Hardzello One Shots❤

Fatherhood

The moment his alarm goes off, Ben lets out a loud groan. He quickly reaches out to his nightstand to turn off the alarm on his phone. He rubs his eyes, hating how early in the morning it is. Even though he would love to stay in bed, the blond has to get up to leave for set. But since today isn't just any day, he decides to do something special before he leaves. 
As quietly as possible, Ben gets out of bed. He doesn't want to wake Joe, the latter is still sleeping soundly next to him.
The blond tiptoes to the kitchen, so he can make his boyfriend some breakfast.
Today is his and Joe's six month anniversary. Although for him it feels like years, it has only been six months since Joe asked him to be his boyfriend. They met on the set of the bohemian rhapsody movie, and immediately fell in love.

After making the pancakes Joe always loves, Ben walks into the bedroom again. He places the plate of pancakes onto Joe's nightstand and sits down onto the edge of the bed. He starts running his hand through Joe's hair to wake him up. "Joey. Time to get up baby." He whispers with a smile.
Joe groans loudly before burying his face under the duvet. "But it's so early." He mutters.
Ben can't help but laugh. "Happy anniversary." He whispers as he pulls away the duvet.
Joe lets out a whine at the sudden cold hitting his bare skin. "Benny!" He whines.
Ben rolls his eyes with a smile and tucks the boy back in. "I made you some pancakes. I'm afraid I have to leave for work now. I love you." He leans in to place a sweet kiss on Joe's forehead.
That's when Joe finally opens his eyes. "You're the best boyfriend ever. I love you. Good luck at work. Go get'em." He mumbles with a tired smile.
Ben smiles. "I'll try love." He gives Joe one last kiss before he has to leave.
After a bit of shuffling around, Joe hears the front door closing. With a soft hum, Joe buries himself under the duvet.

After enjoying the warmth of the bed for a while, Joe sits up a little. He takes the plate of pancakes Ben made him, smiling widely when there's a heart on top of the stack made with syrup.
Once the plate is empty, Joe decides he should probably get up. Even though he has today off and doesn't have anything planned, he knows he can't stay in bed the whole day.
And so he decides to start his day with a nice shower. He doesn't bother to throw on any clothes, and walks into the bathroom.
As soon as the hot water hits his body, Joe can feel his muscles loosen up.

He has only just turned off the shower, or the doorbell rings. In a hurry, the ginger puts on some clothes. When the doorbell rings again, he rolls his eyes. "Yeah yeah, I'm coming!" He shouts towards the front door. He quickly glances into the mirror to see whether he looks presentable enough or not. After quickly running a hand through his hair, he makes his way to the front door.
The moment the door opens, a questioning look appears on Joe's face.
An old man standing in front of their apartment with a baby on his arm.
"Ehm, hello? Can I help you?" Joe asks confused.
The man nods. "Does Ben Hardy live here?" He asks, struggling to keep ahold of the baby girl, who is fussing to get out of his embrace.
Joe raises his eyebrow, quickly debating whether or not it's sensible to tell a stranger that he and Ben are living here. Since they never really came out to the public as a couple, they can't have any rumours going around. "Eh, well can I know why you're asking?" The ginger asks.
The man nods. He looks at the baby girl in his arms. "This is his daughter."

+++

After opening the front door, Ben puts his keys onto the small table in the hall, trying to be as silent as possible. Since it's quite late, Joe might already be asleep. But when he walks into the living room, he is met by his boyfriend sitting on the couch with all the lights still on. "Hi honey. What are you still doing up?" Ben asks surprised.
Joe shows him a serious look. "We... we have someone over." He says.
Ben raises his eyebrow. "At this hour? Who?"
At that moment, the older man from before walks out of the guestroom. "She still refuses to-" The moment he sees Ben, he stops talking. "-Go to sleep." He mutters, finishing his sentence.
"Mister Williams? W-what are you doing here?" Ben asks, rather shocked at the sudden appearance of his ex father-in-law.
Mr Williams shows the blond boy a small smile. "Hi Ben."
Ben moves his eyes towards Joe. "Joe, I don't understand. What is my ex-girlfriend's father doing here?" He asks his boyfriend.
Joe stays silent for a moment, trying to think of a way to explain everything to Ben.
The moment he and Ben met each other at the bohemian rhapsody set, Ben made it very clear that he is bisexual. But he and Joe never really talked about their previous relationships, not even when they got together. Joe only knew that Ben had broken up with his girlfriend a few weeks into filming the movie.
When Joe hasn't said anything yet, Ben looks at Mr Williams with a questioning look.
"Perhaps you should tell him the story." Joe says to the older man.
The latter nods in agreement. 
Joe pats next to him, as a sign for his boyfriend to sit down. "Come sit sweetheart." He says with a caring look.
Ben raises his eyebrow. "Okay you're really freaking me out now." He admits as he sits down onto the couch. He gives Mr Williams a look full of anticipation.
Mr Williams takes a deep breath. "I came here to talk to you about Olivia." The man says.
The moment he hears the name of his ex-girlfriend, Ben looks at Joe. "O-oh." He mutters. Everyone knows that talking about your ex in front of your new partner is never good.
"She passed away three months ago." Mr Williams says with a sad look on his face.
Ben's jaw drops open at that. "W-what?... I... I'm so sorry." He stammers with a look of sympathy. "What happened?" He asks carefully.
Mr Williams takes a deep breath. "She died while giving birth to her daughter."