Elementary, Finale:
pairing: pre-outbreak!joel miller x f!reader
rating: E (18+ only—i choose not to list warnings for this one as not to spoil anything but you know how we get down over here on GMNO, happy endings only. read at your own discretion.) unedited/not proofread (for now)
wc: 7k
series masterlist | joel masterlist
June, 2004
“Don’t you dare,” Joel ordered as he surprised you from the doorway of your bedroom—your former bedroom.
You stood in front of a stack of cardboard boxes labeled “linens”, your hands resting on two sides as though you were caught mid-lift. He walked over to you with a smirk, shaking his head before lifting the box for you.
“You’re already carrying enough,” he said, eyes falling to your swollen belly, six-months into your first pregnancy.
“I think I’m more than capable of carrying a box of sheets,” you countered with a matching smirk, reaching for the box that sat below the one he just stole from you.
“Uh-uh,” Tommy came rushing in, sweeping the box from your grasp. “You got my nephew to worry about.”
“How do you know I’m having a boy?” you asked, following your fiancé and soon-to-be brother in law out of your old home to watch them load the moving truck.
“I can just feel it,” he replied, earning a smile from his older brother.
“I’m still hopin’ for another girl,” Joel admitted as he walked down the rickety metal ramp to meet you as you stood in the walkway, his hands sliding over your belly to rest on your waist. He placed a sweet kiss on your lips before letting you go. “You should go sit in the sunroom with Sarah and Jessie. Make sure they’re keepin’ room for Jesus and all that.”
“Oh, let them be. Not like we have to worry about teen pregnancy—“
“Alright, alright.” Joel covered his ears, wincing at the thought. “Still, I don’t want you workin’ too hard.”
“Joel, I promise, I’m not working hard at all. You and Tommy won’t give me the chance.”
“That’s how it should be,” he countered, walking inside the house with you following behind.
“Guys, guess what?” Sarah and her newly defined girlfriend, Jessie burst into the half-packed kitchen as you stood slowly making your way through your pantry, organizing a keep pile and a donate pile. Joel lifted a brow at her as he started on taking the metal barstools that stood at your kitchen island apart so that they could take up less room in the truck. “Britney Spears is coming to San Antonio next month.”
“Praise to the heavens,” Joel mumbled under his breath, earning a chuckle from you as you rolled you eyes at his lackluster reaction.
“That’s fun!” you replied, looking at the two fifteen year-olds. “How much are tickets?”
“Like thirty bucks,” Jessie sighed, frowning. “My mom’s gonna make me work at the restaurant to earn it.”
“Well, she’s got the right idea,” Joel stood, having disassembled the first stool. “Sarah, why don’t you come work with me and Tommy this week and I’ll buy your ticket.”
“Really?” she asked with a hopeful smile before remembering her fathers line of work. “Wait—at the site? I won’t know what to do.”
“I’m sure we can find somethin’ for you to do.”
“Yeah, I mean…Britney’s worth it,” Sarah sighed and shrugged before walking back into the sunroom with Jessie in tow.
“Hey, did I tell you we got a new hire?” Joel spoke to you as he started on the second stool.
“Oh, that’s good. I thought you were having trouble finding someone?”
“We were, but she got the seal of approval from Tommy. Guess she’s a real jack-of-all-trades type’a builder. S’just what we needed.” You smiled at him proudly, his construction company having taken off this last year and a half. They were almost too busy, too booked, leaving Joel and Tommy to stay behind and work the amount of four people instead of two just so that their projects remained on time. “Hopefully might start gettin’ two days off a week instead of one.”
“That would be nice,” you hummed, walking over to him to slide your hand over his sweaty but irresistible back as he crouched down to unscrew some bolts from the legs of the stool. “I’ve been like a lonely little housewife these last few months. Holed up waiting for my man to come back from the coal mines.”
“Oh, is that right?” He looked up at you with a smirk. It had been a few weeks since the two of you had last been together, long days at the site and, for you, at school forcing you apart. Aside from a few steamy but quick makeouts, you were left longing for your soon-to-be husband. “I been neglectin’ you, huh?”
You nodded, your smile spreading wider as you played along, your voice dramatic and theatrical as you tried on an old-timey southern belle persona. “All I got is this baby I’m brewing to remember you by.”
Joel stood up and dropped his tools on the kitchen counter before letting his hands find your waist, tugging you as close to him as your belly would allow. He leaned in, pressing a featherlight kiss to your cheek that caused your entire body to light with chills as his kisses traveled down your neck.
“Why don’t I take you into the bedroom and give you that attention you’ve been needin’ so bad,” he rasped against your skin, dizzying your mind as you clung to him, breathless and wanting.
“House full of people,” Tommy’s voice sounded, reminding the two of you why you’d gone so long without each other in the first place. “Thought this would be done by now. Been, what, three years?”
“Don’t mind him, his longest relationship has been with the goddamn Longhorns,” Joel mumbled, keeping you hugged to his body. “Don’t know a thing about real love.”
“Yeah, yeah, save me the lecture, old man.” Tommy batted his brother’s teasing away and continued on packing and moving in the living room.
“Have I really been neglectin’ you, baby? All jokes aside,” Joel asked in a whisper pressed to your ear. You squeezed him closer and laid your head on his chest, Joel’s chin resting on top of it as he held you.
“No, I mean…I do miss you, and it has been a while since we last were together, but you’re not neglecting me. You still come home and hold me and talk to me and makeout with me,” you spoke softly, your voice a soothing hum against his chest. “We’re tired people, and especially now with the baby…I didn’t expect you to be clawing my clothes off when I look like a whale—“
“Excuse me?” he snapped, pulling your head from his chest so he could sternly look into your eyes. “None’a that. You’re beautiful…carryin’ our baby. Drives me fuckin’ wild seein’ you like this. M’sorry I haven’t been energized enough to show it, but I promise you, baby…you’re drivin’ me crazy walkin’ around like this.”
His hands slipped to squeeze the globes of your ass that had grown along with your belly and hips and, well, everything else.
