Title: The Best Place
Fandom: The Good Place
Disclaimer: I do not own show. No infringement intended.
Pairing: Eleanor/Tahani mostly.
They all had a decision to make.
The one thing that hadn't changed in the two hundred years since they all had died was that Chidi hated making decisions. Especially important ones.
"I think he preferred the Bad Place." Tahani snuggled up to Eleanor as they rested after a night of rambunctious love making. "At least proper Bad Place. You know when they actually tortured us tortured us and not gave Chidi two or three soul mates and told him he had to chose one."
"Yeah that was just mean." Eleanor smiled as she remembered their early days in the Bad Place when Michael was in charge of their torture. "I miss Michael. What do you think happened to him?"
"Probably what happens to all demons who fail." Tahani shrugged. "I think they are alot like my parents that way."
"Your parents on steroids."
Tahani missed Michael too. At least his torturing was original. He had a clever mind at least for a demon. When Michael's scheme had been found out and that he had fail a thousand times is less then fifty years to break them they all had finally been shipped off the the proper Bad place. It didn't work though. Every torture they came up with the group seemed to enjoy. Tahani had never been a masochist but for nearly a hundred years she enjoyed the pain and suffering of herself and her friends. Not that any of them actually suffered.
They were a twisted bunch.
Michael had been right about that at least. They had made each other miserable but you flip that over and they became each others comfort.
The demons had eventually separated the group and taken a page out of Michael's play book and thrown her in the same torture chamber that her parents and sister were in. The idea was that her family would do the torturing for them. They had all their lives.
But this wasn't life.
In death they held no power over her.
The exact opposite actually. Tahani had found herself their saving grace. It was all she ever wanted in life. Their love. Their admiration. She found it sitting in a dark room chained to a wall eating moldy food that turned into spiders in their mouths. Each bite she pretended was the best thing she had ever eaten. Her parents and sister thought she was crazy but once she explained that The Bad Place was what you made of it and torture was only torture if you let it be they began to eat the food too. They started to laugh and talk and laugh some more.
It was actually the best meal Tahani had ever eaten alive or dead.
Soon after that the Bad Place Demons had given up and sent them away to the real Good Place. The group was all certain that no one would want them especially the way they were. The Good Place had let them in on a temporary visa until things could be sorted.
They hated it.
That was the true irony. All four of them hated the Good Place. They hated the truly nice people. They hated the comfort food that was served at every meal.
They hated the calm.
They all wondered if they would have liked it before Michael and before the demons had tortured them. Or was the fact that none of them ever really belonged in the Good Place made it so that they couldn't enjoy its charms.
And they all had to admit it was charming and not the fake charming of Michael's Good Place but the real kind. The kind that Tahani would have used to pretend to enjoy. The kind that Eleanor and Jason would have run from. And the kind that Chidi would think he was supposed to enjoy but would give him a stomach ache. Eleanor remembered Chidi wanting to read on a boat on a lake and there was a lake almost everywhere they went.
Good people liked lakes.
None of them had been surprised when they were told they couldn't stay. None of them really minded. It was that the people in the Good Place gave them a choice of options that was unexpected.
"Why do people always want to make me chose things?" Chidi said dramatically, "Does the universe want me to have a stomach ache?"
"Probably." Tahani smiled at her friend.
"You can all go to the Middle Place and make a perfectly respectable after-life there. I think it would be a good fit for all of you. It might have been an oversight to send you to the Bad Place anyway." A young man in simple clothes but with a smile and eyes that looked pure and blue began spoke.
"I always knew we were middle people." Eleanor says triumphantly, "Didn't I say that on attempt one. I am a middle person I should go to a middle place."
"There is a second option."
"Which is?"
"We send your souls back to earth. You will all be born again."
"Reincarnation." Chidi asked interested. "Is that even possible."
"We don't usually do it." An older woman approached them. "There was much discussion but your case has interested almost everyone here. We want to know if you learned anything or if you really are just lost souls."
"So we have to chose?" Chidi asked meekly holding his stomach.
"You all make your choice." The young man said and the older woman smiled, "We have spoken with the Janet model that was in love with Jason and wherever you chose to go she will go with you."
"How is that possible?" Tahini asked ignoring the whoops and jump of happiness from Jason.
"Nothing is impossible just unusual." The older woman said simply. "If one or all of you decide to go back to earth you will be reborn but we have decided to make sure you at least have a chance to meet each other again. You will be born within days of each other in the same hospital. And we guarantee you will all meet before you hit puberty. After that what happens is up to you."
