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#tommy miller one shot
heartpascal · 2 months
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hoping there’s somewhere to go
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▹— joel miller x platonic!reader + tommy miller x platonic!reader
▹— summary: you try to navigate life after the rejection of the only family you’d ever had (part two of weight too heavy to hold alone)
▹— a/n: the song too much time in my house alone by leith ross inspired this <3 longer A/N at the end!
▹— warnings: angst (as always), isolation, and then self isolation, mention of christmas time but it’s not christmas, a winter’s dinner that isn’t christmas dinner, fears being proven correct, very little self worth, it has been a long while since i have written/posted/needed to put warnings so let me know if something is missing!!!
▹— taglist: @rhymingtree @sleepygraves @wnstice (everything) @auggiesolovey @just-kaylaa @evyiione @lemonlaides @fariylixie0915  @faceache111 @randomhoex @canpillowscry @pedropascalsrealgf @star-wars-lover @coolchick333 @soobsdior @rvjaa  @sunflowersdrop @definitely-not-a-seagull-i-swear @miss-celestial-being (pedro) — please let me know if you want to be added/removed
MASTERLIST
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Jackson is cold in winter.
And it’s not just because of the weather.
There’s winter festivities, holidays that you had never really had any experience with. And because of the weather, patrols were undertaken by smaller groups, leaving crowds of people wandering the streets, or trying to find work within the small community. So, not only was it cold and miserable, but it was about ten times as crowded in the communal spaces, with everybody packing into every space possible in order to preserve their warmth.
That’s not even the worst part — there’s the whole focus on family, or whatever a person in the apocalypse might have that’s close enough to it.
Holidays bring people together, Tommy had told you once, about a year ago. It wasn’t long after you had first arrived in Jackson, traipsing through the gate alone, aside from the patrollers who escorted you there.
The thing was, though, that you didn’t have people.
And it wasn’t as if you were wanting them! That definitely wasn’t the case — you couldn’t bear getting close to anybody, after what had happened last time — but you couldn’t help the more prominent feeling of isolation. You knew you weren’t alone in your feelings, after all, there were plenty of Jackson residents who had nobody, or resented the holiday season for one reason or another, but you felt alone.
You’re allowed to feel bitter about it, even if you do want to stay that way. It’s not like you had always felt this way, there was a time when you had thought yourself close to having a family — whatever the hell that was. In spring, if somebody had told you that you might feel this way, you might have disbelieved them, might have had faith in Joel and Ellie, despite your reservations. But then everything there had fallen apart, and you were left like this.
Living on your own, halfway across town, closer to Tommy, but further away than ever.
It was like that gaping hole in your chest had reopened with a vengeance, sucking any amount of trust or affection you had for the man into a void where it couldn’t be found. If Tommy hadn’t stuck you with Joel and Ellie, you might not be feeling like this — feeling so cold, and alone, and frozen despite the world moving around you. If he had just minded his business, or even, maybe, if he had just looked after you himself, rather than passing you off as nothing more than a chore, you could’ve been something at least close to happy.
Instead, you’re here. Making the short trip back from the school he had forced you to start going to, heading back to the little space you were supposed to call home. It wasn’t home, though. You had never occupied a space that had felt anything even close to that before, other than Joel’s. You’re pretty sure you’ll never live anywhere like that again.
You’ll probably live here, in the shitty garage that Tommy had someone convert for you, for the rest of your life. Either that, or until they finally have enough of you, and kick you out. Whichever came first.
Really, you should be used to being on your own. To having to do everything yourself, be responsible for every aspect of your own life, but strangely, after Joel’s, you find it hard to go back to that. Balancing things has never been your strong suit, and this only goes to prove that. And it’s aggravating, feeling as though something within you had changed, feeling as though you’re no longer capable, when you had spent your whole life looking after yourself.
Feeling like this has had you thinking some incredibly stupid things, your mind at one point trying to convince you that the only way to prove that you were capable, was to go back out into the big open world. Luckily for you, your survival instincts are stronger than that, and you’re able to remind yourself that Jackson is the best possible place for you, regardless of whatever thoughts and feelings you were having.
Besides, you wouldn’t want to give any of them — them being Joel, Tommy and Ellie — the satisfaction of your leaving. If they wanted you gone, they’d have to tell you as much, this time.
It was clear to you now, that they hadn’t wanted you there in the first place. And given the distance between you and Ellie since Joel had gotten rid of you, you gathered that, despite what you believed to be a close bond, she had never wanted you around either. She seemed happy enough, gallivanting around the town with her few friends, friends she had never even bothered to introduce you to. At least that meant you weren’t missing anything. Maybe she had actually done you a favour. Although given the way she avoided your gaze like her life depended on it, every time you happened across her, you somehow doubted that.
You’re not sure which loss was worse. Despite how close you had grown to Joel, how attached you had become, Ellie was the first person your age who you had ever trusted. You had told her things that you had never spoken aloud to anyone before. And now, you were left with a constant weight of regret, of dread, in the pit of your stomach.
Selfishly, you wanted Ellie to be angry at Joel for getting rid of you. You wanted her to fight for you, wanted her to remain in your corner when everybody else opposed you. What you really wanted, though, was for somebody to choose you. You wanted to feel important to somebody.
Though, now, you think you’ve outgrown that childish desire. You don’t want anyone around you, anymore.
Not even Tommy.
“Kid, would you just open the damn door?” Tommy asked, speaking to the plain face of your front door. He had knocked three times before opening his mouth, growing exasperated by your cold shoulder. He knew you were in there — had seen you walk home after school, when he was finishing a job just around the corner. Besides, where else would you be?
You stayed silent, sitting on the unmade sheets of your bed, staring at the door as Tommy knocked once again.
“C’mon, open the door. Please?” He repeated, and you could practically picture his stance outside, one arm resting against the doorframe and one hand resting against his hip. “Just wanna talk, alright? Then I’ll be on my way.”
You heard the heaviness of his sigh from your space across the room. But it didn’t change anything for you. How could it? Tommy had sent you to his brother, he had known what his brother was like, and he had sat idly by while you were uprooted and sent across town like you didn’t matter. Just another inconvenience. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he was also forcing you to go to Jackson’s community school, run primarily by an almost 70 year old woman, who was meant to retire a year after the outbreak.
It was ridiculous and unfair.
Ellie didn’t have to go to school.
It just felt like another method of getting you out of the way. After all, what did you need with writing and reading? Mathematics and history? The world had ended before you were even born.
Besides, you knew for a fact that Tommy had volunteered to take Ellie out shooting soon. Despite her avoiding you, you could still hear her boasting about it in the canteen to her friends.
You couldn’t help but feel like it should’ve been you. After all, weren’t you the one without anybody? Weren’t you the one who would be alone, should Jackson fall apart? Ellie would have Tommy and Maria. She would have Joel. Who would you have? Nobody.
If Tommy Miller had ever actually cared about you, perhaps he would’ve helped you work on the issues you’d been facing when you went to him for help, rather than passing you off to his older brother. You had spent your entire life depending on only yourself. Tommy had no idea what it had taken for you to approach him, for you to want help. To have that thrown back in your face, you knew, had done damage. As if you weren’t already damaged enough.
It was something you had been aware of for a long time — that there was something wrong about you. Something rotten. Like something had crawled into your chest, into the gaping cavity between your ribs, and died in there. It had been decaying over the years, leaving an air about you that told everybody exactly what you had always known: you are unsalvageable. Nothing in this world could reverse the decomposition that had occurred inside of you, just like nothing could reverse the infection that had taken the family you had never known.
The whole thing made you feel foolish, really. Your whole life, a voice inside of your head had been telling you that nobody could help you. Nobody would help you. And when you had finally gathered the courage to prove that voice wrong? It was proven right instead. It was a kick in the teeth. A thorn underneath your fingernail. Something bothersome, painful.
Tommy Miller had proven that you were just as alone as you had always felt.
He knocked against your door again, apparently content to wait you out. You had nowhere to go, but the knocking was irritating, the knowledge of his presence outside of that door was grating.
Before you could think better of it, you made your way over, and opened the door.
He looked the same as he always had done. Dressed for the weather, his favourite pair of boots on, and hair pushed away from his face, which held a surprised expression.
“Hey, kid.” He said, finally, after a moment of just staring at you in shock. It had been a while since Tommy had seen you up close. You looked more tired than he remembered.
“What do you want?” You asked, forgoing any sort of greeting towards the man. Opening the door was about as generous as you were prepared to be towards him.
His face morphed slightly, shock ebbing away, regret flowing in at the creases by his eyes, the grimace of his mouth. “Right, uh,” He paused, looking into your converted garage through the gap between you and the door. You pulled the door closer, so only you fit into the gap. “Alright, so, I know things have been… tense, between everybody, but I was hopin’ that you might join us. Me ‘n Maria are doin’ a winter’s dinner, not exactly Christmas, but it’s a day to be with family, y’know?” Tommy rambled on a bit, trying to spit all of his words out before you could decline, or shut the door in his face.
“We’re not family, Tommy.”
You watched his expression fall, which provided you with a sting that you hadn’t expected. But the sentiment remained the same — you weren’t family. Your surname wasn’t Miller. And even if it were, with the state of things between you, Tommy and Joel? It definitely wasn’t something you’d call family.
Honestly, you weren’t sure why he was coming to you with this now. Maybe before Joel had rejected you, before Tommy had watched on as any trust you had was shattered, but now? Now, he was lucky you even opened the door. You didn’t have a family, and it wasn’t a big loss to you. You’d gone this long without one, so what did it matter?
Tommy’s mouth opened and closed a few times, and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was at a loss for words.
“Go home, okay?” You said, when his words continued to fail him. He swallowed, jaw clenched as his teeth gritted together. He was frustrated, though you doubted that was directed at you. More likely, was that it was directed at Joel. You knew things had been tense between the two of them recently, too.
He paused just as he was about to turn away. “Will you think about it, at least?” Tommy asked, though he didn’t look like he wanted to hear your answer. It wasn’t much of a question anyway.
You nodded, with no real intention of thinking about it. Well — no intention of thinking about attending. Thinking about the offer was a different story.
His shoulders deflated as he turned away, hearing you shut the door as he followed the path away from your place.
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Even a full twenty four hours after Tommy had approached you with his invitation, you couldn’t let it go.
It felt as though something within you had snapped, falling from a great height and landing in the pit of your stomach. For whatever reason, one that you couldn’t get into now, maybe ever, you were filled to the brim with dread. It bubbled over, pooling in your limbs and making everything feel far too heavy.
You couldn’t understand why he couldn’t just let you be? Couldn’t he see that he had done more than enough, when it came to you?
Logically, you know it isn’t fair to blame him. Tommy wasn’t in control of anything his brother or pseudo-niece did. He had always tried to look out for you, and deep down, you know that he had truly believed that his brother would be good for you. He must have thought that, given Joel’s pre-outbreak experience, and now post-outbreak too, of being a father, he could’ve been that for you. Tommy couldn’t have known that Joel didn’t want another kid.
But that illogical part of you, the part that cowers away from everybody you meet, the part that was hurt, reminds you that it was his job to know. It was his responsibility to know what he was dumping you into. And more than that, Joel was his brother. How could he not have known?
You were the one who had ended up well and truly hurt from the encounter, not the other way around. So why did you feel guilty, every time Tommy’s expression at your scathing words popped into your mind? You hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true, and you hadn’t said anything that he didn’t deserve to hear. So why? Why did you feel this unending twist of dread and guilt, eating away at your bones, your tissues, your organs?
Even now, as you worked a late night shift at the canteen, washing dishes, every time the water rippled, you could see his face. Distantly, you hoped Joel had felt like this, after what he had done to you. You hoped he remembered what he said, remembered your expression when you relayed his own message to him.
If you were honest with yourself, you think that if it had been Joel, you would’ve revelled in that expression. There’s a part of you, a part that is mean and bitter and full of resentment, that wants to hurt Joel, just like he had hurt you. You settle for staying as far away from him as you possibly can.
Joel had tried to see you a few times, back when it was fresh, with no luck from you. There was nobody in this world that you wanted to see less than him. At the very least, he got the message. Sometimes, you wonder if he had only shown up those few instances just for appearances. To make himself look better. It was no secret to the people of Jackson that Joel Miller was a questionable man, with an even more questionable past. But he did more for the town than most, so it wasn’t spoken about. Nothing more than whispers, anyway.
There had been a few whispers after your outburst at the Tipsy Bison, especially when somebody shared the news of your move across town. But it was chalked up to teenage dramatics, the youth, as if there really was such a thing.
Regardless, Tommy’s invitation to dinner was coming up in a mere two days. The knowledge of where and when it was happening made you uncomfortable, like an itch underneath your collar, it was stifling. Because that part of you, the one that wants to hurt Joel, also wants company. It craves a family, and that was a craving that had only ever come close to being fulfilled once. Still, it was a natural instinct within humans. Safety came in numbers, and there was comfort in having people you could trust. You wish that part of you could just be satisfied being solitary, because you’ll never go to that dinner. Not if you have anything to say about it.
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Two hours until dinner, and the sun was beginning to set.
And here you were, axe in hand, staring down at the dwindling pile of wood that you needed to cleave into pieces. It wouldn’t last two hours. In reality, it wouldn’t even last one. Still, you stare as though the logs might multiply, hoping for the excuse out of a dinner you didn’t want to go to. And you know that you have no obligation to any of those people, you do know that, but it’s hard to believe it. Partly because you don’t want to. Because you’re torn between the satisfaction of succeeding on your own, and the fear of cutting off all ties to the only people you think you’ve truly cared about.
Being alone is a lot easier in theory.
In practice, it’s harder than you had thought. You were doing okay when they all left you to it, left you to live your own life. But an invitation means something, and that’s hard to ignore.
You bring the axe down, letting the severing of wood distract you from all thoughts of invitations and dinners and meanings.
It’s about the most physical task they’ll let you do — courtesy of Tommy, you’re sure — but you relish in it. Something about it is rewarding. Reminds you of your capabilities, your survival. The cold air burns your lungs, and each swing of the axe makes your muscles ache, but in a satisfying way. And doing it like this, alone, makes you feel unmistakably powerful.
You hear the crunch of footsteps behind you, not heavy enough to be Tommy’s or—God forbid—Joel’s. You paid them no mind, leaning down to move the chopped wood into the pile you had already assembled. You grabbed another log and placed it down, and just as you were preparing to swing the axe back up, you heard somebody clear their throat.
“Hey,” Ellie said, when you turned around. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet as you failed to reply, fiddling with the gloves on her hands. “So, uh, you having fun chopping wood?” She asked, apparently trying to clear some of the tension that surrounded the two of you, that clung. You leant the top of the axe blade on the ground, and sighed. Your breath clouded in front of your face.
“What do you want?” You asked, repeating the very same question you had asked Tommy, feeling all the more certain about your adamancy about not going to that dinner. Ellie’s brows furrowed slightly, but she quickly deflated as soon as you could see the defensive air starting to rise within her.
She shifted again, before speaking. “Just wondering if you’re coming to dinner? Tommy said he wasn’t sure.”
You did your best not to scoff, mostly succeeding, as you turned back to the wood awaiting your axe. With practiced ease, your axe rose, and swung down at the wood, separating it with a satisfying crack. “Wouldn’t count on it.” You said, as polite as you could say: no, no, I’m not fucking coming to dinner. You’re not my family. You don’t care about me. I don’t care about you. There’s nothing left here.
It was ridiculous for them to send Ellie to come and convince you to attend, of all people. Their best bet would have been Maria, who had never technically done anything that had hurt you. No, all of the fault laid with the Millers, and with Ellie.
The two of you could’ve remained friends, could’ve been something close to a family, but she didn’t want that. She chose to cut you out, to isolate you even further, to disappear from your life completely, despite being the only reason you had ever opened up to Joel. It was like she had taken a knife, and cut you open, let you warm, simmer, before leaving you out on the counter to cool. To rot.
“What happened to you?” Ellie asked, as if she didn’t know, as if she hadn’t been a part of it. Like there was no reason for your shift from being warm around her, to being ice cold. She had done this to you. At least, in part.
You didn’t say anything at first, choosing to finish chopping the wood in front of you, and piling it off to the side. Finally, you turned to her as she watched you, brows furrowed, lip curled defensively. “You people happened. You all fucking happened. Is that enough for you? Is that enough for why I don’t want to go to some stupid winter dinner?” You said, not raising your voice, but hearing more anger and irritation seep into your tone as you spoke.
She looked like she wanted to take a step back, but she stayed firm. “We all have our own problems,” Ellie told you, voice harsh and unrelenting as she spoke, and her expression hardened. “Everybody does! It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, okay?”
It would have been so easy to continue arguing with her, to descend into childish taunts and quips, to disguise genuine hurt with ridiculous arguments, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You said nothing, turning back to the depleting supply of unchopped wood.
Ellie seemed ready to burst. “Me and Joel have our own fucking problems! It’s not always good. But you can’t just give up on someone!” She said loudly, stepping towards you, ignoring the snow crunching underneath her shoes. It seemed to you that she was trying to convince herself, more than anything. Whatever she came to you with, now, wasn’t really about you. It was about her.
“I’m not the one who gave up, Ellie. You and Joel are more alike than you know. But at least he had the decency to tell me why he was giving up on me.” You told her, staying calm, despite the way your blood was rushing through your body, carrying so much adrenaline you felt like your heart may just burst.
She gaped at you, seeming more stuck on the concept of her and Joel being alike than on how she had hurt you. You figured it would go like this, though, if the two of you ever spoke again. It wasn’t a surprise to you. Everything in your life always turned out the way you expected it to. Even Joel and Ellie, in the end, had done as much, despite surprising you at first. It was inevitable. Your every worry, every fear, even the ones that Tommy had once labelled as irrational, had turned out to be true.
You wouldn’t go to the dinner.
Everything between you and the extended Miller family was in ruins, and like you, it couldn’t be salvaged. It was over with. Done.
Now, all that was left to do was wipe your hands clean of them.
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A/N: hello if you made it this far! it has been a WHILE. but in honour of ITDWS being posted a year ago today (!!!!!!!!!) i thought i’d give y’all SOMETHING!!! it’s not amazing but i hope you enjoy!!! life has been crazy + i haven’t been writing much but i still love and appreciate every single one of you <3 i think of you often.
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ay0nha · 1 year
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Dead Man Walking (II) | Tommy Miller
SUMMARY: “Jealous?” The warmth you felt helped the teasing statement be excused. Tommy scratched at his facial hair, trying to cover for himself, emanating a light laugh. But you only continued to joke.  “Maybe if you knocked him out for me, I’d be kissing you better.”
PAIRING: Tommy Miller x femme!reader
WORD COUNT: 2.5K
WARNINGS: not too much, pretty fluff oriented, grumpy reader getting hit on poorly, mentions of guns, little bit spicy (not smut though), hot mess because I rushed the ending, cliches/tropes, etc.
A/N: Soooo, here’s a part two! I was struggling with this one a little bit, but I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that it is what it is. Enjoy! AS ALWAYS Huge thank you to @from-the-clouds​ who continually listens and helps!
The house always seemed to groan. It held ghosts of previous owners that begged for their lives back. And yet, you moved through the home as if your name was on the deed.
Tommy let you pick, but the choice was purely based on distance rather than vanity. The families congregated in colorful homes that they made their own. Other neighbors shared goods, extending themselves selflessly. But you couldn’t engage as they wanted you to, so willingly unguarded.
You can trust us.
Tommy’s words were compelling. Yet, you hardly left the provided house without him luring you out with promises of fresh air and target practice. It kept you sane to place your catharsis into something outside the confines of the town.
But you needed to stretch your legs further; you wanted to join Tommy on patrol. You never asked, though. You hadn’t planned to until you got over the fact that it was purely due to how the separation impacted you.
“Let me get you another glass.” A man interrupted your solitude. You knew what his attention suggested. Regardless, your glass was pushed forward in mild resignation.
During your time in Jackson, you learned quickly about the liquor they stored. It was the only thing that comforted you with familiarity. The man recognized that, providing a glass full to the brim. You thought to thank him, but instead, you showed appreciation through a few continuous sips.
“There’s no rush, little lady.” The look on his face could have been misconstrued as being impressed by your actions. But the laugh he let out revealed his amusement. “I’ve got plenty more to share.”
You requested more, to which he happily obliged. The bottle was settled on the wooden table you unintentionally claimed. It sat in the back of the dining area, where your back could never be to the door, and you could keep a careful eye on Tommy.
“I was thinking-
“Didn’t think someone like you was capable of that.” It may have been the longest sentence he had heard come from you. But it was far from the cruelest you had pent up.
“Ah, come on now, I’ve got some brains up here. ” He feigned offense, but his smile spread. To him, you were hard to get, someone seen as unattainable who, through his flirtatious efforts, could massage something sweeter out of you. “Enough to know a pretty thing like yourself shouldn’t be so lonely.”
“Not sure I’m convinced…” You clicked your teeth with sarcasm, toying with your glass. You decided once it was low enough, you’d find something else for entertainment. “Think you might’ve missed the point of why I’m over here.”
“You don’t make it easy to stay away.”
You ignored the way his eyes drifted along your body hungrily. They were always on you with the jobs you shared. He was never subtle, but you doubted subtly was his priority.
“Then, I’ll have to try harder.”
The bottle’s contents lowered as you helped yourself to another glass. The man before you took it as your walls coming down, acting on a moment of what he took as vulnerability.
"I know everyone says you're… shy…” The community considered you a recluse. Their gazes questioned if your additional mouth to feed was worth it. “But I can tell you’re fun…just need to open you up a little.”
He insinuated something you would never entertain. His hands inched towards yours across the table to enrapture you. Yet, your focus was on Tommy across the room. You were determined to meet his eye, but he was engrossed with his company. A smile pulled his face occasionally as he contributed to the friendly conversation.
You would have memorized the way the corners of his eyes crinkled, how his laughter started deep within his chest just to echo its way to you. Typically, you’d scold yourself for admiring him that way but indulged regardless. Tonight, it hadn’t come as naturally. It was his final night before the next patrol, and you sat idly stewing in discontent.
“Look–” You’d forgotten about your date. When your eyes shifted to him, you saw how he tried to be genuine, but men like him could never accomplish that. “–I get this is new, meeting people and all that.  I felt the same when I was saved, but–
If your eyes lingered ahead just a beat longer, you would have caught the moment Tommy checked on you. But the words spoken begged for your undivided attention.
“You think I needed saving?” You mocked the pity. You heard what they said, the rumors they spread about you. But this was new; you being viewed as the product of mercy.
“You deserve better–someone-” He paused to speak more definitively. “Someone who keeps the bed warm when things get lonely.”
“Let me guess, that’s you?” There was something inside you that knew better, but the moment to be a bigger person never found you.  “The man that shovels shit for a living. Lucky me.”
“I knew you had a mouth on you.” He wet his lips with his drink, finishing it off.  The bottle was in his hand as he went to leave, but typical of any man, he needed the last word. “Shame I won’t be able to put it to good use.”
Anger had been your companion all night. The alcohol was a catalyst to match his stance. There were murmurs around you, eyes looking for a spectacle. With a hand on the pistol attached to your hip, you hadn’t noticed Tommy detach himself from the group, knowing your next move.
“Say that again.” Cocking your head on a tilt, your expression hardened into something wild. “I didn’t quite hear you.”
The man laughed, smile morphing from something amiable to something sinister. “You know, a bitch like you needs controlling–
“That’s enough.” Tommy cut in before the insult could materialize. Your tongue was sharp and ready, but the hand that settled on your spine caused the words to die. “Now, join the others.”
“Tommy…” He started again, trying to reason, man to man. “She’s been nothing but– I was just trying–
“I wasn’t suggestin’.”
Tommy's hand remained on you every step to the door. The touch was foreign, but you could tell through the warmth it was more for his sake than yours. It was as if he were holding back from doing more damage than you.
“I had that handled.” You voiced your frustration, moving languidly from drunkenness. Brushing off his hand, you spat again, “I didn’t need your help.”
“I was helping him.” The cool air carried his words. He was calm, almost happy to have left the festivities. “If I waited any longer, he wouldn’t be standing.”
Your expression diffused slightly at his comment, "He would have deserved it."
“Oh, I don’t doubt that.” Tommy looked to the stars instead of you. “He always sweet on you like that?”
You gave him a once-over.
“Jealous?” The warmth you felt helped the teasing statement be excused. Tommy scratched at his facial hair, trying to cover for himself, emanating a light laugh. But you only continued to joke.  “Maybe if you knocked him out for me, I’d be kissing you better.”
The irony was palpable. The times Tommy got in trouble for the sake of saving someone’s honor could no longer be counted on one hand. He would have easily fallen into the trap all those years ago, but now he only watched how you stumbled beside him.
“Think it’s time to call it a night.”
You stared heavenward as he had, the icy air making tears prick your waterline. It was all too much too soon. The happiness was nauseating, and the community’s collective eye made you cynical.
“Walk me back?”
“‘Course.”
You led the path back, choosing the long way purposefully. You had waited long enough to spend time with him, and with him in your grasp, he was yours for the night. Your shoulders brush but never quite touched, and you tried to think of something to say. You didn’t know what you could say if you were brave enough to say what you wanted. It remained like that until you unlocked the front door.
“How are you settling in?” Tommy took the state your home. Things looked untouched, your bag still packed, ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
“Don’t.”
“I’m not tryin’ to argue.”
Tommy diffused lightly, choosing to settle in the living room. He always looked for something to fix in your home, an excuse to knock on your door. You watched his fingers trail the fireplace, assuring the caulk hadn’t cracked.
“We’re not arguing.”
The idea stung; that every interaction the two of you had led into disarray. Tommy wasn’t blind to the fact that it wasn’t a personal attack, just a moment of progress only he had the privilege to be a part of.
“Thought you would have killed these by now.” Tommy played with the petals of the flowers he’d collected. They were wildflowers he plucked. After borrowing some dirt from the farmers, he placed them in an old tin. A housewarming gift, he called it.
“So did I.”
Some days, you’d sit there and watch the flowers bloom into the centerpiece for the coffee table. Some petals started brown, others falling off completely. But you encouraged the emerging buds with water and company. It was the only other living thing to occupy your home other than Tommy.
He knew you chose to be quiet. There were times you’d ramble when he hit the right topic. But you’d quickly retreat once you saw how warm his gaze was. Even now, fumbling through your cabinets, you held back. The glasses you found were already full when you spoke up again.
“Want one?”
“I leaving early tomorrow.” Tapping on the sofa’s side, Tommy hesitated but ultimately declined. You stayed with your back to him, but he watched you tense at the mention of the patrol.
“Two for me, then.” There would be no point in stopping you in your own home of all places. But you knew if you turned, you’d find a grimace, a judgment of your actions.
“We’re only going a few miles out.” Tommy attempted again. The air was thick with reservation. But you remained quiet, busing yourself with whatever was before you.  He called your name, desperate for a proper response. “I won’t be gone for long…”
You suppressed the previous anger you held, it felt too hard to call upon it. But everything felt cyclical, a need for an answer to an obvious question never said aloud. “Why don’t you let me join you?”
“We both know the answer to that.”
Sitting now, Tommy looked like he belonged. Like he’d just had a long day at work, body open and inviting for any sort of tension relief he could provide. It had almost distracted you from your antagonism. Almost.
“I can handle myself.”
“You think I don’t know that?” He looked at you with genuineness, eyebrows pinched with slight worry.  At least that’s what you believed it to be until he worked through his confusion, “You worried about me, is that it?”
“No.” The answer was just swift enough for Tommy to read between the lines. But it was only half of your reasoning. “They don’t need you every time, there are plenty others.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Tommy owed more than his life could offer to the community. You knew his feelings countered yours. “How noble.”
“Thought we wasn’t arguin’.” Tommy’s lip twitched into something teasingly smug. “Careful now." He warned cleverly,  "It’s starting to sound like you care.”
Curiosity transformed the air, “Is that how you would talk to me?”
Tommy let out a questioning hum, his eyes trained on your every movement. Neither noticed how you crept towards him, practically knocking your knees with his.
“Before.” You encouraged him, instructed him. “Talk to me like you would before.”
