It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

29. Smile

When Ben wakes up the next morning, the first thing he feels is a stinging pain in his back. He opens his eyes and sees that Joe is still peacefully asleep on his lap, leaning against his chest.
The boy is clinging onto his chest like a koala, which looks very cute in Ben's opinion.
The Brit is still sitting straight up against the headboard, in the same position as he fell asleep last night. Which is probably why his back hurts so badly. But everything for Joe. He is happy that the boy finally got a few hours of sleep.
After checking the clock to see what time it is, he carefully reaches out to grab his phone from the nightstand.
Joe groans softly before shifting a little.
"Shh, it's okay baby. Go back to sleep." Ben whispers while softly rubbing his hand over Joe's back.
"But I have to go to work soon." The boy mumbles, his eyes still closed.
Ben smiles and shakes his head. "Don't worry about that. I texted Brian yesterday and asked him if I can take over your shift. That way you can get some more rest." He says while playing with Joe's hair.
A tiny smile forms around Joe's lips. "That's sweet." He mumbles. "Please keep cuddling me?"
Ben chuckles and presses a kiss on the boy's forehead. "Of course. But can we maybe lay down in a proper way? My back can't take much more." He says with a painful smile.
Joe nods, and with his eyes still close, he lets go of Ben's chest.
As soon as Ben lies down, Joe immediately puts his head on the boy's chest again.

About an hour later, it's time for Ben to leave for work.
"I'm leaving now. But call me whenever you want okay? Try to relax a bit. Maybe try to get some more sleep?" Ben says to Joe while putting on his jacket.
The ginger nods with a reassuring smile. "I'll try. Now go, I'll be fine." He says.
But despite the smile on the ginger's face, Ben doesn't fully believe him.
The boy looks pale, exhausted, and still quite anxious.
"Okay then." The blond leans in to give Joe a kiss on the lips. "I love you." He says with a smile.
"I love you more." Joe says with a tired smile.

¨¨¨

"Morning!" Brian says cheerfully as Ben enters the music shop.
The blond chuckles when he sees Brian's big smile. "Uhm good morning to you too. Why are you so happy?" He asks surprised.
Brian shrugs with a smile. "I just found out your friend left some pictures after his visit. Apparently he sneaked them into my bag before he left." He says.
Ben raises his eyebrow and walks towards the counter. "Roger? What kind of pictures?" He asks curiously.
With a smile, Brian hands him one of the photo's. "Pictures from back in the days. Mostly from the time we were still a band."
"Is this you?" Ben points at a young boy with black curls on the picture.
Brian smiles and nods.
"I can't believe you've always had the same haircut." Ben says with a smirk.
Brian chuckles and shrugs. "What can I say. I'm pretty boring." He says with a smile.
Ben shakes his head. "Don't say that. You were in a band and now you own a music shop. That's not boring at all." He looks at the young Brian on the picture. "Wait, is this Roger?" With a big smirk on his face, he grabs a picture, pointing at a boy with long blond hair, standing next to a girl.
Brian nods with an even bigger smile. "Yep. He was quite the womanizer of us three. Our friend Tim and I both had a girlfriend, but Roger found one fling after another." A big smirk appears on the older man's face.
Ben looks at him in surprise. "Really? I never knew that." He says.
Brian laughs and shrugs. "There's probably a lot more you don't know. Which is for the better, trust me." He says with a wink.

•••

When Ben is halfway through his shift, his phone rings. He frowns when he sees Joe is the one calling him. Would something be wrong? He quickly looks for his boss. "Brian? Do you mind if I take this call? It's Joe. He isn't feeling well lately, so I'm afraid something's wrong." He asks.
Brian gives him a reassuring smile and nods. "Of course, take the call. No need to ask." He says friendly.
Ben gives him a grateful nod before walking away to answer the phone. "Hi sweetheart." Ben can feel his heart pounding in his throat. He's just very worried about his boyfriend.
"B-Ben? Is there any chance you can.... c-come home?" Joe voice says through the phone.
Ben can't help but notice how soft Joe is talking and how weak his voice sounds. "Yeah, I guess I can fix that. I'll ask Brian. Are you okay?" He asks concerned.
For a few seconds, it stays silent on the other side of the line.
"N-no not really. I'm so dizzy. I- I have this huge headache and I'm so fucking tired Ben." Joe says with a soft sob. "I r-really hoped it would be better after last night."
Brian walks towards Ben when he notices the worried look on the boy's face. "Everything okay?" He whispers.
Ben shakes his head. "Not really." He whispers back. He gestures to the curly-haired man to give him a second. "Joe? Let me call you back. Don't worry okay? I'll text you when I'm on my way." He says before ending the call.

He looks at Brian, who's giving him a worried look.
"What's going on?" The man asks.
Ben takes a deep breath. "Joe really isn't feeling well. He hasn't had a proper night sleep in sex days. So he's really tired. But now he's starting to get dizzy and he has a huge headache. Is there any chance I can finish my shift tomorrow? He sounded pretty scared on the phone." He explains.
Brian thinks for a moment, and then shakes his head. "No. You're not gonna finish your shift tomorrow. You're gonna go home, and take care of Joe. Come to work again when you both feel better. Because you look pretty tired too." He says with a friendly smile.
A grateful smile appears on Ben's face. "Really?"
Brian nods. "Yes, really. We never have many customers after the holidays, so I can handle it alone." He assures the boy.
"Thank you." Ben says. He quickly grabs his jacket, and after thanking Brian once again, he hurries home. To Joe.

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I don't have anything to say today guys, how about that😂

So I'll just send you my love♡

Xxx from me