Fic: Breakfast With Ben
Title: Breakfast With Ben
Fandom: Parks and Recreation
Characters: Leslie/Ben, Andy/April
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1400
Timeline: Sometime between "Campaign Shake Up" and "Bus Tour"
Author's Note: I wrote this for craponaspatula to help cheer her up after she selflessly spent copious amounts of time at the hospital with a loved one, based on her prompt: "I have no idea! Something with plenty of kissing in it? Something about breakfast food? I don't even know where to begin." This is pure unadulterated fluff. I hope you like it, Andie!
Ben tilted the eggshell one last time and gave it a little jiggle to shake loose the last of the egg white into the waiting bowl below. Then he tipped the yolk into his container of mixed up buttermilk and melted butter before turning his eyes back to Andy.
Andy still wore a fascinated smile on his face as he continued to gently slide the yolk of his "practice egg" back and forth from one hand to the other.
There was no way any part of that egg was going in the waffle batter. Ben had made sure Andy washed his hands twice before they started, but with him you could never be completely sure.
Andy giggled. "This is like, the coolest thing ever." He looked up to meet Ben's gaze. "I figured it out. This is the part that turns into the feathers. Because they're both yellow."
Ben opened his mouth, ready to respond with a lecture on the developmental phases of embryonic birds, but decided against it. That's not what they needed to be focusing on, now. "Uh, kind of," he said.
"Ha! Nailed it." In his excitement Andy slid the yolk a little too vigorously, and it landed with a splat on the counter top. "Oops."
Ben sighed. "How about you wipe that up, and then wash your hands."
"Again?" Andy asked with plaintive eyes.
"Yes."
Ben turned his eyes back to where April stood at the range. She was reaching out to the heat control. "Hey!" he called, "Don't even think about turning up that heat. You have to cook bacon low and slow in order to avoid burning, remember?"
"Ugh. Fine. This is taking forever." She jabbed a fork ferociously at some of the bacon in the pan. "Why are we cooking breakfast for Leslie, anyway? Shouldn't she get up and come help?"
"No," Ben insisted. "Ever since that Ned Jones debacle she's been busting her ass to win the gray vote back. And last night she succeeded in getting the endorsements of the second and third most influential seniors in the city. After that she deserves a treat, so she's getting breakfast in bed. And you and Andy are getting cooking lessons so that you can survive when I'm not around."
"That's what 7-11 is for," April muttered under her breath.
Ben rolled his eyes. "Exactly my point."
He turned back to his waffle prep station and gave the wet ingredients a stir with a fork while Andy dried his hands.
"What's next, boss?" Andy asked when he returned.
Ben set the mixing bowl of egg whites in front of him. "Now you get to beat the egg whites."
Any scrunched his forehead in puzzlement, and, ignoring the handheld mixer sitting right in front of him, picked up the bowl. "Uh, I think my fist'll fit in there, but I don't get why this'll help make waffles."
Good Lord.
Ben had long since learned to simply roll with it when Andy made this sort of comment, because he'd also learned that Andy was more than willing to fill that ignorant void called his brain with actual useful information. The question that still puzzled Ben, however, was why Andy hadn't started doing that years ago. Like in high school. But some mysteries would never be solved.
"No," he said, "not beat it like beat it up. I meant beat it like mix it. With this." He handed Andy the hand held mixer with the whisk attachment affixed and ready to go.
Andy giggled gleefully as the egg whites began to foam up under his mixer, April began transferring perfectly cooked bacon to a plate covered in paper towels (Ben had known she could manage it. She liked bacon as much as anyone in Pawnee-she'd never ruin it on purpose), and Ben stirred the wet ingredients into the dry and started pre-heating the waffle iron.
Somehow, amazingly, it appeared that "Operation Two Birds With One Stone" was going to be a complete success. Andy and April were getting a valuable cooking lesson and Leslie would get her romantic breakfast in bed.
Ben showed Andy how to measure the perfect amount of waffle batter, how to pour it evenly into the iron, and then shut it tight to wait for the first waffle.
"So how can you tell when it's done? There's no windows or anything," said Andy, squinting at the iron from several angles.
"You should check it when that light," Ben pointed, "goes out. Or, another good rule of thumb is that when you don't see any more steam coming out of the iron, you should check your waffle. Look at the waffle, and if it's golden brown all over, it's ready to come out."
"No light, no steam, golden brown. Got it!"
Ben left Andy on waffle duty and turned back to April, who'd been beating a bowl full of eggs for what seemed like ten minutes now.
"Uh, I think they're ready to scramble," he said.
"I know," she replied, her eyes fixed across the room on Andy's backside. "I've just been enjoying the view. Besides, I've made scrambled eggs, like, a million times. I don't need your stupid help to do it. Here." She shoved the bowl of eggs into his hands, strutted over to Andy, and groped his ass.
Ben shook his head. What was it with butts and the women in this town?
He turned to the stove and started making the eggs himself.
