1 - 20 of 40 Works in Grumpy Joel (The Last of Us)
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Joel Miller gets more than what he bargained for by choosing to stay in Jackson.
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Older (A Joel Miller, The Last of Us-Fanfic) by charmainewattson
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
15 Jun 2025
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"I'm old." He said, glancing to her. She looked up, meeting his eyes.
"No, you're not. Grandpa's old."
"Still, I'm older than you."
"Yeah." She replied, letting her eyes sweep appreciatively over his body. Her eyes lingered on his arms, and the way they were folded. Joel didn't know what to do with that and let his arms drop to the sides of his body, dangling loosely as his fingers twitched.
"I'm too old for you."
"Agree to disagree."
"I'm fifty."
"Fifty-two, actually."
Life's been trudging on since Joel and Ellie returned to Jackson from Salt Lake. The girl's been adjusting well, but Tommy has some choice words for Joel's lack of sociability. Just start with getting a haircut, why don't you?
This is a fanfic of Joel Miller and an original female character. It takes place shortly after the end of the first game/first season, following life in Jackson, and Joel's attempt at dating.
Also available on Wattpad!
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It's been twenty years since you lost your mother. Twenty years since the world ended in more ways than one.
You're twenty-eight now, caring for your sixteen year old sister. You've killed for her, betrayed others for her, all in the name of getting her to Jackson.
Now that you're both here your lives can finally begin. She can have a normal life, and you can watch over her safely.
The only issue is, you're not sure who you are outside of the chaos. You barely know how to make friends, or small talk.Then there's Joel. You can't seem to escape him. He barely speaks to you, but when his eyes are on you it ignites something.
This is a slow burn, but I just can't help it. I love messy people and their messy relationships <3
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this is not a place of honor by cricketing
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
13 Jun 2025
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You were a scientist before the world turned you into a soldier. Now, you’re injured and stuck in some sort of commune in the middle of fucking Wyoming of all places, arguing with some asshole about god-knows-what. He’s infuriating and stubborn and rude and you can’t fucking stand him—
So why is this the most alive you’ve felt in years?
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Sunlight & Sawdust by pandapetals
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
09 Jun 2025
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For two years, Joel Miller has done nothing but scowl at you from across the room, barely tolerating your warmth, your kindness, your ever-present sunshine. For two years, you’ve told yourself his gruffness doesn’t bother you—that his clipped words and cold stares don’t matter.
But then, out of nowhere, he offers to fix the damaged floor in your flower shop.
For free.
Suddenly, the man who could barely stand to look at you is showing up every day, fixing things that don’t need fixing, sharing quiet lunches, and—most shocking of all—getting along with Ellie, your daughter, who has never warmed up to anyone as quickly as she has to him.
Series
- Part 4 of Rough Hands, Soft Heart
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Fire in the rearview mirror (AU Joel Miller x Runaway!Reader) by themology
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
06 Jun 2025
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a runaway girl and a grieving man drive through the belly of a burning america—fucking, fleeing, forgetting. she’s his ghost in the passenger seat; he’s her ruin in the driver’s side. they don’t call it love. they just never stop driving.
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You’d been told your thirties were when everything would fall into place. But your thirtieth birthday finds you looking for answers at the bottom of a whiskey glass; recently let go from your lackluster job, fresh out of a tumultuous relationship, and more than a little bit cynical about what the future may hold. Then a friend offers you the opportunity of a lifetime – an all-expense-paid retreat to a ranch in Wyoming. There’s just one catch. And his name is Joel Miller.
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Cowboy!Joel AU. Fake relationship - you need to pretend to be Joel’s fiancée so he can get the sheep ranch of his dreams. You know the drill.
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“I wish I had serotonin instead of this huge cock”
While out on patrol you stumble across a silly little shirt, and you can’t wait to have Joel try it on for you. -
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You’ve been throwing yourself at Joel Miller for months, even if the answer was always a no. But tonight he comes knocking at your door.
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Regrettably, you fill in for Tommy and end up on patrol with Joel during one of the worst winters to hit the valley. Joel's stubbornness leaves you stranded and alone. It's by chance that you stumble upon an abandoned barn.