“Tommy’s gonna see,” you scolded in a whisper as Joel’s fingers pinched the fabric of your dress until it started to lift, allowing his hands to rest against your skin and the cotton of your panties. Weaker and breathier, you exhaled, “Or the girls.”
“I promise no one’s gonna see,” he rasped, pressing his against your neck.
“Dad, come out here quick! There’s—oh my god! There’s a scorpion!” Sarah’s high-pitched squeal had Joel rushing out into the sunroom, his teasing long forgotten as he searched the room frantically. Sarah pointed in the corner and Joel spotted it, black and bigger than any scorpion he’d seen before.
“How the hell’d you get in here?” he muttered to the insect as he guided the girls inside the house before coming inside as well to grab a cup and the dust pan.
You stood in the frame of the sliding glass door, watching him as he carefully approached the scorpion as though he was Steve Irwin approaching a crocodile.
“They don’t jump, do they?” you asked, wincing as Joel started to make contact, guiding it towards the cup. The girls were behind you as though you were a shield, both of them letting out a squeal when the scorpion tried to strike Joel’s wrist, just barely missing. “Joel, just leave it! This can just be his house now, it’s not worth it.”
“Oh, hush,” Joel barked, keeping focused on the task before him. With either skill or luck, Joel managed to sweep the ground-hog sized scorpion into the glass cup and placed the dust pan over the mouth to keep him inside. “See, I got it.”
“Dad, don’t!” Sarah got gravely serious, sternly ordering her father to remain where he was with a point of her finger. Joel grinned and continued over, making both of the girls squeal and run off through the house.
“It’s so gross,” you cringed, leaning over to look at it through the glass with extreme caution and hesitancy.
“I don’t know,” Joel lifted it to his eye level to study it. “I think he’s kinda cool lookin’. Maybe we can keep ‘em as a pet.”
“Yeah, ri-IGHT—Joel!” you shrieked in terror as he pushed the glass towards you with a bark, making you jump backwards. Joel cackled as he watched you stand with your hand over your heart, your stern eyes watching him unamused. “That wasn’t funny.”
“I thought it was,” he chuckled. You watched him walk out to the backyard and set his new friend free, your heart still thumping in your chest. “Gotta get your heart rate up every now and then.”
“I don’t think you do.” Joel laughed and walked to hold you but was stopped by your hand pushing against his chest. “No, you don’t get to touch me. I almost pissed myself!”
Joel laughed again, proud of his prank. “God, it was good.”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied. I can promise you that’s the only satisfaction you’re gonna get for a while, pal.” Joel poured immediately, following you as you walked through the house out to the front yard where Tommy, Sarah, and Jessie laid out in the grass, staring up at the sky. “Everybody, we’re shunning Joel.”
“What?” he chuckled, looking at you with amusement and affection, so rarely seeing you worked up like this.
“Sure thing,” Tommy replied, mellow and relaxed as he looked at the clouds, a beer in his hand.
“Sounds good,” Jessie agreed before pointing at the sky. “That’s a dragon.”
“Yeah it is,” Sarah agreed. “And why are we shunning dad?”
“He threw the scorpion at me.” You knew you were exaggerating, your smirk growing as you watched Joel scoff at the claim, a look of amazement on the entire time.
“I did no such thing,” he defended. “I jumped it at her—“
“Oh, that’s right. He jumped it at me,” you repeated, still smirking at him. “A pregnant woman.”
“Oh, the pregnancy card again,” Joel playfully sighed, earning a gasp from you.
“Pregnancy card? How dare you?” you laughed. “I rest my case, Sarah.”
“Alright, yeah. Dad’s shunned.” Joel rolled his eyes at you before walking over, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind, his chin resting on your shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” he sang, widening your already smitten grin. “I promise not to throw any more scorpions at ya. You forgive me now?”
“Mmhm,” you hummed, melting into him.
“I ain’t shunned?” he murmured, kissing your shoulder innocently.
“No, but the threat’s always there. As you just saw, I have the votes.” Joel chuckled against your skin.
“Trust me, I know my place.”
A Week Later
It was a Friday, you’d been stuck at the house all alone, Sarah off with her dad at the site to earn her Britney Spears ticket money. After doing a few hours of nesting, marrying your things to Joel’s around the house, you perked up at the sight of Joel’s name on the caller ID of your cell.
“Hi,” you sang with a smile.
“Hey baby,” he greeted. “Was wonderin’ if you could pick me and Sarah up in about a half hour?”
“Ooo, I get you home early tonight?” Your smile turned into a grin.
“Yeah, but Sean’s havin’ a barbecue at his place. Invited the whole crew so I guess we should show up.”
“Well, I’m in.”
“See you in a little?”
“Sounds good, baby.”
You smiled as you flipped your cell shut, but the task of dressing yourself quickly wiped your grin away.
You felt like a whale in everything these days, and despite Joel’s eagerness for you each and every day, you felt like a stranger to yourself. Even in the dresses you’d been living in, you felt every change in the way your body used to fill them out. You quickly shooed the insecurity from your mind and dressed yourself for comfort before heading out to go pick the Miller’s up.
Rolling into the construction site, you spotted Joel and Sarah standing in the dirt parking lot out in front of the project, a woman in front of them talking. You furrowed your brows as you got closer, seeing that whoever this woman was, she was pretty—the kind of pretty that makes you wonder why the hell she’s here in a construction lot instead of on billboards and magazine covers.
Your chest felt tight with insecurity as you pulled up to them, hoping with all your might that Joel didn’t try to introduce you to Construction-Barbie.
“Alright, Meg. See ya at the party.” Joel waved to her as he opened the backseat for Sarah, a friendly—too friendly—smile on his face when he hopped in the passenger seat. “Hey baby,” Joel leaned forward for a kiss but you were still too jealous to oblige, giving him your cheek instead. “You alright?”
“Yeah,” you lied, nodding as you pulled out of the lot, the rest of the drive silent besides the pop on the radio and Sarah's soft hums.
