It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

58. The old apple tree

The next morning, Ben wakes up from a few sun rays shining in his face. He whines softly and buries his face into Joe's chest to avoid the bright light.
The ginger is still fast asleep, but immediately puts his arm around Ben to pull him close.
When the blond has almost fallen asleep again, he hears Liz starting to cry in the room next to theirs. As soon as a soft groan is heard from Joe, Ben knows it won't be long until the boy wakes up. With his breathing under control, Ben pretends to be still asleep. He can feel Joe sitting up a little.
As Joe told him last night, he starts to give Ben kisses all over the boy's face.
The blond feels Joe's lips move from his head, to his cheek, to his nose, to his lips.
Once the ginger's lips touch Ben's lips, the blond starts kissing him back passionately. Without giving Joe time to realize he is awake, Ben rolls over and pins Joe's hands to the top of their bed.
"Good morning." The blond says with a grin, hovering over his boyfriend.
Joe giggles and gives him a short kiss. "Hi. You were awake already?"
Ben giggles and nods. He wants to start another deep kiss, but Joe stops him by placing his hand on the boy's chest. "I think I'll be the one in charge here today." He says with a smirk. He makes them roll over, so Ben is now beneath him.
Ben grins. "Please do." He places his hands on the waistline of Joe's boxershorts as he makes their lips touch once again.
Soon, the two of them are completely naked.

○○○

Still catching his breath, Ben lets his forehead rest against Joe's. With a big smile on his face, he stares into the ginger's hazel eyes. "That was so hot." He says.
Joe nods in agreement. "I love you." The ginger whispers.
With a smirk, Ben pulls Joe's head towards his own by the boy's chin.
The ginger giggles softly and slowly leans in to reunite his lips with Ben's.
During the kiss, Ben's hand finds its way on the ginger's cheek. "I love you more. I win." He whispers when they break the kiss, looking at his boyfriend in admiration.
Joe curls up in Ben's side, placing his head on top of the boy's heart.
The blond puts his arm around the boy, and just stares at the ceiling with a big smile on his face. He chuckles softly when Joe starts tracing figures with his finger on his stomach. He tries not to squirm too much under the ticklisch touches of his boyfriend.
When Joe notices the effect of his touches, he grins. The ginger starts moving his finger from Ben's pecs, to his abs, to his hip, to his private parts. Which is, apart from the sheets, still revealed.
A soft moan escapes Ben's mouth the moment he feels Joe's fingers brushing over his member. He takes in a sharp breath before smashing his lips against Joe's. "You horny bitch. Haven't you had enough?" He says with a smirk.
The ginger giggles and with flushed cheeks he rolls onto Ben's chest. "Of this gorgeous body? Never." For a moment, he grins proudly at the purple spot he left in Ben's neck. After that he immediately starts another kiss.

Suddenly a knock is heard on the bedroom door.
"Boys, are you awake already? Would you like some toast for breakfast?" Joseph's voice says on the other side of the door.
Joe immediately puts his index finger in front of Ben's mouth to keep the boy from speaking. "Do not make a sound." He whispers with a smirk, not wanting their moment to be ruined. After that he immediately continues kissing his boyfriend again.
Ben lets out a surprised noise, but doesn't hesitate going along in the kiss.
Another knock is heard. "Boys?"
As a way of shutting his father out, Joe pulls the duvet over the two of them.
"They're probably still asleep Dad." Mary's voice says.
Joe lets out a loud groan into the kiss before tearing his lips away from Ben's.
"Damn." The blond whispers. Ben runs his hand through Joe's hair, and notices that the boy's forehead is still a bit sweaty from their activities this morning. 
"Yeah or they're fucking." John's voice adds.
The ginger sighs softly, knowing that they won't leave them alone anytime soon. "Well we're awake now guys, thanks very much! We'll be out in a minute." He shouts to his family.
There is some murmuring before it gets silent on the other side of the door.
"How about I'll make us a cup of coffee before we sneak out for breakfast?" Joe suggests.
Ben nods with a smile. "Sounds perfect." He says.
Joe places a kiss on Ben's bare chest before getting up to search for some clothes.

