To Have And To Hold

9 - Perfect Persuasion

Joey slept better that night than he had all week, with Lauren tucked tightly into him. He suspected it was the thought of being able to get back home with her. Having her with him did feel a little more like home, because home was wherever Lauren was, but it wasn't the same as being in their apartment surrounded by all the little remembrances of their life together.

It took them the majority of the morning to finish some last minute shots and then pack everything up, so the pair didn't get back home until the evening. When they got in, they stood together quietly in the dimly lit living room, arms wrapped around each other as they finally let themselves relax. Joey breathed in the familiar scent of home and the even more familiar scent of Lauren as he ran his hand slowly up and down her spine, grateful to be back. They pulled back and smiled at each other, feeling a weight lifted off their shoulders that the only thing they had to think about for the next few days was each other.

Lauren was ready to go straight to bed, and she tried to tug Joey along with her, but he insisted that he had some work to finish off first. He pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"I'll be there soon," he assured her.

She looked up at him with those big dark eyes that were almost impossible to resist, and he could feel his resolve begin to weaken, but then she nodded ruefully and turned away. One of the hardest things in the world was saying no to Lauren, which was why it happened very rarely, and Joey could feel his heart aching, but his work ethic had a tendency to overtake him.

He opened up his laptop, rubbing his eyes and fighting back a yawn. He tried to stay focused on the fact that he needed to keep his promise to Lauren, but as he got drawn more and more into his work, time ran away from him.

He heard quiet footsteps behind him and looked at the time, startled to see it was past midnight. "Joey, come to bed," Lauren said, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine, I'm not tired," he reassured her.

"Joey-" 

"I'm almost done, I promise."

"But I can't sleep without you," she complained.

Joey twisted round to look at her with a grin. "Are you trying to guilt trip me into coming to bed?"

She grinned back at him. "Is it working?"

"You know it is," he said with a roll of his eyes, closing the laptop and placing it on the coffee table. "That's gotta be classed as emotional blackmail," he grinned.

"Yeah, call the cops on me for trying to get you into healthy sleeping habits," she said, folding her arms across her chest as she smirked

He stood up and pulled her into a hug, her head fitting perfectly under his chin, then let her lead him to bed. He hung onto her hand as he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and she ended up staying with him, perching on the edge of the bath and talking about how she was looking forward to getting back to the puzzle she was working on. Joey's heart ached a little; he knew she'd been spending even more time doing puzzles lately because he'd been so busy, but they were something she enjoyed doing too. Even so, he made a silent promise to spend more time with her this week.

As soon as they climbed into bed, Lauren wrapped her arms around Joey's middle, hooking one leg over his. He pushed her hair back from her forehead and kissed it, holding her even closer to him. 

Gradually her breathing slowed. Joey shifted carefully, trying not to wake her. He was thankful he had Lauren here to look out for him; he put so much pressure on himself but she constantly reminded him how proud she was and encouraged him to take breaks, and it helped take some of the weight from his shoulders. Even just her presence now made him feel more relaxed.

"You have no idea how much you mean to me, do you?" he whispered, lightly stroking her hair.

"JoJo?"

Joey's hand froze, and there was a long pause. He'd had no idea she was awake.

"Yeah?" he said eventually.

She snuggled closer to him. "I love you." 

Joey's face split into a relieved grin. "I love you too."

With the comforting rhythm of Lauren's heartbeat against his chest, he fell asleep quickly, not once thinking about work, just about how happy he was to fall asleep with the love of his life in his arms.

The next day, Joey was in the kitchen making dinner after he got home from work when he heard a cry of 'yesss!' come from the other room. A smile already creeping onto his face, he made his way into the living room to see Lauren looking triumphantly at her finished puzzle. She sensed his presence and turned around to him, grinning proudly. She stood up and clambered onto her chair, wobbling for a second before she steadied herself, pulling out her phone.

"Lo, get down," Joey said, approaching her.

"One second," she mumbled, adjusting the angle of her phone as she tried to take a picture of the completed puzzle on the table.

"I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I just gotta get this pic," she said, her tongue poking out between her lips in her concentration.

"Why don't you let me take it?"

She mumbled something he couldn't make out, but by this time she'd finished taking the picture, and Joey wrapped his arms around her legs to lift her down.

"You're cute, you know that?" he said, grinning up at her as she was in his arms.

"Don't call me cute."

"You love it," he said, stretching up to kiss her, and Lauren stopped complaining.

A/N I hope y'all aren't sick of all this fluff yet because it's not stopping any time soon