A few minutes later, as he moved the cooked eggs into a clean bowl, he heard Andy calling out, "Ben, Ben, Ben!"
"What is it, Andy?"
"The steam stopped coming out but I was too busy making out with my wife to check the waffle, and now more steam is coming out, but this time it doesn't smell too good."
Ben spun around, and his jaw dropped. "Oh crap. That's not steam-it's smoke!"
He dashed to the waffle iron, pulling it open and prying the blackened and smoking waffle from the grid with a fork. The crisp, charred puck flew across the table and skittered onto the ground.
April met Ben's eyes with one of her trademark sardonic stares. "Sorry."
~*~*~
When Leslie heard the doorknob start to jiggle she scrambled to finish up the email she was typing. She hit send just as Ben pushed the door open with his foot and edged inside bearing a tray loaded down with two plates full of breakfast food (one for waffles and one for the other stuff), a mug of hot coffee, and a can of whipped cream. "Ta da!" he said.
She quickly shoved her laptop aside and clapped her hands. "Oh! It looks so good! Thank you, honey."
He grinned at her as he gingerly set the tray down on top of the comforter in front of her. "Yeah, I was pretty sure you weren't still asleep."
"I tried," replied Leslie honestly, because she really had. But some people simply weren't built for sleeping late.
He stepped back to close the door and then sat down on the bed next to her. "So, how long have you been awake?"
Leslie bit her bottom lip, trying to decide if she should lie. No-she was a terrible liar. Ben always saw right through her. "I was awake when you snuck out of bed. I've been working all morning."
Ben sighed and nodded. "I should've known. Why didn't you come out and join us?"
She rested a hand against his firm, lean chest and laid her head on his shoulder. "You guys sounded like you were having so much fun. I wanted you to think you'd be able to surprise me. It really is such a sweet gesture."
"Well, I tried." He patted her thigh.
"God, I love it when you try," she replied. And of course she had to kiss him. Because of his face. And his hair. And his taught, sexy frame. And for being the first guy to try making her breakfast in bed in more years than she cared to count. And because she loved him.
He kissed her right back.
It wasn't until a few minutes later when the way he ran his fingers from her belly button all the way down caused her leg to jerk and jostled the breakfast tray that she remembered there were waffles waiting.
"Wow," she said, staring at the tray. "I don't think I've ever forgotten waffles before. This is a first."
Ben grinned that ridiculous grin that made her want to make out some more, and said, "Well, eat them up fast and then we can do more waffle-forgetting-worthy things."
"God, I love breakfast in bed."
"Me too."
~The End~
Fandom: Parks and Recreation
Characters: Leslie/Ben, Andy/April
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~1400
Timeline: Sometime between "Campaign Shake Up" and "Bus Tour"
Author's Note: I wrote this for craponaspatula to help cheer her up after she selflessly spent copious amounts of time at the hospital with a loved one, based on her prompt: "I have no idea! Something with plenty of kissing in it? Something about breakfast food? I don't even know where to begin." This is pure unadulterated fluff. I hope you like it, Andie!
Ben tilted the eggshell one last time and gave it a little jiggle to shake loose the last of the egg white into the waiting bowl below. Then he tipped the yolk into his container of mixed up buttermilk and melted butter before turning his eyes back to Andy.
Andy still wore a fascinated smile on his face as he continued to gently slide the yolk of his "practice egg" back and forth from one hand to the other.
There was no way any part of that egg was going in the waffle batter. Ben had made sure Andy washed his hands twice before they started, but with him you could never be completely sure.
Andy giggled. "This is like, the coolest thing ever." He looked up to meet Ben's gaze. "I figured it out. This is the part that turns into the feathers. Because they're both yellow."
Ben opened his mouth, ready to respond with a lecture on the developmental phases of embryonic birds, but decided against it. That's not what they needed to be focusing on, now. "Uh, kind of," he said.
"Ha! Nailed it." In his excitement Andy slid the yolk a little too vigorously, and it landed with a splat on the counter top. "Oops."
Ben sighed. "How about you wipe that up, and then wash your hands."
"Again?" Andy asked with plaintive eyes.
"Yes."
Ben turned his eyes back to where April stood at the range. She was reaching out to the heat control. "Hey!" he called, "Don't even think about turning up that heat. You have to cook bacon low and slow in order to avoid burning, remember?"
"Ugh. Fine. This is taking forever." She jabbed a fork ferociously at some of the bacon in the pan. "Why are we cooking breakfast for Leslie, anyway? Shouldn't she get up and come help?"
"No," Ben insisted. "Ever since that Ned Jones debacle she's been busting her ass to win the gray vote back. And last night she succeeded in getting the endorsements of the second and third most influential seniors in the city. After that she deserves a treat, so she's getting breakfast in bed. And you and Andy are getting cooking lessons so that you can survive when I'm not around."
"That's what 7-11 is for," April muttered under her breath.
Ben rolled his eyes. "Exactly my point."
He turned back to his waffle prep station and gave the wet ingredients a stir with a fork while Andy dried his hands.
