It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

24. I really love him

Once Gwil got Ben some painkillers the blond sits down on the couch, to let the meds do their work. He closes his eyes for a while, because the bright Christmas lights in the Christmas tree only make his headache worse.
When he opens his eyes again, he sees Rami and Lucy looking at him with concern.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asks.
Ben nods and quickly puts on a smile. "Yeah, just tired, that's all. It's the concussion." He says reassuring, but with a quite weak smile. When the two still look a bit worried, Ben looks to Gwil for a little help.
"Plus the only painkillers I had are ones that make you sleepy, so that's double." Gwil says quickly.
Ben smiles gratefully at his friend. 
When Joe comes out of the kitchen with their drinks, he looks at his friends in confusing when he notices the tense atmosphere.
As soon as he sees Ben's tired puppy eyes, he can feel his heart warm. He sits down next to his boyfriend after placing the drinks on the table. "You can close your eyes baby. Have some rest." He whispers to the blond when he sees that Ben's eyes fall close with fatigue. Making sure only Ben can hear it.
Ben's lips curl into a sleepy smile. Trying not to make it too obvious, he snuggles closer to Joe's chest.
Immediately a smile appears on Joe's face. 
Ben closes his eyes, and he instantly feels even more exhausted. It just feels so nice to have his eyes close. He feels Joe running a hand through his hair, making him more and more drowsy. He can hear his friends talk to each other, but it sounds distant. Slowly, his headache disappears, thanks to the painkillers. He sinks deeper and deeper, while listening to Joe's heart pounding.
It doesn't take him long to fully fall asleep.

*****

After they've opened the remaining Christmas presents, Joe shoots another glance at the boy sleeping in his arms. His heart melts when he sees the peaceful look on Ben's face in combination with his messy hair.
"So.... don't you have to tell us something?" Lucy asks Joe with a big smirk.
Gwil and Rami nod in agreement.
Joe looks up in confusion. "W-what do you mean?" He asks, immediately starting to blush. He avoids Lucy's look and instead looks at his boyfriend in his arms.
"That's what I mean. That look you're giving Ben."
Joe didn't know it is possible, but the smirk on Lucy's face grows even bigger.
"Spill the tea Mazzello. She's on to you." Rami says.
With still flushed cheeks, Joe rolls his eyes with a small smile. "Well uhm.... Ben and I are dating, actually. He's my boyfriend." He can't help but show his friends a big smile while saying this.
A rush of happiness runs through his body when Ben snuggles even closer to his chest. He leans in to place a sweet kiss on top of Ben's head.
"Never say that I'm wrong again, Malek!" Lucy exclaims happily. She immediately puts her hands in front of her mouth when she realizes that that was too loud.
But Ben doesn't notice it, and just peacefully continues sleeping.
Joe raises his eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He asks confused.
Rami rolls his eyes. "Well, Lucy was convinced that you two like each other, but I told her that that couldn't be true because you denied it when I asked. You liar, I knew I was right." He says.
Joe chuckles softly and shrugs. "Well, the reason I denied it, is because you can't keep your mouth shut. So it's your own fault." He looks at his friend with a victorious smirk on his face.  
"Okay but enough joking. I'm really happy for you two." Rami says when he sees that his friend is truly happy.
Joe smiles at his friend when he sees he means it.
"And so am I, of course." Lucy adds with a big smile.
Then, all eyes move towards Gwil, who hasn't said anything yet. With a neutral expression on his face, Gwil looks at Ben and Joe. Then suddenly a huge smile appears on his face. "It was only a matter of time. You two are cute together." He says.
Joe giggles softly, and intertwines his fingers with Ben's before giving the boy a kiss on the forehead. When he looks up again, he sees Lucy looking at him and Ben in awe.
"You really love him, don't you?" She asks.
With a smile, Joe nuzzles his face into Ben's blond hair and nods. "Yes. I really love him." He says softly.

