Roommates, part 3/?

Feb 23, 2012 08:53


Title: Roommates, part 3/?
Author: sunnyday678
Characters/Ships: Ben/Leslie
Rating: G/PG - early chapters; PG-13/R - later chapters
Summary: Leslie invites Ben to be her roommate; begins at the end of "Master Plan".
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em.
Author's Notes:  I don't own a Swiss Army Knife, but I Google'd and think the tools I've described that are part of Ben's are accurate...  Confused?  Read on.
Missed a Previous Chapter?: Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2, part IChapter 2, part II 

(3 - part I)

Ben left the house a little while later to pick up a few things from the grocery store.  When he came back, Leslie was on the back patio, which sat just off the kitchen.  She was sitting in a plastic lawn chair, with her feet propped up on a little plastic table, and talking on her cell phone.  Ben could hear most of her end of the conversation since just the screen door was closed.  He tried not to eavesdrop though, going about putting his things away, but when he heard his name, he couldn't help feeling a bit intrigued.

"He got here this morning... Yeah, and he brought donuts, which was really cute...  I think it'll be fine.  It's obviously a little weird, you know, since the day he moves out may be the same day he fires me and all my friends, but hopefully it won't come to that.  Plus he's been pretty quiet today...  I mean we had a great time at the bar yesterday, but today he hasn't been as talkative...  I don't know, he's probably just trying to be polite or something..."

It was clear at that point that Leslie hadn't heard him come through the front door.  He more slowly and methodically put away his groceries to allow himself a moment to think.  I've only been quiet because you've been so sweet, and thoughtful, and beautiful, and...  Get a grip, Wyatt!  He shook his head as if to clear it.  Okay, so you've been quiet so far today -- but there's a lot of day left. 
Energized and encouraged by his quick mental pep-talk he grabbed the 6-pack of Heineken he'd bought at the grocery store (Leslie had ordered a Heineken at the bar yesterday) and walked through the screen door.  He pretended like he hadn't heard Leslie on the phone.  "Hey there, I thought you might -- oh, sorry, I didn't know you were on the phone," he trailed off, leaning back toward the screen door.  "Oh, hey!  No, just wait a sec!" Leslie stammered.  She kept her eyes on him while she spoke into the phone, and Ben thought he detected a little bit of nervousness there.  "Hey, I need to let you go, okay?...  Yes, everything's fine, I'll catch up with you later...  Bye, Ann!" 
She flipped the phone closed, and gave him a big smile.  "Have a seat!" she said, gesturing to the matching plastic chair beside hers.  Ben gave a small smile in return as he sat down, with the 6-pack on his lap.  "It's after noon, so I thought it may be a slightly more appropriate time to have one of these..." he joked.  "Ooh, yeah, I'd love one," Leslie said, grabbing the bottle from his hand.  "Let me get a bottle opener from the kitchen," she said, standing up.

"No need: a Boy Scout is always prepared," Ben said, reaching into his pocket for his Swiss Army Knife.  "The bottle opener is, like, the only tool on this thing I think I've actually used," he laughed, opening both their bottles.  "I've got a Swiss Army Knife somewhere around here.  Let me see yours," Leslie said, reaching over again.  Ben handed it to her obediently.  "Ooh, look a little LED light!  Mine doesn't have that!" she marveled, clicking the flashlight switch on and off.

"I've got an idea: let's use every tool on this today!  It'll be so fun!" she said excitedly.  "That does sound really fun," Ben grinned.  "Oh, unless you already have plans or something...  I didn't mean to be presumptuous..." Leslie said quietly, the enthusiasm in her eyes fading fast.  "No, no," Ben said quickly.  His stomach dropped seeing her turn sad.  "I didn't have any plans today but moving in!"  He chastised himself for sounding kind of dorky, but Leslie didn't seem to mind.  "Yay!  Okay, let's get started," she said, taking a big swig of beer and turning the Swiss Army Knife over in her hand a few times to examine it closer.  "We've already used the bottle opener, and I played with the LED light, so that counts -- just 8 more tools to go!"

While drinking their beers on the patio they used the large blade and the small blade to whittle on some sticks from the backyard.  (Leslie said she'd learned Whittling 101 from her boss, Ron.  She made a pair of chopsticks, while Ben really just whittled the point of his stick until it got sharp, but he called it a spear.)  Over lunch (which consisted of waffles), Ben used the screwdriver to tighten the base of the waffle iron.  (It'd gotten loose due to overuse, which Leslie had informed him of proudly.)  After lunch, Leslie giggled when Ben used the toothpick, saying someone had to do it, and together they played the boardgame Operation using the tweezers.  (The Swiss Army Knife's tweezers didn't make the same buzzing sound effect as the game's tweezers would have, so Ben and Leslie took turns vocally buzzing each other.  Ben wasn't surprised that Leslie got pretty competitive, 'accidentally' bumping his shoulder when he was trying to remove the Funny Bone and the Water on the Knee pieces, and he really didn't care since it meant that he got to sit so close to her.)

All the while, they talked about everything and nothing at all, and laughed a lot.  Their conversation at the bar had flowed pretty well, but not like this.  This didn't feel like an interview.  This feels like a date, Ben thought, but he immediately found himself regretting it.  He was only in Pawnee for the summer, and come Monday this whole wonderful day would probably feel like a distant memory since he'd have to go back to being Mean Ben -- slashing and burning Leslie's precious budget.  On top of all that, he was living with her now -- Living. With. Her.  For all those reasons he couldn't -- he shouldn't -- let his mind even entertain the possibility.

