It's a Hard life | Hardzello♡

63. Teething and rings {Part one}

{Nine months later}

Quite desperate, Joe walks around the house with a screaming Liz in his arms. "Shhh, I know it hurts Lizzy. But it's gonna be okay." He says, giving her a kiss on the head.
The nine-month-old girl has started teething since two weeks, and it's hurting pretty bad.
At least that's what Joe assumes, based on the long sleepless nights thanks to all the crying. Of course he doesn't blame her, he totally gets it. But he just hates it to see their baby girl this unhappy. "Let's hope that your Papa will be back soon with those teething biscuits." He presses the crying Liz a little closer into his chest, hoping it'll offer her a bit of comfort. While still walking around the living room, he starts bouncing her up and down, hoping it will sooth her a little.

After a while Joe notices that the crying is getting softer. He looks down, seeing that Liz's eyes are slowly starting to fall close. "There you go baby. Close your eyes." He whispers with a smile. He gently starts rocking her, knowing how it always makes her even more drowsy.
The only sounds filling the house now are Liz's soft sniffles as she's slowly falling asleep in her dad's arms.
Joe silently cheers in victory when she has dozed off completely.
That's when the front door of their house opens. "Hey, I'm ba-"
Before Ben can finish his sentence, Joe shushes him. "Shhh, she just fell asleep." He whispers.
Ben shuts his mouth, and tiptoes over to the two. He gives Joe a kiss on the lips before letting his forehead rest against his. "How is she?" He whispers, looking down at the sleeping Liz.
Joe bites his lip. "Still in a lot of pain." He whispers back. "I hate to see her this unhappy you know." He mumbles as tears appear in his eyes.
The blond gently runs his hand through his boyfriend's hair. "I know love. But it will pass. And she'll get a beautiful smile out of it." Ben whispers.
Joe sighs softly. "I guess."
Both boys close their eyes, feeling how exhausted they are.
When Joe opens his eyes again, he looks at Ben with a frown. "Maybe we should just cancel our date tonight Benny. We're both too exhausted, and I don't know how I feel about leaving Liz with our friends when she's feeling this awful." He whispers.
Ben's eyes flutter open. His mind starts racing, searching for a way to convince Joe to still go on their date. "Let's not decide that now sweetheart. It's only eleven am. Let's just see how the day goes, okay?" He leans in, giving both Joe and Liz a small kiss.
Joe sighs. "Okay then." He says with a nod. He looks down at Liz. "Do you think putting her in her crib would spoil it?"
Ben lets out a soft giggle. "Probably. But she's gonna wake up in twenty minutes for food anyway, so you might as well try it."
Joe nods, giving Ben another quick kiss on the lips before walking away.
Ben watches Joe disappear into Liz's room to put her in her crib, grabbing his phone once the boy is out of sight. "Lucy? I really need all of your help. Do you think you and the guys could come a little earlier?"

|||

And so, about twenty five minutes later, the doorbell rings.
"Darling, could you get that?" Ben calls out as he sits down on the couch with Liz in his arms. It's time for her to eat, but because her mouth is hurting so much thanks to the teething, the boys decided to give her a bottle a little while longer before fully focussing on solids.
Joe nods, walking towards the front door.
Ben giggles softly when he sees Liz's eager eyes following the bottle he's holding.
Liz lets out a whiny noise to tell her papa to hurry up, as she's really hungry.
"Here you go love." Ben whispers with a smile, bringing the bottle to Liz's mouth. "You wanna hear a secret Lizzy? Tonight I'm going to ask your dad to marry me. Don't tell him, promise?" He smiles widely when Liz takes his pinky into her hand. "I'll take that as a pinky promise then, hm?"
Joe walks into the living room, followed by Rami, Lucy and Gwil. "Guys, you really don't have to." He says.
Ben looks at his friends. "Hi guys, what are you doing here?" He asks, even though he knows all too well why they're here. He was the one who called them after all. 
Lucy smirks slightly. "We're here to watch Liz. That way you two can catch up on some sleep so you're well rested for your date tonight." She says.
Joe sighs. "I don't know guys... she's been really fussy lately because she's teething and-"
"We know that, the bags under your eyes gave it away." Rami says, interrupting his friend.
Gwil smiles. "You guys have been parenting for nine months straight. You deserve a small break. That's what we're here for. So we'll watch Liz while you get some sleep." He says to his two friends.
Joe looks at Ben with a conflicted look in his eyes. A little bit of sleep sounds nice, but still it feels weird to just leave their daughter with their friends while she's not feeling well. Although she does seem calm again. So maybe it won't hurt?
Ben gives the ginger a reassuring nod. Of course he himself is nervous as well to leave their baby girl alone for so long, but he knows that's what has to happen if he ever wants to propose.