After giving the two of them time to change into nicer clothes, all three of you piled into the car again with Joel in the driver's seat. Sarah talked about her day at work, how cool it was to work with Meg, and how surprising it was that the newcomer managed to make her dad laugh. You tried not to picture the scene.
Joel stopped at a grocery store, running in quickly to grab some beer and a few bags of chips to bring to the party while you and Sarah remained in the car.
“Meg sounds great,” you spoke, unable to keep your jealousy to yourself.
“She’s alright,” Sarah replied, seemingly noticing your insecurity. “A little chatty.”
“Your dad didn’t seem to mind,” you mumbled, mostly to yourself.
“She was a little flirty,” Sarah replied. “But dad didn’t seem to notice.”
You tried to shake the jealousy, knowing that it was silly and hormone-driven. Joel loved you. But that didn’t mean that he still couldn’t find someone else attractive at the same time.
At the party, you kept mostly to yourself. You were introverted on a good day, but with this heavy insecurity weighing you down, you found yourself retreating inward while everyone else mingled and carried on.
You were inside the house of Joel’s lead plumber, his wife buzzing around the house as she tried to corral her five children under five. You sat in the living room, watching and praying yours didn’t come out like that—loud and disobedient and restless.
“So, how far along are you?” she asked, breathless as she gave up and sat down on the loveseat across from you.
“Six months,” you replied with a small but friendly smile. “Got any advice for me?”
She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Besides not havin’ ‘em in the first place? I don’t know—sleep whenever you can. They’ll suck the life outta you if you let ‘em.”
“A little bleak, honey,” Sean, her husband, walked in through the patio door, Joel following behind him.
“It’s the truth,” she argued, giving him a passive aggressive sigh. “It ain’t easy. ‘Specially if there’s only one parent home to do it.”
“Alright,” he chuckled, trying to ease the tension.
You stood, ready to venture beyond the tension anf chaos of the house, even if it meant having to enter the crowded backyard.
“You comin’ out?” Joel asked, holding his hand out for you to take. You accepted it and let him walk you outside. “That was brutal in there.”
“Yeah,” you agreed. Joel’s eyes scanned you as you stood beside him, staring ahead.
“You sure you’re alright? Been awfully quiet,” he noted.
“Yeah, just…feeling a little off today,” you lied.
Spotting a familiar head of strawberry blonde curls snorting with laughter as she stood with Tommy and Sarah by the grill. They both looked comfortable around her, making your stomach curl with a new type of jealousy. She wanted your entire family.
“Joel!” she called once she caught you staring. “Come over here and join us, darlin’!”
You resented the petname. Turning to Joel, you watched as his cheeks flushed, his eyes flickering to yours.
“C’mon,” he looked to you fully, attempting to slide his hand across your back but you stopped him, swatting his arm away. “Baby,” he began, but you were already too worked up to be consoled. “She calls everybody that.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” you muttered.
“Baby, you ain’t really jealous, are you?” He chuckled. Wrong move. With a furrow in your brow, you reached your hands into his pockets and tugged out the keys to the car.
“I’m going home. Call me when you wanna be picked up from your date.”
Joel called after you only once, not wanting to make a scene by raising his voice or following you out.
Back at home, you stewed. What started as hormonal territorialism quickly snowballed into justified rage. She’d clearly met your eyes, seeing you standing there beside him, and ignored you. Then, she proceeded to flirt with him right in front of you. Joel did nothing about it except for defend her, which was what you were currently most angry about.
As you aggressively turned the pages of the book you were reading to distract yourself, you were surprised to see headlights through the window. Closing your book, you got up and peeled through the blinds to see Joel and Sarah stepping out of a taxi, your cheeks heating as guilt set in. You didn’t mean for Sarah to get involved in your fight with Joel.
Hurrying upstairs, you heard the front door open, the two of them speaking downstairs but it was too faint to make any sense. As you stood in the bathroom, hurting your clothes off so that you could jump in the shower, you felt more than heard Joel’s heavy footsteps up the staircase. Soon, after you stepped into the shower, Joel found his way into the bathroom, announcing himself in the doorway.
“We’re home.” His voice was gentle, but carried a sadness to it that made you feel less angry and more guilty.
“Okay,” you managed.
“Can I come in?” he asked, the question lingering in the air for a bit before you answered.
“Yeah,” you decided.
In the matter of a few seconds, Joel was stripped and stepping in behind you, his eyes locked on yours.
“I’m sorry,” he started, stepping closer to you and the stream of water. “I told her that pet-name stuff wasn’t cool with me, but I guess she ain’t as good at listenin’ as she is talkin’.”
“She’s pretty,” you replied, desperate to keep hold of this jealousy.
“Tommy thinks so,” Joel added.
“And you?” He shook his head and rested his hands on the swell of your stomach.
“I’m too busy thinkin’ about you,” he replied. “Thinkin’ ‘bout our family.”
“I know you love me, Joel. It’s not about that,” you sighed, moving to turn around but he stopped you before you could even flinch, forcing you to look at him when you continued. “I want you to think I’m…pretty like that. To want me.”
“You don’t think I want you?” He chuckled, shaking his head in utter disbelief. “For someone who ‘doesn’t want you’, I sure seem to paw at you every minute of every day.”
“I guess you’re right,” you chuckled, finally seeing the light beyond all the dark gray that this storm of jealousy and insecurity you were caught in. “Just seeing you with someone so pretty, who does what you do—“
“First off, she’s alright. She ain’t half as good as Tommy promised me was. M’pretty sure they’re fuckin’ and that’s why he recommended her.” You laughed. “Secondly, I need you to know that it doesn’t matter who I’m standin’ next to. I’m only ever thinkin’ about the next time I get to see you.”
“You’re good at this,” you smiled, reaching to hold his face in your hands. “Defusing the bomb that is a pregnant woman’s mind.”
“You know…I think that’s the first time I ever saw you jealous,” he hummed, leaning in to press a soft, teasing kiss on your lips.
