Long term relationship with Joe and he is on tour for his birthday and you have to work ( or so he thinks) and won’t be able to visit, but the guys in the band or his family help you surprise him
⌯⌲ Joe Drabbles Masterlist
Imagine trying to lie to him so you don't ruin the surprise.
The video call connects with its usual soft chime, and there he is finally - Joe, hunched over a hotel desk in Cleveland, hair flattened on one side from his beanie, eyes heavy with that tour exhaustion. He brightens when he sees you, that familiar crooked smile you fell in love with years ago.
"Hey yourself." You adjust your laptop slightly, careful to keep your bedroom wall out of frame. The half-packed duffel bag sits just out of sight, stuffed with his favorite snacks and a vintage synthesizer shirt you found at a thrift store. "How was soundcheck?"
He groans, running a hand through his hair. "Fine. Weird without you there. I keep looking for you in the wings."
Your heart pinches. Three years together now, and he's still looks for you in crowds.
"About that," you say carefully, watching his face fall in real-time, sadness welling up behind his eyes before you can even say anything. "I talked to my boss. I tried everything - I really did. But there's no way I can get off for Chicago. That presentation on Thursday, it's - "
"No, no." He shakes his head, forcing a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "It's okay. I get it. We'll celebrate when I'm back."
"I mean it." He leans closer to the camera, close enough that you can see the small scar above his eyebrow from that time he walked into a tree branch at your parents' house. "You being there every other show? That's already more than I can ask for. One birthday apart won't kill us."
But you know it will wound him. You can see it in the way he glances away, in the slight was his jaw tightens as he fights his own emotions.
"I'll make it up to you," you promise.
He blows you a kiss before disconnecting, and you sit in the sudden silence of your apartment, staring at the black screen. Then you see a text from Liam: "I'm in. Tell me everything."
The plan forms over three days of colluded messages. Liam, bless him, is overly theatrical about the whole thing - "'Course I'll help, he's been moping like a kicked puppy. Last night he played 'End of Beginning' three times and stared at your contact photo after the show" - while Joe's sister Caroline handles the family side, promising to keep him distracted with a fake "surprise" video call party that'll actually buy you time to get there.
You drive six hours to Chicago, hands cramped on the steering wheel, playlist full of Djo songs that make you grin like an idiot. The venue is bigger than you expected, all industrial brick and buzzing backstage energy. Liam meets you at the loading dock, hugging you hard enough to crack your back.
"He's been a nightmare," Liam confides, leading you through concrete corridors. "Snapping at the prompters, forgetting lyrics. Keeps saying 'Y/N would know' like you're his external hard drive for his brain."
"I am his external hard drive."
"Exactly. That's why this'll wreck him - in the good way."
He shows you the supply closet - it's cramped, dusty, smelling of old stains and coffee - then he hands you a walkie-talkie. "Channel four. When you hear me say 'maintenance issue,' that's your cue. Give him thirty seconds to get frustrated, then - " he mimes an explosion, grinning.
You settle in to wait for the queue, duffel bag at your feet, heart doing jumping jacks against your ribs. Through the thin walls, you can hear the show - it's distant, muffled, but unmistakably his. The synth lines vibrate through the floor. You catch yourself mouthing the words to "Gap Tooth Smile," imagining him on stage, sweat-dark hair, that focused intensity he gets when the lights hit.
The set ends. You check your phone: 10:47 PM. The walkie crackles with roadie chatter, then Liam's voice, casual: "Hey Joe, green room's locked. Maintenance. Use the storage closet off the main corridor - two minutes, yeah?"
Footsteps approach. Your hands shake.
Joe steps in, phone already in his hand, shoulders curved with post-show fatigue. He doesn't look up - just mutters "ridiculous" under his breath, thumb hovering over your contact photo.
Time stops. You watch it happen in slow motion: the double-take, the widening of his eyes, the way his phone slips in his grip before he frantically catches it. His mouth opens. Closes. Opens again.
"You - " he chokes out. "You said - "
You don't give him time to recover. You launch yourself at him, and he catches you like he's able to breath again, like gravity, arms banding around your waist so tight your ribs protest. His face buries in your neck, inhaling deep - you, your shampoo, your skin, the home he's been missing for three weeks.
"You liar," he mumbles, voice wrecked. "You absolute - " he pulls back, hands framing your face, thumbs brushing your cheekbones with trembling reverence taking it all in - "you planned this. How long?"
"Three days of lying to your face." You grin, giddy with relief. "Liam helped. Your sister too. Happy birthday, dummy."
He stares at you like you're a miracle, like you're stage lights, song lyrics and every good thing that's ever happened to him at once. Then he kisses you, and it's not gentle in the slightest - it's hungry, desperate, weeks of absence compressed into this collision. His hands tangle in your hair, your back hits the shelving unit, something metallic clatters to the floor, and neither of you care.
When you finally break apart, he's laughing, breathless, forehead pressed to yours. "I can't believe you did this."
"I can leave if you want."
He tightens his grip. "Don't you dare."
The walkie crackles: "Ahem. We're waiting with terrible cupcakes. Whenever you lovebirds - "
Joe ignores it, kissing you again, slower this time, like he has all the time in the world now. Like you're the only thing that matter's to him right now.
Later, you'll emerge to find the whole band crammed into the green room (which was never locked), holding a grocery store cupcake with one crooked candle, singing off-key. Joe's mom will video call, shrieking when she sees you, and Joe will spend the whole conversation with his arm locked around your waist, touching you constantly - your hip, your shoulder, the small of your back - like he still doesn't quite believe you're real and here still
But for now, in the dusty dark of a supply closet, it's just you two. He whispers "best birthday" against your lips, again and again, a prayer and a promise, while the distant roar of the venue fades to nothing at all.
A/N: my laptop is not liking me at the moment. Kinda rude.