It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

52. Everything's great

"So, your little British boy doesn't speak that much, does he?" John asks Joe when the two of them are in the kitchen.
Joe shakes his head. "Usually he isn't this shy. He's just a bit overwhelmed." He says while pouring himself and Ben a drink.
"Why overwhelmed?" John asks with a raised eyebrow.
A small frown appears on Joe's face. "Well, he didn't have quite the childhood people would wish for. His parents always yelled at him, and after mentally abusing him for years they kicked him out of the house. So now he sees our family he's probably a bit amazed by how things could've been if his parents would have been nice to him." The ginger explains.
John grabs a bowl and a bag with paprika chips. "Ohw. That sucks. I guess our family will have to make up for that then. I like the kid. He's a keeper." He says to his younger brother before leaving the kitchen with the bowl of crisps.
Joe chuckles and soon follows his brother to the living room with their drinks. 

"How about a movie guys?" John asks with a big smile.
Ben smiles and nods. "Yeah, sure." He says with a shrug.
Joe nods in agreement as well. "Yeah okay. But watching a movie with me and Ben isn't that fun though. One of us always falls asleep." The ginger says with a smirk. He looks at his boyfriend as a way of saying that he thinks Ben is the one that always falls asleep.
Ben rolls his eyes and gives Joe a playful nudge. "Hey! You fell asleep the last three times we watched a movie. I guess today will be four." He says teasingly.
Joe giggles and briefly locks their lips together. "We'll see blondie." He says as he lets his head rest on Ben's chest.
With a slight blush on his cheeks, Ben nervously looks at John.
"Mate, don't hold back the affection on my behalf. Trust me, I'm used to quite a lot thanks to Mary and her boyfriend." John reassures the boy. 
Ben smiles and puts his arms around Joe. "Sorry. Thanks." He mumbles.
"You look cute when you blush." Joe whispers before pressing a kiss onto Ben's cheek.
When Mary enters the room, John is the first one to look up. "Hey Mary, wanna watch a movie with us?" He asks his sister.
The girl shakes her head and mumbles a 'no'. She walks into the kitchen without waiting for the others to say anything.
"Are you okay?" Ben asks when Mary comes back from the kitchen with a glass of water.
Mary shakes her head. "No. I have a headache and just wanna sleep." The girl mumbles before disappearing into her room.
"Uhm, goodnight?" Joe says a bit confused.
"Can I just say I'm very happy to be a boy?" John says.
Joe rolls his eyes with a smile before grabbing the remote to put on the movie.

As the movie starts, Ben immediately curls up in Joe's side. He smiles when the ginger intertwines their fingers and gives him a kiss on the head. "I love you Joey." He mumbles against Joe's chest.
Joe smiles and pulls his boyfriend even closer. "I love you too Benny." He whispers back.
And even though Ben just said that Joe is always the one to fall asleep, he's afraid today it will be the other way around. Because his tiredness grows with every scene that flashes by on the tv screen.
When Joe absentmindly starts running his fingers over Ben's back, the blond lets out a pleased noise. "Hm that's nice." He hums, his voice getting drowned out by the sound of the movie.

After half an hour, Joe notices how hard his boyfriend in his arms is fighting to stay awake. "You tired baby?"
Ben shakes his head. "No." He yawns.
Joe grins and starts gently playing with Ben's hair, something he knows the boy really likes. And most of the time it puts him to sleep too.
Ben yawns again before closing his eyes. He snuggles deeper into Joe's chest, loving how Joe's body keeps him warm.
Joe presses a kiss onto Ben's temple. "Are you sure? You don't look very awake." He whispers.
"Screw you. Love you." Ben mumbles before giving up the fight not to fall asleep.
"I love you too." The ginger whispers with a smile.
But Ben already doesn't seem to hear it anymore. With his fingers still intertwined with Joe's, he is now peacefully asleep against his boyfriend's chest.
When Joe looks up, he meets his brother's eyes.
John looks with a smile at the two. He can see how happy his little brother is with Ben. John shoots Joe a wink before focusing on the movie again. 