“It happens a lot, I’m just usually good at hiding it,” you whispered back, stealing a few kisses for yourself. “Think you should prepare yourself for more of this crazy. Might be this way until the baby comes.”
“I like the crazy,” he smiled.
Five years later — December 25th, 2009
“Iris, watch out—“ Your five year old daughter ran full speed through the kitchen and living room, your two year old son, Miles, clumsily chasing her with his brand new stuffed dinosaur. It was hard to be mad at either of them, their giggles filling the room along with the crunch of the wrapping paper littering the carpet beneath their feet.
“Alright,” Joel scooped both of his children up and threw them over his shoulder, earning squeals and laughter as he walked them over to the couch you were sitting on. He plopped kids onto your lap but only Miles stayed. Joel sighed and sat down beside you as Iris got up again, a mischievous grin on her face as she stood before the three of you, all eyes on her. “Well,” Joel started, lifting his hands before dropping them back onto his lap. “We paid for a show. Are you gonna sing for us, Hannah Montana?”
“Daddy, where’s the phone?” Iris asked, making a fist and then tapping it to help illustrate what she wanted.
“The microphone? Somewhere in all this mess,” you replied, gesturing to the mountain of wrapping paper on the floor. “Gotta go fishing for it, baby.”
Iris quickly got to work, making an arguably bigger mess as she searched for her brand new toy, a microphone that was supposed to be its own speaker as well, but truthfully wasn’t much louder than Iris’s voice.
“Hey, hey!” Sarah walked in the front door with a smile, two large bags in her hands stuffed full of wrapped presents. When she took in the mess, she frowned. “Ah, did you guys already do gifts?”
“Iris already had them open before we even got downstairs,” Joel replied as he walked to the door to take the bags from his now twenty year-old’s hands before giving her a tight hug. “Martin come along?”
Martin was Sarah’s boyfriend of two years, the pair meeting in her biology class freshman year of college.
“Yeah, he’s getting the bags,” Sarah replied before coming over to hug you tight.
“How are you? How’s school?” You missed having Sarah at the house but were more than proud of her for getting into the pre-med program at Stanford.
“School is school, but it’s been way easier now that we aren’t living in the dorms anymore.”
“Sissy!” Iris rushed up to her sister and waved her new Hannah Montana microphone in her face. “Sing with me.”
“Oh…yay,” Sarah forced a smile but looked to you for help.
“How about we open the gifts sissy brought instead?” you proposed and your daughter instantly agreed.
“How was the drive?” Joel spoke to Martin as he helped him carry the bags upstairs to Sarah’s old bedroom.
“Not too bad. Sarah snored the entire way.”
“Sorry ‘bout that. Think she gets it from me.”
When Joel and Martin returned from the second floor, they immediately found their spots beside their partners, each of them making the same pained groan as they sat down.
“God,” you chuckled, looking to Sarah who was already looking at you. “They’re the same person.”
“Gross. Hate that.”
“You gonna pass out the gifts or what?” Joel asked, unamused by the comparison.
As Sarah and Martin sorted out the gifts, handing a few to Iris, a few to Miles, two to you and one to Joel. Joel shook his head at the box handed to him, but Sarah’s round eyes got her her way every single time.
“Told you no gifts for me,” Joel grumbled as he ripped the wrapping. “Don’t want you spendin’ your money—“
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she smiled, sitting down beside her boyfriend. “I think you’ll like this one. It’s a gift for everybody, but I think you’re going to have the most fun with it.”
You watched him rather than opening your own gifts, the small black box in his hand opening to reveal a key. Joel looked up with boyish eyes, shocked and excited and near tears all at the same time.
“What is it?” you asked, plucking the key from his hand.
“This ain’t—how—what?” Joel spoke through his shock.
“What’s it a key to?” you asked again, chuckling at the tears welling up in your husband’s eyes.
“My parents used to own this beat up old ranch in San Antonio, but had to sell it off when Sarah was a kid. I always wanted to buy it back and fix it up, but I just…never got around to it,” Joel finally replied to your questioning, turning to you with wet eyes and a big smile before looking at his daughter and her boyfriend. “How did—“
“My dad’s a realtor and knew the guy who was selling it, so Sarah and I put our money together to buy it back,” Martin detailed.
“In your name, so don’t get too excited. Mortgage isn’t gonna be that bad because we got it at twenty thousand and we put down a decent down payment,” Sarah added. “So, just a few hundred a month.”
“Baby girl,” Joel shook his head and looked down at the key. “How much do I owe y’all—“
“Dad, you took care of me my whole life. You deserve this. Besides, I just signed with a publisher for my book, so—“
“What?” you practically squealed, Miles covering his ears as he sat in your lap. “Congrats, baby girl!”
“Thank you, thank you,” she smiled and bowed, bringing your eyes to the shining rock on her ring finger. Joel seemingly noticed it too because his clapping suddenly ceased.
“What’s that?” he asked, his eyes shifting to Martin’s nervous stare.
“Shit—we were gonna announce it at dinner so Uncle Tommy could be here too, but…” She looked to her boyfriend. “We’re engaged.”
“Oh my god,” you gasped, your hands lifting to your mouth to hide the joy in your smile. “I’m so happy. Oh my god!”
“That’s bad, mommy,” Iris scolded. You nodded but pointed at Sarah’s ring.
“I known, but sissy’s getting married, baby!”
“Dad?” Sarah spoke to her father who sat frozen in shock. You turned to him as well, studying him carefully for any signs of anger or disappointment, but instead found only pride and joy. “Please don’t be mad. Martin wanted to ask first but I told him that’s too old school—“
“Baby, I’m not mad,” he assured softly, shaking his head as his eyes welled with fresh tears. “I’m just so happy.”
“Oh, dad,” Sarah cooed, her own eyes shedding tears as she walked over to hug her father close as he stood up. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, baby girl. So much.” Joel squeezed her once more before letting her go and turning to her fiancé. “And you too by proxy.”
