not gonna stop me
dbf!joel x reader
warnings: mention of sex, very brief mention of death, dbf!joel, age gap (reader is 25, joel is late 40s), pet names (baby, sweetheart, honey), getting caught, established relationship, no use of y/n
word count: 2.6k
summary: Of course a tree would fall on your dad’s house during a storm on a night Joel, your dad’s best friend, decided to sleep over. And of course Joel would be the one to open the door when your dad came over to your apartment at six in the morning because of it.
a/n: first joel fic so please let me know of any issues or comments about his character! I’m planning on writing more about this particular joel/reader, both the before and after of this scenario. just couldn’t get this scene out of my head. also, the incorrect use of “your” is intentional in this I promise I know the difference
At the same time your phone pinged with a Ring doorbell notification, a loud chirp that roused you from sleep and sent you shooting up in panic, came a heavy and deliberate knock at your front door. Both sounds sent the sleeping body next to you stirring as well. Joel’s warm hand reached out to you from beneath the covers, searching for some part of you to grab.
“Who is it?” he grunted, words slurring together from a mix of accent and sleep.
“‘Ion know,” you slurred back, rubbing your eyes. The digital clock on the wall read barely six in the morning. “D’you wanna go check? Or hand me my phone so I can look at the app?” Your phone sat on his side of the bed, plugged in. There wasn’t a close enough outlet on your side to keep it next to you at night.
He seemed to consider it for a moment too long, so long you thought he might have fallen back asleep. Finally, he murmured, “No, baby, just c’mere. Come back to me.”
His hand found your wrist and pulled you back down, under the thick comforter, and towards him until your back laid flush with his chest. His arms enveloped you and held you close and tight. Nose nuzzling into your neck, Joel murmured, “Go back to sleep. We ’ont have to get up for a few hours. ‘M sure they’ll go away--”
Another knock, this one louder. Your phone vibrated on the nightstand.
“Joel, just hand me my phone so I can see--”
“No,” he huffed into your ear. His warm breath caused a shiver to run down your spine. “Who in their right fuckin’ mind is bangin’ on your door this fuckin’ early?”
You loved when Joel slept over. He did it a couple of times a week, usually when he didn’t have to wake up early for work. You enjoyed keeping your apartment cool at night, and when he came over, it was like having a built-in furnace in your bed. Before you started your little… arrangement, you would never have pegged him for a cuddler. However, sleeping Joel did not know how to let you go -- he slept either spooning you, his arms wrapped around your middle, or when he got uncomfortable and wanted to turn the other way, pulled you with him so you could koala-wrap yourself around his back. If all else failed, he wanted you on top of him, your cheek pressed to his chest.
You’d never been with someone so cuddly at night. It was a stark difference from the way you first found yourself entangled with him. Sex with Joel was always rough and hard and left your limbs trembling. Having him so intimate and relaxed with you felt like a boon sometimes.
The knock sounded a third time, this beat with what sounded like the flat of a fist instead of knuckles. A bang, really. With a growl, Joel unwrapped himself from your body and threw off the comforter. You watched him from your spot, not moving to follow, as he grabbed his previously-discarded shirt and pajama pants off the floor next to the bed and pulled them on, grumbling the entire time.
“‘M gonna go yell at that fucker,” he said, stepping over your cat, who darted in between his legs on their way to open the bedroom door and flick on the hallway light. “Move, cat.”
While he stomped his way to the front door, you reached across the cooling empty space to unplug your phone. You squinted at the bright screen in the former pre-dawn pitch of the room. The Ring alert was secondary to the first notification, which unraveled a series of texts from your dad, the first one from around one in the morning and the last one sent about a minute ago.
You awake baby?
Supposed to be bad storms tonight. Wanted to make sure your okay
You and that damn cat of yours stay safe tonight baby call if you need anything
Only after his first couple of texts did you realize it was indeed raining outside. And hard.
Hey I know your asleep but a tree fell on the house
The big oak from the backyard
I’m inviting myself over to wait out the storm hope thats ok.
I’m here
Wake up open up
Fuck. You voiced it. “Fuck,” you whispered. The big oak from the backyard? That tree was huge. It had to have messed up the house big time if your dad invited himself over. He’s always valued your privacy over anything and felt bad for even coming to hang out for a couple of hours at your apartment. You moved out of his house a few months ago, insisting that it was time you get your own place. That was the only reason you and Joel even ended up together. If you were still living with your dad, you doubted anything would have happened between you two.
