Two Become Three- A Joanne Story

Sniffles

Joe nervously paced around near his front door as he waited for the lift, with his girlfriend in, to arrive. They had delayed their meeting by a few hours, as Joe had a shoe to prepare for and Dianne needed to collect some things from her flat. For both, the extra 2 hour wait had been like torture, knowing the other was just a short car ride away. Joe was really nervous, worried they would struggle to slip back into what they had, the distance somehow ripping a hole through the bond that they had formed together. Dianne less so, just ready to hold him close and fix his problems. Ready to be held herself.

"Oh my gosh I've missed you," Joe breathed, the minute the door opened to reveal Dianne. He pulled her as close into him as possible, hands trying to reach as much of her as possible, worried she wasn't real.

"I've missed you too," she murmured into his chest, taking deep breaths so she could re-commit his scent to her memory. There was a rising feeling of tears that she squashed, she could cry later.

"Let me look at you," Joe said, stepping back, taking her face into his hands, "you're so tan, you look so beautiful."

"Joe, stop," she giggled looking away from his gaze. 

He smirked ever so slightly and pulled her face close. Brushing away a piece of her hair that had fallen in front of her lips, he inched his face closer. So close, in fact, that their breaths mingled and Joe could taste the remnants of coffee as he gazed into her gooey brown Disney eyes. "I've missed doing this," he said against her lips and finally kissed her gently. Dianne could feel the passion as she moved her hand to the back of his neck, holding on to him tightly, as if he might suddenly slip away.

"You've had you hair cut," she said, when they pulled away, her hands brushing his hair into its usual quiff.

"Kieron came over yesterday," he nodded, crossing his hands behind her back, like he ways did, resting them on her hips, where her shirt had risen slightly under her coat.

"It's nice," she smiled, "I missed you."

Joe felt a smiled pull at the corners of his mouth as she tucked her head until her chin. He stroked her hair with one of his hands, the other draped over her shoulder and rested somewhere in the middle of her back. Moving his head for a second, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before returning to have her in her rightful place, tucked under his chin; protected from the world.

"I've missed my munchkin too, where is she? I half expected her to be at the lift waiting," Dianne said, moving to look past him into the living room, however Connie was nowhere to be seen. 

Joe sighed, "she's napping. Poor sod's caught Alfie's cold." He took her hand and started walking towards the sofa, waiting to keep up the cuddling. More than anything else, more than the kisses, the careful touches, he had missed the cuddles.

"Oh no, aww bless, oh can I go and see her? Will it wake her up too much?" Dianne asked, the second thing she had been desparate to do, after hugging and kissing Joe of course, was to hug Connie tightly. She had missed Connie's random cuddly moments. Missed the little girl running up and hugging her when she felt like it.

"No, she's up in my room, go on, I'll take your case up," Joe said, turning them around. Dianne set off upstairs and Joe followed behind with her small case that contained clothes for a few days. She had no plan to leave him -them- any time soon. 

When Joe got in, his heart swelled three times the size, watching Dianne, still in her coat, scoop Connie up and kiss her on the head. Resting her case against the wall, he wrapped and arm around Dianne and smiled as Connie was pulled up to rest against her shoulder. He instinctively laid a hand on Connie's head, as Dianne swayed with her.