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#im baby crazy rn and need to project it onto literally anything but me
densewentz · 1 year
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Dreamling can be dads together, as a treat
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starrystarrybabe · 5 years
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Oh, How the Mighty Fall [In Love] CHAPTER SEVEN (Ben Hardy x OC)
Lily Anne Mercury is brought in to help with Bohemian Rhapsody at the request of her Uncle Bri and Uncle Rog, and along the way, she might meet someone to share her life with. The only problem with this is that while their friends and the world can see that they’re perfect for each other, they’re going to be fully blind to this for a while.
CHAPTER ONE, CHAPTER TWO, CHAPTER THREE, CHAPTER FOUR, CHAPTER FIVE, CHAPTER SIX
DISCLAIMER: I’m fully aware that it would’ve been physically impossible for Jim and Freddie to have a child even with this method during the time they were alive, but the idea of Freddie as a dad and the idea of how his child would turn out to be was just too sweet for me to not write.
Hello everyone! I apologize for the long ass wait time. Emotionally and mentally, I’m not doing the best rn, and it’s really kicking my ass. I tried my hardest on this chapter, and I hope y’all like it!
-- casey
TRIGGERS: mentions of alcoholism? Honestly nothing is really that spicy in this installment of the story
FACECLAIMS:
Kelly Gale as Lily Anne Mercury
Sira P. Kante as Ezichi Adebayo
Erika Linder as Bronwyn Ryan-Hughes
Bree Kish as Madigan Ryan-Hughes
“Can you believe this shit? I’m not invited to the Golden Globes because I wasn’t ‘close enough to the project!’” Lily Anne scoffs, pacing in the studio as she rants to Zichi. “That’s complete and utter horseshit and we all know it. I was there almost every day we weren’t on tour! Fuck the Golden Globes!”
Ezichi sips her tea, frowning in confusion. “You’re Freddie’s daughter. You helped in every step of the project. You’re dedicated to keeping his memory alive. Why wouldn’t you be invited to an event celebrating a movie that created a whole new generation of Queen fans to help in those efforts?”
Lily Anne nods furiously, flailing her arms in distress. “Exactly! I don’t get it.”
Zichi nods. “It makes no sense. I’m going as Gwil’s plus one, but if you really want to be there, I would give up my spot for you.”
Lily Anne shakes her head. “No, please don’t do that. You and Gwil deserve to have a nice night out and some rocking sex in a hotel bed. I won’t take that away from you.”
Ezichi blushes at Lily’s comment. “Really, Lily. My sex life is fine without hotel rooms. I don’t need to go.”
She raises a brow. “Just fine? That’s upsetting, I thought Gwil would do better than fine.”
Ezichi rolls her eyes before putting down her cup. “Lily, tell Ben and Joe that you’re not invited to the Globes.”
Lily frowns. “Why?”
Ezichi grins. “If Gwil got a plus one, I’m sure that the same invitation went out to Ben and Joe. Either of them could bring you.”
She perks up and kisses Zichi’s forehead, cupping her cheeks. “Ezichi Adebayo, you absolute genius of a woman. I love you to the moon and back.”
She takes out her phone as Ezichi grins.
Lily Anne: IM SENDING OUT AN SOS TO EVERYONE
Lily Anne: I HAVE NOT BEEN INVITED TO THE GOLDEN GLOBES
Lily Anne: I NEED TO BE SOMEONE’S PLUS ONE
Dinosaur Boy: why didn’t they invite you???
Lily Anne: i wasn’t “close enough to the project”
Benjamin Jones: that’s absolute bullshit!
Benjamin Jones: fuckin wankers
Lily Anne: i know, right? anyways, if one of you lovely men could take me as a plus one, i’d fucking love that.
---
“Hello?” Joe picks up his phone, leaning back on his couch.
“Hey. It’s Ben. I need a favor,” his friend frantically asks.
“Sure thing, Benny. What do you need?” Joe asks, perking up.
“Ask Lily to be your plus one,” he says.
