The Smallest Park with the Biggest Time Loop 4/4
Title: The Smallest Park with the Biggest Time Loop (or 23 Times Leslie Knope Woke Up Alone and One Time She Didn't) 4/4
Pairing: Leslie/Ben
Rating: R
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
This is How it Ends
Right after April takes all of Ben's yogurts out of the refrigerator Friday morning, opens them, and dumps them into one big tupperware container for something she likes to call Ben's yogurt-surprise!, her phone makes a chirping noise. She takes it out of her pocket to check her message screen, thinking it will be Natalie trying to scam a ride this morning. It's not.
Orin: It's over.
She makes a face. It seems like she should know what he's talking about but she can't quite remember. So she starts typing.
April: What?
Orin: The loop. It broke last night at 6:12.
At first, she doesn't know what Orin means. What loop?
She has a vague memory of coming home the previous evening to Ben locked in the bathroom taking one of his lame sadness baths, so she had gone over to Orin's house to pee. But, that can't be right--because Ben didn't come home last night at all. She also somehow remembers talking to Orin about how to fix her stupid bathroom situation, yet also having a marshmallow war with Andy in the living room at the same time.
That's strange and interesting.
And then...she can just barely recall what he's talking about. If she concentrates really hard.
April: How long did it take?
Orin: 24 days.
She rolls her eyes, opens the fridge, grabs a plastic bottle, and adds a healthy squirt of Sriracha to the container with vanilla, strawberry, and lemon yogurts, before mixing it all together for an extra surprise.
She's sure at least fifteen of those days were somehow Ben's fault.
April: You were right, I had no idea it was happening. It was seriously, just yesterday when we talked about it.
April: Hey, what did you do during all that time?
Orin: Thought about things.
April: Cool.
She puts her phone back in her pocket.
Well, that would explain why Ben didn't make it home, she thinks, trying very hard to hide a small smile which quickly turns into a disgusted look when she realizes that's because he probably spent the whole evening having extra gross, super-mushy, make-up sex with Leslie.
She shudders and adds a healthy tablespoon of salt to the bowl. Just as she's giving Ben's yogurt one more stir, Andy walks up behind her and put his arms around her sides.
"Babe! Hey, what's that? Can I have some?" He reaches forward to shove a finger down in the vaguely-peach colored substance.
"No, it's for Ben," she says, shooing him away.
"Oh! Yogurt-surprise! You know, I don't think he likes it when you do that," Andy says, while April puts the lid on top of the container and sets it on a shelf in the fridge. "But okay, let's make some strawberry pop-tarts then."
"Okay," she agrees, before he surrounds her in a big bear hug, and swings her around the kitchen.
"Stooooop..."
He doesn't, though. Andy gives her a big sloppy kiss instead, but April doesn't really mind.
*--The End--*
NOTES:
Um, this is kind of experimental? And obviously an AU of sorts. Also, I usually write much more dialogue than what's here, so that was a little different for me with this one--hopefully it works okay. Nods (large and small) to Groundhog Day, the Buffy episode Life Serial, and The Big Lebowski.
Also, I always assumed that the night they met at the Smallest Park was a Friday (because then they had all weekend for the hot, back-together sex before they had to tell Chris), but that wouldn't really work for this. So I made it a Thursday.
And when I started it, I really didn't know it was Orin (and April) that made the time loop. It just happened when I thought about an ending that had April wonder why Ben didn't come home Thursday night. But then it seemed like, of course it was Orin! He knows when you are going to die AND he can make time loops.
Pairing: Leslie/Ben
Rating: R
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
This is How it Ends
Right after April takes all of Ben's yogurts out of the refrigerator Friday morning, opens them, and dumps them into one big tupperware container for something she likes to call Ben's yogurt-surprise!, her phone makes a chirping noise. She takes it out of her pocket to check her message screen, thinking it will be Natalie trying to scam a ride this morning. It's not.
Orin: It's over.
She makes a face. It seems like she should know what he's talking about but she can't quite remember. So she starts typing.
April: What?
Orin: The loop. It broke last night at 6:12.
At first, she doesn't know what Orin means. What loop?
She has a vague memory of coming home the previous evening to Ben locked in the bathroom taking one of his lame sadness baths, so she had gone over to Orin's house to pee. But, that can't be right--because Ben didn't come home last night at all. She also somehow remembers talking to Orin about how to fix her stupid bathroom situation, yet also having a marshmallow war with Andy in the living room at the same time.
That's strange and interesting.
And then...she can just barely recall what he's talking about. If she concentrates really hard.
April: How long did it take?
Orin: 24 days.
She rolls her eyes, opens the fridge, grabs a plastic bottle, and adds a healthy squirt of Sriracha to the container with vanilla, strawberry, and lemon yogurts, before mixing it all together for an extra surprise.
She's sure at least fifteen of those days were somehow Ben's fault.
April: You were right, I had no idea it was happening. It was seriously, just yesterday when we talked about it.
April: Hey, what did you do during all that time?
Orin: Thought about things.
April: Cool.
She puts her phone back in her pocket.
Well, that would explain why Ben didn't make it home, she thinks, trying very hard to hide a small smile which quickly turns into a disgusted look when she realizes that's because he probably spent the whole evening having extra gross, super-mushy, make-up sex with Leslie.
She shudders and adds a healthy tablespoon of salt to the bowl. Just as she's giving Ben's yogurt one more stir, Andy walks up behind her and put his arms around her sides.
"Babe! Hey, what's that? Can I have some?" He reaches forward to shove a finger down in the vaguely-peach colored substance.
"No, it's for Ben," she says, shooing him away.
"Oh! Yogurt-surprise! You know, I don't think he likes it when you do that," Andy says, while April puts the lid on top of the container and sets it on a shelf in the fridge. "But okay, let's make some strawberry pop-tarts then."
"Okay," she agrees, before he surrounds her in a big bear hug, and swings her around the kitchen.
"Stooooop..."
He doesn't, though. Andy gives her a big sloppy kiss instead, but April doesn't really mind.
*--The End--*
NOTES:
Um, this is kind of experimental? And obviously an AU of sorts. Also, I usually write much more dialogue than what's here, so that was a little different for me with this one--hopefully it works okay. Nods (large and small) to Groundhog Day, the Buffy episode Life Serial, and The Big Lebowski.
Also, I always assumed that the night they met at the Smallest Park was a Friday (because then they had all weekend for the hot, back-together sex before they had to tell Chris), but that wouldn't really work for this. So I made it a Thursday.
And when I started it, I really didn't know it was Orin (and April) that made the time loop. It just happened when I thought about an ending that had April wonder why Ben didn't come home Thursday night. But then it seemed like, of course it was Orin! He knows when you are going to die AND he can make time loops.