A Good Day (Ben Hardy x Reader)
this is my submission for the big tropey writing challenge hosted by @supersonicfreddie ! i’d love some feedback for this!
2.7k words of fluffy post-borhap ben x reader with a nice helping of joey :)
also, i have absolutely no idea how to make tea, so forgive me for any discrepancies about tea that i might have written about lol
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Joe was a good friend. Scratch that, Joe Mazzello was an amazing friend. The best friend you could ask for. He knew it. But sometimes, he truly wished he could just lock his two brickheads of best friends in a room and have them make out till they realized they were stupidly in love with each other.
He had to face the heat from both sides. Ben would go on and on and on about how beautiful Y/N’s hair looked, how lovely she looked in that skirt, how she was so kind and sweet and fucking amazing.
And so would Y/N. Ben’s blond hair, his beautiful lips, his smooth voice, and his stupid abs.
Truly, Joe Mazzello was a trooper. He had kept at it for two years. How he did it is a mystery to all.
But here he was, sprawled out on Y/N’s bed as she made herself presentable for Ben’s arrival.
“He’s not coming over for the first time, Y/N.” Joe scoffed, his feet resting on the wall. He picked at his cuticles, listening to everything Y/N was saying. “He’s been over a million times.”
“Shut up,” Y/N mumbled half-heartedly as she came over and sat down on the bed right next to where Joe’s head was. “Don’t do that,” she tutted, swatting as Joe pulled on his cuticle. Joe rolled over on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. “All ready?”
“Yes.” Y/N smiled, flashing Joe her brightest smile.
Joe rolled his eyes playfully, sticking his tongue out as he sat all the way up. “You look beautiful all the time, and Ben sees it too. You don’t have to doll yourself up for him.”
Y/N leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. “What if I say I’m dolling up for myself?” She wiggled her eyebrows at Joe.
Joe mirrored her actions, leaning forward himself as he commanded, “Then I’d say that lipstick isn’t dark enough, egghead.” He laughed along with Y/N, standing up as she did.
“Should I make some tea for him?” Y/N asked, only half waiting for an answer as she walked into the kitchen with Joe in tow.
“Do you even know how to make tea? Aren’t you a coffee snob?” Joe watched as Y/N filled up a mug with water and put it in the microwave. Joe chortled, “Ben is going to be downright scandalized when he sees this.”
Y/N stopped short of pressing the button, “Sees what?”
“Making tea in the microwave? You should be put behind bars!” Joe said, his British accent on point, all thanks to John Deacon. He propped himself up on the kitchen counter after busying himself with a jumbo pack of animal crackers. “I love you for keeping these for me, by the way.”
Y/N made her way over to Joe, pulling out an elephant from the jar. “Tell me how to make tea, Joe!”
“Do you have a kettle?”
“No.”
“Well, then Ben is going to have to make do with coffee.”
“I have an electric kettle.”
“Nope. Nothing but coffee’s bitter kiss for Benneth today.”
Y/N groaned, unhappy with Joe’s response. Ben still had half an hour to show up, so she pushed herself up on the counter herself, reaching in for another animal cracker just to get swatted by Joe. “Hey, I pay for these.” She argued.
“You should have thought of that before, birdie,” Joe booped her on the nose, before following the sound of the doorbell.
Y/N hung back. It was probably just a package she was expecting. But when Joe hollered for her, she got off the counter rather unceremoniously, sliding on her socks to the door.
Joe turned around, wiggling his eyebrows at Y/N as he pointed to the person at the door. “Look who it is, Y/N!”
None other than the Jones’s Ben stood in front of her — well, technically behind Joe — waving shyly.
“Hi, Y/N,” Ben greeted, letting himself in.
Joe began talking as he shut the door behind him, walking into the living room with his two best friends. “Y’know, Ben? Y/N can’t make tea.” He raised one eyebrow as Y/N scowled at him, continuing, “She was going to make it in the microwave!”
Ben opened his mouth, his eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline, before he sighed, relaxing again. “No problem, Y/N. I’ll buy you a kettle and show you how to do it,” he smiled.
Y/N could feel a blush creep up her cheeks. She needed a moment to cool off before she could behave normally in front of this handsome man. She excused herself to the kitchen, pretending she had something to take care of.
The moment Y/N had escaped to the kitchen, Ben spun on his heel, looking at Joe alarmingly. Joe was looking at Ben with narrowed eyes in return. “What?” Ben asked.
“Remember your reaction when I had tried to make you tea in the microwave? I can’t believe this.” Joe said, only partly joking as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Ugh, shut up.” Ben snapped, sitting down on the couch next to Joe. “Did I take it too far? Am I making it too obvious that I like like her?”
