Losing you ; Joel Miller

xiv. Save a horse, ride a cowboy

Warnings: Smut... sorta? Not detailed and quite poetic, this whole chapter is just a bunch of fluffy fluff, very romantic, very cute, and very ew because I'm single and lonely :>

[2013]
JOEL

Time seemed to have stopped, hushed whispers and gentle kisses under the covers made them feel like, just for a night, the apocalypse had ended. Hands moving over uncharted skin, kissing scars, they felt like lovesick teenagers having each other for the first time.

     Joel couldn't get enough of her, seeing her under him, how she allowed him to touch her, how he made her sound. He might think he was going crazy, she made him feel crazy. He was drunk on her, her smell, her taste. It was euphoric.

     " I love you" he whispered out, so silently she might have missed it. Her hands raked through his scalp, fingers tugging on his hair. They felt each other in the dark, pouring their thoughts and feelings into kisses. So much missed time, they had four years to make up for, four years that they could've had together.

      He loved her, more than he thought he could ever love someone. He wanted to show her how much he loved her, how much she meant to him, so he did just that, again, and again, and again, and again. Each time she accepted it with open arms, fitting perfectly together like puzzle pieces. She was perfect, he loved everything about her. Where has she been all this time?

     Time stopped existing, it was just them, alone, together. Nothing else mattered, nothing else was real, except for them, now, here, together.

     Joel pulled her blissed out body close to him, their chests rising and falling in sync, her cheeks flushed, pretty and pink, he kissed her, she kissed him. The thought of tomorrow didn't pass their minds, they were here right now, together, and that was all that mattered.

[the next day]
EDEN

     Awoken by the sound of birds, the first thing Eden did was smile. She had never slept so peacefully in her life, his arms were wrapped around her waist, feeling solid and strong, he felt real. Joel looked so calm when he slept, his face pressed into the pillow as soft snores left his mouth.

     Eden wished she could pause time, allowing her to stay in this perfect moment forever. The smooth pad of her thumb gently moved over his patchy beard, she thought he looked beautiful. His eyes fluttered open, watching her smiling face, " good morning sunshine" she whispered out, fingers trailing over his strong jaw and thick eyebrows, moving slowly over the prominent arch of his nose. " G'morning gorgeous" he yawned back, his large hand finding hers, bringing it up to kiss the scar on her palm.

     " You look so beautiful right now" he murmured out, admiring her messy hair and swollen lips. The smile on her face grew shy, nuzzling her face into his chest to hide. They stayed like that the rest of the morning, until Eden stated she was going to make coffee. Picking up his flannel and putting it on, it cascaded past her thighs and stopped just above her knees, Joel decided that he was going to let her keep it, she looked much better in it than he did.

     It was oddly domestic, Eden making coffee in Joel's shirt. She hadn't expected herself to enjoy it this much, pressing her fingers against her lips, she thought back to last night, a small smile growing on her face.

     At 33, Eden felt like a giddy, lovesick teenager, she wanted to kick her feet as she drew hearts in a diary, listen to love songs and giggle at the thought of him. A soft chuckle escaped her as she shook her head, she has officially lost her mind.

     Strong arms wrapped around her waist, Joel's beard tickled as he kissed her neck softly. Eden tangled her hands into his hair, it had become her favourite pastime, she enjoyed his solid presence. " My love..." he murmured " so beautiful" her stomach flipped, feeling his mouth move to the outer shell of her ear as he kissed her there too. " Such a romantic" she teased, secretly enjoying every second of it.

     " You love it" he mumbled, face nuzzled into her neck, he was right, she did. " Look so good in my clothes..." he spun her around, dark eyes admiring her like she was everything. " But I like you better with nothin' on" he whispered softly, pulling her in to kiss her.

     " Hold your horses cowboy, we have things that need to be done" she smiled as she pulled away, hands moving to tame his messy hair. Joel let out a low grumble in protest, not wanting to leave their little bubble. " C'mon Texas, coffee is ready."

     " You sure you can make that thing?" Joel quizzed over her shoulder, eyes examining the waterwheel blueprint Eden had made. " I took a few engineering courses in uni for fun... I think I should be able to make this if I have the correct stuff" she mumbled out, pursing her lips in thought. He kissed her cheek, a cheeky smile growing on his face " you're so smart, it's hot." Eden gasped, face turning beet red as she lightly smacked him on the chest. " Who knew you could be so horny!?" She joked, jaw dropping in shock.

     The laugh that came from Joel was genuine, warm, and carefree. It made Eden stop for a beat and admire him, the whole of him was glowing. She loved every second of it. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss, relishing over the fact that it was something she could do now.

     It was just the two of them, alone, together. She loved it. She loved him. " I love you" she admitted, pursing her lips to avoid smiling so hard her cheeks would hurt. " I love you" Joel admitted back, his dark brown gaze moved over her face, almost as if he was trying to memorise it, memorise her. " So much..." he mumbled out, leaning over to kiss her again, this time picking her up and moving towards the small house.

     " Save a horse, ride a cowboy" he teased, earning an excited giggle in return.

honey is typing...
ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT OF ACT TWO AHHHH!!! very scary, very exciting, this chapter was so fluffy I had so much fun writing it, I was twirling my hair and kicking my feet throughout the whole thing

they're living their best lives rn :> so sad that I feed off of angst and have to destroy it <3 teehee

ok so tbh, the... smut? bit was totally unplanned, I just kinda went with the flow and then thought "hold on-☝️🤨 are they fucking rn?!" so yeah I'm serving you guys semi-unintentional smut