FIC: This Means War! [PG]
Title: This Means War!
Pairing: Leslie/Ben
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1324
Spoilers: 3x11 "Jerry's Painting"
Summary: Come here, use back window. Please hurry.
Come here, use back window. Please hurry.
This is the text Leslie receives at approximately 9:00 PM on a Saturday night from Ben Wyatt.
She would be lying if she said her stomach didn’t flip over, her heart didn’t flutter, and her palms didn’t sweat, even just a little.
But something about it seemed a little off, so it is with a little excitement and a lot more trepidation that Leslie finds herself sneaking around April, Andy, and Ben’s backyard. The lights are all out and it is eerily silent.
She taps lightly on the back window, having absolutely no idea what to expect. Was there a surprise party for her in there? Why would there be a party for her? Did she do something party-worthy lately? Was it her birthday? No, she chides herself. She would remember her own birthday…right? And she wouldn’t have to climb in the window for her own party…right?
The window slowly slides up, ending the crazy litany running through her head. She can’t see anything for a moment, and the whole thing is just really unnerving. Was she in a horror movie? She feels like an episode of The X-Files might have started this way…
Ben sticks his head out the window at that moment, nearly sending her into cardiac arrest. He glances around nervously.
“Climb inside,” he says, holding out a hand. She takes it and lets him pull her through the window. “Stay down.”
She sits obediently as he tosses something in her lap, a finger to his lips. She looks down.
What...
“What?!” She hisses out, eliciting a glare from Ben. “What is this? Is this a gun…that shoots… what is even in here…marshmallows??”
Ben ducks down next to her, dangerously close, whispers in her ear, “Yeah, I needed back-up. April and Andy are staked out somewhere in the TV room. Two against one isn’t fair, right? So I thought you might be useful in a situation like this.”
She tries, really tries, to follow and comprehend the words that just came out of his mouth. But…just…what?!
“And what situation is this?”
“The one where I win back the living room. The one where I get to pick what we watch this movie night,” he says, deadly serious, and Leslie can’t help but grin.
“All right, William Wallace,” she says, because really. How can she not give in to the crazy, especially when it’s Ben who’s spouting it? “What do I do?”
Ben’s face cracks into a smile at this. “I have no idea.”
“All right,” she says again, her brows furrowing and brain working quickly. “Okay. How about this. We sneak into the kitchen, see if we can get some line-of-sight on their position. Maybe we can snipe them down.”
Ben nods with excitement. “Yeah, okay. Should I go out first, in case they start firing?”
“Yeah,” Leslie agrees. “I’ll cover you. Don’t worry, I’m a great shot. Oh, and, you have a marshmallow in your hair.”
Ben shakes his head quickly, reminding Leslie of a dog after a bath, and something about it is just so damn cute that she can’t do anything but grin stupidly at him. He notices and sheepishly returns the smile.
“Okay, ready? Let’s move out.”
They crawl to the doorway and that’s when Leslie realizes two things. One, she’s in Ben’s bedroom. There’s a soaking wet plaid shirt laying on the ground beside the bed they’d been using as cover.
Two, Ben is wearing this adorable combination of basketball shorts and an old, faded Minnesota Twins hooded sweatshirt. It’s the first time Leslie’s seen him in such casual clothes.
“Why’s your shirt soaked?” Leslie whispers and Ben stops to answer.
“Oh, I was doing dishes and that spray thing on the sink? I squirted Andy with it and it started this whole water war that involved hoses and just, a lot of crazy shit. The marshmallows came in after we decided water damage wasn’t something we wanted to deal with.”
Leslie tries as hard as she can to stifle her laughter, but the thought of Ben, running around with Andy, playing with water and finding his inner child again, it’s just too much. She loves that living here, both in Pawnee and with Andy and April, is bringing out this silly, fun side of Ben, that she knows must have been there all along.
But she can’t think about it for long, as Ben is standing and motioning for her to get ready. She stands too, and slowly follows him out of his bedroom.
As soon as she crosses the threshold, though, she is pelted with marshmallows. She hears running behind her and she screams for Ben to just go, just go, as she blindly pumps the soft, sugary cylinders into the darkness.
She hears the squeak of skin sliding on tile at the same time she feels a strong grip on her arm. She looks up into Andy’s delighted face.
“All right, Wyatt Earp, give it up. I got your lady,” Andy calls out.
“Yeah, well, I got yours, with my gun pointed right at her head, so don’t…try any…funny business,” Ben falters through his ending.
“Seems we got ourselves a tie. A stand-off, if you will,” Andy says, adding a Western drawl. He’s actually pretty good at it, Leslie muses.
