fic: Red and White (and Black) and Blue, pg13
title: Red and White (and Black) and Blue
author: shornt
pairing: Leslie/Ben
rating: PG13 (just some light swearing)
words: 905
notes: This morning, rikyl posted on tumblr that she wanted fic of Leslie reacting to Andy and Ben's fight. That somehow became this. I'm not used to writing fic in the morning as opposed to really late at night, but I somehow did it.
So maybe the biographical video becomes a sort of a daily confidence boost. She spent the weekend with it at her fingertips, so any time she started to doubt herself while writing a speech or planning an event, she could turn it on and be reminded of how awesome she was (And, really, just look at the video -- she's pretty awesome). But then she worried about over-watching it and it losing value, so she vowed to keep it at the office.
That doesn't mean she can't watch it before starting work every morning, though. Just once a day.
Maybe twice.
Okay, so she's on her fourth playing when Andy and April stride into the office that morning, noticeably later than everyone. Oh! She could show them the video. Maybe she should email it to April for inspiration.
After fooling around with April at her desk, Andy ambles into her office. "Morning, boss!"
"Hey Andy, look at this!"
But she can no sooner point at her infant face on the computer screen than gasp at the large white cast covering half of Andy's face.
"Oh my god, what happened?"
"Ben and I got in a fight!" Andy exclaims, pointing at it like some sort of victory. "Isn't it gross? It's totally all bloody under here." He leans his head back and points at his nostrils, and Leslie grimaces at the dried bits of blood. "Pretty scary, right? But hey, that's Halloween."
"What were you fighting over? Is he okay? Oh my god, Andy, what did you do to him?" It's like tunnel vision, how suddenly the only thing Leslie can think of is how big Andy is and how he could probably snap Ben in half if he wanted to. And Leslie would very much prefer her ex-boyfriend stay in one piece, thank you.
"We kinda sorta forgot to tell him about our Halloween party and he totally freaked out. I had to drag him like, everywhere, before he would say so."
Leslie imagines Ben being dragged across the ground by the collar of his shirt - or worse, by his skinny little tie - and lets out a high-pitched yelp.
"I know, right? But it's totally cool, now we're going to be like, the best roommates ever. We're practically family. Right, honey?" He looks out the doorway to April, who raises an unenthusiastic hand in between turning the pages of her magazine.
"Oh my god." Leslie's up in a flash, as suddenly her brain fills with all the different bones in Ben's body that Andy could have broken. She remembers that time she accidentally elbowed him on the couch while they watched American Restorations and it gave him a bruise for, like, a week.
Andy could have killed him.
When she finally bursts into his office, she's relieved to find that he's not dead. He's very alive. Very alive with his shirt sleeves rolled up high on his forearms and his hair doing some weird messy flip in the front and . . . She hadn't thought about what she'd do if she found him unscathed.
"Are you alright?" she asks through panting, ambushing him and lifting his arms and inspecting his torso while he stares in bewilderment. "I saw Andy's face, oh my god, what did he do to you, I swear to God--"
"I'm fine," Ben answers through a slight chuckle. When she unhands him, she realizes his cheeks are slightly red. "A bit of a rug burn from when he tried to drag me to the chip bowl, but otherwise, I came out on top." He leans back in his chair, smug. Leslie's eyes narrow, suspicious.
"I somehow don't buy that."
"He might have twisted my arm a lot and maybe there's a bruise," Ben mumbles, turning his attention back to his computer. "But you don't see me with a cast, do you?"
"Wow. I suppose I owe you more credit."
"I'm scrappy, remember?" And then the light in his eye dims at the odd word choice. She looks down at her feet, suddenly feeling out of place.
"Well, just. Be careful, alright?" Maybe she sounds a little crazy, but whatever. She doesn't want anyone hurting anyone, even if she's secretly proud that Ben can land a hit.
"Will do." And just like that, Ben's back to work. But she lingers in his doorway, for some reason, like she's waiting for an excuse to talk to him. She can look around and see their beginning and their end within four feet of space in this office, and it's unsettling. She takes a step to the left like it'll somehow make it better.
"Tom made a video of my life," she says, not sure where she's going with it. "It's pretty amazing."
"I know." His brows furrow and he stares intently at his keyboard. "I, uh, might have helped him with it, a little."
"Oh." She isn't sure if 'stunned' is the right word choice, but she's not sure how else to describe how she feels. Shocked? Touched? Goose-bumpy? Dammit. "Well, I love it. Thanks."
"It was Tom's idea," he defends, still not looking at her. "But it's pretty awesome, right?"
"Yeah." Shit, she misses him. "I'm glad you're okay and you have all your limbs, though."
"Thanks for worrying," he says quietly.
She has the decency to ignore his pained wince as he turns to grab a binder.