You expected resistance. But with his long, slender hands, on which the weather had taken its toll, Tommy reached for you.
Standing between his legs, his head lulled back, “Let’s see…” You squirmed to his pleasure, confirming the next words were all the more accurate, “I would say somethin’ about that blush of yours.”
You refrained from taking place beside him until now, knowing the work of your bourbon would take over. You weren’t daring enough to settle on his lap, but with every ounce of courage, you mustered, your legs were flesh with his.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” An arm settled behind you as Tommy played out the scenario. He had given plenty of thought to it. “I’d make sure you knew I only have eyes for you.” There was your smoking cowboy.  “Then, I’d–I would–
“Go on, tell me what you’d do…” Your voice was just above a whisper. You were intent on distracting him. Especially when your hand dragged along his jean-clad thigh, going higher and higher, trying to reach an unexplored destination.
Steady as ever, Tommy’s eye contact remind strong, and his breathing even. You wished you could read his mind to know how if your fingers continued to dance on him, he’d do himself in.
“You lost?”
You avoided his question as you pressed your lips to his. You finally were relieved of the fog that you carried with you. This, the clear solution. You pulled him by the shearling of his jacket  to only hold him closer as you attacked his lips.
It was easy for Tommy to get lost in the sensation. He used his position to his advantage to deepen the kiss, thumb playing at your temple. He held you firmly despite his continual gentle touch. It was as if he got more relief from it than you had, but it was hard to tell as you melted into his touch.
Yet, he quickly pushed back, hand finding purchase on your jaw, "W-wait-Wait."
Your lips were swollen, all his doing, which only made the words that left them all the more beautiful, "Stay with me."
Relief washed over you when he agreed. You were bolder now, no longer using your inebriation as a crutch. You thread your fingers through his hair while Tommy passed along another peck in gratitude. The moment he stepped through your door, Tommy sought the invitation. The toll of patrol worked both ways, and staying with you allowed something for him to hold onto until he returned. A little dryness in the mouth, lethargy in the muscles, and clumsiness in the tongue would be the only memory of how Tommy stayed until the sun rose.
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soulofapatrick · 11 months
Text
Words in the Dust - Tommy Miller x Reader
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Summary: Tommy has a surprise for you 
Words: 2.3K 
Warnings: fluff
Notes: can make a spicy part two if y’all want it
Y/N’s POV
“Please can I open my eyes now,” I’m begging, feeling rather unbalanced atop my horse while Tommy is leading the way, a proud chuckles the only response I get from him. He woke me up bright and early, telling me to get dressed and that we were going on an adventure which I could not say no to. Like I’d say no to spending quality, alone time with Tommy anyway. The man doesn’t know how head over heels I am for him and currently I’d like to keep it that way in fear he’ll leave me if he finds out I want more than this. 
“We’re almost there.” Tommy finally speaks, voice low and soothing, not knowing what he does to me. He’s chuckling again as I squirm in my saddle, the sound of hooves hitting concrete my only hint at where we are. The air carries a different scent to the familiarity of the woods we were in before. It’s a mixture of dampness, like the smell of water damage, and something more subtle but familiar. I take in a deep breath, trying to decipher the aroma. It’s an intriguing blend, both earthy and urban, with a hint of something reminiscent of forgotten dreams. 
As Tommy leads us further along what I’m assuming is a road, the scents intensify. I can sense a shift in the atmosphere, a transition from the openness of nature to something more enclosed. The air growing denser, carrying whispers of an unseen world around me. It’s like with every passing moment, the scents become more and more pronounced. I catch a whiff of aged concrete and traces of old life, intermingled with the faint sweetness of nature. 
“Tom-“ 
“Alright sweetheart,” Tommy cuts me off, our horses coming to a stop and I can sense his presence as he dismounts. The next moment, his strong and familiar hands find my waist, guiding me out of my saddle and onto my feet. My heart quickening in response, anticipation flooding my veins. He’s guiding me forwards, my feet stumbling a little on the road and he catches me immediately, pulling me so close I can feel the rumble in his chest and can smell the vanilla cologne he uses. 
“Open your eyes darlin’.” He whispers, voice filled with a mixture of excitement and tenderness. His breath ghosts my neck and my skin is ablaze at how close he is, stubble grazing my ear. The air is pregnant with anticipation, and I can practically taste the moment about to unfold. 
With a flutter of anticipation, I slowly allow my eyes o open, taking in the scene before me. As my vision clears, I see it - a bookshop, standing tall amidst the remnants of the city. Its facade, though weathered and worn, still holds a sense of quiet dignity. It sends a sense of awe flushing through me as I take in the sight. The bookshop stands as a testament to resilience, a place where stories were once shared and cherished. It’s a sanctuary, untouched by the chaos that surrounds it. 
The windows, though dusty, hint at the treasures within - a world of knowledge and imagination waiting to be explored. The sight of those books, waiting patiently on the shelves, fills me with a sense of longing and excitement. Here, in this forgotten bookshop, lies the possibility of discovering forgotten tales and unravelling the mysteries of the past. 
I takes all my willpower but turn my head, away from the shop and to Tommy, breath hitching in my throat when I realise how close we are, “Thank you Tom,” I say softly, voice filled with genuine appreciation and shaking a little, “This is… it’s perfect.” 
Tommy beams, his cognac eyes reflecting the joy I feel in my heart, “I knew you’d like it.” He says, voice filled with satisfaction, mirroring the shit-eating grin he’s got plastered on those oh so kissable lips, “Come on, let’s have a look inside.” He’s finding my hand and gently tugging me forwards. His touch sends shovers down my spine, igniting a fire within me. I willingly follow his lead, our hands intertwined, as we step across the threshold into the realm of forgotten tales and undiscovered secrets. 
As we enter, a sense of reverence washes over me. The atmosphere is hushed, as if the books themselves are whispering their stories, inviting us to listen. The air carries a scent of aged paper and ink, an intoxicating perfume that stirs my imagination. Tommy squeezes my hand once more, as if to say ‘I’ll be right here, go have fun’. I’m glancing back at him before I can’t hold back anymore, letting his hand go and speed walking further into the store. 
The shelves tower above, adorned with rows upon rows of books, each one a gateway to a different world. The store seems to hold its own pulse, a heartbeat echoing through the hallowed aisles. The books beckoning me, their spines creating a tapestry of faded colours and titles. I’m reaching out, running my fingers along their edges, feeling the roughness of time and the stories they hold. The touch of each book leaves a trace of dusk on my fingers, evidence of their neglected beauty. 
With every step, I’m immersed in the world of literature, captivated by the diversity of genres and subjects. Fiction to non-fiction intermingle, classics and contemporary works sharing the same space, creating a rich tapestry of knowledge and imagination. The shelves seem to lean in, drawing me closer to their secrets. The books whisper to me, their stories screaming to be heard. There are books of all shapes and sizes, their bindings worn with age, yet still holding the allure of untold tales. Some have cracked spines, evidence of well-loved companions that have been read and reread over the years. Others remain pristine, waiting patiently for someone to embark on their first adventure. 
Amidst the whispers of the books, I barely register Tommy’s voice calling me from somewhere to my right, “Darling?” My attention is wholly captured by the enchantment of the bookshop, its allure irresistible. I lose myself in the exploration, feeling like an intrepid explorer venturing into uncharted territory.  
But then, as if guided by an invisible thread, I catch a glimpse of  Tommy down another aisle. He has a book in hand, head bowed as he scans the pages. My heart swells at the sight : the evening light casts a warm glow upon him, illuminating his curly black hair that dances with silver strands, a testament to the passage of time. His features are a captivating blend of rugged masculinity and boyish charm. 
His sun-kissed skin, smooth and inviting, beckons to be touched. The freckles sprinkled across his cheeks and nose only add to his allure, lending him an innocent air that contrasts beautifully with his masculine presence. His russet eyes, normally vibrant and lively, take on a lighter cognac hue in the evening light. The curls that frame his face fall with casual elegance, their playful tendrils adding to his charismatic appeal. A small goatee and well-groomed moustache accentuates his strong jawline. 
Tommy's attire complements his physique impeccably. The blue button-up shirt he wears hugs his broad chest and sculpted arms, accentuating his strength. His blue denim jacket, lined with soft fleece, adds an extra layer of rugged charm to his ensemble. With every movement, the fabric of his clothing molds to the contours of his body, hinting at the toned muscles beneath. My eyes trace the lines of his silhouette, lingering on his muscular arms and thick thighs, fuelling memories of stolen glances and late-night fantasies. The juxtaposition of his physical strength and boyish innocence creates an irresistible magnetism that has ensnared my heart. 
Lost in the moment, I revel in the sight of Tommy, the embodiment of both ruggedness and tenderness. As he turns a page in the book he holds, his brows furrow in concentration, his features reflecting a mixture of curiosity and fascination. It's moments like these that make me fall even deeper for him, appreciating not only his physical beauty but also his intellectual depth. 
As if feeling me watching him, he looks up, those warm eyes lighting up and silently beckoning me over. It’s like my feet have a mind of their own as I’m moving towards him, unable to resist him. The air crackles with anticipation, a tangible energy that draws us closer, as if we share a secret language, unspoken words floating between us. 
He sets the book aside, his gaze never leaving mine, and takes a step closer. The space between us seems to shrink, the world around us fading into insignificance. His voice low and husky, reaches my ears like a sweet melody. 
“Couldn’t resist joining me, could you?” He teases, his eyes sparkling with mischief. His fingers brush against mine, sending a shiver of electricity through my body, “I though the books had captured your heart completely.” 
A soft chuckle escapes my lips, my gaze locked with his, “The books can wait,” I reply, my voice filled with a mixture of playfulness and longing, “But you… you’re far too captivating to resist.” 
I’m not sure where this confidence is coming from as the moment hangs in the air, thick with unspoken desire. With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Tommy’s guiding me backwards, my back gently meeting the edge of one of the bookshelves. The sensation sends a thrill coursing through my veins, heightening the intensity of the moment. He closes the distance between us, body pressed against mine, creating a delicious friction that ignites a fire within me. 
I can feel his warm breath against my lips as he leans in, his eyes locked with mine, a playful smirk gracing his features. His proximity sets my heart racing, anticipation mingling with desires. It’s a tantalising dance, a game of seduction we are both willingly partaking in. His lips hovering just inches away from mine, teasingly close yet keeping me yearning for me. The anticipation builds, the tension thickening with each passing second. I can almost taste the sweetness of his kiss, feel the gentle pressure of his lips against mine. 
But Tommy lingers, relishing in the whine that leaves my throat, His eyes trace the contours of my face, gaze filled with longing and unspoken promises. He’s a master of seduction, teasing me with his proximity, making me ache for the connection we both crave. I’m desperate for him to stop teasing, biting my lower lip, a subtle invitation, a silent plea for him to close the gap. The desire in my eyes matches his own, fuelled by a love that yearns to be fully expressed. My fingertips graze the fabric of his jacket, yearning to pull him closer and feel his lips on mine. 
It seems to be all that it takes for Tommy to give in to the magnetic pull. His lips collide with mine in a passionate, intoxicating kiss. The kiss is a symphony of passion, each movement carefully orchestrated to convert the depth of our desire. Tommy’s hands, strong yet tender, find their place on the small of my back, pulling me closer to him. The heat of his touch sears through the fabric of my clothing, igniting a fire within me that threatens to consume us both. His fingers dance with gentle urgency, tracing delicate patterns along my spine, leaving a trail of tingling sensations in their wake. 
Our mouths move in perfect synchrony, a dance of exploration and longing. His lips, soft yeet insistent, mold against mine with a hunger that mirrors my own. The taste of him, a delicious combination of warmth and desire, fills my sense, leaving me intoxicated and craving more. The faint scent of old books and dust mingles with the subtle aroma of Tommy's cologne, creating a unique fragrance that becomes synonymous with this passionate encounter. It's a heady mixture, evoking a sense of nostalgia and excitement, as if we have stepped into our own private realm of desire and intimacy. 
As the kiss deepens, our bodies press against each other, seeking closer connection. I can feel the steady rhythm of Tommy’s heartbeat, a steady thump against my chest, perfectly mirroring the racing of my own heart. The heat between us intensifies, our shared breaths becoming more ragged and urgent, as if trying to convey the depths of our emotions without words. 
In this stolen moment, the world falls away, leaving only the intoxicating taste of his lips, the warmth of his embrace, and the undeniable connection that binds us together. It’s a kiss that speaks volumes. 
And as we reluctantly break the kiss, our lips parting with a soft, lingering brush, a sense of both longing and contentment fills the air, “Darlin, you’re like a drug. Can’t get enough of you, fuck… I need you.” 
“I need you too.” I’m choking out, heat pooling between my thighs, making me gain the confidence to guide him to a table full of books stacked high. An animalistic desire in me has me shoving all the books aside, the toppling of them to the floor sounding like an earthquake but I don’t care with the way Tommy’s looking at me. His eyes so dark they’re almost black when I hop up onto the table and spread my legs enough to pull in between them, drawing him down for another kiss,
“But your books…” He murmurs, with very little resistance to the impending kiss. 
“We can get more.” 
---------------
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gracieheartspedro · 8 months
Text
How Long
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pairing: f!reader x brother-in-law!joel miller
description: your boyfriend tommy miller is a cheating bastard. luckily, your brother-in-law joel is nice enough to help you get your mind off of it.
word count: 5.1k
warnings: MINORS DNI! this is 18+, pre!outbreak joel, this is porn, joel is a consent king though!, talk of horrible sex life, cheating, unprotected p in v, fingering, oral (f and m receiving), dirty talk, multiple orgasms, pet names
author's note: hey lovers (; I have been teasing this one awhile. i may continue this if you guys like it a lot. this was a request from an anon, i hope they like it!! i'm almost at 400 followers and I was gonna release this when I hit that, but I am too excited to share this. leave me your thoughts! my requests are still open! <3
You and Tommy went way back. You had crushed on him since high school, his charisma was hypnotic and you were hooked the moment he asked for your phone number. You became borderline obsessed. He was the ideal boyfriend. A huge mama’s boy, respectful, and hilarious. 
You hadn’t ever questioned Tommy’s intentions with you. You two even talked marriage. 
It wasn’t until his 26th birthday that you noted a shift in his behavior and when everything officially fell apart. You had just spent all afternoon at his brother, Joel’s, house. You and Joel arranged a surprise birthday barbeque and you were so excited to spend his special day with him and his whole family.
The whole day, you lied and said you were going for a girls day out with your sister, who was newly single. Instead, you and Joel slaved over the stove making Tommy’s favorites. You also decorated the shit out of Joel’s whole house, with the help of his tween daughter, Sarah. 
Joel told him to come over to help with fixing up his truck, but in actuality you all jumped out of your hiding spots and yelled “happy birthday!”
He hardly reacted. He was dazed seeing your beautiful smile peak up behind Joel’s recliner. 
His attitude was distant the whole night. He wouldn’t kiss you, and pulled away every time you went in to wrap your arms around his waist. He drank way more than you expected, tallying up about 10 beers. 
Joel noticed it, too. 
Joel even asked if he should start taking it easy and cool it on the beer. That only pissed Tommy off, which lead you to break up an argument in front of their own mother. Joel was annoyed, noting how shitty Tommy was being towards you. He was ready to fight his own brother on his birthday.
After the festivities and helping Joel with the dishes, you bid the whole family farewell. Tommy was too drunk to drive home, so you knew you would take him home in your Toyota Corolla, telling Joel you’d be back tomorrow to get his truck. 
“Drive safe you two,” Joel said in the driveway after assisting Tommy to the car. Even after Tommy yelled and fussed at him, he still gladly accepted Joel’s help. He knew he couldn’t walk any more than 50 feet. You smiled watching them, happy they could make amends so quickly, and started up your engine. 
The whole ride home, Tommy kept checking his flip phone. The screen would light up into his glazed over eyes and he’d huff in frustration. 
“Everything okay, baby?” You finally decide to ask. 
You glance over in his direction and you could tell he was annoyed by the question. You bite the inside of your cheek, anticipating him to blow up at you next. 
Tommy was not a nice drunk. He would blow up at the drop of a hat. There’d been countless times where he’d pick a fight with you after you picked him up from a bar or a friend’s house. You learned not to talk on any rides home when he was drinking. But you couldn’t help yourself. 
“You want my honest answer?”
Of course, you did. But when he says it like that?
“What is it, Tommy?”
He clears his throat, “I’m fuckin’ your sister.”
You felt your world crashing around you in that instant. You slam on your breaks on a main road, unable to actively drive due to the shocking news. You pull off into an abandoned parking lot, your hands shaking as you throw the car in park. 
“What?”
You didn’t even want to look over at him, your eyes welling with tears. 
“Yeah,” Is all he says, his voice changing, “I’m sick of lyin’. It’s only been a couple times. But she wants to meet back up.”
His drunk honesty was like vomit coming out of his mouth. Constant and sickening. He was so heartless with his words. This wasn’t your Tommy. What made everything so much worse was that it was your fucking little sister. You two didn’t have the best relationship, but you still cared deeply for her. This was the ultimate betrayal. You couldn’t believe that she, of all people, would try to destroy your picture perfect life.
Not so picture perfect anymore.
The soft hum of the radio takes up the air. You felt like you could suffocate with all of the tension. 
“How long?”
He chuckles lowly, “Longer than I’d probably like to admit. Why do you think her ex dumped her?”
You finally turn to him. He looked remorseless, not even batting an eye at your distraught expression.
“Get the fuck out of my car, Tommy,” You say sternly, “I don’t want to see your face ever again.”
“Oh come on baby,” He groans, “At least take me home.”
“Get,” The tears begin to fall, “Out. Now.”
He throws his hands up in surrender, “Fine, don’t want to watch you cry, anyway. Makes me feel like shit.”
He opens the car door and you watch as he stumbles out. He practically falls on the concrete, his footing wobbly from the alcohol. If you were as callous as him, you’d back your car right over him, but instead you sped off as soon as the door slammed shut. 
Your hands are still vibrating, unsure of what to do next, you pick up your phone and dial Joel. 
He answers after three rings. 
“‘Sup, sweetheart?”
His Southern drawl is hushed, like he was trying to be quiet for someone. It was late, maybe he was putting Sarah to bed. 
“Your brother.”
It’s all you could say before breaking out into a deep sob. He becomes panicked, immediately springing into older brother mode, begging you to tell him where you were. 
You finally catch your breath, “He’s a cheating bastard. He fucked my sister and I left him in the old Hecht’s parking lot.”
Joel lets out a long sigh, “Where are you?”
“I’m driving,” You mutter, choking back more sobs you feel coming up, “I can’t go home.”
You knew going home would be painful. All the photos lining your walls of you and Tommy. The pictures with your own sister. All of his belongings scattered all over the house. You knew you’d spiral, untangling the mess and missed signs. 
“Come back to my house,” He suggests, “I’ll go get Tommy and take him home. The back door will be unlocked, just come right in and settle down. Make some tea or somethin’.”
You nod even though he can’t see you. 
Joel was the older brother you never had. He was mature and honest. You had come to him a couple times to analyze Tommy and his behavior. It didn’t happen often, but he was great at advice. You trusted him. He was family to you.
“Thanks Joel,” You wipe your tears, “See you in a bit.”
-
Luckily Sarah was fast asleep upstairs, snuggled up soundly, while you tried to contain your sobs. You couldn’t believe how drastically this evening turned.
Tommy cheated on you with your sister.
The man you were hoping to marry and settle down with? The one who was adored by your parents? The one you told all your darkest secrets to?
You had no clue how he would ever come back from this. And he did it with your sister?
You still could not grasp that it was her. The girl who always came to you for boy advice? Hell, she came to you last week asking about a guy she had be-
It was fucking Tommy. She wanted advice on how to woo your fucking boyfriend. 
You wanted to strangle her too, but who knows what lies he may have been leading. You wanted the whole story, but you didn’t want to open a can of worms so late in the evening. You weren’t going to be sleeping, plagued by your own thoughts and emotions.
You’re curled up on Joel’s couch, using his huge knitted blanket as a cape. You turned on the TV only to give your cries some background noise.
Just when you stop the tears, Joel walks in with this look on his face. Disappointment. Rage. 
“How ya holdin’ up, sweet girl?”
Joel had tons of pet names for you, but that was a new one. He has always called you anything but your actual name. 
“Not good,” You say, choking back more tears. You were practically all cried out, your cheeks were stained bright red. Joel shuffles over to you, dropping his keys down on the coffee table. He plops down on the couch next to me.
“He’s a fuckin’ idiot,” He mutters, patting your unclothed thigh. Maybe it was the words he said that sent goosebumps up your body, not the fact he took a long second to remove his hand from your leg.
“I just can’t… Why would he do this?”
He huffs, shrugging his broad shoulders, “I asked him and he said it’s cuz you ain’t puttin’ out like you used to. Said that your sister came onto him and he couldn’t say no.”
It felt like another stab to the heart. You and Tommy had sex like three times a week. Every time he came inside you and praised you. You on the other hand, never came and had grown sick of having to finish yourself off every time it happened. So yeah, maybe you weren’t the eager youngin’ you were before, but you still fucked him whenever he wanted.
“That’s horseshit! I fuck him all the time. He is just… he’s a fucking cheating bastard. I just can’t believe it was her. Like what man fucks around with his girl’s own sister? He knows better.”
You’re trying to rationalize his behavior in your head. But Joel is not as kind.
“He obviously doesn’t, sweet girl. He…” He drifts off, catching himself for saying how he truly felt about his brother. Once he looks into your puffy red eyes, his tune changes, “He’s a stupid motherfucker for letting a girl like you go. Don’t know much about your sister, but she has some explainin’ to do, too.”
Your heart flutters a bit. Joel’s accent was so much more pronounced when he was angry, it was kind of hot. Why are you thinking that right now?
“I just can’t believe he would do something so… heartless. He didn’t even act sorry, Joel.”
“The alcohol made him bold, that’s for sure. Doesn’t ‘cuse the behavior, but ya know,” He sits back into his couch, “‘m sorry, sweetheart.”
You turn to face him, “Makes me think of the time he accused me of cheating.”
“He accused you of cheatin’? When?”
It was years ago, right after your 21st birthday. Joel and Tommy took you and a couple of your friends out to a club in downtown Austin. You took so many shots, you ended up dancing a bit too close with Joel. It led to a fight you had never brought up to Joel himself, but nonetheless, Tommy thought you had a thing for his older brother.
Sure, Joel was nice. He was a bit more serious than Tommy, always trying to be the rational one. He was an excellent and present father, dedicating his entire life to raising Sarah. He had similar features to Tommy. Tall, dark hair, beautiful brown eyes. When you talked to him, those eyes of his were so laser focused on what you said, sometimes you found yourself stumbling over your words. 
Maybe it was a little crush. 
“It was years ago,” You confess, looking down at your bitten back cuticles, “He thought I had a thing for you.”
His eyes zero in on your lips, like he’s trying to take the words out of your mouth, one by one.
“A thing? What type of thing?”
You shake your head, pushing your face into your hands. This wasn’t something you wanted to talk about, especially not now. But it was distracting you from thinking about what you could’ve done. Instead, you’re reminding yourself of all the shitty things Tommy has done over the years. That “perfect boyfriend” you had in the beginning was falling apart a long time ago. You just hadn’t seen the signs right in front of you. Now here they are, splattered all over the floor.
“He thought you and I had a bit too much fun on my 21st, I don't know! He always acted so weird when I talked about you. You’re like my brother, I would never cross that line.”
The silence in the room was deafening. You finally raise your head, looking at Joel’s contemplative face. 
“Never?”
You stare at him, looking for a smile to crack across his face. Like it was a joke or something.
But it wasn’t.
The air in the room shifted.
“Joel,” You mumble, before his fingers reach up and trace your bottom lip gently, “We can’t.”
“Why ‘cause I’m like your brother, or ‘cause you’re still banking on kissin’ and makin’ up with Tommy?”
It was a fair question. Making up with Tommy was never even a question, though. After being burned so harshly, you didn’t see any redemption. He was done for. Once that confession slipped past his lips, he was as good as gone. 
This would be the greatest revenge. Fucking his brother?
What could you lose?
Joel could be your rebound. Something to ease the harsh sting you still felt in your heart. You start to feel guilty pile in the pit of your tummy. But then you hear Tommy’s words ringing in your head. 
“I’m fuckin’ your sister.”
Yeah, you could use some revenge. 
“You can’t tell him,” You murmur, making sure it’s in a whisper. Even if you wanted this to be revenge, you didn’t want Tommy to know, “Ever.”
“It’ll be between you and me, baby girl.”
You nod, finally accepting his offer. He grabs your legs and pulls you into his lap. You never thought you’d see the day where you would be mounted on top of Joel Miller. His eyes feasted on you in a way that sent tingles straight down to your core.
“I can’t lie, baby girl,” He purrs, his hands tracing you from your thighs all the way up to your shoulders, “I have thought this scenario out countless times.”
“Really?”
“Of course,” His hand finds its way to your neck, “Seein’ you at family barbeques, watchin’ you at bars with Tommy. Always wanted to pull you into a bathroom and get a feel of these,” He runs his hands down your chest, catching the edge of your yellow tank top. Tommy’s favorite color on you. He pulls it down, revealing your white bra underneath. It was your favorite push up, a Christmas present from Tommy. 
He was littering your body, but instead of Tommy’s hands removing every trace of himself away from your body, it was his brother.
Joel doesn’t take note of your dazed expression, he’s too focused on your cleavage spilling over your bra. His fingers trace back to the clasp, his fingers expertly unhooking it. It sent chills down your back, while your boobs fall further out of the bra. He helps you shimmy it off your front, his eyes lighting up when your boobs rest right in his eyeline.
“Fuckin’ Christ,” He groans, his thumb and pointer finger tugging on your left nipple. You hiss, letting yourself get out of your own head for a moment. Your boobs were extremely sensitive, which is why every man you’d ever been with used that to their advantage. Instead of treating your pussy to a good time, they just toyed with your nipples while drilling into you, which usually had you cumming after a couple minutes. Deep down, you wished Tommy had actually gave your pussy the time of day. Eat you out, finger you until you saw stars. But he never had “time for that”. 
His words.
Joel wraps his lips around your nipple, letting his tongue circle around your areola. He uses his open hand to massage your other tit. Once he releases your nipple, he leaves love bites at the swell of your boobs. He groans at your reaction, which was grinding your hips achingly slow across his lap.
“Mmm,” You hum, your hands finding his brown locks, “More.”
“‘m not gonna fuck you here,” He scowls, “Gonna take you to my bed.”
Without warning, he stands up, gripping onto your thighs to take you with him. You yelp in shock, throwing your arms around his neck. 
“I got you,” He states, walking down the hall to his bedroom. You had been in there before, only to grab his wallet one day when you guys were in a rush to get to Sarah’s soccer game. 
It was only slightly messy and smelled like him. Clean laundry and strawberry shampoo. 
You were thrown atop his unmaid sheets, bouncing a bit at the impact. You decide to use the time of Joel crawling onto to the bed, to completely discard your tank top. Joel’s body takes over yours, his one hand propping him up, the other feeling your sides and scooping up your breast. 
“Think I’m gonna take my time with you,” He grunts, his hand finding your short’s belt loops, “Make you forget everythin’ and focus on me.”
You nod, agreeing to his terms. 
He sits back on his knees, tugging down your shorts and thong. He hisses as soon as he notes the wetness on your lacey panties. Once he tosses the items beside the bed, he nudges your knees apart. 
“Damn, baby girl,” He just looks at you completely spread for him, shaking his head in disbelief, “Tommy’s a fuckin’ idiot. Could look at this pussy every minute of every day.”
You moan before you can retaliate, your mind responding to his fingers tracing your slit up and down. You watch him crawl up you, his lips so close to yours. You two hadn’t even kissed yet, instantly going to tearing each other’s clothes off. It felt more intimate, more real. 
He finally leans in, pursing his lips to meet yours. 
Joel was gentler than expected. Tommy was always hurried, his kisses only to warm you up a bit. You never really kissed during sex either, because he always had you doggy, which wasn’t ideal for kisses. 
