este

Three days ago the weeks’ patrol routes were posted on the mess hall’s bulletin board, so you wasted no time checking your schedule. You were expecting to get paired with Kristen, or maybe Jared, two of Jackson’s residents who were around your age and were your usual partners.

What you weren’t expecting was to see your name on the whiteboard next to his. Joel Miller.

You’d never patrolled with him before, but you’d heard the horror stories from Jesse. And Amanda. And even sweet Rachel, who never talked shit about anybody. He was a notorious hard ass. A nagging, grumpy old man in its truest form.

You tried not to huff and puff, bury your frustration under the guise of playing your part in the community. Giving back to the people who’d taken you in just short of a year ago. You swallowed any nervousness or fear, reassuring yourself that you could handle the beast that was Joel Miller.

That brought you to now, a sunny spring Wednesday in Jackson. You and Joel had taken the Bear Lookout route, which was notorious for being the most boring route with the least action. But that was fine; you didn’t mind slow days. Usually, it’d give you a chance to get to know your partner more, but it was clear that wouldn’t be happening today.

Joel was like a steel trap, not even saying a single word since his gruff “mornin’” when you greeted him in the stables. And that wasn’t for a lack of trying on your end, you’d attempted conversation a few times already, only to receive silence.

But that was fine. All you had to do was get through the next few hours, then you’d be home free.

You walked a few feet ahead of him, eyes flickering to the tree line every so often to check your surroundings. You weren’t distracted, per se, but you let your mind wander somewhat.

It was amidst your daydreaming that you spotted it. Not an infected, but maybe something adjacent. It had the look of cordyceps, but took on a more plant-like form, curling around the base of a tree in a tangle of brightly colored vines and roots.

You paused, steps halting as you observed from afar. The plant was intriguing, the air around it almost shimmering. The view was enchanting, enough to make you draw closer.

You didn’t notice Joel behind you, watching with growing curiosity—or maybe concern—as you approached the fluorescent plant. He said nothing, but he observed. Silently protecting, waitimg for something to go wrong.

You stepped closer and closer, as if you were entranced, reaching out with one hand to touch the plant. But Joel’s voice stopped you.

“What the hell are ya’ doin’?” He demanded, stepping close enough that you could feel his presence at your back.

“I was just…”

He cut you off with a firm shake of his head. “Just nothin’. You never touch a plant you can’t identify. ‘Specially not one that looks like that.”

You huffed, cheeks heating with something like shame. “I wasn’t! I was just going to—”

“Weren’t gonna touch it my ass. You were reachin’ right for the damn thing.”

In the midst of your arguing, the two of you didn’t notice the way the plant pulsed and throbbed, vines writhing strangely in their tangle. Then, the brightly colored bulb on one of those vines popped open, hissing out a huge cloud of sweet smelling, peachy colored pollen.

It was potent enough to immediately fill your nostrils, and Joel’s too, judging by the way he began coughing in sync with you. The pollen assaulted your senses, tingling the hairs of your nose and burning your eyes even after your attempts to blink it away. You and Joel ran away from the cloud, covering your mouths as you hacked and coughed.

“Jesus—” Joel panted, smacking his chest with his closed fist. “See? I told you this plant was bad news! If you’d just listened—”

“How the hell was I supposed to know it’s do that?” You asked with a rough voice, your throat beginning to burn along with your eyes. “I thought it was just a plant!”

“Christ. No fuckin’ survival instincts, I swear.” He grumbled, wiping at his face as if he could still feel pollen on his skin. Maybe he could, your face was feeling pretty itchy too. Now that you thought about it, your cheeks were hot and beginning to tingle oddly, no matter how much you wiped at them.

The heat was creeping down your face to your neck, then filling your chest and lungs. It brewed low in your belly, feeling similar to a building orgasm. But that couldn’t be right, it would be completely preposterous. Then the heat continued lower. Between your thighs, running down your legs like lava, pooling in your feet. It was beginning to be unbearable.

You glanced at Joel for… for what exactly? Guidance? Some kind hope that he’d know what to do? Either way, he looked just as wrecked as you. His skin was flushed, chest heaving more aggressively now, like he was panting despite the fact that you’d both been standing here still for the past few minutes. Or maybe it was longer, you’d lost track of the passing time.

