers dancing to your toes, to the buckle, click.

Fingers dancing back up to your ankle, gliding your shoe off, fingers lazily trailing your skin behind it.

He looks up at you with those damned eyes again and a heat swirls through you settling between your legs.

He clears his throat awkwardly as he places your shoes on the floor. “Better?”

You take a breath, not realizing you weren’t breathing that whole time. “Much, thank you.” You flash him a huge smile, hoping and praying he somehow doesn’t see the blush on your face. “Such a gentleman. You’re going to spoil me.”

“What’s wrong with that? Beautiful women should be spoiled.” he asks, voice low. Making your insides swirl again.

God damn it.

You’re trying to think of a reply when you hear a loud bang noise.

You both whip your heads toward the noise and see Ellie trying to look casual as she tries to pick up a chair she dropped.

“Ah, a fellow klutz” you laugh and start to stand up. Joel stands and offers you a hand to help get up. “Thanks.”

It’s now that you notice everyone’s eyes were on the both of you during that whole interaction. They all try to turn now and look busy.

“Geesh.” You let out a small laugh as you look up at the clock. “Fuck, is that really the time? I should get going, gotta work early at the clinic in the morning.”

You see Andrew and Olivia give you a dirty look, knowing you said that to avoid being alone with Joel.

You walk to the other room and grab your coat and boots.

“That was hot, even if it was tame.” You hear Andrew from behind you.

“dunno what you’re talking about.” You act dumb, hoping he buys it.

He doesn’t.

“Don’t you bullshit me woman. We could all feel the sexual tension radiating between the two of you.” He says. You just roll your eyes and sigh. “He’s absolutely into you. I bet he’s a real attentive lover.”

“Stop. Please. I – I’m not sure if I could just fuck him and be done. Not if he’s going to be coming around more. So I’m going to avoid that until I can figure out my brain.”

He knows he can’t argue with that, not wanting you to be hurt. “ugh, fine. So you think you might… like him?”

“Dude I have no idea. Maybe? It’s probably just horniness masking itself for something more. But until I know for sure, it’s safest to avoid doing anything.” You’re eyes start welling up involuntarily and you try to sniff them back.

“Oh honey..” Andrew starts.

“It’s fine” you snap, drying your eyes. “just drop it. I’m probably just hormonal. Plus, you know my policy on romantic relationships, I’m good.” Andrew helps you put on your boots and you grab the rest of your stuff as you walk out.

“Ready frendies?” You smile at Joel and Ellie.

Joel notices your face looks… different. Like you’d been crying maybe, or almost crying. He gives you a quizzical look but you avert his gaze. He looks towards Andrew and raises his eyebrow.

“She’s ok” Andrew mouths to him and Joel gives a slight nod.

You step out into the cold and a rush of cold air went up your dress.

“Fuck me, why didn’t I grab sweatpants for the walk home. Come on people! Double time! This bitch needs heat!” you holler before starting to run.

You reach your house first, Joel and Ellie not far behind.

“Wellp, this is me.” You say awkwardly. “are y’all going to be in town for much longer?”

“We’re actually uh, actually headed out in the morning, headed to the university of Colorado.” Joel says.

“Oh.” You say, trying not to sound too disappointed. “You got family there?”

“I’m the daughter of some big wig firefly people as Joel calls em so we’re going to touch base with them, but then I bet we’ll be back, right Joel?” she nudges him with her arm.

“Right, yeah. Tommy’s the only family I got left. But- yeah, after this excursion we should be making our way back here.”

“Good, I’m glad.” You smile.

“I’m going to go head inside. Goodnight! Good meeting you!” Ellie calls behind her.

“You too! Sweet dreams!” You call after her.

Once she was out of ear shot you say to Joel. “Hey, uh, be careful with the fireflies you’re going to meet. I have a feeling she’s not actually someone’s kid there but I’m not going to pry. Just, some of them may mean well but they’re… “ you pause try to think of the words.

“You know fireflies too?” Joel asks.

“Yeah, ran with them for a bit. Actually met tommy briefly through them. A few years later met again here.”

“Small world.” Joel says. He wonders if the two of you ever fucked. He finds himself getting unjustly jealous at the thought.

