Take a Break
Ben is used to a lot of things. His psychotic roommates, his workaholic girlfriend, and his low alcohol tolerance, just to name a few. What he's not used to, however, is being away from his workaholic girlfriend, even though it has been a few months since he moved to D.C. He still reaches for her in the middle of the night when he's sleeping and expects to wake up with her beside him.
He's probably not getting used to it because he doesn't want to, but he probably wouldn't be able to if he tried.
It's 6pm; Leslie probably left work an hour ago, assuming she's not staying there until after midnight again, which, to be fair, is a really big if. He's told her before that it's not safe to leave City Hall in the middle of the night. Hopefully she listened to him this time.
Opening his laptop and signing into Skype, he sends a quick call over to her, tapping his fingers against the counter in perfect synchronisation with the ring.
After 4 rings pass, he's about to give up and end the call when suddenly Leslie's face pops up on his screen.
"Hi, Ben!" She says, a little too energetically.
"Uh, hi. Are you okay?"
"Kind of? I was working on something and then I got burned out, but then I found the perfect cure!"
Ben groans. "Sugar?"
"Yup!" Leslie grins, grabbing something from her right side and shoving it quickly into her mouth.
"You're gonna crash soon, you know that, right?"
"I'm currently in denial, so I would prefer we didn't talk about that. Anyway, what's up?"
"Just missed you," Ben says, a shy smile unknowingly forming on his face as he looks at her.
"I miss you too! When are you coming to visit?"
"I think I have some time in a couple of weeks."
"Weeks? I can't wait that long!" Leslie whines.
"I know, I'm sorry."
"I've been spending a lot of time with Andy lately. April's gone, so..." Leslie trails off.
"Good Lord, how has that gone so far?"
"Not so well. I came over to make him dinner, because I'm pretty sure all he eats are gummy worms and beef jerky."
"Can confirm, I live with him."
"Exactly. Anyway, the dinner somehow ended with me cleaning spaghetti off the ceiling?" Leslie says this in a questioning tone, a yawn taking over the last part of the sentence. Yeah, she's definitely crashing.
"That's... not surprising."
"You need to move out of there," Leslie says seriously.
"I really do."
"We should move in together," Leslie blurts out after a beat or two of silence. "If that's something you want to do, of course."
"Uh, yeah, we should definitely do that," Ben says, feeling a blush overtaking his pale features. Suddenly, the blush disappears as he remembers the state of Leslie's house.
"Ben? You okay?"
"Yeah, it's just, we're not moving into your house, right?"
"What? Why not?"
"Well, for one thing, your house is a scary nightmare hoarder nest."
"That's just your opinion!" Leslie shoots back, crossing her arms and glaring at him. She's scowling at him, a perfect contrast to her previously happy expression. If Ben were there in person, he'd have kissed that scowl right off her face.
But he's not, he remembers. He's not.
He shakes his head as he remembers what they were talking about, a smirk appearing on his face. "Oh yeah? Want me to call Ann?" He challenges her, and the scowl turns into a frown, a silent admittance of defeat.
"I hate you," Leslie says.
"I love you too," Ben says back to her as he rolls his eyes.
"We can get a new house."
"Deal. Coming back to a sticky and probably bad-smelling house does not sound very appealing."
"And they do not know what privacy is."
Both their faces redden as memories of April and Andy bursting in on them in a somewhat compromising position in Ben's bedroom flood back into their minds. Fortunately for them, they have quick reflexes. And sheets. Thank God for those.
"That's the last time I forget to lock the door," Ben mutters, yawning.
"Ben, are you tired? We don't have to keep talking if you want to go to bed early."
"No, but I have to go make dinner soon. More importantly, you should really take a break," he says, noting the way Leslie's eyelids flutter like she's trying to keep herself awake.
"You were my break."
"Wow, I feel so loved. Also, that's not going to cut it. You need to get some rest. And probably eat actual food instead of those Nutriyum bars."
"How did you know that's what I was eating?"
"Just a guess. I should go. Take a break. I love you."
"I love you too. And no."
"Leslie—"
"Fine," she says, blowing a kiss to him before she hangs up.
As he closes his computer, he can't help but feel his heart skip a beat at the thought of actually living with her. Quickly after that, his stomach drops as he remembers that he still has to be here. Living with her is something that won't happen for a while. Still, it's something to look forward to.
For now, he just hopes she followed his advice and actually took a break.