。⋆𖦹.✧˚──
the apartment is quiet except for the soft sound of the stove and the distant rhythm of traffic outside. your daughter is at the table, her little legs swinging from the chair, tongue poking out in concentration as she draws. crayon in one hand, juice box in the other. there's a mess of purple scribbles that sort of look like a shield. or maybe a cat. you’re chopping vegetables one handed, phone balanced on your shoulder, listening to a voicemail from your sister you’ve already heard twice today. the mundane feels good. normal. still. the front door doesn’t creak anymore—bucky fixed the hinge last week—but you still hear him before you see him. boots scuffing the hallway floor. the rustle of that jacket he won’t get rid of. you glance up and he’s there, like he always is lately. a little tired around the eyes, jaw set, still half lost in whatever mission they just pulled him from.
he drops his duffel at the door and steps out of his boots before he even says hi. you know what that means. it was a rough one.
“hey,” you say, not turning around yet.
“hey.” his voice is low, rasped at the edges. he moves into the kitchen slowly, like he’s not sure how to belong in the quiet after everything loud.
“daddy!” lily shouts, twisting in her seat. she scrambles down and runs to him.
his face softens the second she touches him. “hey,” he says, crouching low to catch her. “what’d i miss?”
“i drew you!" she announces proudly, pulling him by the hand toward the table.
he gives you a quick glance, something grateful in it, like he’s thanking you just for being here, for holding it all together.
you dry your hands and join them. lily is explaining the drawing: him in a suit, you with a bow and arrow (which you definitely don’t use anymore), and some kind of flying car in the sky. bucky listens like it’s the most important briefing he’s ever received.
“that me?” he asks, pointing at the stick figure with messy scribbles for hair and something that might be a star on his chest.
“yeah,” she grins. “you’re an avenger now.”
bucky huffs a laugh, rubbing a hand over his face. “guess i am, huh.”
he doesn’t sound proud. not exactly. more like he’s still trying to believe it. still doesn’t know what it means to be one of the good guys. still doesn’t feel like he belongs in the lineup. but you see it. in the way he kneels on the kitchen floor to listen to his daughter’s stories. in the way he checks every window and door before bed. in how he wakes up in the middle of the night just to look at the two of you and make sure it’s real. he’s not the winter soldier anymore. he’s something new. something softer. something harder to define.
after dinner, he helps clean up without being asked. washes dishes with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, that vibranium arm gleaming under the kitchen light. you lean against the counter, watching him in the quiet.
“you okay?” you ask.
he nods slowly. “just… tired.”
you reach for him without thinking, resting a hand on his back. “i can’t tell if you mean physically or existentially.”
he gives a small, tired smile. “both.”
there’s a pause. then, quieter: “they’re calling us something new now,” he says. “not 'thunderbolts' anymore. it’s more official. more public.”
“new avengers?”
“something like that.”
you nod. you expected this. since val’s people started cleaning house and putting the new lineup together. since they sent him back into the field with an actual team and something that looked like purpose.
“you good with that?” you ask.
he shrugs. “i don’t know. i keep waiting for someone to realize i’m not supposed to be there.”
“bucky,” you say, serious now. “you’ve earned this.”
“have i?”
“you show up. every day. for us. for them. for yourself. what more do you want?”
he leans in then, forehead to yours, just breathing you in.
later, after lily’s asleep and the apartment is dark except for the low lamp by the bed, he crawls in beside you and wraps an arm around your waist.
“i don’t know how to be the guy she thinks i am,” he murmurs.
you press a kiss to his collarbone. “you don’t have to be. just... be here for her.”
he exhales against your neck. “that, i can do.”
you two couldn't sleep. the blankets in the bed are pulled up to your waists, your legs tangled without thinking. the lamp casts a warm gold over the room. he’s lying on his side, head propped on his hand, his hair’s still damp from the shower, curling just a little at the ends, and his skin smells like your body wash.
“you're pretty.” he praises lowly, voice rough and tired.
you smile, eyes closed. “mm. pretty sure you said that yesterday.”
he leans in, nose brushing your jaw, lips finding the edge of your neck. slow, unhurried. “yeah, well. still true.”
you hum, tilting your chin up for him without even thinking. he kisses the spot just beneath your ear, where your pulse flutters, and you feel him smile against your skin. his hand slides over your hip under the blanket, fingertips tracing the shape of you like he’s grounding himself there. he tugs gently at the edge of his old henley you’d stolen months ago. his hand doesn’t stop moving. just slow passes over the curve of your waist, your thigh, your back. it’s not rushed. not needy.
