FIC: Wall Flowers and Hamburgers [PG]
Title: Wall Flowers and Hamburgers
Pairing: Leslie/Ben
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1337
Spoilers: 3x10 "Soul Mates"
Summary: Five conversations Ben and Leslie have at the mural.
“So, let’s say you come across a magic lamp with a genie inside, and you get three wishes,” Leslie says as Ben sits on the bench. He raises his eyebrows slightly as he takes a bite of his hamburger.
“Are these health-initiative related wishes?”
Leslie giggles. “No, no, any wishes.”
Ben considers for a moment, chewing his hamburger in silence. “I’d spend a day inside that A-Ha music video. You know, the one where that dude is a cartoon?”
Leslie nearly chokes on her food. “Are you serious? That’s your first wish?”
He grins. “Yeah, totally. He had a badass leather jacket. What, you’re telling me you don’t wonder what it’s like to run around like a cartoon, being a badass?”
“He was running from cops, though, wasn’t he? You’d just be spending your day trying not to get caught by cartoon cops for a cartoon crime,” Leslie says, grinning back.
“Is there a difference between regular crimes and cartoon crimes?” Ben chuckles. “But, I think you’re right. I guess that was a waste of a first wish.”
“Well, you’ve got two more.”
Ben sits in silence again. “I wish I could go back and do the Harvest Fest media tour again.”
Leslie frowns. “Everything turned out okay.”
He shrugs. “I know. But I want to try and answer those questions again, now that I’ve sorta made peace with the whole situation. And I’d love it if that Perd Hapley interview never saw the light of day again.”
“Well, you could just wish that the mayor thing never happened. Then the media meltdown never would have happened either,” she counters. Ben looks at her, his expression unreadable.
“No, I think I’m finally okay with how that turned out,” He replies, after a beat. She smiles at him and he gives her his patented half-smirk.
“Third wish,” she reminds him and he nods.
“I wish,” he says, pausing to squint his eyes. He chews thoughtfully. “I wish Paul would come back as City Manager. That Chris could go home.”
Leslie cocks her head at him, trying, and failing, to suppress a grin. “Out of all the wishes in the world, money, women, anything. Your third wish is that?”
He looks at the ground and shrugs. “Yeah.”
“I mean, I’ll give you another chance. You have one more wish, what’s it going to be?”
He glances over and smiles at her. “I think I’m still going with the same answer.”
*
“So, I’m going to name some things and I want you to rate them on a scale from one to ten,” Leslie says, swinging her feet excitedly. “One meaning you would hate it and ten meaning you would love it.”
“Okay?”
“Okay, sunshine, fresh air, early morning walks. Possibly in the park. Or just around the block.”
Ben stretches his feet out, slouching down on the bench. “Ten,” he answers, without much hesitation. Leslie grins at him.
“How about…making a pit stop to see Indiana’s second largest rocking chair?”
Ben laughs quietly, but considers for a minute. “Five?”
Leslie frowns at him and he shakes his head in an odd way, brushing the question off.
“You would be the type to get caught by tourist traps,” he mutters. “I’ve already been and it’s not that great,” he continues with a shrug. “Trust me, you wouldn’t like it.”
“All right, fine,” Leslie grumbles, but shoots him a small smile. “A remake of Point Break with Tom playing both roles.”
Ben starts laughing uncontrollably, until he has to stop himself from sliding off the bench. “Good lord, it’s either one or ten.”
Leslie giggles and throws up her arms. “Right?”
*
“So, why is Ron first pick, on your dodgeball team?” Ben asks, cross-legged on the floor.
Leslie leans forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “We played once before, a few years ago, as part of a spring kick-off. Ron was on the other team and he was,” she trails off and shakes her head. “Ruthless.”
Ben chuckles, but Leslie shakes her head faster, her expression deadly serious. “No, you don’t understand. Tom ended up in the fetal position, crying, by the time the game was over. It ended in a stand-off, between me and Ron. I swear I hit him, though he'll never admit it.”
Ben smiles. “Well, your second pick should be me. I’m pretty good myself.”
Leslie grins. “I don’t know, I might have to go with Chris second. He seems pretty athletic.”
Ben scoffs. “Chris? He’d be so pleased that you picked him, he’d still be thanking you by the time a ball hits him square in the face.”
Leslie laughs. “Okay, fine, you can be my second pick.”
“Unless you’d want to make it interesting. We could be on opposite teams, see who can pick off the most people.”
Leslie sticks out a hand. “You’re on. And you’re going down, Wyatt.”
He grins, takes her hand, and shakes it. “You wish, Knope.”
*
“So, she was so pissed at me that she just, sort of, kept, I don’t know, slapping me? It was more just hysterical flailing, but I was driving her home and my car was a manual, so I had to just, shift gears. I couldn’t even defend myself,” Ben finishes as Leslie slides to the floor next to him, smiling.
“Why didn’t you wait until you were at her house to break up with her?”
