➬ BEN HARDY IMAGINES

ben | late night pit stop

ben x reader
warnings: none

note: if you have a request, for either ben or roger, please comment or send it to my inbox, thank you <3

With tired eyes, you stared at the road ahead, your fingers tapping absentmindedly against your denim-clad thigh. Sighing quietly, you rested your elbow below the window and leant your cheek against your fist, which was soft due to the material of Ben's oversized hoodie. Hood pulled over your somewhat messy hair, you pulled your knees up to your chest and shut your eyes.

"You can sleep, love," Ben spoke from the drivers seat, his hand temporarily resting on your knee as an endearing gesture before it was quickly back on the steering wheel.

Nodding, you had barely registered what he'd said before you felt yourself drift into slumber, your head growing heavy as it rested against the glass instead. Softly, Ben smiled to himself at your quiet breaths, turning the volume of the radio down to make it easier for you to sleep.

When you woke up, it was blinding outside. Superficial white light made brighter by your exhausted sensitivity. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you groaned at the ache in your legs, which had been held in an odd position for, what felt like, hours. Squinting, you realised that you were parked in a petrol station, and pushed the door open, only to be met with Ben, whose attention quickly moved from the petrol pump to you.

"You're awake," He grinned, and you replied with a muttered response that he didn't quite catch, but carried on smiling anyway.

"I'm going to the bathroom," You mumbled, yawning and stretching the hoodie sleeves over your knuckles and heading towards the well-lit building.

When in the bathroom, you glanced at your reflection through the murky surface of the mirror, the scratches and smudges relatively distorting the image, but it was clear enough to see you looked exhausted. Running the tap for a few seconds, you dipped your head down and splashed the bitter water into your face, instantly feeling a lot more awake. After drying your hands, you shoved the heavy metal door open and took a second to scan the store.

A kind-looking, tired, middle-aged man sat at the till, hands playing with a set of keys and eyes fixed onto the screens, in which the CCTV footage was projected onto. There seemed to be only one or two other people in the store other than yourself, due to the sound of movement from within the aisles, but overall it was fairly empty.

Wondering along the first aisle you saw, your eyes followed the flow of the shelves and searched for the cheapest option, the distant and distorted sound of Coldplay emanating from the speakers above you as you made your decision.

"Boo!" Ben whispered in your ear as he slung his arms round you from behind, pulling you tightly against his chest, nuzzling his face into your hood clad neck.

"Jesus Christ, Ben, you scared the shit out of me!" You whispered back, a wide grin on your own lips as you bit back, turning your face to place a kiss in his hair.

"Are you buying Maltesers?" He asked, chuckling at the object in your hand and you laughed back defensively.

"Yes, I'm hungry," You argued, pushing yourself from his grasp.

Quietly, he laughed to himself as he watched you move towards the till, quickly jogging to catch up with you and throwing his arm around your shoulders again – this time pulling you into his side and simply just approaching the counter with you in his embrace.

He was an idiot. A massive idiot, at that, but you loved him entirely.

"Do you want anything else, sir?" The man at the till questioned, putting on a faux smile as he took Ben's money.

"N-" He began, but was interrupted by a magazine and drink being slammed onto the counter. Raising an eyebrow at you, he was met with a wide, innocent grin – to which he responded with a somewhat sarcastic eye roll, "And those, thanks."

Nodding, the man added them on and took his cash, wishing you both a good night before turning nonchalantly back to the CTTV screens. Silently, you left the shop and moved out into the car park.

"Hey," Ben began, stopping in his tracks, grabbing your wrist and pulling you towards him. In one swift movement, his lips were pressed softly onto yours and the heat from his cheeks emanated onto your own. Responding immediately, you hooked your hand into his hair to deepen it, but he quickly pulled away, "Race you to the car."

In a split second, he had let go of you and taken off towards the furthest petrol pump, you hesitantly following suit with a wide grin on your face. Ben's laugh could be heard echoing into the night air, your padding footsteps only adding to the sound.

As you began to catch up, you pushed yourself forward and ran past him, a smug grin on your face as you overtook him. However, it was rather short lived as he grabbed your hips from behind, pulling you flush against his body and laughing louder than before.

"I think I won," You panted out, spinning yourself around so that you faced Ben, beaming up at him with rosy cheeks, his hands still plastered to your side.

"Fine." He huffed, his breaths shallow and fast at the sudden exercise, "But I'll only accept defeat if you give me one thing."

Knowingly, you raised an eyebrow at him and he only smiled, leaning down to place a soft, yet deep kiss on your lips and pull you closer to him, elated at the feeling of your arms wrapped around his neck, your own lips returning the favour. Despite the freezing, bitter air around them, you were so warm and so incredibly happy to share each other's personal space. Nothing else really seemed to matter, the only thing playing on your minds being the feeling of one another.

Pulling away, you smiled up at Ben and noted the loving look in his eyes as he gazed back down at you. There really was no question about it; he'd found the love of his life, and there was no doubt or ill-will in his mind about you being the one – the one he wanted to spend his life with.