Yes (Parks and Recreation Fanfic)

Part 20 - Ben

*sorry this part is extremly long*
"Well, buddy, how does it feel to be back on the road again?" Chris says with a huge smile.
"Different. I don't know. I've never been attached to a city before Pawnee. It was a lot easier to leave a place I didn't care about to jump to another city I didn't care for."
"It will be odd to leave a place we call home."
"Home. That's it. Home." The word rattles around in my brain. Home. The last time I ever felt at home was Partridge, and let's just say in my last year or so, they didn't really make it feel like a warm fuzzy place.
"Wait, Chris. Didn't you say you were interested in dating a government employee? How did that go?"
"It didn't work out. But I am dating another girl!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Her name is Sandra Limings. She works at a bike shop. She is gorgeous, inside and out."
"That's great, Chris! I'm glad you're happy."
I really am very happy for him, but why didn't he tell me? We sit in silence for a little bit. It's not awkward, but I can see the stone like expression on Chris' face.
"You don't want to go to Fredrickson either, do you?" I say to Chris.
"If I were to be honest, no. I don't want to go to Fredrickson. I have a girlfriend, friends, and a home in Pawnee. But we need to make a living somehow."
"We do."
Now the air between us is awkward. I look out the window for about a mile, thinking about random things until Chris' voice breaks my thoughts.
"Ben, I'm sorry that I ruined the City Manager jobs for us."
"You didn't ruin them, Chris. I'm sorry that I was so harsh on you about it."
"I should've run those changes by you."
"I would've appreciated it, but I understand why you didn't. It's OK"
"I may have also been in an unpleasant mood."
"May I ask why?"
"The government employee whom I wanted to date had just rejected me. I didn't want to deal with bending the rule because it just reminded me that she didn't want to be with me. That may have also affected my changing of the proposal."
"That's terrible! You should've said something! I wouldn't have lashed out at you if I knew that there was reasoning behind this!"
"I responded horribly and didn't think of how I was also affecting you and Leslie. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too."
"So are we OK now?"
"Yeah. We're good. Two months is too long to hold a grudge."
He pats me on the arm without taking eyes off of the road.
"So, do you think she's the one?" Chris asks after a little bit.
"Leslie?"
"Of course Leslie!"
I'm not going to lie; Chris has asked me this question before. I've never been so sure about my answer.
"I think so. I seriously think she could be the one."
"Ben! That's amazing!"
I sit for a little bit, smiling at my lap.
She could really be the one.