One glance down Joel’s body proved just how much he was feeling the effects of whatever it was that’d hit you both. The tent in his jeans was prominent, and there was no way it was anything other than an erection.

You should’ve felt disgusted, but instead the heat in your belly reached a fever pitch, turning to a gnawing ache. You couldn’t help the whimper that left your lips, and Joel reacted like it physically hurt him.

“I don’t… I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He said roughly, scrubbing a hand down his beard before wiping sweat off his brow. “Jesus. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Me either. It must’ve been that plant. The pollen. The… fuck.” You mumbled, exhaling shakily. The ache was mounting now, getting stronger and stronger to the point of pain. You didn’t know how to get rid of this, but it was becoming hard to handle. Nearly impossible.

Joel groaned, low and ragged as he turned away from you, clenching his fists. He looked like he wanted to do something, but he seemed just as helpless as you in this situation.

“Stop makin’ those noises.” He growled whipping back around. You hadn’t even realized you were making any noise, but needy whines had been leaving your lips. Joel stared at you for a long moment, the two of you deathly silent.

Then you both lurched forward at once.

When your lips met, it was less of a kiss and more of a fight for dominance. A clashing of teeth and tongues and occasional smashing of lips. Your hand tangled in his hair as his groped at your body. Running over your breasts and squeezing, grabbing at your ass as he ground you against his bulge. He was needy, practically humping against you like a dog in heat. But you weren’t complaining, especially when he hitched your leg over his hip and ground his bulge perfectly against your clothed core.

The relief was immediate, though not enough to ease the heat and the ache and the pain. If anything, it made it all worse. Made you need more.

“Joel, fuck. Please. I need it so bad.” You pleaded, words muffled against his jaw as you planted spit-slicked kisses against his skin. “I feel like I’m dying.”

He nodded, wasting no time sweeping you off your feet before he lowered the both of you to the ground. His knees creaked as he crouched down, but he paid his achy joints no mind.

His hands roamed your body more, snaking under your top to grab at your bare skin. The feeling of his callouses scraping against your ribcage, then the soft skin of your breasts was enough to have your back arching off the dirt, a needy moan slipping out. His fingers found your nipples, twisting and tugging with an almost expert experience. His knee landed between your legs, offering something for you to hump against. Again, even this wasn’t enough to ease the need.

“Joel,” you whined, biting your lower lip.

“I know, I know.” He groaned, kissing down your neck and collarbones as his hand worked at the button and zipper of your jeans. He tugged them down roughly until they bunched at your ankles, leaving them there while he undid his own jeans.

His cock sprang out, rock hard and leaking. For somebody in his fifties, he had an impressive cock. Long, girthy, the perfect size to fill you up and calm the fire within you. You practically salivated at the sight of it.

He gave himself a few jerks, tugging at his cock with a groan before slapping it against your already soaked slit, the feeling having your hips jerking up and a moan leaving your lips.

A plea sat right on the tip of your tongue, but Joel beat you to it and slipped inside of you without any more preamble. You were both too needy for any kind of teasing.

The both of you moaned in unison as Joel’s forehead dropped to your shoulder, ragged breaths fanning against your skin. Then he grabbed one of your legs, bringing it up and hooking it over his shoulder before feeding the last few inches of him inside of you.

He was so big, stretching you deliciously with every inch of his fat cock. Then he began moving, and finally that ache inside of you began to ebb away just barely.

He pulled his hips back before pushing back in, panting against your neck. He built a steady rhythm, a wet plap, plap, plap sound echoing through the empty woods. Your back scraped roughly against the rocks and sticks in the ground, but it was quickly forgotten with each delicious stab of his tip against your cervix. He was hitting depths within you that no man had ever reached before, and the fullness was so amazing you could cry.

Each thrust was pure relief wrapped in ecstasy, rolled up in sunshine and rainbows and everything good. The pain was almost fully gone now, replaced by a mind numbing pleasure. Your nails raked against his back as a mother ragged moan fell from your gaping mouth.

“Fuck, Joel! Don’t stop!” You cried out, eyes rolling back in your head.

