I wrote this for the smallfandomfest on lj. The prompt was "There's geeks and then there's geeks...". I was taking a page from Elizabeth Owen so that's why the first line's by its self. It's supposed to be the title, like in "Look at All Those Roses". We spent a week on her so I couldn't resist… ;)
"There's geeks and then there's geeks..."
"What?" a tall brunette treasure hunter asked, glancing up from a thick novel nestled on his lap.
They were currently sitting on a park bench in the middle of, well, a park. A lake stretched out in front of them, tiny waves created by a gentle breeze, sparkled like the million facets of a diamond. Green carpets of well maintained lawns flowed over the small hills and knolls and though the landscaping was beautiful, few people were out strolling the mazes of white concrete and beige dirt paths. It was a Thursday afternoon, and anyone who had a life was either working or enjoying their short lives. Neither of the two men were doing either of those two things, well at least Riley wasn't. An afternoon of sitting in the park watching ducks swim by wasn't usually on his list of things to do for fun; even if he was with the one person he liked spending time with the most.
"You know there are geeks and then there are 'Geeks'" Riley replied putting more of an emphasis on the second Geek.
"What are you talking about" the history buff said taking off his thick rimmed glasses.
"Oh come on Ben you know. There's the geek and then there's the Geek" Riley explained moving so he could see the brunette better and gesturing his hands in a 'Come on' motion.
At another blank look he figured out he would have to clarify his statement.
"Ok, well you have two Geek sub groups: your geeks, the everyday garden variety and your Geeks the super genius anti-social have no life outside of technology kind of geeks" Riley said.
Ben just quirked a brow at this, "There's a difference?"
Riley half rolled his eyes, giving a small snort, "Of course there is"
"The Geeks are anti-social super geniuses. The tamer garden variety like me actually has a life outside their bedroom in their mother's house" Riley scoffed.
"The garden variety like you? I hate to break it to you Riley but you're not exactly social and you usually have your nose in one computer project or another. However you are quite tame and you don't live with your mother, I'll give you that" Ben replied thoughtfully.
Riley sent him a half glare, "Ha ha ha, you're hilarious."
"And if I remember correctly Geek used to refer to a guy that would bite off the heads of live chickens" Ben continued still in thought, though he spared a glance to see Riley's horrified expression.
"Really?" the tech whiz asked, not believing it for a second.
"Yeah, not only that, they would eat the head too, and they usually traveled with a circus or a show of some sort" Benn offered before he replaced his glasses on his nose and readjusted his large frame so he could read more comfortably.
"You definitely know too many useless facts. You should get out more, well other than treasure hunting and going to the park to read those boring books of yours, I mean" Riley commented making a sour face at the thought of biting off and swallowing live chicken heads or of reading a novel with a thousand pages.
Silence ensued for all of three minutes before the shorter brunette interjected again.
"You know we need to give them different names, they're too confusing otherwise. I vote for Nerd Geeks and Smart geeks, or maybe Grade A geeks, 'cuse we're just that good" Riley said, tugging at his jacket in that 'oh yeah I'm good' kind of way.
The Treasure Hunter sighed, obviously he wasn't going to get any of the peace and quiet he'd come here for. Why had he let Riley come with him in the first place? Probably because the tech had looked so adorable when he'd begged to come along, apparently not any happier at the prospect of spending an afternoon with Abigail or his father than he was. After their whole "secret" had gotten out those two were constantly trying to corner the couple and get all the juicy facts. It had gotten to the point that Riley, who practically soaked up any sort of attention, was taking to hiding in closets to get away from the "Blond-Haired Demon" as the tech had nick-named Abigail. Ben knew they meant well, but he had to eventually tell them to back off some. They had slunk off like dogs with their tails between their legs, but he could tell they were waiting in the shadows, bidding their time until the perfect moment to strike again. It was actually kind of annoying and a little scary.
The older man slowly slid off his glasses, and turned his attention back to his lover.
"Don't give me that look. This is important stuff" Riley defended himself at the bored stare he was getting.
"I'm sure it is and in the hopes of ever getting sweet silence again, please finish" Ben said, making a hand gesture for the other to continue.
Riley gave him a scorning glance and childishly stuck his tongue out, but continued.
"First of all they're genius smart and graduated college at like twelve, and yet they have nothing better to do than sit in front of a computer and type out algorithms and stuff for the rest of their lives. They're oblivious to the world around them, and they can get any job they want but don't care. They tend to be narrow minded and literal which makes them no fun, especially at parties. Heck they practically don't even have a life. While your friendly Smart geeks, such as myself, are smart, get all A's in high school, and go to a prestigious college with our own hard earned cash, and that's all we need to get those millions of bucks and the cool red Ferrari. We can see the world in its entirety and actually have a chance of getting the girl. We get to play all those cool video games and have fun dressing up for the costume parties as our favorite characters; then again, I did tend to get laughed at when I did it… Unfortunately, while young, we do tend to have skin issues but once that clears up we're dashingly handsome." Here Riley paused to grin and wiggle his eyebrows.
Ben just rolled his eyes and whacked the young tech upside the head.
"Ow, what was that for?" the self proclaimed "geek" (not Geek) whined rubbing the back of his head.
"Riley, you need help" the taller brunette shook his head.
