#ben hardy oneshot
Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader
Warnings: None! Pure tooth rotting fluff!
Word Count: 3,965
Summary: Ben has everything in life he could ever ask for. An adorable beagle, a thriving acting career, and most importantly - (Y/N), his beautiful wife. Nothing could make life better, until (Y/N) finds out she’s due to give Ben the greatest gift she can give in nine months time.
Prologue |Month 1
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The next month couldn’t have crawled by any slower for Ben. Four weeks stretched out in four years before his eyes, each day passing slower than the last. While he didn’t have much down time from filming, or from Joe forcing him to go out to make up for ‘lost time’ when they were on opposite sides of the globe, a pregnancy book or guide for a first time expecting father was never far from his reach. He was determined to learn all he could so he could better help (Y/N) when he finally returned home. He wanted to make sure that the next eight months went by without a hitch. The more relaxed (Y/N) was, the happier they’d both be. Their phone calls always started with him asking her how she was feeling, if she was alright, if he needed to contact anybody to come help her, to which she would respond with a laugh saying she was fine. He was always ready to jump on a flight home at the drop of a hat if he needed to. As far as the actor was concerned, his wife had become a porcelain doll, capable of being shattered with the slightest of movements.
(Y/N) on the other hand had fallen into a rather comfortable routine. While the morning sickness, continuous cramps, and extreme fatigue were a bit short of fun, she found the more she stuck to a schedule the easier they were to deal with. The mornings were spent with her daily Facetime to Ben and walking Frankie before making some breakfast with a much needed cup of coffee - something she was gutted she had to cut down on - then hitting up the gym on her way to work. Afternoons would be consumed with work and many cups of decaffeinated tea to keep her mind off her inability to have coffee. Evenings would bring another walk with Frankie before dinner, a bit of yoga that had been recommended by her personal trainer, rounding out with some cuddling with the beagle whilst watching television before bed. She had everything figured out and while she missed Ben, she knew his return would throw a wrench into the well oiled machine she had created. To her, life hadn’t seemed to change all that much. (Y/N) saw her symptoms of pregnancy as more as bouts of mild inconvenience than an actual hindrance in her life. To Ben however, everything had changed, and his overprotective fatherly instincts were about to kick into overdrive.
It was a lovely morning when Ben stepped off his flight at Heathrow. Spring was finally in the air, even in the early hours of the morning the temperature had already reached a comfortable nine degrees celsius. The skies had finally cleared for the first time in about a week giving London a lovely view of the sun steadily rising up from the horizon. The birds were certainly more chatty this morning adding to the peace and serenity of the quietness of the early hours. He was absolutely shattered and in desperate need of a coffee and a bed, but not that he cared. The only thoughts on his mind as he quickly made his way through the airport, collecting his luggage, fumbling with his passport and headphones, was (Y/N) and their unborn child. When he walked out of international arrivals, his eyes immediately began to scan the crowd for the woman he had missed so dearly since passing through security two months prior. Soon his eyes caught sight of her (H/L) (H/C) locks cascading down around her smiling face, her vivacious (E/C) irises glinting pure joy back at him as soon as she locked eyes with him. She was absolutely glowing and she was hardly nine weeks along at this point. His heart pounded against his chest feeling the widest of grins begin to spread across his features as he seemed to get tunnel vision. He only had eyes for her.
(Y/N) was standing off to the side, a little bit away from the group of people who had congregated to wait for their loved ones to come through. She shifted from side to side, occasionally rising to the tips of her toes trying to see through the crowd for any sign of Ben. She felt her heart flutter in her chest at the sight of his tousled golden locks, something she desperately hoped their child inherited from him. He looked knackered, dark circles sitting heavily beneath his celadon gaze, another thing she hoped their child would have - in all honesty she just wanted a Ben clone running around. Even after a ten hour flight he still looked as handsome as ever in his black joggers, grey v-neck t-shirt, black bomber jacket, and a pair of raybans holding his ever growing golden locks back. She felt like an excited puppy as she tried to resist running over to him in order to spare her dignity, but she couldn’t care less.