Joe couldn’t help but laugh. “Like like? I swear, you’re like fifth graders.” He shook his head.
“Graders? As in plural?”
“Yeah, you and Y/N,” Joe informed like it was the most obvious thing.
“Stop teasing me!” Ben hissed, “Just tell me if I’m making it too obvious.”
“If you ask me, you’re not making it obvious enough, Benno. Y/N can you get the animal crackers on the way out?” Joe called, taking a tone of extreme nonchalance with Ben’s concern.
Ben sighed, sinking into the couch. “I just don’t want to annoy her too much.”
Joe laughed at that. He genuinely thought what Ben had said was hilarious. “Trust me, that is the last thing that she’s going to think of you.”
Y/N walked out of the kitchen just then, flinging the jar of animal crackers in Joe’s direction, shooting him a thumbs up as he caught it perfectly. She smiled at Ben, who straightened himself up at her sight, turning around again and walking into the kitchen. She fanned herself as she got over her embarrassment before getting the three mugs of coffee in her hands, precariously balanced as she tried to carry them out.
In the living room, Ben had his hands buried in his hair, his eyes narrowed. “You’re taking it too far, Ben.” He scolded himself. As he saw Y/N walking out with three mugs in her hands, he rushed up at once to help her out. He could hear himself in his head to stop being such a fucking sweetheart to her lest she finds out, but he physically couldn’t stop himself. He took two mugs from his hands, passing one over to Joe.
Y/N sat down on the floor, resting her back on the wall opposite the couch.
She could only watch as Ben stood in the middle of the room awkwardly, looking between Joe and Y/N for a good half a minute, before he decided to settle down next to Y/N.
Joe couldn't find it all more amusing if he tried. It was especially amusing today because generally it never went farther from quick smiles and batting eyelashes. But today Ben was actually doing something, no matter how tiny. His shit-eating grin only got bigger as Ben justified his reason for sitting down next to Y/N.
“Just so we can see you better, Joey,” He explained, trying to be solemn.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s a must,” Joe responded, trying to bite down on his smile as he played along. “How will the world turn if you both don’t look at me?”
Y/N actually laughed at that, giggling while Ben looked at Joe jadedly. Ben turned to look at Y/N, smiling when he saw her giggling.
“It’s funny!” Y/N said.
“Yeah, it is,” Ben smiled, “It’s funny.” He was looking at Y/N endearingly.
This only peeved Joe even more. He was so stumped that neither of these idiots could see how much they liked each other. He found it extremely puzzling. That after two years of stupid pining — pining that was quite obvious, by the way — they still couldn’t figure it out. It was going to drive him to the nuthouse if he didn’t do anything about it soon.
He decided he would try to give it a shot today. “Y/N?” He set his coffee mug down on the floor near his feet before standing up. “Could I speak to you for a minute? In private?” Joe pulled Y/N into her bedroom, shutting the door behind them.
“Yeah?” Y/N asked. She looked worried, “Did I do something?”
“Oh my god,” Joe mumbled, rubbing his fingers at his temple. “A few things. One, I need you and Ben to stop thinking you’ve done something wrong all the time - or if you’ve taken it too far - or if you’re annoying each other - or if it’s too fucking obvious to each other.” Joe groaned, trying not to let his temper rise. He loved his best friends a lot. And he only wanted the best for them. But sometimes it got a little annoying to keep up with them all the time.
Y/N’s eyes widened, taking in all that Joe was saying.
“Two, I gotta go,” Joe said quietly. He didn’t want to leave — he’d just wanted a quiet evening with his best girl — but he was sure it would do some good to her and Ben.
“What? No, don’t go, Joe!” Y/N put her hands on Joe’s arms, a distressed look on her face. “I thought we were going to spend some time together.”
“We’ll spend some time together tomorrow.” Joe smiled, “It’s Sunday, isn’t it?”
“Well, what are you gonna do, then?”
“I’m gonna pay some bills. Gonna get some work done,” he pulled the door open, holding his arm out for Y/N to walk out first. As she did, he pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to her head.
“We were gonna watch The Emperor’s New Groove,” Y/N mumbled.
“You can still do that with Ben,” Joe said.
“I want you there.”
“Well, then watch something else. And make use of your alone time, please,” Joe winked, grinning wide, although he felt just a little sad on the inside. The Emperor would just have to wait until tomorrow.
“Benyamo, I am going.” Joe shot Ben a salute.
“Going where?” Ben asked, getting up and walking over to Joe and Y/N.
“Going home. Got some stuff to take care of. Nothing to worry about.” Joe assured. “How much longer are you in New York?”
“Another two weeks,” Ben mumbled.