Ben throws his hands up with a grin. “Who knows. I just wanted to get it over with, I guess. I obviously wasn’t thinking.”
Leslie giggles. “So, were you the mayor at this point? Can’t imagine that would be good for publicity.”
“No, no, this was before that. I was kinda talking about it at that point, but nothing had really happened yet. I was seventeen,” he answers.
“Benji Wyatt at seventeen,” Leslie says thoughtfully. “What were you like, at seventeen? Were you a good boyfriend?”
He glances over at her and gives a half-smile. “I guess. I was a better boyfriend at seventeen than I have been since.”
“Oh, yeah? Is that why you’re still single?” She teases, but he just shrugs.
“Probably,” he says quietly. “Being on the road so much doesn’t really create a good, stable relationship situation. The last serious girlfriend I had, dumped me because she was tired of waiting around.”
“Well, she missed out,” Leslie says and Ben’s eyes shoot up to meet hers. He smiles after a moment.
“Thanks,” he says, stretching his legs out across the hallway.
*
“Going to a Cincinnati Reds game.”
“Eh, six. Make it a Twins game and my answer is ten, for sure.”
“Wearing an ascot.”
Ben laughs. “Zero. Or below that, if I can.”
Leslie grins at him. “Good answer. Um, oh, I kissed a girl, once, in college.”
Ben turns towards her, an eyebrow quirked up, but he doesn’t say anything.
“I majored in history, graduated summa cum laude.”
He grins at her. “Ten.”
“Watching a movie at my house.”
The grin falls off his face. “Oh, um.” He shifts uncomfortably and looks at the ground. “I…don’t-”
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I was just gauging your general interest,” Leslie says, waving his response off.
“No, no, that’s not it,” Ben hurries to reply. He pauses. “Look, Leslie-”
“I know about Chris’s rule,” she cuts him off again and gives him a small, sad smile. “And he told me you had already asked about someone in government, and he had told you no. So.”
Ben’s brows knit together. “So.”
“But, watching a movie at my house?”
He pauses for a long moment, then returns the sad smile. “Ten.”
“Going to dinner at JJ’s? Or maybe somewhere nicer?”
“Ten and ten.”
“Coming back to my house and maybe, I don’t know, making out a little?”
Ben’s chin scrunches, and he laughs through his nose, but his expression is pained. “Ten. A hundred. Or more, if I can.”
Leslie nods, but is unable to meet his eyes. “Yeah.”
The End
Thanks so much for reading. Please let me know what you thought!
Pairing: Leslie/Ben
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1337
Spoilers: 3x10 "Soul Mates"
Summary: Five conversations Ben and Leslie have at the mural.
“So, let’s say you come across a magic lamp with a genie inside, and you get three wishes,” Leslie says as Ben sits on the bench. He raises his eyebrows slightly as he takes a bite of his hamburger.
“Are these health-initiative related wishes?”
Leslie giggles. “No, no, any wishes.”
Ben considers for a moment, chewing his hamburger in silence. “I’d spend a day inside that A-Ha music video. You know, the one where that dude is a cartoon?”
Leslie nearly chokes on her food. “Are you serious? That’s your first wish?”
He grins. “Yeah, totally. He had a badass leather jacket. What, you’re telling me you don’t wonder what it’s like to run around like a cartoon, being a badass?”
“He was running from cops, though, wasn’t he? You’d just be spending your day trying not to get caught by cartoon cops for a cartoon crime,” Leslie says, grinning back.
“Is there a difference between regular crimes and cartoon crimes?” Ben chuckles. “But, I think you’re right. I guess that was a waste of a first wish.”
“Well, you’ve got two more.”
Ben sits in silence again. “I wish I could go back and do the Harvest Fest media tour again.”
Leslie frowns. “Everything turned out okay.”
He shrugs. “I know. But I want to try and answer those questions again, now that I’ve sorta made peace with the whole situation. And I’d love it if that Perd Hapley interview never saw the light of day again.”
“Well, you could just wish that the mayor thing never happened. Then the media meltdown never would have happened either,” she counters. Ben looks at her, his expression unreadable.
“No, I think I’m finally okay with how that turned out,” He replies, after a beat. She smiles at him and he gives her his patented half-smirk.
“Third wish,” she reminds him and he nods.
“I wish,” he says, pausing to squint his eyes. He chews thoughtfully. “I wish Paul would come back as City Manager. That Chris could go home.”
Leslie cocks her head at him, trying, and failing, to suppress a grin. “Out of all the wishes in the world, money, women, anything. Your third wish is that?”
He looks at the ground and shrugs. “Yeah.”
“I mean, I’ll give you another chance. You have one more wish, what’s it going to be?”
He glances over and smiles at her. “I think I’m still going with the same answer.”
*
“So, I’m going to name some things and I want you to rate them on a scale from one to ten,” Leslie says, swinging her feet excitedly. “One meaning you would hate it and ten meaning you would love it.”