Joel’s kisses took your breath away. He was slow and methodical, slipping his tongue into your mouth. You finally decide to pull him down onto your naked body, his hips settling between yours. The action made him a bit more eager, as he grinded his crotch into your wet center. 
“Gonna have me cumming in my jeans, sweet thing,” He laughs, pulling away from your swollen lips. He crawls back down the bed, his shoulders resting between your thighs this time. 
“What are you doing?” You ask, hesitantly. 
He smiles again, “‘m gonna eat this beautiful pussy of yours. Unless you don’t want me to.”
You had no real objections, it just something you had never fully enjoyed with anyone else before. You were willing to see what Joel Miller could bring to the table. You nod your head in agreement, letting him rest his hand on your lower tummy, holding you in place for his mouth. He ducks down, pressing small kisses over your clit. His actions already had you writhing under his touch. 
He continues on, gripping your stomach a bit harder as he explores your pussy with his tongue. He switches between sucking and licking, eventually settling with running his tongue in circles inside of you. You were a groaning mess, your hand eventually finding your mouth so you could control the volume. You didn’t want to embarrass yourself with how loud you could be. He stops as soon as you do it. 
“You ain’t gotta do that,” He says, his mouth wet with your slick, “I wanna hear those pretty little moans of yours. Don’t worry about anyone hearin’ ya.”
You take your hand off your mouth and he continues on with his assault on your folds. It’s sending you into overdrive, watching him go down on you. He was so hot, splayed out between your thighs, devouring you whole. 
His exploration ends with him wrapping his lips around your clit and sucking you up like a straw. You couldn’t believe how good the vibration felt. 
You were feeling that heat in your stomach, so as soon as Joel slipped his hand up and began adding fingers inside you, you knew you were done for. He starts with two, fucking you slowly and systematically. He curls his fingers up like a hook, his lips still wrapped around your bud. 
This was it. This is what you were missing. 
Your unrestrained pleas don’t fall on deaf ears. Your orgasm hits you like a semi-truck. You reach for anything in your vicinity, which happened to be Joel’s hair and his white sheets. He didn’t let up on you as you came around his fingers, fucking you through it. 
“Holy f-fuck,” You stutter, “Joel what the fuck?”
“We are just gettin’ started, sweetheart,” He states, standing up beside the bed to take his clothes off. His cock was standing at attention in his boxers before he tore them off. 
Tommy was above average, but Joel was well endowed. 
You gape at the view, unable to really form a coherent sentences. 
“You’re droolin’,” He jokes, finding his way back on top of you. You giggle, letting the joke roll of your shoulder, instead of letting it embarrass you. He finds your lips again, kissing you roughly this time. You could tell he was aching for you, his hips finding their way between yours again. 
“Oh,” You say, feeling his tip nudge your folds, “I’m on birth control, by the way.”
“I assumed so,” He states plainly, kissing your neck and chest, “Won’t cum in you unless you want me to.”
You grin, “You’re all about consent, ain’t ya?”
He laughs, “You’re in control here, baby girl. ‘M just here to get your mind off all the shit.”
You have never been so enamored by a man in your life. He was saying all the right things, but you knew in your heart he wasn’t just saying anything. Joel was a genuine guy. He never lied to you or belittled you.
The longer you’re under him the more you start to realize that this is what you’ve wanted all along. 
He brings you back to reality with an feverish kiss, drawing you back to the moment. His hands trail down your side, tickling you a bit. 
“Hey,” You murmur, pulling away from his delicious mouth, “I want to… I uh-“
You don’t know how to say it. To be honest, you and Tommy were in a routine with sex so you didn’t know how to ask to suck someone off. You usually just did it first to get it done and over with. But you felt like you needed to do it for Joel, not out of obligation, but because you wanted to see him squirm under your touch. You have thought about it more than once. 
“Words, sweetheart.”
“Let me suck your dick.”
He smiles, letting out a slight chuckle at your demand. He never thought he’d hear that coming from your mouth. He waits a second, acting like he’s seriously contemplating the offer. 
Of course he was going to accept. 
You sit up, giving him more space to lay down next to you. You crawl over his legs, settling between his calves. His cock was red, the veins so prominent. It was just waiting for you. He tucks his one arm behind his head, propping it up to watch you put on a show. 
“Let me know if I’m doing okay,” You ask sheepishly. You wanted to punch yourself for saying something so stupid. You were never confident in your abilities and you didn’t want to disappoint Joel. 
He nods, watching you grab onto his shaft with your hands, “You’ll do great, baby girl.”
You spit into your hands once you realize you need more lubrication. You crouch more, jerking him off slowly. He is already so reactive, throwing his head back against his headboard.
You begin to tease him, peppering kisses onto his shaft and tip as it leaked. You smile when you hear him hiss at you toying with him. You finally wrap your lips around his dick, sucking in your cheeks as you pull your head back. He was so big you couldn’t physically get your mouth completely down his length. He was girthy, too, which didn’t help either when it came to almost unhinging your jaw to take all of him. 
“Such a good girl,” He praises, taking your hair into his grip, “You ain’t gotta take it all.”
The reassurance was comforting. You didn’t feel any pressure with Joel, which only made him more desirable in your eyes. 
You watch his face twist in delight every time you take him into your mouth, wrapping his cock in your saliva. 
“Keep doin’ that and ‘m gonna cum in that mouth,” His drawl is so buttery and deep, your center literally clenches.
You pull off of him, gaining some confidence in your bedroom talk. 
“Need that done somewhere else.”
He shakes his head, sitting up more to manhandle you up to his lap. As you slide across his body, you feel his wet cock touch your inner thighs.
Your mouth falls open as soon as his hands grab your hips and settle you right over his length. You are on your knees on either side of his thighs, looking down at him and his absolutely spent expression. His curls were standing in all different directions and his eyes were dark with anticipation.
“Want me to do the honors?”
He grabs his cock, positioning it right below your opening. Your lips twitch upward, shaking your head positively.
He lines you up, pushing his hips upward. He is stretching you immediately, the angle making you crumble under his touch already. Your legs practically give out when he’s partially sheathed in you, which causes you just to sit and take the rest of him in you. 
“Oh my fucking god,” You moan out, shutting your eyes to soak in every twitch, “I have never been this fucking full.”
Your eyes fly open, realizing what you just insinuated.
“Don’t worry, baby girl. I knew he wasn’t givin’ you exactly what you needed,” He starts to guide your hips to circle his, “I give you what you need.”
You never expected him to be so confident, but it was so hot. You rested your hands on his pecks and started easing yourself up and down onto his length. His lips flick upward, watching you get yourself off on his dick. He loved watching you like this, just enjoying yourself.
After a minute, he realizes he can’t let you be the only one doing the work. You were so in your own world, riding him and feeling every inch of him. Your blissed out mind gets over taken when he grabs you and rolls on onto your back. He is on his knees as he grabs your legs with both of his hands, spreading you out. He grinds into you, his cock hitting you at a different angle now. 
You moan out, reaching out to grab his shoulders. He takes the hint and dips down to capture your lips again, caging your body between his. He picks up the pace when you start to press your tongue forward into his mouth. You can’t help but whimper at how good he feels. 
“You fuck me so good,” You mewl. He was panting, his hot breath fanning your wildly tangled hair. He takes his bottom lip between his teeth, focusing on making you feel good. Every pump inside you brought you closer to that familiar warm feeling. He notices your heat clenching around him, which makes him want to change up his technique. He pushes off the pillows, grabbing your hips and slamming into you at a rate you didn’t know Joel was capable of. 
“God, I can’t believe how fuckin’ good you feel, baby,” He pants, his thumb finding your swollen bud. As soon as he puts pressure there, you’re screaming out. “Mhm, that feel good? This cock better than his?”
“Yes, Joel, oh my god!”
He doesn’t let up. He wants to see you fall apart so bad, knowing those beautiful whimpers will send him into ecstasy. 
“Cum for me, baby girl. Know you’re aching to,” He clenches his teeth, “Let go.”
You have never had your vision go white when you orgasm. It’s like you’re about to see the gates to Heaven. He holds your body, making sure to feel every nerve in your body fire off into euphoria. You don’t even know what you’re saying, you just know it’s an iteration of his name and a bunch of cuss words as you reach your peak.
You were absolutely obsessed. You knew it as soon as the come down brought back your vision and you saw Joel. He was throwing his head back while painting your insides with his cum. He looks so delicious, his entire toned upper body glistening with sweat. 
He had to be the only man in the world, in that moment. 
Once he pulls out, you truly realize how sensitive your core is. You shiver, feeling his cum trickling down your backside. You wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. You just fucked your boyfriend’s brother. And it was the best sex you’d ever had in your life. 
You thought you’d feel that all too familiar regret, but instead you just look over at Joel as he flops down next to you. He’s staring at you, a slight smirk playing on his lips. You were trying to find the right words to say to him. He just did the Lord’s work. 
Do you say thank you?
“You okay,” He asks while he runs his hand up your arm, causing goosebumps to litter your skin. 
You grin, “I’m okay.”
“Do you want to stay here tonight?” 
He was worried you’d go home and see Tommy passed out on the couch where he left him and regret everything. He knew you would probably stay here anyway, but he anticipated you taking the guest room next to Sarah’s. 
But you weren’t going to take the guest room. No, you wanted to spend the rest of the night in his arms. Maybe even go for round two. 
“As long as I get to stay right here,” You purr, taking his hand from your arm. You bring it up to your lips and kiss his fingers, “Right beside you.”
END
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Joel Miller x f!reader: We Have Each Other
Summary: You and Joel haven't been together as much lately and you're feeling a little insecure. Warnings: Little angsty but is happy at the end, Joel being a softie, tears (?), reassurance from Joel Please let me know if I missed anything! Was feeling a lil bit inspired so came up with this. This had not been proof read so any mistakes are completely my own. Enjoy and don't forget to like and reblog so that the algorithm can do its thing. Words: 1,0k
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You and Joel had been together for a while, meeting him when you quite literally bumped into him in a café. Joel had never given you any reason to feel insecure in your relationship and was always complementing, reassuring and praising you. However, after a few late nights at work for the two of you, that meant not seeing Joel as much which seemed to have worn down your self-confidence. 
You had helped raise Sarah since you moved in when she was just six years old and Joel never denied how much of a mother figure you were to her, him being the one to reassure you after she had called you mom one night before bed. But after barely seeing the girl or Joel, you almost felt as if you had drifted from the pair. 
You cut the engine of your car and unlocked the front door to the house, taking off your shoes before heading to the kitchen to get dinner started. What you had failed to notice was Joel’s truck on the curb and his muddy workboots sitting on a newspaper at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey, pretty girl.” He called from the stove and your head snapped up, lips turning up in a forced smile. 
“Hi, Joel.” You could see the colour drain from his face and a gasp come from the eleven year old sitting at the counter. “What?” You asked, confused and Sarah just laughed.
“You used his government name. You never call him that.” She stood from her seat and held her hands up. “I’m gonna leave you guys to it.” She said, leaving and Joel walked towards you.
“Have I done something wrong, darlin’?” He asked and you shook your head.
“No, baby. No you haven’t done anything wrong. I’m just tired that’s all, slipped my mind. What’re you making?” You asked, letting him wrap his arms around your waist. 
“Sarah wanted homemade pizzas but we can have somethin’ different if you’re not feelin’ it.” He offered but you shook your head. 
“Pizza sounds good. I’m going to get a shower and change.” You told him, letting him kiss your cheek before walking up the stairs and heading towards your shared bedroom. 
The hot water hit your neck as you rested your forehead against the cool tiles, trying to will the stress of your week away. Within five minutes of trying to let yourself relax, tears began cascading down your cheeks and you couldn’t hold back the sobs that erupted from your throat. 
Your mind began to wander as you thought about all the possible reasons why you had become so detached to your little family. From there it only got worse. 
If you and Joel split up, you would be alone. Joel’s family was your family and without them you’d have nothing. He’d have Sarah and Tommy and you’d be left all alone. A knock on the bathroom door broke you out of your thoughts. “Sweetheart? Everythin’ ok in there?” You couldn’t find the words to answer him and the door gently creaked open, your hands automatically coming up to shield your body and the frown reappeared on Joel’s face. 
“Have I upset you honey? Ain’t no other reason to be hidin’ from me.” He walked closer towards you with a towel and opened the door, reaching in to turn off the water. “Come on doll, let’s get you dried.” He seemed to have noticed the redness and puffiness of your eyes because his frown deepened, if that was even possible. 
“I’m ok, just tired.” You muttered but Joel shook his head, gently drying you off with a towel and pressing gentle kisses along your cheek. 
“I think you’re a little more than just tired honey. And that’s ok.” He finished drying you off and helped you into a fresh set of pyjamas before sitting you on the edge of the bed. “Give me two seconds.” He walked back into the bathroom and returned with some of your skin care products and the hairbrush and a hair tie. 
He sat behind you and worked his way through your hair, getting all of the tangles out before putting it into a loose braid and pulling you back to lean against his chest. “Can’t believe you’re all mine. Can’t believe I get to be yours.” He whispered in your ear, his hands settling on your lower abdomen. “You wanna talk about it?” 
You shrugged and he nodded, ready for you to talk whenever you felt like it. Time passed by and Joel just let you lay there, content to have his heart beat thrumming a steady tune against the back of your head. “Just feeling a little down, that’s all.” You admitted and Joel nodded, giving you the freedom to continue talking if you wished. “I just missed thisl.” 
“I know you feel like wanting all this makes you some kind of ‘needy’ partner but I need you to promise me you’ll tell me before it gets to this point. Even if you have to wake me up in the middle of the night so I can tell you how pretty you are or how beautiful you look.” He promised and you smiled slightly, still not feeling great. 
“You ever wonder what would happen if we split up?” You asked and Joel tensed.
“Well I was under the impression that we were quite stable in our relationship so no I can’t say I do think about it. Why? Should I be worried?” He asked and you were quick to turn around and shake your head, hands resting on his arms. 
“No! Joel I promise it isn’t that I’m thinking- I don’t want to break up with you and I love you. I just keep overthinking things and I realised that if we broke up, I'd have no one. I mean you have Tommy and Sarah but I’d have no one. You are my family so if I lost you, I’d be alone.” You whispered, tears welling in your eyes once more. Joel seemed to think over your statement for a few moments before he sighed and lifted you gently so that you were sitting facing him on the bed. “You gotta listen to me now honey, ok? Ain’t no part of me that’s lettin’ go of you that easily. You mean too much to the three of us to just let you go that easily. Don’t you ever say that you don’t got anybody because I can promise that you will always have me. We have each other.”
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shesmore-shoebill · 20 days
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I mean, I think i could watch Amanda and Tommy alone read a phone book and be entertained. But even if that weren't the case the Hunger Games video was WAY funnier than it had any right to be. One of the best, even. LONG LIVE MARCUS AND HIS FISH (and the cannon guy)
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tightjeansjavi · 7 months
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The Birthday Boy
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A/N: couldn’t miss out on the birthday celebrations for my favorite fictional man <3 I am wishing the happiest of birthday’s to Mr. Joel heartthrob Miller. P.S this is not proofread. It’s definitely a little silly and fluffy but that’s what my man deserves on his special day (let’s just pretend the outbreak never happened 😇)
~word count: 2.1k~
Pairing | horse dad! Joel Miller x f! reader
Summary: it’s your first time celebrating Joel’s birthday after starting the transition process of moving in with him and Sarah. You want to make sure the birthday boy knows just how loved he really is.
Warnings: none! Just a lot of fluff, feels, cheesy banter from our favorite horse dad!, implied smut bc it wouldn’t be a birthday without some birthday sex, teasing, family love, light swearing, no outbreak! This takes place in the blue jeans universe but can be read as a standalone, Joel is 35 and not 36 in this universe, reader has no physical descriptions, +18 minors dni!
master list series master list
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September 26th 2003: Joel Miller’s birthday. He wasn’t particularly a huge fan of his special day. He never was the type to enjoy any kind of spotlight. He preferred a more simple and quiet birthday compared to some extravagant party where he would have to worry about entertaining his guests. No, he would much rather enjoy a night in with Sarah on his one side, and you on his other. Your only request was make him a cake. He begrudgingly complied to your thoughtful request, but before any cake baking could take place, you had to wiggle your way out of his death grip that he presently held on you under the soft duvet of his bed. The whole sleeping over every other day was proving to be an easy transition for all three of you, and at this point you were practically moved into the Miller household.
Your mornings always started with Joel doing his utmost best to keep you tangled between his legs for a few minutes longer. This morning however, you were all his. You had slept with him intimately enough times to pick up on all his specific quirks and mannerisms that were tailored to him. He snored, but only when he was laying on his back. If you got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or get a glass of water, he would be cuddling with your pillow until you returned. Sometimes his feet would get cold and he’d tuck them under your thighs to keep them warm. He talked in his sleep on the rare occasion. Most of it was gibberish, but you’d hear Sarah’s name and yours like the faintest of whispers.
You knew he was awake by the way his bare arm tightened around your waist as he lassoed you against his chest. His fingers were gently splayed under the soft cotton fabric of your sleep shirt (his of course) as he buried the bridge of his nose against the back of your neck. You could feel him inhale deeply through his nose before exhaling a warm breath of air that caused gooseflesh to pebble on your skin.
“Is the birthday boy finally awake?” You softly mused with your eyes half open like a crescent moon as you stretched your legs out under the warm confines of the comforter.
“Mmm, nope. The birthday boy is not awake right now. You’ll have to try again later my darlin.’” He teased, voice thick, gravelly and sticky with sleep as he pressed what felt like a dozen open mouth sweet kisses to your soft skin.
“Joooel” You giggled, warm and sweet as your hand brushed across his that rested across your middle. “You’re a shitty liar.”
“Baby, you can’t be mean to me when it’s my special day. Y’take that back right now.” He chuckled as he pulled you as close as he physically could. It never was enough, of course. He’d do anything to just crawl inside of your skin and make a little home for himself there. (not in a deranged way you sickos). That’s just what love did to him. It made him turn into this ushy- gushy softy that sometimes used you as his own personal heater.
“Well, if the birthday boy isn’t awake, then he doesn’t get his present.”
Well, that did it.
You barely finished your sentence before your man was nearly rolling over on top of you with a soft grunt from the ache in his back. “Okay, okay! The birthday boy is awake, and ready for his present.”
“Gotcha.” you peeked one eye open to find his not so impressed expression as a stray curl cascaded across his forehead. Dear god, he was truly so handsome, it hurt.
“You’re a lil’ tease, Y’know that? Gettin’ me all excited jus’ to go’in and break my heart!” He grasped his fist to his chest in mock despair as your sweet giggles filled the domestic air.
“Relax, Shakespeare. I’m only teasing!” You fought the urge to roll your eyes at his theatrics before you playfully pushed him onto his back just so you could straddle his hips.
“Shakespeare? Nah, I ain’t no Romeo, baby cakes, but you can be my Juliet?” He had a shit eating grin plastered on his kissable lips as you grabbed his wrists gently and pinned them above his head.
“That was so painfully lame, even for you, cowboy.”
“Yeah, but I jus’ know it made your puss–” You cut him off with a swift kiss to his lips that sent his heart melting into a puddle. Sweet, and filthy. What a lucky son of a bitch.
“Is the birthday boy going to be good so I can give him his present?” You mumbled against his lips as he kissed you back languidly.
“Ain’t I always bein’ a good boy for my baby?” He hummed as he rolled his hips slowly against yours.
“That’s a coin flip, cowboy.” He could feel your mischievous little grin blossom like flower petals as you slowly followed the rhythm of his hips with your own.
“Christ. Y’gonna fuck me or get me all riled up, baby? C’mon, please fuck me, honeybun. The birthday boy shouldn’t have’to beg.” he spoke with that deep Texas twang that always had you caving on the spot.
“We’re getting to that part, cowboy.”
Some gibberish followed by a deep moan that traveled deep from within his chest when you finally sank down around him.
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“Shell?” Joel asked with a small grin and arch of his brow as Sarah set a plate of eggs, toast, and bacon in front of him.
“Yep! Saved some just for you.” She teased. “I’m just kidding, Dad. There’s no shell! I promise.”
Joel seemed unconvinced as he used his fork to play around with his plate of scrambled eggs. “Hmm..are ya sure about that, kiddo?”
“Daaad.” Sarah placed her hands on her hips with a huff which only caused Joel’s grin to grow wider before he was reaching out and pulling his baby girl in for a hug as he pressed a gentle kiss to her mess of curls. “I trust ya.”
Sarah wrapped her arms back around him in a gentle hug, but she was smart to move away quickly when he attempted to tousle her hair.
It wouldn’t be a regular day in the Miller household without Tommy showing up with his own shit eating grin as he made a b-line straight for the fridge.
“Help yourself, why don’t ya?” Joel muttered with a mouthful of eggs.
“What’s it look like I'm doin?’” The younger Miller brother responded with a cheeky wink as he pulled out a container of leftover chicken wings from the fridge. “How old is grumpy today anyway, 50?”
“Do I look like–”
“He’s 35, but who’s really counting?” You chimed in as you pressed a quick kiss to Joel’s cheek before sitting down beside him.
“35 and he’s already gettin’ some gray’s I see. Gonna have to wear diapers soon.” Sarah teased as she took a bite of her eggs.
“Who says I don’t already?” Joel quipped back as he washed his eggs down with a big swig of coffee.
“Babe?”
“Yes, my darlin?’”
“Your shirt is inside out.”
Joel tossed his fork down with a huff as he wasted no time to pull his t-shirt over his head and switch it the right way around.
“Y’girls still plannin’ on bakin’ me a cake?” He asked as he checked the time on his phone before standing up.
“You bet your fine Texas tush that we are. It’s going to be the best birthday cake you’ve ever tasted.”
Joel probably would have said something highly provocative if Sarah and Tommy weren’t listening in, so he opted for a quick kiss and a slight ass grab.
“Bus is leavin’ in five. Can’t wait to come home later and taste this delicious cake that you’re gonna make me, baby.”
“Gross.” Sarah nearly gagged as she picked up her plate and brought it to the kitchen sink.
“Hey, sugar? You think you can spare me a bit of cake too?” Tommy asked cheekily as he ducked down before Joel could thwack him upside the head. “Y’gotta be quicker than that, big brother.”
“G’nna kill him one of these days, I swear.” Joel mumbled as he looped his arms around your waist and pulled you in close. “Y’gonna pick Sarah up from school still? Dunno what time I'll be home later, but hopefully it ain’t too late.”
You looped your arms around his neck as your fingers gently played with the curly tendrils of hair that rested along the nape of his neck. “I’ll be there to pick her up. Try to not be home too late, okay?”
“G’nna do my best for my girls.” He closed the short gap between the two of you with a sweet affectionate kiss with a mumbled I love you before he was reluctantly pulling away when he heard Tommy beep from his truck in the driveway.
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“Did you get it fixed for him?” You asked Sarah as she climbed into the passenger seat of your car outside of the watchmaker's shop.
“Yep!” She beamed brightly up at you as she held the watch box up proudly.
“He’s gonna love it, kiddo.”
“What did you end up getting him?”
“Well, a little birdie whispered in my ear and told me that Curtis and Viper 2 is his absolute favorite movie. It’s the version with the deleted scenes.”
“Oh, wicked! He’s going to be soo happy!”
“As long as we don’t royally fuck up this cake. I don’t know the first thing about baking. Do you?”
“Well, if we happen to burn it..we can always cover the burnt spots with frosting?” Sarah suggested as she carefully slipped the watch box into her backpack.
“You’re a genius.”
“Oh, I know.” She winked before buckling up.
The cake turned out to not be a disaster..well, minus the first cake mix not rising properly. The best part was getting to decorate it with Sarah’s help. She insisted on the frosted red hearts while you piped out the letters spelling, happy birthday. It was nearing 10pm when Joel had finally arrived home. He was already feeling guilty for the fact that he was home later than he promised, but that all washed away when he found his two favorite girls cuddled up on the couch watching re-runs of Property Brothers on HGTV.
“Sorry I'm late. They gave us the wrong size for the headers. Took way longer than I was expectin.’ What are we watchin?’ He softly asked as he kicked his heavy duty work boots alongside the doormat.
“Property Brothers.” Sarah mumbled with her cheek gently pressed against your shoulder.
“They’re pretty good lookin.’” Joel added as he maneuvered his way over to the couch and plopped down. “Y’all make that cake you’ve been ravin’ about?” He gently draped his arm around the back of the couch where your head was presently resting.
“Well, we almost had a serious mishap, but it’ll still be the best damn cake you’ve ever eaten.”
“G’in get it f’me, darlin.’” He nearly yawned from being exhausted on the job all day as you leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to his temple before you got up and headed into the kitchen.
“Y’all didn’t burn it, right?” He asked his daughter who had shifted positions so she could cuddle up with him now.
“Nope. The first batch didn’t rise correctly, but two-times a charm, right?”
“That’s not how it goes, baby girl. Good effort though.” He chuckled softly as he wrapped his arm around her just as you came out of the kitchen with one hand supporting the base of the cake while the other was held close to the candles to keep them from burning out. Joel could see your eyes twinkle brightly from the flames of the candles, as a soft smile spread across his lips.
“Wow, y’all made this? Didn’t buy it from the store?”
“Homemade, just for you, baby.” You smiled warmly at him as you set the cake along the coffee table in front of him.
“Well, I'll be damned. That’s one fine lookin’ cake.” He nearly whistled.
You and Sarah sang Happy Birthday to him under the soft light of the candles glow while Joel listened proudly with happy tears glistening in his warm espresso colored eyes. All three of you were wearing silly little party hats from the dollar store, despite Joel’s protesting. (He looked damn cute in that hat) The cake was nothing short of delicious, and he was more than appreciative over both of his gifts. He might not have always been the biggest birthday person, but he was now all thanks to his favorite girls.
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peterparkersnose · 1 year
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Needy
Part 2 to Give In
pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader
word count: 3.4k
warnings: smut (f receiving oral), broken leg, pain, depression, anxiety, longing, needy joel, reunion of sorts, cringe nickname from maria, malnutrition, descriptions of not eating and weight loss and physical changes due to that, brief grief
a/n hi i wrote smut. god help me, i hated writing it. i hope you guys like it, i tried to make it somewhat good. this takes place after the first game, or when the series ends. spoilers definitely. the middle where you don’t see ellie and joel for the four years there just living in jackson, right when joel comes back from saving ellie.
summary Y/N gets invited to Jackson by her Aunt Maria
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read time: 12 mins 25 seconds
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After a few days you realized Joel wasn’t coming back. The sad realization sink in and really took its toll on you. FEDRA officers came to make sure you weren’t dead in your apartment, and with that made you go back to work.
Same day, over and over again once again. Take care of the babies in the QZ. Watch people get hung in the square. Eat the same, boring, disgusting meal FEDRA gave to you. Live in the empty memories that lingered all over town.
Tess was gone too. You figured they were both dead in a ditch or moved on to something better and bigger than this damn QZ. Part of you wondered if Joel just wanted an out; if he was sick of having you as a responsibility and left because of you. And it ate you alive.
It had been a month. You were still trying to reach your Aunt over the radio, just as Joel had been trying to reach his brother. It’s something the two of you bonded over the last few weeks he was here. Your Aunt Maria was located somewhere out west. You weren’t really sure where, but you knew she was still alive. You felt her spark. Ever since your mom and your uncle died when you were small, she had watched you until she was promised a ‘better life’ somewhere in… Wyoming? Montana? Idaho? You weren’t sure. She left you in the QZ because she thought it would be better for your safety. You were a preteen at the time, and for what it was worth it was probably a better idea than to track across country.
Sitting, scrolling through channels you hopelessly looked for Maria’s signal. She always used the lower frequencies, usually this specific one you were listening to. Just as you were about to click the machine off, you heard it.
“Lovebug?”
You gasped and cheered. Lovebug is what she called you when you were younger, a nickname of sorts.
“Auntie?” you called back, hoping this wasn’t one of your delusions seeping back in. “I’m here!” she called. You could hear a group of people cheering in the back.
She gave you a quick set of coordinates and cut off communication. It was brief and that hurt, but life finally had its purpose back. No more Joel, no more overthinking, no more hurting from how he left you.