The woman raced toward her husband, practically leaping into his arms holding him as close as she could, her hormones causing tears to fall as he held her in his strong arms. Ben hadn’t been expecting her to jump into his arms like that, but as always he was ready to grab her regardless. He only stumbled back a step or two before spinning them around in a small circle as some of the one lookers smiled softly at their display of affection. Ben slowly set her on her own feet as he shut his eyes, holding his wife tightly as he buried his face in her (H/C) locks, breathing in her scent he had missed for so long. He hadn’t realised just how much he had craved to hold her again until this moment. Like the last few weeks, this one moment stretched out into a thousand as he held her tightly, never wanting to let her go again. She was his better half, and he was glad to be whole again. “You’re finally home.” She whimpered softly into the crook of his neck. Ben could feel the hot, salty drops of her tears against his skin as he nuzzled his head into hers pulling back only just enough to kiss her.
The second his lips connected with her, the embers of their love that had been sitting as mere embers in both their hearts, smoldering amongst the ashes with a golden glow, quickly reignited into the flame they had felt for one another since day one, burning brightly for all to see. After all this time, after kissing her time and time again, each kiss still felt like the first time. The fireworks, the shivers of desire, the magnetic pull toward her, it was all still there. He pulled back and leaned his forehead on hers. “I’m here now, love. For both of you.” He smiled brightly, a hand falling down to rest on her belly. (Y/N) shivered with delight at his touch. There was something so exciting about Ben’s hand resting right above where their baby was growing within her.
“What about Frankie?” She gently teased him, a soft giggle escaping her lips as she kissed his nose.
“Of course! How could I ever forget about my darling girl, Frankie?” He chuckled as he took her hand as they made their way off toward the car park, stopping only briefly to get the exhausted actor a coffee so he wouldn’t collapse with exhaustion. (Y/N) helped Ben to push the trolly along with his suitcases on it so he could drink his coffee and still hold her hand by having his on the bar over hers. “So how have you been? Are you feeling alright? Have your symptoms been bad? How’d the booking appointment go? Did the midwife say you’re both okay?” He asked in rapid fire when they crossed out into the carpark to her car.
She giggled softly at his overprotectiveness shining through so early on, so quickly. “We’re both fine Ben. Everything’s in order, the midwife says they’re developing just fine. Although right now since the eyes are developing I’m hoping we lucked out and they have yours.” She laughed gently bumping against him. “Won’t know until they’re born though.”
He chuckled softly. “I beg to differ, yours are far more breathtaking.” He countered making her roll her eyes. When they stopped at the car he brought her hand to his lips, placing a tender kiss to her knuckles. “I really wish I could’ve been there…” He mumbled referring to her first appointment she had had only days prior.
She smiled softly up at him, a light blush flushing over her cheeks as she reached up to caress his cheek with her thumb before placing a tender kiss to his lips. “There are plenty more, more exciting appointments you’ll get to go to down the pipeline, love.” She gently rubbed her nose against his. “But I promise you’ll be at the next one for sure.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.” He gently kissed her before turning to load his bags as she moved to the drivers side of the car. “(Y/N/N), I’ll drive.” He offered with a smile.
“I don’t know if it’s wise for you to be driving after just stepping off of a ten hour flight Ben.” She laughed softly. “I’m only pregnant, not broken. I can still drive.”
“I know lovely…” He sighed, closing the boot before crossing over to stand in front of her. His right hand reached down to gently caress her belly as he leaned in to place a tender kiss to the side of her forehead as she unlocked the car. “I just….worry about you both.”
(Y/N) smiled up at the blond in front of her, her (E/C) irises glinting in the most dazzling way possible in the morning light making Ben’s heart sing with love. “I know big guy, but you don’t have to right now, we’ll be fine.” She gently caressed his cheek, her heart fluttering as he leaned into her touch. “Now, come on then, to the passengers side with you.” She giggled gently patting his cheek as she got in the driver’s seat. Ben, though not without hesitation, crossed to the other side of the car before piling himself into the passenger’s seat. Once they were out of the airport and on the road back home, he slowly reached over and took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together into the tightly knit fabric he wanted their family to be. He brought it to his lips to place another tender kiss on the top of her hand. She glanced over at her bloved blond for a brief moment, a hint of blush playing on her cheeks before turning her attention back to the road. It was the best feeling ever having her caring, attentive husband back, maybe now getting through the pregnancy wouldnt be so bad. But not all things go as expected.
