Someday: A Collection of Joshaya One Shots

A Stressful Mess

Maya's POV

A month ago I would've given anything to have even one day away from school. It wasn't that I didn't love being a teacher but it was admittedly a bit exhausting. And being an art teacher was even worse. Now I had to come up with projects for my students with all these common core themes and honestly, it was hell. 

To make matters worse, now I couldn't even see my students. I was stuck instead, trying to figure out how to hold virtual art classes...and failing epically I may add. 

"Babe." Josh peeks his head into the garage, or as I liked to call it, my art studio. He looked tired like me. The circles under his eyes obvious but I couldn't blame him for not being able to sleep at night. After his father died last year he took over the family business and we weren't sure that it would survive being closed this long. "Dinner is done." 

"Oh. Already?" I look down at my phone that was resting on my easel and sigh. Somehow the afternoon had evaporated into evening and sure enough, it was just after six. Dinner time at the Matthews household. "I'll be inside in a sec." I assure him. He doesn't move though, instead quirking his head to the side. 

I know what he's thinking because it's happened all week. I tell him I'll be inside for dinner and an hour later I'm still in front of this damn easel trying to work out lesson plans. "Maya, it'll get cold." 

I look at the syllabus in front of me, the one that already costed me too many hours of my life that I'll never get back and sigh. I hear Josh's footsteps before I feel his hands on my shoulders. "Babe, staring at that paper won't make ideas formulate magically. Come inside and eat" he insists, kissing my neck. 

"I will." A brief pause. "As soon as I finish this one lesson plan." One assignment. That would only take me...another year if I'm being honest. 

He groans, stepping back from me. "Babe, I know we're both stressed and I'm trying to be patient-."

"Well try harder" I snip. I regret the words as soon as they leave my lips but I can't take them back. That's not how words work. 

"Wow. Okay." I sigh, hearing his footsteps against the concrete before the door slams shut signaling that he's left the garage. I should apologize, and I will but not now. 

Now, I had a lesson plan to finish. 

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Pointillism turns out to be the easiest lesson I can come up with. It's easy enough to do at home. All you need is paint and q-tips so, I feel confident posting my lesson online with instructions to post pictures of their finished work so I can grade them. And finally as I'm closing my laptop the door to the garage opens again. "I like the painting." 

My husband, dressed in a pair of pajama pants and an NYU sweatshirt, stands in the doorway with a plate of warmed up food in his hand and my heart swells. "Thank you." He moves towards me and hands me my plate which is filled with cheesy potatoes and a hot ham sandwich. I smile up at him. "You didn't have to bring me dinner."

"I know." I take the plate anyway and lift the fork to get a helping of potatoes. "I'm sorry I yelled at you." I tell him after swallowing my first bite. 

"It's okay." He leans back against my desk, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"It's not." I argue, stirring my food around my plate. I chance a look up at him. "Sometimes I feel like I really don't deserve you."

He rolls his eyes, turning just slightly so that he's facing me. "You're stressed. Don't go saying stupid things, okay?" He reaches forward and tucks my hair behind my ear. "I love you, every moody, paint-stained part of you." 

I blush, pushing my food away to stand and wrap my arms around his neck. He gets what I'm going for because immediately his lips find mine and everything in the world shifts back into place. I pull his hair, moaning when his tongue slips into my mouth and without hesitation I'm lifted up and placed onto the surface of my desk...of course he doesn't notice the paint I had laid out. 

I gasp, pulling back from him and he laughs when he notices what he did. "Whoops."

"Whoops?" I laugh. "These were my favorite pajama shorts." Now, they were covered in all the colors of the rainbow. 

"Sorry." I narrow my eyes, reaching behind myself for the jar that I know is there and without a second thought I pour it over his head. 

Josh's lips part in shock, a shout of surprise leaving his lips as the glitter rains down on him and I can't hold in my laughter. "Oh, you think this is funny?" He asks, picking me up and moving me across the room. I laugh, smiling brightly as he carries me towards the door. 

"Where are you taking me?" I ask, looking over my shoulder at the mess we've left in the garage. 

"We need showers, don't you think?" 

"But the mess-."

"Can wait" he argues, leaning in to kiss me and all protestations fall dead on his lips as I give into him, happy to leave my stress back in the garage for the rest of the night.