“Tell me about it” you chuckle softly. “I don’t mean to overstep. I’m not fishing for information from you about what you’re doing. I just know when I was still with them, after Tommy left I think, the doctors were getting desperate to find a cure or preventative. They were getting more… morally gray. Doing experiments on people, kids even, that had been bit. And they did it before they turned… it’s why I finally left. The doctors were basically med school drop outs, thinking they were going to be the next savior.” You scoff and roll your eyes. “Idiot bastards were just cutting into them, thinking that’ll give them the answers, not using any other methods first.”

Tears start to form again but this time from anger.

“I don’t say any of this to deter you. You don’t seem like a man that CAN be deterred once you set your mind to something.” you chuckle awkwardly again. “I just wouldn’t feel right not telling you, so you have the full picture. Maybe they’ve gotten better, I hope so. But that was like 5 years ago so who knows.”

Joel stills for a minute. The closer they’ve gotten he’s been more worried about how the fireflies would actually be.

“Joel?” you say.

“Sorry. Yeah, I really appreciate you telling me all that. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.”

You let out a sigh of relief. “Ok, good. I’ll look forward to seeing your faces around here once you’re back then.”

Joel’s face breaks into a smile. “That’s definitely good motivation for me to hurry back.”

You blush again, can feel it through your body. There’s no way Joel doesn’t see it. And it’s then that you realize your cleavage is very prominently displayed and the cold is making your nipples stick out through your dress.

Not tonight, not yet. Shut it down. You think.

You chuckle. “Best come back in one piece, sir.”

“That’s always the goal.” You both let out a laugh.

“Well, I really should head to bed, early morning and all. If I don’t see you before you head out, be safe.”

“Always am sweetheart. Goodnight, sweet dreams.” He says.

“You too” you smile and go on your tiptoes and kiss his cheek before going inside.

[xoteajays]

naila & joel & ellie + i, contradiction

i’ve been lost, but i’m here now. you feel like home more than anywhere i’ve ever been.

[sunflowersteves]

ain’t no sunshine is gonna be longer than I thought because I’m adding TWO smut scenes so please bear with me

the fic might be posted late tonight/tomorrow

[milaeryn]

PLS I'M YELLING IS THERE A SHIP NAME FOR BILL AND FRANK YET

[pedroslittlelady]

Love a grumpy!joel x sunshine!reader story 🥰 and this is so it! Love these two and the slow burn 💕

but you know the killer doesn't understand (Joel x F!Reader) Series Masterlist

Pairing: Post!Outbreak Neighbors, Joel x F!Reader

Summary: You're Joel's new next-door neighbor when he settles in Jackson, and you're determined to add some positivity to the grumpy old man's life. When Joel meets you, he knows right away he's fucked. (Full request)

Tags/Warnings: 18+ MDNI Explicit Sexual Content, Soft!Reader, Joel is bad at feelings, Innocence Kink vibes, Language, Fluff, Angst, Mutual Pining, Denial from Joel, Age Gap (Reader late 20s, Joel 56), TW mentions of previous miscarriage

Playlist

Joel Miller masterlist

Part I || Part II || Part III || Part IV || Part V (More Parts Coming)

[covetyou]

solstice

ao3 ⋆ main masterlist

pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader  rating: Explicit (18+ only!)  warnings: smut (PiV), competency kink, grumpy/sunshine, he falls first, yearning, angst, almost enemies to lovers, Tommy being a little shit, no use of y/n, Jackson!Joel word count: 4k  summary: Three little words. Joel heard those same three words damn near every day for the last seven months. Most days, they were the only words you said to him. Sometimes, if he was lucky, you'd say them more than once. Other days, you didn't say anything to him at all. He liked those days least of all.

A/N: happy holidays @trulybetty! thank you for being so lovely about this being a little late. I was only going to go for one or two of your prompts for the @pedrostories secret santa, but then my brain went why not all of them, and now here we are. 

divider by @saradika-graphics

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Three little words.

"I got it."

Joel heard those same three words damn near every day for the last seven months. Most days, they were the only words you said to him. Sometimes, if he was lucky, you'd say them more than once. Other days, you didn't say anything to him at all. He liked those days the least.

