I'm going slightly mad // Hardzello

Chapter 56

Gwil lets his eyes glide over Ben's body while Ben poses in front of him. Ben put on the see-through shirt from their first date along with a light grey suit. 
"You look amazing mate. Don't worry about that." Gwil glances over Ben's outfit one more time before snapping some pictures with Ben's phone.
"Have fun on your date man. Let me know what Joe thought of the present." Gwil says before patting Ben on the shoulder.2
"I will. Thanks for everything Gwil. You are an amazing friend." Ben wraps his arms around Gwil for a quick hug.
"No worries. I'm glad I could help out." Ben walks towards the door before smiling once more at Gwil.

Not five minutes later he knocks on the front door of his own house. Joe must have been standing right behind it because the door immediately opens. Ben bites his lip softly while he looks Joe up and down. Joe wears his black dress pants along with a white button-up. He wears a red velvet jacket and a black silver tie to top it all of.
"Well, hello handsome," Joe says after looking at Ben's outfit. Ben doesn't know know how to respond to the comment and just sticks his hand out for Joe to take. Which the latter does without thinking twice. After locking their door Ben guides Joe towards their car.

"The drive is a little long so make yourself comfortable babe." Ben says as soon as they get into the car. During the car ride, they talk about their weeks without each other. Of course, they already told each other the most interesting stories through their almost daily texts or calls. Here and there Ben would grab Joe's hand and hold it in his own until he has to gear up.
"I'm surprised that you didn't ask me where we are heading yet." Ben looks to his right quickly before focusing on the road again.
"Well, I wanted to know but I know you're not going to tell me." Joe says before shrugging slightly.
"Yeah, you're right. I don't want to ruin the surprise." The closer they get to their destination the more nervous Ben gets. Not only is he scared that Joe won't like the setting of their date he is also nervous that Joe isn't going to like his present.

The first worry is quickly answered when Ben pulls up in the parking spot. He runs over to the side of the car.
"Baby, I need you to close your eyes. Hold my left hand I will lead you." Joe jumps out of the car and immediately closes his eyes. To top it off he holds his right hand in front of him. Ben grabs Joe's free hand with both of his hands. Carefully he leads Joe towards their date setting. It went way smoother than Ben expected. Ben replaces Joe's right hand with his own. He stands directly behind Joe and places his chin on Joe's shoulder.
"I will count to three, alright?" Ben slowly counts. On the count of three, he moves his hand away from Joe's eyes. Even though he can't really see Joe's full face he can see the eyes of the older boy slowly widening.
"Ben, this is beautiful." Joe looks in awe at the setting in front of them. A table set for two persons is surrounded by little fairy lights hanging around in the trees. The table is in the middle of a rocky part. Behind them is a huge majestic forest. In front of them, they look out over a beautiful wide river.
"How did you even do this?" Joe has turned his head so he can look at Ben.
"I just went here today and started decorating. I had some help from Lucy she is really good with this stuff. Oh and Gwil too. He is not good with this stuff, but he is tall. So that came in handy too." Joe giggles before looking back at the setting.
"So, I guess you like it then?" Ben grabs Joe's hand before leading him towards the table.
"I don't like it. I love it." Joe exclaims happily. Ben can hear how excited the man is by the tone in his voice. Which makes his own heart jump in his chest.

Once they are seated Ben pushes a little button that is under the table. He hired a professional chef to serve them a nice meal. The chef has a little trailer on a parking spot just out of sight for them. It didn't come cheap but it was totally worth it. After a full five-course meal they sip on their wine while they continue their conversations. Ben starts to get more nervous with the second. Once he can't take it anymore he pushes the button once again. Their chef comes walking out with his wrapped present. He hands the box to Ben. Joe looks at it with furrowed eyebrows.
"So, I have a present for you. I initially wanted to give it to you before I had to leave for X-Men so you could think of me every day while I was gone but that week was so hectic that I couldn't finish the present in time." He hands the big box to Joe. It is wrapped in golden wrapping paper with a huge white bow on top of it. Joe carefully takes off the bow. He couldn't wait to open the rest of the present so he ripped off the wrapping paper. Inside is a nice box which contains little wrapped presents. A pink envelope lays on top of it all. Joe grabs the envelope before looking at Ben as a way to ask him if he should open that first. Ben simply nods while he nervously watches Joe opening it. Once Joe sees the card he lets out a awh before a soft chuckle. On the front of the card is their very first picture together printed. He opens to read what is written inside.

Dear Joe,
From the day I met you I knew that you were special. We didn't have an easy road, but we managed to stay together through it all. I really wanted to give you something special. I think I could have just given you a box of chocolates and you still would have liked it. But for me, that wasn't special enough. So I came up with this. From all the dates we went on I took something with me. Something that reminded me of that specific date. In this way, you'll always be reminded of all the things we did together as a couple.
I love you, Joe. With all of my heart.
Xx Ben.

After Joe is done reading the card he places it on the table before leaning forward to give Ben a quick kiss.
"I love you too Ben." He says as soon as they pull away. Joe opens each and every present. With every date, Ben wrote a small description of their date and the item he took. It varies from a little stone from the rock they had a picnic together to a picture they took at the comedy club. Joe's heart flushes as soon as he is reminded of all their dates. As soon as he has unwrapped all of the presents he places everything back in the box.
"This is beautiful. Thank you so much. This means the world to me." Joe grabbed Ben's hand that lays on the table while looking him deep in the eye. He doesn't want this evening to ever end.

***********
Hi lovies,

Have y'all seen the trailer from No Time To Die? They tried to age Rami but he still looks amazing!

I hope y'all have a good day today.

Take care of yourselves. I love y'all!

Goodbye,

Xx Itsametaphorjoe