After a long afternoon spent beside Joel at the computer studying the state of the ranch from the pictures Martin pulled up from the realtor, it was decided that Joel would take weekends off of work—not that he usually worked them anymore, the business having taken off so much that it forced him into a more managerial role—and drive down to the ranch to work on it, the kids and you invited of course but he understood if you didn’t want to, after all, “It ain’t gonna be pretty for a while, baby”. You agreed to let him check it out in person first before coming along because it seemed a little too dangerous for the kids with the property’s long, unmowed yard and old, untouched cabin.
Dinnertime came and so did Tommy and his girlfriend of one year—who also happened to be your good friend and a successful attorney—Maria, the two of them walking into a cleaner home than the one Sarah and Martin were greeted with. She had a six year old son, Kevin, who loved to play with your babies every time he came over.
“No fuckin’ way,” Tommy held up Sarah’s left hand to stare at the ring. “You were just a snot-nosed kid a second ago.”
“Yep,” she giggled.
“Well,” Tommy dropped her hand and looked to Martin, giving him a handshake. “You know who you’re gonna answer to if you hurt her.”
“Alright,” Joel interjected as he returned to the kitchen table that the adults were sat at while the kids played in the living room, The Grinch on in the background to busy them even more. He set a bottle of beer down in front of each of you, but Marin was quick to slide her bottle away from her. “No? And I bought the good shit just to impress y’all.”
“It’s just…” She looked to Tommy for help, the younger Miller smirking as he turned to the table.
“We’re havin’ a baby,” he announced and the table roared with applause and cheers. Joel’s smile was the widest, the two brothers locking eyes. Joel lifted his beer up to toast to life and the rest of you gladly clinked your bottles together in agreement. To life, indeed.
March, 2010
“So,” Joel started, a proud but nervous grin on his face as you climbed out of the passenger seat of the car to get a good look at the ranch. “What d’ya think?”
The long, unmowed grass was now trimmed neatly, making the land look so much bigger. Joel had fixed the gate, but you noticed that when he pulled in; he made sure to have a sign placed at the entrance reading “Miller Ranch” to properly fulfill his lifelong dream. The old, rickety cabin was now renovated and converted into a private den in case Sarah and Martin ever wanted to come stay for a while. Beside it stood a brand new ranch house, modest in size compared to the surrounding ranches, but it was big enough to hold three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, and a living room. But the part you loved most was the wrap-around porch he built by hand, painted a soft, pale yellow to contrast to the white of the home.
“I think,” you started, a smile growing on your face. “I wanna live here now.”
“Yeah?” he chuckled and approached you at the passenger side door, pressing you against it. “Why don’t we go inside? Maybe…test it out.”
“Mm, might as well take advantage of Tommy and Maria watching the kids,” you replied, your lips ghosting over his.
Joel tugged you along by the hand up the gravel driveway, allowing you the time to admire the little details like the swing he built onto the big oak tree between the den and the house, or the sneak peek you caught of rose bushes in the backyard. With each detail, you fell more and more in love with the property, and what was once a joke now turned into a serious longing—you wanted to move here. Bad.
“Ready?” Joel asked as he opened the screen door and rested his hand on the doorknob of the main, wooden door painted that same, soft yellow. You nodded at him and he opened the house, letting you walk in first, he flipped on the lights behind you as he entered. You gasped at the living room, how spacious but cozy it felt with a fireplace built in, not that the San Antonio weather ever really called for it.
Turning to the other side, you saw the dining room that connected into the kitchen via a square archway. You started that way, admiring the hand-made dining table before walking into the kitchen of your dreams. You let out a moan at the size of it, the brand new appliances that were a surprise but don’t worry, they’re on a lease.
Back in the hall, you carried on, admiring the framed pictures he’d hung of your joined family over the years, the smiling image of Sarah’s mother and Mary and Paul and everyone you’d lost bringing tears to your eyes.
“This is gonna be Miles’ room,” Joel opened the door to a room set up for a kid rather than a toddler aside from the bed with safety rails on it. You smiled at the thought of your son growing up here.
“And this?” you reached for the door across the hall and opened it to find a bathroom, modest but new.
“Kids bath,” he replied. Guiding you to the room beside Miles’, Joel opened it and displayed a soft pink painted bedroom that Iris was going to absolutely adore. “For baby girl.”
“Which means this has to be our room, right?” you asked, reaching for the door across from your daughter's room. “Little close, no?”
“Mm-mm,” he shook his head and entered the room, shutting the door behind him. He made a lot of noise, or at least that’s what you assumed from his heavy feet jumping on the hardwood floors, but you couldn’t hear much of anything. When he emerged, he was breathless and smiling. “Hear anything?”
“Felt you jumping around, but no,” you grinned. “You soundproofed it?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Took me a while to get it right but…we can make all the noise we want now.”
“Well,” you began, sliding your hands up his chest as you batted your eyes at him. “Why don’t we give it a proper go?”
“Yeah,” he hummed, leaning down to kiss you teasingly, forcing you to seek more of his mouth in yours. “Come on,” he rasped, tugging you into the bedroom. “There’s one more surprise on the tour before I can get you naked. Go take a look in the bathroom.”
You did as you were told, leaving him by the bed to walk into the en-suite. You gasped at the clawfoot tub perched by a large bay window, looking out at the garden of flowers he’d planted.
“Joel��you—“ You shook your head, eyes now raining tears as you stood in the middle of the bathroom. Joel laughed and came over to hold you as you buried your face in his chest. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, baby,” he chuckled, amused by your reaction. “You like it, I take it?”
“Like it?” you lifted your head and shocked him with the amount of tears soaking your eyes. “I’m about to get down on my knees.”
“You can get down on your knees after I get my fill, how about that?” he husked against your cheek as he kissed your tears. “Go lay down on the bed, baby. Everything off.”
You didn’t waste any time in obeying, practically skipping out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Your shoes and jeans came off first, then your top, and finally your undergarments before you climbed onto the mattress to test it out. Joel walked in but remained patient at the foot of the bed as you laid in the center of the mattress, beckoning him closer with the curl of your finger. Joel grinned and peeled his t-shirt off before slowly, painfully slowly, undoing his belt and jeans.