“But-- but she loves you, not me! She’d like it more if you brought her,” Joe says, frowning.
Ben lets out a whine of distress. “Please, Joe. I’ll get too nervous, and fuck something up, and I can’t afford to lose this-- I can’t afford to lose her.”
Joe nods slowly, biting his lip. “Okay. I get what you’re saying--”
“--then do this one favor for me, please!” Ben interrupts, stressed out.
“I will! Just promise me one thing,” Joe says.
“What is it? I’ll do literally anything to repay you for this,” Ben asks.
“You ask her to the Oscars,” Joe responds.
Ben fumbles with his words for a minute before sighing heavily. “Sure. I’ll do that.”
Joe grins. “Good. I’ll ask her later today, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you so much, buddy,” Ben says, sounding much more relaxed.
“You’re welcome, Ben,” Joe says. “Remember, you’re asking her to the Oscars!”
“Don’t worry, I will!” Ben insists.
“Alright. I’ll see you soon, Ben.”
“Thanks, mate. Bye.”
When Ben hangs up, he sees Frankie looking at him with a distinctly unimpressed expression.
“You wouldn’t understand, Frankie.”
The dog huffs and walks out of the room.
---
Lily Anne is reclining in her oversized bathtub, enjoying a bath bomb and a face mask. Reykja sits on the bath mat, chewing on her bone, and Lily Anne has her eyes closed and is listening to royalty-free spa music she downloaded online onto her phone. She’s very zen at the moment. Suddenly her phone rings, and she frowns, opening one eye in annoyance. This is her free time. How dare someone interrupt it.
She looks at the phone and sees that Joe is calling, and picks up. “Lily Anne Mercury, speaking. You’ve interrupted my bath time, so this better be worth it, Dinosaur Boy.”
Joe gasps. “Oh, no! I’m so sorry, Lily. I can call later, but I think you’d want to hear this.”
She nods and leans back. “Alright. What’s going on?”
“Ben asked me to do something,” he says.
Lily Anne perks up, smiling. “Oh?”
“Don’t get too happy. He asked me to ask you to the Golden Globes.”
She sighs and leans back in the tub. “Oh… why isn’t he asking me?”
“He got scared, alright? I know I’m not him, and you’d rather be with him, but would you like to go to the Golden Globes with me? You don’t need to be by my side the entire time, just on the red carpet. Once that’s over, feel free to do whatever--” Joe begins ranting, and it’s the most considerate rant Lily Anne has ever heard.
“I’d love to go to the Golden Globes with you, Joe,” Lily says, smiling fondly.
“Great! It’s a date then,” Joe responds.
“What color is your bow tie? I can try to match it, if you’d like,” Lily asks, petting her pup lazily with one hand.
“I was thinking just doing a black one. Wear whatever you want. You’ll look good in anything.”
Lily laughs. “You’re too kind, darling. I’ll try not to overdress.”
Joe lets out a breath of laughter. “Alright. I’ll see you soon, Lily. Get back to your bath.”
“Have a nice night, Joe,” she responds before hanging up and letting out a deep sigh.
She looks down as Reykja blinks up at her curiously.
“I really thought Ben was going to ask me, didn’t you, girl?”
The dog lets out a yip of agreement.
“It’s alright, though. I’ll be fine, love. There’s always other events.”
1991
“Darling, must you do this?” Freddie asks from the tub filled with bubbles, looking over at Jim. “She’s still so young.”
Jim raises a brow and looks over at Freddie. “I found a knot in her hair yesterday that looked like it could be a bird’s nest, Freddie. It’s time.”
Freddie takes time to release a bone-shaking cough and leans back in the tub. “It’s such a shame, though. Her curls are immaculate!”
Jim sighs. “She’ll still have the curls afterward. If anything they’ll be more pronounced since her hair will be shorter.”
Lily Anne’s hair has gotten out of control, lately. It is past her butt, and the Indian genetics she has makes it very thick. Nobody in their right mind would be alright with spending over an hour detangling a two-year-old’s hair every day.