“Seems,” Ben’s voice carries back. He doesn’t try the accent.
“Tell you what,” Andy starts. “How’s about we do this. You pick movie night tonight, then I get next week, then April’s pick.”
“Why am I last?” April’s indignant voice pipes in.
“Whatever,” Andy says, waving his hands in dismissal. Leslie uses the loosened grip to her advantage, slipping out of his arms and sticking her gun against his chest.
“Ha!” She exclaims triumphantly. “Now who’s on top! Leslie the Kid! No, that sucks. Doc Leslie? No. Leslie Holiday? Crap,” she mutters. “Whatever, you’ve lost. This is how it’s going to go. Ben picks tonight, and next week. I pick the week after that. Then you or April, however you want it. Then, it’s Star Wars. All three of them.”
April groans but Andy breaks into laughter. “Okay, deal,” he agrees, sticking his hand out to shake on it. Leslie accepts, grinning along with him.
Ben flicks a light on from the kitchen. “28 Days Later.”
Andy nods, holds up a hand for a high-five, which Ben gives. “Solid choice, dude. And, seriously, nice move, bringing in Leslie for back-up. She saved your ass.”
Ben turns to Leslie and grins. “Sure did.”
*
Later that night, April and Andy are cuddled up together on the couch, while Ben and Leslie sit with their backs against it on the floor. He had settled himself closer to her than necessary at the beginning of the movie, holding up a bowl of popcorn, as if it were the only reason he needed to sit with his hip touching hers, his legs stretched out and bent slightly, the weight of them settling against her own outstretched legs.
When the popcorn runs out, neither of them move, and Ben rests his arm behind her, on the couch cushion. To his credit, he waits a few more minutes before it slips down and settles across her shoulders, his hand curling ever so lightly around her.
And she might settle into him a little bit, she might hide her face in the crook of his neck at the tense parts, she might let her hand rest on his thigh.
She’d be lying if she said she didn’t know they were only making things harder on themselves come Monday morning. But, right now? Right now she was basking in the victory of the First Marshmallow War with a really cute guy that she really liked and that really liked her.
So she didn’t think of Monday morning as she pulled another marshmallow out of Ben’s hair. Saturday night was pretty perfect as it was.
The End
As always, thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you thought!
Pairing: Leslie/Ben
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1324
Spoilers: 3x11 "Jerry's Painting"
Summary: Come here, use back window. Please hurry.
Come here, use back window. Please hurry.
This is the text Leslie receives at approximately 9:00 PM on a Saturday night from Ben Wyatt.
She would be lying if she said her stomach didn’t flip over, her heart didn’t flutter, and her palms didn’t sweat, even just a little.
But something about it seemed a little off, so it is with a little excitement and a lot more trepidation that Leslie finds herself sneaking around April, Andy, and Ben’s backyard. The lights are all out and it is eerily silent.
She taps lightly on the back window, having absolutely no idea what to expect. Was there a surprise party for her in there? Why would there be a party for her? Did she do something party-worthy lately? Was it her birthday? No, she chides herself. She would remember her own birthday…right? And she wouldn’t have to climb in the window for her own party…right?
The window slowly slides up, ending the crazy litany running through her head. She can’t see anything for a moment, and the whole thing is just really unnerving. Was she in a horror movie? She feels like an episode of The X-Files might have started this way…
Ben sticks his head out the window at that moment, nearly sending her into cardiac arrest. He glances around nervously.
“Climb inside,” he says, holding out a hand. She takes it and lets him pull her through the window. “Stay down.”
She sits obediently as he tosses something in her lap, a finger to his lips. She looks down.
What...
“What?!” She hisses out, eliciting a glare from Ben. “What is this? Is this a gun…that shoots… what is even in here…marshmallows??”
Ben ducks down next to her, dangerously close, whispers in her ear, “Yeah, I needed back-up. April and Andy are staked out somewhere in the TV room. Two against one isn’t fair, right? So I thought you might be useful in a situation like this.”
She tries, really tries, to follow and comprehend the words that just came out of his mouth. But…just…what?!
“And what situation is this?”
“The one where I win back the living room. The one where I get to pick what we watch this movie night,” he says, deadly serious, and Leslie can’t help but grin.
“All right, William Wallace,” she says, because really. How can she not give in to the crazy, especially when it’s Ben who’s spouting it? “What do I do?”
Ben’s face cracks into a smile at this. “I have no idea.”