-
You basically crawled towards the gate of Jackson. Unsure if this was even the right place, you hoped your topography skills were as good as you thought they were. From stealing four cars, foraging for gas (which there was barely any of) and walking over three thousand miles, you prayed this place was anything close to heaven. You had avoided getting bitten or scratched, but killing countless infected on the way. At least you would get to see your Aunt one last time.
The people had their guns pointed at you as you expected. “P-please.” you pleaded with your hands up. You were sure to be almost unrecognizable. Hair was greasy and matted, you had lost a significant amount of weight, and your clothes were tattered. Even in the apocalypse you liked to stay neat, but at this point in your journey you had stopped caring.
“Maria—she’s my a-aunt.”
“I’m going to need Maria at the east gate along with a medic. Stat.” a person called through the radio. The doors opened slightly.
“Y/N?” you heard your Aunt cry. You raised your head enough to see her run towards you. She held you in her arms and cried. The medics were weary behind her, letting this sweet family reunion continue.
You hugged her and tried to hold on to her shoulders the best you could. There was something different. Blinking a few times to get the icicles out of your eyelashes that had formed you realized she was pregnant.
“Y-your pregnant?” you asked. She shook her head and smiled. “I have a lot to explain. I’ll come with you to med.”
They had a makeshift stretcher with a thick piece of fabric held together by two refined pieces of wood. A blanket was placed over you as they carried you across this town. From what you could see, you were in heaven. Dead, no longer here. This whole thing was a mirage.
“It’s real, I promise you honey.” Maria assured you. “H-how?”
“I can explain once your stable. You’ve been out in the cold for too long.”
You closed your eyes, praying it wasn’t for the last time.
Awake. Is what you were. You weren’t sure where, or how, but you were awake. It was dark outside. The little log cabin you were in had a curtain hanging to divide you from other stations and medical supplies. You tried to move.
Your leg was stiff. A large groan escaped from you as you tried to move it.
“No,” you heard from your side. A man sat there. He had dark hair that was longer than the usual cut. His thick black mustache sat upon his lip. He had a tanned skin tone and from what you heard, a thick southern accent that reminded you of Joel. What was a southerner doing so far North?
“Try not to move it. You got a small fracture. Nothing serious, but you will be in the boot for a few weeks.”
His eyes darted to the medical walking boot that sat against the wall. “Who are you? Where is Maria?”
He chuckled at your enthusiasm. “I’m Tommy, Maria’s husband.”
It started to click. “Oh,”
Didn’t Joel mention his brothers name was Tommy? Or was it Timmy. You couldn’t remember. A southerner out west, you doubted it was the brother Joel was looking for. God, why are you still thinking about him? Even now, after you nearly died crossing the country? Sneaking out of the QZ? You were ashamed that your first thought after a brush with death was Joel Miller.
“I let her get some rest, she was here all day. It’s a lot of stress you know…”
Tommy was baiting to see if you knew. “For the baby.” you confirmed.
He shook his head. “Crazy, isn’t it?” he said.
Tommy explained Jackson. How it was functional, safe, and everyone was happy. Maria was right, this was heaven. He explained that there wasn’t any availability in Jackson at the moment, but Maria insisted of inviting you after she found out she was pregnant. Tommy explained something about jealousy and families, but it didn’t make sense to you. Apparently he had just gotten some family back, and Maria wanted hers back too. Since there was no availability, you were going to be staying with a girl in her house. Her name was Ellie. She was quite a few years younger than you, but Maria thought your personalities would get along well. You trusted your Aunt’s judgement, but was concerned when you found out you were to be living with a fifteen year old.
“Get some shut eye. I can help you move in tomorrow. It’s gon’ be difficult on that boot.”
-
It was early morning and Tommy was walking back to his house. Jackson was almost silent, besides for the early birds chirping in the trees and the sounds of the chefs getting ready for breakfast in the nearby mess hall. He stopped in front of Joel’s house and sighed. The large, two story garage behind the house is where Ellie lived, and where you would be staying until they could build you a house. But building a house took time and resources. He prayed that you and Ellie got along. It was either living with Ellie or Joel—Ellie definitely seemed like the safe choice in that situation. Joel wasn’t too friendly to strangers.
Slowly, he entered his own home. Maria was asleep on the couch, cradling her stomach. Tommy watched his beautiful wife for a moment, watching her chest rise and fall. She seemed so peaceful in that moment. Maria was due in a few weeks, and Tommy knew he wouldn’t have the luxury of this for much longer.
“Maria,” he whispered, stroking his hand over her hair and gently waking her up. She jolted awake, like most people did in this world, and was at ease when she found out it was just Tommy.
She put her coat on and grabbed the one she had gotten for you and followed her husband to the medic ward.
“Good morning,” Maria announced, dropping the coat on your stomach. This woke you. Groggily, you looked up at your Aunt with a displeased face. Tommy reached for the boot in the corner. You slowly moved your legs off the bed, groaning in pain. “Are you sure you don’t have anything for the pain?” you gasped. “Not for pain like this, I’m sorry.” Maria assured you. Tommy slowly guided your leg in to the medical boot and tightly strapped it close.
All night you had prepared for the depression that was going to follow with this damned boot. Not being able to move around, depending on others. It hurt too much to start to care about someone else, let alone have them take care of you. You hated to admit it, but this town could be gone within the span of a day.
“Now, you won’t need crutches. Give it a go.” Tommy said, extending his hands to you. They were coarse and dry, and that was a bit off putting to you. The second you put pressure down on your leg it felt like fire was streaming in your veins. Maria noticed your face tense and your hand grip harder on her husbands forearms. You sat back down on the bed, subduing your pain somewhat. “Shit,” Tommy sighed. “Do you think it was worse than we thought? Could the doctor have measured it wrong?” Maria whispered to Tommy. You heard bits and pieces of their conversation after that, but all you could focus on was your leg throbbing.
Ultimately, the two of them decided to get a wheelchair for you to use temporarily and be on strict bed rest. Yay.
“I dunno how I’m supposed to…” Maria said, grunting as she began to lift the handles of your wheelchair. “Don't!” Tommy yelled, stopping his very pregnant wife from potentially harming herself or the baby. “You wait here, lemme get Joel.”
Ice seemed to jolt through your veins when he said that. “Joel?” you asked suddenly in an alarmed tone. Tommy raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, he can help us get down the steps.”
You froze as Tommy began to walk away. You looked up at Maria.
“What’s his last name?”
“Miller. He did spend some time in the Boston QZ… maybe you’ll recognize him.”
No no no no, no no no. This cannot be happening. This is a fever dream, you convinced yourself. This isn’t happening. This isn't real.
“You alright?” Maria asked, looking down from behind you. She was concerned at your lack of response. As she asked that, Tommy began to return. And along side him walked the man you had to convince yourself you weren't in love with.
Maybe he wouldn't recognize you.
You had lost a significant amount of weight. You sliced off half of the length of your hair while you made your journey just simply because it was annoying. Maybe he wouldn’t recognize you. You prayed he didn't. Oh god, what if he thought you were the weird stalker girl who followed him here simply because she wanted to be with him? That’s terrifying. Stalkers existed in the fungal world, but you weren't one in the real world.
“This Ellie’s new roommate?”
His voice filled your skin with goosebumps. Not looking up, you kept your eyes glued on your feet in the wheelchair footrests. “Yup, she’s all yours.” Maria said chipperly, giving Joel jurisdiction to the wheelchair handles. Tommy counted down from four as the two men struggled to make a clear way down the wooden steps of the medical ward. Hearing Joel grunt brought back to many explicit memories, it honestly made your core begin to warm. Joel wheeled you all the way to a house. “Your gon’ have to build a ramp,” Tommy teased Joel. Joel sighed, picking up the wheelchair once again in synch with Tommy as they struggled to make sure your wheels didn’t bump the old, cracked wooden stairs of the house.
As they wheeled you inside the house, the two middle aged men were out of breathe.
“You know…” Joel said, catching his breathe by holding on to the side of his wall. “Those damned brick stairs are gonna be hell. If she wants, she’s welcome to my couch until she’s well enough to walk.”
As Tommy spun around your wheelchair, your eyes met with Joel’s for the first time in over five months.
And he recognized you. Oh, he totally recognized you. His facial structure seemed to shift as he realized that the girl he just offered to live on his couch was you.
“Alright,” Tommy said, not realizing what was going on. His smooth voice luckily interrupted the longing look you and Joel were sharing. “I’m gonna go fix you up some breakfast from the mess hall. You good from here?” You nodded your head slowly.
“Don’t bother, I got plenty here.” Joel offered. Your eyes widened, realizing he wanted to get you alone with him. “You sure?” Tommy questioned. “Go find your wife, take her to a nice breakfast.” Joel suggested. Tommy agreed and promptly left the house.
Joel sat in an old recliner across from you. Your finger scratched at the old medical sticker stuck to the wheelchair’s arm.
“How did-” “Are you-”
The two of you let out an embarrassed scoff. “You go,” he offered. “No you-” you insisted. After bantering for a few seconds, Joel broke the awkwardness.
“How did you find me?”
You sighed. So you did come off as the stalker-ish, jealous girl. “It’s not like that, I promise you. M-Maria is my aunt, the one I was trying to find when…”
“When I was searchin’ for Tommy, yeah.” Joel finished your sentence. “She invited me here, gave me coordinates. I didn’t know you were here until five minutes ago, Joel.”
His name sounded weird coming off your lips after filling your head for so many months. Joel let out a sigh of relief. “You look different,”
“Yeah, well two months across country with almost no food and no ammo can change a person.”
He sighed. “And you…?” he asked, gesturing for you to ask your question.
“Are you mad?”
Joel chuckled.
“Your wondering if I’m mad?”
“Well yeah, I mean we didn't necessarily end on good terms.”
“Good terms?” Joel laughed. “I thought about that damned kiss for months, Y/N.”
A smile sparked to your lips, but slowly left when you remembered. Tess.
“And where is Tess? I’m sure she would be happy to see me.”
Joel’s eyes darted to the floor.
“She didn’t make it,” he said bluntly.
Memories flooding back of the good times you and Tess had made you sad. She was gone. The closest thing you had to a friend was Tess.
“Well,” Joel said, breaking the awkward silence. “Would you like some breakfast? Better than those sardines…” You chuckled a bit.
“Will you help me?” you asked, looking now up at Joel. He nodded, reaching out for your hands. He pulled you up, and the wheelchair rolled backwards. As you tried to steady yourself, the movement of the wheelchair put you off and you began to slip. “Shit,” you yelped as your boot hit the floor. Joel them promptly picked you up under the armpits and held you up unnaturally high. Naturally, your good leg wrapped around his waist, as the other one did its best attempt at following your other leg. His hands rested under your butt, one hand grasping on to it. You now looked down at him as he held you. “Giving me flashbacks,” you chuckled, a hand coming to steady yourself on his back. The other hand traveled just below his hairline on his neck. It was within seconds that Joel’s mouth was on yours.
He was eager. He hadn’t been with you for a good seven months. He needed something, even if it was just a taste of you.
“Fuck,” he muttered, pulling away. “I missed that.”
Your hand had traveled up his head, now grasping his graying hair. Both of your breaths were heavy. “Joel,” you whispered. “Please.”
He nodded and slowly put you down on the couch. Your leg hit the ground with an oompf. He stood in front of you. The bulge in his pants was very prominent.
“May I?” he asked you, coming down to his knees. Joel was never this respectful back in Boston. He would take what he wanted when he wanted, with your consent of course. He never asked for permission because he was always confident that he had it; and he did. Something in him had changed. It was very obvious that it did. You weren't sure if it was Tess’s passing, the brutal crossing of the country, or the argument the two of you had before. But something had definitely changed.
With the confirmation he was granted, he slowly lifted your butt off the sofa to remove your pants. Once your pants were by your thighs he yanked them off. One leg stayed trapped over your boot. There was the Boston Joel coming back, seeping through this new shell of a man he was. Your panties were soaked per usual. “Always so wet for me,” Joel muttered, pushing your stomach back on the couch. He took his middle finger and pushed your panties aside, but also coming back and giving a quick swipe between your folds. A soft moan came from your lips. You adjusted yourself so that you were on full display. Your hips rocked back as Joel wettened his fingers from you. His other hand rested on your thigh, holding it firmly as his thumb made soft circles on your inner thigh, dangerously close. You stirred as he finally inserted two fingers. “J-Joel…” you moaned, clenching around him.
“Just like that,” he said, slowly pumping in and out. “Good girl.”
The praise was almost enough to send you over the wall. He never gave you anything like this back in Boston. It was always to satisfy himself. You feel like this time Joel really, truly cared. He moved his hand from your thigh to your lower back, moving yourself closer to his face. His thumb brushed circles around your clit. “Do you want it?” he asked you. You looked down to his eager eyes. They seemed to melt at the sight of you. You shook your head. “With words…”
Boston Joel’s dominance had returned. “Y-yes.”
“Manners?” he asked, giving another deep circle around your clit. “Please, Joel. Please.”
You knew he liked when you used his name. “Good job,”
His tongue softly darted to your folds. A plethora of slurred swears and moans came from you as he began to eat you out. The sucking and slurping noises were almost pathetic; Joel was so needy. Both of his hands rested on your thighs, tightly holding on. As he took a second to re gain some air, his lips moaned against your clit. That was almost enough to make you cum. He licked his lips, and went back in. This time he could tell you were close. You were already contracting and he could feel the release building up in your core. “Come on baby, beg for it.”
“Let me cum Joel, please! I-I… please!”
He pulled away and kissed your folds. “Since you asked so nicely,”
His tongue seemed to dissolve inside of you as your orgasm began to hit you. “So good, good job baby. Ride it out.” he said, moving away from you. His thumb delved into your clit that made your legs begin to shake. “It’s okay, you got it.” Joel re assured you, holding down your knee on your injured jeg so it wouldn’t hurt. Once you came down from your high, he helped you put your pants back on. Slowly, he helped you get up and pulled your pants back up to your waist.
Holding you in his arms, the two of you stood.
“God, how I missed this.”
“God, how I missed you.”
-
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mermaidgirl30 · 1 month
Text
So I may be writing a raider!Joel x Tommy x reader one shot and 🫠 You can thank @mountainsandmayhem for constantly feeding me her wicked ways 😩 Here’s a sneak peek of what’s to come 👀 (18+ Only MDNI)
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“Let go of me!” you scream as you kick your legs to try to get out of his tight grasp.
“Quit fuckin’ squirmin’, girl!” he bites back with a harsh edge to his voice as he digs his rough palm into the back of your thighs as you yelp out in surprise.
“Where are you taking me?” you demand, hitting his broad back with a tight fist as you fight back. He immediately pulls at the waistband of your tight jeans as he digs his dull nails into your soft flesh.
“Stop fightin’ me,” he growls as his large palm flattens over your ass, “you really expected to sneak up on us like that, huh?”
The other man with dark, slicked back hair comes up behind you and grabs your chin as he squeezes tight and narrows his dark eyes into yours. “Better answer him, sweetheart. Don’t leave him waitin’,” he smirks as he slaps the side of your face and smiles a devilish grin your way.
You huff and try to squirm again as your hands dig into his blue denim shirt. “I wasn’t sneaking! I saw your cabin in the distance and was curious who lived there. I wasn’t trying to steal anything, I swear,” you say with gritted teeth as you fight the strong man that holds you tight over his shoulder.
“S’not how I saw it,” he growls as he throws you off his shoulder and slams you against the wall, his strong, flexed arms caging you in so tight that you can’t escape.
“I didn’t…”
“Don’t fuckin’ lie! You know what we do to dirty liars, girl? We have a little fun with ‘em. Ain’t that right, Tommy?” he growls as he presses his broad chest up against yours, so close that you can smell the thick scent of whiskey and pine trees enveloping you completely. He smells… good. And his eyes. Dark brown pits that spiral into your eyes. Hollow, lost, haunted.
You feel the hardening erection dig into your thigh as his patchy salt and pepper scruff skims down your jawline, his hot breath breathing down your neck as you feel a wave of slick slip down your center.
You shouldn’t be turned on, shouldn’t want this. It’s wrong, so wrong but you don’t care. The man that presses you up against the firm wall is so fucking attractive that you think you’ve lost your mind entirely.
“What do you do to girls like me…” you whisper quietly, holding your breath as you see his nostrils flare hotly against your skin, making goosebumps form against the bitter chill of December.
“You’re about to find out,” he smirks, his eyes darkening into black pits as he lowers his head and blows hot air across your chapped lips, your heart pounding against your chest like a ticking time bomb. You’re about to combust just by his whiskey scent lathering over your lips.
He dips his head lower lower lower until his tousled curls are falling against your forehead. And then he’s slowly biting your bottom lip as he nips and nicks your lower lip and you feel just how warm his mouth is. Fuck.
He pulls your lip back and then releases as it flys back into place. You taste the simmering whiskey scent coat your tongue and it’s hot as hell.
“You’re mine now,” he growls possessively as his black eyes paralyze you into place against his large arms. And that’s it. You’re dead meat.
TO BE CONTINUED….
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wyn-n-tonic · 1 year
Text
I'll Have Another
Pairing: Tommy Miller x f!reader Word Count: 3.3k+ Warnings: Protected PiV. Mentions of guns and allusion to sexual violence (but neither guns nor sexual violence are apart of this story, they are just passing comments). Oral (f! receiving). Author's Note: This is all @d-sav's fault, she derailed me from writing the fifth chapter of Days of You & Me (a Joel Miller x OFC story), you can read the first chapter HERE.
Please follow @wyn-writing and you can sign up for my new taglist HERE.
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Two whiskeys, two fingers full, down for the second night in a row as the clock ticks closer to a new day.
It’s only a Wednesday night but the nice weather drove people into the bar in groups of friends looking for a place to watch the game or somewhere new for their fantasy football league. Not him though, all alone at the bar with anxious hands and tired eyes. 
You shouldn’t be looking at him, staring at him like this from the other side of the bar. He’s never been here, you didn’t think he’d come back.
Crowd starts to thin and he raises his hand to call your attention over. 
“Final call was about half an hour ago, stretch,” you tell him, eyeing the empty glass and thinking he wants more. “If you wanna keep going, you’re gonna have to do it at home.”
“If I wanted more,” he grins out, “I would’ve asked for it half an hour ago at last call or”—he rocks his head back and forth, like he’s about to make an obvious statement—“maybe an hour ago when I finished it in the first place.”
“Then why on earth are you still here?” You ask him, arms crossed to consider the man in front of you. “Does it take you that long to sober up?”
He’s got a smile like a little kid, secretive and boyish like he’s never known true hurt because he’s always had somebody else standing in front of him to take the bulk of the blow. Or maybe he just hides it really well.
“I’ve been sober for a minute, actually,” he declares. “Just been spending all this time looking at you and how you keeping looking away from me when you see that I’ve caught you.”
“You’re new here,” you shrug. “It's my job to keep an eye on the newbies, never know who’s gonna start swinging.”
“And what would you do?” His head cocks to the side, eyes looking you up and down to the best of their ability with a bar in between you both. “If some dumb, drunk asshole were to start swinging, what would you do?” 
“If this is a threat, handsome, I should probably remind you that you’re in Texas—my daddy put a gun in my hand long before I ever knew how babies were made and said to use it if some dumb, drunk asshole got handsy.”
“You think I’m handsome?”
He is. Long face and a slightly rounded nose, black curls and half full lips on sun kissed olive skin.
“‘Cause, see,” he leans forward, and drops his thickly accented voice, “I'm talking about fighting and you’re talking about fucking.”
“To most men, that’s the same thing.” 
He considers that. “Well, I may be a dumb asshole but I’m not drunk and I certainly mind my manners.” He winks. “I'm Tommy and I would certainly like to get handsy with you.”
Fifteen minutes later, you’re crashing into bed with his hand down your pants, long fingers fighting against the tightness of your done up jeans to touch you in that spot that makes your skin burn.
“If your soft little pussy is as tight as these jeans,” he drawls out, “you may never get rid of me.”
It’s not just the stimulation of his callused fingers against your clit that makes you burn, it's the words and it’s him. Has been since he sat down in the same seat last night and ordered his first drink.
He’s over you now, knees pressed into the mattress as he sits bowed towards your center with full concentration on the buttons between you. 
“You can touch me too, you know,” he says, grin splitting his face again as he looks up. With the button free, he undoes the zipper and starts to peel back the denim gently, like it’s painted on something delicate and only concentrated precision can clean it off without hurting what’s underneath it. “Oh, I hope you do. You can pull my fucking hair right out, sweetheart, it’d be an honor.” 
Shoes and pants tossed to the side, he focuses on his own as he pulls the large buckle free of his belt followed by the button of his fly and a deep sigh of relief.
“Well, you get right to the point,” you tell him, poking a pointed toe into his hip. You’ve never been more thankful for a pedicure than you are right now. “Don’t you?”
Starting with the contact of your foot poked into his side, he drags his gaze up the length of your open leg—takes in your body beneath him—and laughs.
“I really don’t,” he tells you, starting to undo the buttons of his shirt with the same deft fingers you were bucking against not even five minutes ago. “My cock's just real fucking hard and needed some breathing room.”
His voice is raspy, raw with the burn of alcohol and lust heavy on his tongue. He pulls the button up open and shrugs it off, revealing a sleeveless, white, ribbed undershirt over a barrel chest and thick, defined arms.
Lifting yourself up on your elbows, you look down at the straining material below his belt. “I really think you should give it some more.”
“Oh no,” he bends and hooks his fingers into the waistband of your panties. “I'm a real selfish son of a bitch”—he starts to pull the material down—“sometimes I can’t control myself and my pent up little dick can’t last longer than a few minutes so I try not to leave a lady too dissatisfied.”
His confidence is sexy—a magnetic charisma you’ve been drawn to the last two nights he’s ordered whiskey and laughed at all your jokes. You’ve never heard a man willingly, or with such enthusiasm, refer to his dick as little. But here he is, setting a precedent of what to expect that you feel is the direct opposite to the one you’re usually fed.
Finally, his eyes trail away from yours back down your body, pushing your legs open as he tosses the soaked fabric over his shoulder and he whistles. Not the cartoonish kind of wolf whistling reserved for Jessica Rabbit but the kind of silent disbelief and awe.
“It's cute how wet you are already,” he says, pressing two fingers flat against your mound. “The way the streetlight reflects off this slick little thing makes you look like fucking magic.” 
Still on your elbows, he crashes a kiss down on you but unlike the hungry, hard kind of desperation in his lips at the door, this is soft; this is gentle. 
There’s whiskey on his breath and a little more; tobacco; coffee; mint and cinnamon—probably gum to cover it all up.
“May I please eat your pretty little cunt?” He breathes out against your lips.
Dazed, you nod your head. He may look it but this is not the frat boy hook up you’re used to. Hell, this isn’t the kind of hook up you’re used to with any kind of boy you’ve been with up until now. Using the word cunt as a positive, associating it with prettiness and, even, filling the word pretty with so much awe and wonder like he’s lucky to be here.
He kisses you again before sliding back, laying down flat on his stomach as he lifts your shirt to place a kiss to both of your hips and the soft skin of your lower stomach. 
Tommy does not get right to the point, he drags it out.
Shoulders settling between your thighs; soft lips against the inside of your knee, your thighs, and repeated patterns on the opposite side.
Anticipation builds within you, his hot breath ghosting across the sensitive skin he’s already set ablaze while yours comes out in short, heavy puffs.
He looks up at you again with that cheeky grin, like he has a secret that he’s just dying to tell. “Go ahead and lay back,” comes his low voice, breath fanning right over where you want him. “Let me take care of the rest and feel free to pull my hair.” 
Talking back isn’t even an option, not when he hooks his arm over your thigh to place one heavy, rough palm down on your mound. Still, you can’t sit back, too mesmerized by the crooked smile and lonesome dimple as he spreads you beneath that grip.
Then he kisses you. Open mouthed, free hand gripping around your thigh, he closes his mouth around you like he has never seen food, never known the satisfaction of a good meal or a good fuck. 
You do crash then, one hand sinking into your own hair as the other threads through the curls reminiscent of the darkest night you’ve ever seen. 
He hums and the vibration makes you jolt against his face which only makes him laugh. The laughter, continuous and contagious, mixes in with his moans until your own are dancing up to meet his.
You’ve been loud before, but never like this. This aren't the cries of a dorm room pornstar persona keeping herself in the good graces of drunk boys with mean streaks. This is heavy breaths and his name like a prayer before God who you are also calling to in desperation. Not to ask His spite for the man between your legs, but to ask His mercy and protection over him for the rest of his life.
This is tender and gentle.
This is warm and all encompassing.
This is pressure on the dam building up in a hard rain.
“Tommy,” you say his name in a panic, the familiar feeling of a full bladder hitting you. “Tommy, I’m gonna—“ It’s too late.
Pressure releases and warmth slides down to meet his tongue—his fingers—different in feeling from the slick you’ve dripped with after every fleeting moment of eye contact. Different, further, from the feeling of relief you get when you finally find the toilet after a four hour lecture hall.
Lifting himself, he runs a hand across his bottom lip and then his tongue along that too. “Been a while since I made somebody come for me that fast,” he says, surprise lacing his voice. “Tell me who’s not treating you right, I’ll beat the fuck out of them.” 
Covering your face—your embarrassment—with your hands makes him laugh and he lifts his weight off of the bed.
“Hold this for me, sweetheart,” he says as a small object no heavier than a quarter lands on your stomach followed by the sound of a zipper.
Tommy’s toeing his boots off when you sit up to look at him, undershirt already tossed to the side somewhere near his button up from earlier. His pants go next but he leaves his briefs, the soft cotton material leaving nothing much to the imagination as it stretches with his growing cock.
“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” He asks, calling my attention up to his eyes. I can see him slipping his underwear down in my periphery before he joins me back on the bed, but I don’t look—too taken by the liquid coal color of blown out pupils against dark brown irises.
“I don't think I’ve ever come before,” you tell him, lower stomach still clenching and unclenching. There’s a wet spot just beneath where you’re sitting, subtle and cooling against your ass in a way so different than the room temperature spillage of an uncovered cock you’re used to.
He smiles. “That’s why I asked you who hasn’t been treating you right,” he responds. “Somebody as pretty and smart as you should be coming as often as she goddamn pleases.”
“How do you know I’m smart?”
Eyes darting around the room, he lands on you again. “Framed bachelor degree, textbooks on the nightstand and on the desk with big words I don’t understand, figured you were a smart girl.”
“I'm trying.” There’s something so fucking intimate about how close he is, certainly the most intimacy you’ve ever felt.
“Help me with this condom, baby,” he says after several beats. “Been dying to get your soft little hands around my dick since the moment I set eyes on you.”
“Not my mouth?” You ask. “Usually, it’s my mouth that’s wanted.”
Gripping your chin between his thumb and forefinger, he encourages you to open up to him, something you find yourself doing so easily, as he leans over to press his tongue flat against against yours.
Kissing after a man has been down on you is something you’re accustomed to, even if men won’t give the same courtesy of kissing you after you’ve reciprocated, but you’ve never tasted this. Tangy and sweet and mixed with his bad habits, there’s a throbbing building down within you again.
“I don’t have time for this sweet little mouth around me tonight,” he whispers when he pulls away. “I’m gonna three pump chump you and I’d like to do that deep inside of your pussy and not your throat.”
Stunning, charismatic. This man could tell you to rob a bank for him and you’d probably do so.
Taking your hand, all eyes focus on the weeping length of him between you. Even if he’s gonna three pump chump you as he says, part of you wants to ignore him and take him in your mouth anyway. He got to taste; why shouldn’t you?
Controlling yourself is hard, wanting to willingly give over everything you so closely protect in other encounters—the vulnerability, the tears, the communication of what feels good and what hurts. It’s usually always just what hurts and no amount of communication can solve a lecture fatigued college boy’s mind. 
With trembling hands, you help him push the condom down his shaft; careful beneath his guidance not to squeeze too hard.
You let him lift your shirt off, his eyes kept on yours as he peels yet another layer of fabric away. The amount of respect within this unforeseen encounter is the kind of shit you’ve only seen in movies.