“Roll over,” he commanded. “Wanna see somethin’.”
“I wonder, what ever could that be?” you joked, rolling onto your stomach and instinctively arching your ass into the air. Joel’s knees dipped the mattress as he crawled onto the bed behind you, his hands gripping the globes of your ass as he let out a groan.
“So pretty like this,” he hummed before surprising you with a broad lick up the seam of your cunt. “My country girl.”
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, just don’t stop.” Joel laughed at your plea but obliged, licking you again. He kept at it, his tongue greedily and filthily lapping up every inch of you it could find before tensing and burying into your cunt while his fingers rubbed circles over your clit.
“Mm,” he hummed as he pulled away for a moment to speak. “There’s a gift for you in the nightstand. Why don’t you have a look?”
You chuckled hesitantly and crawled over the mattress to reach into the nightstand on your side of the bed, finding a long black box inside. You pulled it out and turned over to sit, facing Joel as he sat on his ankles at the foot of the bed. “Open it.”
“Is this—“ You silenced yourself by opening the box, your eyes taking in the sight of one of those wands you’d been desperately dropping hints about wanting to try out. “Oh, baby. You’ve got competition now.”
“Oh, do I?” he smirked, crawling to lay over you, forcing your head to rest back against the pillows. “That’s alright. Gettin’ too old to do all that work anyways. Might as well take all the help I can get.”
“You know you’ll always have one thing no one else has,” you purred, reaching to stroke his cock as it rested on your belly. “They couldn’t replicate this if they tried.”
“Mm,” he smiled against you. “You’re just flatterin’ me now.”
“Uh-uh,” you shook your head. “It’s perfect. The way you fill me up, the way it feels inside. I’ll never get enough.”
“Fuck, baby,” he whined against your jaw as he nibbled there. “Turn it on, wanna get you ready to take me. So damn hard for you, can’t even think.”
You flipped on the vibrator, gasping at the power behind it while Joel simply groaned.
“Go on,” he urged. “Press it to your clit, baby.”
“Fuck,” you hissed as you lowered it to your bundle of nerves, the whir of the vibrations making your thighs tense and jerk, but Joel’s hips stopped them from closing.
“Does it feel good?” he asked against your pulse as he kissed the skin there.
“Yes,” you panted. “But I want you.”
“Not ‘til you cum,” he replied, trailing his fingers down your belly, past the vibrator, and into your soaked entrance. You let out an animalistic moan, something primal and so unlike yourself. “God, baby,” he moaned against you as he curled his fingers up towards that dizzying spot inside. “You don’t make those noises for me. Maybe I do got competition.”
“Joel,” you whined, unsure of what to say or how to describe how good it felt to have him inside you along with this gift of an invention. “Please. Please.”
“Cum on my fingers,” he ordered, low and dark and right into your ear. “Then I’ll give you what you want.”
As if your body had simply been awaiting the order, you came immediately, squeezing him as you writhed beneath his weight, the vibrator turned off and tossed across the bed. Joel slid into you while you were still clenching around nothing, your breath getting knocked out of your lungs at the force of his thrusts inside. You felt like you transcended into some sinful sort of heaven, one where only you and Joel resided.
“God, baby,” he whined, his arms slid beneath the arch of your back to hug you tight as he pounded into you. “So fuckin’ wet. God, I need to cum. Been too long.”
“Those fuckin’ kids,” you managed a joke, earning a laugh before he found his rhythm again.
“Baby, fuck,” he warned, his voice as wrecked as yours as you screamed his name into the empty home, your nails scratching down his back as you begged him to let you cum again, as if he ever denied you. “Go on,” he urged, sitting up on his knees to watch his cock disappear into you only to come out covered in your shine. “Fuck, come on. Cum for me. Right fuckin’ now, baby.”
“Oh!” you screamed, again unlike yourself, and clawed at his arms for purchase as your orgasm hit so hard it might have been painful if it hadn’t felt so fucking good. “Joel, please, please, please. Cum inside me.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, his face scrunched up as he watched himself let go into your pussy, his eyes glued to where you were connected while pulsed inside of you with a deep growl. When he pulled out, he quickly lowered himself to the mattress and nestled between your thighs, fucking his spend back into you with his finger while his tongue swiped round and round over your clit until you were begging him to stop. “Too much?”
“For now,” you grinned. “How much longer do we have until we have to get back on the road?”
“I’d say a couple hours,” he replied, sated but a hint of mischief in his voice. “We could always try out that new bath.”
“God, I love you.” You pulled him up and kissed deeply. “So glad you showed up to that parent teacher conference.”
“Thank you for givin’ Sarah and I a family again,” he whispered. “I love you so much, baby. I—gonna get me all choked up. I love you.”
“I love you.”
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WIP Update - 18 May 2022
I was on vacation last week, so this is a combo update. Over the past 2 weeks, I touched 4 fics (2 WIPs & 2 new works) for a total of 3277 words, most of which were on a single fic! @psychiccatpanda posted the first chapter of our WinterIronHawk ‘accidental demon summoning’ collab fic and I posted a Stucky-by-proxy Incubus AU ficlet (updated from here) over on Ao3. Friday before last, I posted a ‘gradually moving in together’ WinterHawk ficlet for Flash Fiction Friday.
I’m sitting at 12 active WIPs (with a couple of maybe TBCs) with my current deadlines being the WinterHawk Bingo and Stucky Bingo which wrap up the end of May. I did sign up for the @steverogersbingo, which will send out cards starting 1 June.
On the crafting side, I have one Stuffed With Character commission slot open for June and 4 for July at the moment - am pretty busy with requests & prepping for a show!
See below cut for the WIPs (arranged more or less by bingos/challenges/etc) I am working on - feel free to send me prompts or plot bunnies as well as asks regarding any of these projects (or any other WIPs I’ve got out there) – they really help feed the Muse and keep me motivated!