Your eyes widened at the reminder of Joel. Bigger fuck. “Fuck,” you hissed again, your turn to throw back the covers and yank on your pajama pants. “Joel,” you called, desperation evident in your tone. “Joel, wait, don’t open the--”
The door. You heard the click of the locks and then the slide of the hinges. You heard Joel’s sleep-heavy, gruff voice grunt out, “Can I help you?” just as the door cracked open and you stumbled into the living room a few feet behind him.
Your dad stood before the door, his brows knotted in confusion at the sight of his best friend opening the door to his daughter’s apartment. At barely six in the morning. With pillow-tousled hair and no socks or shoes, pajama pants on, and your cat tucked snugly and comfortably in between his legs. Your testy and oftentimes fractious cat, who hated strangers and barely tolerated even your father.
“Joel?” Your dad questioned, confusion lacing his voice. His brows knit even deeper. “Joel?” he said again, more intently. “What the hell?”
Joel stood there, frozen, hand still on the doorknob. He seemed to be at a loss for words. In any other situation, you would laugh; Joel Miller, speechless? That was definitely a phenomenon for the books.
But not this situation. You stood off to the back for a second, not knowing what to do. What was the protocol for this? What were you supposed to do, to say? You saw your dad start to get angry and rushed forward, putting a hand on Joel’s chest to push him away.
“Dad,” you said, a little breathless. “Hey. Um. Good morning.”
He didn’t say anything, just stared at Joel, who stared back, face pale and unmoving. You snapped your fingers in your dad’s face to get his attention.
“Dad,” you said again. He looked at you this time, lips pressed tightly together. “Just come inside, it’s fuckin’ storming out there.”
He didn’t say anything else as you dragged him inside by his arm, closing and locking the door behind him. Joel and your dad stared at each other wordlessly while you stood off to the side, unsure how to snap the tension without everything unraveling all at once. Truly the worst case scenario.
The truth was, you were planning on telling your dad sometime soon. Ish. You didn’t like keeping secrets from him. Ever since your mom passed when you were young, you and your dad had always been more like best friends than anything else. Best friends that looked out for each other, rather than just your dad looking out for you. Which might have been a dynamic that a lot of people would find exhausting -- however, it just felt natural to you. He’d always said you’d been too independent for your own good. Even so, he’d teared up a bit when you moved the last box from your old room to your new apartment.
Joel caved first. He cleared his throat, trying to rid his voice of its sleepy gravel. “Hey, man, listen--”
“What the fuck, Joel?” your dad snapped. “Are you fuckin’ serious?”
You took a step forward, trying to get in between them. “Dad--”
He held up a hand to you. “Don’t. I’on want to hear it from you.” He jerked his chin towards Joel. “Wanna hear it from him.”
Joel lifted a hand to rub his beard, face contorted in a grimace. “What do you want me to say?” he asked. His voice sounded tight, tense.
“Start with what the fuck you’re doing here at six in the goddamn morning. At my daughter’s apartment. In your fuckin’ pajamas.”
You threw your head back with a groan. “What does it look like, Dad? He was sleeping over. C’mon, I know that’s obvious.”
“Why the hell were you sleeping over.”
Joel kept rubbing his beard. Must be a nervous tick or something. You’d never seen him nervous (before now, at least), so you wouldn’t know for sure. “I didn’t want you to find out like this,” was all he said.
A beat of silence. You inched your way in front of Joel, facing your dad, like you were shielding him. In a way, you were; your dad had a right to be a bit peeved, you guessed, but since you were well past the stage of “Consenting Adult” and you even had your own place, he couldn’t have much to say.
“I didn’t want you to, either,” you said. “I was meaning to tell you soon, I just… didn’t know how to bring it up.” When your dad said nothing, just kept glancing back and forth between Joel and you, you continued. “Dad, Joel and I have been… seeing each other. For a little bit. It’s nothing weird--”
“Sounds fuckin’ weird, Joel,” your dad muttered through clenched teeth, ignoring you. “She’s a fuckin’ kid--”
“No.” You held up a hand, scowling. “I’m not. I’m twenty-five. I’m a full-ass adult.” When he didn’t acknowledge you, you snapped again. “Look at me when I’m talkin’ to you, Dad. Not at Joel.”
Your dad, finally, looked at you.
“I’m sorry we didn’t say anything sooner, but we only been seeing each other for a couple months. Just since a little after I moved out. Nothing happened before that on either side, so don’t get weird about it like that. Please.” You held his gaze for a moment. “I didn’t know you were coming over. If I had, I wouldn’t’ve sprung this on you like this.”