“Magic,” he whispers again, finally looking down your body when the bra comes off as well. “You look like fucking magic.”
He leans himself into you, open mouth to open mouth as he takes your body back down to the mattress. All of his weight is braced against one arm and you’re gripping half-moons into his ribcage as he breathes heavy and slow, so close to you. It’s like he knows there’s a limit to air between you and he’s saving most of it for you.
Guiding himself to your entrance, he goes slack jawed with a small groan as he pushes slowly inside.
“Fuck,” he mutters. “Goddamn, you’re never getting rid of me.”
He lays you down fully, body weight pressing against you like a hard wind, and he laughs when you start counting.
“One…” Your arms curved around his hips. “Two…” His hands smoothing across your hair. “Three…” The heels of your palms pressing into his ass to encourage him.
“There were your three pumps, chump,” you whisper. “Shouldn't you be done?”
Chest to chest, his hips stutter into a slow grind. “Oh, I’m taking my time with you, sweetheart.”
Continuing that same languid pace between your legs, it’s all soft touches and heavy breaths and moans traded back and forth in the space between until that pressure is building in you again.
Before, you thought it was an accident waiting to happen—part of you still does—but you only encourage him to continue fucking up into you at this pace as you chase down the high that fueled your embarrassment not too long ago.
It’s better this time, the same but different. Different in the way that he’s inside of you; the way his cock stretches you makes it all build that much slower and come down in a similar pace around him. His reaction, too, is different with his choked sound of pleasure and the changes in pace with which he continues pumping into you. 
“Never getting rid of me,” he whispers against your lips as another wave rushes through you. “I could live inside this cunt, pretty thing, nothing else has ever gripped me so-oh fuck—so fucking well.”
He doesn’t make a spectacle of his release, doesn’t grunt like a man through the fake tan fumes of a body building competition. This man you wouldn’t have necessarily pegged for gentle not even two hours ago releases soft sounds beneath his grasp for air and stills with closed eyes.
“Believe it or not,” he says a few moments later when he’s rolled onto his back, “I've never fucked like that.” 
“You're right,” you tell him. “I don’t believe it.” 
He’s not in a rush to leave and you’re not in a rush to push him out either. So different, still, from other encounters you’ve had. It helps that he smells good; tastes good; treats you with respect and kindness.
You watch as he stands up and moves across the room towards the ensuite. He’s got a cute little butt, not much going on there but enough to grab onto as you already know. He smiles when he looks up and catches your reflection in the mirror.
“Don't make fun of my booty,” he says over the sound of running water. “I’m very insecure about it.”
You watch again as he walks back and slips naked out the bedroom door. Small moments like this and you’re glad you have the apartment to yourself more often than not.
Returning, he hands you the glass of water he filled up and joins you back beneath the covers.
“So… I’m gonna guess from all the books and the fancy paper framed up on the wall that you’re not just a bartender. Are you still studying?”
“I am,” you stutter; half caught off guard by the interest he’s taken, half caught off guard by the fondness you already feel for him. Like this is normal. “I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Texas A&M.”
“Go Aggies,” he says.
“More like Go Longhorns now,” you continue. “I’m getting my masters here in Austin and then the dream is a doctorate from Johns Hopkins, all public health.”
He looks confused but interested. “I said I was a dumbass so excuse me, I promise I’m not trying to sound like a dickhead, but what does that enable you to do?” He shakes his head. “I never went to college, I’m actually really curious.”
“I'd like to be an epidemiologist,” you answer. “They study infectious diseases, aid in the prevention of them for the good of global health. Prevent pandemics and shit.” 
He nods, crooked smile returning. “That's like superhero level of shit, you know that? What are you doing having sex with a random hick in some bar?”
You laugh in return. “What's a random hick in a bar doing knowing how to eat pussy that well?”
“Oh, I was stationed in France for a bit,” he tells you. “French girls do not let you get away without eating them into a goddamn stupor, best skill I picked up in the army.”
“And you used a condom without me having to beg you, that’s so sexy.”
“Yeah?” He asks, leaning in with that same crooked, cocksure smile of his.
“Yeah,” you answer. “Don’t think I wanna get rid of you, in all honesty.”
Gently, he takes the water glass and sets it over on the nightstand before pushing back up against you. “I got another condom in my wallet, how about another round?”
“I have a whole box,” you counter, “how about several?”
He kisses you again, mumbling something about soulmates against your lips as he takes you back down beneath his naked body.
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heartpascal · 1 year
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you’ll find the key
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▹ — joel miller x platonic!f!reader
▹ — summary: part five of if the door wasn’t shut — after feeling hopeless, you decide it’s time to heal
▹ — a/n: guys, i apologise for the wait! usually it doesn’t take me so long to write but this was a bit of a struggle!! i hope it lives up to any expectations :( i love you guys sm <3 pls leave ur thoughts + feedback and if u would like to see anything else in this series !!!
▹ — warnings: bad mental health, arguments, like two much needed hugs, so many apologies (my brain is failing so please tell me if there’s anything i’m missing!!!)
▹ — general taglist: @auggiesolovey @just-kaylaa @evyiione @lemonlaides @fariylixie0915 @erensloveinterest @dazedshoon @faceache111 @randomhoex @canpillowscry @sleepygraves @pedropascalsrealgf @star-wars-lover @coolchick333 @soobsdior @ilybbg @rvjaa @oliest19xx @pedropepsi @sunflowersdrop @truthfuleeyours
masterlist
PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR
check out howl’s song associations!
∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘
It was still storming outside.
Snow was coming down in heavy bouts, swirling all over the place with the force of the wind, and it was almost a goddamn blizzard. The ground was covered in it, and if it weren’t for the people already out in the streets, using shovels to dig away the snow in front of doorways, you were sure everyone would’ve gotten snowed in.
Not that you were going anywhere, anyway.
You hadn’t left Jesse’s side since you had gotten back to Jackson, after Tommy had a talk with you. They told you he was going to be absolutely fine, that all he needed was rest and to keep the wound clean. You still worried about him.
Part of you, despite knowing that what happened wasn’t your fault, still felt guilty. Out of the two of you, you were the more experienced one, and you should’ve known better, right? Should’ve caught wind that something wasn’t quite right sooner? You should’ve done something, protected him better, maybe?
You didn’t know exactly what you could’ve done differently, and you tried not to think of the possibilities, because the last thing you needed was to drown in guilt when you already felt bad enough.
Tommy’s chat with you hadn’t helped, either, and you know it was only because he cares, but it still hurt. The way he had looked at you, so angry, and scolded you for going back out there, for going after Joel when you and Jesse had barely made it out yourselves. He had called you irresponsible, which you would’ve argued against, if you hadn’t felt so guilty over the events of the day, if you hadn’t been worrying about Jesse.
You didn’t want to think about him being right, about how you could’ve gotten Jesse killed today, or yourself, god — Joel could’ve died, trying to save you. But was that really your fault? You wondered if everyone blamed you for Jesse getting hurt, as much as you blamed yourself.
“Are you really brooding, right now?” Jesse croaked, startling you from where you stood at the window beside his bed, staring out at the swirling snow. You turned to him, seeing his raised eyebrows, and felt almost thankful about the annoyance that arose when he looked smug, like he was right. “Unbelievable!”
“I’m not brooding, you asshole.” You murmured, unconvincingly. Jesse grinned, shaking his head at your denial.
“Oh, you so are.”
“I should’ve let them finish the job.” You responded flatly, breaking into a smile when Jesse laughed. The quiet lingered for a moment, both of your smiles slowly falling as the weight of everything that happened registered between you. “I’m sorry.”
Jesse’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you, his fingers picking at the edge of the blanket settled over him. “For what? Saving my life?”
“No, Jesse, I should’ve never put us in that situation. Especially after Pete left. I know better.” You replied, stepping towards the guy who had quickly become your best friend. You shook your head, eyes flickering around the room, until they settled on him. “Tommy took me off patrols, anyway, so.”
“What?” Jesse questioned, mouth hanging open. “Why?”
You stared at him, blinking in your confusion, and you tilted his head back to check his eyes were focused, that he wasn’t concussed, or something.
“Do you not remember what happened?”
“I remember just fine, thank you.” He responded, eyebrows creased as your hand left his forehead. Both of you wore incredibly confused expressions, neither knowing what the miscommunication between you could be. “Why would Tommy take you off patrols?”
“Jesse, you could’ve died.” You said, watching his face for the reaction, as if the information was new to him.
“Yeah, but that wasn’t your fault! You’re the one who saved me, who got me out. I don’t understand.” Jesse said, voice raising as he got slightly heated. He lowered his voice when he sat up, and pulled at his stitches, hissing in pain.
“No, I got us into it, and I was lucky to get us out.” You told him, as if it was a confession, and you frowned. You didn’t want to think about what could have happened to Joel, didn’t want to say that for once, the world had been on your side, letting you get him out, too. You didn’t voice it, but you don’t know what you would’ve done with yourself if he had died, trying to save you.
Jesse shifted, voicing your name, but you stopped him, smiling tightly in his direction. “It’s fine, Jesse. It’s for the better. Besides, means I’ve got more time to do my pottering.” You teased, though the words didn’t quite reach the way your teasing usually sounded. “Anyway, Dina showed up.”
“What? Why? Did she actually?” Jesse asked, his eyebrows raised as he looked to you with suspicion, like you were about to be making fun of him.
“‘Course she did. Whole town knows what happened, and she was worried about you.” You said with a grin that didn’t meet your eyes.
“The whole town?” He questioned, shutting his eyes and dropping his head back with a groan when you nodded your confirmation. “My family are so going to kill me, aren’t they?”
With a laugh, you reached forward to mess up his hair, “Oh, Jesse, you sweet thing. We’ve already devised a plan on how we’re going to do it.”
He slapped your hand away, glaring, but a smile pulled at his lips. He knew it wasn’t true, knew you were just entertaining his dramatics. What he didn’t know, was that his family had already been in, had already scolded you for getting their golden boy into trouble.
You moved back to the window, seeing a man across the road had given up on shovelling the heavy snow away from his door. Something heavy had settled on your chest, and you took a deep breath to try and get some oxygen past it. You didn’t blame Jesse’s family for what they had said to you — if you had been in their position, you probably would’ve been the same. They hadn’t quite approved of you, anyway, so you didn’t take it too personally. You were more than aware of everything you had done wrong.
Somebody cleared their throat in the doorway to the room, and you turned away from the window to see Joel stood there. He nodded his greeting to Jesse, a tight smile on his face.
“C’mon, kiddo, Tommy wants you to head back to the shop.” Joel said, repressing the sigh that wanted to leave his chest when you only nodded, stepping away from the window with a final glance outside.
“Well,” You said to Jesse, trying to muster up your best smile, “Duty calls, I guess. Feel better soon, okay?”
He called your name when you walked away, passing Joel as he stood beside the door, but you ignored it, feeling that weight grow heavier. Joel followed after you, a frown on his face.
You knew the route out already, and figured Joel was just the messenger, but he followed along, a few steps behind you as he limped on his injured leg. The wind was harsh when you opened the door, and you shivered when snow was immediately blown in your face. You lingered in the doorway, both hesitant to go out into the awful conditions, and feeling bad for leaving Joel hurrying on his bad leg.
Joel didn’t say it, but you knew he was here because Tommy didn’t want to see you. You couldn’t say you were surprised — not after just how angry Tommy had gotten. His face had been red, the steam pouring from his ears practically melting the snow around him, and it was the first time he had ever yelled at you.
“You doing okay?” Joel asked, hesitantly, as he paused in the doorway beside you, watching you as you wrapped your coat tighter around you. He knew that nothing was fixed, not even close, but there was something.
“I’m fine, Joel.” You replied, and he could hear the exhaustion in your voice, the way it pulled on your words. It was easier to hear than it was to see, but he just caught the slump to your shoulders, the way you held your eyes shut for a moment, before going to brave the snow.
He walked beside you as you headed towards the ceramics shop, your pace a touch slower than usual. You shoved your hands in your pockets, eyebrows creasing when you realised you must’ve taken your gloves off at some point. You tried not to sigh when you realised that they were probably lost, and just decided to chalk it up to another disappointment in an incredibly frustrating day.
When you arrived at the ceramics shop, it was a mission to get through all the snow that had started blocking the door. You would probably be snowed in, by nightfall. Joel helped you get rid of as much of it as possible, his gloved hands doing most of the work after your bare ones become too numb to continue.
You opened the door, feeling heavier than you had in months, and left the door open as you moved to the back of the shop, turning on the heater that sat there. You let your hands linger in front of it, just gritting your teeth at the sting that followed from warming them too quickly.
Joel lingered in the doorway, frowning at you, and furrowed his eyebrows as he called your name, watching your turn to face him. “I’m sorry.”
You gaped at him, stunned.
“You should have gotten a choice. It wasn’t my place to decide that for you, or to leave without havin’ a conversation.” He continued on, his words jumbling the slightest bit. “I still think you stayin’ was the best thing for you, the safest thing, but for whatever it might be worth, I am sorry.”
When your silence lingered, Joel nodded tersely, and stepped away, smiling tightly as he left the shop, shutting the door behind him. You blinked at the closed door, unsure what to do, unsure if you should have said something. But even if you should’ve, what would you have said?
It wasn’t okay, not in the slightest, and everything around you seemed to be crumbling. Tommy wasn’t speaking to you and Maria would be more than upset with you, too. Jesse was in the infirmary, and that was on you. And even as you looked around the ceramics shop, all you saw was cracked paint on the walls, and dust that settled no matter how many times you wiped it away.
Hell, even the misshapen plates and bowls on the shelves just made your chest hurt. You didn’t feel any sort of pride for this place, anymore, and it was painful. It stung at the deepest parts of you, and you just settled down on the dirty floor in front of the heater, holding your head in your hands as you blinked back tears.
Why did you think you could do this?
∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘
Initially, you didn’t intend on avoiding Jesse.
In fact, you had plans to go and visit him the day after everything went to shit. It was just that when you opened the shop door, the outside looked far too unfriendly, and you knew his family would be in his infirmary room.
Perhaps it was a cowardly move, staying at the shop, locking the door and pretending the outside world of Jackson didn’t exist. Really, you were going to go and see him the next day. Swore to yourself that you would. But when the next day came, you didn’t even attempt to unlock the door to leave, figuring that it would be best to just leave him and his family to it. Dina was probably with him, too, so your absence wouldn’t be felt all too much.
Each day you said you would go, started with you justifying your staying in the shop. It went the same way, waking up and thinking you should go and see him, but the moment you got into the front of the shop, you thought better of it.
You blamed it on everything but what it actually was. Whether that be the snow, the heater in the shop that broke, the concept of him having quality time with his family… you used it all to reassure yourself that he didn’t need you by his side.
Besides, you knew he wouldn’t be in the infirmary for long. And by the fifth day, there was a knock against the shop door, barely heard over the howling wind outside. You remained in the back room, telling yourself it was probably nothing important, and after the heater broke, you couldn’t afford to open the door, anyway.
Even with the door closed, your breath misted in front of your face, and you had to rub your hands together more than once to generate heat, especially considering you seemed to have misplaced your gloves.
On day six, you kept all the lights off, and didn’t bother to poke your head around the doorframe to see who was knocking at the front door. After a few moments of loud knocking, his voice called out your name, and you were sure he was likely squinting through the shop window, trying to catch sight of you.
You barely even noticed the way you held your breath so it wouldn’t cloud the air, and alert him to your presence. You pretended the harsh exhale after he left was just a sigh of exhaustion. In some ways, you guessed it was.
By day seven, he knew what you were doing.
“Open the door,” Jesse yelled, still knocking wildly against the wood, and you were sure he was peeking in the window, too. “I’ve been to Tommy’s, the dinner hall, the greenhouses, the stables, hell — I even went to Joel’s. I know you’re here, stop hiding.”
You stayed in the back room.
After a while — much longer than you expected, especially given the still-awful weather — Jesse gave up, leaving the door at last. You frowned at the empty can of food in front of you, chest aching from the cold and everything that had happened over the past few days.
You hadn’t left the shop in the past seven days, surviving off of the short supply of long-life food in the cupboards. But that was your last can of it. As much as you knew you would have to leave, have to go get some more food in order to survive, you still didn’t want to. You didn’t want to see anyone, didn’t want them to see the shame that was so visible in the curve of your frown, the dip of your brows.
It made it easier to hide, knowing Jesse was the only person looking for you. There had been no sign of Tommy or Maria, which pained you, but didn’t surprise you. Part of you wondered if they’d ever speak to you again, but you didn’t want to linger on the question, too afraid of the answer.
It was day eight that you had no other choice — the temperatures were dropping even further, and with no heater it was becoming too cold for you to take. The need for heat and food led you to the dinner hall, which was surprisingly empty, and you settled at your usual table with a plate of cooked food, feeling the chill that had begun to settle in your bones fade.
Most people would be staying inside their homes, the cold too much to bear, so you were surprised when Ellie waltzed into the hall, eyes scanning the room as she made her way over to grab herself some food. You dipped your head when she began looking in your direction, and clutched at the fork in your hand, holding your breath.
“So you are alive.” Ellie drawled, settling down in the seat opposite you with her plate in front of her. “You know your friend has been coming ‘round for the past few days, won’t leave us alone.”
You shrugged, not knowing how to respond.
She sighed, poking at the food on her plate. “Thanks for going back for Joel, by the way.” She pretended not to see the way your head snapped up, eyebrows furrowed as you looked at her.
“I wouldn’t leave him to die out there,” You said, after a moment, the words hesitant as they left you. “Especially when he went to try and help me.”
Ellie nodded, shoving food into her mouth, and you quickly followed her action. The silence between the two of you stretched uncomfortably, and you hated how everything had changed. Why couldn’t they have just let you come with them? Why did they have to push you so far away?
“He’s a good guy,” Ellie said, a frown on her face. “He makes stupid decisions, but only because he cares about us.”
You looked at her, wondering when the two of you had grown up. You remember the jokes you had shared during your travels, the way she had been able to make you smile even when doing so seemed impossible. She had made life in the apocalypse almost bearable, and now here you were, sat at the same table, but miles apart.
“Maybe, but you were right about one thing. I don’t know what happened, so if you ever want to talk about it, I’ll listen.” You told her, instead of acknowledging her words about Joel. You didn’t want to think about him. You didn’t want to think about any of it.
It would be painful, you were sure, to hear about everything they had experienced. You could guess that a lot of it wouldn’t be pleasant, and it would likely hurt to hear about all the things you had missed out on, all the things that maybe you could’ve protected them from. But you were willing. It wasn’t forgiveness, it wasn’t a ticket back to being in each other’s lives, but it was progress.
And progress was all that you could offer, so it would have to do.
“I’ll, uh, keep that in mind.” Ellie said, a tight smile on her face as she looked at you, her eyebrows slightly raised in surprise at your words.
You nodded, and the two of you ate in silence.
∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘
After stocking up on some more long-lasting cans of food, you were prepared to hunker down in the shop for a while longer. You hadn’t been able to trade for another blanket like you had hoped, but you weren’t all too surprised. With the stormy weather, everybody wanted more warming supplies.
You had survived worse conditions, though, in worse places. One harsh winter in Jackson wouldn’t kill you, even if your heater was broken, and you still hadn’t found your gloves.
The shop door was locked once again, and you had taped the bottom of it to try and stop the cold draft from seeping into the room. You considered bunkering down in the back room, taping the door shut and staying in there with all the blankets and layers you had, but you thought better of it. You wanted to be able to hear the front door with ease, still on edge after the ambush with Jesse, especially considering the raiding attacks that had slowly begun to ease off.
Despite whatever had gone wrong, however angry Tommy may be, you knew he’d rely on you if the time came. You were sure of it. Everything the two of you had built couldn’t have been toppled by this one event, right?
Your gun was still laid by the shop door, and your ammo never left the jacket you always wore. Just in case. If anything were to go wrong, you wanted to be ready.
The call of your name shook you from your racing thoughts, the contemplation of everything that could happen pausing as your head snapped up. Maria’s voice was loud, and she hadn’t knocked. You didn’t have a surname — didn’t know whoever came before you long enough for them to tell you, didn’t know everyone who came after long enough for them to share their own. So she settled on your first name, yelling it loudly.
“Open the door!” Maria demanded once again, kicking the bottom of it with her foot. “Come on, open it. You’re not fooling anybody, and it’s freezing out here, little Troy can’t stay out here too long.”
With a sigh, you stood. She knew how to get to you — bringing baby Miller was a harsh plan, especially because it gave you no choice but to let her in. Not that it was much warmer in the shop than it was outside, but she didn’t know that.
You unlocked the door, pulling it open just to fit yourself into the crack of it. Facing Maria was terrifying, because you didn’t know what to expect. Even as she held on to baby Troy Miller, who was bundled up in more layers than you could count, she was totally unpredictable. She could be in a motherly mood, or that merciless Jackson council member.
“Hi,” You said, nervously. “What’re you doing here?”
She raised her eyebrows, stepping forward until you’d opened the door for her to step inside of the shop. Maria’s stern expression immediately fell, and you could feel nerves building in your stomach.
“Is your heating out?” She asked, turning on you suddenly, harshly. When you nodded meekly, she handed Troy over to you, not faltering even when you opened your mouth to voice your confusion.
He babbled at you, a toothy grin on his face, and you held on to him tighter. It hit you then, how much you actually cared about these people. Your brain short-circuited when you thought about something bad happening to this family, and it made you feel sick. Suddenly, you were regretting the meal you had eaten with Ellie.
“Well, I think Jeremy should be able to fix it up.” Maria sighed, standing from where she had crouched down to inspect your broken heater. “But he’s way busy with other heater issues. Come on, you’ll stay with us.”
“Maria.” You urged, repeating her name another time when she didn’t answer you, too busy thinking about options and solutions, as always. “I’m fine. Go home.”
She sighed heavily, turning to you with that stern look she’d been wearing since the moment you were left behind in Jackson. “I know you and Tommy are going through a rough time, but he loves you, and if he knew you’d been living here with no heat?” Maria shook her head with scoffed laughter, not reaching for Troy even as you offered to hand him back, instead moving to pack some of your clothes into a bag. “Come on, let’s go home.”
“It’s not my home, Maria,” You said softly, perhaps the softest she had ever heard you.
It was disquieting, at the least, for you to behave in such a way. Throughout the whole time Maria had known you, you had been sharp edges and bitten words, even when you had grown to care for them, that hadn’t changed all that much. It was a constant, your stubborn attitude and harsh nature, always slamming doors shut too hard, always charring food when you were unsupervised, because you’d turn the heat up too high. You were impatient, practical, realistic. You weren’t soft.
Maria’s face curved into a frown, and she stopped her presumptive actions in packing up some of your things. She looked at you, looked at the lines that were beginning to dig into your expression, looked at the way your shoulders slumped as you held on to her son.
“Maybe not,” Maria offered, and looked around at the shop that was not as pristine as the last time she had seen it, before looking back to you. “It could be, though.”
You shook your head, sighing but not finding any relief from the action, only feeling the same tightness to your chest. “I’m not a Miller.” You said, and it was true, because the space behind your name remained as empty as ever, that absence something you had felt your whole life.
“You’re as much a Miller as I am, as he is.” Maria reasoned, gesturing towards her son in your arms as she looked at you. She didn’t want to say too much, didn’t want to overwhelm you, but you had practically been adopted by the two Miller brothers. Two men who were so far from perfect, who made so many mistakes that they almost lost you, who cared too much. Hell, even if you weren’t consciously aware of it, you had adopted their mannerisms and tendencies.
It showed in the way you held Troy, the same stance that Tommy used. It showed in the frown on your lips, that looked far too much like Joel’s to be a coincidence. The furrow between your brows reflected Joel and Tommy’s own, a crevice built from worrying and frustration and anger. You reminded Maria too much of how Tommy had been when they first found him — eyes glassy, lost, and without purpose.
She had seen the change in you since you had been left in Jackson, so many ups and downs, but you had been doing better. And now, here you were, looking more lost than you ever had.
“That’s not true, Maria.” You replied, tense. It wasn’t true — Troy was a Miller by blood, and Maria was a Miller by marriage. Both choices that Tommy had made. It wasn’t the same for you, it couldn’t be. Tommy had never chosen you — Joel had dropped you in his lap before running away, and didn’t that make you the furthest thing from a Miller?
“It is true.” Maria refuted, stepping forward to hold a hand firmly against your face. “You’re a Miller, no doubt about it. Now come on, we’d better get going. Got a lot to talk about.”
She was finishing shoving your things inside of the backpack at her feet in a few moments, and was swinging it over her shoulder before you could protest, making her way out of the door. Holding her son, what choice did you have but to follow?
The two of you were silent on your journey to Rancher Street, and you felt the nerves bubbling up from your stomach, leaving an unpleasant tingling in the back of your throat. It was tense, though that could have been all from you. You were still holding Troy, having him half buried in your jacket to make sure he wouldn’t be cold, despite the fact your jacket wasn’t the warmest.
When you arrived to her house, Tommy wasn’t there. She didn’t say anything, so you didn’t mention it, much preferring to ignore the issues that would likely arrive whenever he returned. Instead, you settled Troy down, removing some of his layers at the rush of warm air that came the moment you stepped through the door.
Your hands were tingling, in a strange state between feeling and numb after the sudden temperature change. You settled them under your legs when you sat down on the couch, Troy at your side as Maria clambered about the kitchen, having already dropped your bag down beside the sofa.
When she came back, it was with a steaming mug that you recognised — one of your very own design. It was a dark green, close to black, and had your poor recreation of a bear on it. You remembered thinking it was going to come out brown, remembered the shock when it was green.
She handed it over, and you used the hand with slightly more feeling to take it from her, holding it close to your chin to allow the steam to flow over your features, warming your nose. “So,” Maria said, drawing your attention from where you’d been keeping an eye on Troy, keeping the hot mug away from him. “First, you and Tommy fight, and then you ignore your best friend?”
You stared at her, teeth clenched in shock, and recalled the way Ellie had mentioned the boy. Clearly, he was pestering everybody who knew you. Maria’s eyebrows raised, looking expectantly at you.
“‘M not ignoring anybody.” You murmured, voice catching in your throat as you spoke, and you took a sip of boiling hot tea to get rid of the lump that had formed. The burn soothed you, in a strange way, warming your insides the slightest bit as you breathed steam.
“Mhm, is that why he’s been ‘round here, bugging us ever since he got out of the damn infirmary?” Maria asked, expression tightening slightly as you winced, and knew she had got you.
You shook your head, moving your other hand from underneath your leg to cradle the mug in both palms, breathing a relieved breath at the warmth finally reaching your fingers. “Doesn’t know how to stop, does he?” You said, moving your eyes to the swirling drink in the mug, not looking up even as Maria hummed. “I’ll tell him to leave you be.”
“Ah, but that would require talking to him, which you clearly haven’t been doing.” She told you, a slight teasing lilt to her voice, to make it seem less serious than it truly was.
Maria remembered the night you and Tommy had arrived home, with you shoving at his shoulder whilst he laughed loudly, a bright teasing smile on his expression. It was probably the lightest she had ever seen the two of you, with Tommy not feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders for just a moment, and you smiling like you hadn’t faced unspeakable things. She remembered the way you had scrambled to correct Tommy’s statements, whacking a hand against his forearm when he interrupted you.
She remembered Troy waking up from where she hadn’t long settled him down, and remembered the way you had immediately gone to calm him down after hissing a “Look what you’ve done now!” at Tommy, who had only laughed.
Maria remembered the way her head had settled against her husband’s shoulder, exhausted to her very bones, motherhood feeling much harder than she remembered. Especially with her aged bones, keeping up with a baby was more difficult than she remembered. She didn’t want to think about what it would be like when he could actually run around. Maria had just been grateful to have you there, to be able to rest with Tommy, trusting you to look after her son.
You challenged her motherly instincts, sure, but Troy was on another level — it was a lot more to deal with when your child wasn’t basically self-sufficient.
“I’m going to,” You said, though there was doubt in your voice. “I am.” You repeated, as if that would solidify your statement, as if it would make it any more truthful.
