Galentine's Day mini-ficathon! (Part 2)

[diaphenia]

whimsical_irony: Galentines! I want to play! Ideas…And this is a weird one, but why exactly are April and Orin friends? What do each of them get out of it? April doesn’t hang out with Ben and Derek much anymore, but she still enjoys Orin’s company.
P.S. You are the best for doing this. <3

The Sadness

347 words
Early season 4



April could feel the sadness again, right there on the edge of her brain, ready to strike at any moment. She had to do something, she had to have someone talk to her, she had to stop it from striking. And Andy was out of town, visiting his cousin, so where did that leave her? Damn it.

She pulled out her phone and started scrolling.

Dad. No.

Devil. No, Natalie was probably busy anyway, and she’d tell Mom and Dad besides.

Dumb Boy and Dumb Boy 2. Derek and Ben. Ugh. Those two. They were fine for movies and fun to shop with, but they were just so… superficial these days. Just so… dumb.

Haverford, Tom. Tom’s cool. But not really someone who could understand the sadness. Or at least not someone who would admit to it without bullying. And then he’d cry… no.

Husband. That jerk went out of town.

Knope, Leslie. Way too perky. She’d probably have a list of things to do to cheer up, and it would be awful.

Meagle, Donna. Friday night? She was on a date, almost certainly.

M-i-L. As if life wasn’t awkward enough.

Mom. No.

Nurse Slut. No!

Traeger, Chris. “Andy, stop programming numbers into my phone!” she yelled at him, even though he was like thirty miles away. Besides, that guy doesn’t know sad. Delete.

Wyatt, Ben. And this guy knew sad too well. Hanging out with him was a disaster always, but especially lately. He’d wanna watch sad movies and eat ice cream and mope. No.

Zigford, Orin. Her finger hovered over the dial button. But no, out of everyone he knew the sadness. They’d never discussed it, but they’d never had to. Especially before Andy, Orin was always the one she turned to in these situations. She’d call him over and they’d play loud music and stare off into space. Sometimes, when it was really bad, they’d hold hands, which was really all the physical touching she wanted from anyone who wasn’t Andy.

Orin? Yeah, Orin.

She sent a text, Orin, I need you. Bring music.



sullen_aquarian: Just so you know, my birthday is on Galentine's Day. Which I think makes my request extra-special : ). I would love a Ben/Donna friendship fic. Donna takes Ben clothes shopping, maybe? Or they discover that they bond over something totally random--like, they run into each other at a movie that you wouldn't think either would like. Really, anything is good.

Pawnee Ben

467 words
Early season 4



“You know there are other outfits in this world besides skinny jeans and loud plaids, right?” Donna said, shouting a little since he couldn’t even begin to keep up with her. She kept grabbing things off the rack and throwing them at him. Pants, non-plaid flannels, ties that was way too wide. “You need to get over that bitch—“

Ben cringed, but kept quiet.

“By getting under a different one. And I like your clothes—“ she rolled her eyes. “but most women are not going to look at a green and blue plaid and appreciate that. Most are going to run out the door screaming.”

Ben tried to catch a flying jacket, missed, and let it lie. He wasn’t going to wear a denim jacket anyway, no matter how in they were. “Thanks for taking me shopping, Donna. You’re probably right that going shopping with Tom would be a bad idea—“

“I didn’t say he would be a bad shopping partner. Merely that you are too green to appreciate his style. We gotta start you small.” She turned around to inspect him and his pile of clothes. “Let’s get you a dressing room.”

She put her hand on his back and guided him into one of the fitting rooms, closing the curtain behind him.

Ben leaned against the wall for a moment, and contemplated the small mountain of clothes. They weren’t all his style… but maybe this was about trying new things, befriending new people, really making a Pawnee Ben. Pawnee Ben would go shopping with Donna and try on these ridiculous clothes, right? Right.

He picked out an outfit, and started unbuttoning his shirt. Pawnee Ben would get a library card too, libraries are great. He eased his pants off his hips. And Pawnee Ben would demand another—“

“You dropped this jacket!” Donna said, sticking her head and that damn demin jacket into his dressing room.

“Donna!” he yelled, grabbing pair of khakis and clutching them to his waist.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” she said, withdrawing from the dressing room. “And better. And way better.”

He dressed quickly into the first two things he grabbed. When he emerged from the dressing room, Donna crossed her arms and pointed, “Love the shirt, hate the pants. That would look amazing with a cardigan, by the way. Do you even own a cardigan?”

“Yeah.” She looked at him blankly. “I wore it when the air conditioning at work was broken, remember? It was fifty-five degrees every day for a week.”

“Right,’ she said, clearly not remembering it. He was going to have to pull that one out more often. “That reminds me, Ben?”

“Yeah?” he said, going back in to try another outfit.

“After this, we’re getting you a real winter coat. Maybe two.”



stillscape: Who: Ben/Andy (and April if you want); What: Ben and his vocabulary play that keytar that's in their house, and help Andy write a song about how Champion is the best dog ever. Song must include the line "You deserve to be a champion." When: Sometime after they get Champion, obviously.

Cramp, Champ, Tamp

597 words
Post-4x14



“Dude, the keytar is hot right now,” Andy said, dropping on the couch next to his roommate.