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"Benny, the movie ended. Let's go to bed baby." Joe says as he gently shakes the blond to wake him up. Although it's still quite early in the evening, the ginger starts to feel tired too. Probably the jetlag.
After shaking the boy a few times more, a loud groan is heard from Ben. The blond shakes his head and snuggles closer to Joe. "Don't wanna mooooove." He says in a whiny voice after opening his eyes for a second.
Joe giggles softly. "It's just a few steps to the bedroom sweetheart. I think you'll survive." The ginger gives Ben a kiss before pulling the boy on his feet.
"Ugh fine." Ben groans. "Has John gone to bed already?" He mumbles as the two make their way to their bedroom.
Joe shakes his head. "No, not yet. He went to check on Mary to see if she's okay. Since she got some tough news and had a headache before." He explains.
Ben just nods at that, and lets himself sink onto the bed once they're in the bedroom. The boy doesn't even bother changing into some other clothes and closes his eyes.
Joe smiles big time at the sight of his boyfriend curling up like a baby on the bed. "You can't sleep in your jeans blondie." He says softly as he gently caresses Ben's cheeks.
"Watch me." Ben mumbles.
Joe giggles and starts taking off Ben shirt. He places a kiss on the blond's bare chest before taking off the boy's jeans as well. "Sweet dreams honey." He whispers.
After that he starts undressing himself. He quickly crawls next to Ben in bed, the latter seems to be fast asleep again. 

Joe doesn't know why, but a big smile is forming around his lips.
Everything is just great at the moment. Just perfect.
The love of his life is asleep in his arms, looking so peaceful. And he and his family are reunited after a year and a half.
His thoughts go back to the time he and Ben still had to fear Corey. The time he got poisoned. But mainly the time Ben saved his life.
The day Ben got a text from Corey's mother was one of the most liberating moments he can imagine. 
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{Flashback to about 6 months ago }

"Benny? I'm gonna hop in the shower real quick. I'm freezing and these three sweaters won't help." Joe says with a small grin.
Ben chuckles when he sees the ginger is indeed wearing several layers of clothes. "Okay sweetheart. Oh by the way, do you have any clothes that need to be laundered? I was gonna do some laundry."
Joe thinks for a moment and shakes his head. "No, I don't think so." He walks over to the blond boy to peck his lips. "You're a very sexy housewife, do you know that?" He says with a smirk.
Ben giggles and presses his lips against Joe's once again. "How about this housewife makes us some dinner while you're in the shower?"
Joe smiles widely and nods happily. "You're so sweet, I love you." He says before disappearing into the bathroom. 
Ben watches the boy with a smile until he's out of sight. "I love you more. I win." He mumbles with a smile.

When Ben is almost done with making dinner, he can hear the shower being turned off.
He wants to turn back to the pans with food when he hears a phone beeping. He quickly searches for his phone, and checks who the message is from. His heart skips a beat when he sees the name of Corey and Allen's mother on the screen.
With all his heart Ben hopes she has some good news.
Once he has fully read the message, he turns off the stove. The blond quickly rushes towards the bathroom, to Joe. He bursts into the bathroom, where he meets Joe with just a bare torso and some sweatpants.
"Jesus, everything okay? Is the kitchen on fire?" Joe asks, quite shocked from Ben's sudden entrance.
The blond smiles reassuringly and shakes his head. "No no, don't worry. I just got a text from Kay." Ben says.
Joe has to think for a moment, but then remembers. "Corey's mother?" He asks.
Ben nods, and hands Joe his phone. 

 (18:02 Pm) Kay: Hi Ben. I just wanted to say that I confronted Corey yesterday with the things you told me. He started crying immediately when I showed him that message in which he threatened you. At first I didn't believe him, but after a few minutes he went straight into a panic attack. We agreed that he needs some help to cope with things. We will keep an extra eye on him in the coming period. Sorry again for everything he did to you and Joe. 

Without saying anything, Joe puts the phone down on the sink. With his big hazel eyes twinkling, he walks over to Ben to hug him.
"I'm so relieved." The blond boy whispers during the hug.
Joe crooks his head into Ben's neck and nods. "Me too. I love you."
Ben pulls away from the hug, but only so his lips can meet Joe's for a passionate kiss. "I love you too." He mumbles before starting another kiss.

{Flashback over }

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