“Okay?”
“Okay, sunshine, fresh air, early morning walks. Possibly in the park. Or just around the block.”
Ben stretches his feet out, slouching down on the bench. “Ten,” he answers, without much hesitation. Leslie grins at him.
“How about…making a pit stop to see Indiana’s second largest rocking chair?”
Ben laughs quietly, but considers for a minute. “Five?”
Leslie frowns at him and he shakes his head in an odd way, brushing the question off.
“You would be the type to get caught by tourist traps,” he mutters. “I’ve already been and it’s not that great,” he continues with a shrug. “Trust me, you wouldn’t like it.”
“All right, fine,” Leslie grumbles, but shoots him a small smile. “A remake of Point Break with Tom playing both roles.”
Ben starts laughing uncontrollably, until he has to stop himself from sliding off the bench. “Good lord, it’s either one or ten.”
Leslie giggles and throws up her arms. “Right?”
*
“So, why is Ron first pick, on your dodgeball team?” Ben asks, cross-legged on the floor.
Leslie leans forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “We played once before, a few years ago, as part of a spring kick-off. Ron was on the other team and he was,” she trails off and shakes her head. “Ruthless.”
Ben chuckles, but Leslie shakes her head faster, her expression deadly serious. “No, you don’t understand. Tom ended up in the fetal position, crying, by the time the game was over. It ended in a stand-off, between me and Ron. I swear I hit him, though he'll never admit it.”
Ben smiles. “Well, your second pick should be me. I’m pretty good myself.”
Leslie grins. “I don’t know, I might have to go with Chris second. He seems pretty athletic.”
Ben scoffs. “Chris? He’d be so pleased that you picked him, he’d still be thanking you by the time a ball hits him square in the face.”
Leslie laughs. “Okay, fine, you can be my second pick.”
“Unless you’d want to make it interesting. We could be on opposite teams, see who can pick off the most people.”
Leslie sticks out a hand. “You’re on. And you’re going down, Wyatt.”
He grins, takes her hand, and shakes it. “You wish, Knope.”
*
“So, she was so pissed at me that she just, sort of, kept, I don’t know, slapping me? It was more just hysterical flailing, but I was driving her home and my car was a manual, so I had to just, shift gears. I couldn’t even defend myself,” Ben finishes as Leslie slides to the floor next to him, smiling.
“Why didn’t you wait until you were at her house to break up with her?”
Ben throws his hands up with a grin. “Who knows. I just wanted to get it over with, I guess. I obviously wasn’t thinking.”
Leslie giggles. “So, were you the mayor at this point? Can’t imagine that would be good for publicity.”
“No, no, this was before that. I was kinda talking about it at that point, but nothing had really happened yet. I was seventeen,” he answers.
“Benji Wyatt at seventeen,” Leslie says thoughtfully. “What were you like, at seventeen? Were you a good boyfriend?”
He glances over at her and gives a half-smile. “I guess. I was a better boyfriend at seventeen than I have been since.”
“Oh, yeah? Is that why you’re still single?” She teases, but he just shrugs.
“Probably,” he says quietly. “Being on the road so much doesn’t really create a good, stable relationship situation. The last serious girlfriend I had, dumped me because she was tired of waiting around.”
“Well, she missed out,” Leslie says and Ben’s eyes shoot up to meet hers. He smiles after a moment.
“Thanks,” he says, stretching his legs out across the hallway.
*
“Going to a Cincinnati Reds game.”
“Eh, six. Make it a Twins game and my answer is ten, for sure.”
“Wearing an ascot.”
Ben laughs. “Zero. Or below that, if I can.”
Leslie grins at him. “Good answer. Um, oh, I kissed a girl, once, in college.”
Ben turns towards her, an eyebrow quirked up, but he doesn’t say anything.
“I majored in history, graduated summa cum laude.”
He grins at her. “Ten.”
“Watching a movie at my house.”
The grin falls off his face. “Oh, um.” He shifts uncomfortably and looks at the ground. “I…don’t-”
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I was just gauging your general interest,” Leslie says, waving his response off.
“No, no, that’s not it,” Ben hurries to reply. He pauses. “Look, Leslie-”
“I know about Chris’s rule,” she cuts him off again and gives him a small, sad smile. “And he told me you had already asked about someone in government, and he had told you no. So.”
Ben’s brows knit together. “So.”
“But, watching a movie at my house?”
He pauses for a long moment, then returns the sad smile. “Ten.”
“Going to dinner at JJ’s? Or maybe somewhere nicer?”
“Ten and ten.”
“Coming back to my house and maybe, I don’t know, making out a little?”
Ben’s chin scrunches, and he laughs through his nose, but his expression is pained. “Ten. A hundred. Or more, if I can.”
Leslie nods, but is unable to meet his eyes. “Yeah.”
The End
Thanks so much for reading. Please let me know what you thought!