"Why are you all sweaty? You look like you have been running a marathon. Are you sick?" Joseph says to Joe when the boys come out of their room.
Immediately John and Mary's gazes stare at the ginger boy.
Joe just shrugs at that. "Well, Ben got cold during the night so this morning I woke up covered under three blankets." He says without even thinking about it.
Ben can't help but smirk when he sees Joe making up a lie that quick. He quickly nods to confirm Joe's story.
The ginger walks into the kitchen to make some coffee, and is immediately followed by John.
"I don't know much about blankets little brother. But I do know they don't leave a hickey like that. Had a wild morning with your British boy?" John says as he points at Joe's neck.
The ginger starts to blush and stares at the coffee machine with a shy smile on his face. He rolls his eyes, not wanting to answer John's question. "Shut up." He mumbles before pulling up his hoodie a little so the hickey won't be as visible anymore.
John smirks before leaving the kitchen.

○○○

With their fingers intertwined, and a sandwich in their other hand, Joe shows Ben around New York.
All his favorite spots, and even his old high school.
Ben can see the boy's hazel eyes twinkle with every spot he shows him.

"Come on, I wanna show you one last place." Joe suddenly says after just roaming the streets for a while.
"Alright." Ben giggles as he lets himself being dragged along by the ginger.
But when they're on their way for about seven minutes, Joe's phone rings. The boy quickly looks who's calling him, and shoves his phone back in his pocket.
Ben looks at him questioningly.
Joe gives him a reassuring smile. "It's Mary. But I'll call her back later. For now, I am all yours." With a grin, Joe gives the blond a kiss on the cheek before pulling him along again.
Ben smiles at the boy, getting more and more curious about this place Joe wants to show him.

"Is this some kind of park or something? It's so quiet." Ben asks he looks at the spot in front of them.
Joe smiles and shakes his head. "Nope, just some grass and an old apple tree. It's quite hidden so not many people know it's here. You have your hangout, well this is my spot to relax." He says with a chuckle. "Come on." He beckons the blond to sit down with him, which Ben does without hesitating.
It isn't until then that Ben understands why Joe likes sitting under this old apple tree so much. It offers a nice shade and a perfect view over the skyline of New York. "It's beautiful."
Joe smiles and nods in agreement. He lets his back rest against the trunk of the tree, and takes Ben's hand.
Ben smiles and places his head in Joe's lap.
With a big smile, the ginger starts playing with the blond locks of Ben's hair.

"Joey? Do you miss living in New York?" Ben asks softly after a while of silence.
Joe immediately shakes his head. "No. I can't wait to go back to the UK, actually. I mean, I'll miss my family, but my home isn't New York anymore." He says. He bites his lip slightly before taking a deep breath. "And I have been fighting some panic attacks since we're in New York, honestly. I managed to keep them away, but the feeling was there." The ginger adds.
Ben's head perks up and he looks Joe in the eye. As some sort of reflex, he immediately intertwines their fingers. "What caused the feeling?" He asks softly as he pulls Joe close to his chest.
The boy shrugs. "Just little things, you know. Like seeing pictures of my mom. Or seeing my sister struggling this hard. It took her more than six months to get out of bed after my mom's death. I don't want that for her again. I just hope she'll be okay again soon." Joe puts his head on Ben's chest and closes his eyes, inhaling the fresh air.
"I know she will be okay sweetheart. How can she not with such lovely people to help her." Ben says before giving Joe a sweet kiss on the head.
A smile appears on the boy's face. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Joe says.
The blond smiles.
When another silence falls, both boys just stare at the beautiful view in front of them.
"Joe?"
The ginger hums questioningly.
"Please don't bottle it up the next time you have that feeling. Just let it happen, Okay? I'll help you through it." Ben says as he runs his hand though the boy's ginger hair.
Joe closes his eyes and nods against the blond's chest. "I won't, I promise. How about we make our way home?" He asks softly.
Ben nods, and gives the boy a kiss before getting up. "Yeah, let's go."

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Gosh I meant to upload this chapter days ago but I'm afraid I was too busy writing my new fanfic. But here it is!

We're getting closer to the end though. Only seven more chapters to go🥲

Keep smiling everyone,

Kisses from me❤