Jaylor One Shots

I Missed You

Taylor's quietly reading a book with Joe resting in between her legs, his head laying on her chest as he naps. She knows he's completely exhausted. He'd flown back to her really late last night and hadn't slept well, despite his exhaustion. His body weight pressing against hers is actually extremely comforting to her - she likes it this way. She's reading an incredibly thought provoking book to pass the time, not wanting to move from her position. Her free hand is gently combing through Joe's hair as he sleeps soundly against her. Every now and then she finds herself just looking at him, enjoying the way the light hits his peaceful face. 

Taylor has no idea how long she's been reading, but before she knows it the room is filled with the warm afternoon light. She finally decides to put her book down to look out the window, her newly free hand gently caressing his back as the other continues to comb through his hair. A small, content sigh escapes her lips as she watches the sun go down - falling behind the cityscape of New York. She loves seeing the sky painted with yellow, orange and pink - it's one of her favourite times of the day. She feels Joe getting restless in his sleep, his arms stretching and falling either side of her. She freezes, not wanting to be the reason he properly wakes up. She lets out a sigh of relief as his body stills again. A small smile finds its way onto her face as she looks down at him, remembering how lucky she is to have him in her life - it's something she tries to focus on every single day, even if they've had a fight. She really does love him more than anything, and it feels amazing to be confident that he loves her just as much. She presses a soft kiss to the top of his head before resting both her hands at the base of his head, gently playing with his hair as she looks back out the window. Taylor lets her eyes close for a moment, soaking in the last of the sunlight as it fills the room, enjoying the warmth it brings. She knows she's going to have to get up soon, to either cook something or call for takeout. Either option requires her to wake Joe, but that's really the last thing she wants to do. 

As the last of the sun falls behind the tall buildings, she sees stars slowly popping into the sky. It doesn't take much longer before Taylor feels Joe beginning to stir against her chest. She looks down at him as his blue eyes open sleepily, adjusting to being awake. He groans, rubbing his eyes as he looks up at her, leaning his chin on her chest. She smiles, running her fingers through his hair again.

"Hey, good sleep?" She asks softly, Joe nods

"Yeah, thanks for letting me. I think I really needed it." He gives her a small smile, his voice still filled with sleep. "I'm sorry you were stuck here though." He notes, clearly having realised where he'd fallen asleep. But she doesn't want him to feel bad, she'd thoroughly enjoyed herself here. 

"Oh don't feel bad babe, I can see how exhausted you are and I'm glad you were able to sleep some. You've got to be careful or you're going to burn out, and I'd hate to see that happen to you." She hears Joe sigh, he rests his cheek on her chest, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I know. I just want to work hard enough so that I can end up with more a flexible schedule, sort of like what you have. I'm tired of us being separated, I miss you so damn much that I jump on the first flight that gets me back to you." His voice cracks a little, she kisses the top of his head, gently smoothing down his hair - grateful that he's showing this vulnerability to her. She feels her heart crack a little when she realises he's overworking himself for her - for them. 

"I understand, honestly I really do. I want all of that for you too. But the last thing I want is you getting ill, or burnt out because of me. I miss you so much when you're gone - of course I do. But I think it's important that from now on, if you have to catch a later flight so you can sleep properly then maybe that's just what needs to happen for now. We have forever together, a few more hours for your health and benefit won't kill us." She murmurs, hoping he'll start taking better care of himself. Joe sighs softly, moving his arms firmly around her waist. 

"I know. I just miss you a lot." Taylor's heart breaks a little more as she feels tears falling onto her chest. She properly wraps her arms around his body, holding him even closer to her if that's even possible in this position. 

"I miss you too. And I love you so much Joe, us being apart won't ever change that." All she wants to do right now is comfort him, to make him feel better. She feels his pain, it's something she experiences every time they part - which she knows happens way too much because of the jobs they both have. Something needs to change, the longer they're together - the more obvious it becomes that the time apart is just doing more harm than good. The worst part of it all is seeing Joe upset, it's something that hurts her - she cares about him more than anything. Joe just holds onto her tighter, burying his face further into her chest. So she does something that she knows calms him down - reminds him of what all this hard work is for. 

"Don't read...the last page...but I stay...when it's hard, or it's wrong, or we're making mistakes..." She whisper-sings gently into his ear, she wrote the line so neither of them would ever forget it. No matter how far away they are from each other, no matter the barriers, or the fights, she'll stay with him. Forever. Joe lifts his head up, his watery eyes meeting hers. She gently his tears away with her thumb, offering him a small smile and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"I love you too." He murmurs in a small voice, slowly sitting up. He brings his face down to hers, kissing her softly to which she happily reciprocates, trying her best to pour as much love into it as she can. When they pull apart, Taylor leans her forehead against his before she pulls Joe against her, holding him as close as she can - offering him the comfort she knows he needs tonight. After a while Joe leans back a little, love shining brightly in his eyes. 

"Thank you. I needed that, I guess I just got a bit overwhelmed." He scratches the back of his head, averting his eyes from hers for a moment. Taylor grabs his hands, squeezing them tightly. 

"It's okay, happens to the best of us. I'll always be here for you, never stop talking to me okay?" Joe nods, smiling softly at her. His smile could light up the whole room and she's so happy to see it now. Taylor pulls him in for one more kiss, needing him to know how much she cares. They both grin at each other, the heaviness of their moods lifting.

"So...dinner?" Joe asks, Taylor giggles - smiling brightly.

"Yeah, come on. Let's go downstairs!" The couple entwine their fingers before heading downstairs. They spend the rest of the evening with each other - playing games, talking about everything and nothing all at once. Taylor makes sure to shower Joe with some extra love all night, knowing he needs it. 

As they lie tucked up in bed that night, Taylor finds a wave of appreciation washing over her again. She's so so lucky to have someone who cares enough to miss her this much. None of her feelings are one-sided anymore and it's so nice to feel that way. She presses a final kiss to Joe's head as he sleeps soundly before drifting off to sleep herself.