It was early evening and the sun was just beginning to set.  "I've been worried about using this wire stripper-thingy all day, but I think I've come up with something," Leslie said, with a lot of determination in her voice, which Ben thought was really cute considering their Swiss Army Knife project was just for fun.  That's the only reason I think it's cute.  The only reason...  "We'll just treat it like a pair of scissors, and we'll use it to cut this twine," she said, pulling a spool of heavy duty twine out of a kitchen drawer and handing it to Ben.  "What are we going to do with that?" Ben said, a little confused.  "We... are going... to..." Leslie drew the sentence out, as she reached up in to one of the kitchen cabinets.  She emerged with a copper lantern.  "String this up on the back patio.  There's a little hook on the awning above the chairs out there, and I've been thinking it'd be cool to hang this up and light it.  It's another antique."  She sort of sang the word 'antique' and raised her eyebrows, hoping he'd be as impressed with the lantern as he was with the wardrobe.  He rewarded her with a smile.  "Sounds great," he replied, cutting off a few feet twine with the wire stripper tool.
They headed outside.  Leslie positioned one of the plastic chairs under the hook.  "Like I said, I've been wanting to do this for a while now, but I never had anyone to spot me on the chair," she said, smiling at him.

"Spot you?" Ben replied, a little nervously.

"Yeah, these chairs aren't that sturdy.  Make sure I don't fall, okay?" she said standing up on the chair, holding the lantern.

"Sure...  No problem..." Ben said slowly.  He still didn't quite see where she was going with this -- or maybe he did, and he just didn't want to acknowledge it.

"Ben?" she asked, impatience in her voice.  "Yeah, yeah, I'm here," he said quietly, placing a hand very gingerly on either side of her hips to hold her steady.

He'd managed to calm his nerves from this morning and (mostly) push aside the feelings that had stirred up in him, but now they all came flooding back.  Not only was he touching her, on her hips of all places, but she was standing with her back to him, and since Leslie was quite a bit shorter than him, that meant he was basically eye to eye with her ass.

"Maybe I should be the one to reach it," he said quickly, feeling his throat and chest tighten.  "No, I almost... got it..." Leslie said, reaching up higher on her tip-toes.

Ben had been trying to not look where his hands were holding on, but by reaching up Leslie's t-shirt began to ride up her back just enough that Ben caught a flash of skin, and it about sent him over the edge.

Thankfully, he was saved by the bell -- or rather a knock.

"Knock, knock," Ann said, swinging open the screendoor.

Surprised, Ben's grip on Leslie tightened, and he somehow shifted closer to her when he turned abruptly to see who it was.  He felt his face flush with embarrassment.

Leslie, meanwhile, seemed unaffected.  "Oh, hey Ann, just a sec...  Got it!  Yay!"

Leslie placed her hands on top of Ben's to help her push off the chair.  Ben closed his eyes tight and he licked his lips, trying to regain his composure.

"Do you like the lantern?" she asked Ann, cheerfully.  Ben turned around to face Ann, too.  She eyed him suspiciously, which didn't help lessen the redness he was sure was on his face. 
"Yeah, looks great...  You gotta light it though," she said, her gaze still set on Ben.

"I'll do that," Ben said hurriedly, hoping a few moments alone would help him settle down.  He breezed around Ann and begin rummaging through kitchen drawers for a lighter or a match, finding himself for the second time that day eavesdropping on one of Leslie and Ann's conversations.

"What're you doing here?" Leslie asked.  "Not that I'm not always excited to get a visit from the world's most beautiful nurse!"

"You're sweet," Ann said, sincerely.  "It's just that we kind of got cut off on the phone earlier today, and I'm sure it's been a pretty hectic day for you, so I wanted to come by and check on you."
Ben came back outside then and walked straight over to the lantern, reaching up to light it.

"Ann!  You're the one who's sweet!  It's been a great day, actually," Leslie said.  Ben had finished lighting the lantern at that moment and had shuffled over to where they were standing.  "I guess you two haven't been formally introduced.  Ben, this is Ann, who's not only a talented and dedicated nurse at Pawnee General but also my best friend.  And Ann, this is Ben."

Ben's mouth formed a little line, as he reached out his hand.  As they shook hands, he noticed that suspicions still lingered on her face.  "Nice to meet you -- Ben," Ann said, punctuating his name. 
"Same here," Ben said.  "Leslie talks about you all the time," he added, hoping to lighten the tension that seemed to loom between him and Ann.

"Of course I do!  Because Ann's the best!" Leslie grinned at Ann.

"So, hey, I brought a bottle of wine if you want to hang out for a while," Ann said, mostly to Leslie.

"Did you bring a red?  'Cause Ben's making Chicken Parmesan tonight -- his specialty." Leslie smiled up a Ben.  He beamed back at her, but then quickly realized that this may not help to win Ann over.  He cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I had told Leslie I'd make her dinner tonight, as a thank you for letting me move in here," he said, speaking first to Ann and then to Leslie. "But I completely understand if you want to postpone, it's no big deal at all."  (Although Ben had been looking forward to it.)

"No, I don't want to do that!" Leslie said, scrunching up her face.  "Can you make enough for 3?"  Ben nodded, looking expectantly over at Ann.  "Great!  This will be the first dinner party at the new Knope-Wyatt residence!" Leslie cheered.

At that, Ben couldn't help a big smile from spreading across his face.  He looked back at Ann, to see if she seemed okay with this plan, and she did -- in fact, she was smiling, glancing back and forth between Ben and Leslie.

"Knope-Wyatt..." Ann said slowly, considering.  "I like it," she quickly added, giving Ben a little wink.

Uh-oh.

On to chapter 3, part II: http://sunnyday678.livejournal.com/2012/02/27/
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