Love Someone {Hardzello love story}

13

Ben didn't know how it happened.

All right, that is a bit of a stretch. He knew damn well how it happened. It happened because his husband — so loving, so wonderful, so fucking annoying — decided to teach their daughter to ride a bike without him.

Ben had been on location and Emmy, ever the eager child was determined to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels. She begged Ben to take the chance now that she was going to be a little bit older (she'd be five soon enough) and the blond agreed.

All she had to do was wait two days. Two fucking days and he'd be finished with shooting and back home to his perfect little family. And she was content with waiting.

Joe, on the other hand, wasn't.

And Ben knew it wasn't something Joe was doing out of the goodness of his heart. Oh no. They had recently had a bit of a spat due to Ben having to extend his time away. There were new stunts added and wanting to be the good actor he was, Ben preferred to do them on his own. So instead of two weeks, it was an entire month away.

Ben knew it was incredibly long, but the shots needed to be made and it was worth the wait. He Skyped with the children almost daily and despite missing him, neither seemed to be acting badly. No tantrums or anything of the sort. They were good children and Ben knew he would be home soon enough.

Joe, on the other hand, didn't like his husband being away, doing ridiculous stunts that could get him hurt. Ben tried to reason with his husband, explain to him that it was all secure and he'd never do anything that could put his life in real danger.

Still, the two went back and forth. Not so much arguing, but rather short, cold words exchanged. Ben knew when he returned home, all would be forgiven.

That was until he walked in to find out his daughter already knew how to ride a bike without his assistance. Daddy had taught her and while to other it didn't seem like an issue, Ben felt the crushing weight of betrayal take over.

They had talked about it late at night when Emmy was just a few weeks old. She slept between them; both watching the gorgeous creature they brought to life. They spoke of all the things they wanted to teach her. Joe wanted her to swim and do softball, while Ben wanted to show her how to ride a bike and do ballet.

Little things that didn't really matter, but at the same time, meant so much to each man.

Ben had brought it up and Joe just shrugged. "If you had been home, you would have been the one to teach her,"

"Two days," Ben told him, his green eyes narrowing. "She was more than okay with waiting two days."

Joe just shrugged again. Ben didn't bother fighting with the man because what was the point? If Joe was going to be an asshole about this, be a bitter bitch, then so be it. Ben could be one right back.

One thing Joe was oh so eager to do was get Emmy a pet of her own. They had talked about it, wanting her to have a bit of responsibility. A turtle had been suggested or even some fish, but no. Ben was better than that.

Bringing her to the pet store, he let the young girl roam around, explaining that this would be an early birthday gift for her. She could choose whatever she wanted. No limits. Emmy was practically ripping at the seams, running around as she tried to pick the best pet.

Her animal of choice: a hedgehog.

Ben blamed it on her love of badgers and this basically being as close as she could get to having a wild animal as a live-in a pet. Ben researched everything on the way home, understanding this and that, trying his best to explain it all to Emmy.

When Joe returned home later that night, Ben waited.

And waited and waited and waited until finally, he heard it. The shout from his husbands bellowing a voice, and the sound of the footsteps stomping up to their bedroom.

"What did you do?!" Joe demanded.

"Hello, love. How was the writing room?"

"You bought her fucking hedgehog?" Joe demanded.

"Well, darling, you did say for her next birthday she could get another pet."

"That's not a pet, that's a weapon!" Joe snapped, his hands at his hips as he walked further into the room. "We agreed on something small and gentle."

"Joseph, Spike is small and quite soft if you give him a try."

Joe crunched up his face, gasping at the words. "You let her name is Spike!? That's not even original!"

"Are you finished being dramatic?" Ben questioned.

"I thought we agreed to go together?" Joe questioned.

It was Ben's turn to shrug and he did, going back to his book casually. "And I thought we agreed I'd teach her to ride a bike without trainers."

"Are you joking?" Joe demanded, reaching out to slap the book out of Ben's grasp. "Grow up."

"Says the one who bloody slapped me."

"She wanted to learn, I taught her. Big deal!"

"All right. When JJ wants to learn how to hit a baseball, I'll make sure I teach him."

Joe rolled his eyes, turning away. "Like you could even hit one."

"Look, I am not the one who got bitchy because I was away!" Ben fired back at him. "The film is fucking wrapped. I'm home until my next offer, you couldn't be . . . you . . . for two weeks?"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means if you don't get your way, you act more like a child than our own children," Ben answered him. "You didn't have to teach Emmy because she wanted to learn. You taught her to spite me."

Joe scoffed, pacing the fourth carelessly. "You're ridiculous." He told him.

"Whatever, Joe. Emmy is happy with Spike, so I suggest you Google hedgehog pet care."

"I'll just pay someone to take care of it if she can't."

"You can't pay someone for everything," Ben groaned.

"Yes, I can! I won an Oscar so I will do what I want!" Joe screamed, storming out of the door, slamming the door behind him.

Ben rolled his eyes, allowing his husband to groan and whine about the situation. Ben focused on other things, like spending time with his children. JJ was giggling, pretending to be chased around by Spike while both Romeo and Frankie kept at bay. They were still iffy about the tiny creature that roamed around the home.

Joe stood off in the background, sulking as he glared at the sight of it all. Like he couldn't just accept that this was happening. This was their life together. How odd it was. Ben looked over the back of the couch, trying to offer him a smile.

They may have fought, but Ben was still hopelessly in love with that man. And he was so hopelessly happy with how their lives turned out.

Reaching out, he offered a hand to Joe, waiting patiently until the brunet finally broke and took it. Ben pulled him in close, bringing Joe's hand to kiss at the back of it gently, his thumb running over Joe's wedding band.

"I'm sorry I taught her how to ride. She fell once and I started crying." Joe confessed softly.

"I'm sorry I took her to get a pet without you, though I think she's happy with how it turned out."

"I can't believe she chose a fucking hedgehog."

"Especially since she was really aiming for a tarantula," Ben confessed.

Joe's eyes widened and Ben found himself wanting to laugh even though it wasn't remotely a joke. Joe groaned, leaning back against the couch. "Next time: a hamster."

"Yes, darling."