Hello. Not really sure what to say here, but hey, Regular Show slash. Gotta love it.
Warning: Slash, pretty much it, I guess. Smoking gumball machine, as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or places of Regular Show. Not yet or ever.
Skips didn't say anything as he put a screwdriver on the ground, opting for a wrench instead. Benson watched the yeti work on the golf cart in silence, leaning against the garage door. He took a long drag on his cigarette, coughing slightly in the cold air. Skips turned to him, face unreadable, like always.
"Don't do that, Benson. You're killing yourself." he said, turning back to his work. Benson scowled at his back, taking another drag just to annoy him. Skips turned back to him, eyes slightly narrowed and a frown on his face. He stood and skipped over to join Benson. The two watched the snow fall in silence for a bit, neither really wanting to talk. Benson looked up at Skips. The yeti was motionless, then he spoke.
"What's on your mind?" Benson shrugged, looking away. Skips looked at the unusually quiet gumball machine. Benson sighed, bringing his cigarette up to his mouth again. Before it could even reach his lips, it had been taken from his frozen fingers and dropped into the snow. Benson didn't even bother looking up at Skips. He didn't really want to see the disappointment in the yeti's eyes. Not today. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a slight groan, hoping Skips didn't notice so much. Benson was wrong.
"Is it Mordecai and Rigby?" Skips had a habit of getting right to the point, maybe because he'd been around so long. Benson shrugged. "Maellard?" The gumball machine shrugged again. Skips put a hand on his shoulder, then took it off. Benson sighed, turning back to him.
"It's too much." he said quietly, "Mordecai, Rigby, Maellard…I'm just so fed up them. Especially now, with all the winter chores. Slacking off constantly." His voice had a bitter tone to it, suggesting that it wasn't just the two famous slackers of the park. Skips was silent, either not knowing what to say or choosing to stay quiet. Benson felt a sudden rush of rage at the lack of words, lack of anything between them. There was silence. Far off in the distance, they heard the yells of Mordecai and Rigby, perhaps at each other, maybe at Muscle Man and High-Five.
"No one listens." Benson said suddenly. Skips looked at him in surprise. Benson took a deep breath and continued, "I mean, no matter what I say to them, they never listen and always screw things up. I'm sick of it." Skips sighed.
"They're young, Benson. You know that they're at that age." he pointed out. Benson shrugged, a smirk on his face.
"Oh, yeah. That age, where they don't hear anything that doesn't have to do with video games, or girls, or food, or…I don't know anymore." he all but snapped. Skips shot him a look. The two were quiet as Pops ran by, laughing his head off. Benson watched the lollipop man vanish down the path, most likely off to build a snowman or something just as childish. He sighed. And now he was going to have to deal with Pops if the naïve man fell on the ice or got frostbite or something worse. Skips bent down to pick up a fallen screwdriver. He went back into the garage to put the tool on the seat of the golf cart. Benson was still silent, watching Skips with tired eyes. His mind wandered off, to a world where everything was perfect, no Mordecai, no Rigby, nothing.
"Benson, my good man!" Benson jerked, startled. He looked up to see Pops standing by a tree, holding something behind his back. He sighed, straightening up.
"Yeah, Pops?" he asked. The lollipop man giggled, smiling at Benson.
"I was wondering if you wanted to join me." he said happily. Benson narrowed his eyes. Pops giggled, rocking back and forth, hand still behind his back. Benson sighed.
"Join you in what?" he asked, noticing Skips standing up behind him. Pops brought his hand to the front and threw a snowball at Benson, laughing.
"A snowball war! Mordecai and Rigby have constructed an entire game, and we need more players." Pops said with a large smile. Benson brushed the snow off of him, groaning when he realized that it had gone down his coat and in his scarf. He hated to disappoint Pops, but there was no way the gumball machine was having a snowball fight with Mordecai and Rigby.
"Sorry, Pops, but I can't." he said gently, "I'm, um, helping Skips out right now." Pops looked sad for a moment, but smiled one of his secret smiles.
"Of course, of course. We are on the east side of the house if you wish to still join!" he said with a laugh. Benson nodded, relaxing for a moment.
"All right, Pops. Go have fun." he said with a slight smile. Pops laughed, running off down the path. Benson watched him go, feeling a flash of worry for the naïve man.
"Ah, lighten up, Benson. Mordecai and Rigby won't hurt him." Skips said, voicing Benson's thoughts. Benson rolled his eyes.
"They better not." was all he said in reply. Skips nodded slightly and skipped back to the golf cart. Benson turned to watch him, trying to think of a good conversation starter. One that didn't include Mordecai or Rigby. Benson struggled to think of something positive to say, racking his brain for something to say.
"Why are you working on the golf cart in the middle of winter?" Benson asked finally, having found nothing better to say. Skips stopped working on the tires for a moment.
"It gives me something to do around here when we aren't shoveling." he said, "Besides, it's nice to keep it shape." Benson nodded, knowing that the conversation was over already. A part of him ached for more talk, more interaction. Another part of him was telling him to leave, to leave Skips to his work. Benson swallowed.