His thrusts quickened, his hips driving against yours with a relentless, punishing pace. He grabbed your other leg and brought it up and onto his other shoulder, briefly turning his head to press a kiss to the inside of your ankle before he draped his body over yours. You were both chest to chest now, and despite being fully clothed—aside from your bottoms—the position felt intimate. His hand stroked your hair almost tenderly as he mouthed at your jaw, sucking a mark on your throat as he panted and groaned.

He was so vocal it was driving you crazy. Each groan, coupled with the drag of the veins on his cock against your gummy walls was enough to build your pleasure up and up and up. Soon enough, you were right there dangling on the edge.

Your moans were shrill, pornographic, downright feral, but you couldn’t care less right now. Not when Joel looks so good on top of you, his eyes rolling back as he bit his plush bottom lip.

It was enough to have stars bursting behind your eyes, your thighs trembling on his shoulders while your orgasm hit you like a mack truck. He let out a curse before biting down on your shoulder and slamming in as deep as possible, his grip on you tightening as he came inside of you. His body trembled in time with yours, breaths coming out shaky and unsteady.

You were limp against the forest floor, Joel still on top of you—still inside of you—as you both came down. For a few, blissful moments, you felt completely spent. Calm, at ease, satiated.

Then the ache came back, even worse than before. Joel groaned and made eye contact with you, his soft cock immediately hardening again.

You two knew it’d be a long next few hours.

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Not because you hated him—far from it, actually—but because you always felt so useless when you were next to him. Joel was practically perfect at everything he did, the most capable person in all of Jackson. It was no wonder he was always getting placed on more complicated patrols. You, apparently, were just along for the ride.

Joel slings his rifle over his shoulder as he lifts up his arm for you to grab while navigating the unsteady terrain. Maria and Tommy had assigned you both to investigate a new area, one that lies much farther than anyone had patrolled before. Whispers of spores appearing had urged her to have you to confirm what exactly was out there.

(When you begged Tommy to switch shifts with him, he just chuckled and patted your shoulder.

“You’ll thank me for it eventually, hun.”)

Fuck you, Tommy, you think, refusing Joel’s help.

You then trip over a tree root.

“Woah there!” Joel shifts his body, to stop your descent to the ground. “Gotta watch where you’re going, killer.” 

God, that nickname. He came up with it the very first time you patrolled with him, killing over a dozen infected in minutes. You just wanted to prove yourself, and he just throws it back at you with a silly little nickname.

When Joel catches you, the first thing you notice is how warm he is. With your head buried into his chest, you also get a good whiff of his natural musk. Catching yourself, you pull away and leap back quickly.

“Sorry, I was just…distracted.”

Joel’s smirk makes him look so smug—not thinking about you, dammit!--and it infuriated you so much you just had to put him in his place.

“Was thinking about something Tommy said to me.”

Joel whips his head around so fast you’re concerned he might’ve gotten whiplash.

“Tommy? What’d he have to say to you?”

You weren’t so oblivious to not notice how Joel's whole demeanor changed when you mentioned Tommy. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed in on your face, trying to gauge an answer from your expression.

But you weren’t letting anything through. Knowing that there really was a way to get under Joel’s skin excited you.

You hissed. “I’d rather not say. It was kind of…personal.”

“Stop fucking with me. What’d he tell you?”

You rolled your eyes. “Stop worrying about it.” You stopped in your tracks, noticing that you two had finally hit new terrain. “We should be close.”

Both of you readied your guns, surveying the new area, clearly an abandoned town by the looks of the run-down buildings and cars. There’s what looks like a supermarket ahead, its glass door shattered and windows bordered up. It’s most likely cleaned out by now, but it was worth a shot to check for some more surprise.

As you enter, all it takes is a second for you to be surprised—just a split second for an infected to throw itself to you, knocking yourself to the ground.

“Fuck!” you yell, frantically trying to crawl away as it snaps at you. You manage to position your rifle as a barrier between you and its face just as Joel runs inside, sniping it with a quick headshot.

He runs over to you, pulling you to your feet with ease. “We gotta go!” A cacophony of groans sounds from outside, alerting other infected to your presence.

“Oh fuck,” you mumble, disoriented but following close behind Joel. You dodge various clickers and stalkers, shooting some whenever you’re able to get a good aim.

Joel eventually leads you to a large, dark building, hoisting you up a ladder and then kicking it off. The infected try to climb their way after you but to no avail. You two are able to get in shot after shot until all are dead.