"There is one condition though. The Bad Place doesn't want you so if you end up there again you will be erased."
"And if we end up in the Good Place?"
"You will be accepted in this time. No questions asked."
After that they had gone to the small cottage (It was actually a nice house on a lake of course) where they were all left to decide what they wanted to do. They were given a few days to decide. Eleanor and Tahani had spent most of the time in bed. Jason and Janet were doing whatever they did that Tahani didn't really want to think about. Chidi had decided to actually learn how to row a boat.
If this was going to be their last days in the Good Place they were all going to enjoy it.
"What do you think we should do?" Tahani asked Eleanor.
"I made decisions for people all my life and often against their will. I'm not going to do it for you." Eleanor kissed Tahini on the head, "You should do what feels right for you."
"I don't want to lose you."
"You won't." Eleanor said simply, "We found each other every time Michael erased our memories. We found each other every time the demons in torture world tried to separate us. We will find each other on earth."
"You are so sure of yourself."
"I am sure of us."
"And if I stay?"
"Then make sure to ask for some cocaine and go look for Mindy St. Claire."
"You're going back to earth aren't you?"
"Maybe I want to try out Chidi's ethics lessons."
Tahani laughed "Then you better find me before I hook up with some gorgeous supermodel."
"In your dreams.
"You are the only one in my dreams Eleanor Shellstrop."
"Are you sure this isn't the Bad Place because...ewwww."
"Oh you."
"Love you too Tahani Al-Jamil"
Eleanor smiled even though she was nervous as hell. It was her first day of the seventh grade and her parents had once again forgotten to drive her. She had memorized their credit and debit card numbers years ago and had used it to get money to pay for a limo to drive her to school. 'Go big or go home' she thought to herself. Eleanor got out of the limo and thanked the driver and payed him a large tip. It was her parents money after all. It was their fault they left her alone for the last three days.
"Do you need me to pick you up Miss?" The driver said suspecting the neglect but also liking the tip. "Three O'clock unless I get detention. Which is fifty fifty."
The driver smiled but nodded and left Eleanor by the front curb of the school. Everyone watched as she got out of a limo. Her parents had just moved to the neighborhood so the other kids might think she was rich. It was something she might be able to use to get money, food and favors from them in the future.
"Nice wheels there" A tall, tan girl with an accent that didn't sound like anywhere that Eleanor ever heard of spoke. "My name is Tahani and I'm new here. Its nice to meet someone with class at this school."
"Don't all schools have classes?" an Asian boy came over to them with his what appeared to be a African American trailing behind him. "This is my bro Chidi. He is smart and stuff."
"You are not to bright are you?" Eleanor asked the Asian boy.
"No I am not. That is what Chidi is for. I cheat off his tests."
"And we've talked about how uncomfortable that makes me Jason. I get a stomach ache every time you hand in a test. It is morally wrong."
"Then rat me out dude."
"That is morally wrong too." Chidi said simply, "Its a hellish situation."
"Don't worry Cheezy" Eleanor smiled at Chidi with genuine affection she couldn't quite explain, "I'll only cheat on you some of the time."
"You can cheat off me." Tahani smiled a smile that sent shivers down Elanors's spine but she couldn't explain why, "I am not as smart as Chili seems to be but I rarely fail a test. My parents won't give me my allowance if I get below a B on a test."
"Hey everyone."
"Hey Janet." Jason smiled at the girl "You going the the game tonight?"
"Of course I am. I am a cheerleader."
"You are on the JV Squad." Chidi said simply.
"We're in the seventh grade. Next year I'll move up to leader of the team then maybe on the regular squad." Janet turned and walked away ignoring the rest of them, "Jason are you coming with?"
"Sure Babe."
"Don't call me that."
Eleanor just stared at the scene stunned, "So is this normal?"
"What's normal?" Chidi shrugged. "Welcome to Hell."
"Oh its not that bad Chivi" Tahani said taking the young man's arm making Eleanor's skin crawl a little.
"Yeah how much could they really torture us? Its not even high school yet. That is the real bad place. Cheddy"
"Its Chidi dammit." Chidi grabbed his stomach, "Oh Stomach ache. You are all making my stomach ache."
As they all walked inside the school Eleanor couldn't help but feel like she had found a group of friends that would understand her like no one else ever had. She couldn't exactly explain why but for the first time in her life she was happy.
She was in a good place.