Freddie frowns. “Oh, alright. Just make sure she looks cute.”
Jim grins and kisses the little girl propped up on the bathroom counter. “She’s half you. Of course she’ll look cute. She’ll be beautiful no matter what haircut she has.”
Lily Anne coos, waving her little hands around. Her parents grin at her, and Freddie looks on with a happy gaze. He’s so lucky to be able to see her grow at least this much, though he knows that his time in this world is coming to its close.
“Ready for the cut, flower?” Jim asks. “It won’t hurt, sweetie.”
Lily blows a spit bubble and as Jim cuts her wet curls, she makes her mouth into an ‘o’ shape and watches in the mirror. She giggles and takes a handful of her hair, giving it a gentle tug. Jim pries her fingers away and quickly finishes the job, and Lily grins, looking at her shoulder-length curls.
Jim turns the girl towards Freddie and grins.
“You look amazing, darling girl!” Freddie coos hoarsely, smiling at his baby girl.
“You really should trust me more, love. I told you she’d look wonderful no matter what haircut she has,” Jim chuckles, kissing Lily’s cheek.
Preparing for the Golden Globes
Lily Anne smiles as her ends are trimmed, watching in the mirror. “My dad gave me my first haircut, you know. He was a barber before becoming the gardener at Garden Lodge,” she says, smiling wistfully.
The hair stylist smiles, trimming a little bit more off her ends. “That’s so sweet! Did he always cut your hair?”
She laughs. “Yes, until I began dying my hair in college and doing crazy punk hairstyles by myself. He seemed horrified but didn’t complain. He even bought me a hair straightener that wouldn’t fry it nearly as much as the cheap one I had.”
The stylist nods. “I remember when you would come out with crazy hair colors and choppy bangs and I really loved it.”
She grins. “Thank you, darling. That’s so sweet!”
The rest of the time passes and by the end of it, Lily’s hair is in a half bun, with the rest of it gently curled. Then, the makeup artist comes in and does a fairly natural look on her, but with an intense smokey eye. When she looks in the mirror, she smiles.
“Oh, it’s perfect, darling! Thank you so much!”
The artist smiles and shrugs. “You were a wonderful canvas. Thank you for the opportunity, Miss Mercury.”
She scoffs. “Call me Lily. I will be calling you the next time I’m in Los Angeles. Consider yourself booked for the Oscars, love.”
The makeup artist leaves and Lily changes into her dress, which is a stunning custom McQueen mermaid gown, emerald green with Swarovski crystals adorning the entire thing in place of embroidery. It dips low and creates a lot of cleavage, and the crystals are in the shape of Freddie’s face. Her assistant helps her put on her crystal choker and hoops, and she smiles as she looks in the mirror. Finally, her Louboutins are put on, and she hears a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” She asks.
“Your hot date,” Joe replies.
She picks up her matching clutch and opens the door, revealing Joe in a nicely tailored suit. He looks her over, in awe.
“Wow, Lily… I’m the one with the hot date,” he says, looking at the dress. “That’s Freddie’s face! Holy shit!”
She shakes her head. “The suit fits you perfectly, Mr. Mazzello. You look absolutely dashing. How are you still single?”
Joe shrugs. “I dunno. Must be my personality, I guess.”
Lily scoffs and shakes her head. “I’ll have none of that self-depricating nonsense tonight. Now, let’s get to the car, shall we?”
Joe holds out his arm for her and she takes it, smiling as they walk downstairs to the car, where Gwil and Ezichi are waiting. Allen, his daughter, Ben, Rami, and Lucy have already left for the event.
They enter the car and Gwil looks at Lily’s dress, nodding in approval. “You look very nice tonight, Lily. I love the dress.”
She grins. “Why thank you, Gwil! The suit is fabulous. Did Ezichi have the final say?”
Ezichi kisses Gwil’s cheek and nods. “Of course I did, and didn’t I do well?”