“Listen,” Maria sighed, saying your name, and waiting for you to look up from your mug before she continued. “I know what happened on that patrol. I know. And it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault, so why are you ignoring Jesse?”
You swallowed, scratching a fingernail over a small crumb of clay that hadn’t gotten smoothed down before being fired. “I just… I care about him, and he could’ve died, Maria. Tommy was right, I—I was irresponsible, and I could’ve gotten us both killed.”
Maria shook her head immediately, picking Troy up when he began to fuss, and she stopped you. “No, Tommy was speaking from a place of anger. Of fear. You did everything right.” She affirmed, staring intensely at you, as if daring you to argue against her. “Except, maybe, going after Joel, but I know why you did that. I get it. If I had been in your position, if it were my…— I would’ve done the same thing.”
“I just didn’t want him to die, because of me.” You said, voice quiet again, and Maria’s heart ached for you, something squeezing so tightly in her chest that it physically hurt. “I don’t want Tommy to hate me forever, either.” You added after a few quiet moments, eyes following a bubble around the edge of the mug.
“He doesn’t hate you, kid, not at all. He was scared, he didn’t want to lose you.” Maria reasoned, but you still didn’t feel better, not after just how angry he had gotten. Not after he had practically shoved you out of his sight, the moment he was done yelling, unable to even look at you. Not after he had sent Joel as a messenger, refusing to speak to you himself.
“Maybe,” You offered, because it was the best you could do. You couldn’t agree with her, couldn’t disagree, either. The only person who would actually be able to decide those things was Tommy — and he was nowhere to be found. “I’ll talk to Jesse.” You decided to say, in the end, hands gripping tighter on the mug. Just saying it aloud made it seem all the more real, and you regretted it a moment afterwards, thoughts stuck on what Jesse would say, what his family would say.
“Good.” Maria said, nodding at you, “He’s a good kid, he deserves to know his friend is still here.” She stood to her feet, heading to the kitchen with Troy in her arms, waiting for her to feed him.
Twenty minutes later, when Maria had gone upstairs to put Troy down for a nap, the front door banged open, a rush of cold air being let in.
“Maria!” Tommy yelled out, his voice panicked, and you could hear him shuffling through his bag in the still-open doorway. With furrowed brows, you placed the cold mug down on the floor beside the sofa, standing up and making your way to peek into the hallway. “Maria, you here?” He shouted again, more desperate this time, and when you finally saw him, you saw that he had snow still clinging to him, and he had brought clumps of it in on his boots, slowly melting puddles on their floor.
“Tommy?” You questioned quietly, both not wanting to speak to him, but also getting increasingly concerned by his behaviour. His head snapped up to you, and he blinked in surprise, his shoulders slumping and hands pausing in their rummaging.
“Oh, thank god.” Tommy said, approaching you quickly and wrapping his arms around you tightly before you could get a word in. You blinked, shocked, and slowly wrapped your own arms around the man, who just held your head closer to him in return. “You scared the shit outta me.” He admitted, a slight tremor to his voice. He breathed out a heavy sigh, arms squeezing, and you wanted to look at him to express your confusion.
“Is everything okay?” Maria asked, a slight panic to her own voice, but she relaxed at the image before her. Tommy’s eyes opened as he rested his head on your own, and he looked to his wife as he nodded gently.
He moved away from you slightly, hands moving to hold your shoulders tightly, finally able to see your confused face. He sighed, his shoulders dropping like they had been holding the weight of the world. “I went to the shop, wanted to apologise. Couldn’t find you or your things, and it was freezing.” Tommy told you, his head dropping until his chin rested against his chest for a moment. “Thought you left.”
His arms pulled you back to his chest, and you didn’t resist him, though your heart was racing in your chest, blood rushing in your ears.
Maria frowned, “I didn’t know you were going. The heater’s broken, so I told her to stay with us.”
Tommy nodded again, his breath held in his chest as he let his heart rate calm down. You let him hold on to you until he was ready to let go, just keeping your face hidden in his shoulder as your arms wrapped loosely around him, fingers numb from the cold once again.
When he finally released you, you took a small step back, cheeks warm with remaining shame from your last conversation with the man. The rest of you, however, was freezing, especially since you had removed your multitude of layers in the warm house. Tommy frowned as you shivered, cursing under his breath as he turned to shut his front door, his frown deepening when he saw the water covering the hallway in front of the door.
He waved Maria away when she gave him a stern look, and she nodded once she saw his expression, smiling tightly at you before heading back upstairs to settle Troy back down, after he had been fussing from his father’s shouting.
Tommy turned to where you stood, hands wrung together to try and generate some more warmth between your digits. He sighed again, a seemingly very common thing for him at the moment, and he stood up straighter to talk to you.
“I’m sorry,” He told you, his voice reflecting his words in its apologetic tone. “I should never have spoken to you the way I did. Wasn’t fair of me to blame you for things that weren’t your fault. Or for me to judge you for doin’ exactly what I would’ve. What I should’ve.”
You stared at him, at the way his hands clenched and unclenched into fists at his sides, a slightly nervous habit, you had noticed.
“Tommy, you were right,” You responded, continuing on even as he shook his head, “I messed up, and I could’ve gotten Jesse, or Joel, or even myself killed.”
“No.” He said firmly, reaching out and holding onto your shoulders once again, his grip tight as if you might slip away. “I was wrong. You hear me? I should have been proud, proud that you were so brave, that you saved your friend and your— and Joel. I should have been proud that you made your way back, that you did it without some old shithead tellin’ you what to do.” He rambled on, shutting his eyes and looking almost regretful.
You ducked your head, feeling far too emotional, a lump formed in your throat at his words. Just somebody who you looked up to, who you trusted, telling you that you hadn’t done anything wrong… it was almost too much.
As many mixed feelings as you may have had over the whole situation, the most prevalent one was guilt. It had been surrounding you, weighing so heavily on you, hell, you didn’t even realise how much it had been pulling you down until Tommy came in, lifting it all off of your shoulders.
“You did good, kid.” He told you, squeezing your shoulders, and you hated the way your lip started trembling.
“Stop, you’re gonna make me cry.”
Tommy laughed, the sound watery and almost broken off, “You can cry as much as you want.” He pulled you in, feeling your arms squeeze around his middle as he held on to you so tightly, he was almost sure he’d never let go again.
∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘
Your closed fist was raised up to the door, a hair’s width away from making contact with it, but you had frozen. And it wasn’t because of the cold.
There was something that had settled heavily in your stomach, making your whole body feel heavy and slow. You felt, distantly, like you might throw up with the way it was sitting, but tried not to think on it too much. You were aware of the way your chest was rising and falling, almost too aware, and you tried to put it out of your mind as you attempted to steel yourself.
“You gonna knock, or are you just gonna keep standing there, looking stupid?” A voice asked from behind you, making you spin on your heels, fist pulled away from the door. You held a hand against your chest, breathing a heavy sigh as you saw the culprit of the scare.
“You’re an asshole.” You murmured, eyes studying your beaten up boots that were covered in melting snow. You looked up to him, and felt some relief when you saw Jesse crack a slight smile at your reaction. It faded far too quickly for your liking.
“So?” He prompted, eyebrows raising at you.
You frowned, repressing the urge to grumble at him, but you knew that he should’ve been the one angry at you. Hell, he probably was. “I just came to say… I’m sorry.”
“For…?”
“Are you kidding?” You asked, annoyed. But when his expression didn’t budge, you sighed through your nose. “Okay. I’m sorry for ignoring you after the infirmary, and I’m sorry you got put into the infirmary at all.” You said, looking back down the where the melting snow was seeping into the hole at the side of your boots. You should probably get new ones.
Jesse didn’t say anything for a moment, and you picked at your fingernails while you stared at the ground, your nerves sending your pulse into a fluttery mess.
Finally, you heard him snickering, and your head snapped up. “Well, I just can’t believe this. You, apologising?” You glared as his smile slowly grew, though you knew that the whole thing wasn’t quite solved, at least it was good to know that Jesse was still acting his usual asshole self with you. “Come on, you little asshole.” He said, gesturing for you to follow him. You did.
He glanced at you every so often, shaking his head at your stoic expression.
The two of you arrived at the dining hall soon enough, standing in the queues silently whilst waiting to collect food, until Jesse nudged you and led you over to the table you so often shared.
“You do realise I would never blame you for something that happened on patrol, right?” He asked, eyebrow raised as he awaited your response, shovelling food into his mouth as if he was starving. He reminded you an awful lot of Ellie, in that way. You wondered if they had met.
With a roll of your eyes, “Well, now, yeah. Do we have to talk about this? I said sorry, didn’t I?” You murmured the last part, shovelling your own food into your mouth, refraining from rolling your eyes again when Jesse snickered at you.
“How could I forget? You prefer to brood rather than talk about your feelings.” He responded.
“Okay, I don’t brood—”
“Yes, you do—”
“And do you enjoy talking about… feelings?” You said, ignoring his interruption. He stared at your raised eyebrows, the expectant look on your face.
“Sometimes, I do.”
“Maybe when it comes to—”
“Dina!” Jesse said in a high pitched tone, cutting you off and looking at you with widened eyes. You looked behind you, seeing the girl of the hour approaching your table, an amused look in her eye. She nudged you with a grin as she walked past, sitting on your left and smiling widely at Jesse’s surprised expression.
After settling down, she looked back up to meet Jesse’s eyes. “What? Cat got your tongue?”
You snorted out a laugh, not expecting to hear such an old expression coming from her — it sounded like something Joel might say. Jesse glared at you, unamused by the grin you and Dina shared.
“Yeah, Jesse.” You goaded, smiling at his indignant huff. “Not want to talk about feelings, anymore?” You asked. You leaned backwards as he swiped his arm out, trying to knock the cutlery from your hand as it was heading towards your mouth. Dina laughed at his failed attempt.
“So you two are talking again, then?” Dina said when her laughing faded, and you glared at the way Jesse grinned, unhappy with the fact he was telling her such things. You supposed that you couldn’t blame him — after all, you had spoken to Maria about it. It just so happened that Jesse was your only friend your actual age.
“Unfortunately.” You grumbled, eyes narrowed at the man.
“Unfortunately,” Jesse mocked, making a face at you. “Somebody finally came to their senses!” He said, after he was done poking at his food as he frowned at you.
“Somebody is having regrets about it.” You responded in turn, smiling sarcastically at him.
“Back to normal, then.” Dina concluded, smiling when the two of you nodded. She didn’t know you all too well, but from the time she had spent with you in Jesse’s infirmary room, she was a fan. You clearly cared about Jesse, way more than you would admit, and she could admire that.
You looked at Jesse, “Back to normal.” He echoed, smiling at you.
You pretended that the sigh you let out wasn’t one of relief.
∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘
“You should really clean this place up, you know.” Jesse commented as you unlocked the door to the pottery shop, his eyes scanning around the room, the chill to the air making him shove his hands in his pockets. He looked at the dust covering the surfaces you usually cut clay on and raised his eyebrows.
“Well, I’ve been a bit busy.” You replied, moving to the newly fixed heater that Tommy had brought over when he walked you back to the shop that very morning.
“Oh, yeah, avoiding me.” Jesse said, grinning mischievously when you shot him an annoyed look over your shoulder, focusing on turning the heater on, placing your freezing hands in front of it when it finally started shooting out some warmth. You sighed at the sting, just glad to feel your hands once again.
You sat down on a dusty stool, turning to Jesse when he sat down beside you, relishing in the heater that was finally working. “Okay, so maybe I’m not the best with… feelings.”
“No kidding,” Jesse snorted, his smile fading when you stared at him, deadpan. “Sorry, go on.”
“But I can say that I do care about you. Sometimes. When you don’t piss me off.” You told him, drawing in a shaky breath that filled your lungs with cold air. “I just… relationships are complicated, you know? And painful, a lot of the time. I didn’t wanna go through that again, I guess, but you’re persistent.”
Jesse smiled as you spoke, somewhat amused by your words, but even you could see the softness to it. The absence of that teasing edge his grin usually held. It was reassuring.
“If this is about Joel—” Jesse attempted, shutting his mouth when you cut him off.
“—It’s not about him.” You interrupted, quickly, the back of your neck feeling hot despite the heater being quite far from you. “Or maybe it is, I don’t know.” You added on, after thinking about it for a second. You generally tried not to think of Joel, or the whole situation with him and Ellie, but could it really have effected you that much? It’s not like Joel was the first person you had lost.
He was the first to walk away without a fight, though.
A small part of you fought that fact, because he came back. Did that not mean anything?
“Can I speak yet?” Jesse asked, a slight teasing lilt to his voice. It brought you out of your thoughts, and you smiled despite the topic at hand. With a nod from you, Jesse went on, “Thanks. I’m just saying, maybe Joel isn’t all that bad. I’m not defending what he did, but the guy clearly cares about you.”
“So I should just— just forgive him? For leaving me?” You asked, looking at Jesse as if he had all the answers.
“I don’t know, that’s up to you,” He said. “Maybe you don’t need to forgive him. Maybe it’s time to just… move on with your life. Forget about what he did, and focus on what he can do. You miss him, don’t you?”
You frowned, looking away from the intensity of Jesse’s gaze. The two of you were friends, yes, and he was the closest friend you’d ever had, maybe besides Ellie. But being so open, it was strange. Likely the effect of the apocalyptic world you lived in, and perhaps it was another difference between that world and the little safe haven of Jackson, Wyoming.
“‘Course I do. He and Tess… they were everything I had.” You replied, your eyebrows creasing at the thought of the woman, at the memory of your life in Boston QZ. It made you realise that it had been a while since Maria had cut your hair, and Tess would’ve chastised you for not reminding her to cut it if you had let it gotten this long in Boston.
It all felt so far away.
When you thought of Tess, your heart ached. Though, it wasn’t quite the same as it had been on your journey with Joel and Ellie. You felt her absence, maybe more than ever, but it wasn’t all bitter. You felt… appreciative of her. She may be gone, but at least you got to have her for a time.
You really wished that she could’ve seen this place, though. You often wondered if she would’ve liked pottery.
Joel would probably know.
“Tess may be gone, but Joel isn’t. Not anymore.” Jesse reminded you, hesitant in his words. You realised that you had never really told him, or anyone, about Tess.
“Y’know, if Tess were here, she’d probably tell me to get over myself,” You laughed at the thought, a sad, watery laugh, but Jesse smiled with you despite not knowing the woman. “She’d kick Joel’s ass, though.”
“Is that even possible? Joel’s like… badass, man.”
“Nobody was more badass than Tess. She was awesome. Used to boss Joel around, all the time, she ran half of the smuggling underground at Boston.” You smiled when Jesse raised his eyebrows, surprised. “And she used to cut my hair. Always told me it was better to keep my hair short, even though she had long hair.”
“Bit hypocritical, isn’t it?” Jesse asked, humour in his words.
You shrugged, “Think she was just trying to keep me safe, in her own way. Tess didn’t want to keep me, to start with. Joel convinced her.”
The more you thought about it, the more you realised that it really was because of Joel that you were allowed to stay with the two of them. You remember hearing them argue on a few occasions, something about a great family that Tess knew nearby. But Joel had never let you go too far.
He’d told you about Tess’s family, though it wasn’t really his place to do so. He had done it in an attempt to comfort you one night when you were young, after you had gotten upset at Tess disregarding you yet again. Joel had explained that she didn’t like getting attached to anybody, especially kids, after she lost her own child. He had told you that it was what they had bonded over, at the start.
“Sounds like this Joel guy really wanted you around, huh?” Jesse said teasingly, only grinning when you narrowed your eyes at him.
“Shut up, you asshole, when the hell did you get all wise?” You asked, glaring at him as he feigned an innocent look. You cracked first, smiling at his expression, feeling a softness to the grin as he matched it with one of his own.
“Distance makes the heart grow wiser, I guess.”
“It’s fonder, Jesse. It makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Shut up, I’m the wise one here.”
You looked at Jesse then, as the two of you shared a laugh, and you wondered if this is how friendship felt before the apocalypse, or if that warm feeling in your chest was exclusive to post-apocalyptic relationships.
∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘
“Didn’t think you’d be coming back here.” Joel commented gruffly as he made his way to the kitchen with a nervous energy about him.
“Me neither,” You said idly, watching him fumble around the kitchen. You wondered if it was just a Miller thing, being terrible in the kitchen. It certainly seemed like something Joel and Tommy had in common, but you hadn’t really thought about it when Joel had asked if you wanted some tea, in a bit of a panic at your presence.
He didn’t say anything in response to that, seemingly mulling your words over. Joel didn’t really know what to make of your presence, certainly not expecting to see you at his front door when he opened it.
“Oh, wait,” You said suddenly, causing him to look over to you in the doorway from where he had been about to put tea in the two mugs in front of him. You pulled your backpack around on your shoulder, digging through it for a moment before pulling out a bag. Joel’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked between you and the bag, waiting for an explanation. “Look.” You said, handing it over to him.
He took the bag, opening it up and unable to help the grin that broke onto his face at the sight of coffee beans, the scent of them immediately soothing some of the man’s tension.
“Where’d you get these?” Joel asked you, his voice lighter than you had heard it since Boston. The sound of it made you grin, despite everything.
“Found ‘em on a patrol, a while ago. Been hiding them from Tommy, so don’t tell him.” You responded, realising that this was probably the lightest conversation you and Joel had held for a very long time. How long had it been?
“Wouldn’t dream of it. He’s a thief, always has been.” Joel said, smiling. “Right, the tea.” He said after a moment, placing the bag of coffee beans beside the mugs he’d set out.
You snickered as you noticed the mugs, grinning as Joel turned to you in question. “Seems like Tommy’s not the only thief in the family.” You said, gesturing toward the white and orange mug he’d placed down, recognising it from the batch you’d given Tommy and Maria.
Joel, at least, had the decency to look slightly embarrassed about stealing the orange coloured owl mug you had made and gifted to his brother. Either that, or embarrassed about getting caught. It had slipped his mind, really, more of a habit to grab it out of the cupboard, considering it was the one he used all the time.
He opened his mouth to try and craft some sort of defence, but felt any words he might’ve had die on his tongue as he turned to you. Seeing you smiling, well, it wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar sight. You often smiled at Tommy and Maria when he caught sight of you with the two of them, hell, you smiled a lot around that friend of yours, Jesse. Joel even remembers the times you would smile back in Boston, even though life in the QZ was much harder than life in Jackson.
But it had been a long time since Joel had seen you smile in his presence.
Each time you and Joel interacted after he had left you behind, your face had a way of falling, of crumpling in on itself before it hardened, staring at him with an expression of stone.
It had his heart aching in his chest, finally seeing you smile around him. He hadn’t realised quite how much he had missed it.
“What’s wrong?” You asked, after he stayed silent for a moment too long, the smile on your face fading into something of confusion. Joel shook himself out of his melancholy thoughts, clearing his throat and offering up his best smile in return.
“Nothin’,” Joel answered. “Nothin’ at all.”
You let his response linger in the air between the two of you for a few moments, and it seemed that the both of you were thinking of how life used to be. You were a long way from Boston.
“I could’ve made you your own, y’know.” You said, after a the silence stretched on, reaching out and picking up the mug he had stolen, looking at all the imperfections that had seemed invisible, all that time ago when you had made it. You’d like to believe you were much better in your craft, now.
“I like this one, just fine.” Joel responded, plucking it from your hands with a raised eyebrow. You snickered at his actions, moving to look around the kitchen, missing the soft grin stretched over the man’s face.
“God, you fixed that?” You asked suddenly, taking a wide step to look at the slight imperfection on the countertop, where you remember carving a deep gash in the material one night by shattering a particularly heavy plate upon the counter. You were almost sure it wasn’t fixable, that perhaps it could look better, but would always be extremely noticeable.
Joel nodded, back to his task of sorting out tea, but spoke when realising you were faced away from him. “Oh, yeah. Took me a couple tries, though.”
You hummed in response, going back to looking around the kitchen that you remembered so well. Most of the damage you had caused on the room had been fixed, which created a strange feeling in your chest, though you couldn’t tell quite what it was. Relief? Disappointment?
It wasn’t as hard to be in this house as you had expected it to be. You were awaiting that crushing feeling in your chest, that emptiness that left your ribs aching. Surprisingly, you felt… light, almost.
Joel didn’t know exactly what to expect.
On one hand, he wanted to feel hopeful, to belief that this would be the beginning of your relationship with him healing. But then on the other hand, he was reminded of just how much he had hurt you, of the tears that had spilled from your eyes when he had left you behind, the grit of your teeth when he had returned. He tried his best not to expect anything at all, to just remain… happy that you were here, in this moment.
Even if there were no other moments like this one.
He tried not to focus on how much that thought hurt.
“You and Ellie settled in, then?” You asked, trying to fill the silence in the room. There was also that part of you that wanted to know, that wanted to know everything.
Joel repressed the sigh that built in his chest. “Gettin’ there. She, uh, she’s had a tough time, but you know Ellie. She loves to be gettin’ into everybody’s business.” He refrained from looking in your direction when he asked you the same question. “You settled in alright here?” He wanted to add more on, but thought it best not to try his luck.
“I guess so.” You responded, thinking of how different your life was now, to how it was back in Boston, or even to how it was when you were on the road with Joel and Ellie. “It was… tough at first, but Tommy and Maria were good to me. And I got the shop, so.”
“And that boy?” Joel asked, trying to remain casual, though you heard the suspicion.
You smiled at his question, at the way he avoided looking at you. Back in Boston, when you had been much, much younger, Joel had tried to get the thought into your brain that boys were bad. He was protective of you, and distrustful towards the world. You couldn’t blame him.
“Jesse? He’s, uh, he’s my best friend.” You told the man, shaking your head at the way his shoulders relaxed the smallest bit. “He’s a good guy, you know. I care about him.”
As protective as Joel was, though he knew that he didnt really have any right to be, he couldn’t deny that it was nice that you had a friend your age. That you could count on someone, could trust someone, out of your immediate circle. He remembers that you had been lonely in the QZ, with only him and Tess for company, nobody your age that you could speak to or trust.
It had been a relief, almost, when you and Ellie had developed a friendship on the journey. Joel only hoped that the two of you could have that again.
“I’m happy for you, kiddo.” Joel responded, the nickname coming out almost like a reflex, like it was involuntary. It was what he had always called you, though, so you weren’t surprised.
“Jesse, uh— it was actually Jesse’s idea for me to come here.” You said, and Joel couldn’t deny the relief that spread through him when you didn’t immediately reject the nickname, or pull away at the sound of it.
Joel floundered for a moment, looking for something to say, eventually settling on uttering a quiet, “Sounds like a smart kid.”
You smiled, taking the mug off of Joel as he finally finished making the tea, avoiding your eyes. “I guess.” You replied, cradling the warm ceramic mug tightly in your hands. “Somehow, he seems to know what I need to hear, before even I know.” You said, humour coating your fond tone.
Joel smiled. “Sounds familiar. Tess was always like that, with me.”
It was one of the first times Joel had openly mentioned her name since she died. For some reason, it made your shoulders feel much lighter, like the burden of not being able to talk about her had been weighing you down.
“I miss her.” You confessed, looking for his reaction.
“I do, too, kiddo.” Joel admitted, his words softer than you had ever heard them. You thought about what it must’ve been like for him, to lose the companion he had held as close as he dared for close to two decades. You couldn’t imagine.
You hesitated, opening your mouth, before closing it again, only going ahead when Joel gave you a reassuring nod. “You knew her much better than I ever did.”
“I suppose.”
“Do you think you could… I don’t know, just— just tell me about her, one day?” You asked, the hope in your words making Joel’s heart ache.
“‘Course. I’ll tell you whatever you’d like to know.” Joel said, smiling gently at you, nodding his head towards the living room, a soft look on his face as he sat down beside you on the couch. “Ask away, kiddo.”
You were quiet for a moment, feeling lighter than you had possibly your whole life. “Do you think she’d like pottery?” You asked, sharing a knowing smile with Joel. He laughed at the concept, something so amusing about the idea of Tess Servopoulos, the renowned smuggling boss, sitting in your shop and making dinnerware.
“If it was with you, I reckon she’d have liked anything.” Joel responded, something truthful to his words.
You smiled, and asked more about her.
∘₊✧───── ───── ───── ─────✧₊∘
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2K notes · View notes
saintgoths · 1 year
Note
could you pls write more siren or divine feminine works for Joel pls!!
thx
ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏʀᴇʟᴇɪ
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thank you anon! didnt think there'd be people who would've liked the siren and wanted more of it, so here's more!
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POSSESSIVE!JOEL X SIREN!READER - THE LORELEI.
[PART TWO TO THE SIREN].
WORD COUNT - 3,144.
RATING - 18+ [slightly supernatural themes, kissing, pet-name, oral sex fem and mass receiving, rough oral sex, face-fucking, over-stimulation, rough-sex].
SUMMARY - joel and ellie didnt think they would see you again, but you're back in their lives and joel shows you how much he has missed you.
if you want to join a the last of us discord/joel miller discord here you go! 𓆩♡𓆪
if this reaches 75 notes i'll do a part three, which would be the last part of the siren series :)
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Ellie had believed she was hallucinating just after the moment her eyes rested upon the character she adhered she would never see again; it had been a handful of months since Ellie and Joel had settled in Jackson and the young girl had moved into the garage of the Miller man’s home and had been enjoying and relishing the peace and space Joel had offered her, although she had liked her peace there was much moments of time when she’d appear in Joel’s home to get something she didn’t have in her little lodge.
Ellie had immediately recognised the woman as the woman she and Joel had met in the beach, and she was taken aback from seeing her once more, she had remembered a conversation Joel shared with Tommy about new people moving in and Ellie was excited on meeting new people, there had even been a moment she’d jokingly tell Joel “what if it was this person we met that was moving in,” to get a reaction from the older man, hence much of their interactions with strangers during their previous missions were not the greatest.
Seeing you again was the last thing she’d imagined and when the auburn-haired girl was sure that it was you, she was seeing, she had at once reported the information back to her old man.
“You’re seeing stuff Ellie,” he dismissed as he continued his carving works in the studio of his home, he had attempted to pretend that he didn’t care if you were really here or not but Ellie had briskly caught the stunned look embedded into his eyes and tugged on his flannel.
“I promise you, since I’m younger and have better vision, I’m pretty sure what I’m seeing was correct,” Ellie obnoxiously pleaded as she let go of Joel’s flannel, the older man put down his unfinished work. “You can see for yourself, she’s near the gates and she’s speaking to Tommy.”
Frustrated, Joel had sighed and gave into Ellie’s pleads and took the assignment to see you for himself, Ellie had informed Joel that she’d catch up to him soon and had teasingly told Joel that she would give him alone time with you which he had rolled his eyes at.
After he had made way to where you and Tommy must’ve been, he could see the night he shared with you flash in his eyes. His eyes appeared brighter as they usually seemed, mesmerised by seeing you again and honestly, happy, he stepped into the conversation you shared with Tommy and instantly shook your hand. “Hey, [Y/N],” he attentively greeted, his grip around your paw slightly strong while your eyes glistened, captivated that you were adequate on seeing him once more.
“Joel,” you had whispered whilst Tommy in the background hastily recognised that the both of you were familiar with one another.
“You know each other?” Tommy curiously inquired as Joel finally let go of your hand, you had moved your hands into your back pockets and nodded your head in response to Tommy’s question.
Awkwardly, Joel rubbed his hands as he gathered the idea of how he could tell Tommy why and how you and him were familiar with one another. “Yeah, she—um, helped Ellie and I with some stuff when we were on our way to—um, the Fireflies.”
“So, that’s where you two were going?” You asked Joel, somewhat surprised that they were once on their way to a terrorist group.
“Uh, yeah, we had some business…” Joel replied as he gracelessly glanced at Tommy who stared right back at him, “that we needed to handle.”
You had raised the both of your eyebrows, dearly inquisitive to why a young girl like Ellie had business with a terrorist group like the Fireflies. “And did it go well?” You curiously inquired and such after you had caught the brisk shared glances Tommy and Joel mutually shared with each other ere they rebounded their gaze towards you.