"Skips?" the gumball machine asked quietly. Skips looked up at him.
"Yeah?" Benson opened his mouth, and then shook his head.
"Never mind." Skips looked at him for a long moment, something unreadable in his eyes. The white yeti shrugged and turned back to his work. Silence. There was too much silence. Benson thought he was going to go crazy from the lack of conversation, the silence pressing in on him. Skips suddenly turned to him again.
"Benson, why won't you ever let anyone in?" he asked. Benson blinked.
"What?" Skips just looked at him.
"You know what I mean, Benson." the yeti said, "You never open up to people. You're much too…alone." Benson looked at Skips.
"I'm not alone. I have you, and Pops, and, well, even the others." Benson pointed out, "I'm not alone." Skips shook his head.
"You don't get it, do you?" he asked with a bit of exasperation. Benson narrowed his eyes.
"Explain it to me, then." he replied with a touch of irritation in his voice. Skips chuckled dryly.
"I'm not that good with words, Benson." he said, "I may know a lot of things, but that doesn't mean I know how to voice things." Benson blinked again. He hadn't really expected this from Skips. Skips, who knew everything there was to know. Skips, who was far older than all of them and knew how to handle everything. This didn't sound like Skips at all. Benson leaned back against the wall, suddenly unsure of what to say to his friend. Skips suddenly stood and went outside. He stopped, turning to Benson.
"C'mon, Benson." he said. Benson looked at Skips, confused.
"Excuse me?" he asked. Skips nodded to the path.
"Take a walk with me. It'll relax you, trust me." Skips said with a small smile. Benson shrugged, tightening his scarf.
"Sure, I mean, I guess so." he said quietly. Skips waited for Benson to walk over by him, and then they started down the path. The sun sparkled on the snow, and icicles hung from tree branches. From one side of the house, they could hear yelling and laughing. Both men smiled slightly. Benson inhaled. The crisp winter air was refreshing, and he could feel his body relax. Skips had been right, as usual. They headed for the fountain, turned off for the winter. A young couple sat there, giggling and kissing. They saw Benson and Skips, laughed, and ran off holding hands. Benson tugged on his scarf awkwardly, while Skips actually couldn't find anything to say about the two. Both grinned at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Benson broke the silence.
"You were right, Skips." he said quietly, "This is nice." Skips smiled, but didn't reply. They just stood there, and then walked on. They left two sets of footprints behind them as they walked down the sidewalk, dusted with a thin layer of snow. Benson cleared his throat, wanting to say more.
"What did you mean, Skips?" he asked. Skips looked confused.
"What?" he asked with confusion. Benson shrugged.
"I mean, what did you mean I was alone?" he said. Skips shrugged with a chuckle.
"I thought it would be pretty obvious." he said. Benson narrowed his eyes, suddenly getting angry again. And he had no idea why. Maybe it was because everyone was just playing games with him. Maybe it was because he was so stressed out. Or maybe it was just the cold weather.
"Knock it off, Skips. I don't want to play games, I just want to know what it meant." he snarled suddenly, "Is there a way for me to not be alone anymore?" Skips shook his head, rolling his eyes.
"Benson…" he began, but Benson shook his head angrily.
"I'm sick of this! I'm sick of you, I'm sick of this crappy place, and I'm sick of no one listening!" he yelled. Skips didn't say anything. Benson breathed heavily as silence stretched between them once more. He regretted his words already. There were no more yells from the others. They were probably inside by now, warming up with hot chocolate and sitting in front of the television. Benson felt hot tears pricking his eyes. He blinked angrily and looked away. A hand touched his shoulder gently, a gesture meant to be comforting. Benson blinked back tears. Skips turned the gumball machine's head to face him.
"It was so obvious, you fool." Skips said with a slight smile, "Did you really think that you were ever alone?" Benson shook his head, swallowing. Skips opened his mouth, as if to say something, but shook his head, obviously thinking better of it. Instead, he leaned down, pulling Benson gently into a soft kiss. Benson was slightly startled, but leaned into it, wrapping his arms around Skips' neck. Skips pulled back, smiling at the gumball machine.
"I told you that you weren't alone, Benson." the yeti said softly, "And I think I also told you that I was no good with words." Benson grinned.
"You're more of a man of action, aren't you?" he asked with a small laugh. Skips chuckled, releasing Benson. He turned to head back to his work, skipping away. Benson turned.
"Hey, Skips!" he called quickly. Skips looked back at him.
"Yeah?" he called back. Benson grinned at him, no longer stressed or angry. He felt…calm.
"Meet me under the mistletoe later." he said. Skips smiled.
"Will do, Benson. Will do." With that, he skipped away.
And Benson laughed. Skips had been right, once again. There were not many words needed after all.
Goodness, I feel so weird writing slash from Regular Show. Anyways, there it was folks, a Skips/Benson story. Finally. Can't believe no one's thought of this pairing before. And if they have, why haven't they written fanfiction about it? I love this pairing. Maybe I'll write some more Skips/Benson in the future.
That review button looks awfully tempting to click on, doesn't it? Just saying. Flames are not accepted, but positive feedback is. :)