The Devil Is in the Details (Sign on the Dotted Line)
This is the WinterIronHawk ‘accidental demon summoning’ fic @psychiccatpanda and I have been having So Much Fun with! We’re up to Chapter 6 of Tony and Clint and Bucky shenanigans (1914 words at the moment) - kicking off with Ty as an Awful Boyfriend before bringing in a couple more members of the gang!
I plan to use Chapter 2 (possibly posting this Friday) for my BBB K5 - Tony Stark | Iron Man, and possibly Chapter 3 (posting 5/27) for my WHB FREE square.
WinterHawk Bingo - Round 3 [WHB_R3] (Runs thru 31 May 2022)
Fourteen fills posted - one WIP at the moment - I got my Row 1 bingo and am one square away from B column and I column bingoes - my goal is to get at least one of those completed by the end of next month.
* B5 - Huddling for Warmth - thinking about combining this with one of the Meet Ugly Writing Prompts I reblogged: 02. I bought a house three months ago but I’m finally moving in and discover you’ve been squatting because you’re homeless.
* I3 - Happy Bucky Barnes - seems a good match with my BBB Happily Ever After square - this may be a moodboard/ficlet Wedding Day combo
* N3 - FREE - Probably filling this with Chapter 3 of You Can’t Stop it with a Gun - Young Clint is given the choice between going to jail or joining a shadowy organization - but this time it’s not SHIELD. It’s in progress and up to 503 words.
Current Last Line: Kostya listened intently, but couldn’t hear a thing that sounded like choppers.
If I get stuck on this fic - then I’ll probably use Chapter 3 of The Devil Is in the Details (Sign on the Dotted Line)
Stucky Bingo - Round 3 [SB R3] (Runs thru 31 May 2022)
23 fills with 2 WIPs, and one Vague Idea. I’ve got Column B and I, and Row 1 bingos and am hoping to score a blackout, as I have one adopted fill done and another drafted.
* N3 - FREE - I was inspired by the May challenge to combine this with my BBB Merpeople square and work on a a continuation of Something’s Starting Right Now that adds Steve to the WinterHawk mix. I’m already 526 words in and have just introduced Steve into the story. I should have enough words to be able to pull a WinterHawk Bingo prompt in as well - maybe Huddling for Warmth or the FREE square, if nothing else.
Current Last Line: Recalling the storm of a few days prior, Clint suspected the human was the survivor of a sunken ship ... and that he wouldn’t survive much longer.
* N5 - KINK: Sugar Daddy - Filled this with Chapter 4 of Takin’ What They’re Givin’ (‘Cause I’m Workin’ for a Livin’) - Mission Four: Pour Some Sugar: Part 1 - Steve invites Bucky to meet him in New York for a weekend. This posted on the 6th and also filled my STB Bingo ID Porn square.
* G4 - KINK: End of the world sex - got some help brainstorming during March’s Discord server party - I may be writing a porn parody of (some part of) Infinity War 😁 including Thanos wielding something other than a glove for the Infinity (of Sex) Stones.
* O2 - AU: A/B/O - planning to use this on the next chapter of Flawed Hypothesis, which is Steve POV and currently sitting at 69 words. Faustess might be helping out on this as well?
Current Last Line: But now they were living in a new century, where men could love and marry other men.
* ADOPTED2 : Incubi/succubi AU - Using a poem I wrote years & years ago as lead-in for a Stucky-by-proxy/established relationship fic - A Stolen Moment posted this morning and came in at 424 words.
A Warm Light Zine - Due 20 Jun
I got accepted as a writer for A Warm Light Zine - dedicated to 2012 Avenger era Stony and coming hopefully sometime this autumn! I was assigned the 2012 canon-compliant category for a 2-5k fic. While I can’t share much about it here, I do want to at least keep track of my word count: up to 467
Steve | Tony | Bucky Bingo Round 2 [STBB R2] (Runs thru 30 Jun 2022)
Ten fills, and two WIPs. Taking advantage of the One Fill, One Bingo opportunity, and might get a Column G bingo as well. Will have to lean hard into this once May is over!
* B4 - Working Out - this came from a Bucky Barnes Bingo server party: Binging Avengers Exercises - the team posts their workouts online and modern!Bucky spends entirely too much time watching the channel - especially Captain America and Iron Man.
* N2 - AU: Western - possible crossover with MWAPB Next Door Neighbors – I have a decent idea for this one (semi-inspired by a recent re-read of Laura Ingalls Wilder A Long Winter) and jotted down about 225 words’ worth of notes/VERY rough draft. Holding on to this to see if I can crossflll with an upcoming TSB square.
* G4 - ID Porn - see Stucky Bingo - KINK: Sugar Daddy above
* O4 - Lazy Sunday Morning - have a smutty WinterIron idea for this one; need to get it jotted down - will most likely cross over with my BBB KINK: Edging square.
Started something to combining the following squares for the One Fill, One Bingo badge: B5 - “Aliens, again?”, I5 - Lifeguard, N5 - Barbeque, G5 - River Rafting, O5 - Wakanda. Avengers + Guardians in a partying mood = a huge headache for T’Challa. It’s currently sitting at 339 words.
Current Last Line: I’m Sam, Sam Wilson – another friend of Steve’s.
Avengers Bingo [AvB] (Runs thru 24 Dec)
Two fills posted and 0 WIPs - I decided to further challenge myself by pairing up each square with a unique combo of 2 original MCU Avengers! With the help of the STB Enthusiasts Discord folks - I’ve got all 16 squares planned out, at least in terms of who to write about, and half of them have some sort of idea or crossover square to go along with them. Feel free to toss other plot bunnies my way…
* A2 - On the Run - Natasha & Steve - crossover with MWAPB - Farmer’s Market? post CA:CW Wakanda ?
* A4 - Mutual Pining - Steve/Thor - crossover with MWAPB - Thor.
* A3 - Reunited - Clint & Natasha - Endgame Ronin scene?
