Ben adored you. That was no secret.

Ben hated your family. That was no secret either.

At least to you.

Your family never liked Ben, and Ben never liked them. He saw their hatred towards him as stupid and useless.

Whenever you brought him along for family gatherings or events, you always tried to keep everything calm and be the mediator.

But no matter how hard you tried, a passive aggressive comment would always slip through.

Ben tried. Sometimes.

Like today.

You had brought him along for another family gathering, and, after practically begging him in the car, he agreed to try and keep his temper low.

And as much as he struggled, you were happy with how nice he'd been all evening.

Currently, you were sitting on the couch in the living room as you spoke with some of your family members.

Ben had his arms wrapped around your waist and his face nuzzled into your hair. He was getting tired.

Until one of your family members began to talk about how you "could've done a lot better", assuming he'd fallen asleep.

A small grunt left him that only you could hear.

So much for that peace.