It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

37. Panic attack

The next day, it's time for Mary to go home.
"You're sure you'll be okay?" Joe asks when his sister is about to leave for the airport.
Mary chuckles and nods. "Yes, I'm sure. Thank you, for everything." She says before hugging her brother.
Joe smiles at her when they let go of each other.
Then Mary turns to Ben. "Same goes for you. Thank you for everything you did for me." She steps forward so she can capture Ben into a hug.
Ben smiles. "Of course." He says.
Joe looks at his sisters tiny baby bump. "We're coming to visit you and the baby as soon as it's here, deal?" 
Ben nods to say that he agrees with that plan.
The smile on Mary's face grows. "I'll see you in eight and a half months then." The girl says before letting her hand rest on her stomach.
"I can't wait. Give Dad and John a bunch of hugs from me okay?" Joe says with a big smile.
Mary chuckles and nods. "I will. I'm afraid I really have to go now." She steps forward and hugs both boys one last time.   
"Bye." Joe whispers before swallowing. Even though he is used to being away from his family, it's hard to see his sister leave.
Ben immediately grabs Joe's hand in his own, giving him a reassuring smile.
The two watch Mary getting into her taxi, and don't stop waving at her until she's completely out of sight.
Ben is the first one to walk back inside, deciding to give Joe some space.
Joe stares at the empty road for a few more minutes before taking a deep breath and following his boyfriend inside. 

Once inside, Joe plops down onto the couch next to Ben.
"Are you okay?" Ben whispers.
Joe lets out a soft hum and puts his head on Ben's chest. He lets out a content sigh and smiles when Ben starts playing with his hair. He closes his eyes and snuggles close to Ben's chest.
Ben smiles down at his boyfriend. "I love you." He whispers after giving Joe a sweet kiss on the forehead.
Joe smiles sleepily. "I love you too." He mumbles as he lets out a yawn. Before the boy realizes it, he dozes off. The last thing he hears is Ben softly humming a song to him. Then he falls asleep completely.  

~~~

When Joe opens his eyes again, Ben is no longer next to him. For a moment, he just looks around in confusion. How long has he been asleep?
He yawns and stretches out, making some of his muscles pop. "Damn, should've slept in bed instead of this couch." He mumbles to himself. Joe looks at the clock on the wall and sees it's almost noon. With a soft groan, he buries his head in one of the cushions and closes his eyes again.
But after a few minutes the boy can feel his stomach growl. Still a bit sleepy, he gets up to walk to the kitchen.
He is about to open the fridge when he sees a small note pinned on the door with a magnet. 

Hi baby. I went to get us some lunch. I won't be gone for long. 
PS, You look very cute when you're asleep ;) love you
xxx from your Benny

Joe smiles once he has read the note. He rubs his eyes, and decides to continue with his nap. Ben will wake him up when he get home. He walks back into the living room, but stops walking when he sees the couch. He turns around and walks towards the bedroom, deciding to lie down onto their bed instead.

***

As Ben said in the note, he wasn't away for long. He opens the front door with in his hand a small bag filled with sandwiches and donuts from the local bakery. He decided to spoil his boyfriend a bit with an extensive lunch for once, instead of just some grilled cheese sandwich like they normally would have for lunch.
After taking off his jacket, the blond walks on to the living room. He is quite surprised to see that the tv is on, but that the living room is completely empty.
He walks to the kitchen to see if Joe might be there. But the kitchen is also deserted. "Joey?" He calls out when the boy isn't in the kitchen either. But when he walks into the bedroom, he finds his boyfriend lying on their bed, his back to Ben.
At first, Ben assumes that the boy is asleep. But when he notices that Joe is slightly shaking, the blond already has an idea what might be going on. He walks over to the bed, and coughs softly so he doesn't startle the boy.
The blond sits down onto the bed feeling his heart shatter into pieces when he hears the broken sobs coming from his boyfriend. "Let me help you love, please?" He whispers as he gently rubs his hand over Joe's back.
Joe turns around, allowing Ben to see the tears running down his cheeks. He tries to speak, but his tears make it impossible. And so he just crawls onto Ben's lap, wrapping his limbs around the blond's torso. He burries his face into Ben's neck.
"Shh, it's okay. You're safe, you're with me." Ben says as he puts his arms around the boy. When he feels some tears soaking through his hoodie, he bites his lip. He hates to see Joe this unhappy.
Ben lifts Joe's head to make the boy look at him before taking his hand. He places it on his chest so they can breath together. Just like Joe helped him when he had a panic attack because of Allen. "Okay baby, breathe with me."

After a few deep breaths, the sobbing has stopped.
With his thumb Ben wipes away Joe's tears.
A teeny tiny smile appears on Joe's face. He gives his boyfriend a hug, inhaling the boy's scent. He immediately feels calm and safe when Ben puts his strong arms around him. He just enjoys being so close to Ben's chest for a while, without saying anything.
When they pull away of the hug, Ben gives Joe a sweet short kiss on his nose.
The ginger lets out a soft giggle, which warms Ben's heart. "Sorry about that. I don't even know what caused it." Joe says.
Ben doesn't say anything yet, and leans in for a kiss. "No need to apologize for things like this sweetheart. Trust me, I know how it feels." He says as he intertwines their fingers.
Joe smiles, and closes his eyes as he puts his head on Ben's chest.
"I think you just unconsciously bottled up your feelings. It must be pretty shocking for you seeing your sister so suddenly after a year." Ben says softly as he runs his hand through Joe's hair.
The ginger nods against Ben's chest. "Hmm yeah. I guess you're right." He mumbles.
It stays silent for a moment.
"So, what did you bring for lunch?" Joe asks with a smirk when he feels his stomach growl again.
Ben lets out a loud laugh. "Sandwiches and donuts." He whispers in Joe's ear with a grin.
The ginger's lips curl into a big smile.
Ben presses his lips against his boyfriend's before pulling the boy along to the kitchen so they can have lunch.

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Just a short fluffy chapter, but that will change soon, so prepare yourself hehe

Dare to make a guess about what will happen?

Anyways, much love from me aka queenborhap_gifs♡