4 Parks & Recreation recs, all Leslie/Ben

[stars-inthe-sky.livejournal.com]

(and some other canon pairings floating in the background)

Fandom Category: Parks & Recreation
Pairing: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Fic Title: Safety Zone
Author: synecdoche
Link: http://saucydiva.livejournal.com/3703.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Genre: Humor
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: Lit-ra-lly the best summer-shutdown fic I have read in about two weeks of binging on P&R fandom. With the government closed, all the usual suspects get roped into a water balloon fight for charity, and it's pretty much awesome. From the Councilman Houser run-in at the beginning to the unexpected but lovely epilogue, you will have every reason to love, love, love this.

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Fandom Category: Parks & Recreation
Pairing: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Fic Title: James Bond Has Nothing on Us
Author: saucydiva
Link: http://synecdoche.livejournal.com/310939.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Genre: Romance
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: Sweet series of missing moments and conversations wherein Ben and Leslie decide to go for the super-secret romance thing, ending up pretty much where they'd be without that last scene in "Li'l Sebastian." 

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Fandom Category: Parks & Recreation
Pairing: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Fic Title: The Whole Sky Fell
Author: synecdoche
Link: http://ohmyohpioneer.livejournal.com/927.html
Rating/Warning(s): R
Genre: Angst, AU
WIP?: No

Why This Must Be Read: The Harvest Festival goes off without a hitch, but in a tragic twist, Ben's father dies a few days before it begins.  Watching him work through the pain of loss while confronting his complicated history with his hometown and is family is heartbreaking, and his longing for Leslie--even at this earlier stage of their friendship--is palpable.

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Fandom Category: Parks & Recreation
Pairing: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Fic Title: Bleeding Sunshine
Author: lavillerespire
Link: http://leslie-ben.livejournal.com/16543.html
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Genre: Character study, missing moments
WIP?: No.
 
Why This Must Be Read: “Bleeding Sunshine” follows Ben from his arrival in not-special Pawnee to his realization in “Time Capsule” that he kind of likes the place.  It also traces his shift from intending to fire Leslie during the shutdown to realizing that he kind of likes her, too.  The author gives us a satisfying series of short POVs, missing moments, and snippets of thought that paint a richer picture of the evolution from “Mean Ben” to pre-Kiss Monster.