Ben Grimm (The Thing) x Reader
Note: I went through this huge phase after Fantastic Four came out (Probably because of Jamie Bell...definitely because of Jamie Bell) where I was just in love with Ben Grimm…….I still kind of am……
Failing. How could he be failing math? Algebra 2 wasn’t that hard. Well, that was what he thought before Mr. Pym handed him back his latest test. It was an E.
“An E,” he complained to Reed in the garage after school. “Can you believe that? If I get one more freakin’ E, coach’ll take me off the baseball team.”
“That sucks, dude,” Reed sighed. “I could help you out if you want, but I haven’t taken Algebra since last year, so I might be a bit rusty.”
“I dunno,” He sat down on one of the lawn chairs, rubbing some sleep from his eye. “I just…A baseball scholarship is my only hope of ever doing something if this,” he motioned to the matter shuttle they had built, “doesn’t work out.”
“No, I understand,” Reed nodded, studying their machine as he best friend talked. He paused, thinking. “You know, you could always study with one of the student tutors. They do it for volunteer hours, so there isn’t a charge.”
“I’m Ben Grimm,” Ben signed himself in to the school’s after school tutoring program a few days later. “I’m uh, I’m looking for an Algebra 2 tutor,”
“Algebra 2…” The girl at the school library’s desk scanned the check-in notebook. “You’re with (Y/N) (L/N), over at the back table.”
“Okay, thanks,” Ben said. He grabbed his baseball bag and walked back to the table. There she was, knitting something on a pair of circular needles. “(Y/N) (L/N)?”
“That’s me.” You looked up and took him in. Not too tall, maybe 5’7”, but pretty muscular. The baseball bag was a dead giveaway. Student athlete. Probably failing a math class and needed help before he was cut from the team for low grades. It was a pattern. “And you are?”
“Ben Grimm. I was hoping you could help me out with Algebra 2 homework,”
“You’re in the right place. Take a seat, Ben. I’ll get you taken care of.”
Every day after school and before baseball practice, Ben met up with you in the library for at least an hour, sometimes more. You would go over notes, vocabulary, and go through his homework. You helped him study for tests and make up work he had been missing. In a month, he had flipped his grade from an E to a C+. Better than passing. Passing by a lot.
And though he knew he didn’t really need your lessons anymore, as you had taught him plenty of tips and tricks, he still came in every day.
“(Y/N), I have to show you something,” He said, an excited grin on his face. He sat down at the back table and set his latest test in front of you. On top of the paper, there was an A in bright red pen. You smiled brightly.
“You did it!” You stood up from the table and hugged him tightly. His cheeks burned a bright shade of red. “I’m so proud of you!”
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” He smiled. You pulled away from him and took a second to look at him. “Listen. I uh, have a big baseball game coming up this Saturday, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come?”
“I’d like that,” You smiled softly, nodding in agreement.
“Well in that case,” he reached into his baseball bag and pulled out his jersey from the previous year. ‘Grimm’ was written on the back in big bold white letters. “I brought this for you to wear. It’s kind of a tradition for our girlfriends to wear our old jerseys.”
“Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”
“How about I try that jersey on for size?” You asked. He nodded, smiling. You turned around and he slid it over your white t-shirt. You buttoned the front, leaving the top three buttons undone.
“While we’re exchanging clothes, I made this for you,” You handed him a knitted orange hat.
“Thanks,” he said, slipping it onto his head.
“I think orange is your color,” You said, sitting down at the table.
“Yeah? I kind of think so too,” Ben nodded, smirking. “But uh, it is a yes, right? To the girlfriend thing?”
