Joe's POV
Y/N and I are both extremely busy. She passed her bar exam and started working at a law firm less than three months ago. She's enjoyed working there, but they kept her busy. Almost too busy.
If you add my job on top of Y/N's, our schedules don't match up that often. Back when Y/N was studying for the bar, she wasn't taking good care of herself. One night, we were supposed to go to dinner but she didn't answer her door when I went to pick her up. The longer it took for her to answer the door, the more nervous I got.
I ended up kicking down the door. That's when I found her unconscious in her kitchen. She had fainted and hit her head on the table on her way down.
I sat next to her in the back of the ambulance as they took her to the hospital. I paced in the waiting room as a doctor ran tests on her.
I found out that Y/N had been so focused on her exam that she hadn't eaten in several days. I begged her to move in with me so I could help take care of her. For the remaining few weeks, I took time off of work so I could be home and help her. I helped her study. I made sure she ate. I made sure she didn't go to bed too late.
I thought that our lives would calm down after she passed the bar, but it only got crazier. She started working long hours for the firm and I got cast in Stranger Things.
Even though we still live together, we're lucky if we see each other, awake, for an hour a day. Sometimes all we get is a quick kiss before the other leaves.
Tonight, we finally had a night where we would both be home at a reasonable hour so we made arrangements to have dinner. We both promised to get off work early, but I had gone back on that. I tried to leave early, but every time I walked out the door, someone stopped me or we had to reshoot something.
As I got in my car, I glanced over at the clock on my dash. I sighed when I saw how late it was. I ran my fingers through my hair before quickly pulling out of the parking lot.
I pushed my foot down on the gas pedal, pressing the speed limit. The second I pulled in front of our apartment, I didn't let out a sigh of relief. Not yet, anyway.
I jumped out of my car and ran up the steps. I unlocked the door, walked into our place, and put my keys in the bowl by the door. I froze in the middle of taking off my coat when I noticed our dining room table. Y/N had put a fancy table cloth down and even lit candles. My heart sank when I saw Y/N had made my favorite meal and it was getting cold.
Gotten cold.
I finished taking off my coat and draped it across the chair I usually sat at when we ate. I ran my fingers through my hair again. My anger built when I saw how much the candles had burned down. I wasn't angry at Y/N; she was the one who got home on time.
I was about to call out to her but stopped when I walked into the other room and saw her fast asleep on the couch.
"Baby," I whispered as I walked over to her. I went to wake her up but decided to lay down behind her instead. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her back into my chest.
"I'm so sorry, baby," I whispered.
I fell asleep, holding her to my chest. When I woke up the next morning, she was gone. I sat up, looking around.
"Y/N?" I called out.
"In here."
I followed her voice and, as I walked to the kitchen, I noticed that she had cleaned up dinner last night. When I found her, she was making breakfast.
I walked over, wrapping my arms around her waist. She giggled as I leaned down and kissed her cheek. I leaned my chin on her shoulder and watch her make the omelets.
"I'm sorry I was late," I whispered.
"It's okay," she shrugged.
"No," I said slowly letting her go. I took the spatula out of her hand and placed it on the counter before turning her around.
"It's not okay," I said softly. "We both promised to be home for dinner last night and I was the one who didn't keep that promise."
"Joe," she tried to cut me off.
"I'm so sorry, baby," I continued. "I shouldn't have stayed at work. I promised I would be home for dinner and I wasn't. I wish I could say that things will be different, but we both know they won't. I hate that. . ."
"Joe," she cut me off again. "If you stopped talking, I could tell you that we both have today off."
"We what?" I stuttered. She laughed as she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer.
"I wasn't sure what we were going to do last night, so I wanted to be prepared," she said with the teasing smirk on her face that always made me weak in the knees.
"What about me?" I hesitated to ask, not wanting to ruin the teasy tension.
"When I was waiting for you last night, I may have called your director."
"What?" I laughed.
"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I was worried about you and you weren't answering your phone. I drove myself crazy. All I could think about was what could've happened. . ."
I tightened my arms around her when her voice broke. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"Calling Matt must've paid off," she giggled, "because he told me that he would give you today off. I guess he didn't tell you."
I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. I felt her smile against my lips as she kissed me back. Y/N broke the kiss and leaned her forehead against mine.
"The omelets are burning."