"Okay then." Joe says with a nod. He walks over to Ben and Liz. "You promise to behave Lizzy?" He says to the girl.
The latter has just finished her bottle and is now sitting in Ben's lap, playing with one of the strings of his hoodie. When Both her fathers give her a kiss, she lets out a loud giggle.   
"There's that beautiful smile!" Ben says in his baby voice, only making Liz giggle even louder.
Joe smiles reassured, happy to hear something other than crying coming from her.
Gwil walks over to the two, and gently takes over Liz from Ben. "Hi you." He says with a big smile.
Liz looks up and stares into Gwil's eyes for a few seconds. Then she starts smiling, and cuddles up to Gwil's chest.
With smiles on their faces, Ben and Joe look at their daughter hugging their friend.
"Okay, now you two," Rami says as he looks at the two. "Off to bed. Have some rest. We'll wake you in time for your date, okay?"
Ben and Joe nod with a smile.
"Thanks guys." Ben says gratefully.
Lucy shoots him a wink.
Together, the two boys walk towards their bedroom. Once there, they both plop down onto their bed. Ben opens his arms, knowing that Joe must be craving some cuddles after all these sleepless nights.
Joe smiles, and curls up against Ben's chest. "I love you so damn much." He mumbles before yawning.
Ben closes his eyes with a sleepy smile. "I love you more. I win." He whispers.
It doesn't take the two very long to doze off, holding each other close.

~~~

"Okay, so her formula and bottles are in this cabinet, just make her a bottle whenever she's hungry. If she doesn't want a bottle then try some apple sauce, she loves that. We also have some fruit snacks in the fridge, but since those are quite solid she doesn't really want it. But you might try it if she doesn't want anything else." Ben explains, showing Gwil around the kitchen so he'll know where to find everything.
"Whoa whoa, mate, slow down. How do we know she's hungry, to start with?" Gwil asks.
Ben lets out a giggle. "She'll throw a mini tantrum." He says before continuing the small kitchen tour. "Her teething biscuits and her pacifiers are in this cabinet, along with her two biting rings." 
Gwil can't help but smirk. "You certainly do have a lot of rings, don't you?" He says. "Are you nervous?"
Ben shoots him a nervous smile. "I am. I just want it to be perfect. I hope he'll say yes." He admits in a shaky voice.
"Don't worry mate, I know it will be perfect. He'll love it and say yes. Of course he will." Gwil says reassuringly. "And don't worry about Liz, okay? She's in good hands." He assures his friend.
Ben smiles. "I know that. But still."
Together they walk back into the living room, smiling at what they find. Rami is sitting on the couch with Liz in his lap, while Lucy is sitting across from them, playing peek-a-boo with the girl.
Ben can feel his heart warm when he hears the loud laughing coming from his daughter. When he hears a door open behind him, he turns around. He can't help but gasp when he sees Joe.
The boy is wearing a pair of black jeans and a white button-up shirt, and has done his hair for the first time in months. "I'm ready." Joe says shyly.
When Liz sees her dad, she starts babbling happily, pointing at Joe.
Rami smiles. "I gotta agree with Liz here. You look good." He says with a wink.
Ben holds out his hand for Joe to take. "You look amazing." He whispers.
Joe gladly takes the blond's hand, feeling his cheeks heaten up a little. "So do you." He says, staring at the part of Ben's chest that is revealed by the open top button of his shirt.
The two walk over to their daughter to say goodbye to her. "Bye bye baby, we love you." Ben whispers, giving her a small kiss on the head.
After Joe said goodbye to her as well, the two walk towards the front door.
Liz lets out a confused noise, not understanding why her fathers are leaving her.
"Here you go." Ben says as he helps Joe into his coat.
Joe smiles. "Such a gentleman." Both he and Ben bite their lip when Liz's soft sniffles can be heard from the living room.
"Don't be sad sweetie. Your dads will be back soon, and until then we're going to have fun, okay? That's a promise from your auntie Lucy."
Ben and Joe smile when they hear this. Not long after that a loud giggle is heard from the living room, replacing the sniffles.
"Ready for date night handsome?" Ben whispers.
Joe nods with a big smile, intertwining their fingers. "You bet I am."

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I don't want this book to end guys🥲 I wanna say that's why this upload took so long, but the truth is I simply forgot whoops.

Are you excited for the next chapter? It might take a couple of weeks for me to upload it because I'm going through some stuff right now🙃 But still

Kisses from me xxx