he mouths at your jaw, your neck, just a press of lips. not quite kisses. you think maybe he’s too tired for anything more. you’re so caught up in the press of his body, the feel of him in your space, that you almost don’t notice when his hand presses into the small of your back and tugs. he pushes you gently until you’re on your back, flat against the bed. he shifts, moving to hover over you like always. he leans in for a proper kiss then, slow and warm. something like coming home. you meet him with a hand in his hair, keeping him there, and feel his answering smile against your lips. it’s not long before it edges deeper, rougher. he bites at your lip, tugging softly, and you arch up against him with a sharp inhale. "lily's right there—" you breathe out.
he doesn’t pull away. just hums against your mouth. he noses at your neck again, the rough edge of his stubble dragging over your skin. "she’s the heaviest sleeper on the planet. we’ll be fine.”
you kiss him, warm breath mingling in the hush between heartbeats. he smiles into the kiss, hand sliding up to cup your jaw, thumb sweeping over your cheek. steadying you as your mouth moves in a quiet rhythm, tasting the moment. it’s soft but deliberate, each kiss deepening just enough to make you both lean in more, wanting, needing, sighing into eachother. the world narrows to skin, and lips. his tongue swipes at your bottom lip. it’s so gentle, so careful.
just as he’s pulled back a fraction, the bedroom door creaks open. he’s off you in a second, dropping to his elbows at your side. you’re both breathing heavy, heart going wild. lily stands in the doorway, looking tiny in her little white nightgown. “can’t sleep?” bucky asks, running a hand through his hair. you notice in the low light that the tips of his ears are flushed pink. your shirt collar is askew, his henley twisted around your waist. she shakes her head and pads over. she’s rubbing one eye with a tiny fist and dragging her blanket on the floor behind her. bucky props himself up, shifting to make room for her on the bed.
“alright. come here,” he murmurs, lifting her up. she slots herself in between you easily, shoving her face in your shoulder like she always does. she’s warm from sleep, the side of her little body pushing flush against yours. bucky’s hand is splayed across her back, his thumb rubbing idle circles.
“how are you doing?” you ask, smoothing her messy hair down. usually, once she’s down for the night, she’s out for the count.
she looks up at you, blinking sleepily, then at him. his cheek is resting on top of her head. “i had a nightmare,” she mumbles into your shirt.
his face softens instantly. you can feel his hand on her back pause for a second. “what about?” he asks.
“you an’ momma were gone,” she mumbles, voice going soft. “for a long time.” her little fist grips your shirt tighter.
“not going anywhere, kid,” he says, voice low. he presses a kiss to her head, eyes still on you. “promise.”
are they scouting for their next victim???
for all the things i dislike in this show i'm actually happy that they're leaning more into the seraphite and wlf war
selina was born in 1976 through a experiment orchestrated by mother miranda. using alcina dimitrescu as a vessel, miranda sought to create a hybrid, a perfect blend of dimitrescu’s vampiric abilities and the mold. however, selina was born more human than expected, her monstrous traits dormant. believing the experiment to be a failure, miranda allowed alcina to dispose of the child.
but alcina, still having some humanity, couldn’t bring herself to kill selina. instead, she left the child in a romanian village, where selina was eventually taken by umbrella researchers working under miranda’s orders. she was named selina there. for years, selina was subjected to experimental exposure to the mold in an attempt to “awaken” her latent abilities. however, a sympathetic umbrella scientist, dr. emilia kravchenko, smuggled her out of the facility and fled to raccoon city, where selina was raised under a false identity of lisa kravchenko.
lisa's early years was a patchwork of strange occurrences:
gnawing sensations, scents too sharp, sounds too loud, a hunger she couldn’t name. there were nights she woke in a cold sweat, the image of a tall, spectral woman burned behind her eyelids. her adoptive mother, dr. kravchenko, kept her sedated, dulled the edges with little white pills, and told her it was all in her head.
but lisa wasn’t stupid. as she grew older, she grew more suspicious. the gaps in her past felt deliberate, her mother’s reassurances too practiced. then came the night she snapped— tore into a classmate’s flesh like an animal, left them barely breathing. the fear in kravchenko’s eyes told lisa everything.
kravchenko sent her off to an orphanage and she got adopted by another family after a couple months. starting under a new name of lana falkner. her adoptive father, dr. isaac falkner, was a senior umbrella researcher, and her mother, sophia, was a whistleblower who attempted to expose umbrella’s crimes. after sophia’s mysterious disappearance, lana was left under Isaac’s care. though not directly experimented on, she was exposed to umbrella’s t-virus research and its bioweapon development, leading to deep emotional scars and heightened survival instincts. after another incident of biting off one of her friends fingers, she ran again.
she went from town to town, looking to find peace. she thought maybe the badge would do it, that being on the right side of the law would keep her from slipping into whatever she really was. so she joined the raccoon city police department, hoping it would make her feel human.
it didn’t.