You said other things too, of course. He heard you speak to other people. Not always nicely, but he heard you. You said more to him on occasion too. Out my way or put it down were some particular favorites, but none said more so than those three, tiny, little words.

I got it.

Because you did. He had never met a woman who had got it more than you. Strong, capable, and everything he ever tried to be. He watched every day how you'd got it. Climbing up ladders with tiles stacked on your shoulder, hauling wheelbarrows full of gravel, chopping wood in bitter wind and cold. You had it, and he watched, wanting it too.

The only problem was, he wasn't too sure what it was.

To begin with, it was the respect you commanded that he yearned for. He had that, once. Not here. Fuck, never here. The people here would barely look at him for the first few weeks. But you? They listened to you. If you said move they listened, even if it was with a roll of their eyes. If you told someone to fuck off to medical, they went without a grumble. They trusted you. Even if you weren't particularly generous with your smiles.

You were the exact opposite of what Joel was finding he had to be.

In Boston, people feared him, and that kept him, and Tess, safe. It was for the best. The people here feared him too, at first. Maybe even still now, if he was to be honest with himself, but he'd worked hard to change that. He met the mumbled good mornings with as much of a smile as he could muster. He went for drinks with his brother, made small talk with the locals even when he didn't want to. He tried to get into Maria's good graces, but never quite succeeded.

And he worked. With you mostly. Jackson didn't have much use for hired muscle or someone who could smuggle shit discreetly - not outside of the daily patrol shifts they wouldn't let him on yet, anyway - but they did have use for contractors. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, anyone who was good at doing shit with their hands. Those were things that had value behind these walls and, luckily for him, that meant he had value too. For the first time in a long time, he meant something to people.

Just not to you.

As much as he smiled, and made small talk, and helped out fixing shit in this place that was now his home, he could never get through to you. He'd try to help you out, only to be knocked aside - sometimes literally. You barely looked at him. Spoke only when necessary. Once, you'd even told him to fuck off.

He did.

At first he took it all personally. He moped, and kept his sour mood hidden from his brother and Ellie. Then, he saw how you were with, well, just about everyone else, and that lessened the sting.

But, as time wore on, Joel saw other things too. Where at first you'd seemed rude and abrasive, he now saw the kindness and compassion you treated everyone with. If you told someone to go the fuck home, it wasn't because you wanted them gone it was because you wanted them rested. If you let people struggle, strike their thumbs with a badly aimed hit of a hammer, it was to help them learn. You never did let anyone make the same mistake twice. And, because of you, no one did.

It was with the waning of spring that his desire to be you changed into something different and entirely more confusing.

As the gardens and trees exploded in the frenzy of summer, you shed your layers. Literally, not figuratively. You still stayed firmly closed up as your jacket disappeared and made way for a shirt hung loosely about your shoulders. Then, even that found its way around your waist and Joel had to come face to face with the bare, strong expanse of your back while you worked in nothing but a tank top, the patch of sweat at the small of your back blooming while he watched.

It was for the best that he didn't think about what you looked like walking towards him during those relentlessly hot months, with nothing but a thin tank top pulled across your chest. It wasn't something he should think about in public, anyway. It was something he kept for late at night, when those three little words echoed around his head and you showed him just how much you really, truly got it.

By October, Tommy had caught on. Your jacket was fastened back around you, and you were as hostile as ever. You breezed past him one morning, hooking a ladder over one shoulder, toolbag gripped in your other hand.

"I got it."

By now, Joel knew you did.

By now, he wanted to come with you anyway.

So he did, grabbing his own set of salvaged tools and heading up to the latest reno with you, only to have you square up to him the second you saw him.

"I said, I got it."

Five words. It was a good day.

So good, that he couldn't keep his eyes off you in the Tipsy Bison that night. You weren't in here often - from what he could tell, you didn't do much outside of work - but the people who shared your company seemed to enjoy it. You sat soft and quiet in the corner, listening in to their conversation more often than you contributed. But, when you did, they laughed, and Joel caught himself smiling, and Tommy caught him too.

"Never thought you'd be more of a ray of fuckin' sunshine than anyone else, but there's a first for everythin', I guess," he'd said, tilting his glass to the table in the corner where you sat. 

