A/N: This fic had been edited to change this from a reader insert imagine to a regular JoexOC pairing fic. Una is pronounced OO-nah.
The curtains fluttered as the early autumn breeze blew from the cracked window. A beam of sunlight danced on her hard wood floor. Una could hear children laughing and playing from the street below. The muted tinkling of her leaf embossed wind chime floated through her balcony doors. She sighed deeply, burying her face into her down-filled pillow.
The day was too beautiful to be feeling the way she was right now.
It seemed like an astronomical weight was pulling her heart right into her stomach. Her brain was dashing a hundred miles a second. She had tried all the grounding techniques she knew. She'd been counting to 10 continuously for the past 5 minutes. It wasn't helping.
She knew it would pass. It always did. But, in this moment, she felt so bone crushingly alone.
Ever since she was younger, she always felt as though she didn't fit. No matter where she was, it didn't feel like home. Whether it was with family, friends or past relationships, she knew in her gut that something was missing. She had always felt like a burden, or that she wasn't really wanted. Her last relationship made good work of etching that self-doubt into her brain and solidifying that she didn't belong anywhere.
Una had recently moved to London, no more than 3 months ago. The transition had been surprisingly smooth. When she visited in the past, she fell in love with the city and the people in it. Her journey to the U.K. had obvious career benefits on top of satisfying her need to return. She had made several friends and grew closer to them day after day. But, the main reason she relocated was for him.
It was odd to think that a little more than a year ago she was drudging through the darkest time of her life. Joe had been her light, guiding her through the deep. When she was at her lowest, he was there to drag her to her feet. No questions asked. To this day, he still was. With Joe, she felt heard. She felt appreciated. She felt wanted. Needed, even.
But, her battered heart always caused her to doubt. What if she was playing herself? What if she was just wishing these things into being? What if it wasn't true?
This train of thought would cause her to analyze and catastrophize and spiral and next thing she knew she'd be paralyzed by it.
And that's where Una was now. On the cold, wood floor, clinging to her pillow, her knuckles white from the strain. Her therapist told her to use her grounding techniques. Well, she was on the ground. Did that count?
Her phone began to buzz against the kitchen counter.
Buzz. Please, just be a text. Buzz. Group chat? Buzz. Phone call. Shit.
For half a second she considered just ignoring it, but her anxiety forced her to get up and slump over to her phone.
Joe's goofy face displayed on the caller I.D. She answered.
"Hello?" Una stretched her stiff back, grunting when it popped.
"Ellooo," Joe's chipper voice filtered through. "Alright?'
"Yeah, never better," she droned, glaring at the discarded pillow on the floor. "How are you?"
He chuckled. Her chest immediately felt a fraction lighter at the sound.
"One of those days, huh?" he drawled good-naturedly.
She ran her palm down her face, "Yeah, one of those days."
"Well, love. I might just have the cure for that."
Her lips tugged slightly at the corners, "Oh, is that so?"
"Mhmm. I stopped by the shops after I left the office, and you know what I found?"
She leaned against the counter, "Not a clue, but I have a feeling you're about to tell me."
"Labyrinth!"
She couldn't help but smile at the brightness in his voice. "That was one of my favorites when I was a kid."
"I know. You told me," he said matter-of-factly, obviously proud of himself. "Not to worry, Una. You'll be reunited with your goblin king again!"
She let out a small giggle and felt her heart warm at his comment.
Una had told him forever ago, after a couple of beers, that when she was younger she used to call to the goblin king at night, asking him to take her away.
Of course he'd remember that.
"So, how about it? I bring Labyrinth, you order pizza?"
"Deal."
She finally showered and changed into some clean, comfortable clothes while she waited. The pizza arrived a little after Joe finally made it to her flat.
Giddy with excitement, Joe wolfed down a slice of pizza, put the disc in, and tucked himself under one of Una's faux fur blankets in record time. When the menu music started to play, he looked over with a boyish smile, lifting up some of the cover for her. "Come on then." He patted the spot beside him.
As soon as she curled up to him, he pressed play.
She was nestled in tight against Joe's side, under a mess of fuzzy blankets. The warmth and comfort of their position begged her eyes to close but she couldn't. Not only because she was trying so hard to concentrate on the film, but the weight on her heart from earlier was still annoyingly present. Only now, it felt as though it had morphed into less of a mass, and more of a static cloud. She found herself constantly having to tap her fingers together or shake her leg.