ᝰ
the fire was low, but the glow of it painted the walls with a soft orange flicker. the house was quiet, save for the soft scrape of metal on wood and the occasional pop from the fireplace. joel sat at the table, glasses halfway down his nose, sleeves pushed up, and a small block of wood cradled in his calloused hands. his knife scraped slow, methodical strokes along the curve of what looked like the beginnings of a fox, delicate ears just forming, the snout notched into shape. he looked like he belonged there. not just in the room, but in the moment. hands busy, mouth set, the steady rhythm of his work filling the silence like he needed it more than rest.
you hovered in the doorway for a moment. there was something magnetic about watching him when he didn’t know you were, how quiet he became, how precise. you couldn’t explain it, but something in you twisted a little when you saw him like this. it didn’t help that your brain was already a little fried from the day. you’d been restless all afternoon, bouncing between tasks around town, trying to distract yourself with anything that wasn't the thought of his hands. now you were back. and the ache was worse. he didn’t look up when you stepped in, but you could tell by the subtle shift in his shoulders that he knew you were there.
“you’ve been out there awhile,” he said, voice low and even, not pausing in his carving.
“wasn’t that long,” you murmured, stepping closer. “you eat anything?”
joel snorted softly. “ate somethin’ earlier. left some stew if you’re hungry.”
you walked around him, slow and quiet, letting your fingertips brush the edge of the table. you watched him work a little longer, the careful drag of his knife, the tension in his forearm, the way his brow furrowed when he focused. his glasses slid further down, and he huffed, pushing them back with the side of his wrist.
“i’m not really hungry,” you said, voice lower now.
he hummed in acknowledgment, not looking up.
you stepped between him and the table, gently nudging one of his knees open with yours. that finally earned you a glance. a small, knowing one.
“what’re you doin’?” he asked, not irritated, just suspicious.
you didn’t answer. you just moved closer and lowered yourself into his lap, straddling his thigh like it was muscle memory.
joel made a small sound in his throat. “jesus,” he muttered, setting the carving knife down with care but not taking his hands off you. “you’re gonna make me slice my damn thumb open one of these days, sneakin’ up on me like that.”
“you looked busy,” you said softly, your arms sliding around his shoulders. “didn’t wanna interrupt the great artist at work.”
he shook his head, his hands found your hips, grounding you, holding you still, but not pushing you away.
he muttered something you couldn't make out, setting the knife down with more care than necessary. “that what we’re doin’ now?”
“you’re not gonna make me beg, are you?” you said, your voice low as you slid your hands up the front of his shirt, thumbs brushing the space just under his collarbones. “been wound up all day.”
joel leaned back slightly to look at you over the top of his glasses. his eyes dragged over your face, then lower—assessing. thinking. his hands landed heavy on your hips, grounding.
he exhaled, slow and controlled, like he was weighing his options. like he was pretending you didn’t already have him wrapped around your finger.
“you’re actin’ real needy tonight,” he said, voice dropping a little lower. his hands were still on your hips, thumbs idly brushing the hem of your shirt like he was debating whether to tug you closer or keep you there and burn slow.
“been thinking about you all day,” you admitted, quiet against his skin. “you didn’t even notice how pretty you looked this morning. all frown and flannel and your fuckin hands…”
“mm,” he rumbled, mouth twitching. “that what’s got you worked up?”
you didn’t answer. you just shifted slightly in his lap, pressing down a little harder on his thigh, watching the way his jaw tightened when you did.
joel’s hands flexed, gripping your waist a little firmer now. “you come in here sittin’ on my leg like that,” he said lowly, eyes flicking to your mouth, “and you expect me to finish my carvin’?”
“i expected you to tell me how bad you missed me while i was gone,” you teased.
his brows lifted. “i see you every day.”
you leaned in closer. “doesn’t mean you don’t miss me.”
joel leaned back, gave you that quiet, unreadable look.
his hands slid down to the backs of your thighs, squeezing once before he pulled you closer, flush against him. the fox on the table forgotten, the knife untouched. his mouth brushed your cheek, soft and rough.
but you had him here, grounded. his hands, his warmth, the slow way he let himself have you.
“you done carving?” you whispered.
joel nodded slowly, almost like he didn’t trust himself to speak.
