➻ | 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚣𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚜

➻ | 𝚖𝚢 𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎'𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎.

joe's pov.

after telling the rest of our friends that ben and i had to make a sudden departure, i got into my car and quickly set off home, blasting somebody to love through the speakers, all windows rolled down. i was going on a date with a man i had admired for months. on valentines day. oh my god.
it wasn't like i hadn't gone out with someone on valentines day before, because i had. quite a few times. but they never really meant much to me. this, though? this meant everything.
arriving home, i got out of the car, fumbling for my keys. my mind was set on what to wear, what to say, how to style my hair... i really should have planned this bit out beforehand. rushing into my room, i pulled out a few shirts from my closet, looking through them. i eventually decided to go simple with a plain white shirt, black slacks/trousers, a nice little blaxer/overcoat to match and white shoes. i immediately worried about if this was too formal, but i quickly realised that we weren't going to mcdonalds. this was the baptist grill.
it is f a n c y.

eight o'clock quickly came around.
i pulled up outside of the hotel, quickly making my way inside. i didn't make a reservation, and, i probably should have, as seen as this was a fancy restaurant and it was valentines day. there was a long line in front of the counter and directly next to it a shorter line. the shorter line was for those who had made a reservation.
fuck.
i had two questions running through my mind.
where is ben?
what if he ditched me?

both of my questions were answered rather quickly, though, as a prince-looking fellow poked me on the shoulder. turning around to look at the princely chap, i had to pinch myself a few times to make sure i wasn't dreaming.
it was ben. wearing a sheer shirt. the sheer shirt.
reader. you know exactly which sheer shirt i am talking about. i know you do. and, if you don't???? you're missing out on a very fine man.
sorry, pretend you didn't see that.

"hey. sorry if i kept you waiting!" the blonde nodded, putting one hand into the pocket of his slacks. he really did look like a disney prince. "i made a reservation as soon as i got in the car. i knew that it would be busy."
phew. we didnt have to wait in this line and make up casual small talk while we waited four hours to get to the front.
putting my hand on his arm, i nodded my head back. "lead the way then, prince charming." i said quietly. ben clearly heard me, as he simply smiled and led me to table 19, the one he had booked.
it specifically said mr hardy written in bold writing on a thick piece of card. it wasn't exactly easy to miss.

sitting down, i looked at my surroundings. ben had booked us a table directly in the middle of the bottom floor, meaning plenty of other people were sat around us. couples, mainly. being all mushy and cute.
i hate to admit it, but i wished that ben and i could be like that in that moment.
"can i ask you something, joe?" ben asked, looking directly at me, as if he was in the middle of studying my face.
"you just asked me a question, ben." i joked, chuckling at my pathetic attempt of making the blonde laugh. clearly, my joke worked, as the male reached a hand up to his face and began to laugh. not belly-laughter where everyone can hear you, but, soft giggles.
"how long have you wanted to ask me out for?" he enquired, tilting his head to the left. his laughter stopped and he regained calmness.

it was safe to say i didn't really need to think about the question.

"since around the end of december. it was a daunting thought, you know. thinking about asking one of your best friends to go out somewhere with you on valentine's day. because you could have just blatantly rejected me." i explained, my right hand fidgeting and messing around with the white tablecloth draped over the chestnut table.
"that's the risk you have to take, though, isn't it? you can never get anywhere without a little risk. people have to take risks for those they care about, whether it be a friend, family member or lover." he asked slowly, wording his sentence carefully.
suddenly, his hand took mine and carefully turned my left hand over so my wrist was facing upwards. he then reached up into my blazer sleeve and lightly ran his fingertips down from my forearm to my wrist.
the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
my jaw suddenly tightened.
i wasn't sure if he was trying to calm me down or make me more nervous. whichever it was, i felt both.
"i suppose so." i paused.
i didn't bother to think of another sentence. i physically couldn't.
ben carefully traced his fingertips down each of my fingers, his eyes locked with mine. eventually, he stopped, and carefully slipped his hand into mine, his thumb circling each of my knuckles.

"what was that for?" i asked quietly, my cheeks slowly flushing pink, breaking the eye contact.
"i'm just... trying to figure you out, joe. what drives you crazy." he murmured, looking down at our hands.

"if you wanted to know what gets me turned on, you could have just said so." i joked. the joke failed pretty quickly, though, as the male shook his head.

"not what makes you want to get off, joe." he paused.

"what keeps you up at night. what makes you shiver. what makes you tick. and then, what calms you down. what sends you to sleep. what makes you feel safe."

the blonde's eyes looked directly into mine.

"and, did you get any answers?" i asked quietly. my entire body felt tense.

"a few." ben nodded his head carefully. my eyes met with his.

"you're intruiging, joseph." he said simply, before hesitantly letting go of my hand, a waiter approaching us.

three hours later.

getting out of my seat, i walked over to the opposite side of the table, holding my hand out to the blonde. he took it, standing up, before following me outside.

sitting on the bonnet of my car, we simply looked up at the stars.

"it's so cliché, isn't it? that we're in london, on valentines day, looking at the stars." i shrugged, humming softly.
"i think it is a wonderful end to the night, don't you?" the blonde asked, taking his gaze off of the stars and instead looking into my eyes.

"no." i said seriously.

"i think we're missing something, which would make this exceed the level of being a cliché. it would make it... it would make it a fairytale." i shook my head, eyes still locked onto the constellations above us.
ben's hand reached out to mine, taking it in his palm. "what is it, joe?" he asked quietly, the sound of cars quietly making their way by almost making his soft voice hard to hear.

"this." i responded, before turning to him, our eyes meeting once again, sending butterflies loose in both of our stomachs.
we both hesitantly began leaning in.
slowly, but surely. leaning in.
a moment later, my eyes fluttered shut as i felt the warmth of his soft lips pressed against mine.

and that was the end of my valentine's fairytale.

——————————-—————————————

So, this is the end of the Valentine's Day special chapters! I hope you enjoyed this little story. I put a lot of effort into this chapter, and I appreciate each and every one of you who reads my work!!

Thank you, and I shall see you next time!

Word count: 1331 words.