Orange Slices (Joel Miller x f!reader)
- Reads 7,315
- Votes 161
- Parts 18
MatureOngoing8h 19m
Last published Mon, Jan 5, 2026
summary: A story about finding companionship and love in the midst of chaos. | You've been on your own since the outbreak started, hopping around from place to place; you've kept your head down, doing whatever you need to do to survive. How you feel about love and companionship changes once you meet Joel, and it's something you and him aren't quite sure how to handle.
warnings/tags: post-outbreak, age gap (reader is 24/25 in chapter one), angst, angst w/ a happy ending, slow burn (I'm talking S L O W), eventual romance, canon typical violence, canon divergence, injuries, fluff, hurt/comfort, gun violence, protectiveness, Joel has a soft spot for reader, Joel is bad at feelings, Joel needs a hug, protective!Joel, hurt!Joel, depictions of grief, time jump, eventual smut (I will tag the chapters as 18+ & add warnings to chapters, just because it's going to be a while before we get there lol), this is going to be a long one my friends..., no beta we die like men, (if I missed anything please let me know!!!)
a/n: This is the first fanfic I've written in almost 10 years and I'm new to the character x you/reader writing style, so if anything sounds odd or awkward, I deeply apologize. The story is mainly based on the game, however, I keep it pretty vague so if you like the show descriptions better, it should still work. Also, I kept the main parts of TLOU plot, and obviously changed the timeline/plotline a bit. I hope you enjoy it!!
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I've created a playlist that I listen to while writing, I think it adds to the vibe of the story, so if you're interested in that: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2sxCoxKLUmuaFCfwvhw5p2?si=AIqhJijKSjq7y80w7RGQQQ
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For the last six years, you've lived in relative comfort as a citizen of Jackson, Wyoming. You should feel lucky to be part of a strong, thriving community and dwell safely behind sturdy walls. But you don't. Not when you didn't deserve it. The real story behind your sister's passing is a truth you can't bear anyone to know. You try to smother the guilt, try to keep your days full with work at the stables and other tasks of mundane nature, but the ghost of her continues to hang over you after all this time. Things threaten to boil over when your best friend Tommy asks an important favor of you involving his surly older brother - one you'd really rather not agree to, but find yourself signing up for without much of a choice. Putting up with him is no walk in the park at first. But, much to your surprise, the shadow of death clings to Joel Miller too, and so maybe it was only inevitable that a connection was to be made between a pair of tortured souls with dirty little secrets. "Everything you love is very likely to be lost, but in the end, love will return in a different way." - Franz Kafka
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