With Every Single Beat of My Heart

Three

So take a chance with me
Let me romance with you
I'm caught in a dream
And my dream's come true
So hard to believe
This is happening to me 
Amazing feeling
Comin' through 

It was after that their relationship took off. They would hold hands when they walked down the street or in the halls of the hospital. They'd greet one another with either a kiss on the lips or cheek. Some of the kids giggled at them when they would peep through the glass to spy on them but he didn't mind much. Ben wasn't worried about sharing some PDA.

He had kissed countless of lasses outside clubs and inside bars. Girls whose names had escaped him or maybe he didn't even bother to learn. He wanted to kiss Joe; out in the open for the entire world to see.

He had never been a boyfriend before but he thought he was doing a pretty decent job of it. He took Joe out on real dates. They'd go to dinner or to a movie. They went bowling once to a place that turned the lights down and everything was neon. Joe had oddly enough dragged him to a karaoke night and while they were both stupidly nervous they got over the feeling and sang their lungs out.

They had their fun but Ben always made sure to keep it romantic. He had set up a surprise dinner on the roof of the hospital, the place they used to go to hide away from the rest of the world. It was sweet and fun and he even snuck in a little pocket speaker so they could dance slowly to the music playing on his phone.

It left Joe blushing and Ben smiling. He had never done anything like this before, but it went off with flying colors.

Ben had been properly introduced to Joe's family; not just as a friend or someone from the hospital but as a boyfriend. Joe's family was esthetic to see him doing something so out of his comfort zone. Joe's mother had admitted to Ben one night that she was guilty of sheltering her son and she thanked him for changing that.

He brought Joe over to have dinner with his mum and stepdad and while his mother was thrown for a loop at seeing another man instead of a woman she welcomed him with open arms.

Tom wasn't fazed in the least and spoke to Joe about baseball and whatever was going on with the teams at this point. Ben didn't understand a lick of it but he liked hearing Joe speak of the sport. He was so involved and invested and it made Ben's heart soar whenever the conversation would come up.

They had gotten physical but only to a degree. Joe was open about the fact that he was a virgin and while Ben could see he was beating himself up over it, the blond insisted that it didn't matter to him.

For so long sex had been the only thing that mattered. It was the one true goal for him and Ben didn't want to be that guy anymore. He was more than content with just sitting in the couch, wrapped in one another's arms while Singin In The Rain played in his screen.

The issue was Joe wasn't content. He wanted more. They had a few makeout sessions that ended up pretty hot and heavy but Joe had to pull away due to not being able to fully breathe. They had joked about how Ben was always taking his breath away but it wasn't a laughing matter and Ben knew that.

Eventually, Joe had enough and went to the hospital. Ben was by his side as they spoke to Dr. Lee. At this point Joe called him by his first name, having seen him so often. The conversation started off lite and casual before finally the brunet just snapped.

"I want to have sex! Okay? I want to fuck my boyfriend without worrying that my heart will stop mid orgasm so can we do something about that please?"

Both Gwilym and Ben were left red in the face. The doctor was gracious though and took it seriously. They had made suggestions and comments here and there and it seemed that setting in a pacemaker was the best course of action.

They had suggested their early on in his life but due to his heart failing time and time again it just didn't seem worth it. Joe had done years without issue and now it seemed like the best time to take the chance.

The only issue was the cost of it all. Joe had decent insurance but on something like this, there would be no simple copay. It would have to be out of pocket. Ben had wanted to make the easy suggestion but he knew Joe would shut it down without even trying to listen.

So Ben did the next best thing and went to Tom. The man was kind and heard him out and while Ben kept promising that they would pay him back the older man wouldn't hear it. He paid for it all, meddling with the books to make it seem as if the hospital itself waved the fee and such.

Joe's family was pleased and Joe was ready for the next part of his life to begin. He had many surgeries in his life so he didn't fear another one. He had gotten used to living life under the knife so he didn't worry when the time came.

Ben did however and the blond spent the entire time pacing back and forth in the waiting area. He was more of a wreck than Joe's own mother was. Gwilym has done the surgery himself and was quite proud when he came out to tell everybody that it was a success.

Joe had a bit of recovery time but he was eager to give it a go. He was shy about his body prior to surgery since he was covered in scars of his last attempts to survive. Now there was a large item inside of him with a very noticeable outline. He felt ugly and shy but Ben refused to see him as anything other than beautiful.

Joe would roll his eyes whenever Ben would compliment him. He never took it seriously. Joe didn't see himself in decent light. To Joe, he was just some homosexual kid who was slowly dying and didn't deserve the time of day.

To Ben he was everything. Beautiful and funny and so god damn thickheaded. There were times when they would go back and forth between being utterly and completely smitten with one another and then a moment later, Joe was being silent and Ben was demanding to know how he got so fucking stubborn.

It wasn't healthy, but they were happy. Ben was happy at least. And he was determined to make Joe happy as well.

Sex wasn't anything new to the blond, even if his partner was his own gender this time around. He knew how to pleasure his partner and he was an eager lover. They took it slow, maybe a bit slower than Joe liked because he was always trying to go further, always wanting to push the limit.

Even with the pacemaker, they still didn't know what was off limits, but Gwilym had given them the go, telling Joe to find his own pace and find that worked.

Ben wondered if it killed Gwilym to know that the same kid that he had worked on since he was a dorky teenager was trying so very hard to have sex with his boyfriend.

Ben was fine with waiting and it surprised him. Gone were the days when all he wanted to do was take a good looking person home and have their way with them. To hear his name cried over and over again as he pushed them to nirvana.

Joe cried his name too but in different ways. When he would whine and get annoyed when Ben would compliment him. When he would laugh at something sweet he was saying or even the quiet, breathy moan when Ben would suck at his neck.

Joe's skin was so soft and easily marked. He was left with hickeys on his neck and chest; places that Ben has kissed and bitten and sucked.

When they finally did have sex, it was wonderful. For once, it was Ben who was blushing. They had worked their way up, with heavy petting and kissing to the point where even the blond had trouble breathing right.

Ben was on top the first time, only by Joe's request. He knew what to do and Joe wanted someone to actually lead the way properly. They took their time, working their way up to it. When it happened it was wonderful. Sex had always been about his own selfish pleasure, but this time around Ben was in heaven.

He had never felt like this before and all he wanted to do was stay right there, on the bed, inside of Joe, kissing him endlessly. When they finished, Joe's name left his lips like the warmest, most welcoming prayer he could say. And Ben was not a religious man.

They waited a few hours before trying again and the second time around was even better. Joe was beginning to fully enjoy it and while Ben was guilty of keeping watch and making sure neither went too hard or too fast, he found himself getting lost in the other man.

They spent the night in one another arms, wrapped around one another without a single stitch of clothing between them. He was happy and Ben was certain Joe was too.