Summary: in the early mornings of sunrise, joel remembers his life in moments. specifically all the moments that lead him to you
NO SPOILERS
fluff | Pre-pandemic!Joel x reader
A flavour of warmth danced crossed Y/N's skin. Sliding and grasping her body at every edge. As the sunlight poured from the bedroom window- she immediately felt her eyes begin to flicker. It was mornings like these that she could be sure of. Waking up just before the alarm clock rattled next to her head, or the man sleeping next to her began to stir. Mornings like this were her favourite.
As the blankets dragged against her bare arms, she fidgeted beneath the covers. Her tank top having become twisted in the night. Sound asleep next to her, Joel snored softly. His dark brown hair looking rather estranged. He slept hard the night before. After having to frame almost an entire house with just him and Tommy, the labours of his hard work were rewarded by a well deserved nap.
Her staring must have alerted him somehow. Y/N's gaze soon finding his barely open eyes. He was exhausted that much she knew. But she didn't need to speak. Rather as he lifted his arm and waited for her to cuddle into his side, she let out a content sigh. "M'morning." Joel mumbled, his voice raspy and raw. Snug against his bare chest Y/N spoke the same. "Morning."
Their breaths fell in time with one another, soaking up the other person's being as they rested in the warmth. Their bed was a private island where nothing could bother them. Topped high with countless blankets and sheets that seemed to only make an appearance when Y/N spent the night. White linens that Joel sometimes forgot he owned until he came home to find Y/N in them. Glancing over at the clock, bright red numbers tell Joel that it's barely 6am. letting out a soft groan, he almost smother's Y/N with the blankets. "Go back to sleep, it's too early to get up just yet." he pulls her against him. Shoving her head underneath his chin and grazing his finger against her back.
It wasn't the first time Y/N had spent the night, it was far from it actually. She had been in his life for years now, and he was well accustomed to her presence in his bed- however, every morning he woke up with her in his arms felt new. Like it was the first time he had experienced such love.
Dating as a single father was not hard per say, but it came with a multitude of concerns. Would the woman he like be a fan of children? Would she think he was a good father? What about his brother who always seemed to cause trouble- they were sort of a package deal. Even with a mile of worries, there was never one that stood as tall, and as important as his Daughter. Would Sarah like her?
Thankfully, Joel had been smart about his choice in dating. He never brought someone back to his place. Especially if he didn't see it going forward past a few months. Then he met Y/N.
She wasn't one of the women he had seen on in fact she was anything but that. Their paths had crossed multiple times before she ever took the title as his girlfriend.
The first time they had met, he was being scolded by one of the teacher's at Sarah's elementary school for parking in the pick up lane after the final bell. Joel could still remember the teacher's chirpy voice. "Its a continuous lane- your kid walks up gets in and whoosh! You drive away!" He looked foolish wearing his button up shirt and sweater vest, but that was besides the point. "You don't park in my lane Joel."
So as Joel was banned from the pick up lane and sent to the parking lot with all the other parents, Y/N made her first introduction. Standing in a very structured aisle of orange traffic cones as Joel walked in line with the other parents. "Don't worry- it's a lot less stressful over here." She batted her eyes at him in the bright Austin sun. "Mr.Morris is chaotic on the best of days, a downright terror on the worst."
Joel let out an annoyed huff as he stood next to her with his arms crossed. His frustrations weren't directed at her, but rather the balding man with a sweater vest a couple yards away. "So, which day is this?" He asked gently. He clicked the remote start on his keys, locking his truck from a distance.
The woman smiled, brushing her hair behind one ear. "Somewhere in the middle, now if he starts waving around his clipboard then we'll know it's one of the worst days." She nudged his side. They waited a few moments in comfortable silence, watching as the pick up lane rotated. All it took was one parent to slow down the line, taking a few minutes too long to buckle in their kid. As the bright blue clipboard was waved into the air the pair laughed.
His laugh was something that Y/N had grown fond of in an instant. It was filled with warmth and comfort. Something that neither of them knew would be such a rarity in the coming years. "I'm Y/N by the way, I don't think I've seen you around much- your girl Sarah, she's new right?" She asked. Joel turned towards her, a small lace of confusion crossing his face. Had he met her before?
He held out his hand to her. "Joel." He introduced himself. "Yeah she just started the third grade." He sighed, looking for his daughter in the crowd of students piling out. He didn't want her to miss him. "Do you have a daughter in the same class or something?" He asked, tilting his head inquisitively.
Y/N shook her head with a smile. "No, No kids of my own just yet. My nephew, Noah- he's in the same class apparently. He says your daughter is new but very nice." Speak of the devil, a little boy with bright blonde hair jogged towards the pair, latching himself to the woman's side as soon as he was in arm's reach. "Hey big man- you ready to go?" Y/N bent down and smiled. Upon finding approval from her nephew, the woman stood up again. "It was nice to meet you Joel.."
Joel watched as the pair walked off, a soft smile on his face as he did so. It was the smallest of interactions yet even as he drove Sarah home that day,
Y/N was still in the back of his mind.
For almost the entirety of that third grade year, Y/N and Joel saw each other everyday. Whether in the afternoons during pick up, or on the weekends in passing- they somehow had found a way into each other's lives. For years, they remained purely platonic. Friends who's kids got along. But even when Sarah and Noah seemed to talk less, the adults were talking more.
