the thing

“ come on now miss lane, ” sure he's buttering her up and her true nature still lays it down that she won't go easy but her personality was refreshing in a good way. bantering with her was different , it wasn't restricting or uncomfortable for ben to be himself around her. still that small city guy who grew up on yancy street with his family.

as if on command upon hearing her name, clark's mouth spreads into a bright grin. " the very one. " he tells ben proudly, a single fingergun pointed his way —  dorky, but sincere. impossibly clark. " she's the best of the best, i'm lucky to . . . " almost letting a bigger truth slip there. hold your horses, clark. " get to have her covering me. "

“ nice lady, ” pushing the bill of his hat up , if his ears were even visible , ben felt like he caught wind of something but he nods. “ think we spoke briefly, didn't bat an eye at my appearance. tell er if she wants to visit the baxter building , she can interview us sometime. ” he wasn't fond of many reporters, leaving that to sue . . . the voice.

it's hard to think otherwise, stuck in his own head . . . looking at himself in the mirror. who would love a thing like him ? everything's changed . . . but he's still the same person inside. it's taken sometime for the people of earth to recognize ben grimm as a hero , rather than a monster. children no longer scream , more like a circus act . . . cheers or rather , lift it lift it lift it !

Some more Nate for the deprived Nate Nation 😩

❝          whoa,      hey,      we’re buddies,      right     ?          ❞           Peter says,      standing up at a much,      much slower rate than Ben.           ❝          i’ll get you a      REAL      fork.      just take a seat.      i promise i’m one of the      REASONABLE      guardians.          ❞           rather,       he’s scared he’ll get punched in the face.      quickly, the hybrid hands the other the promised item.           ❝          someone’s gotta be reasonable around here.      so,      i heard you guys had a bumpy ride with Galactus.      as someone who involuntarily switched universes twice,      i gotta say,      from the bottom of my heart,      IT SUCKS.          ❞

“ buds don't laugh at yer misery pal, ” reed felt guilty for how the radiation affected him and was still trying to find a way to turn back to normal . . . even for one day, ben wanted to see his face. slowly , he sits back down before taking the fork. he doesn't resort to jabbing his food , showing that much respect to his meal. he takes a bite , chewing carefully . . . giving the frantic other time to think about his words wisely.