Joe nods. “Hell yeah, you did. You didn’t do too badly yourself, Zichi. That’s a wonderful pantsuit.”
Ezichi is wearing a white and black harlequin wide leg pantsuit with small diamonds on the edges of it, and she looks stunning.
Ezichi grins. “Thank you, Joe. It might be hard to piss in, but at least I look great.”
Gwil wraps an arm around his girlfriend. “You look magnificent, Zichi.”
Ezichi leans into her boyfriend and Lily lets out a fake vomit noise with Joe.
“Disgusting,” Lily says.
“Find a room,” Joe adds.
“If you wanted to fuck that badly, you shouldn’t have chosen a pantsuit,” Lily comments.
The pair blushes and Lily and Joe crack up, leaning back in their seats.
---
When they’re escorted to the red carpet, Ben is waiting for Joe to arrive, and when he sees Lily Anne--
Wow. She looks gorgeous.
Instant regret fills his head, and thoughts swirl as she approaches in her green gown.
‘Why didn’t you ask you, you bloody idiot? She’s stunning, and she could be on your arm right now if you had the fucking balls to ask her to the event. You’re an idiot, a right idiot, and you blew it.’
He’s forced out of his thoughts when she comes up to him, smiling. “No plus one, Ben?”
Ben refocuses on her. “A-ah, no. No plus one. My mum couldn’t come with me, and I didn’t want to ask anyone on Tinder.” He lets out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.
She shrugs. “Oh, well. It’s a shame.” She thinks for a moment before smiling. “You know what? I can be both yours and Joe’s plus one. I’m alright with being shared for the night.”
Joe comes up to Ben and gives him a hug. “Looking good, buddy.”
Ben grins at Joe. “Better than Cardy B?”
Joe laughs and nods. “Much better than Cardy B.”
Lily grins, taking both boys’ arms. “It’s showtime, boys. Let’s show them all how wonderful we are.”
The trio walks down the red carpet, and their names are screamed by the masses. Cameras flash, and Lily helps them navigate with practiced poise. She’s been doing this since she was a child, and the spotlight is where she belongs. They split up once it gets to the photos, and she puts on a smile, showing off her custom gown.
After some group photo ops, Lily goes off with Zichi and Lucy, and the girls enter the building.
Lucy smiles at Lily as they stop by the bar, and squeezes her hand. “What was your favorite cocktail when you drank?”
Lily looks at Lucy and smiles. “I loved Moscow mules.”
Lucy nods and looks to the bartender. “Can you make a vodka tonic and a virgin Moscow mule, please?” The bartender nods, and Lucy turns back to Lily. “You look upset. Is it because Ben didn’t ask you to the event?”
She lets out a deep sigh and Zichi rubs her back. “He loves you, Lily. It’s just because he’s nervous.”
Lily shakes her head. “Everyone is saying that, but… I need to hear it from him before I fully let myself believe it. I mean, him loving me would be a dream come true. I’ve never experienced my dreams going according to plan. Most times they backfire. I can’t risk losing this one. If I do… I’ll never find anyone I love as much as I love him.”
The bartender passes them their drinks, and Lily Anne tries hers. It tastes… delicious. Her face lights up.
“Excuse me, darling? I must have the recipe for this drink. It’s amazing, and to do it without alcohol is impressive.”
The bartender nods and writes down the recipe on a napkin, grinning. “I’m glad you like it! Here you go. Enjoy.”
She takes the napkin and places it in her clutch, grinning.
Lucy smiles. “Did that make tonight a little better?”
Lily nods, and Zichi hugs her friend. “You deserve nice things, Lily. One of those nice things can be Ben.”
Lily smiles and when she pulls away, she smirks. “One of your nice things can be rocking hotel sex. You don’t have to clean the sheets the next day, so go wild!”
Ezichi coughs, keeling over at Lily’s words. Lucy laughs, leaning against the bar. Lily sips her drink, pleased with herself.
When Brian and Roger enter and see the scene, immediately they tense up as they see a drink in Lily’s hand.
