𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 ━ 𝙟. 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧

restless

The way she pressed her lips together and scrunched up her nose was a sight for him to behold, he became mesmerized at how her lashes brushed against her lightly freckled cheeks as she blinked and how she tugged at the sleeves of her jacket, standing at the door was becoming awkward for the woman and if Joel didn't open the door just as he did, she would've walked back to her house with her head tilted in embarrassment.

Her dark eyes lit up when he creeked the door open to greet her with a smile, "hi."

Iris returned the smile, straightening up from her hunched stance and replied to an equally calm tone as the man, "hey, you."

Joel opened his home up to her, stretching his arm out to indicate for her to enter, "aren't you usually asleep by now?" He teases as Iris crosses over into his house, shaking off her jacket and hanging it up on the coat rack.

"I couldn't sleep, asshole. I thought maybe you could help with that." The curly haired woman retorts, a flirtatious edge to her words that was topped off with a wink.

Joel blushed a baby pink, he cleared the clog in his throat and looked anywhere but Iris, hoping that since he wasn't able to see her smirk, he wouldn't be so flustered, but the way that her eyes ran over his figure, his heart only raced faster.

An unknown wave of confidence washed over Iris, she moved forward, standing right in front of him and moved his chin upwards, "could you?"

The tall man gulped harshly, his breathing unsteady. He matched her gaze and moved to close the gap between them, enjoying the feeling of her touching him, he said not a word the look in his eyes was enough for Iris to falter and not know how to handle the situation.

Intaking a sharp breathe she stepped back and tried to laugh off the feeling of wanting to lean in, "I was just messing with you."

Joel's hazel eyes widened as he stepped back too, creating an even bigger gap between them, he scratched back of his neck and averted his gaze away once again, "oh yeah, no, I know that."

"Yeah." Iris mumbles, pursing her lips and an uncomfortable silence washed over them, she snuck a look up at the same time as the man but quickly looked away when their eyes met. Was he able to hear how fast her heart was beating right now or was it just her?

"So, what can I help with?" Joel asked, his voice gruff.

She wandered into Joel's kitchen and worked on boiling some water and pulled out his mug and coffee beans, "I thought we could just talk until I feel tired."

Joel follows her through and grabs the small pot of sugar he had stored in the cupboards, he knew how sweet she loved her teas, "sounds like a plan." He smiles at her as though the small moment between them hadn't just happened.

"One sugar?" Iris asked him, nonchalantly putting mounds of the sweet ingrediant in her cup, looking over her shoulder to catch a hum and a nod.

The pair lean against the counter, neither mentioning how their shoulders touched, "so why can't you sleep?" Joel asks

She sighs, subconsciouslyleaning into his warm touch and closes her eyes, the bags under them clear that they were begging for some sort of rest, "I feel guilty. Y'know, for lying and every time I close my eyes I just see her face."

Joel knew what she meant instantly. He too would spend most nights up, relying on coffee and fixing up old guitars to keep his wandering thoughts at bay and to prevent him from going to Ellie's little hut and telling her everything, "it's not your fault, I made you go along with it."

Iris looks up at him, and their eyes connect, neither looking away, it felt right, it felt comfortable whenever they were together, "you can't just blame yourself, we're both at fault here."

"It's the only way." The man frowns but doesn't look away from her. Like he always thought, Iris was his safe space, the one place where he could be utterly truthful and not worry about what the world thought, to him, she was the only thing that mattered to him.

The curly haired woman tries to send him a smile, she to, not breaking their gaze. Joel was her reason to wake up, he was what made her excited to walk to the stables just to see him smiling at the horses, because his smile was worth all the words she would never be able to say to him.

"I just wish it wasn't." Iris says no more and Joel only hums in agreement. They move closer to each other, iris standing slightly on her tip toes so that they were face to face, she could feel him breathing with how close they were.

Joel's hazel eyes flickers between her dark ones and her lips, trying to steady his irregular heart beat and moved to close the gap. However, the kettle on the stove rang a high pitched scream, the pair jumping apart, Iris letting out an uncomfortable laugh and Joel clearing his throat, pushing away from the kitchen island and as far away from the woman as he could.

"Scared me." Iris continued to laugh it off, the embarrassment flushing her face and she could feel her pulse beating frantically.

Joel nods, he rubs his hands up and down his flannel clad arms and points to the living room as he walks backwards, nearly walking into the wall, "I'll, uh, go set up living room..."

Iris gulps, her back was to him and her knuckles were white due to griping at the counter tops, "yep." Hearing his boots become quieter, she lets out a quiet groan, hitting her palm against her forehead, "fuck."

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sorry it's so late but thank you for 10k! i have three more chapters planned for this special series but i hope you enjoy it, stay safe x