Joel took a swig of the last fresh cider of the season and shrugged.

"You got an eye for her."  

He sputtered, choking on the tart, sweet liquid. "No I ain't."

"Well you got somethin'," said Tommy, clinking his glass against Joel's own. "If it ain't an eye it's your-" 

A harsh kick, and a grunt loud enough to turn every head in the bar later, and Tommy dropped it entirely.

For about a week.

Tommy ribbed him at dinner, drinks, lunch and just about every time in between. Called Joel 'Sunshine' even as he scowled. Asked about his girl as if you were anything other than a person who hated him. Slung his arm around Joel's shoulder and told him all about the birds and the bees, as if he'd ever forgotten.

He couldn't forget. Not with you running around barking at him and keeping him in a seemingly permanent state of arousal. If it wasn't your voice and that angry way you talked at him, it was just about anything else. He couldn't escape it.

It was how you did everything he could do, and more. What he had in strength, you had in technique. Your hands - fuck, did he watch your hands - were rarely unblemished with dirt or scrapes, but they were adept at everything you put them to. He couldn't look away, even if he knew each minute he looked was a minute quicker he'd be when he touched himself to the thought of you later that night.

The taunts stopped with the first snowfall.

"If you're really that interested, should talk to her," Tommy said instead. "Bark's worse than her bite."

"You're still sayin' she bites, though."

"Sure she would if you asked nice enough, brother."

Joel didn't ask.

He didn't ask the morning he woke up early to see the town blanketed in thick snow either. He simply went out, picked up a snow shovel and began working until the sun came up. He didn't expect to find you at his door that evening, or for you to grab him and throw him outside, pushing him up against the side of his own house.

"What do you think you're playing at, Miller?" you growled up at him, pushing him firmly against the siding.

Joel stared, dumb-founded, your hands curled in the front of his shirt - touching him - and blinked down at you.

"I don't give a shit who you are or what you've done out there. I am not scared of you and I am not having you take my job."

You ignored him more after that. Days went by with barely a word to him - not even a scowl thrown his way if he made too much noise or offered to help someone out on a job.

As for him, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Every day for weeks that night played through his head, memory of the feel of your hands on his chest and your face so close he could feel your breath, until Christmas was on the horizon and a pit of fear began stirring in his stomach. You were a balm to it, somehow. Something to focus on when the fear got too much and kept him inside, away from the crowds of happy people.

Every single I got it was more of a comfort than the last. It could have been the familiarity of it, or the way those words came softer and softer as the season wore on. Sometimes he'd head by the workshop to ask if you needed a hand, just to hear that soft rejection one more time.

Until late one cold afternoon, it didn't come. You were alone, blowing warm air onto gloved hands, and when he asked you simply nodded, and he followed.

You worked together in silence until the sun set, when you turned to him as you parted ways.

"S'hard this time of year, but joy and grief can exist at the same time, y'know."

He didn't go to the Bison that night. Or the next. He let the grief crack open his chest instead, and let it pour out over his bedroom floor for two whole days.

On the third, he let the joy back in. Ellie reeled off new jokes from a book she found in the Jackson library. He held his nephew and rocked the teething babe to sleep. He went back to the Bison - you weren't there - and celebrated the impending holiday.

Seven months, three days, and about as many hourssince he stepped foot back in Jackson. Damn near every day he's heard those three little words, and he'll be damned if he goes another without them.

With the day as short as it could ever be, the sun tracking low in the sky, he finds you.

"I got it," you say softly, when he asks you that very same question he always does.

"I know."

He doesn't know how your lips end up on his - because it is you who kisses him. He doesn't know how his fingers find themselves under your shirt either, the coldness of them making you gasp into his mouth until you're pulling apart, both wide eyed.

He does know you taste like fruit, even in the dead of winter. He always suspected it - knew your sweet tooth by the berries you couldn't resist and the sweet treats gifted to you. He knows your fingers are as cold as his when you hand him a shovel.

He does know, even though you got it, you let him help anyway.

You clear streets and roofs of snow together until the sun goes down. He follows at your heel in the dark, cold biting through your layers as you both stomp the snow off your boots, shovels thrown down, workshop locked up. You barely even look at each other until you're staring through the fog of your own heavy breaths on Joel's front porch. He doesn't know how to welcome you in - he never was too good with words - so he simply unlocks the door and pushes it open.