“good,” you whispered, brushing your nose against his. “’cause i need you worse than that fox does.” his glasses were crooked. you reached up and pulled them off, setting them aside. his eyes were darker now, heavier.
ᝰ
a/n: i wrote this at like 1am after watching the s2 premiere so it's ass but seeing him in those glasses... meow...
pre-canon qz!joel miller x fem!reader | masterlist |
1.7k words | joel miller before ellie so he’s distant but not too bad, fwb to lovers, kissing, unprotected piv sex. — still trying to cope with his death:,((
summary- in the Boston QZ, survival comes first—but when you’re sharing smokes, running jobs, and ending up in each other’s beds more often than not, lines blur fast. Joel’s older, guarded, and dead set on keeping it casual. She’s younger yeah, but tired of pretending it’s nothing. It’s not love. Not exactly. But it’s warm.
And sometimes, that’s enough.
It wasn’t supposed to happen again.
It never does.
But somehow you’d ended up tangled in his sheets anyway, your knees brushing his under the thin blanket, the air between your bodies too warm, too full. It was always like this—frenzied, wordless, fleeting. A way to survive the way the world pressed down on your chest like a loaded weapon.
But this time was different.
You hadn’t woken up alone.
Joel Miller, the man who never stayed, was still there.
You stirred first. Sunlight cut through the cracks in the boarded-up window, slicing across his bare shoulder. You studied the soft line of his jaw, the way his brows stayed furrowed even in sleep. Like he couldn’t let go of whatever ghosts lived behind his eyes, even when unconscious.
You turned over, pulling the blanket up. Hoping maybe he’d shift and mumble something. Maybe you’d pretend it didn’t feel real. But then—
Footsteps. The bed dipped. Joel sat up and rubbed a hand down his face.
He didn’t look at you.
Instead, he stood, tugged on his shirt, and wandered into the kitchen—if it could be called that. A hot plate. A kettle. Cans lined up like trophies. You listened to him move, the scrape of the metal lid opening, the glug of water.
And then… coffee.
You blinked.
Joel never made coffee after. Hell, he never let you stay long enough to see what he did after.
When he came back in, he was holding two chipped mugs. He didn’t meet your eyes as he handed you one. “Still hot,” he muttered.
You sat up, blinking at him like he’d handed you a map out of this place. “You made two.”
“Yeah.”
Silence.
You cupped the mug in both hands, let the heat seep into your fingers. It smelled like burned grounds and survival. But something about it settled your heart a little.
Joel sat back on the edge of the bed, hunched forward, watching the floor like it had something to say.
You broke the quiet. “Feels kinda normal, huh?”
His shoulders tensed.
He didn’t answer for a long beat. Then:
“Don’t get used to it.”
His voice had been soft, but it cut through the quiet like a blade. Not sharp enough to draw blood—just enough to remind you where the lines were.
You didn’t say anything. Just wrapped your hands tighter around the chipped mug and took a slow sip. Bitter. Burned. Warm.
He stood across from you, back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest like he was bracing for something.
Maybe your silence.
Maybe the truth.
You glanced at him over the rim of your cup. His gaze was fixed on the space behind you—somewhere over your shoulder, like if he looked you in the eye he might not be able to keep the mask on.
So you tried to keep it simple. “It was good coffee.”
That earned you a flicker of something—wryness, maybe. A tiny twitch of his mouth. “Tastes like shit.”
“Yeah,” you agreed, “but it’s warm.”
Another long silence passed between you. But it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was… full. Like both of you were waiting for something else to rise to the surface.
You caught yourself wishing the moment would stretch out a little longer. That he’d lean back against the counter like he belonged there. That he’d ask you to stay—not just to kill time until the next run, but because he wanted you there.
But Joel didn’t ask for things.
And you didn’t know how to ask either.
So you drained the rest of your coffee, set the mug down gently on the counter, and stepped back toward the door. Your boots scuffed against the worn floorboards.
“I should go,” you said, quiet.
Joel nodded. Still not looking at you.
Your fingers brushed the doorknob, cool metal under your skin. You hesitated.
“Thanks for… letting me stay.”
He didn’t say anything at first. Then, just as your hand started to turn the knob—
“Didn’t mind it.”
The words came out like they surprised him too. You turned halfway, your heart catching.
Joel’s eyes met yours, and for once, he didn’t look away.
“Didn’t mind you bein’ here,” he said again, slower this time. Like maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to admit.
You smiled, small and warm. “Okay.”
Then you opened the door and left.
But your chest felt lighter.
A Few Days Later
The next few days are back to normal.
At least, mostly.