“Yeah, it went well,” Joel hastily answered during the moment he scratched the back of his head, his brisk movement a sign for you to drop the question which you had kindly respected. “I’m surprised to see you here; I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
With a smirk, Tommy lifted himself from the wall he had been leaning on, his current crossed arms had been untied as he beckoned his head towards his brother as a sign of him having to leave, “I’m busy, take the task of showing her around, would you?” Tommy asked as he patted his hand on Joel’s shoulder, earnest to take on the chore, Joel bid his brother a goodbye who then turned to face you and comically winked before he left the both of you.
You had learned that Joel was the older brother between him and Tommy and learned that the people of Jackson were nice but very nosy and chatty. Joel had also realised that the clothing you were exposed your body less compared to the last time he has seen you, you had worn a black flannel shirt that cuddled your body and tight dark blue jeans that retained and hugged your buttocks, if Joel was being honest to himself, there was many times he had stolen a look to view the shape of your behind.
“Nostalgic?” You teasingly questioned the moment you had seized him from examining your body.
Candidly he was, reminiscent of the shared intimate moment you two shared with each other that night, it had caused him to become heavily flustered. “Where did you go?” He gravely questioned, greatly curious and suspicious on to where you had left the moment both him and Ellie woke up, yet, before you could come up with a lie for your ocean adventures, you had been greeted by a citizen of Jackson who openly shook your hand, delighted and moved from seeing you. Besides from the fact that you were a new townswoman, just how Joel discerned from you, someone who was alluring and mesmerising, he couldn’t be shocked when he noticed other people had easily been taken in by you, pulled by your presence and aura.
He could see with the way the more citizens that had greeted you, the stronger the flirtation was, and what had frustrated Joel was how you had played into their romantic pursue, you had kindly smiled, giggled, played with your hair and acted as if he weren’t there. Nevertheless, who was he to be jealous? Who was he to be possessive? He had barely known you but he had known you better than these people who tried romantically engage with you, he had seen you naked, had been inside you, felt you, touched you in ways these townsmen haven’t before.
You weren’t his, barely his, but there was something about you he couldn’t figure out, something about you that had him hooked every time you spoke, laughed or breathed. He viewed you as untouchable, and so forth, to watch these people think they have a chance with you had driven him to a quiet state of repulsion and antipathy. It might’ve been a selfish side of him that had him in this circumstance, in a situation where he felt like it was only right for him to speak to you the way the others had, although, as much as he tried to dismiss his envious nature of him being silly, there was with drastic primal shadow that had hugged him into the greedy essence once more.
“Thank you so much for introducing yourself,” you had smiled at the newest company who had not too long ago replaced the previous one, this current person was more evident of their attraction towards you and it had caused Joel to have this hollow feeling inside his chest.
He couldn’t believe himself; he has never felt this way for someone, he had ought to blame you, there was this characteristic about you that was unreal and it was killing him. Just as the current person had left, he had thought he could finally have you to himself, but he was defeated when Ellie arrived, with her upbeat nature, happy to freshly see you and happy that she was correct, she had looked at Joel with a knowing look on her face, cheerful on his defeat. “See! I was right all along!”
“Where did you go?” Ellie hastily questioned, “Joel and I both joked about how you left us to go to the ocean.”
You had brought yourself to laugh at her comment, you hadn’t thought that they would be acutely curious to where you have left them. However, you had the pattern of leaving people lonely and confused, “something like that,” you vaguely agreed.
Although, it seemed like Ellie didn’t want to let you off so easily, her eyes wide with curiosity she had brought herself closer to your figure, as if to read into you and figure out herself. “But, where did you go?” Ellie desperately questioned, “you left us confused.”
Stunned, you had opened your mouth unaware of what to say, you barely had to explain your whereabouts to people because they were never able to see you again as to Ellie and Joel who had the privilege to be in your presence once more. With your hands in your back pockets, you had looked at Joel then at Ellie who were mutually curious, though, Joel had noticed the stuck look you hand and had shrugged off Ellie’s question then beckoned his head towards the younger girl. “She doesn’t need to open up yet, how about you go and play with your friends?”
Disappointed, Ellie had dropped her shoulders, you had felt bad that you couldn’t explain to her where you left to. Nevertheless, Ellie had complied to Joel and left the two of them to search for her friends after she had bid the both of you a goodbye.
Afterwards, Joel resumed on giving you a tour of Jackson until the both of you had ended up near his home, he was proud of his large lodge, compared to much people who lived here, Joel’s home was one of the biggest ones. It had made sense, he was a brother-in-law to the owner of Jackson, Maria, who was married to his younger brother, Tommy.
“I want to look inside,” you lightly proposed, your eyes had glistened in view of the large cabin, there was an energy about it that had blared Joel and it had made you want to sink yourself inside it.
“Sure.”
Smoothly, he had led you inside of his home and you had eventually pulled your hands out of your back pockets to comfort yourself in the air of Joel’s cabin, it was an open space, and it had at least two floors, it had been a long time since you have been inside an appropriate and adequate home, well, the motel was nice, but the pressure of Joel’s home had easily welcomed you with its invisible arms to the point that you had wanted to stay in here forever.
“I like your home,” you turned to look at Joel who sheepishly scratched the back of his head and thanked you. “I’m staying in a motel for now, it’s okay, but I really like the feeling of your home---”
“Are you really planning to stay?”
His question was abrupt but there was something about his inquire that made it seem like he hoped for you to stay. You had eventually smiled at his query and gestured with your head, “yeah, I’m planning to stay here.”
“Wouldn’t you miss the ocean?” Joel jokingly asked and you couldn’t help but laugh at his dumb question.
“Yeah, I would, but I think it’s best for me to settle down in a real home y’know? Not just some beaches…” you trailed off and to take the attention of you, you had curtly turned your head towards Joel with a cocky look, “plus, I didn’t want you to miss me for too long.”
Surprised, Joel stared back at you and he could feel his heart skip a beat. “You believe I missed you?” He joked back and you had dramatically clicked your tongue.
“Of course,” you winked, “and I believe that you even want to relieve the night we shared.”
Perhaps you should’ve rethought your response, perchance it was the right thing to say, however, you had detained the latter was the right answer the moment you had returned into the arms of Joel Miller and had engulfed in each other’s taste, your lips locked and your left thigh between both of his legs as you stroked the clothed hard cock that had pleaded to be let out.
You were quick to have your hands down his pants, after you had unbuckled his belt, you were on your knees, hand tight around his shaft and tongue eager to taste his tip and pre-cum, Joel’s hand had easily found its way into your locks as you caressed and savoured his tip, your mouth eventually closed around his cock and your head ambitious and keen on bobbing up and down to please the man who stalked over you.
His moans were breathy, and his body stiff on your touch, he had guided the speed of your sucking, eyes closed and his emotions flustered, he had thought about how anyone could walk in and catch the both of you in the act, yet, there was something about being caught with you, that had aroused him. Possibly, it was because he had quickly recorded how many people already wanted you, so to be known as the man who had your pretty mouth wrapped around his cock made him feel powerful.
“Just like that,” he shakingly whispered, “God, just like that,” he whined, his grip tight around your hair in attempt to retain himself from losing control and copulating your throat. Yet, it was that primal nature that had taken over him once more, the animalistic nature that had him fucking your mouth so choppy to the point tears had been forced out of your eyes, you hadn’t stopped him, that rude and tousled behaviour had moved you, your cunt had been antsy for his cock over his rough act, you had looked up at him, your fingers dug into his thighs while you openly allowed Joel to take control of your cock-sucking.
“Just like that princess,” he whined, “my princess,” he cynically repeated, “have your mouth open like that, such a good princess,” he loudly moaned while he released his hot load down your throat, he had pulled out his cock and grabbed you by your chin and pulled your back to your feet, his lips recurred to your mouth, both mutual to the taste of his cum, he had picked you up and carelessly walked to his table ere he had placed you against the wooden object.
With your stomach against the table, he had pulled down your tight jeans and briskly whacked your buttocks harshly before he had hauled down your panties, revealing the cunt he had desperately missed the moment you had left him at the beach.
You were disgustingly wet, you had felt yourself pulsing for the requirement of his dick inside you, but he had to be so much of a tease, with the way his mouth toyed with your pearl and licked and lapped your cunt, your face against the kitchen furniture and your hands cloaked around your breast, you had severely whined and moaned in response of his tongue taking care of you.
You had rolled your hips in sync of his muscle that had played and entertained with your hot opening, your cries and moans choked as he overstimulated you with his tongue in the way that he had continuously made you cum again and again. You couldn’t even understand where you were with the way he had used you with just his mouth, your body weak by his touch that all you could do was hopelessly moan and cry in lewd pleasure as your body shook in response of his behaviour.
He had finally let go of you, his teeth brushed the bottom of his lips as he roughly groped your buttocks with his large right hand while he levelled his cock with his other against your pussy, as he slid himself inside of you, his right hand had found its way inside your hair again, pulling you close to him, his chest against your clothed back while he ferociously fucked your pussy.
You had rolled your eyes back, your gasp stunned and body bawdy and vulgar for more, “you like that?” He muttered against your ear, his lips pressed against the side of your face, knowledgeable that his rough actions had caused you to form into a speechless and incoherent state, “you like the way I fuck you?”
You had whined in response, drunk in bliss and pleasure, as you had gathered the strength to speak again you had held onto his wrist, eyes glistened with tears, you had shut them and allowed the hot water works to roll down your cheeks. “Yes,” you loudly moaned, near your climatic state, you had hollowed yourself around him and had dropped your body and rebounded against the table, “I love the way you fuck me,” you shamelessly moaned just as you had released yourself all over him, your state drunk and dumb while you had allowed Joel to score and mate with your figure.
It must’ve been the fact that he was able to have you and others couldn’t, it must’ve been the fact that he had watched you flirt with other people in front of him and act like he was nothing that had drove him to use your body like a mad man. Though, there was something about you being hard to retain that he liked, because as much as you would behave mysterious and cryptic, in the end, it was him that had caused you to be in a sex buzzed state.
He had drawn himself out of your body and orgasmed against your buttocks, he had fucked you disorderly before, still, today he had stamina he thought he wouldn’t have again. During the time you had pulled your panties and jeans back to your body, Joel leaned back and caught his breath.
“I need to return back to the motel,” you muttered while you had attempted to fix your appearance.
Joel tiredly laughed at your behaviour, “you definitely like to fuck and dip,” he mumbled while he picked up his clothes and pulled them on, you had acclaimed that the older person was tired and gently simpered.
“Well at least this time, you can find me and fuck me again,” you commented ere you had left his home.
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songs that fit this song ⬎
⟶ fka twigs - two weeks.
⟶ fka twigs - pendelum.
⟶ the weeknd ft lana del rey - stargirl interlude.
requests are closed! if you want to join a the last of us discord/joel miller discord here you go! 𓆩♡𓆪
masterlist
284 notes · View notes
soulofapatrick · 1 year
Text
Country Step - Joel Miller x Reader
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Summary: Ellie and Tommy help Y/N reignite that southern cowboy in Joel during a ‘Jackson Cowboy Night’ ( I literally had a thought about Joel and Tommy line dancing)
Words: 1.5k
Warnings: make out (?) can cowboys be a warning
Joel’s POV
It’s Friday which means the barn is lit up and full of people dancing and letting loose to music that is thumping through the building. I’m not a fan of these things but Tommy and Maria insisted I came, a suspicious amount but then again it was a good excuse to catch up with them having missed so many years with my baby brother. It’s why I’m currently sat in the booth, swirling a beer as most of the teenagers and young adults are on the dance floor, having the time of their life but I don’t see Ellie anywhere. I can’t find Y/N either but that’s not as surprising because she’s so shy and-
I’m choking on my beer when Ellie enters the barn, dragging a barely recognisable Y/N. Y/N’s wearing extremely tight jeans that show off her curves while she’s only got a flannel on her top half, the flannel tied right under her chest. Her hair is falling around her shoulders in manufactured waves, her hair usually being deadly straight and she looks gorgeous. She looks like she belongs in a country movie and it dawns on me why Tommy was so persistent for me to come tonight: it’s cowboy night as he calls it. 
The pair join us and I try to keep my eyes to myself but oh fucking hell this is going to be difficult. She’s like a wet dream and I want to leap over the table and eat her up. Ever since I met Y/N while trying to get Ellie to the fireflies I’ve had feelings for her but it’s only recently I’ve been realising they’re not bad feelings. They’re dangerous, feelings like love are a weakness and no one can have weaknesses in this day and age. 
The familiar tune that is Footloose has Y/N’s head flying up, glancing at Tommy before her  eyes search for someone in the bustling barn. They light up and she’s grinning bigger than I’ve ever seen her when she catches Chai’s eyes and he’s sending her an equally big grin. 
“Gimme your hat cowboy.” She’s snatching the cowboy hat Tommy insisted on wearing, placing on her head as she meets Chai on the dance floor. Ellie; Dina and Jesse seem to understand what’s happening and makes people back up, giving the pair space. Oh fuck, I think my jaw hits the floor when the pair begin to dance. That quiet and reserved young woman I’ve travelled with for over a year now is swinging and rolling her hips in moves that is very much line dancing. Soon enough others are copying the pair and joining in, everyone laughing and just having a great time. 
I can’t stop the smile at the sight of Ellie next to Y/N, copying her every move with her head back and laugh escaping her lips. Y/N grabs Ellie’s hand, spinning the girl that has become a daughter figure to us both, causing the latter to shriek with even more laughter as Y/N lets her go and Ellie crashes into Dina. 
Y/N’s eyes find mine and she’s beckoning me over with the pull of her finger. I’m shrugging my jacket off and joining her, hands migrating straight for her hips as she gets every step correct. If I didn’t already secretly love her I think this is where I would have fallen because she is not from any state that includes line dancing of any sorts yet here she is. It’s like muscle memory for me and soon enough I’m back in the swing of it, eyes never once leaving her as she grins up at me. There’s that familiar shyness behind the excitement in those forest green eyes as she pulls my hands off her hips and I spin her into my chest. We seem to shift from line dancing in the side step, her back against my chest and my hand on her hip as the song changes to one that I think I remember being called ‘Fake ID’. 
Most people leave the dance floor after Footloose ends not knowing the moves without Y/N or Chai to follow. I don’t care because Y/N’s spinning around me, footwork perfect. I have to pull her back into my arms, hands on her waist again, pulling her close, “Do you know what you’re doing to me darling?” 
“Absolutely no idea.” She sends me a cheeky grin so I grip her tightly, one hand moving from her waist to the back of her neck as I suddenly dip her as the song ends. She lets out a shriek, hands grabbing my shoulders as if I’d drop her. It’s as if the world slows when I realise just how close our faces are, noses almost brushing. Her chest is glistening with a light sheen of sweat as it rises and falls rapidly. I’m pulling her back up, wanting to kiss her so badly but I don’t want it to be a big thing in front of everyone so I keep her hand tightly in mine as I lead the way back to our booth. 
She seems dejected, not understanding why I didn’t kiss her when it was obvious we both wanted it. I stay quiet, sliding into the booth and pulling her onto my lap as there’s no more space with Tommy; Maria; Jesse; Chai; Dina and Ellie already squashed in. Y/N’s breath catches in her throat but she settles, leaning forwards to grab her beer from earlier and I almost let out a moan as her perfectly round ass is pressing into my crotch as if she knows exactly what she’s doing. 
“Keep the hat.” Tommy sends Y/N a cheeky smile before going back to talking to Maria while the kids gush to Y/N and Chai how good they are at dancing. I just listen, wrapping my arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to her shoulder causing her to relax back against my chest. We stay like that for the rest of the night as the party carries on, the others going up to dance every so often if a song they like comes on. 
“Where’d you learn to dance like that?” I ask as I walk her home, the winter air freezing and the lights not doing much to illuminate the streets. 
“I may have asked Tommy for a few lessons,” She mumbles and my heart swells, “I wanted to impress you. I love seeing you happy and smiling.” 
“I fucking love you.” It slips out and she’s stopping walking, forest eyes wide and full of so many emotions. She doesn’t move when I approach her, cupping her face in my hands and pull her chin up so she catches my lips in a kiss. It seems to snap her out of her shock because her hands are in my hair and on my shoulders, melting into the kiss and pressing herself as close as she possibly can. It’s a sweet and hot kiss, not exactly how I had imagined our first kiss but that doesn’t matter as I can just recreate that idea another day. Right now her body is reacting to ever little move of my hands and my lips and it’s heaven beneath me. 
“I love you too.” She gasps out as we pull away for air and all control I have snaps. I’m picking her up by her thighs and slamming her against the nearest wall, groaning as she complies by wrapping her legs around my waist and yanking me into a kiss dirtier than I ever thought she had in her. My scalp twinges with pain but it just adds to the moment, thinking I might be hallucinating because she’s here, kissing me back with just as much heat and want.
I don’t want to do more than just make out at the moment as I have been waiting months to even get this far and I’m not ruining it by rushing her and making her think I want a quick fuck. It means I’m having to pull my lips away from hers, a chuckle rumbling in my chest when she tries to follow my lips with hers. She’s letting her head fall back against the wall, looking utterly ruined with her hair a mess, the hat lost somewhere between here and there and her lips shining and kiss swollen and we haven’t even done anything yet. This woman is going to kill me. 
That’s when two figures walk past and I shield Y/N’s body from whoever it is but it’s just Tommy and Maria heading home. Tommy meets my gaze, raising at eyebrow as he catches a glimpse of Y/N.
“Oi! Get a room!”
“Fuck you too Tommy!” 
196 notes · View notes
gracieheartspedro · 8 months
Text
Crave
Part 3 of "How Long"
pairing: f!reader x brother-in-law!joel miller
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find part 1 and 2 here!
dedication: @jenispunk <3 I love you sm jen. thank you for always supporting my writing and being the best wife a girl could ever dream of. you make my heart so happy. thank you for helping me edit and being the first to read this and encouraging me no matter what! love you love you love you!!!
description: a weekend escape with joel and sarah, kinda. the bed situation is a little confusing. luckily you and joel make it work. when sarah's not around, of course.
word count: 5.5k
warnings: MINORS DNI! this is 18+, pre!outbreak joel, there is smut in this part!! unprotected p in v, oral sex (f receiving), joel is a CONSENT KING AGAIN, dirty talk, daddy kink (aha), hotel sex?, begging? lmao I think that's it.
author's note: finally. it's here. I feel like I've been staring at this doc for 7 years. thank you all for your patience. I want to continue this series but I have to sit down and really brainstorm what I'd like the next parts to be. let me know your thoughts! THANK YOU FOR READING!
“My favorite Millers!” 
Your face was beaming, seeing Joel hop out of his truck with Sarah in tow. The truck was still running, the diesel engine chugging louder than any truck you had been in before. Joel always had a nicer, newer truck. He made great money and he was always having to go into construction zones that needed an all terrain vehicle. They always got pretty banged up with dirt and rocks, but he took excellent care of the interior. 
Joel grabs both of your bags, taking them to the backseat where Sarah would be crammed in with all the luggage. You give him a nod, silently thanking him. Sarah wraps her arms around your waist, giggling with excitement. 
“I’m so happy you’re coming with us! It’s going to be a great weekend,” She explains while you two walk over to the tall truck. You always found climbing into a truck unnatural and awkward yourself, but it was hot watching Joel hop in with ease. You agree with Sarah, all the while opening up the door for yourself. Sarah springs up to her seat, and you struggle to crawl up into the cab. It makes Joel chuckle. 
“I’m making you lift me into this thing next time,” you joke, easing back into the fabric seats, “Especially since you think watching me struggle is funny.”
Joel looks back in the rear view to see if Sarah’s paying attention, “‘s no problem at all, darlin’. I will gladly help you next time.”
You knew he was flirting. It makes your stomach bubble with excitement. He makes sure you two are buckled and starts on the two and half hour journey to Houston. Once you leave your neighborhood, Sarah taps your shoulder and holds out her new CD player. It’s purple and covered in sparkly stickers. 
“Looks like your Dad is supplying you with all the ways to listen to music,” you observe, glancing over at Joel. He’s just watching the road, one hand on the steering wheel, the other propped up on the shifter. He looks younger, the dusk sky the perfect back drop for his pronounced nose and beautiful eyelashes. You couldn’t help but stare, even as Sarah’s talking your ear off. He just nods along to her, making sure she knows she’s heard. 
“Think I’m gonna listen to my Kelly Clarkson CD this time,” Sarah explains, putting her earphones over her voluminous curls, “So don’t try to talk to me!”
You and Joel giggle, shaking your heads at her comment. It’s not like you were the one’s talking before, you both think. 
It gives you both a moment without a kid’s ears nearby. 
“How was the rest of your work week?” He asks, tapping the shifter to the soft hum of the radio.
“Boring,” You mumble, “Think one of the guys in marketing has a crush on me and he’s making it impossible to avoid him. I can’t even go to the break room without him bothering me.”
You didn’t know why you felt the urge to tell Joel about the situation. It wasn’t even a real situation, it was just an annoying thing happening in your life.
“Hmph,” he ponders for a moment, “Want me to kill him?”
His tone is serious, but you know he’s just messing. You grin, nudging his arm with your elbow gently, ensuring it doesn’t move the steering wheel. 
“My hero,” You comment as you watch a smile crack across his face, “No, thank you, though. If it starts to get to stalker status, I will call you.”
“Seems like stalkin’ already, baby girl.”
The nickname makes your stomach flip. You purse your lips, contemplating his words. Sure it was creepy, but the guy was scrawny and you could probably snap him in half with two fingers. He had nothing to really worry about. Right?
Joel steals a glance over at you. 
“Maybe, but I’ll handle it.”
You wanted him to think you were strong enough to deal with unwanted attention, but to be honest, you weren’t sure how to say no to most men. You only ever had Tommy and he scared everyone away. Now everyone around town knew you were on the market, and men were drawn to your natural beauty and somewhat sassy attitude. 
Little did they know, you were hung up on the other Miller boy. 
“You let me know if you need me to talk to him,” He doesn’t take his eyes off the road, just reaches his right hand out to rest on your thigh, “Man to man.”
His hand is so warm, you feel it through your black leggings. He was almost always like a furnace, but it was okay, because you always ran cold. But every time he touched you, you felt that warmth trail up your arms and legs. He made you feel different. Every fiber of your being became electrified when he was around. It was a sensation you never noticed when you were with Tommy. You begin chalking it up to just being nervous because he was older and larger and… well, hotter. 
“Again, my hero,” you respond sarcastically, letting your hand rest on top of his. It makes him more confident, gently massaging that area. You watch as his hand creeps closer and closer to the crack between your legs. You practically gasp at the contact, but you catch yourself before you do, remembering there’s a child behind you. 
So you smack his hand away, shooting him a glare. 
“What are you doing?”
“Nothin’ just… sorry.”
You didn’t want him to pull away, your leg already missing his touch, but you knew what would happen if you did stuff like that in front of Sarah. She’s a teenage girl. She’ll talk. It’ll find it’s way to someone’s ears. 
You wanted to act like you didn’t care if Tommy found out, but deep down you knew it would be a disaster. You didn’t feel like being the talk of the town. You didn’t feel like explaining yourself to Tommy. You didn’t feel like watching Joel deal with the flack from his family, especially his mother. 
If you two wanted to continue this… game… you would have to keep it secret. That included keeping it away from Sarah’s eyes and ears. You and Joel would just be friends. You would just be her aunt. That’s it. 
“Don’t apologize,” You whisper, “Just not here.”
You two let the radio take over the rest of the trip, occasionally chatting about a song or what the newscaster says about the weather. Once you get into Houston, it’s already 8:30 at night. Joel pulls into the parking garage to the Marriot and you already start craving the bed that awaits you inside. 
-
“I call the bed near the window!” Sarah throws her stuff down, jumping straight onto one the huge queen size duvet. The room was nice. A large television set catches your eye immediately, proving that this was probably an expensive room if they were giving you free cable tv. The curtains were open, giving a beautiful view of Houston’s skyline. 
One thing you notice, too, is the fact that there was only two beds. You knew this, but it still made your stomach sink a bit. 
You realize you three hadn’t discussed the sleeping situation. You didn’t care where you would sleep, honestly. You just knew Sarah was a restless one, having slept next to her in a tent when she was 9. Family camping trips entailed you, Tommy, Joel, and Sarah sharing a 6 person tent and being absolutely miserable the whole entire time. Between Tommy’s snores and Sarah practically flailing all around the tent at night, you remember not getting a lick of sleep. 
“Go get a shower, Sarah. We will figure out who’s sleeping where.”
She groans at Joel, like usual. 
“Dad!”
“Shower,” he throws his bag down on the ground near the dresser, “No arguin’.”
Sarah sulks, her bag in hand, straight to the bathroom by the front door. You don’t say anything. You just start following Joel’s lead by putting your bags down next to his. You stand a bit too close to him, waiting for him to say where you’d be sleeping.  
He clears his throat, “I will take the recliner, if you want the bed.”
“Of course I want the bed, but I don’t want you to have to sleep in the recliner.”
It makes him laugh, how matter-of-fact you are. 
You hear Sarah start up the shower. You wouldn’t have to fear she hears you and Joel talk about the possibility of sleeping with one another. Again.
“It’s not a big deal,” He explains, unzipping his bags to grab his pajamas, “Sleep on the couch all the time.”
“But you have a nice plush couch,” You gesture towards the hard and structured looking recliner, “That doesn’t look comfortable at all.”
For a girl who didn’t want Joel touching you in the car, you were practically begging him to sleep next to you in the big comfortable hotel bed. 
“So, where do you want me to sleep?”
“Just take the bed.”
“But you want the bed.”
You swallow, not even looking up at him, “We both can have the bed.”
He’s silent, gripping onto his sweatpants and t-shirt. He slowly looks down at you, his eyes carry a curious glint in them. You cock your head, giving him a mischievous smirk.
“You and Sarah?”
“No, you and Sarah.”
He groans, “You are a fuckin’ tease.”
You giggle, watching him brush pass you to position himself close to the closet. He opens the closet door, slipping in like he’s looking for something in there. 
“What are you doing?”
“Changin’.”
“In the closet?”
He grabs his shirt from the nape of his neck and pulls it off smoothly. You can’t peel your eyes away, partially seeing his right peck from how he’s standing. It was like the morning after having sex with him. Your eyes were glued to him, his tanned skin practically asking to be touched and licked. 
You horny bitch. 
“Joel, get out of the closet.”
He chuckles, “Why? You want me to give you a show?”
Why yes, I really do, Joel. You think to yourself. You hum a response, peeling your eyes away. You needed to find your pajamas, a pair of Nike sports shorts and a black tank top. Lately, you’ve been sleeping completely naked, but that was obviously not an option here. 
Sarah finally leaves the bathroom as soon as Joel slides his pants up. She has her hair wrapped in a towel, which makes you smile. She looked so grown up, it’s hard to believe you met her when she was 6 years old. You wordlessly walk into the bathroom, beginning to change your outfit for your sleep wear. You splash some cold water on your face, your cheeks still blushed from seeing Joel shirtless. 
You hear the door outside open and close. You peak out, your traveling clothes wrapped up in your arms. Joel stands in the middle of the room, fiddling with the remote for the TV. 
“Where did Sarah go?” You question, packing your clothes back into your duffle. 
“She wanted to go get ice from the ice machine,” He grumbles, “Said she wanted to see if any of her teammates were awake or nearby.”
“Is her whole team staying here?”
“Yeah, pretty much every team gets a floor. Last year it was a like a huge sleepover. Fuckin’ nightmare,” Joel mutters, flicking through different channels, before landing on some westerns. You smirk, deciding to plop down on one of the beds. As soon as you lay back, Sarah comes back in, bucket in hand. 
“Can I go stay in Amelia’s room? Her mom is there, just two doors down.”
Well that solves the bed problem. 
Joel rolls his eyes, you can tell he’s already annoyed. “Is Amelia’s mom okay with that?”
“You want to go talk to her? I promise Dad, we will get up at 5:30 like we need to. Pleas-”
“Let’s go talk to Amelia’s mom.”
You hear them leave the room without saying anything else. 
You were tired from a long day at work and the long drive. But some excitement blooms in your stomach when you realize it may just be you and Joel, all alone in a hotel room. 