By the time Sarah and Noah had reached the sixth grade, they hardly knew each other. Both having flourished into their own personalities and finding their own friends. The old days of parking lot meetings and weekend meet-cutes had come to an end. Joel hardly saw Y/N at all after that.
It wasn't until Y/N needed her kitchen renovated did they start to connect again. After a burst pipe had soiled her cupboards and flooring, Y/N was left with no choice other than to gut the entire thing and start from scratch. Her house was an old piece of work, and she had already planned on remodelling sooner or later- it just turned out that sooner had come a lot quicker than she thought.
thankfully, she knew a pretty good carpenter.
For weeks, Joel worked on her home. Dragging out the flooring and gutting the sink so something new could go in. He built shelves and fixed the walls- even had his brother come in and take a look at things. It was six weeks of early mornings and late nights. Days where Y/N would supply a pot of coffee, and talk to Joel for hours on end. In the time that they had spent together, he learned more about her than he ever had.
She had a master's degree in computer science which allowed her to work from home, she loved to bake but hated the cleaning up part afterwards. Joel learned that she chose to stay in Austin instead of leaving Texas because she wanted a family. However she was apparently lacking in the dating pool.
Thats when Y/N started to learn a little bit about Joel too. He worked pretty steadily in the summer and the fall. Sometimes even through the winter if he managed to nab some commercial contracts. She discovered that even with how proud he was of his work, he felt guilty for not being around Sarah as often as he should be. He swore that sometimes the only reason she was so mature was because she had to learn early on how to take care of herself.
He mentioned that he was also dating. Or better well, he was trying. He didn't love dating through the catalogues, or going to bars to try and form a connection. And he absolutely refused to part-take in what Tommy was calling a 'mail-order-bride'
That was the first time, Y/N ever saw Joel as something more than a friend. The way he described meeting someone to her as something purely magical. Like he hadn't lost all hope yet, and that he was just waiting for the right person.
Maybe that could be her.
Fast forward to the end of six weeks, Y/N's kitchen was finished and looking remarkable. She knew Joel was talented, but he had really done such beautiful work. "Wow... I can't believe it." She gasped in awe, as he unveiled the project to her. Her old soggy cabinet had been replaced with freshly cut wood- sanded and stained to match the flooring and the fresh paint on the walls.
Her countertop was a piece of slab that Tommy had picked up on another site. Construction companies were always throwing out old material- and Joel was talented enough to turn it into something new. "What? You didn't think it was going to be ugly did you?" He teased.
Y/N nudged his side with a daring grin. Sliding her fingertips across the smooth marble countertop. "No... this is just- thank you Joel." She looked up at him with the kindest of eyes, the type that could make you weak in the knees and beg for more.
Even though she had already paid Joel for the materials and for the labour, she wanted to do more. "Let me cook you dinner. Please- as a thank you." And while Joel originally tried to persuade her that she had already done more than enough, he eventually gave in.
That was how he ended up on his first date with Y/N Y/L/N
One date quickly became two, and before either of them realized. They had been going steady for probably six months. Joel was calling Y/N his girlfriend and Sarah didn't seem to mind. In fact Sarah knew she loved Y/N far before Joel did. Y/N had shown Sarah nothing but kindness in all the years she knew the miller family. She helped Sarah with homework when she needed it, she cooked more often than not- and it gave Sarah someone to talk to that wasn't Mrs.Adler next door. The one thing that Sarah loved most about Y/N was how she treated her father. While she was still only eleven years old at the time and hardly knew a thing about love, she knew what it looked like. And the way Y/N would smile at her father- or how they would dance along to the kitchen radio. Well, she knew that they were in love.
The very first time Y/N spent the night, she had told her father so. "I like how happy you are with her." Sarah spoke softly- watching as Y/N had fallen asleep against Joel's chest on the couch. Leaned into his other side, Sarah rested her head on his shoulder. "I like having her here..." Joel's heart melted. "I like having her here too... she really likes you." Sarah grinned at this.
"Are you going to tell her you love her?" Joel thought about it for a moment, pondering his daughter's question. "Would that be okay with you?" He asked. Sarah was always going to be the most important girl in his life, and he had to make sure she never forgot that.
His daughter grinned. "Yeah... that would be okay with me." She assured.
A Year, had passed since that night. Since Sarah had bestowed her approval upon her father's relationship and practically given her blessing. If she hadn't Joel was sure he would be suffering from heartbreak right about now. He would've ended things with Y/N within the blink of an eye had Sarah asked him to. But as he lays beneath the covers, he's thankful he never had to.
Watching the way Y/N's chest rose and fell with each breath, or how her lips parted and let out the smallest snores- despite her constantly telling him she did no such thing. Having her home and in his bed was his favourite part of the week. The moments where he knew that Sarah was sound asleep two rooms over, and the love of his life was safe in his arms. Eventually, he would have to get up and start the day. Maybe this time he would make breakfast before the girls woke up, instead of the other way around. But he couldn't quite pull himself away just yet.
Mornings like this made everything worth it. The small pieces of peace and warmth overshadowed any dark moment in his life, whether they were petty arguments with Sarah or bigger fights with Y/N (Though very few.) The minutes spent beneath the covers and tucked away in this little oasis made him sure of everything.
And it made him all the more eager to dig out the little velvet box buried deep into his dresser drawers.