It was horridly distracting and she wished her body would just cut it out. Not only was it irritating for her, she could imagine it was annoying for Joe as well. But, he never said a word, just kept his arm tucked around her shoulders, tracing lazy circles with his fingers on her hip. Whenever her twitching became a bit more erratic, he'd put more pressure on his strokes, consequently causing her movements to slow.
It wasn't until more than half-way through the movie that she realized he had been grounding her. Whether intentionally or not, she didn't know. She couldn't help but to be slightly stunned. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Every time she had moments of anxiety and stress, whether triggered or not, he automatically made sure he was touching her anyway possible. A hand to the small of her back, his chin on her head, his thigh to her thigh. Without fail, it always calmed her down.
She was surged with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. What did she do to deserve this human? It's one thing to find someone who will understand you and put up with your quirks, but another thing entirely to find someone who knew you so deeply, they reacted to the changes in your emotions as if it were second nature to them. To be centered by that someone's touch alone, it was unbelievable to her.
Maybe, for once in her life, she was where she was supposed to be.
She flinched as a drop of wet slapped against her hand. Una hadn't noticed that she had begun to cry. She looked up to see that the credits were rolling. She hadn't even been paying attention to the last 20 minutes of the movie.
Joe's thumb swiped across her cheek, drying stray tears. His ocean blue eyes stared into hers for a moment before laying a delicate kiss on her forehead.
Instinctively, she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his middle and burying her face into his chest.
He shifted so he could easily pull her into his lap, snaking his arms around her waist, his hands splayed on her back.
Una timed her breaths to the rise and fall of Joe's chest, counting his heartbeats.
"Hey."
She slowly looked up at the sound of his voice.
"What's on your mind, love?" His eyes shone with concern.
Una just looked at him, slowly studying him. His so blue eyes with silver starbursts around the pupils. The curve of his mouth from his frown. The furrow bunched between his brows from worry. The sharp edges of his jaw. The soft shadows cast from his high, prominent cheekbones.
She pulled her gaze back to his eyes, the lines around them softer as he observed her back.
Una opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She wet her lips and swallowed. Joe waited patiently. She tried again.
"I want to…," she breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, willing the tremors in her voice to go away. "I just want to belong."
The tension between Joe's brows visibly relaxed as he looked at her with mild surprise. His grip on her tightened a bit.
"I've never felt as though I did, no matter where I was. But then," she brushed her thumb along his bottom lip, her eyes following the movement. "You came along."
He took her curled hand into his own, kissing the back of her thumb. His own began to stroke her palm slowly. His gaze met hers, silently encouraging her to continue.
"You've helped me be the happiest I've ever been. When I'm with you, I feel safe," she gave him a small teary-eyed smile. "When I'm with you, I feel like I'm finally home."
He smiled back, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Joe's other hand wiping away new tears from her face. "Then, why the tears? What's been bothering you?"
Her face fell slightly, her eyes downcast, "Even though I feel this way, I always doubt that it's real or mutual." She took in a shaky breath, "Maybe I'm just imagining it. Maybe I'm just overthinkin-"
Joe's fingers under her chin, gently pulling her face up to look at him stopped her in her tracks.
"You're not, Una," he breathed. "You're not overanalyzing. You're not seeing more than what's there. You're not alone in this."
For a moment, they did nothing but stare at each other, their bodies still entwined.
"It didn't take me long to know that I've been waiting for you my whole life," he smiled as he brushed a strand of hair behind Una's ear. "I was lost before I met you. My only purpose was in my career and even that was rocky sometimes. But once you walked into my life, I knew where my place was."
The tears flowed freely down Una's cheeks now, her hand squeezing Joe's.
"You are my home, Una," he hushed, his face inching closer to hers. "You always have been."
She grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him in and closing the gap between their lips. Her eyes sliding shut, Una let out a soft sigh as Joe buried his fingers in her hair, deepening the kiss. His breath hitched when she responded in kind. The dampness from Una's cheeks transferred to Joe's, their noses bumping occasionally, but they didn't care. All that mattered in that moment was pouring all sentiment and emotion into each other, willing the other to know the depth of the impact they had made.
The kiss began to slow, their heart rates steadying. After a few lazy pecks, her eyes fluttered open, and stared into Joe's, now dilated, ones. He pulled her into him, holding on tight. Her face nestled into the crook of his neck, breathing in the vanilla musk of his cologne mixed with his natural scent.
"You belong, Una," he whispered to her. "You belong right here with me."
She felt a smile take over her face.
"I'm home."