1 DAY LATER
"Ok, so we've talked to the Education Department. Check. Next up is Parks and Recreation." I say, not holding back my smile.
"Deja vu?" Chris asks, not containing his happiness either.
"Probably not. I don't think I'm going to find my soulmate or 70% of my friends in here."
Chris nudges me on the arm "Soulmate?"
"Oh, shut up." I say, smiling from ear to ear.
"Ok, scary cop Ben. Knock that fantastic smile off of your face."
I've never had to work harder to stop smiling. But as soon as we walk in and it's a lot easier to stop smiling. There is nothing but pure silence in the room. The room is painted a pale gray with no decorations on the walls. Wooden desks with people sitting at them line the walls. No one even looks up at us when we walk in. I glance over at Chris. He seems almost, intimidated?
"Hello everyone!" He booms in his optimistic way. I straighten up and try to look powerful, intimidating.
The receptionist at the front looks up, but aside from her, no one even blinks an eye.
"May I help you two?"
"We're the state auditors! We're here to talk with your crew about what we're going to do here!" Chris says, trying his hardest to keep smiling.
"My crew?"
"Your co workers." I say, trying to be firm.
"Let me introduce everyone." The receptionist says, flatly.
She walks to the far side of the room. "This is Kenna Richards." She says, motioning to a teenage girl typing away.
"Kenna. Richards." Chris says, pointing at her. She barely looks up from her monitor.
"Ben Wyatt." I say, offering my hand to her. She ignores it.
"Let me say that again. Hi. I'm Ben Wyatt, and I decide on the whereabouts of your career." I say firmly, offering my hand to her again. She shakes it a little, then goes back to her work.
"Kenna is the rebellious one around here. You can tell because she put this in her desk" the receptionist picks up a dark blue stress ball "and she dyed her hair 4 shades lighter than her natural color. Such a rebel."
"April would be impressed" I say to Chris, trying not to break down into laughter. He scrunches his eyes closed and I can see how hard he's trying to not laugh.
"Who's April?" the receptionist asks
"The Director's assistant of Parks and Recreation in Pawnee, our hometown. She also has a rebellious edge."
"Over here is Ida Mere, Smith and Rhett Lincolnton, Laurel Jovens and Alexander Dremage." The five of them look up together from their separate desks. Smith and Rhett have the same face. Smith has his hair parted on the right and Rhett's is in the center, but that is the only difference I can find between them.
"Are you two twins?" I ask them, reaching to shake Smith's hand.
"No." They say in unison.
"They get that a lot." says Alexander in a thick British accent. Chris smiles at the fact that someone actually said something without being directly spoken to.
"Alexander. Dremage." Chris says, pointing at his face. Alexander is tall, young, probably 25 or so, with wavy brown hair. His suit is pressed to perfection and his tie is done perfectly. It looks like he's going to a fancy party, not work. He reminds me of Tom in that way.
"You know that science has recently proven that the more important thing when meeting someone is not learning their name, but making a good impression."
"Really? Well, I make a memorable first impression."
"Memorable is not always good."
"You are oddly, very rude, sir." I say, cutting in.
"Don't mind Alexander. I'm Ida." says the final girl, standing up to shake Chris' hand. For the first time I've ever seen, Chris shakes her hand.
"Ida. Pretty name."
"Thank you."
I shake her name. She has a handshake that would meet the Swanson approval.
"Firm handshake. Ron would be proud."
"Ron?"
"Director of the Parks Department in Pawnee."
"You really know your hometown Parks Department, don't you?" she says, grinning from ear to ear.
"You could say that we have some personal ties in the department." I say, smiling. Chris looks at me a bit oddly and I shove away my smile. "Maybe you could show us around the Department?"
"It would be my pleasure." Ida says, walking away from the table. The Receptionist stares at me a little oddly. I guess she was showing me around. But frankly, Ida seemed like the only person in this office who could become a friend.
She walks a little bit away from the table, stands and points around the office.
"Here's the office. There's a few desks, some computers, a bored teenager-" she points at Kenna, who doesn't even glance up from her computer. Chris laughs, I smile and nod a little. "some walls, and that's our department."
"Ida Mere, you are hilarious." Chris says. I can't help from smiling a little.
"Your sense of humor has surpassed that of your coworkers thus far." I say, trying to keep a straight face.
"They are a lively bunch, aren't they?" Ida says, smiling.
No one reacts. Ida is the liveliness of this department. That's clear to see already.
"I can see that."
"But in all seriousness, in there is the Deputy Director and her assistant." Ida says, pointing to an office on the side. "And over there is the Director." she says, pointing to another.
"We should meet with them both. Thank you, Ida." I say, nodding my head to her a little.
"No problem, Ben. It's my pleasure." the tone of her voice instantly makes me realize that I made a mistake. I'm not always the best at reading signals, but her voice was definitely flirtatious. I look to Chris for confirmation and he gives me a wide eyed look. Nope. Not just me.
"Ms. Schoff!" Chris says, entering the Deputy Director's office before me. "How nice to meet you!" Ms. Yvonne Schoff looks like she's in her 60's. She has shoulder length gray hair, thin glasses, and a thin mouth. She wears a dark green sweater and tall brown boots.
"Gentlemen. Would you like to sit down?"
"We'll only be a minute. We just wanted to introduce ourselves." Chris says, smiling.
"The formal meeting about the budget will be later. Just wanted to talk to your employees a bit about some of the changes that they could be expecting with the upcoming budget cuts."
"Very nice. Make sure that you don't disrupt too much. Our department runs on a very strict schedule."
"We won't. Would you like to join us for the discussion?" I ask.
"Of course." She says, standing up and walking outside at a very fast pace considering her age.
Chris starts talking to everyone while I meet the director separately. My immediate reaction upon seeing him is "Chris". He looks very young, with very strong muscles and a radiant glow (that sounds weird) about him. As soon as he opens his mouth, that impression is gone. His voice is that of some sort of robot - low and unfeeling.
"Mr. Traeger, is it?" he asks, standing up to greet me.
"Actually, Mr. Wyatt. Mr. Traeger is talking to your employees." We shake hands and sit down
"Give it to me straight, Wyatt." The director says. He suddenly slams his hands on the desk in a blow so powerful it sounds like a gunshot. I jump a little in my seat. "How much of my department are you going to mess with?"
"We don't know yet. It all depends on the depth of the problem."
"Based on your current numbers, how much?"
"65% at the lowest."
He pushes back from the table.
"Damn. Just... Damn. You know why I hate that you're here, Wyatt?"
"Uh..."
"Because you're here to destroy my team. My team, I have raised from the ground up. They are disciplined as hell, and they work together. Take away one person, and the team could fall apart. Don't be the cause of my team falling apart."
You see, I could stand up to Leslie because she was shorter than me and not muscular. I hate to say it, but it's true. She impressed me with her passion, but I wasn't scared of what she could do to me. This guy could easily snap me in half. I suck up all my courage and talk in my sternest voice. 
"You see, Mr. Wilder, we aren't the cause of this. Blame your government for any of your team members that have to be cut. I'm just here to inforce the rules."
"You don't know what it's like, do you Wyatt? You don't know what it's like to run a department, do you?"
"With all due respects, Mr. Wilder, I do know what it's like. I know what it's like to run an entire town. I also know what happens when an entire town goes bankrupt and I'm trying to help avoid that. Look, you're not the first one to get angry about us here" thinking of you, Leslie. "but I promise you that, even if we cut one or two people, it's just to save the others. In the long run, the cuts are better for your department."
Mr. Wilder takes a slow breath. "Thank you, Mr. Wyatt. That will be all."
By the time I leave his office, Chris has already talked to the rest of the department
Chris and I wave goodbye and start to walk away, when Ida calls back.
"Bye guys! See you later Ben." She smiles and waves at me. "Oh, and you too, Chris!" she says. I nod a little and Chris and I run out of the department.
"Now, is it just me, or does Ida..."
"Ida is obsessed with you. For your own good, I would stay away from her. Does she know that you have a girlfriend?"
"No. I just met her."
"Then she has no limitations in how she will act around you."
"Oh."