Thinking about:
Joel and Reader having a similar relationship to Jay and Gloria Pritchett from Modern Family HC <3
No outbreak au! Joel miller x Fem!Reader
(I recommend you watch Jay and Gloria clips on YouTube <3)
Disclaimer: My fics are inclusive and open to any size and any ethnicity + race reader 💕
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• Joel Miller is at peace with his life.
• He recently has turned 56, Sarah is attending her dream college, Tommy finally moved out to live with his wife, Maria, and Joel’s contracting business has been doing very well which makes him no longer stress about paying bills on time and worrying about being able to afford Sarah’s college.
• A relationship was not something he was trying to look for, he didn’t see why he had to at his age.
• He has already had his fair share of girlfriends, his last and longest lasting one ending in a messy divorce.
• Her name was Diane. She caused Joel nothing but stress and negative energy, and showed clear signs of mental illness.
• The day that she moved out of the house, Sarah came home from college to visit and she expressed to her dad that the house no longer felt suffocating and negative.
• She tried to get him to open up, but Joel was very closed off when it came to his feelings, and he didn’t want to put all of his emotions on his baby girl.
• Even though Joel had everything, he still felt grumpy due to his older age stopping him from being able to bend down for long periods of time at work like he used to, and having to shamefully ask his young colleagues to complete those jobs, and also that very crazy ex-wife of his that burnt him out.
• He thought that was the end to his love life until he met you.
• It was mid July on a hot Texas day, Joel and Tommy decided to meet up at a small 50s themed Diner to catch up.
• While the brothers were chatting and eating their greasy meals, Tommy doing most of the talking, Joel heard a sweet, soft voice from behind him,
“What can I get y’all today?” A soft voice spoke. Joel’s head perched up and he began looking around, the voice dragging him in like a siren calling out to a pirate at sea,
“The specials today are our strawberry cola float and cheese fries” His eyes finally landed on you.
• There stood you, a pretty, young waitress in a white and pink uniform, a smile beaming on your sweaty, glowing face.
• Joel was hypnotized by your beauty.
• He watched as you laughed at something the old couple said, your head thrown back and your hair swaying from side to side in almost slow motion.
• He could feel his face heat up and his mouth no longer chewing the few fries he shoved in seconds ago,
“Earth to Joel?” He broke out of his trance and turned around to look at his little brother,
“Who were you lookin’ at?” Joel shook his head and went back to chewing,
“Nobody. So how’s Maria?” Tommy smirked and squinted his eyes,
“I just said how she was that whole time you were ogling over that young waitress” Tommy laughed,
“I ain’t lookin’ at anybody, alright?” The oldest brother snapped, rubbing his beard. Tommy laughed even louder and leaned back in the booth,
“She is quite a doll, ain’t she? I’d ask her out” Joel scoffed and kicked his brother under the table,
“Calm down, brother. Your married for fuck sake” He responded, giving him a serious look.
Tommy rolled his eyes and became defensive,
“Y-Yeah, I know! I was just sayin’!” He shoved a handle of fries in his mouth to shut himself up.
Joel chuckled sarcastically at his brother,
“Yeah. Whatever ya say”
• Anytime you passed by their booth, Joel would un-knowingly straighten his posture and suck in his stomach and clear his throat, giving you an awkward nod and grin. And it made Tommy laugh every time.
• To put an end to his big brother’s suffering, the younger brother politely called out to you and signalled for a refill on their coffees.
• You happily did so, and to Joel’s surprise, you began sparking up a conversation with him.
• When Joel noticed your finger twirling in your hair and your laugh at his lame jokes, it gave him the confidence to ask you out.
• He felt like a young man, again.
• He swooped you off your feet.
• From then on, you guys fell in love and began a relationship.
• Joel proposed to you only five months later.
• Anybody would’ve told you both that you were moving too fast, and most importantly, that you were both very different people.
• Joel was a closed off, rugged 56 year old man, and you were an expressive, confident, hot-headed 27 year old woman.
• In a way, you balanced each other out perfectly.
• You would push Joel out of his comfort zone to be more honest with his feelings and open up, and Joel would show you how to be more tame and not immediately become defensive or sensitive about things.
• Your wedding was small but fancy, and Sarah had helped you plan it and went shopping with you a lot, using those times as a way to bond with you since she was not sure how to feel at first with her old father marrying a very much younger woman so quickly.
• After spending time with you, she became close to you and knew you were going to love and cherish her Daddy.
• Also, she thought it was impressive that you got him to start showing emotions and slowly open up, talking about his feelings and becoming less stubborn.
• Now, it took a while for Joel to get used to you, as in the way to get used to how you treated life, your friends, your family, and how you were a magnet to hot men.
• He always had a very small family and a quiet life. It was always him, Tommy and Sarah.
• Holidays were never a big deal, always just ordering Chinese food and watching old Christmas movies with Sarah and Tommy.