You step inside.

Layers are shed before the door even closes. Heavy coats dumped on the couch, boots toed off and left this way and that. The hat on your head stuffed in a pocket - he can't remember which.

You move upstairs - worked on this house, you say - and pull him into his own bedroom before his lips even touch yours again. But when they do, they do. Joel's frantic with it, feeling the softness of you so close to the hardness of him. His hands hold your waist, rooting you to him, but then you're moving them up and under your shirt to the flair of your ribcage. The curve of your breasts fit perfectly against the cradle of his thumb and forefinger, and he thinks of everything his hands have done, this is what they were made for.

It must be. When you whine at the feel of this thumb stroking across your pebbled nipple, he thinks for the first time in a long time that maybe his hands aren't so monstrous if they can pull such pretty noises from you.

In fact, the things they've done don't seem to matter at all when he gets to touch you, to pull sounds from you so sweet he'll be tasting you on his tongue all over again just from the memory of them. For all the harm these hands have done, they could never hurt you. You would never let them. You'd tear him apart first.

And he'd let you.

You swallow his groan when you palm his length over his jeans. He stiffens beneath your touch, warm and firm, and grinds into your hand. It's been so long since he's felt the touch of anyone other than himself. He could come just grinding himself against the firm press of your hand against him, if he thought about it too hard.

So he doesn't. He focuses instead on the soft plink plink plink as you run a nail up his ice cold zipper, the way you bite his lip, tangle your fingers in his hair.

He tries to take off his own belt, cold fingers fumbling against even colder metal, but you mumble I got it into his mouth, and his knees quiver.

You do. You always do.

His belt is pulled off and you're tugging him by the loops of his pants and pushing him against his own bed, the sheets still rumpled from the morning. You slip off your own and toss it to the side too, tangling it with his on his bedroom floor. Then, you're so very close to him again, his thigh between your legs as you nip and suckle on his bottom lip. He holds you close - one hand finding its way under your shirt again, cupping your breast fully this time, and the other pulling you firmly against his strong thigh.

You warm his thigh with the burning heat between your legs, grinding yourself against him, the seam of your jeans pulling tight against you. Moans you were pulling from him a moment ago are silenced by your own, your nails digging crescents into his arm as you burrow your face into his neck in an attempt to stifle them.

You're better than he ever dreamed. Softer. Warmer. Stronger. The sounds you make so much prettier than he ever thought. Those three little words so much sweeter within these walls than any other.

Even when you strip off layer after layer, it's better than he dreamed. Summer was barely a taste of you, he realises, when your shirt, your tank, your soft bra, all tumble to the floor and you climb onto the bed behind him.

You kick your jeans off, and he pulls his down too. He can't get his shirt off quick enough, the scars on his body forgotten as he strips bare for you as you watch, lust barely turning to curiousity as you take in the sight of his body.

"Come here," you tell him, and he obeys. You're softer with him when he lies beside you then. Grasping hands turn to gentle strokes, his own hands on your bare flesh mimicking your gentle movements across his skin.

When your hand trails down to his cock, squeezing once again when you feel him throb in your palm, he has to pinch his eyes closed and pretend he's anywhere but here.

"Been a long time," he says through gritted teeth. "Long, long time."

Me too, he thinks he hears you whisper before your lips latch to his again and his soft, worn boxers are slipped down his legs, kicked to the side, forgotten.

You don't look at him, and for that he's grateful. He's less grateful when you start to play with your own nipples and toy with the edge of your panties. He presses a kiss to your shoulder instead, hiding his face against you and breathing you in.

When he opens his eyes again, your panties are off, thighs spread, one hooked lazily over his own, the other stretched out on his sheets.

"Don't have to," you mumble, when he looks down at you, stunned look obvious on his face.

"I want to."

He touches you and you let him. His hands run all over your body, rough, calloused palms dragging across your soft belly, your hips, your thighs. He's dreamed of this, and still it's better than his wildest fantasies.

