Doing alright // Hardzello

Chapter 15

"How are you doing?" Ben asks as soon as they arrive on set Monday morning.
"A lot better. I'm luckily not in a lot of pain anymore. I didn't really want to admit it, but I had not been feeling well for quite some time," Rami says. 
"Well, good to see that you are back on your feet," Ben says while patting Rami's back.
"Yeah, me too."

Later that day, Ben and Joe are having lunch together.
"I got some good news," Ben says. Joe raises an eyebrow.
"You know that part I really wanted to get? I got it," Ben says. Joe's mouth falls open.
"Really? That is awesome. Congrats, babe," Joe says. 
"Thank you. We start filming a month after we wrap on Bohemian Rhapsody," Ben says. 
"Oh, that is fast. Where are you going to shoot?" Joe takes a bite of food while he waits for Ben's answer.
"In New York," Ben says. Joe raises his eyebrows.
"Really?" Ben hums.
"I have a house in New York and I was planning on living in New York for a bit. If you want to, you can stay with me?" Joe asks.  
"You'd be okay with that?" Ben asks. 
"Yeah, if you are," Joe says before shrugging.
"I'd love to."

Two weeks after was their last week of filming. Neither Ben nor Joe had ever experienced a project going by so fast.
"And that is a wrap," Their director called out. Cheers sounded from every direction. 
"I want to thank everyone who worked alongside me. The entire staff who made this happen. A special thanks to our new Queen, Rami, Gwilym, Ben and Joe," Everyone clapped while the four actors looked at each other.
"And of course thanks to all the people willing to give interviews and have meetings about their remembrance of Queen. And of course a very special thank you to Brian May and Roger Taylor for making this happen and for their support," The director said. The cheers got louder than ever. Ben whistled on his fingers. 

Brian takes the microphone from the director.
"I want to thank everyone who worked on this. You are all amazing. It was so special to see this project come alive. Thank you for giving your all to make this perfect. I can't wait to see the end result. And an extra thank you to Rami, Gwilym, Joe and Ben for doing such a phenomenal job. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into watching old footage and getting all four of us down. I'm really proud of you. Really proud of everyone here," Brian says before handing Roger the microphone. 
"Yes, thank you for everything. All of you. It was a weird but amazing project to be part of. I can't wait to share this with the world," Roger says. Another round of applause explodes. 

Rami walks up to Roger. After giving Brian and Roger a hug he takes over the microphone. 
"Thank you, everyone. I have a list of everyone who worked on this project, but it's a little long," Rami says while unrolling a scroll of paper. It keeps going and lands on the floor beneath him. 
"There is no time to thank all of you personally. But this was one of the most amazing projects I have ever worked on. Thank you everyone for making this happen. To Queen," Rami says. Immediately people start to repeat him.

"Aaayoooo," Rami yells. Everyone shouts back at him. Roger and Brian are alongside them. 
"Liedadiedahdahdaayyoo," Rami yells. Everyone repeats. 
"To the one true legend of this entire story. To the guy who went from a nobody to a legend. From Farrokh Bulsara to Freddie Mercury. To Freddie," Rami yells.
"To Freddie," Joe yells before being repeated by the rest of the crew. 

The after-party they shared was absolutely wild. Joe finally let go and after a few shots of tequila, he was already wobbling towards the bar. Before he could even order another drink, Rami pulled him onto the stage. Joe was handed a microphone and together they sang Bohemian Rhapsody in a very off-tune way. 

Ben has a difficult task getting Joe to his hotel room that night. Ben wasn't entirely sober himself. He doesn't know how, but they ended up in Joe's room. Ben has pushed Joe under the shower while grabbing some clean clothes for him. When he walks back into the bathroom he sees that Joe is sitting on the floor, pouting.
"And what got into you?" Ben asks. 
"You didn-join me," Joe says. Ben chuckles. 
"Okay, I'll make you a deal. If you wash up now and go to bed, I'll join you in the shower tomorrow morning," Ben says while ruffling his hand through Joe's hair.
"Promise?"
"I promise, my good old loverboy," Ben says. Joe giggles loudly. 

After helping Joe to bed, Ben washes up himself. When he is about to place some painkillers and bottles of water on the bedside tables he finds Joe already sound asleep. Ben chuckles before crawling under the covers himself. He scoots over to place a kiss on Joe's cheek.
"Gosh, I love you so much," Ben says. When Joe doesn't say anything, Ben is sure that he is asleep.
"I can't believe that you said yes when I asked you out. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me. You're gorgeous inside and out. I love you so so much," Ben says before placing another kiss on Joe's cheek. He lays down, giving Joe his space. 

The next morning he wakes up to Joe laying half on top of him.
"Morning, Joe," Ben says. He only gets a grunt as a response. 
"I have painkillers and water here," Ben says while letting his hand feel all over the bedside table. Joe grunts again before sitting up. He rubs his head before taking the painkillers and water from Ben.
"Thanks."

*********
Hey guys,

Another chapter for you! I hope you like it!

Feel free to leave as many comments as you'd like. They honestly make my day.

Take good care of yourself and others. Stay safe and stay healthy.

Goodbye,

Xx Itsametaphorjoe