“That better be bloody virgin, Lily,” Roger says, raising a brow.
She nods and smiles, holding out her drink for him to try. “100% virgin, unlike us.”
He sips the drink and nods before handing it back to her. “Not bad. I like it. What’s got Zichi so red?”
She smirks. “I told her that she deserves good hotel sex.”
Roger scoffs and nods. “Hell yeah, she does! The best part is that you don’t have to wash the sheets afterward!”
Lily grins. “That’s what I said.”
Ezichi grimaces. “He’s corrupted you.”
Roger grins and kisses Lily’s forehead, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and jostling her. “Been doing that since day one.”
Brian speaks up, rubbing Ezichi’s back. “We’re going to take our seats with Rami, but we’ll see you later. Hopefully, we win something,” he says, crossing his fingers.
Lily nods and hugs her uncle. “Of course you will. Freddie’s energy was central in the movie, and he thrived despite the odds. This movie will too.”
Brian kisses the top of her head and smiles. “Send some good energy to us, alright?”
She nods. “Of course we will. You go sit down.”
Rami is walking by and comes over, kissing Lucy. She smiles and as he leaves, he yells, “Let's do this shit!”
Brian and Roger join the younger man and Lily laughs.
“He’s so strange and wonderful,” Lucy says, placing her hand on her cheek.
Lily nods. “I agree. Let’s go to our seats.”
The girls head off to get to their seats.
—-
Ben leans back on the couch, nursing a glass of sparkling water. Joe comes over to join him, holding a vodka tonic.
“Not drinking yet, Ben?” He asks, sitting next to his friend.
Ben shakes his head. “Nah. I don’t want Lily to be the only sober one and have to take care of us both. I’d feel bad if she had to do that.”
Joe presses his lips together. “You regret not asking her, don’t you?”
Ben nods, closing his eyes. “She looks… so beautiful. To think I could’ve had her on my arm but I chickened out makes me feel like an idiot.”
Joe nods. “She looks amazing. You know what? Don’t be sad.” He slaps Ben’s thigh. “She can sit in between us. You’ll get to have time with her alone later, alright?”
Ben rubs his thigh. “Sure. Thanks, mate. I really appreciate it.”
Lily walks in with Zichi and Lucy, and Gwil wraps an arm around his girlfriend, leading her over to the couch, where she promptly leans her head on his chest. Lucy sits next to Rami’s mother.
Joe and Ben part and pat the seat in between them, and Lily sits in between the pair, smiling.
Joe stands up and looks over the crowd. “I’m going to get a refill. Does anyone want anything?”
The group gives Joe their orders, and he walks over to the bar. Lily Anne leans back, squeezing Ben’s hand.
“How’d the red carpet stuff go?” she asks him, smiling.
“Good,” he says, smiling. “The interviews went well.”
She smiles and nods. “Great! That’s wonderful, Ben! Interviewers can be shitty and ask dumb questions, so I’m glad yours were good.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “One of them implied that Roger in the 70’s wasn’t beautiful, so I replied and said that he was wrong, and if I was around, I may have turned.”
She snorts, covering her mouth. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that answer.”
Joe comes back and hands people their drinks. He takes his seat and sips his own, watching as the T.V. turns on the awards show starting. The crowd quiets, and Lily smiles. Her parents are watching fondly from above.
---
The anticipation in the room is palpable when the announcer opens the envelope containing the name of the winner. Lily squeezes Ben and Joe’s hands and prays a silent prayer that Rami wins.
When his name is announced, they stand and scream, hugging each other and laughing. There is no sweeter feeling than a well-earned victory. She launches herself into Ben’s arms, and the sound of his laughter fills her with joy. She looks up at him, and their noses touch, and she freezes up because if she just leaned in a few inches closer she’d be kissing him, and he’s looking down at her and panicking--
Joe comes up behind her and turns the affair into a group hug, and she’s snapped out of her thoughts, laughing once more. When they sit down, she takes a deep breath and looks at Ben, who’s staring straight ahead with a wide eyed look on his face.
