Pedro's characters one shots

Touch starved (joel miller)

Reader is in her late 20s and Joel is in his late 30s. Early days (years) of the outbreak
Fluffffff

Joel and you were roommates. Nothing more nothing less. It was in the early years of the outbreak and you had become friends (or as much as that was possible for Joel Miller.) you were often on the same shifts and sometimes talked to pass the time. You needed a place to live and he had an extra bed. It was strictly business with Joel. You didn't linger in the kitchen to chat about each others days, didn't have meal times together, it was a place to crash at the end of my he day. You were both in a kind or survival mode and were each interested in meeting your most basic and primal needs: shelter, safety, food.

Joel was a little bit older than you and well aware that part of the benefit of your friendship and living situation meant that he offered a certain degree of protection. People wouldn't mess with you when Joel was around. It wasn't anything he needed to say or do, he just had a reputation about him, and people knew not to fuck with him (yourself included.)

This living arrangement worked well, you kept out of each others way and maybe even secretly enjoyed knowing there was another person around. Just the thought of not being alone was comforting. For you this was a lot easier to admit than for Joel. He was rough and tough. He was a protector and provider, he didn't need others to make him feel a sense of comfort ...or at least that's what he told himself.

It was a particularly cold night in Texas in your QZ. You shivered under your layers of blankets, tossing and turning. You had only a few precious hours before the sun would rise and it would be time for work assignments. A thought had briefly crossed your mind, and that was getting in bed with Joel. There were things prior to the outbreak that were different. People had different mindsets. Now, if you had any hope of survival you had to have a survival mindset. There were certain things that got pushed to the side. In this moment it was in your best interest to go and share body heat with your roommate. In a pre-outbreak world you would suck it up and go back to sleep. You wrapped your comforter around you and tiptoed into the room just down the hallway, taking care not to step on any of the creaky floor boards. You pushed his bedroom door open slowly. This was made easier by the fact that he always left it cracked, I side effect of his ever present vigilance you assumed. He was always on guard, looking and listening for any signs of danger. You had never been in Joel's room before; there had never been a reason for you to be in here. "Wait what the fuck" you thought to yourself. "That's a fucking fire place, he never mentioned he had this in his room, why doesn't he have a fire going in there?" You slowly and carefully lowered your self into the empty space on the mattress, hoping not to wake Joel. You tucked the pillow from your room under your head and closed your eyes. Next to you Joel let out a sigh and shifted slightly.

The next morning light streamed through the ragged curtains. Joel seemed to have been awake for only a few moments longer than yourself. "Morning" he said with a gravely voice that was muffled by his blankets. "Kind cold last night huh"
"I didn't wake you did I?"
"No, I was out cold. Figured you climbed in here last night in search of some warmth."
"Yeah I did." You remembered what you had seen last night "hey Joel how come you don't use your fireplace?"
"S'not safe. Who knows when the last time that thing's been properly cleaned. S'good way to start a chimney fire" you'd never considered this. "Can we clean it? I mean you know stuff about houses right. You would know how to do it" Joel chucked, now rolling over and rubbing his palms into his eyes. "You flatter me. I was a contractor not a chimney sweep, but let me think about it, see if I can come up with a way. I have been thinkin' it would be a good idea considering how fuckin' cold it's gonna get this winter."

A week or so later you came home from your assignment of corpse burning. It was grim work and it left your drained physically and mentally. You heard some banging from the other end of the small apartment. "Joel?" You found him in his bedroom, or rather you found his lower half. The rest of him was inside the chimney banging around. He squatted down to meet your gaze. "Hey" you said, trying not to laugh at how filthy he looked. "Hey" he replied weakly. "I think I have this thing cleaned up pretty good. I'll try 'n light somethin' after dinner-and a shower."

You had never cooked dinner for Joel, but seeing as he had put in a good deal of effort this afternoon, you decided it was warranted. You lit the gas stove and poured beans into the pot. Warn rice and beans would do your body good tonight. 20 minutes or so later Joel entered the kitchen, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. "Smells good" you shoved a bowl into his spare hand. "Here. Figured you were tired after sweeping the chimney all afternoon." Joel smiled. "I appreciate it, but between the two of us I think you had the harder day." You shrugged "I'm not old like you so I can handle it." Joel chuckled. "Yeah you're younger, but you're just a slight little thing. Bet you're 'bout 120 ibs soakin' wet" it was true you were too skinny at the moment, but it's not like nutritious food was in abundance. Before the outbreak you had a softness to your stomach and thighs that you missed a great deal. "140" you replied hotly "yeah exactly" Joel chuckled. He put his bowl in the sink and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"Thanks for dinner... I'm going to see if I can't put a fire in this thing." About half an hour later, you pass Joel's room and hear the fire crackling. "You did it!"  Joel chuckled "'course I did."
You walked back into your bedroom and started dragging your mattress off the frame. All the commotion drew Joel to come check on you. "The fuck are you doing?" You thought it was pretty obvious. "Moving my mattress into the room with the fire." You said with heavy tone of annoyance. " that mattress needs to be on the bed frame slats, it's too old and soft to be on the floor. It will be uncomfortable and mold will get under the mattress and ruin over time. Why did Joel have to be so correct About everything? "Okay well...what was your brilliant idea?" You asked sarcastically. Joel looked at you with a puzzled expression. "Um ...my bed is a queen. I figured since we're both grown ass adults we would share the bed. Especially considering the whole end of the world circumstances."
"Oh ..right" you said feeling stupid and a little childish.

You decided to take a quick shower and then dawned your warmest hoodie and sweat pants. Joel was propped up in bed reading something when you climbed in. You let out a content sigh and nuzzled your face into the pillow. A sharp pain went through your chest and stomach, followed by butterflies rising in your rib cage. It smelled as tho you were nuzzling into Joel-something you had thought about from time to time. You didn't think it was a romantic thing or even a sexual thing. You were just incredibly touch starved, and some days you just yearned for a hug or snuggles.
What happened next you blamed on your hormones. It was about that time and you had been quite emotional. Hot, silent tears began to pool in your eyes and spill onto your cheeks. You turned your body carefully so Joel wouldn't see any part of your face. You tried to keep your breathing even and keep from snuggling. "What the fuck is wrong with me right now" you thought. You bit the corner of your hoodie trying to stop the tears. It was no use. Your body was now shaking ever so slightly, and your eyes were squeezed shut trying to ignore the steady flow of tears. One snotty inhale gave you away. "Hey ...are you okay. Are you crying?" You couldn't speak. "Hey hey hey, what's up?" Joel asked softly. He had set his book down and had one hand gently on your shoulder. Without warning you turned around and pressed your face into his chest. You let out a cry. "Sometimes I just get so lonely and sometimes I just miss the little things from before. Even just a simple hug." You wailed. Joel placed a firm hand on your back and another tangled in your hair, pressing your head closer to his chest. "Yeah honestly me too." He said quietly. You stayed like that for what felt like forever. He gently rubbed your back and your breathing eventually evened out. "How about we not let it get to this point anymore?" Joel whispered. "What do you mean?" You asked in a very congested voice. "I mean every we go to bed together just like this. Just like we are right now." You pulled your arms out from where they were tucked into Joel and wrapped them around his neck. Joel wrapped both arms around your middle and pulled you closer if that was even possible. You laid there chest to chest, tangled legs, and deep even breaths. "Yeah just like this." You agreed. Your eyelids felt heavy. Sleep came easy for you that night.