Before you have time to ponder all the wonders that may be in store for you, Joel comes back with a frustrated huff. 
“She staying over there?”
“Yeah, Amelia’s mom said it was fine. Then she started askin’ who you were. Guess they saw us in the hotel lobby.”
Your stomach twists, nervous at what his response was.
“And?”
“Told her you were Sarah’s aunt. She gave me a weird look.”
“Great, now the soccer mom’s will be oogling me tomorrow.”
“Well they will anyway,” Joel responds, finding a spot next to you on the edge of the bed, “Single ones won’t leave me alone.” 
You know he’s really just seeing if you’ll get jealous. But you don’t play into his little game. You just let out a loud hearty laugh. 
“The ladies just love a Miller.”
He grumbles something inaudible, nudging you with his elbow. “You do, don’t ya?”
“Sure do.”
His face softens, his eyes flicking down to your lips. 
You grin, “She’s 14 and super goofy. Loves to play socc-”
“You’re truly testin’ me today, ain’t ya?”
You can’t help yourself at that point. The way he’s flirting only gives you more reason to taunt him. 
“Is Sarah seriously going to be gone from the room all night?”
“Yeah,” He nods, leaning back on his palms. He acts like he’s watching TV, ignoring your not-so-subtle hints that you want his eyes on you. 
“So, I can finally ask you why you think it’s okay to tease me in the car?”
“Don’t know what you’re on about, darlin’,” He smirks, he knows.
You tilt your head to the side, finally lifting your hand onto his lap. You immediately start toying with him the same way, your hand creeping towards his crotch. His eyes peel away from the TV. He watches you closely, his eyes trailing from your gaze down to your fingers dancing on his pant leg. 
“You put your hand on my thigh and started inching closer and cl-“
“Are you tryin’ to make a point or pose a question?”
He was getting annoyed with the games already. But you’d only just begun. 
“I’m just trying to explain how you can’t do things like that to me in front of Sarah,” You remark, flicking your eyelashes up to his glare, “Especially when you can’t finish it.”
“Who said I ain’t gonna?”
You huff, “Well here we are, all alone in a hotel room. No kiddo in sight. Still not touching me.”
“Don’t think you deserve it cause you’re a tease.”
“How am I a tease, Miller?”
“You exist and that’s enough. Walkin’ around in a tank top,” He gestures to your chest, “Just beggin’ to be touched.”
Your skin is set alight. The words go straight to your core. 
“Joel-“
You’re cut off. His hands work quickly, pulling you by the nape of your neck, right to his eager lips. You begin to realize you had been longing for this moment for so long. He couldn’t resist anymore, his whole body buzzing at the fact that he finally has you again. 
His lips are soft and slow as they make their way around yours. His hands eventually trail down to your butt, his hands cradling both cheeks. He lifts you forward, sliding you up and onto his lap. 
“Been wantin’ this for months, baby.” 
Butterflies erupt in the pit of your tummy. You can feel them travel up to your chest as you look down at him, his eyelids heavy and his lips pursed.  
He waited for you to respond to his calls, knowing you needed time. He needed to be patient. You would come around, he knew it. After months, here you are. 
He thinks back to every time he was touching himself late at night, he would imagine the night you two shared. Your soft curves and needy dripping pussy. It drove him wild imagining you like this again. 
“I think it’s been more than wantin’, Joel,” You grind down on his prominent bulge growing in his sweatpants, “Think you need it.”
He grins, finally getting out of his own head.
“Such a little tease, damn it.”
You lean down, mindlessly speckling kisses behind his ear and neck. Your boobs rest right in front of his face, and you’re right, he needs it. His hands leave your behind, reaching up to the straps of your tank top. He tugs them down your biceps, allowing your cleavage to spill out more. 
Your hands find his dark peppered curls at the nape of his neck, pulling downward. You needed him closer and he obliged. He starts to kiss your collarbones, wandering down to the swell of your breasts. You can feel yourself staining your sports shorts with anticipation. 
You rock your hips, craving more. He takes the hint, reaching back down to lift you from your ass. He switches spots, laying you on your back on the plush white duvet. He’s leaning over you now, which gives you a great view of how spent he looks already. His gray sweatpants are hanging lower, tenting where his cock has grown hard. 
He smirks, taking off his shirt the same way he did earlier. With one hand, it slips right over his head and onto the floor. 
“Jesus,” You huff out, using the time to remove your top, “I need you, Joel.”
The smirk never leaves his lips. He leans down, pushing your legs apart with his pointer and middle finger. You open up for him, wanting nothing more for him to dive into you in every possible way. You watch as he slides his fingers up your thigh, past the openings of your shorts. 
He realizes you aren’t wearing underwear. He sighs as he swipes the pads of his fingers across your wet slit. 
“I know you do,” He drawls, watching you writhe under his touch, “You need me as much as I need you.”
He practically tears off your shorts, not wasting any time fighting with the fabric. 
You adjust how your laying to accommodate him laying between your thighs. He lays down on his stomach, bringing your hips close to his mouth. You watch as he kisses your inner thighs, his breath hot fanning against your skin. 
You remember the last time you were in this position. You spent night after night remembering the best head you’ve ever gotten, from the one and only, Joel Miller. And you could tell Joel was not going to go another moment without making you cum on his tongue. 
When his tongue hits the top of your slit, you whine at the contact. He presses his face in, diving deeping into your lips. As soon as he finds your clit, he puts all his attention there. His nose is pressed against your mound as he hums against your sensitive bud. 
“Joel,” You cry, reaching down between your legs to grab the crown of his head, your hands lacing into his locks, “Right fuckin’ there.”
He continues his movements, only increasing in speed in which he flicks his tongue. He wraps his lips over the swollen area, sucking and lapping your sweetness. He pulls away, the slick between your thighs missing him instantly. He brings his fingers up to his mouth and wets them with saliva. He glances up at your completely dazed face. 
“‘M gonna fuck you with my fingers first,” His voice is deep and hushed, “Make you cum. You gonna cum for me like a good girl?”
You don’t even know where it comes from. But you say it with your chest.
“Yes, Daddy.”
You never expected the moan to come out of his mouth. It’s deep and guttural. He couldn’t believe his ears, and he can’t believe the words came from your mouth. His good girl? That fuckin’ flithy?
He slips his fingers into you without resistance. His mouth finds it’s way back to your core, fucking you in unison. 
You reach up to your chest, cradling your own boobs. Joel’s still only in sweatpants but they are riding low on his hips. As he’s giving you his all, he’s grinding his hips into the bed, trying to get whatever friction he can. Watching the motion alone is driving you wild, sending your hips rotating on his tongue. You knew the release was coming, you could feel it in your fingertips. 
And when it comes, it’s like fireworks inside your stomach and chest. You lurch forward, crying out his name. You knew it was probably way too loud for the thin hotel walls, but you couldn’t help yourself. The orgasm sends stars speckling across your vision. 
Joel fucks you through the comedown. You are the hottest thing he’s ever laid eyes on, he thinks. When your body rests back, you’re panting, trying to ground yourself for a second. Joel pulls his fingers out and sucks each digit. 
“You’re gonna be the death of me,” You mewl, reaching out for him. You just need to touch him. 
He shimmies his sweatpants down and off his legs. He’s sitting back on his knees, smiling down at your desperate eyes. He crawls on top of you, his dick prodding at your thighs. He leans down, trapping your lips into another longing kiss. His hands trail down your sides, leaving goosebumps in their wake. He pulls back after a couple seconds, gazing into your eyes. 
“You still on that birth control?”
You hum in response. 
“Need me to pull out still?”
You smirk, lacing your arms around his shoulders, “No. Need you to cum inside me.”
He shakes his head, sitting back to line himself with your entrance.
“My dirty girl,” He runs his cock head between your swollen red lips, triggering your hips to move closer to him, “You drive me insane.”
“Come on, Joel. I’ve been waiting for ages for you to fuck me. Need you. Now.”
He chuckles darkly, still not giving you what you want. “Waiting ages, huh?”
“Joelllll,” You beg, smacking his chest, “Please.”
“Mmm,” He pushes forward just enough to relieve your ache, “Love it when you beg for it.”
He practically splits you open when he snaps his hips. You both groan simultaneously, unable to hold back this sick fantasy you’re both playing into. You feel more full than you ever did before. You don’t remember it hurting this good. 
“Holy fuck,” you whine, “So fucking full, Joel.”
He slowly pulls back, “You tell me if it’s too much, ‘kay?”
You shake your head, throwing your head back as he sets a cautious pace. He’s watching all your facial expressions, making sure he’s not hurting you. You wince when he starts to pick up the pace, which causes him to halt completely. 
“No,” You plead, “More. Faster. Please, just please.”
He says nothing, just pushes up your thighs so the back of them are flush with the front of his. He leans over you, his elbows on each side of your head. He grinds into you while his dark curls fall into your face. You tilt your head up, finding the crook of his neck again. 
His cock felt so good dragging in out of you. You felt like you could stay in this position forever. You molded so perfectly around him. He treated you like this beautiful mural, taking his time with delicate strokes. His hands wrapped around the back of your head, holding you in the curve of his body.
You latch your lips onto his neck, peppering lovebites everywhere. You didn’t even think about if they could be seen later. In the moment, you only thought of him as yours. He was yours and everyone would fucking know it. 
He’s starting to get more greedy. He pulls back, his warmth moving away from your perked up nipples. His upper body the best view you could get, so you couldn’t complain too much. He grabs behind your knees, using them as leverage as he starts to pound into you. 
Your eyes meet and for fuck’s sake, he’s perfect. You never knew you could see Joel Miller like this. Like someone who fucked you so good, but also cared so tenderly for you. He wanted to see you in the throws of pleasure, not even worrying about when he’d get his rocks off. He got his rise out of seeing how much you enjoyed yourself.
His ravenous drive to bring you to the edge is causing the headboard to slam against the wall which each stroke. He brings his left hand up to your bouncing tits, grabbing your nipple and tugging on it. He knew what touching your boobs did to you. He remembers watching your visceral reactions to him toying with them before. It brings a smile to his face. 
“I’m gonna-”
You don’t even finish your sentence, you just gasp as you feel his cock head hit the deepest parts of you. A place no other man has made it to. 
“I don’t want anyone else,” He musters out, his teeth clenching as your pussy restricts around him. He means it. He may be drunk on you, but he feels those words down to his bones. “I only ever want this.”
It was never just about the sex. Joel cared for you. Fuck, maybe he even loved you. 
You swallow, propping yourself up on your elbows. You glance down, watching his cock slip so perfectly, in and out of you. 
“I’m yours, Joel,” You manage to peep out before the orgasm you’ve been holding back builds to a maddening point, “I’m yours.”
The words make his cock twitch. He can’t help himself, he needs you to cum right this very moment. He doesn’t say anything, just unhooks your legs and uses his right hand to put pressure on your clit. Tears start to prick in your eyes as he lazily rubs circles, humming in satisfaction. He feels you tightening up, he knows your close. 
Your vision goes white. You body starts to vibrate, the pure bliss he’s sending you into takes you to a whole other dimension. You want more. More. More. More. 
As he watches you seize up, he can’t resist his own orgasm. The explosion sends him into a moaning mess. He fucks into you, painting your walls with his cum, not letting a drop go to waste. 
He collapses on top of you. You don’t even care, you feel like jello anyway, he could melt right into you.
He rolls off after a minute. 
You always miss him when he’s not near you. 
You stare at the ceiling, pondering the right words to say to him. Nothing comes to mind. He gets up, walking naked to the bathroom. He grabs a rag from the shelf above the toilet, running it under some warm water. 
When he returns, you let him clean all around your body. You make sure he doesn’t wipe away the wet kisses he left all over you, though. 
“You okay?”
You finally look at him. 
You want to say yes, because you were okay. Physically. But your heart wanted to pulsate out of your chest. 
“I will be,” You state simply, “Just tired.”
He slowly starts grabbing all your articles of clothing off the floor, dressing you once he collects all of them. He’s careful with you. Gentle. 
“Do you want to sleep in the same bed?”
The question rings in your ears. Of course you did. 
“As long as you get up at the ass crack of dawn and move before Sarah comes in.”
He chuckles, pulling his sweatpants back over his waist. He doesn’t even bother to put on his shirt.
“Will do, baby.”
-
When you wake up, you realize the overheard light flickered on. You contort your sleep dazed body, Joel’s upper body practically laying over you. You try to blink the haze out of your eyes, but your tired mind is completely shocked when you see an outline of a girl. 
Shitshitshitshitshit.
You fling your body upward, rattling Joel awake. He’s startled, his arms flinging off of you. 
“I knew it!” Her voice is piercing. “I knew it! Holy shit!”
“Sar-”
“Are you two dating? Or are you just… wait, ew!”
She’s rambling, her words clashing together in confusion. Your heart is about to hammer out of your chest. 
“Sarah, we aren’t dating,” You declare, your voice shaking. 
“But you’re sleeping together?”
You could cut the silence with a sword. It’s so thick and awkward. 
A 14 year old girl shouldn’t know you’re sleeping with her Dad. Let alone walk in after you spent all night tangled up in him. 
“Sarah,” Joel’s voice is buttery and raspy after he wakes up. You hold the comforter up to your chest. You had your tank top on, but it hangs so low on you, you don’t want to risk anything. “Grab your uniform, get dressed. We can talk about this later.”
“Does Uncle To-”
“Sarah! Stop!”
It scares you since it’s so close to your ear. His voice changes so abruptly, it makes you cringe a bit. 
Hearing the question from Sarah’s lips makes you feel queasy. Having the girl who you always considered your niece ask if her uncle knew you were sleeping with her dad... God what a fucking mess. 
You watch her storm across the room, grabbing her backpack and race to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. 
Joel groans next to you as he slams back into the plush pillows. 
“She will be fine. We will talk about it later,” Joel says under his breath. 
You open your mouth but nothing comes out. 
You hadn’t thought much of this through. Ever since you and Joel first slept together, you pushed your harbored feelings to the side. Sometimes they creep in, which would send you into a panic. Because deep down, you knew you felt something for Joel. Something you hadn’t felt since you first started dating Tommy. Maybe even ever. It was exciting. He made you feel special. After everything he said to you last night, you knew he possessed some similar emotions and feelings.  
You felt crazy for believing this could work. 
You knew this would be complicated. Now Sarah is involved. How do you explain these emotions to a child? You don’t. 
You think about all the horrible outcomes to this situation. Tommy wanting to fight Joel. His mom never accepting you back into the family. Who knows, maybe Sarah gets so upset at the situation, she never treats you the same again. 
But then you think about Joel. How he’s a night and day difference to what Tommy was to you. He wore his emotions on his sleeve. He wanted to protect you. He wanted to take care of you every chance he could. 
You start to think back to the times when you were still with Tommy. Joel defended you when you two had a blowout fight. He always made sure to have a watchful eye on you when you all went out to bars. He was even there when you graduated college, giving you a bouquet of beautiful daises he swore up and down Sarah picked out. But you knew the truth. Joel loved daisies. He even had his Mom plant some in his front yard last year. 
You were just so scared. You didn’t want to be hurt again. You did not want your feelings to be wrong. 
You glance down at him, your back still turned. He could read your face, he knew you were overthinking everything. Your mind was working overtime, trying to muster up some excuse to run away and forget everything that happened between you two. There was nothing normal about this situation. 
But fuck, you both really wanted it. So bad. You couldn’t keep lying to yourself. 
His hand creeps up your back, resting a reassuring palm on your aching shoulder. 
“Stop thinkin’ for a minute,” he whispers, “You don’t need to make any decisions right this minute. We will just take it one second at a time. Ain’t no way ‘m lettin’ you go. I want you here.”
You didn’t know if he meant here in general or in the figurative sense. 
He meant it both ways. 
Maybe it was crazy, but that feeling was deep in your chest. This palpable inkling that this could evolve into you being his. 
This being more than sex? More than a crush?
Being Joel’s sounded like a fever dream.
He wanted nothing more but to wrap you up into his arms, hold you and kiss your head, reassuring you that you two can figure it out together. But instead, Sarah walks out in her soccer uniform, squashing the moment. She stands in front of the bed, finally making eye contact with you. 
“You guys gonna get up and watch me kick ass, or are you gonna to lay in bed all day?”
You smile at her. You silently prayed this girl would stay in your life forever.
“I know my answer.”
Joel smiles, “’s go kick some ass.”
-
again thank you for reading!! let me know your thoughts!
find part 1 and 2 here!
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Joel Miller x f!reader: My Special Girls
Summary: You and Joel getting dressed in the morning, Joel however is feeling a bit playful and decides to hold a piece of your clothing hostage  
Warnings: Pretty much pure fluff with hinted smut at the end but nothing more than a few smooches 💋
As always please let me know if I've missed anything!
Enjoy and make sure to like and reblog to share my work around 😊
Words: 1,2k
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Mornings in the Miller household were usually hectic. Whether it was Joel being called into work early, Joel waking up late or you remembering a bake sale at Sarah’s school meaning that you had to go out and buy some cakes. There was always something. You were determined to make sure today was not that day. 
Joel was off work, you had taken a vacation day and Sarah only had a half day at school due to an event happening that afternoon and running through the summer break. Sarah was already awake, the eight year old scurrying around in her bedroom, probably trying to find a matching sock for her outfit, and your boyfriend was snoring softly beside you, one arm over his eyes and one over his stomach. 
“Turn the light off.” He groaned and you couldn’t hold back your giggle, Joel without caffeine always being an amusing event. 
“Need to get up babe. Sarah is determined that both of us will be taking her to school today.” 
“She’s nearly a third grader. Can take herself.” He grunted and rolled over onto his stomach, burying his head in the mattress and covering his ears with his pillow. 
There was a knock on your bedroom door and, after double checking that you and Joel were both decent, you allowed her into the room. “Dad…we went over this.” She whined, climbing on top of you and laying her head on your shoulder, your hand instinctively going up to tangle in her hair. 
“Time is it?” His deep voice reverberated through the mattress and Sarah turned to the clock on your bedside table. 
“Late enough that if you don’t get up right now, I’ll be late for my last day of second grade.” She sassed and Joel’s head peeked out from under his pillow and he scowled. 
“No need for the third grade sass just yet. You’re still a second grader until the end of the summer break.” You reminded and she huffed, Joel sticking his tongue out at her before his head flopped down onto his pillow again. 
“Please daddy?” Sarah pouted and you knew Joel couldn't resist her charm for too long. 
“You dressed?” She nodded. “Teeth brushed?” She nodded again. “Have you finished your final ever second grade art work.” She gasped and shook her head and Joel chuckled. “Why don’t you go finish that at the counter and me and your mom will be down soon to make breakfast and take you to school?” Sarah launched on top of him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before running out of the bedroom. 
“Love watching you be a dad.” You muttered in his ear, laughing when the tips of his ears blushed a vibrant pink. “Now get up. You need a shower and a shave before we do anything.” Joel pouted at her and she chuckled, shaking her head. “We both know that if I join you, Sarah will be late. Go shower Mr Miller.” You patted his ass as he walked past and he smirked at you, closing the bathroom door behind him as you went downstairs to help Sarah with her hair before you could get ready. 
Once ten minutes had passed and the shower was still running, you went back upstairs, Sarah’s hair done and a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of her. “Joel? C’mon or we’re gonna be late.” You called and his head peeked around the door, a cheesy smile on his face. 
“You can come in now, I’m done.” He announced and you chuckled, moving past him and giving his half-naked body a once over. “See something you like beautiful?” He asked and you shrugged. 
“Nah, not really.” He scowled and you kissed his cheek and ushered him out of the door, giving you space to do your hair and skin care. 
Joel was almost ready once you had done, his shirt laid on the chair in the corner as he scrolled through his phone. He gave a low whistle once he saw you in only your underwear and you blushed, covering your face.
You made your way to the closet and grabbed a shirt and threw it on the bed behind you, walking over to the drawers to grab a pair of pants. When you turned back around, the bed was empty and Joel was still scrolling through his phone. “Joel Miller!” You yelled and he look up with a faux innocent expression on his face. “Don’t look all innocent at me, you know what you’ve done. Hand it over.” 
“Darlin’, you feelin’ ok?” He asked, the corner of his mouth twitching. 
“You’d be a terrible poker player, cowboy. Hand the shirt over or you have to explain to our daughter’s teacher why she’s late on her last day of school.” Joel just shrugged and looked at you.
“Why on god’s green earth would I want to take your shirt hostage? I do not feel the need to wear it and I can guarantee that I will not fit in it. Maybe you’re just imagining-.” Joel was cut off as you pressed your lips to his and laid him back on the bed, your hands on his hips. 
“Excuse me, you're going to make our daughter late for school.” He mumbled as you ran one hand down his chest and the other under his back to retrieve your stolen shirt, gripping a piece of material and Joel gasped. “Honey if you pull that I’m gonna get so wedgie powerful enough to split my asshole in half. You think I’m silly enough to hide your shirt in the most predictable place?” He asked and seemed to realise his admission. 
“So you have taken it?” You asked and he shook his head, laughing when your head fell against his chest. “I promise that the shirt can stay off-.” Joel’s ears perked up and you snorted. “But only once we have taken our daughter to school and finished our plans for the day. Now hand over the shirt or else.” You threatened half-heartedly and Joel smirked. 
“There’s a price.” He explained and you raised your eyebrow, confused. He pointed to his lips and you giggled, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips, allowing him the luxury of deepening it slightly. “Let me put it on you?” He asked and you nodded. 
“S’long as you promise to never hold my clothes hostage again. At least not when we are on a time limit.” You added and Joel nodded eagerly while you let him pull the shirt over your head as he pulled it from beneath the corner of the covers. “Surprised you didn’t just throw it back in the closet.” You teased but he shook his head. 
“I know you wanted to wear this outfit. I only wanted to tease, not to crease it. Besides, you look too beautiful in this shirt for me to ruin it.” He muttered, pressing a multitude of quick pecks to your lips before grabbing your hand and guiding you down the stairs. “Forget about cooking, we’ll get McDonald’s on the way. Special treat for my special girls.” Joel announced and Sarah cheered, running out to the truck and you grinned, kissing his cheek. 
“Why the change in attitude?” You questioned and he grinned. 
“Sarah’s only at school for half a day, means we have to be back quicker than I originally planned if we want to spend the whole morning in bed.” He quipped, a dirty smirk coming across his face as you shook your head, pushing him out of the door. 
“Come on you clothes bandit. Your special girls wants breakfast.” 
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the-widow-miller · 8 months
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March
(Joel Miller x F!Reader, Tommy)
*TLOU2 Major Spoiler*
Summary: You wait for news.
Word Count: 1120
Warnings: ALL the angst, some fluff, mention of sexy times, implied character death, something else that I don’t want to give away.
A/N: My first fic in many years. This is something I’ve been wanting to write for a while. I hoped it would help me come to terms. Did it? Yet to be determined. Let’s be honest… nothing will truly prepare us.
…………………….
It was snowing again. Thick, dark clouds hung heavily in the night sky. The world outside the window glowed an ominous purple-orange, unnaturally bright, light reflecting off the fallen snow. The wind howled outside the solid walls of your home in Jackson.
You’d been standing at the window for longer than you realized, staring out into nothing. Waiting. Hoping. A street lamp flickered across the road bringing you back to the present. Blinking, you shook your head and inhaled deeply. Your knees were stiff from lack of movement. The pain in your hips and lower back returned as you stirred from your trance. You placed both hands on your lower back and leaned back into them, desperate for some relief. But it did nothing.
Only his hands, large, warm, and strong, provided any comfort now.
You laid naked, facedown on your bed, with your arms folded under his pillow. Your clothes and his tossed haphazardly around the room. Hot, autumn sunlight, soothing and syrupy, streamed in through the open window in the bedroom. Kneeling astride your thighs, his hands pressed into your back, kneading your sore muscles. Eyes closed, you focused on the strength of his touch and the smell of your bed linens: you, him, sex. When he finally lifted his hands from your back, you grumbled. He laughed softly as he placed his hands on either side of you and leaned forward. His warm lips placed a gentle kiss on your right shoulder before trailing a line of kisses towards your neck. A small moan escaped your lips as he nipped that spot at the base of your jaw; the familiar white-hot heaviness growing at your core. You turned your head to look up at him, your lust-filled eyes meeting his, dark and needy. The corners of his mouth curled up into a small smirk. Turning over on to your back, you placed your cold hands on his chest, and smiled back up at him. Shifting his weight, he raised his hand to your neck, stroking your jawline with his thumb. Heat radiated outward from his fingertips, warming your very soul. He lowered his lips to yours and kissed you feverishly.
Your cheeks burned briefly at the memory before the cold seeped back in. You swallowed thickly and turned away from the window. Your living room was frigid and bathed in that strange purple-orange light that only ever made an appearance in winter. So deeply lost in your thoughts, you hadn’t turned the lights on or started a fire before the sun had set. You toyed with the idea of turning on the lamp closest to you and maybe making a pot of tea. But as quickly as those thoughts came, they fled, replaced by that sinking feeling of dread. It had been building for hours. Crawling its way into the deepest recesses of your brain, like frost creeping across a pane of glass. You caught yourself slipping and took a deep breath, pushing the thoughts back again, keeping them at bay. You crossed the room, grabbing his favourite quilt from his chair and wrapping it around your shoulders. A cloud of his scent enveloped you. Musk, wood smoke, whiskey. Sinking down into the worn, plush couch, your eyes drifted to the empty seat beside you. His spot. A memory of you curled tightly into his side as he strummed the guitar flashed in your mind. Without thinking, your eyes snapped to his guitar, immediately regretting it; you had been so careful. It sat in the corner, alone, bathed in the cool, winter light. A thin layer of dust covered its surface. He should play more. Again, you felt the dread creep back in and your eyes fill with tears.
It had been too long. Their usual patrol of the lodge had never taken this much time. But you knew. Deep down, you knew.
……………………
A loud, hesitant knock startled you awake. The stagnant room was still cold and dark. Your head shot towards the door, relief flooding your insides momentarily, before you reprimanded yourself for your own stupidity. Why would he be knocking on his own front door? The fear quickly replaced your self reproach. Someone was knocking again. Your mind was telling you to run as fast as you could to the door, desperate for news. But your body was paralyzed. You knew.
You licked your dry, chapped lips and uncurled your limbs. Your body was stiff and cold. Standing up from the couch, you grabbed the edges of his quilt and wrapped them even tighter around your shoulders, desperate for warmth and comfort. And for him. The hardwood floor creaked under your bare feet. Reaching the door, you grasped the metal doorknob, and turned. A strong gust of icy wind pushed the door inward and swirls of snowflakes blew in through the crack. You took a step back to allow the door to open fully.
Tommy.
His face was sickly pale, his brow furrowed, his eyes glazed. You frowned and stared deep into those dark eyes. They had such similar eyes. But in that moment, you remembered Joels’ were splashed with a trace of amber. Even his eyes exuded warmth. Tommy’s hands reached out and grabbed your own from the edges of the quilt. Your immediate reaction was to pull back from his frozen touch but he held firm. He took a deep breath, slowly closing and then opening his eyes, steadying himself.
That was all you needed. The confirmation you’d been waiting for. You cursed your intuition. The intuition that had kept you alive more times than you could count. The intuition that alerted you to the changes almost seven months ago. You just knew. Your body started shivering uncontrollably then. Your eyes filled and you swallowed repeatedly, not allowing the tears to fall. Tommy watched you carefully, unsure if he even needed to say it. The words he’d been rehearsing in his head. You stepped back suddenly and ripped your hands from his. The threadbare quilt fell to the floor behind you. The frigid wind and blowing snow continued to invade your home through the open door. But you didn’t feel it. You felt nothing. Emptiness. Numbness.
A kick from your insides, strong and hot, suddenly jolted you back to reality. Your hands instinctively pressed to your swollen belly as you stared straight through your brother-in-law, unseeing. Another kick directly under your palm. Tommy stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Silence blanketed the entryway. He bent down and picked the quilt, Joel’s quilt, up off the floor. Gently, he placed it back over your shoulders then wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his chest.
Then, and only then, did you let the searing tears fall.
………………………
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