• So, when you moved in and quit your job to be a stay at home wife (very much Joel’s idea), he was surprised as to how much serious you took holidays,
“Woah, woah! What’s all this?” Joel asked, watching you put up colourful Christmas lights. He looked around and saw little snowmen statues and Christmas themed pillows laid out on the leather sofa,
“It’s Christmas, Joel! It’s the time of the year where you spend time with you family and decorate and dance with your loved ones and cook turkey!” He placed a hand on his hip and lifted an eyebrow,
“Ain’t this a little much? I usually just get a fake tree and decorate it” You rolled your eyes and climb down the small ladder,
“A little much? This isn’t even half of it! When I was a little girl, my mommy and daddy would throw a huge Christmas Eve party that had games and dancing and a bunch of home made food. Then, after twelve a.m, we’d set off fireworks!” Joel rubbed his forehead and flopped down on the couch,
“I usually just order Chinese and watch sappy Christmas movies all night” You sighed and tossed a Santa plushy at him,
“Listen, I quit my job and left my apartment to come and live with you and take care of the house while you are away at work 24/7. The most you can do is include how I celebrate Christmas. Okay?” He nodded and stared down at the Santa in his hands,
“Okay?” You repeated, placing your hands on your hips and giving him that ‘you better verbally say something’ look,
“Yeah, yeah, okay” You grinned and placed a kiss on his cheek,
“Good” You started waking down the hall, the sound of your expensive heels echoing,
“and, we are going out with Sarah tonight and cutting down a real tree!” You yelled out. Joel groaned but couldn’t help crack a smile,
“Yes, m’am”
• When it came to your family and friends, Joel was very surprised and not very ecstatic when you wanted them to visit for a few days during the summer.
• When you both arrived at the airport to pick them up, Joel wanted to hit his head against a brick wall when he saw a group consisting of eleven people walking down the escalators yelling your name excitedly,
“Ya never told me how big your family was” He mumbled into your ear, keeping a fake smile on his face. You turned around and slapped him in the stomach. He grunted and rubbed the spot,
“Quit that complaining! They haven’t seen me in forever” You whispered harshly, plastering a fake smile as well while keeping eye contact with your family,
“I cant wait to spend a week with you, muffin!” Your grandma squealed, pulling you into a tight hug. Joel’s eyes practically bulged out of his head,
“A week?!”
• It was no lie that you were a gorgeous woman. Men always did a double take when you passed by, and women found them selves staring you down with envy.
• So, when you decided to throw a barbecue for the Fourth of July for the neighbourhood, people all showed up, curious as to how Joel’s young, new wife was gonna be able to plan a barbecue on her own.
• Most people were probably gonna show up, the intimidating older women to critic your decorations, food, and your so called ‘inappropriate clothing’ that they had been gossiping about since you moved in with Joel and Sarah,
“Hm, really outdid yourself, y/n. Wasn’t expecting…this” Edith, an older woman who has been living on the same street as Joel for many years, said passive aggressively.
With your head held high and a confident smile on your face, you nodded and rubbed her shoulder,
“Aw! Thanks, Edith. Wish I could say the same for your barbecues” Edith stared at you with her mouth agape.
Maria, who was sipping wine and watching the scene unfold, covered her mouth in hopes to hide the cackle that was about to escape her mouth. She gave you a thumbs up and mouthed “solid”
• The men there, married or not, found any chance to try and talk to you, surrounding you like you were a celebrity,
“Beautiful dress, y/n” Johnny, a friend of Tommy’s said, slyly rubbing a hand on your waist. You smiled and stepped back to show it off to everyone, oblivious to the men’s flirting,
“Thanks! Joel bought me it!” The men grumbled, and Johnny pursed his lips,
“Right, your with Joel”
• It didn’t stop at Tommy and Maria’s son’s 5th birthday.
• Kids were screaming and running around, which meant that there were their fathers around as well.
• The bouncy house was empty, and you were two glasses deep into wine, so you took your heels off and crawled in to jump around while the kids were out to go have lunch.
• The fathers gathered around the bouncy house and were watching you with smirks, and Joel came running to push past the men to see who they were watching,
“Jesus Christ” Joel grumbled, watching as you jumped around, your revealing dress showing your “greatest assets” bouncing up and down,
“Joel, look! I’m jumping so high!” You screeched, a big smile on your face, innocent to the men who were undressing you with their eyes,
“Yeah, I see that! Now get out” He looked around and saw all the men with their smug, smirking faces,
“Really, guys?! Your family men. Come on, now. Walk away!” Joel yelled, shaking his head and pointing them to the snack table. The men all scoffed and grumbled, reluctantly turning away from the sight of you.
• Tommy was no better.
• He was so obvious with his flirting, it made Maria and Joel side eye each other every time,
“Uncle Tommy and Maria are here!” Sarah called from the front door. You squealed in happiness, taking the turkey out from the stove with a little dance. Joel chuckled and placed a kiss on your cheek,
“We saw them this morning at the grocery store, sweetheart” You rolled your eyes and playfully slapped his shoulder,
“So? It was only for a couple of minutes! C’mon, let’s go say hi”
You gave Maria a hug and kiss on the cheek, as well as her adorable son. You passed to Tommy and did the same, and said,
“Two times today, huh?” You joked, referring to the earlier surprised meet up at the store. Tommy raised an eyebrow and confusingly grinned,
“Oh, okay!” He went to give you another hug and kiss on the cheek, but you had already turned around to go back to the kitchen, and Maria grabbed his arm and yanked him back,
“She meant we saw them two times today, Tommy” she warned, glaring at him.
• Yeah, you were a lot.
• But, Joel still loves you.
• He loves your crazy big family, your revealing outfits, your confidence, your expressiveness, your need to help and care for everyone around you, and how amazing you were with his baby girl, Sarah, providing her with the motherly love she was missing out on.
• The thing he loved the most was how you were with him.
• You were changing him in a good way, You were teaching him to open up, to do things out of his comfort zone, not always make everything be his way or the highway, and you put him in his place and called him out when necessary.
• You take care of him, he takes care of you.
• Joel sat on his front porch, plucking away at his guitar, occasionally sipping his beer and watching the sunset,
“It can’t get any better than this” He said to himself in his head, sighing contently, strumming away at his six-string,
“Joel, baby! Come join me upstairs! I’m wearing your favourite matching set…” You called from the open window, a seductive and playful tone in your voice.
Joel grinned then smirked, running a hand across his greying beard,
“It definitely can get better this”
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