You go on a few jobs—runners, small deliveries. Joel doesn’t say much, but he sticks close. Always just behind your shoulder, scanning rooftops, watching your back like it’s second nature.
You try not to read into it.
But every time your eyes meet across a crowded alley, or in the back room of Tess’s hideout, there’s a flicker. A pause.
Like maybe something changed that morning, and neither of you knows what to do with it.
You hadn’t meant to end up there again.
You told yourself it was just muscle memory—your boots turning corners like they knew the way. That the pull in your chest wasn’t about him. That the ache wasn’t for him.
But the lights were out in your building. Your neighbor was crying again. And your bed was too cold, too quiet.
So you stood outside Joel’s door for almost a full minute, heart knocking against your ribs, before you lifted your hand.
You didn’t even knock.
He opened it before you could.
Joel stood there in a threadbare shirt and jeans, barefoot, with sleep-soft eyes and stubble smudged along his jaw. His brows furrowed, but not with surprise.
Like he’d been waiting.
A sixth sense.
“You alright?” he asked.
You nodded. “I didn’t wanna be alone.”
That was all you had to say.
He stepped aside.
Inside, the room was warm—barely. The radiator hissed. You shrugged off your jacket while he watched from the other side of the room, arms crossed loosely over his chest.
Joel always looked tense. Even now, under the soft glow of the table lamp, he stood like someone expecting a fight.
Or a confession.
You took a slow step toward him. “You ever get tired of pretending this doesn’t mean anything?”
He didn’t move.
“‘Cause I do,” you whispered.
Joel’s eyes searched yours. There was something rough and unreadable in his face, like he was trying to swallow back something too big for words.
“I don’t know what to call it,” he admitted, voice low, thick. “I don’t even know what it is. But when you knock, I open the door. Every time.”
Your throat tightened.
“I keep tellin’ myself I ain’t got room for this. For you. But you show up and I—” He dragged a hand through his hair. “I want you here. That’s the truth.”
The breath you didn’t realize you were holding finally left your lungs.
You stepped closer. Close enough to see the flicker of hesitation behind his eyes, the war he was fighting with himself.
“But you’re scared,” you said softly.
Joel’s jaw flexed. “Damn right I am.”
You reached up, fingers brushing the edge of his jaw. “Then let me show you something good for once.”
And that broke him.
He kissed you like he needed it to stay alive.
Not hurried or rough like before—this was slow, devouring, like he was afraid you might vanish if he let go too soon. His hands cradled your face, rough thumbs grazing your cheekbones like he was trying to memorize you.
You slid your hands under his shirt, fingertips dragging over warm skin, the curve of old scars and hard muscle. Joel groaned into your mouth, deep and low, and pulled you closer by the hips.
“You drive me fuckin’ crazy,” he murmured against your lips. “Always walkin’ around like you don’t know what you do to me.”
You smiled into the kiss. “I know exactly what I do to you.”
He huffed a breath—half a laugh, half a growl—and walked you backward until the backs of your knees hit the bed.
“Lie down,” he said, voice gone dark and soft and commanding.
You obeyed, heart racing.
Joel stripped his shirt off, slow and deliberate, like he wanted you to watch. Then he knelt over you, kissing a trail down your neck, your chest, your stomach—taking his time, learning every inch of you like it was something sacred.
“Y’know how many nights I think about this?” he murmured against your skin. “Think about you.”
You arched under his touch, eyes fluttering. “Then why don’t you let it be more?”
His hands stilled for a second. Just long enough for you to feel the weight of the question.
Then he leaned up, kissed you again—softer this time. Sadder.
“I’m tryin’,” he whispered. “I don’t know how, but I’m tryin’.”
When he finally sank into you, it wasn’t frantic or desperate. It was slow, intense, real. His forehead rested against yours, breath hot against your lips as your bodies moved in rhythm, like this wasn’t something you stole—it was something you built.
Joel didn’t hide from it.
He kissed your knuckles when he held your hands above your head. He murmured your name like a promise. He stayed.
When you both fell apart together, it was quiet.
No words. Just warmth.
He didn’t let you go.
Later
You rested against his chest, legs tangled under the blanket, heartbeat slowly finding its way back to calm.
His hand moved gently along your arm, over and over, like he didn’t want to stop touching you even if he didn’t know what to say.
You turned your face up toward his.
“What now?”
Joel exhaled, thumb tracing the inside of your wrist.
“Now we sleep,” he said, voice husky.
“And tomorrow?”
There was a beat.
Then he kissed your forehead.
“Tomorrow, there’s coffee.”
yeah yeah im feeding yall ik
may the freak be with you or whatever they said