When your hand wraps around his bare cock, pumping his length once, twice, he thinks that's better than any fantasy too. You practically drag him by the cock, tugging gently to pull him towards you until he's kneeling between your thighs. You lazily stroke him, swiping precum across his tip and making him jerk in your grip. His own hands play with your thighs, massaging and squeezing them, drawing his fingers closer and closer to your apex.

Seven months, three days, and twenty-something hours since he stepped back into Jackson, he slips into you for the first time.

And, fuck, is it divine.

You're slick, and wet, his cock gliding across your skin before he pushes into you, and you both gasp.

He's slow. He trembles. His fingers make dents in your thighs as he grips them. You shuffle your hips, make yourself comfortable, and he holds steady while you adjust to the intrusion. Then, you pull him in, grabbing him by the neck to steal a kiss while he makes space for himself deep inside you, rocking each tentative inch into you until he's rooted inside.

You adjust - let the tenseness in your core release - and he barely holds on. And, just when he thinks he's got a hold of himself and begins fucking you in slow, languid movements, your hand moves and you say those three little words.

"I got it."

For the first ever time, he stops you. His hand pins yours to your hip, his movements stilling as you frown up at him, a threat on the tip of your tongue. So, he begs.

"Let me. Please."

And you do. He slowly swipes a spit slicked thumb against your clit, and watches as you melt into his sheets. By the look of you, the pure relief on your face, he thinks this could be the first time you've ever truly let go, and his ego soars.

It soars again when your legs tremble, rocking his thick cock in you as his thumb works slowly over your clit. You moan his name, and he groans too. He can't keep it back. It's the first time he's ever heard you say it, and he doesn't think it could sound better. Your eyes find his when you say his name again, testing him, only to pull another groan deep from his chest.

A small nod is all you give him as a sign you want more. His thumb moves quicker, popped into his mouth to taste you just for a moment before it swipes around your cunt where you grip him, and back up to your clit.

You come on him, face turned into his sheets, brow furrowed, mouth open as you moan and shake, trembling and pulsating on his cock as you come.

For you, he keeps going. Let's you ride out the waves, fluttering against him, as he barely holds back from the brink himself.

If this is all he gets - if you push him off and walk away now - it would be a good day, he thinks. But you don't. He doesn't even get chance to ask if you want him gone when you're pulling him down, kissing him, rocking your hips against him and murmuring against his throat for him to fuck you.

So, he does.

It feels sloppy, and awkward, his hips not quite knowing how to move any more as he snaps them against yours.

"Don't stop," you whisper to him with a scrape of your teeth against his shoulder. "Don't stop."

He's never been able to disobey you, he realizes. He's never had reason let alone want to. Even now, he does as he's told, keeps fucking forward into you, mattress squeaking and bed rocking as he finally, finally, finds his rhythm.

It's easy then. You spur him on, grip him tight, wrap your legs around his waist. He grunts, growls, can barely stop himself from panting, looking down at you and how you stare back at him and he thinks fuck, this is what it's like to be trusted by you.

With a sudden gasp, he pulls out, slipping from your wet heat to rut against your sopping cunt until he's spurting ropes of come against your mound and belly.

He apologizes, tries to admonish himself for being so quick. You tell him to shut up, hitting his shoulder. He does.

You both sigh in the afterglow. Even in the before, he never had times like this, he doesn't think. It was always frantic, too quick, too drunk, too fumbling. In the after, he could never quite relax enough to enjoy it fully. In the now, it's just about the best he's ever had.

You're still covered in him. Your fingers play idly in it on your belly, and he glows. He'd trace patterns with it over your skin, if only you'd let him. But then, you're up and gone, and he fears you're gone for good until you waltz back in and throw yourself next to him, mess cleaned from your skin as you stretch and yawn beside him.

"I aint tryin' to take your job, y'know," Joel tells you some time later, when the afterglow wanes and sleep pulls at him.

"Right."

He looks to you, the roll of your eyes and tug of a disbelieving smile on your lips visible in the glow of the bedside lamp.

"I promise. I'm just tryin' to... be some place."

You're still. And silent. He thinks he's fucked up for all of one second, until you're smiling sadly up at the ceiling.

"I get that," you say softly. "This is a nice place to be, all things considered."

And, though he thinks he knows what you mean, Yes, he thinks, this is a nice place to be.

This is a good day.

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