Oh, God. That could’ve been fucked up so quickly.
When she turns back to the screen to watch Rami’s acceptance speech, she feels Ben’s eyes on her and blushes.
The second win garners a similar reaction, but this time, Lily hugs Joe, just to avoid making a mistake with Ben. Lord knows that this time, she might not have been able to restrain herself.
---
The afterparty is hosted in Roger’s suite, and after being so kind as to ask permission to drink from Lily, she tells Ben that he can drink however much he wants. He promptly downs four shots of vodka without blinking, and Lily is shocked. The alcohol will hit hard and she knows it. However, she’s curious to see what the alcohol does to Ben.
Apparently, he becomes a frat boy. He’s with Joe, who’s honestly just a sillier version of himself under the influence of alcohol, and they walk over to where she’s sitting.
“Are you from Tennessee?” Ben asks her, grinning.
“I’m from London, you know that, Ben,” she says, raising one unimpressed brow.
“‘Cause you’re the only ten I see,” he continues, laughing at his own joke.
She snorts and sips her sparkling water, shaking her head. “Those four shots hit you hard, didn’t they, Ben?”
“Okay, okay. Let’s try another one.” He laughs, running a hand through his hair, and Lily Anne is so confused as to why she isn’t completely turned off by this behavior. “I hope you know CPR.”
“I’m certified,” Lily Anne replies, nodding matter of factly.
“Because you’re taking my breath away!” Ben finishes, a grin only growing on his face.
Joe is leaning on Ben, laughing heartily. Lily purses her lips, sighing.
“Still not impressed?” Ben asks, pouting. “Fine. One more.” He holds out his arm to her. “Feel my shirt.”
“This is your jacket, Ben,” she states, looking up at him.
He shakes his arm, whining. “Just feel it, okay?”
She sighs and feels the jacket material before looking up to see a smirk on his face.
He leans down and grins, his breath smelling like alcohol. “It’s boyfriend material.”
She rolls her eyes, shaking her head. “That was great, Ben.”
Ben giggles and looks at Joe with excitement in his eyes. “Mate, she likes me! Your lines worked!”
Lily laughs. She likes Ben, but not because of some cheesy pick up lines. Joe grins and hugs Ben, and she watches them tackle each other happily.
“I think someone had pizza delivered. Why don’t you two get some?” Lily comments, smiling.
The two boys grin at each other and stumble through the crowd towards the kitchen for food.
When they leave, Lucy sits down next to her, and holds her free hand. “Are you having fun, Lily?”
She nods, smiling. “Of course I am! I love seeing all my friends happy.”
Lucy grins. “Oh, that’s wonderful!” She leans in, her smile widening. “I saw Ben and Joe coming over here. What happened?”
She rolls her eyes. “Ben tried to use some pick up lines Joe taught him on me. They were exceptionally bad.”
She laughs, and sips her champagne. “He really does like you, Lily.”
She nods, rubbing her temples. “I know. We nearly kissed earlier, but stopped before it happened.”
Lucy gasps. “Oh my god, when? How did I miss it? Why did you stop?”
Lily sighs. “When Rami won, we hugged, our noses touched, and I froze up, panicking. I don’t want to ruin anything between him and I, so we both didn’t go any closer.”
Lucy squeals. “But that would’ve been so cute!”
Lily raises a brow. “It wouldn’t have been cute once I found out that he doesn’t love me as deeply as I love him.”
Lucy nods, pursing her lips. “I understand why you’re scared. You don’t want to lose a good thing. I get it. But one of these days, you’ll need to confess.”
Lily nods. “I know. I’ll do it eventually.”
Lucy shrugs. “Who knows? It could lead to something beautiful.”
She smiles and squeezes Lucy’s hand. “You should probably find Rami. He’s a mess navigating a party without you.”
Lucy smiles. “I should. Take what I said into consideration though, alright?”