You let out a breath, collapsing on the roof. Joel checks you over quickly, holding your jaw as he moves your head all around, inspecting your neck for bites. “You okay? Bit?”

You swat his hand away, turning away from him and huffing. “I’m fine. I had it handled.”

He raises a brow.

“I did!”

He doesn’t respond, waiting for more.

“But, I guess I appreciate the backup so…thanks, Joel.”

He chuckles. “That’s better.”

As you both catch your breath, you peer over the ledge, finally realizing just how the rooftop was from the ground. With the ladder completely useless as it lays beneath a pile of dead infected, you don’t see another way out. “Um, Joel?”

He turns to you.

“How the hell are we getting down from here?”

Joel looks around, before his eyes land on a trapdoor. “Guess we're going in.”

Standing back up, you rub a hand over your face. “I sure hope we have better luck inside than we did out.” “When do we ever?” Joel unlocks the door and peers in. “If we go in, there’s no way we’re making it back up. We’ll have to go through.”

He jumps down first, gesturing to you to follow. You stumble as you do, Joel steadying you before surveying the scene.

“Shit, get your mask on!” Joel orders, quickly pulling his out of his pack and securing it to his face. You fumble for yours, doing the same. Joel begins to walk further into the dark, dank room, the pungent smell of death alerting you both to spores being nearby. “Think this is what Maria was talking about.”

You can barely see in front of your face, but as soon as you catch some light you gasp and jump back, touching your mask and flinching when you hit broken glass. Fuck. Your mask must’ve broken when you fell back in the supermarket.

“Joel…” you whimper, sounding more pathetic than you wanted to. He turns to you, eyebrows furrowed in concern, but quickly his expression turns to shock as you undo your mask and take it off your face.

“The hell are you doing?” He practically shouts running over to you. You shove the mask into his hands.

“It fucking broke,” you mumble, your voice wobbly as you try to prepare for the inevitable. “I’m screwed.”

Joel doesn’t even hesitate as he begins to undo the straps of his own mask before you surge forward and restrain his hands.

“Are you fucking stupid? You need to get out of here! You’ve got important people back in Jackson, just leave me before I turn,” you spit out your words with as much venom you can muster, trying to mask your fear with anger.

Joel whispers your name, so vulnerably that your eyes well up with tears. “You’re important, too.”

“Fucking—stop! Just…shoot me and get it over with, Joel,” you grit out. Defeated, you hold your head in your hands, not wanting to meet his eye.

Then it hits you—fast. A wave of nausea and heat passes over your body so suddenly that your legs give out and you collapse on the ground.

Joel reaches to help you up but you slap his hand away. “Why are you still here…” you mutter, “you got a death wish?” Your speech begins to slur as your body heats up. But then there’s an odd feeling—arousal, it almost feels like. Your core pulses with need, confusion passing over your body. You definitely don’t think that infection should feel like this.

“Joel,” you try calling out to him, but it sounds more like a pornographic moan than anything else. “I don’t think these are normal spores.”

“What do you mean?” he asks hesitantly. He scans you over, seeming to also realize how you aren’t showing the normal signs of infection.

“I feel…hot. Like—you know, in that kind of way.”

Joel seems at a loss of words at first, debating how to respond to you. “Better than infected, right?”

“I’m serious, Joel. It fucking hurts. I can’t—” Your hand makes its descent down the front of your pants. “I need you. Please.”

Conflict fills his gaze as his eyes flicker to your moving hand, to your face, and back to your hand. “You ain’t in the right state of mind,” he starts, sounding unsure of himself. “We gotta get you outta here and we’ll figure it out once it’s safe.”

Anger and embarrassment surges through you all at once as Joel blatantly rejects you in such a dire time of need. You were desperate, you were hurt, and you were so fucking unbelievably horny.

“God, fuck you, Joel,” you manage to grit out amongst the sweat and pain surging throughout your body. Your body was begging for release, and you sure as fuck were going to make sure you received it. “You know what? If he were here, Tommy would’ve helped me—”

Joel pushes you down, hovering over you. One hand encaptures your throat, holding you down without hurting you. The other moves down your frontside, swatting away the hand that you were pleasuring yourself with. His fingers toy with the tie of your pants, ghosting your stomach. “Is this what you wanted from me?”