So maybe she ends up watching the video five more times before the end of the day. And maybe she brings it back home with her. And maybe she falls asleep to it that night. So what?
author: shornt
pairing: Leslie/Ben
rating: PG13 (just some light swearing)
words: 905
notes: This morning, rikyl posted on tumblr that she wanted fic of Leslie reacting to Andy and Ben's fight. That somehow became this. I'm not used to writing fic in the morning as opposed to really late at night, but I somehow did it.
So maybe the biographical video becomes a sort of a daily confidence boost. She spent the weekend with it at her fingertips, so any time she started to doubt herself while writing a speech or planning an event, she could turn it on and be reminded of how awesome she was (And, really, just look at the video -- she's pretty awesome). But then she worried about over-watching it and it losing value, so she vowed to keep it at the office.
That doesn't mean she can't watch it before starting work every morning, though. Just once a day.
Maybe twice.
Okay, so she's on her fourth playing when Andy and April stride into the office that morning, noticeably later than everyone. Oh! She could show them the video. Maybe she should email it to April for inspiration.
After fooling around with April at her desk, Andy ambles into her office. "Morning, boss!"
"Hey Andy, look at this!"
But she can no sooner point at her infant face on the computer screen than gasp at the large white cast covering half of Andy's face.
"Oh my god, what happened?"
"Ben and I got in a fight!" Andy exclaims, pointing at it like some sort of victory. "Isn't it gross? It's totally all bloody under here." He leans his head back and points at his nostrils, and Leslie grimaces at the dried bits of blood. "Pretty scary, right? But hey, that's Halloween."
"What were you fighting over? Is he okay? Oh my god, Andy, what did you do to him?" It's like tunnel vision, how suddenly the only thing Leslie can think of is how big Andy is and how he could probably snap Ben in half if he wanted to. And Leslie would very much prefer her ex-boyfriend stay in one piece, thank you.
"We kinda sorta forgot to tell him about our Halloween party and he totally freaked out. I had to drag him like, everywhere, before he would say so."
Leslie imagines Ben being dragged across the ground by the collar of his shirt - or worse, by his skinny little tie - and lets out a high-pitched yelp.
"I know, right? But it's totally cool, now we're going to be like, the best roommates ever. We're practically family. Right, honey?" He looks out the doorway to April, who raises an unenthusiastic hand in between turning the pages of her magazine.
"Oh my god." Leslie's up in a flash, as suddenly her brain fills with all the different bones in Ben's body that Andy could have broken. She remembers that time she accidentally elbowed him on the couch while they watched American Restorations and it gave him a bruise for, like, a week.
Andy could have killed him.
When she finally bursts into his office, she's relieved to find that he's not dead. He's very alive. Very alive with his shirt sleeves rolled up high on his forearms and his hair doing some weird messy flip in the front and . . . She hadn't thought about what she'd do if she found him unscathed.
"Are you alright?" she asks through panting, ambushing him and lifting his arms and inspecting his torso while he stares in bewilderment. "I saw Andy's face, oh my god, what did he do to you, I swear to God--"
"I'm fine," Ben answers through a slight chuckle. When she unhands him, she realizes his cheeks are slightly red. "A bit of a rug burn from when he tried to drag me to the chip bowl, but otherwise, I came out on top." He leans back in his chair, smug. Leslie's eyes narrow, suspicious.
"I somehow don't buy that."
"He might have twisted my arm a lot and maybe there's a bruise," Ben mumbles, turning his attention back to his computer. "But you don't see me with a cast, do you?"
"Wow. I suppose I owe you more credit."
"I'm scrappy, remember?" And then the light in his eye dims at the odd word choice. She looks down at her feet, suddenly feeling out of place.
"Well, just. Be careful, alright?" Maybe she sounds a little crazy, but whatever. She doesn't want anyone hurting anyone, even if she's secretly proud that Ben can land a hit.
"Will do." And just like that, Ben's back to work. But she lingers in his doorway, for some reason, like she's waiting for an excuse to talk to him. She can look around and see their beginning and their end within four feet of space in this office, and it's unsettling. She takes a step to the left like it'll somehow make it better.
"Tom made a video of my life," she says, not sure where she's going with it. "It's pretty amazing."
"I know." His brows furrow and he stares intently at his keyboard. "I, uh, might have helped him with it, a little."
"Oh." She isn't sure if 'stunned' is the right word choice, but she's not sure how else to describe how she feels. Shocked? Touched? Goose-bumpy? Dammit. "Well, I love it. Thanks."
"It was Tom's idea," he defends, still not looking at her. "But it's pretty awesome, right?"
"Yeah." Shit, she misses him. "I'm glad you're okay and you have all your limbs, though."
"Thanks for worrying," he says quietly.
She has the decency to ignore his pained wince as he turns to grab a binder.
So maybe she ends up watching the video five more times before the end of the day. And maybe she brings it back home with her. And maybe she falls asleep to it that night. So what?