* B1 - Death - possible crossover with MWAP Crying square – post Snap Bruce & Steve mourning?
* B3 - Road Trip - Bruce & Thor - Post Grandmaster, pre-Thanos space shenanigans
* C1 - Opposites Attract - Clint/Thor - there was a fun Tumblr headcanon going around about a Bumbling Foreigner whose ignorance of local customs results in him flirting with/proposing to the prince - this seems like a perfect matchup!
* C3 - Reincarnation AU - Natasha & Tony - post-Endgame
* C4 - Bodyguard AU - Thor/Tony - young!Tony - crush on Cap plays into attraction (obvious title - Thunderstruck) - holding on this til next round of TSB.
* D1 - Friends w/ Benefits - Clint/Steve - crossover with MWAPB Hawkeye/Clint Barton.
D2 - Romeo & Juliet AU - basic idea: Steve (jock) & Tony (geek) trying out for title roles in R&J - despite their respective friend groups thinking it’s a terrible idea. Both cliques end up becoming friends.
* D3 - Bed Sharing - Bruce/Natasha - AoU compliant.
Man With a Plan (Steve Rogers) Bingo [MWAPB] (Runs thru 31 Dec)
Four fills, 1 WIPs and several Vague Ideas/potential cross fills with other bingos. Prompts cheerfully accepted!
* B2 - Next Door Neighbors - see STBB AU: Western above
* B3 - Farmer’s Market - see AvB On the Run above
* B4 - Powerless AU - if Sunqueen and I decide to continue Wrong Number, Right Call, this would be a good fit.
* B5 - “I don’t really want to wake up just yet.” - this would probably be a good fit with Chapter 5 of Takin’ What They’re Givin’ (‘Cause I’m Workin’ for a Livin’)
* I1 - Steve is here for TFAtWS - this might go well with my BBB “Oh, hell no" square - Steve trolling Bucky & Sam by sending the old man in with his shield? (moodboard & ficlet?)
* I2 - Found Family - see STBB One Fill, One Bingo above.
* I3 - Thor - see AvB Mutual Pining above
* I5 - Dogsitting - possible crossover with BBB “Run” square - Steve & Bucky dogsitting for Lucky? (moodboard + ficlet)
* N1 - School AU/Teacher AU - if I decide to continue on with Technicalities (see Stucky Bingo College AU above) - I could fill this square :: ponders::
* N3 - Online shopping - this might be fun as a crossover with BBB Thighs …? (even tho lingerie is a “nah” for me) Steve and Tony buying a new wardrobe for Bucky that show off his ass-ets?
* G4 - Canon Divergence post CA:TWS - possible crossover with BBB Kill List Bucky wreaking havoc on Hydra bases and Steve & Sam catch up with him
* O1 - Crying - see AvB Death square above
* O2 - Sex Pollen - Teenage Groot pollen = aphrodisiac hi-jinks. Quill & Gamora warn the couple (stucky)/throuple (Stuckony) ahead of time, so no dub-con.
* O3 - Hawkeye/Clint Barton - see AvB - Friends w/ Benefits above.
Bucky Barnes Bingo - Round 4 [BBB_R4] (Runs thru 7 Jan 2023)
Four fills and three WIPs - looks like I’m already in good shape to start with a Row 4 and/or Column K bingo!
* B3 - Sam Wilson|Falcon - this would be a good candidate for a continuation of After One Or Two False Starts
* U2 - AU: Roommate - see WHB Huddling for Warmth above
* U3 - Steve Rogers - slating for Chapter 5 of Never More to Go Astray (Stuckony Star Wars AU) Looks like this will be at least 6 chapters to get through two rounds of POVs. Huge thanks to RudeArrow, who is doing an AMAZING job of brainstorming and beta’ing with me!! Chapter 5 (Bucky POV) is currently sitting at 400 words.
Current Last Line: “How come I’m the errand boy?”
* U4 - AU: Arranged Marriage - will probably pick Lady Natasha’s Consort and Lord Steve’s Companion back up for this one.
* U5 - Kill List - see MWAP - G4 - Canon Divergence. Post CA:TWS above
* C1 - Merpeople - see Stucky Bingo FREE square
* C2 - "Oh, hell no” - possible crossover with MWAP I1 - Steve is here for TFaWS
* C4 - KINK: Aftercare - probably holding onto this until the TSB bingo 😁
* C5 - “This might as well happen” - possible crossover with WHB Huddling for Warmth?
* K1 - Thighs - possible crossover with MWAP: N3 - Online Shopping.
* K2 - Comics - sew the Stuffed Marvel Classic Comics Bucky Barnes I drew up last month.
* K3 - KINK: Edging - see STB Lazy Sunday Morning above.
* K5 - Tony Stark | Iron Man - see The Devil is in the Details above
* Y1 - “Do you trust me?” - Using this for Chapter 5 of Takin’ What They’re Givin’ (‘Cause I’m Workin’ for a Livin’) - Mission Four: Pour Some Sugar: Part 2. Chapter 5 picks up mid-sexytimes with Steve and Bucky and is currently sitting at 705 words.
Current Last Line: “Breathe for me, sweetheart.”
* Y2 - Never the fall that kills you - this might be the title for the remix I want to do of Seeds of Love (by the super-talented @hddnone) Holding off on this til I get my TSB card, as I wanted to carry over my Secret Admirer square for this as well.
* Y3 - “Run” - see MWAP I5 - Dogsitting above.
* Y5 - Happily Ever After - see WHB Happy Bucky Barnes above
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On other creative fronts: I have a Bub the Zombie in progress with Gritty and Argoman in the works. I currently have 1 June slot available and 3 for July.
if you’re looking for one of a kind gifts (for a friend or something for yourself!) you can plan ahead for the next holiday season and check out Stuffed With Character over on Facebook for a full list of my designs (now over 80!). They’re mostly Marvel and monsters, but I have some Star Wars, Star Trek, DC and Disney figures as well. Plus I love to take custom design requests for any fandom!
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