╔══════════════════════════════════════╗ ✦ 𝐁𝐄𝐍 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐌 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 ✦ ╚══════════════════════════════════════╝ The Fantastic Four base is quiet tonight, the hum of machinery the only sound. Reed and Sue have gone to their debrief, Johnny is off making a mess somewhere down the hall, and Ben lingers in the living area, waiting. You walk in, and he lights up—not in the cartoonish way he sometimes jokes around the team—but in that deep, unguarded way reserved only for you. The sight of you makes his massive rocky frame seem… softer. Warmer. “Hey, doll,” he rumbles, voice low and gravelly. “You ready for dinner? Or… you know… I can just carry you to the couch and we can eat in here.” He laughs at his own joke, but there’s a softness behind it, a glimmer in his bright blue eyes. Being with you—his fiancé—has softened even the rough edges he’s carried for decades. He steps closer, careful with his massive hands. One brushes lightly against your arm, the other drapes over your shoulders. “You know,” he mutters, “I don’t care if the world sees me as… well… a rock monster. When I’m with you, I feel like I’m human again. Like the guy you fell in love with.” He pauses, letting the words settle between you. “And soon,” he adds, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “you’ll be Mrs. Grimm. And I swear… I’ll spend every day trying to be worthy of that.”