FICLET FRIDAY THE SEVENTY-SECOND: STILLXMYXHEART
A/N: Posting these today because I probably won't have time tomorrow.
you and me, baby (Madison, Ben [Madison/Ben]), G
Madison hurries to unlock the apartment door, opening it wide so Ben can step inside.
"Are you okay, baby?" she asks anxiously. "Do you need anything?"
"Maybe just a little ice," he replies, sinking gingerly down onto the couch.
Madison nods, scurrying into the kitchen and returning a moment later with a baggie of ice and a dish towel. She settles on the couch, and Ben shifts to lie down with his head in her lap, taking the wrapped bag of ice from her and placing it carefully between his legs.
"You okay?" she asks again, running her fingers through his hair. "Do you need anything else?"
Ben laughs softly. "Mads, I'm fine. Really. This is why I did this, and not you. How long were we at the doctor's office, like, a half hour? And I'm already home, feeling fine, except for some lingering numbness and just a little bit of pain. In a week, maybe two, I'll be back to normal. And in a few months, once they make sure I'm not shooting any little swimmers anymore, we won't have to worry at all."
"A few months, more like a few weeks," Madison says with a smirk, making Ben laugh again. Her smirk widens into a smile. "I just - still can't believe you did this for me. For us."
"You and me, baby. I love you, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep you happy."
"I only want that if you're happy."
"In the event that I'm ever unhappy, I'll let you know."
Madison giggles, and Ben smiles as he reaches up, sliding his hand around the back of her neck and pulling her down for a kiss.
getting away (Madison, Ben [Madison/Ben]), G
"Baby, what's this?" Madison asks, reaching forward to grab the pamphlet on the coffee table as Ben turns to look.
"Oh, that," he says. "You know I still donate to the organization I went to Africa with; occasionally they send pamphlets to try to entice me back."
"Oh," Madison murmurs, leaning back against the couch cushions and propping her feet against the coffee table as she looks through the pamphlet.
Ben heads into the bedroom to change his clothes, and when he returns, Madison is still staring at the pamphlet.
"Would you want to go back?" she asks as he settles beside her.
"Why?" he says, looking over at her. "Do you want to go?"
She shrugs as she drops the pamphlet on the coffee table. "I don't know, it's always sounded really interesting from what you've told me, and it might be kind of nice to get in on some of the charity stuff you do."
There's a pause, during which her gaze drops to her lap, and then she shrugs again. "And, I don't know, I feel like since the abortion, it might be kind of nice to get away. And I don't mean just going out to California to visit Dad and Grace, but away. Somewhere where it's just you and me, doing whatever we want to do. Somewhere new; somewhere exciting. And I think doing the charity thing like you did might help me get rid of this last little bit of... guilt, or whatever. You know, feeling I'm doing something productive to help other people, and not just myself."
Ben nods, reaching for her hand to make her look up at him. "Yeah, we can do that, if you want to. Though you wouldn't want to go as long as I did, right?"
"Oh, no," Madison says quickly. "Maybe for like... a month or so."
Ben smiles, and nods again. "Okay, then I'll get in touch with them soon, and see what's available. When do you think you'd want to go?"
"Probably next year. That'd give us time to do everything we need to do. I probably need like, a ton of shots."
Ben laughs. "Yeah, probably. I'll get all the information we need, and we can go from there."
Madison nods, looking satisfied, and scoots closer to Ben, letting her head fall against his arm.
"You are gonna burn like crazy in Africa," he mutters after a minute.
"I'll have to get a big floppy hat and like, long sleeve linen shirts, and long pants."
"And SPF 8000 to cover the exposed parts."
Madison giggles, and Ben grins, squeezing her fingers and kissing the top of her head.