Lily nods. “Alright. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Lucy leaves to find her man, and Lily sits back, watching as everyone enjoys themselves.
---
After frat boy Ben comes clingy Ben. Joe brings him over, and Lily raises a brow.
“I surely hope you’re not here for more bad pick up lines,” she says.
Joe shakes his head. “Nah. He just started whining and wanted to see you, so I brought him over before he could start crying.”
Ben whines into Joe’s shoulder, mumbling incoherently.
Lily nods. “I think we should take him back to his hotel room. He seems a little too far gone.”
Joe nods in agreement. “Yeah. I’m going to stay a little longer and make sure everyone gets back safely, but if you don’t mind taking him back, I’d appreciate it.”
She smiles and nods. “I’ll manage him.” She stands up and lets Joe drape Ben onto her.
Joe smiles and looks at Ben. “You’re with Lily now. Are you happy?”
Ben nuzzles into Lily and nods, mumbling, “Yay. Finally.”
Joe lets out a little laugh. “I’m going to go now. Get back safe, alright?”
She smiles and nods. “Of course. Come along, Ben. Let’s get you home.”
Ben looks up at her and blinks, confused. “Home is in London.” He gasps, eyes wide. “We’re not in London, are we?”
She shakes her head. “No, darling. We’re in Los Angeles. I meant home as in your hotel room.”
Ben blinks, pouting slightly. “I wanna go home.”
She nods, placing a hand on his cheek. “We’re going home tomorrow, lovie.”
He whines, shaking his head. “No, like-- like my room.”
She sighs and supports his waist as he follows her out of the suite and down the hallway. He begins to ramble, and she simply entertains his commentary.
“You look real pretty tonight, Lily.”
“Thank you, Ben. You looked very pretty as well.”
“My stylist chose the suit. I like it.”
“I like it too, Ben.”
“Who chose your outfit?”
“I helped design it with the head fashion stylist at Alexander McQueen.”
“Wow. You did good.”
“I know, love.”
“Can you design something for me?”
“I can do that, Ben.”
Ben squeals happily and buries his head in her shoulder, squeezing her waist tightly. “Yay!”
They get to the elevator and walk in, and Lily presses the button, keeping Ben’s hands away from the console as he reaches for it. He whines and shakes his head, and as the bell dings and they get to the lobby, a chauffer for the BoRhap cast sees them and helps them into the car, where Ben promptly lays his head down in Lily’s lap. He mumbles something as she straps him in and she looks down at him.
“What did you say, darling?”
“Touch my hair.”
She frowns. “Why?”
He looks up at her with pleading eyes. “It feels good.”
She sighs and obliges, running her hands through his hair, and within five minutes of the ride, he’s snoring into her lap. It feels comfortable and soft and she takes a picture of him, smiling. She’s saving that to her hidden files in her camera roll.
When they get to the hotel ten minutes later, she shakes Ben awake, and he lets out a confused noise, lifting his head.
“It’s time to get up, love.”
“We’re home?”
“Mhm. We’re home.”
The driver helps her get Ben out of the car, and he leans heavily on her as they walk inside and to the elevator. They get to Ben’s floor and she takes the key card from his pocket, helping him inside. He flops onto his bed, and she sighs heavily.
“Ben.”
A tired groan.
“Take off your jacket, at least.”
“You do it.”
“Turn over, and I will.”
Ben slowly obliges, and Lily walks over, unbuttoning the jacket. She heaves him up to take it off, and he looks at her, smiling. She looks down at him and raises a brow.
“What’s that look for, Ben?”
“Thanks, Lil.”
She smiles and helps him back down, squeezing his hand. “Of course. It’s no problem, darling. You’d do the same for me.”
She hangs up the jacket and looks back to see Ben failing to unlace his shoes. She leans down and helps him, and when he curls up on the bed, she covers him with a hotel blanket. Immediately, she hears snores, and leaves the room, heading back for her own.