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By being a trained doctor from Fedra, you'd think you'd have the patience to deal with anything. Anything except of course, Joel fucking Miller.
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You find yourself settling into Jackson City after fleeing from several ghosts of your past. Joel Miller is also settling in Jackson City but is battling his ghosts right inside its gates. Several instances force you to gravitate towards each other, but you're both reticent to open up and let the other in. You've lost too much, both of you have, so can either of you risk loving just one more time for the chance to get it right?
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‘You were raw. And real. Something Joel hadn’t known for a long time.’
Finding meaning in a world full of disappointment was something you've always thought was pointless. And even now, after seemingly starting over, you're struggling to find purpose in the quaint town of Jackson. But that was all until saw yourself so clearly in the brother of your best friend, causing you to rethink your life.
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if you lie down with me by alltounwell
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
15 May 2025
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Joel and Ellie find you wounded in an abandoned city and they decide to take you with them on their journey to Jackson.
Traveling was not easy, though. Your wound caused you some difficulties and the encounters with the infected didn't make anything easier. Especially after getting sick halfway through the journey which ended with Joel taking care of you. Joel doesn't want to show it but he began to grow feelings of attachment towards you and he refuses to let anything bad happen to you.
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Ellie and Dina have finally found the perfect match for Joel. There's just one problem - your dog doesn't like him, so you don't either.
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The world ended twice for you—first with the outbreak, then with your mother’s dying scream on the road to Jackson. Now you spend your days patching up strangers, and sacraficing yourself for others.
Joel wasn’t part of the plan.
But he’s there anyway—steady, watching with those dark eyes that miss nothing. When you forget to eat, he leaves food at your desk, when you finish work late-he keeps an eye out for you.
And when you finally break?
He catches you.
(Or: the one where Joel Miller learns to hold something without crushing it, and you learn how to want more than survival.)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 2,683
- Chapters:
- 1/2
- Kudos:
- 6
- Hits:
- 280
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Do it For Dale by daryltwdixon
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
17 Apr 2025
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As Sarah’s best friend, you’re determined to give her the perfect 21st birthday—even if it means going behind her grumpy old dad’s back. But when the night spirals and you end up stranded, you’re forced to call the last person you want to face. And once Sarah is asleep, he shows you exactly what happens to girls who misbehave.
Inspired by Ethel Cain's American Teenager. "Do it for Dale" is a saying in memory of the nascar driver dale earnhardt who was known for his risky driving. basically 'take risks, make dale proud" the southern version of ‘you only live once’ -
𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 || Joel Miller AU by ribcagex_x
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
13 Apr 2025
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Lorelei is an exotic dancer with a magnetic presence, a troubled past, and a daily fight to stay clean. Joel is a quiet, steady bartender who is quite older, carrying his own invisible weight-divorces, dead ends, and a weariness that's settled deep in his bones. He's been through enough to know better than to get involved, but somehow, she gets under his skin.
She's a storm he never saw coming. He's a calm she didn't know she needed.
As their connection deepens, so do the complications-old habits, harsh judgments, and the fear of wanting something real. Together, they'll have to navigate the wreckage of their pasts and the risk of falling for something that might not survive the damage.
This is not a fairy tale. It's messy, magnetic, and dangerously intoxicating-and maybe not meant to last.
──★ ˙౨ৎ ̟ !!
《no outbreak | modern Joel miller | stripper x bartender au | no ellie | agegap | trigger warning!!》
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This is my contribution to @jolapeno's Dear-uary prompt challenge on Tumblr, and also my very first writing challenge. It was fun to make up a story from a this prompt even if I felt no inspiration whatsoever in the beginning. Hope you like it.
Prompt A seemingly mundane list of reminders left for one another evolves into something much more heartfeltSeries
- Part 1 of What's for dinner
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A reluctant celebrity contractor who has closed his heart for love meets a celebrity-hating Cafe on Wheels owner... Needless to say, he screws up their first meeting, and she HATES him. Thing is, he couldn't get enough of the coffee she makes...