Her good old fashioned lover boy quickly proved to be quite overbearing when it came to her life style and how things should be done. Even though (Y/N) had managed the first nine weeks of her pregnancy perfectly fine on her own, Ben was convinced that she shouldn’t be doing much of anything anymore. At first it was cute the way he fussed and doted over her every waking moment, getting her anything and everything when she asked and showering her in kisses and cuddles. As the days passed though, the more things he began to take over doing. Anything from taking Frankie for her morning and evening walks to doing the shopping. As far as Ben was concerned she shouldn’t even be going to work anymore, and if it were left up to him, he’d have had (Y/N) quit her job all together - which he tried to convince her to do at one point. He had lost that argument though - hard. Even still, the second she walked through the door, he was there helping her get her coat off before bringing her to the couch where he’d bring her a cup of peppermint tea and she’d have to sit there and ‘rest’ all night. Cooking dinner or baking, out of the question - she could burn herself. Cleaning the flat because she wanted to, absurd - the chemicals would harm the baby. If Frankie wanted to play with her tug rope with her, Ben was telling the beagle no and would get her a treat to leave (Y/N) alone. She tried her best to let Ben do what he thought was right because he was just trying to be helpful, but as her freedoms diminished the more cross she got with the actor.
That was just the tip of the iceberg though. About a week and a half after Ben had been home, (Y/N) was getting her stuff together to go to the gym like she always did. She had been surprised that he hadn’t said anything about her thrice weekly gym sessions yet, but she wasn’t about to give him something else to take away from her by bringing it up. As she was zipping up the top of her gym bag she felt a presence behind her as a pair of arms snaked around her waist, hands resting firmly on her lower belly. “Where are you off to?” He questioned softly as he kissed at her ear, making her squirm with delight.
“The gym silly.” She laughed, a raised brow raised quizzically at him. She had been going every other day for as long as they had been together. “It’s Friday morning, I always go to the gym.”
“Are you sure that’s a smart idea?” He asked. “I mean, wouldn’t over exerting yourself harm the baby?”
She rolled her eyes pulling herself out of Ben’s arms, her annoyance at his overprotectiveness quickly returning as she slung the bag up over her shoulder. “Well good thing Maria knows how to work with pregnant women, so that won’t happen.” She grumbled referring to her personal trainer. As soon as (Y/N) had found out she was pregnant, the very next gym session they had together, they had already begun to modify the workouts so she could still get the most out of them without harming herself or the baby.
“Still…I’d feel a lot better if you stopped going to the gym for now.” He made his point of view extremely clear as he placed his hands on his hips, giving him a look of authority.
“What?” She gaped at him, brows raised in shock and confusion. She thought he had been reading pregnancy books in his down time judging by the stack of them in the livingroom. Everything he had been doing so far had been against everything that he should be doing to support her. “Why?!”
“I just worry about you! I don’t want to see either of you hurt!” He argued gently, reaching out to place a hand on her hip which she dodged by taking a step back.
“Well you’re not going to because nothing is going to happen!”
“Exactly because…”
“Because you never let me do anything anymore?!” She quickly snapped at him, her voice laced with venom in every syllable. “Fucking hell Ben! I’m only pregnant!”
“You say that like it’s no big deal.”
“Because it’s really not when you think about it!” She groaned a fire blazing deep in her (E/C) irises. “I’m not the first woman to be pregnant and I’m certainly not going to be the last! So you need to stop acting like I’m going to fall apart if I so much as lift a finger or a light breeze touches my skin. You won’t let me walk Frankie, I can’t cook, for fuck’s sake you wouldn’t let me eat a single biscuit last night to satisfy a sweet tooth!” She was still extremely annoyed about that one. Her doctor had told her she could continue eating sweets and what not in moderation like she had been doing already but with Ben it was an all or nothing deal. She hadn’t even opened the package last night before he was stealing it out of her hands saying she had to eat healthy for the baby. This, in turn, sparked a fit of rage in the pregnant woman who quickly stole back the package before isolating herself on their balcony where she watched the sunset over the London skyline alone. “Working out, moving around, sticking to a routine, thats all actually some of the best things I could and should be doing for myself!! But obviously you haven’t been reading those chapters of these so called pregnancy books.” She spat picking up one of his books from his nightstand next to the bed before throwing it down on the floor with a thud. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a gym session to attend. A session that will not only help make my back pain more bearable the further I get into pregancy AND make my labour a lot shorter and more manageable, but it will also help me get out the stress you have so inadvertently caused.” She grumbled bitterly before shoving her way past her husband and out of the flat altogether, slamming the door behind her in a fit of rage.