"Hey, I'm just fine thank you" the younger defended himself.
"But honestly Ri, think about what you do. Whenever we go off searching for a treasure, one way or another you end up on a computer hacking into who knows what. The first time, you set up those cameras and did the tracking thing with Ian's phone. Not to mention you bypassed Abigail's alarm, in 25 seconds I might add, and when we went to London you hack the main frame of Buckingham Palace and set off the fire alarm. You hunt treasure and write books for a living, the only time you leave the house is if you're with me or your sugar for breakfast runs out" Ben pointed out.
"Hey just because you don't like Fruit Loops doesn't mean you get to knock them" Riley defended his precious cereal, "And I just so happen to enjoy messing with computers for a living, it pays well just in case you haven't noticed."
Ben continued, ignoring the interjection, "You didn't get the girl but I did get you, and you do have a red Ferrari and the millions of bucks."
"Wait a minute why did you get me. If I remember correctly I was the one who asked you out first" Riley indignantly butted in.
He held up a hand, "No you confessed first, I asked you out therefore you're mine. Anyway, the point is you're not that different from either of them."
Riley seemed to sit and digest that for a moment, "My God you're right! There's goes my epiphany!"
He shot a glare and pointed an accusing finger at his chuckling partner, "Thanks a lot, and I resent the whole I'm yours thing."
"Hey it's the truth Ri" Ben continued with a smile, putting his glasses on again hoping he'd finally be able to get back to his book.
Unfortunately Riley wouldn't give up that easily.
"If you really think about it by definition, there's not much of a difference. I mean the "geeks" in school really aren't geeks; they're just the kids that are smart enough to grow up and find treasure and get millions of dollars."
Ben glanced over to see the crystalline blue eyes watching the sparkling waves, the sunlight that filtered through the leaves above dance across his face. He could practically see the wheels turning and connections being made. Riley always looked his best while trying to think his way through a problem. His eyes grew sharp and focused, his face glowed, and you could practically feel the energy rolling off of him. It was as if the air came alive, but today Ben wasn't in the mood for such excitement. He reached out and snapped his fingers, drawing the younger out of his daze.
"Relax it doesn't really matter" Ben told him over the rims of his glasses.
"Don't do that, it makes you look old" Riley said wrinkling his nose.
"Gee thanks" the taller man retorted dryly.
The other brushed off the reply and settled against the back of the bench, watching the landscape that was laid out before him.
"You know you're a lot like the Nerd Geeks. You discover some weird puzzle to work on and finding the answer is all you can focus on until you solve it. You lived with you father for forever, at least that's what he told me, and you've been to college for a bunch of stuff", Riley said watching the lazy shadows of an afternoon sun.
The aforementioned treasure hunter quirked a brow.
"What exactly possessed you to get off on this topic of conversation anyway?"
"I ran out of Fruit Loops this morning", Riley informed him.
"Hey I warned you, I think and do weird things if I don't get my sugar. I neeeed my sugar" he added, shaking his fist at the sky.
"I'm starting to see that" Ben remarked, watching the display.
"So how long are we going to be sitting here? I'm bored" Riley whined, his eyes pleading with Ben.
"Hey you didn't have to come along" Ben replied, getting back to his book.
"Yeah but it was better than spending the afternoon with the Blond-Haired Demon and the Old Man. I swear it looked like she was going to jump me and take me cloths shopping and give me a makeover, or something" he felt Riley give a full body shiver, "And you dad looked like he was going to give me "The Talk" again. I don't know which is worse."
"I should have brought my laptop; maybe I could've messed with the alarm system and locked those two inside the house" he thoughtfully trailed off.
The Treasure Hunter, or protector if you want to look at it that way, didn't say a word though he let his lips form a small smile.
After that, the sounds of the birds singing, the wind rustling through the trees and the occasional car that rumbled past were the only noises that broke through the serene afternoon. A little while later, oh, after about a half hour or so he felt a weight settle against his shoulder. Looking over he saw a mop of brown hair leaning against him; the usually bright blue eyes were closed in slumber, long black lashes visible against the sun kissed skin, and the thin chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm. All in all Riley was rather cute when he slept.
Ben shifted slightly so the tech whiz could lean against him a little more comfortably. He didn't want Riley to wake up with a crick in his neck; he'd never hear the end of it. The computer genius may follow him unwaveringly through thick and thin, but one little splinter and he was suddenly dying. There may, or may not be a difference in geeks, but Riley was definitely one of them.
"There's geeks, then there's Geeks" the brunette chuckled and shook his head careful not to wake his partner.
If there was one thing he'd learned from the conversation, it was that they were stopping by the store on the way home and picking up some Fruit Loops.
Ok there you go, hopefully this isn't too bad. It's my first attempt writing for a promt, any sort of slash, and Ben/Riley so don't kill me if it's horrible. If you guys like this one I'm seriously considering tackling a few more National Treasure promts and I have pleanty other story ideas too, so please tell me what you think. Oh and if anyone's interested, I really, really need a Beta. I do have a friend that reads some of my stuff but she really doesn't critique it and I can't talk about ideas with her. I could really use a Beta… or someone to talk to about ideas for fics and what not. Anyway sorry you had to read all that. Don't forget to review! Please and thank you!!
Simple Heart