---
Ben wakes up and blinks, confused. He has no idea how he got here, and no idea how he managed to take off and hang his suit jacket and untie his shoe laces. He drank far too much last night, and doesn’t remember much after eating pizza with Joe.
When he sits up, he groans from a pounding headache, and lays back down. He reaches for his phone on the bedside table and groggily tells Siri to call Joe. After putting the phone on speaker phone mode, and a few rings, Joe answers him.
“How much do you hurt?” he asks.
“More than I ever have in my life. Will you tell me what happened?” Ben asks, rubbing his eyes.
“You took some shots, drank some more, hit on Lily with bad pick up lines I gave you, and almost cried when I wouldn’t bring you immediately to her, but ultimately, she brought you back.”
He frowns and groans, burying his face in his hands. “Oh, God… First I almost kiss her, then I hit on her, then she drags my ass back?”
Joe chokes on the water he’s drinking. “You almost did what?!”
“When Rami won, she hugged me, our noses touched, and shit-- I almost leaned in, but I panicked, and then she panicked, and then you made it a group hug.”
Joe lets out a groan. “Why’d I third wheel that? Jesus, Ben, I’m so sorry.”
Ben frowns. “What? You want me to have kissed her?”
Joe scoffs. “Of fucking course I want you to kiss her! You two are soulmates! I want you to get married and have babies!”
Ben shakes his head. “Get the fuck out of here with that crap, mate. I can’t think about things like that.”
Someone opens the hotel room door, and the smell of breakfast wafts into the room. Ben groans and opens one eye, and when he sees Lily walking in with a tray of eggs, salsa, and buttered toast, he blinks, confused.
“Lily? What’s all this?” he asks, slowly sitting up in bed.
“Hangover food. I had a feeling you’d need it.” She holds out a water bottle and two advil. “Take these first.”
Joe greets Lily. “Hi, Lily! How did getting Ben home go?”
She shrugs. “It was fine. He was a bit heavy to carry, but I managed.”
Joe laughs. “Well, I’m gonna let you go now, buddy. Enjoy your meal.”
Joe hangs up, and Ben blushes, unable to meet Lily’s gaze once he’s taken the advil and downed some water. “How’d you get in?”
She holds up his keycard. “I took this from you, because I knew you’d need the meal and I’d need a way to get in.”
He nods, and looks at the meal. “Why salsa?”
She smiles. “Put it in with the eggs. The spice helps immensely. Don’t worry. I told them to give you mild.”
He nods, and does as she says. He bites his lip, leaning back in bed. “Lily, I am so sorry for what I did when I was drunk. How bad were the pick up lines?”
Lily winces. “Pretty bad, mate. I’ll spare you the details.”
He groans, and takes a bite of the food. In a moment, he feels… almost better? He looks up at Lily as if she’s God.
“That already helped. How do you know such good hangover food?”
She looks down at him, and with a straight face, says, “I was an alcoholic, Benjamin.”
Ben covers his mouth, his face flushing bright red. “Oh, shit. I’m so sorry. I absolutely forgot about that.”
Lily smiles gently and ruffles his hair fondly. “It’s alright, Ben. I take no offense.”
He continues eating, and looks absolutely miserable. She sits in a chair in the corner of the room and checks her emails. After a few minutes of silence, Ben speaks up.
“When do we leave the hotel?”
Lily looks at the itinerary and shrugs. “At six tonight. It’s currently eleven a.m., so you have plenty of time to recover and pack.”
Ben nods, slowly chewing his toast. “Okay. Good. If I were to get in a car right now, this meal would go to waste.”
She laughs and nods, rubbing the back of her neck. “I can’t say that’s never happened to me. Taking a bath always helped me with the nausea, so when you’re ready to get up, try that.”
Ben smiles at her and swallows. “Thanks, Lil.”
She smiles back at him. “Don’t mention it.” Her phone buzzes and she looks down at it. “Business call. I have to go, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask, alright?”
He nods, and watches as she leaves the room.
Maybe if after all he did to be a nuisance while drunk didn’t drive her away, she truly is his soulmate.
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