“Well, then I shall see you soon, my friend,” Joe said with finality, pulling him into a side-hug before he left.
Y/N spun to find a red-faced Ben.
Ben chuckled lightly, running a hand through his hair. “It’s just you and me, now.”
“Yup,” Y/N said softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Wanna watch a movie?”
“Sounds good.”
As Y/N brought out a couple of blankets and some freshly popped popcorn, Ben selected a movie. The pair sunk into the leather of the couch as the beginning of Jurassic Park played. Joe never allowed Y/N to watch movies he’d been in whenever he was around, so she’d barely seen any. Sue her for having never watched Jurassic Park.
“Aw, look at tiny Joey!” She cooed, holding a hand to her chest. Ben crunched on some popcorn as he laughed along, albeit as if he was holding back.
“Y/N, can I ask you something?” He asked, his voice strained.
“Sure,” Y/N helped, turning her body only slightly in Ben’s direction.
“Are you… never mind.” Ben mumbled, shaking his head as Y/N tried to coax him into telling. “Fine. Are you and Joe… a thing? Are you guys a thing?”
Y/N laughed, “Am I dating Joe?” She asked, her ears warming up. Her heartbeat quickened a little at Ben’s question. “No! Gosh, no.”
“No?” Ben repeated softly.
“Nope,” Y/N smiled. “I’ve known Joe since we were in diapers. He’s like my brother. I don’t have any siblings of my own, so Joe acts like one.” She shrugged, reminiscing about first meeting Joe for a quiet moment.
As if having stolen her thoughts, Ben asked Y/N, “How did you meet?”
“We lived next door. Our mothers would arrange playdates for us.” Y/N smiled, turning her attention back to the movie. She needed to see Baby Mazzello in his full potential. It was a cold night, so she rubbed her hands together to generate some heat.
She had a feeling Ben had his eyes trained on her. She couldn’t shake the feeling, so she turned to look at him herself, chuckling, “It’s cold, isn’t it?”
Ben nodded, pursing his lips together. He opened his mouth, closing it before opening it again. He unfurled his arm, inviting Y/N to shift closer. “Would you mind?” He asked, biting down on his bottom lip.
Y/N felt the loud thudding of her heart. Despite herself, she shook her head, “Not at all.” She scooted closer, letting Ben’s arm wrap around her shoulders. He rubbed his hand up and down, looking down at Y/N with a smile, getting a smile in return.
Y/N decided to test the waters even further. She leaned into Ben’s arm, letting her body relax. “Tell me if it’s too much.”
“Never.” Ben said, turning his attention back to the movie.
Y/N was starting to get extremely comfortable, wrapped in a blanket and Ben’s warm embrace. She leaned her head on Ben’s shoulder, closing her eyes.
“You’re not going to watch?” Ben asked in a laugh.
“I’m getting sleepy.” She answered.
“Should I pause it then? So you can continue later?”
“You can watch it, if you’d like.” Y/N assured Ben. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“No,” Ben laughed, “I’ve seen it before. I don’t mind just sitting here. Unless you want me to leave.” He added the last sentence as an afterthought.
Y/N laughed. “Do you want to go back to your cold hotel bed, Ben?” She looked up at him through hooded eyes, the beat of her heart loud in her ears. She felt a warm coiling in her stomach. Her toes felt funny. A nice funny.
“You’re very close to my face,” Ben whispered, disregarding Y/N’s earlier question.
Y/N nodded, whispering back, “Yeah.” She licked her lips, “I like you, Ben.” She fluttered her eyelashes close.
Ben’s eyes went wide. “Really?”
Y/N nodded. “You don’t have to say anything.” Even through all the sleepiness, she hated this sudden surge of confidence her body had decided to send her. She still felt like getting up, locking herself in her room and screaming into her pillow till she couldn’t. But for some stupid reason, to her, it looked like her chances were not all that bad right now. So she stayed put.
“No,” Ben countered, bringing his hand to Y/N’s chin. “I like you too,” he whispered, closing his own eyes. He pressed a kiss to her nose; the gentlest of kisses. It was almost only a brush of his lips. He brought his lips on her then, simply pecking once again.
Y/N didn’t take it any further either. She simply lost herself in the feeling of Ben’s warmth, his lips, his touch. She felt her crush reciprocated, and it felt fucking amazing.
She settled back down, pressing play on the movie, leaning her body on Ben’s. She could feel Ben’s body shake — one quick look told her it was from happiness. Ben pressed one final kiss to the top of her head, mumbling, “Today’s a good day.”
And Y/N agreed. A good day was what it was.
forever tags: @lv7867 @multifangirl17 i’m also tagging @supersonicfreddie once again for good measure lol
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