“All right,” she says again, her brows furrowing and brain working quickly. “Okay. How about this. We sneak into the kitchen, see if we can get some line-of-sight on their position. Maybe we can snipe them down.”
Ben nods with excitement. “Yeah, okay. Should I go out first, in case they start firing?”
“Yeah,” Leslie agrees. “I’ll cover you. Don’t worry, I’m a great shot. Oh, and, you have a marshmallow in your hair.”
Ben shakes his head quickly, reminding Leslie of a dog after a bath, and something about it is just so damn cute that she can’t do anything but grin stupidly at him. He notices and sheepishly returns the smile.
“Okay, ready? Let’s move out.”
They crawl to the doorway and that’s when Leslie realizes two things. One, she’s in Ben’s bedroom. There’s a soaking wet plaid shirt laying on the ground beside the bed they’d been using as cover.
Two, Ben is wearing this adorable combination of basketball shorts and an old, faded Minnesota Twins hooded sweatshirt. It’s the first time Leslie’s seen him in such casual clothes.
“Why’s your shirt soaked?” Leslie whispers and Ben stops to answer.
“Oh, I was doing dishes and that spray thing on the sink? I squirted Andy with it and it started this whole water war that involved hoses and just, a lot of crazy shit. The marshmallows came in after we decided water damage wasn’t something we wanted to deal with.”
Leslie tries as hard as she can to stifle her laughter, but the thought of Ben, running around with Andy, playing with water and finding his inner child again, it’s just too much. She loves that living here, both in Pawnee and with Andy and April, is bringing out this silly, fun side of Ben, that she knows must have been there all along.
But she can’t think about it for long, as Ben is standing and motioning for her to get ready. She stands too, and slowly follows him out of his bedroom.
As soon as she crosses the threshold, though, she is pelted with marshmallows. She hears running behind her and she screams for Ben to just go, just go, as she blindly pumps the soft, sugary cylinders into the darkness.
She hears the squeak of skin sliding on tile at the same time she feels a strong grip on her arm. She looks up into Andy’s delighted face.
“All right, Wyatt Earp, give it up. I got your lady,” Andy calls out.
“Yeah, well, I got yours, with my gun pointed right at her head, so don’t…try any…funny business,” Ben falters through his ending.
“Seems we got ourselves a tie. A stand-off, if you will,” Andy says, adding a Western drawl. He’s actually pretty good at it, Leslie muses.
“Seems,” Ben’s voice carries back. He doesn’t try the accent.
“Tell you what,” Andy starts. “How’s about we do this. You pick movie night tonight, then I get next week, then April’s pick.”
“Why am I last?” April’s indignant voice pipes in.
“Whatever,” Andy says, waving his hands in dismissal. Leslie uses the loosened grip to her advantage, slipping out of his arms and sticking her gun against his chest.
“Ha!” She exclaims triumphantly. “Now who’s on top! Leslie the Kid! No, that sucks. Doc Leslie? No. Leslie Holiday? Crap,” she mutters. “Whatever, you’ve lost. This is how it’s going to go. Ben picks tonight, and next week. I pick the week after that. Then you or April, however you want it. Then, it’s Star Wars. All three of them.”
April groans but Andy breaks into laughter. “Okay, deal,” he agrees, sticking his hand out to shake on it. Leslie accepts, grinning along with him.
Ben flicks a light on from the kitchen. “28 Days Later.”
Andy nods, holds up a hand for a high-five, which Ben gives. “Solid choice, dude. And, seriously, nice move, bringing in Leslie for back-up. She saved your ass.”
Ben turns to Leslie and grins. “Sure did.”
*
Later that night, April and Andy are cuddled up together on the couch, while Ben and Leslie sit with their backs against it on the floor. He had settled himself closer to her than necessary at the beginning of the movie, holding up a bowl of popcorn, as if it were the only reason he needed to sit with his hip touching hers, his legs stretched out and bent slightly, the weight of them settling against her own outstretched legs.
When the popcorn runs out, neither of them move, and Ben rests his arm behind her, on the couch cushion. To his credit, he waits a few more minutes before it slips down and settles across her shoulders, his hand curling ever so lightly around her.
And she might settle into him a little bit, she might hide her face in the crook of his neck at the tense parts, she might let her hand rest on his thigh.
She’d be lying if she said she didn’t know they were only making things harder on themselves come Monday morning. But, right now? Right now she was basking in the victory of the First Marshmallow War with a really cute guy that she really liked and that really liked her.
So she didn’t think of Monday morning as she pulled another marshmallow out of Ben’s hair. Saturday night was pretty perfect as it was.
The End
As always, thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you thought!