Your dad grunted. “I texted you. About comin’ over ‘cuz of the tree.”
“What tree?” Joel said.
Your dad just stared at him.
“The oak in the backyard,” you explained for him after a beat of awkward silence. “It fell on the house from the storm. I didn’t see the text until just now.”
Joel got out a strained, “I’m sorry, man.” Your dad didn’t reply, only kept staring at his friend. “Lemme help you fix it up. Once it’s done stormin’ outside.”
Silence again. You rolled your eyes and turned away, heading for the linen closet in the hallway. “Dad, I’mma set up the couch for you. You been up all night.” Grabbing a spare pillow and a few blankets, you carried them over to your couch and began setting up a small pallet.
Behind you, Joel’s footsteps echoed down into your room, the soft pattering of your cat following. Your dad sat at the edge of the couch and watched you unfold the blankets.
“I’m gonna head out,” Joel said, emerging from the bedroom once more. You glanced over your shoulder at him. He had his shoes and jacket on, keys dangling from his finger. “Let y’all talk a bit. Jus’ be over at my house.”
You narrowed your eyes at him. His already-present frown deepened, and you decided not to press it. Not with your dad here.
“‘Kay,” you said. “Drive safe. It’s storming.”
He nodded. “I’ll call you.”
And then he left, your cat meowing at his absence immediately after the door closed. The scrape of the key in the lock sounded and the deadbolt clicked into place, Joel locking the door after himself.
Your dad turned to you with a raised brow. “I see he has a key.”
“God.” You threw your hands in the air. “He does.”
“And that damn cat seems to like him an awful lot.”
She did. She’d been obsessed with him since she met him. She liked him a thousand times more than she liked you; she cuddled with him at night, sat on his lap during TV or movie night, and followed him around wherever he went. If he closed the bathroom door before she joined him inside, she would sit in front of it and yowl until he opened it again.
“I think she likes him more than me.” You waited a beat. “What are you thinking?”
Your dad shook his head, hands rising to rub at his temples. “Baby, I don’t -- I’m too tired for this conversation right now. I haven’t even slept yet.” You nodded and stood up to let him get some rest, about to retire to your room and call Joel. His voice stopped you mid-motion. “He treating you right, at least?”
Your expression softened. “Of course he is.” You sat back down, knees touching your dad’s leg and legs folded underneath you. “It’s nothing weird, Dad. I promise.”
“How… how did it start? Do I even wanna know?”
You laughed. “Remember when I bought that Ikea furniture after I first moved in? The dresser and bookshelf?”
He thought for a moment. His brows lifted in recognition. “Yeah, I do.”
“You were out of town for a week for work. I needed them set up but didn’t have a drill. You told me to ask Joel, so I did, and we just got to talkin’. Just realized we got on pretty well.” You shrugged. “Been getting on pretty well since, I guess.”
Your dad nodded. “It’s gonna take me a minute to get used to this, baby. And I still gotta talk with him first, too. It’s different with me ‘n him.”
“Okay, Dad. I understand. Just as long as you don’t kill him or something.” You patted his shoulder, standing again. “I’m gonna go back to sleep for a bit, okay? You get some sleep, too.”
You retreated back to your bedroom, waiting for your cat to follow you before closing the door. As soon as you slid back into bed, you unlocked your phone and sent a text to Joel.
u home?
His reply came quickly.
Yeah
Just got home
You pressed the button to call him. He picked up on the first ring, gruff voice sounding muffled through the line.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hi, Joel.” Your voice sounded small. “It’s gonna be okay, I think.”
“You talk to your old man?”
“A lil’. He’s gonna talk with you.” You paused. “I wish you didn’t leave.”
A sigh. “I know, honey. But it’s for the best right now. We’ll take it slow while your dad is there. Sucks about the house -- I’ll hav’ta get my guys to help patch it up once the rain’s over.”
You nodded before you realized he couldn’t see you. “Okay. I’m gonna sleep some more, okay?”
“Okay, honey. I’ll talk to you later. Sleep well.”
You smiled. “You too, Joel. Bye-bye.”
The soft beeps through the speaker indicated he hung up. You rolled onto your other side, facing the side of the bed he normally sleeps on. Your cat sat in his spot, tail flicking in irritation, eyes reflecting the soft light from in between the blinds.
“Shut it,” you murmured, closing your eyes. “He’ll be back with you soon.”