Then Ben mumbles something, which sounds like an 'I love you too', but it's quite hard to make out.  
A bit startled by the sudden sound coming from his side, Joe looks at his boyfriend. "How long have you been awake already?" He asks softly, curious about how much Ben has heard. But he doesn't get an answer back.
Gwil chuckles softly. "Uhm, I don't think he's really awake Joe." He says.
Joe smiles and looks at the blond in his arms, who indeed still looks fast asleep.
Ben's breathing is still slow, his head heavy on Joe's chest.
The ginger chuckles softly. It's good to know that Ben even loves him when he's dead asleep.
"Now I know why you've been acting like a softie lately." Rami says with a wink.
Joe rolls his eyes and shakes his head laughing. "I haven't been acting like a softie, you're just used to the depressed and drunk version of me." For a second, the smile on Joe's face disappears when he thinks back to that period. He didn't get out of the house much, and if he did, it was to go out with friends to get drunk.
"Well I'm glad you're not depressed anymore then." Rami says.
Joe smiles. "So am I."

"Looks like you're the only one single here now." Lucy says with a big smirk to Gwil.
The boy immediately starts to blush, and he avoids the gazes of his friends. "I uhm- I am kind of seeing someone, actually." He says softly.
"Okay, now I want details." Lucy says excited.
Gwil rolls his eyes, and shyly looks down at his hands.
"Gwilym, I'm serious. Hit me with the story." Lucy says while giving her friend a playful nudge.
Both Joe and Rami are looking at their friend with a massive smirk on their faces, trying not to laugh.
"Well uhm... her name is Lina. She's in my class and two weeks ago I asked her on a date." Gwil says, a big smile on his face.
Joe is positive that he has never seen Gwil this in love before.
"What does she look like" Lucy asks curiously.
Immediately a dreamy look appears in Gwil's eyes. "She's beautiful. But you can see for yourself soon."
Rami raises his eyebrow and gives the boy a questioning look. "What do you mean?"
Also Joe looks puzzled at his friend.
"Well, I left my math book at her place after we studied together a few days ago. She said she'd bring it tonight." Gwil explains.

And exactly at that moment, the doorbell rings. 
"Speaking of the devil." Rami says with a big smirk to Joe and Lucy.
Lucy giggles softly, but Joe doesn't react. Mostly because the boy in his arms is waking up slowly because of the noise the doorbell made. "Hey sleepyhead." He whispers to Ben with a smile.
The blond rubs his eyes and slowly sits up straight. "I wasn't asleep that long, was I?" He mumbles confused.
Joe giggles and gives the boy a kiss on the cheek. "It was more than two hours sweetheart." He says softly with a small grin.
Ben blushes a little, but immediately starts blushing more and more when he sees Rami and Lucy looking at them with a smirk.
Joe giggles. "I told them about us." He says with a smile.
Ben smiles, and rolls his eyes when he sees Lucy winking at him. 
"Just ignore them. How are you feeling?" Joe whispers in Ben's ear.
The blond smiles and intertwines his fingers with Joe's. "So much better. The headache is gone and I'm not as tired as before anymore." Ben chuckles softly when he notices the relieved look in Joe's eyes. The boy really cares about him.
Joe leans in for a quick kiss. "Good, I'm glad."
"Where is Gwil?" Ben asks confused after looking around the room.
Joe is about to say something when Gwil enters the room, followed by a girl.
She has long brown hair, and dark green eyes.
"This is Lina." Gwil says with a smile.
The girl waves shyly at the four. "Nice to meet everyone." She says softly. 
Ben looks in confusion at his boyfriend, not knowing who the girl is.
"She's Gwil's girlfriend." Joe whispers in Ben's ear with a smirk.
"Nice to meet you too Lina." Rami says with a smile.
The others nod in agreement.
 
After a bit of talking to get to know Lina, Gwil walks her out.
When Joe sees that Ben is yawning, he says: "We should go home too, don't you think?"
But Ben immediately shakes his head. "Nooo, I wanna stay." He groans.
Joe chuckles and shakes his head laughing. "Come on, we can't stay forever." He says with a big smile.
The blond shrugs, and closes his eyes for a moment.
"I can give you a ride home if you don't feel like walking? I took my mom's car." Rami says with a small grin.
Joe shakes his head. "No, we'll walk. But thanks." He gets up, and takes Ben's hands in his own. "Come on, on your feet."

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Hey everyone!

So, this friday my final exams will start, so I'm not sure if I'll have time to upload new chapters for the next three weeks.

And if I do find the time it's probably late in the evening.

So you might have to wait a little longer, but I hope that's worth it❤