“Really?” Ben looked up from his keytar, a hopeful look in his eye.

“Naw, dude. It never was.” Andy tossed the basketball in his hands out the open window. Nothing but air. Skills. “Maybe you should take up the ukulele. It’ll go with your ties.”

“Is there a reason you’re here?”

Andy pulled out his pencil and notebook. “I wanna write a song for Champion. He needs a song.”

“He’s a dog.”

“The best dog! And he likes to sing.” Making him the best dog, obviously.

Ben shifted in his seat. “And you need me because…?”

“You’re like a living rhyming dictionary.”

“What happened to your actual rhyming dictionary, which I got you for Christmas even though I’m unemployed?”

“I plead the fourth.”

“That’s almost relevant. Not actually, but almost.” Then Ben started talking about something boring, and Andy started wondering if there was more food in the fridge. Ben had been spending a lot of time at Leslie’s since they started dating again, which was good for them—and Andy wanted Leslie to be happy, since she’s just the best, but that meant Ben didn’t leave as much food in the fridge.

Ben was still talking about something US Supreme something. Supreme pizza… Maybe April went to the grocery store. But probably not.

Andy interrupted him. “I swear I never thought you couldn’t wash books.” Ben’s eyes narrowed, so Andy quickly moved on. “I need your help, though, Ben. What rhymes with
‘You deserve to be a champion?’"

Ben sighed, then leaned back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. Andy almost thought he was asleep, which, who hasn’t fallen asleep on the couch while trying to write a song? Andy does all the time. Sometimes while not even trying to write a song.

Andy was practically nodded off when Ben spoke. “There aren’t many words that rhyme. I don’t suppose you want to change his name?” Andy shook his head. “You have campion and various words that modify—“

“I love going campion! April hates it—you and me should go! Do you have a tent?”

“Campion as in a type of plant—“

“We could cook hot dogs over an open fire. Or now! You could make us hot dogs now!”

Ben sighed and got up. Andy was jotting down notes for the song while he heard cooking noises, and then Ben popped his head back into the living room.

“Lampion is a small lamp.”

“Bro. You have a college degree.”

“As a point of fact—“

“I guess I could use ‘champ’ and go like lamp, damp, ramp, tamp—that one might not be a word—“

Ben turned back into the kitchen, throwing a no over his shoulder.

“Cramp, heh, tramp…”

Half an hour later, Ben brought out two steaming pizza bundle things—muttering something about them being low fat— and he sat down. “Andy, we can do this.”

“Yeah we can!” he said, burning his mouth on the cheese.

A little while later, they had the beginning of a cool song.

Champion, the three legged dog,
Coming at me through the fog
You skitter across the campion,
Despite your missing leg
You deserve to be a champion
With praise that isn’t vague
You put your paw in mine, and together
We spread our wings and fly…


It was so good Andy was going to let Ben play his keytar along with it. Not really, though.

Comments

[stillscape.livejournal.com]

Yay! I love all of these, but I love mine the most. Obviously. Andy pleading the wrong amendment. Failing at laundry. And calzones. You are the best.

[sullen-aquarian.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the fabulous birthday present! And thank you to Donna for encouraging Ben to wear more cardigans.

[stillscape.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday!

[sullen-aquarian.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm very happy to share today with Galentine's Day.

[fromahippie.livejournal.com]

the last one, i loved it :D there needs to be more ben/andy scenes on the show

[craponaspatula.livejournal.com]

ORIGIN STORY OF THE COATS. YES.

[craponaspatula.livejournal.com]

Also, dogs love songs/singing. At least mine always have, and Zoe is no exception. Mostly I just sing "Zoe" or "dog" over and over to whatever tune I have on my mind. She also likes selections from Sound of Music.

[stillscape.livejournal.com]

My dog is not interested in music, only television. Usually he tends towards violent dramas (Breaking Bad, Justified) and cartoons (Winnie the Pooh is his favorite) but right now he is totally engrossed in the Westminster dog show. Like, if I change the channel, he will glare at me until I put it back.

[isalsayourface.livejournal.com]

Friendship stories are the best! Loved the one with April and Orin - it was sweet in an April kind of way. :) And, yeah, thank you Donna for the cardigans and plaid winter coat! Andy/Ben(/Champion) friendship/brotherhood is the greatest.

[rikyl.livejournal.com]

Awww, April. I'm glad she has an Orin.

Your Donna and Andy voices are amazing. And you wrote a song!

[princess-george.livejournal.com]

You wrote a song which seems to me is just as awful as any song that Ben and Andy would write together would be, so, well done, you!

OK, now I get to go read Part 3, right? Right! Awesome!

[whimsical-irony.livejournal.com]

I loooove these stories! I can't thank you enough for writing these, especially mine. (Of course Orin's last name is Zigford.)

Pawnee Ben would get a library card too, libraries are great.

I gasped out loud at this. Don't you dare, Ben! (For the record, I love libraries.)

“Maybe you should take up the ukulele. It’ll go with your ties.”

Someone needs to illustrate this! Do you think craponaspatula would do it if I asked her nicely/bribed her with something?