Ben's throat tightened a bit at her question. This wasn't really the time or the place to answer, but it was nice to think that there were still people out there who would care enough to ask, in a genuine way. That was what he'd told Melody during their last fight, and it seemed to have upset her: I have people who care about me. Maybe it wasn't that statement that had upset her so much, though, but rather what he'd followed it with: I'm not going to burn all my bridges with them so you can get your claws even further into me. And maybe that hadn't really been a fair characterization, but Merlin, sometimes he felt that way. Like anything he did was the wrong thing to do, and there were no right answers. Like just being himself was an affront to their marriage, in her eyes.
He should probably have said nothing, or just brushed off the question and said I'm fine, but he hesitated.
"We're not really talking," he admitted, with a frown. After he said it he glanced around to see if anyone was close enough to hear, as though he expected Meredith Watchword to be lurking around the corner of the nearest shelf. "She put this book called Les Miserables on my desk, and I asked someone what to do about it and they suggested I try and find a book for her. So that's what I'm doing."
He should probably have said nothing, or just brushed off the question and said I'm fine, but he hesitated.
"We're not really talking," he admitted, with a frown. After he said it he glanced around to see if anyone was close enough to hear, as though he expected Meredith Watchword to be lurking around the corner of the nearest shelf. "She put this book called Les Miserables on my desk, and I asked someone what to do about it and they suggested I try and find a book for her. So that's what I'm doing."
MJ made this <3