Wow, I honestly can't believe I'm posting my first fanfic on ! A big moment for me, I should say!
I love this show so much, not even going to lie, I've watched it 3 times all the way through. It's so good and inspiring, and it's overall so cute!
Enough from me, please feel free to rate and critique this fic. It being my first one, I hope to get some constructive and helpful feedback to help me in the future!
Thanks a bunch, hope you enjoy my bundle of fluff here!
~Jay
"Please don't tell me you're getting what I think you're getting out, Ben Wyatt."
One Saturday night a month, there's a tradition that's been held in the Knope-Wyatt house that began way back when Leslie and Ben were first married. Except, well, at first it was the employees at the Parks and Recreation Department that gathered at the house. They'd come over for a few hours and play the game of choice for the night and have some fun while eating whatever meal Ben had made gratefully and eagerly. Yet, that was before their lives had changed drastically. When the three little misfits they called their children came along, they started making it a Family Game Night when they were old enough to learn how to play. At first, the games were simple, like Operation or Connect Four, but as the triplets got older, the games got slowly more difficult.
And so now, the eight-year-old triplets were watching as their father pulled out box after box from their parents' closet, and as their mother stared on, shaking her head and sighing.
Ben grinned to himself, knowing that Leslie couldn't see him as he was still ducked inside the closet. "What're you talking about, Les? I'm very uncertain as to what you're implying." He replied, sounding as innocent as he could as he dug through one last box. With a snicker, he pushed all of the boxes back into the closet and came back out with a smaller box, a cardboard box with the name Cones of Dunshire written on the side in black Sharpie.
Leslie groaned, clapping the heel of her hand to her forehead. "No. We aren't playing that game." She sounded very displeased, yet there was some humor in her tone that Ben could definitely recognize.
"Is that a game, Daddy?" Sonia asked her dad, her big eyes looking up at him with curiosity. She was quickly joined by her brothers, both of which also stared up at Ben.
"Yep, it is a game. A game that I made up!" He stated proudly, a smirk on his face as he glanced over at Leslie. She shot him back a look of annoyance, one he didn't quite feel comfortable receiving, so he cleared his throat and looked back down at his kids.
Stephen then turned to Leslie. "Why don't you wanna play, Mama? Is it not fun?" He asked quietly, looking back at Ben and the box. Quite honestly, he did want to know what was so bad about it, since his mother usually seemed to excited about the games played on this traditional night.
"Yeah, why not?" Wesley echoed his brother, head tilted to one side.
Leslie sighed again, rolling her eyes. "Your Dad made that game up because he had nothing else to do with his life at the time. Therefore, he made it so complex and full of things no one but he can understand that I never understood one rule of the game." Looking at Ben, she saw a slightly hurt expression on his face, so she smiled and took the box from his hands. "Besides, this might be a game he should teach you how to play himself. It's a big accomplishment of his."
Of course, the triplets didn't understand a word of this, being so young. They just came to the conclusion that they wouldn't be playing the game and left it at that.
"So, can we play a different game? How about we play Scrabble?" Sonia suggested, but was quickly shot down by her brothers, who shook their heads.
"Played that last week." Stephen replied in a tone that told her she should've known that before suggesting the game.
"Monopoly?"
"Week before last."
Ben raised a hand. "We can always play Cata-"
"NO." All three triplets shouted in response, shaking their heads quickly back and forth. "Not again, please, no more Catan!"
For a moment, everyone fell silent, trying to think of games to play. They only had so many options, of course, so trying to find one they hadn't played in a while was proving difficult. Honestly, if it weren't for Leslie's next idea, they probably would've just spent what was supposed to be Family Game Night re-watching The Lion King for the millionth time.
It was when Leslie spat out said idea that everyone got their hopes up again.
"What about we play Twister? But with a twist? Like, using things like whipped cream?"
The four remaining family members looked at her in surprise, eyes widened with curiosity, the triplets giving her squeals of approval and nods. and Ben feeling slight concern and fear as to what this would mean for him. His wife did have some really crazy ideas at times, some of which worked out for the best, some of which worked out for the worst, and some of which didn't get done at all because Ben was honestly concerned about her safety at that point. Whatever idea she was about to fill them in on could go one of two ways:
It could work, they could have a happy, quiet little game night that ended with the five of them cuddled on the couch, watching a little TV before bedtime.
Or
It could be a crazy, wild idea that either did or didn't destroy their house, ending up with messy triplets who needed second baths that night, which was a whole new struggle on its own.
Just the thought of the latter made him shudder a bit, but now that she had given their children the idea, there was no going back. Whatever this was, he was in for it, because he had three stubborn little rugrats and their equally stubborn mother. He could only sigh a shaky sigh.
"Oh, Lord.."