You moan abashedly, arching your back to grind against his hand. “Yes, fuck!” You cry out, not even caring how desperate you sound. All you could think about in that moment was getting Joel’s fingers—his cock—inside of your aching pussy.

“So fucking pathetic,” he growls, staying in place as he watches you frantically move your hips against him. He then pushes himself down onto you, his erection straining through his pants. Joel begins to hump your pussy, grinding himself back and forth against your clothed sex.

“Soaking yourself through your fucking pants. You want me that bad, huh?” Joel almost teases you with his thrusts, pausing in between each motion.

“Please, Joel!” you cry out. “Please fuck me.” Your hands claw at his back, a feeble attempt to draw him closer to you.

“I think I like you a lot better when you’re begging for me.”

Joel unzips his pants, shoving them below his knees with haste. He finally pulls down your bottoms, two fingers swiping the length of your clothed slit, gathering some of your slick in his hand. He brings his fingers to your lips. “Suck.”

You obey without a thought, swirling your tongue around his digits as he removes your panties. Your moan sounds out around Joel’s fingers as his cock finally pushes into you.

“Shit,” Joel hisses, “you’re sucking me in.”

Your pussy flutters at his words, mind hazy as you finally get the relief you were searching for. Euphoria surges through your body as he begins to fuck you, his cock stretching you wide. 

He reaches places you never thought were possible, making you see stars.

“You don’t seem to be all that grateful that I’m helping.” Joel glares down at you, jaw clenching underneath his mask. “I deserve a thank you, don’t I?”

“Thank you,” you whine, too focused on your pleasure to process exactly what he’s saying.

He thrusts into you hard, filling you up to the brim. “That ain’t good enough. Again!”

“Thank you, Joel!” Your eyes roll into the back of your head as he pounds into you mercilessly. One of his hands moves to tease your clit, and you wrap your legs around him for some stability.

“That’s better.” He maintains a steady yet harsh pace, skin slapping furiously as your moans fill the room. “Bet Tommy couldn’t fuck you like this, huh?”

You shake your head wildly.

“I can’t hear you,” he warns, his hips beginning to still. His hand pulls away from your clit. It throbs achingly with the sudden removal of pleasure.

You whine out in protest. “Only you! Only you, please!” You move your hips, struggling to move yourself on his cock to no avail.

Pleased with your answer, Joel grasps your hips and pulls you flush against him. He moves you up and down on him, controlling the pacing.

You feel a tight pressure in your abdomen, begging to be released. You claw at Joel’s arms as he fucks you, and he senses your release coming soon. His hand returns to your clit, rubbing it with an intensity you’ve never felt before.

You feel the coil of pressure threatening to release. “Oh fuck, Joel, right there…”

“There you go baby, let it all out.”

His coaxing is what pushes you over the edge as you cum with a cry of Joel’s name on your lips. Joel’s own release comes soon after, with a short grunt and a pleasant warmth filling your core.

It’s as if your orgasm was a magical healing potion with the way you suddenly feel all better. The heat you feel is no longer uncomfortable, but rather relaxing. You feel refreshed, almost.

Joel collapses next to you, and embarrassment washes over you as you replay the events of everything that just happened in your head. You cannot believe you actually acted like that.

“Already back to this?” Joel comments. “That was quick.”

You’re glad he doesn’t seem to be treating you any differently. “Let’s just get out of here and never speak of this again.”

“We still need to give Maria a report. And I’ve got lots of things I need to say to you.”

“Save it for Jackson, please.” You playfully slap his chest. “And I’m sure there’s some things we can leave out of it. Unless you want me to tell Tommy how—”

“Okay, okay, enough of that. I know when I should admit defeat.” Joel chuckles huskily from behind his mask, the sound making your heart skip a beat.

You really aren't sure if you should strangle Tommy or thank him when you see him again.

Standing to pull your pants up, you try your best to ignore Joel’s cum spilling out of you. “Good. Let’s head out then. We should be able to make it back before dark.”

You start to head out of the room, not waiting up for Joel. “You’re gonna be the death of me,” he mutters under his breath, although you still hear.

You smirk, knowing full well he can’t see it. “Hurry up, old man!”

He sighs, and you giggle, knowing exactly how to tease him on your way back to Jackson.