no strings attached - j.b

rather be

After a short detour to the hotel where Phoebe had spent the last week, Joe drove along with her and her packed bags to her apartment, where Sam, Tris and Kim were already waiting impatiently for news.

"Oh my god, she's here. She's fine" Kim sighed in relief as Phoebe followed by Joe came into the living room, immediately jumping up and pulling her best friend into her arms before letting go and slapping her on the upper arm.

"You don't ever do anything like that again, you understand?" she sighed before pulling Phoebe into a tight hug once more. Phoebe mumbled an apology before letting Sam and Tris pull her into relieving hugs as well.

"We're glad you're back, Pheebs. We were really worried about you" Sam sighed "I'm sorry. I just...needed some space from everything" Phoebe looked apologetically at her friends.

"The main thing is that nothing happened to you and everything is fine now" Tris stated before looking back and forth between Phoebe and Joe. "You guys were able to talk things out?" he asked the two.

Phoebe nodded with a smile as Joe put his arm around her from behind and pressed a kiss to her hair. Happy smiles spread across the others' faces as Phoebe looked up at Joe. "A bit of a bumpy start but we were able to sort everything out" she explained.

"So you guys are now...?" Kim flailed her arms a bit awkwardly before forming a heart with her hands and looking at the two. Phoebe giggled as she looked back up at Joe, who returned her gaze with a grin.

"We haven't quite talked about it yet" he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. Phoebe nodded in agreement. Kim nodded before standing up and grabbing her bag. "I'll leave you guys to it then, so maybe you can have that conversation" she looked at her watch.

"I've got to get going. Got another thing to do tonight anyway" she shrugged. "wait, you have a date tonight? With who?" Phoebe stared at her in surprise. A wide grin spread across Kim's face before a slight blush rose in her cheeks.

"Tee asked me out tonight. Not a date, just spend some time with each other, alone" she bit her lower lip. Phoebe squealed out before breaking free of Joe's arms and pulling Kim into a hug.

"Have a great time" she smiled at her as Joe and Sam exchanged satisfied looks. Tee had really managed to ask Kim out. "Tell Tee not to make it too long though, he has practice tomorrow after all" Joe grinned amused. "You never care about that either" Sam winked at him.

"I should get ready too" when Kim had gone, Tris stood up and stretched. "Wait, you have a date tonight too?" Phoebe asked, surprised. Tris nodded while Phoebe laughed out loud.

"Tristan Paul Brown is going on a date? How did that happen?" she asked, grinning. Tris shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe you both showed me that having just one person to yourself is quite nice" he smiled.

"Okay, I'll have to get used to your sweet side" Phoebe shook herself laughing. "But who's the lucky one? Just pulled a random number from your collection?" she asked.

Tris shook his head. "It's Elaine" he admitted, nervously stroking the back of his neck. Phoebe looked at him in surprise. "The secretary of our fathers? Is that how you managed to get her to call me to the office?" the three boys nodded.

"Okay, wow. I mean, Elaine is a sweet girl. Not quite what I imagined, she's so...not bitchy...if you know what I mean" Phoebe grinned as she shrugged her shoulders. "I'll just try not to be offended at that comment and go fix myself now" Tris shook his head with a grin and said goodbye before running up the stairs.

"what about you? Any date too?" Grinning, Phoebe looked at Sam, who was the last one left standing in front of them. He laughed. "To be honest, yes" he grinned. Surprised, Phoebe looked at him.

"Here I am a week away and all of a sudden everyone has a date? Who is it?" Phoebe asked curiously. Sam laughed. "Well, you know him. He already lives in my house and is my biggest fan and I promised him tonight I would only spend time with him" he grinned mischievously.

"Oh, Henry, of course, you can't neglect your sweetie. Scratch him behind the ear for me and tell him I'll bring his favorite snacks again next time I come, okay?" Phoebe smiled. "maybe I won't tell him that or my dog will soon like you more than me" Sam laughed before pulling Phoebe into a hug, high-fiving Joe and then leaving.

"That just leaves you and me. What do you say we go to my room? I need to clean out my bags, but after that I'll only have time for you and... we should probably talk about the subject Kim brought up earlier" Phoebe nervously ran her fingers through her hair as Joe nodded. "Sounds like a plan"

• • •

"Okay, that's all" sighing, Phoebe flopped down on the bed Joe had already made himself comfortable on and snuggled up to him as she finished unpacking all her things. "About time" Joe grinned as he put an arm around Phoebe and pulled her even closer to him.

They were silent for a few moments before Phoebe sighed again. "Okay, so, we should clear this up. We should talk about it. What...are we?" she asked, sitting up in bed.

Joe chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip. "Well, actually, we're past the whole getting-to-know-you stage, aren't we? We've already spent enough time together to skip it, don't you think?" Joe asked, shrugging his shoulders with a grin.

"So we're going straight to what?" Phoebe asked, smiling. "Well, what we've actually been more or less for weeks. Just official and exclusive" he shrugged as he leaned in to Phoebe and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"A couple?" Phoebe asked with a smile. Joe nodded as he hummed and leaned in to Phoebe's ear. "A couple. So if you want, you can now officially be only mine" he murmured in her ear.

Phoebe squealed when Joe pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I would like that" she grinned before placing her lips back on Joe's. "But..." Joe broke away from her. "I'd still like to take you on a date. A real one, because we haven't done that yet" he grinned at her.

"I would like that too" Phoebe smiled as she let her hand go under Joe's shirt, gently running over his skin. Joe groaned before he took Phoebe's hand though and pulled it back out from under his shirt.

"You know that you turn me on by just touching me like that" Joe whispered and pressed a kiss to the back of Phoebe's hand. "But not tonight, okay? I just got you back and I want to enjoy having you in my arms again tonight, you know?"

Phoebe smiled slightly before resting her head on Joe's chest and wrapping her arms around his body. "as long as you stay here, that's enough for me" she mumbled into the fabric of his shirt.

Joe pressed a kiss to her hair as he put his arms around her and gently stroked her back. "Believe me, there's no place I'd rather be right now" he mumbled into her hair. 

Sorry for not posting the last few days, kinda didnt have the time and motivation but Im back now!!!

Only one more day until the championship game, im nervous and excited at the same time!!!

WHO-DEY 🧡