"What's next, boss?" Andy asked when he returned.
Ben set the mixing bowl of egg whites in front of him. "Now you get to beat the egg whites."
Any scrunched his forehead in puzzlement, and, ignoring the handheld mixer sitting right in front of him, picked up the bowl. "Uh, I think my fist'll fit in there, but I don't get why this'll help make waffles."
Good Lord.
Ben had long since learned to simply roll with it when Andy made this sort of comment, because he'd also learned that Andy was more than willing to fill that ignorant void called his brain with actual useful information. The question that still puzzled Ben, however, was why Andy hadn't started doing that years ago. Like in high school. But some mysteries would never be solved.
"No," he said, "not beat it like beat it up. I meant beat it like mix it. With this." He handed Andy the hand held mixer with the whisk attachment affixed and ready to go.
Andy giggled gleefully as the egg whites began to foam up under his mixer, April began transferring perfectly cooked bacon to a plate covered in paper towels (Ben had known she could manage it. She liked bacon as much as anyone in Pawnee-she'd never ruin it on purpose), and Ben stirred the wet ingredients into the dry and started pre-heating the waffle iron.
Somehow, amazingly, it appeared that "Operation Two Birds With One Stone" was going to be a complete success. Andy and April were getting a valuable cooking lesson and Leslie would get her romantic breakfast in bed.
Ben showed Andy how to measure the perfect amount of waffle batter, how to pour it evenly into the iron, and then shut it tight to wait for the first waffle.
"So how can you tell when it's done? There's no windows or anything," said Andy, squinting at the iron from several angles.
"You should check it when that light," Ben pointed, "goes out. Or, another good rule of thumb is that when you don't see any more steam coming out of the iron, you should check your waffle. Look at the waffle, and if it's golden brown all over, it's ready to come out."
"No light, no steam, golden brown. Got it!"
Ben left Andy on waffle duty and turned back to April, who'd been beating a bowl full of eggs for what seemed like ten minutes now.
"Uh, I think they're ready to scramble," he said.
"I know," she replied, her eyes fixed across the room on Andy's backside. "I've just been enjoying the view. Besides, I've made scrambled eggs, like, a million times. I don't need your stupid help to do it. Here." She shoved the bowl of eggs into his hands, strutted over to Andy, and groped his ass.
Ben shook his head. What was it with butts and the women in this town?
He turned to the stove and started making the eggs himself.
A few minutes later, as he moved the cooked eggs into a clean bowl, he heard Andy calling out, "Ben, Ben, Ben!"
"What is it, Andy?"
"The steam stopped coming out but I was too busy making out with my wife to check the waffle, and now more steam is coming out, but this time it doesn't smell too good."
Ben spun around, and his jaw dropped. "Oh crap. That's not steam-it's smoke!"
He dashed to the waffle iron, pulling it open and prying the blackened and smoking waffle from the grid with a fork. The crisp, charred puck flew across the table and skittered onto the ground.
April met Ben's eyes with one of her trademark sardonic stares. "Sorry."
~*~*~
When Leslie heard the doorknob start to jiggle she scrambled to finish up the email she was typing. She hit send just as Ben pushed the door open with his foot and edged inside bearing a tray loaded down with two plates full of breakfast food (one for waffles and one for the other stuff), a mug of hot coffee, and a can of whipped cream. "Ta da!" he said.
She quickly shoved her laptop aside and clapped her hands. "Oh! It looks so good! Thank you, honey."
He grinned at her as he gingerly set the tray down on top of the comforter in front of her. "Yeah, I was pretty sure you weren't still asleep."
"I tried," replied Leslie honestly, because she really had. But some people simply weren't built for sleeping late.
He stepped back to close the door and then sat down on the bed next to her. "So, how long have you been awake?"
Leslie bit her bottom lip, trying to decide if she should lie. No-she was a terrible liar. Ben always saw right through her. "I was awake when you snuck out of bed. I've been working all morning."
Ben sighed and nodded. "I should've known. Why didn't you come out and join us?"
She rested a hand against his firm, lean chest and laid her head on his shoulder. "You guys sounded like you were having so much fun. I wanted you to think you'd be able to surprise me. It really is such a sweet gesture."
"Well, I tried." He patted her thigh.
"God, I love it when you try," she replied. And of course she had to kiss him. Because of his face. And his hair. And his taught, sexy frame. And for being the first guy to try making her breakfast in bed in more years than she cared to count. And because she loved him.
He kissed her right back.
It wasn't until a few minutes later when the way he ran his fingers from her belly button all the way down caused her leg to jerk and jostled the breakfast tray that she remembered there were waffles waiting.
"Wow," she said, staring at the tray. "I don't think I've ever forgotten waffles before. This is a first."
Ben grinned that ridiculous grin that made her want to make out some more, and said, "Well, eat them up fast and then we can do more waffle-forgetting-worthy things."
"God, I love breakfast in bed."
"Me too."
~The End~