Belladonic Haze

19

"Joe." Ben slowly whispered as he peered in the room that the brunet was sleeping in, afraid to startle the smaller male. He was rolled up in a blanket with his head popping through it, cuddling it closer to himself and shifting a little when Ben accidentally kicked a water bottle in the room as he was admiring how absolutely cute Joe looked as he snuggled closer, his hair sticking out in all directions.

He slowly walked to the brunet and sat on the small space left on the edge of the bed, his hand immediately tangling up in the fine strands of hair, soothing his scalp and brushing them in the right direction, taming them a little bit. He could clearly see the way Joe leaned into his touch. His eyes scanned the smaller's face and his vision landed on the little exposed skin of his pale neck, where there was still the purple bruise Ben left.

As he gently caressed the mark, his fingers lingering over the pale skin for longer and unintentionally pressing onto it, just to make sure that it was real and he really did leave a mark, Joe's hand raised up and swatted Ben's hand away from his neck like it was annoying fly sitted on his neck. Ben's smiled as Joe mumbled something incoherent, sleepily. Drunk Joe and Sleepy Joe were almost the same, except when Joe was drunk, he was either affectionate or really confident and sleepy Joe was just sleepy, and cute if Ben may add.

Ben did that once again, caressing the bruise and pressing his finger into the skin just to get a reaction out of Joe. Joe groaned again at the intrusion and his eyelids fluttered open, for a split second widening comically and then he flinched, sitting up immediately.

"You scared me." He mumbled as he blocked his eyes from the sun, shielding them with his hand and the other one rubbing the sleep out fo them. Ben smiled at his small antics, so badly wanting to hug the brunet and kiss his all over but that wasn't what he was here for.

Before he could get a word out, his eyes left wandering Joe's frame, admiring his sleepy habits, Joe got up from the bed and walked to the attached bathroom, popping the toothpaste open and applying it on the brush, immediately brushing his teeth.

"I've found three amazing places in the town nearby." Ben started knowing well enough that Joe would want to spend some time with other human being besides Ben, so went out in the morning on his regular jog and saw around the town a little bit, noticing that it only had three places to have fun at. And they were staying at the cabin which was a little bit far away, 30 minutes if you were walking, 10 minutes by car. Not all that far away, but far enough.

"Where?" Joe mumbled with the froth in his mouth, staring at the mirror as he kept on brushing.

"A restaurant, a bar or a karaoke bar." Ben said as he weighed out all the options and leaned against the headboard to get comfortable. He was still looking over at Joe and could clearly see the way Joe's face lit up at the mention of the karaoke bar. Well, Ben knew where they were going that night.

--

Joe was really excited to go to the karaoke bar but one thing kept bugging him. Was that their first date?

He really wanted to know, but was also afraid of asking the blond and making a fool of himself by asking such a silly question, but then again, Ben was here willingly, wasn't he? He wasn't drunk and wasn't dragged here and then left by his friends, right? Don't get Joe wrong, he loved the guys and especially the blonde who was always by his side and even when Joe was being annoying, she was nothing but helpful but doing what they did, that was something else. Joe needed some time, they gave him no warning. It was so spontaneous, he wasn't used to that spontaneity.

Going around in tangents when he was in the kitchen helping the blond cook something for both of them was just what he needed, wasn't it? No, he needed to focus, he could think about what his friends did to him at night but right now, he had to focus on the task at hand where he was making use of a knife and any second, he could cut himself if he didn't pay enough attention and-

"Fuck." He mumbled under his breath and just at that moment, in middle of his own ramble, he cut himself, a small but deep enough cut on his index of his left hand. It burned as hell and with out a thought, he shoved the finger in his mouth, covering it with a coat of saliva to stop the bleeding.

"What happened?" Ben asked as he turned around to see that brunet with his index placed in his mouth. Joe didn't say anything and just stared ahead. After a few seconds, he slowly pulled the finger out and rushed to the sink, washing it under cool water. Ben walked next to Joe and saw the cut.

"Does it hurt too much?" He asked. Joe looked straight forward at the wound and only nodded his head a little.

Ben really didn't know what he did wrong and why Joe wouldn't even look him in the eye, in the morning as well, Joe ignored Ben, just little nods and hums nothing else.

Ben walked over to the cabinet where he knew there was a first aid kit, he pulled out a bandage and some antiseptic lotion, along with some cotton. When he walked back, he saw Joe still letting the water run over the wound. Ben went up to him and grabbed his wrist, gently pulling it towards himself, to examine the wound. He could tell that Joe was hesitant but it didn't matter, the wound needed to be treated first. He examined it and noticed it wasn't very big but sure was deep, so he first applied the antiseptic and dabbed it with the cotton, after a few moment of hissing from the brunet, he looked up at Joe.

"Does it hurt a lot?" He asked and yet again, received a small nod. Ben couldn't bear it anymore, he needed to know what was up with Joe. He grabbed Joe's waist and pinned him to the kitchen counter, away from the sink.

"What happened? I need you to tell what I did so I can make it up to you." Ben mumbled as he applied the bandage, and looked Joe in the eye, the brunet's face flushing at the revelation.

"It-It isn't you." Joe whispered.

"Then what?" Ben asked with slight desperation, his voice still soft while talking to the shorter.

"Ben." Joe said as he looked up to the blond, finally meeting his eyes.

"Yes?"

"Tonight, when we go out, is it a date?"