Ben was a little taken a back by (Y/N)’s sudden fit of rage as he stood there stock still in the middle of the room. He had never once seen his wife like this in their entire time together. Sure they had had arguments, but this argument had been different from any other - she was full out screaming at him. As much as he wanted to chalk it up to her hormones being out of wack, the more he thought about it the more he knew that he was the one at fault. He had been a completely massive dickhead. He had done nothing but baby her and disrupt the routine she had developed ever since he got home. She was right about everything and he knew it. While yes, there were certain things she couldn’t do, things she shouldn’t be doing was more like it, but she was still extremely capable of doing a majority of their day to day activities. Ben had succeed in doing nothing but take away his wife’s freedom, and he was only now just realising his crass mistake. There would of course be a day when she would need his help a lot more, but today - this early on in the pregnancy - was certainly not the time. The actor looked down seeing Frankie staring up at him from her spot in the doorway to the bedroom, a quizzical look in her eyes as she silently asked what was wrong. “I’ve fucked up big time Franks…” He sighed as he thought to himself for a moment. “But I think I know how to fix it.”
That night, (Y/N) was dreading returning home to the flat for two reasons which inadvertently were one in the same: facing Ben. Firstly was simply because she didn’t want to feel like a prisoner in her own body. And secondly, she felt terrible about the way she had screamed at Ben earlier when all he was trying to do was make her feel comfortable in an otherwise majorly uncomfortable time of her life. She had stopped by the shops on her way back to their flat to pick up a bottle of his favourite whiskey as a bit of a peace offering, and knowing he was likely going to need it as the days went by if he had to put up with her. When she walked into the flat, she sure as hell wasn’t surprised to find that Ben was nowhere in sight. She didn’t blame him if he never wanted to speak with her again in all honesty. She pulled off her coat and kicked off her shoes as she heard the tapping of claws against the hard wood floor behind her. Frankie stood there happily wagging her tail, looking up expectantly at the (H/C) woman she had come to love. (Y/N) smiled, kneeling down to gently stroke her head as Frankie stood up on her knees to gently lick her face. It wasn’t long after her blond husband appeared before them, looking down at the sight with a blank exression. She turned her (E/C) gaze, filled with sorrow and reget up to meet his celadon orbs, offering him a weak smile, but Ben’s expression remained ever stoic. “I’m sorry…” She apologised in the smallest voice Ben had ever heard from her, at least in comparison to her outburst earlier. She gently pushed the beagle off her before slowly pushing herself up to her feet, grabbing the bottle in the brown paper bag that was sat next to her. “I know it’s shitty of me to blame what happened on my hormones, but they got the better of me. You didn’t deserve any…”
“No I did.” Ben cut her off taking the (H/C) woman by surprise. He looked down at his feet, gently taking his wife’s hand in his. “I made it seem in my head that you were completely incapable of living just because your pregnant. You managed just fine for ten weeks without me, and you’ve been doing everything you’re supposed to be doing.” He admitted sheepishly. “I’m new at this whole dad thing.” He chuckled softly. “I don’t know what to expect, so I over compensated. I know now that you’re stronger than ever, and you’re going to make one bad ass mum.” He winked making her laugh.
“It’s still no excuse on my part.” She sighed looking down.
Ben smiled softly reaching out to cup her cheek, turning her gaze up to meet his. “I know you weren’t actually yelling at me. You were just yelling in my general direction.” He smirked softly. “Outbursts are going to happen until your hormones level out, you only said everything you would’ve said if we just had a conversation about it.” He admitted smiling as she leaned happily into his touch. “I promise I’ll back off. The last thing I want to be is one of those helicopter parents, guess I’m not really setting myself up for greatness now am I?”
She laughed softly turning to kiss the palm of his hand. “Thank you Benny.” She smiled softly up at him. “I’m going to need you more the further I get along, but for right now I want to enjoy what freedom we have left, with you at my side.”
“And I’ll be there every step of the way.” He smiled his other hand moving to caress her belly, the action making her heart flutter in her chest as she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tender kiss. “You’re the best thing to have ever happened to me.” He mumbled softly as he rested his forehead against hers. She smiled, feeling another wave of hormones pass over her as tears started to form in her eyes. “No! No, love, please don’t cry. You’re just going to make me cry!” He chuckled softly reaching up to wipe away her tears.
“Hormones.” She admitted as she fanned at her eyes trying not to cry. “Oh I almost forgot.” She said bringing her arms back in front of her to show him the whiskey bottle. “For you. Figured you’re going to need it since you’ve got to put up with me for the next seven months.”
He smiled warmly, pulling her into a tender kiss, his hand never leaving her belly. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
MONTH THREE (coming soon)
