galileo figaro magnifico ➳ ben hardy [1]

real life

      ben hardy didn't know what he was expecting when he opened the door to theodosia siano, but he definitely wasn't expecting what he saw.
      theodosia siano was only a couple inches shorter than him with an athletic type body. she still wore the makeup she had on for the jimmy fallon, though her hair had been pulled up into a sort of a bun, and instead of the dress she had been wearing she wore a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, twirling her phone in her hands nervously. she chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked at him, butterflies filling her chest. "hi," she greeted.
      ben swallowed hard, tugging a hand through his hair. "hi. uh, come in, come in."
      she stepped inside, ben closing the door behind her, giving a nervous wave to the others in the room. "hi, y'all," she greeted, smiling.
      "so you're the incredible theodosia siano," one grinned, yanking her into a hug. "i'm joseph mazzello, but you can call me joe. can i call you theo? i'm gonna call you theo. also, what does your instagram username mean?"
      "don't mind him," another one chimed in. "i'm gwilym lee, call me gwil or gwilym, whatever suits your fancy."
      "i'm rami," a third greeted, nodding to the woman perched on his lap. "this is lucy."
      "it's great to meet you all," theodosia smiled politely, looking to ben nervously. he made a gesture and the two of them sat down on one of the beds, using the headboards to lean against. "also, joe, to explain my username, the surname siano is of italian origin. however, i am of ukrainian origin, without a drop of italian in me. the username is the result of a joke between myself and my university roommate, as my way of introducing myself had become 'theo siano, english major, no i'm not italian or irish, and no i do not want to go to your frat party."
      everyone in the room let out a little laugh, joe commenting, "that's sort of genius. you really covered all the bases with that statement alone."
      theo shrugged, noticing that lucy was eyeing her up. "yes?" she asked nervously.
      "what did timothée mean when he called ben your beau? ben here won't tell us anything. and sorry, love, if i made you uncomfortable with my staring, you're just, wow, you're really pretty. you might have to watch out, rami."
      theodosia laughed, feeling any of her worries fade with every passing minute. "in timmy's little head, ben and i are already married with kids, and it's annoying, might i add, and so he refers to him as my beau. no matter what i do he won't stop." she brushed aside her comment on her looks, still slightly too nervous to take a compliment from anyone other than ben.
      sensing that she was still a little nervous, he brushed his thumb over the back of his hand. "i, personally, like it. i think it's precious."
      theodosia's cheeks went red as she rolled her eyes, turning her head to look at him. "it's dumb. we aren't even together yet."
      "yet," gwilym pointed out, raising his eyebrows.
      theodosia shot him a look, causing the guys to laugh. "don't worry, theo," lucy smiled warmly. "you get used to them eventually. even if it does take a hot minute." she gave rami a small pat on the shoulder and he smiled brightly at her, the look in his eyes one of pure love.
      theodosia was about to make a comment when her phone began to ring, startling her. "timmy? what's up?" she asked as she answered, confused as to why he would be calling her. ben frowned at hearing the name - she still had yet to fully explain everything that happened between them. joe and gwil gave him a puzzled look, lucy and rami too busy whispering to each other to notice.
      "hi, i'm in our room and you aren't. can you explain?" he asked, his worry making him sound angry.
      theodosia laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "i was so excited i forgot to send a text. i'm next door with the cast of bohemian rhapsody."
      "you're what?"
      "you heard correctly, dumb ass. come on over."
      "i really shouldn't," timothée mumbled, pacing their room.
      "why not?"
      "i need some sleep. you just enjoy getting to know them, yeah? we've got a couple more interviews tomorrow and a flight to california to begin tour and you know how grumpy i get."
      "timmy -"
      "theo, don't argue, please. i really am tired. i can always meet the cast another time."
      "a-alright, i guess. 'night, timmy."
      "goodnight, theodosia."
      hanging up the phone, she was confused, not picking up on timothée's slight jealousy towards ben. it wasn't that he was upset that ben was getting attention, he supposed - it was just odd to share her with someone. and he hated that he thought of it that way. she wasn't his in any variation of the word. and yet, the feeling still remained.
      "everything okay?" ben asked softly, quiet enough that only she could hear.
      "i think he's mad at me for some reason but i don't understand."
      "if you need, you can always spend the night with us. i won't mind sleeping with joe or gwil to give you a bed." he looked at her with worried eyes and she felt her heart thump wildly in her chest.
      "no, i would hate for you to have to give up your own bed. i'll just sleep on the floor."
      "absolutely not."
      "well i'm not letting you give up your bed."
      "we could always just sleep together."
      "i don't think gwil and joe would appreciate that," she joked, nudging him with her elbow.
      he let out a breath of a laugh, nudging her back. "you know what i meant."
      "yes, yes i did. give it a few minutes and i'll go get my things for the night from my room while tim's in the shower. i will, however have to be up early tomorrow so tim and i can get to the today show."
      "that's fine by me. we have to get up early to go entertain some day long interviews."
      "so it's settled. i'll go grab my things and we'll have a big sleepover."
      he grinned at her, amused as joe called out, "what are you two whispering about? nothing filthy, i hope."
      "nope," theodosia answered before ben could curse him out. "tonight, boys, we're going to have ourselves a good old fashioned sleepover. and by sleepover, i mean we're gonna turn on a marvel movie and fall asleep before it's over because we're all sleep-deprived, booked and busy adults trying to make our coin."
      "i like the sound of that."
      "are we included?" rami asked, gesturing between he and lucy.
      "no," gwil answered. "you have your own room. have your own mini sleepover."
      "boo," lucy groaned, giving a thumbs down.
      "sorry, i don't make the rules, i just enforce them."
      "i better go get my things," theodosia stated, standing and stretching. "would you guys mind if i took my shower here?"
      "not at all," joe shrugged. "just as long as you clean your hair from the drain."
      "fair enough. i'll be back."
      ben rose to his feet, following her out into the hallway. "i'm sorry if i caused any unrest between timothée and you," he stated, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. "i just want to spend as much time with you as i can and get to know you before we get split up again."
      "honestly, with all the shit he and i have already gone through, we can make it through anything. and he's gotta grow up. he has to realise that i'm going to move on and have other relationships. he doesn't have the sole rights to me. now gimme a minute." sliding her keycard into her door, she walked in quietly, timothée's faint singing coming from the shower. she grabbed her backpack from the corner of the room, scribbling a note for him before rejoining ben in the hallway.
      "y'know, i bet we could get our own room," ben stated. realising how that sounded, he quickly added, "then we could just talk all night without worry of gwil or joe. i'll pay."
      "as long as you're willing to pay, then yeah. i wouldn't mind that," she smiled up at him. nodding to her, he grabbed her by the hand, the two heading down to the front desk.