It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

23. Christmas eve

That night, Ben and Joe are getting ready to leave for Gwil's house.
"And you're sure you're still feeling good enough?" Joe asks when both boy's have their jackets on.
Ben rolls his eyes with a smile, and pulls the ginger close to him by his hips. "If you ask that one more time, I'm gonna kiss you to make you shut up. If I wasn't feeling good enough, I wouldn't come with you. I feel fine." He says reassuringly.
A smirk appears on Joe's face. "So, just checking, but you're sure you're feeling good enough?" He says while making his hips touch with Ben's.
The blond giggles and leans in to reunite his lips with Joe's. He lets his tongue run over Joe's bottom lip, waiting for access to his mouth.
Which the ginger gives him without hesitation.
After their tongues have danced together for a while, their make out session gets brutally interrupted by a phone ringing.
The two break the kiss, and Joe answers his phone after looking into Ben's green eyes for a few seconds. "Hi Gwil." He says while looking at his boyfriend with still a big smile on his face.
Ben can hear Gwil talk on the other side of the line, but can't hear exactly what he's saying.
"Yes, I know, we have had some delay. But we're getting there now." Joe says.
Ben chuckles softly when he sees the grin on Joe's face. He looks at his boyfriend questioning when Joe suddenly starts to giggle softly.
"Yes, Ben feels good enough to come." Joe says. "Jeez relax Gwil, it's just a few minutes walking. We'll be there soon. See you there, bye." Without waiting for Gwil to answer, he ends the call.
"Why is everyone acting like I've been in a three week coma? It's just a concussion." Ben says while rolling his eyes.
Without saying anything to that yet, Joe opens the front door so they can leave for Gwil's house.

After closing the front door behind them, the two boys start walking.
After a few minutes of silence, Joe speaks up. "A concussion isn't just a little something, you have to remember that. You were unconscious for ten minutes or so, probably even longer. Plus you're my boyfriend, so I'm allowed to be worried." With a small smile, he intertwine their fingers.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ben says. The blond lifts up their hands, their fingers still intertwined, and he presses a kiss on Joe's hand.
The ginger shoots him a big smile. "I love you blondie." He whispers.
Ben smiles back at him, but instead of saying it back, the blond frees his hand out of Joe's.
The latter looks at his boyfriend questioningly.
"We're at Gwil's." Ben whispers with a chuckle.
Then Joe remembers. He was the one who wanted to wait telling their friends about them having a relationship. "Right." He smiles at Ben before ringing the doorbell.
"And I love you too, of course. Ginger." Ben whispers with a grin just before the front door opens.
Joe giggles softly, and can't help but blush a little.
"What are you smiling at?" Is the first thing Gwil says to Joe when he has opened the door.
Joe starts to blush even more, and shrugs. "N-nothing. Can we come in?" He asks before Gwil can ask any more questions that will make him blush even more.
Gwil nods, and steps aside so Ben and Joe can come in.
Joe already walks on to the living room after taking off his jacket, but Gwil stops Ben before he too can walk towards the living room. "So, you're really okay? I mean, that was some heavy shit yesterday man." The boy asks Ben a little concerned.
The blond immediately smiles at him, and nods. "Yes I'm okay. I just get tired quickly and have a headache sometimes, but that's quite normal after a concussion. I have a very sweet roommate who takes care of me, so I'll survive." He winks at Gwil before following his boyfriend into the living room.

In de living room, he sees Rami and Lucy on the couch already, Joe in a chair opposite them.
As soon as Lucy sees him, she gets up, quite shocked. "Jesus Ben. What happened to you?"
At first, Ben looks at her in confusion, but then he remembers that his face is still full of bruises and small wounds.
Also Rami looks at Ben in shock.
Judging from Lucy's and Rami's reaction, Gwil hasn't told them about yesterday yet. "Oh yeah, I had a little accident. But it's just a concussion, don't worry." Ben really doesn't feel like telling the two of them about Allen and about Corey. He shoots them a reassuring smile before sitting down in the chair next to Joe's. 
After they all just chatted with each other for a while, the five decided to begin with the presents.
Joe is the first one to grab a random present from under the tree. Little did the others know that Joe didn't grab a random present. This is his present for Ben.
"This one is for Ben." The ginger says with a smile while handing Ben his present.
When Joe gives him a wink, Ben is positive that this present is from his boyfriend. Curiously, the blond gently rips the paper off. A small white box appears. When Ben opens the box, his eyes widen slightly. "A new phone? Joe I can't take this." He says immediately.
Joe shrugs. "Too bad, I'm not returning it. Plus if you don't have a phone, I can't call you to bring me cookies from the supermarket." A big smirk appears on the ginger's face. 
Ben raises his eyebrow, but can't hold his laughter. "I always bring you cookies when I'm out for groceries, you bastard." He says with a chuckle. "But thanks."
A big smile appears on Ben's face when Joe mouths an 'I love you' when no one looks. After quickly looking around to make sure his friends won't see it, Ben blows the boy a kiss.
Then it's Gwil's turn to grab a present. He reads the label, and immediately recognizes Rami's handwriting. "This one is for Lucy." He says while handing her the present with a smirk.
The girl giggles softly and starts opening the present carefully. When it's fully opened, a beautiful golden necklace appears. Without saying anything yet, she looks at the jewel in awe. "Is this from you?" Lucy asks Rami.
The latter nods with light pink cheeks.
"It's so beautiful. Thank you." Lucy almost whispers. She gives him a kiss on the cheek.
Rami smiles, and takes the necklace from her so he can put it on by her. 

After a few presents, Joe notices that Ben is being more and more quiet. When the others aren't looking, he gently taps the blond. "Are you okay?" He whispers.
Ben takes a few deep breaths and closes his eyes for a second. He shakes his head briefly.
Which is enough for Joe to know that the painkillers the boy took before they left have worn off. He gives Ben a reassuring smile. "So guys, why don't we pause for a moment with unwrapping present, then Ben and I will get us some drinks." Joe says to his friends.
Gwil looks at him questioningly, and gets up. "Oh let me do that, you're the guests." He says.
Joe shakes his head, and tries to signal Gwil. He nods towards Ben, who is staring straight ahead and starts to look paler and paler.
Luckily, Gwil gets the hint, and he sits down again.
Joe smiles gratefully, and takes Ben's hand to pull him along into the kitchen. 

When they're in the kitchen, out of sight of the others, Joe pulls Ben into a hug.
Ben immediately crooks his head into Joe's neck and closes his eyes.
"How bad is it?" The ginger asks after they let go of each other.
"My headache is worse than ever and I feel like I haven't slept in years." Ben mumbles.
Joe intertwines their fingers and gently presses his lips against Ben's.
"How about we ask Gwil for some painkillers. After that we sit down on the couch together so you cuddle up against me. I think that's more comfortable than some chair, isn't it?" Joe suggests.
A weak smile appears on Ben's face. "Well those painkillers sound like a good idea, but... don't you think they'll get suspicious if we cuddle? I mean, you said you didn't want them to know about us yet." He says hesitantly.
Joe smiles, and shrugs. "Sweetheart, who cares. So what if they know? I'll survive, really. You need me, so I'll be there for you. You are more important than everything. Let's get you those painkillers." He gives the blond one last kiss before they leave the kitchen. 

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Who doesn't love a good Christmas chapter on May the 4th😅 I wrote this during Christmas so forgive me

I'm really just uploading this because otherwise I'll have to study for my finals lol🤫

Hope you enjoyed this chapter
Xxx from me💕