Work Text:
“Ben, you gotta help me with something,” Reed said, sitting on the edge of the merry go round, legs swinging in the air. Ben leaned against the bars next to him, peering at the little notebook Reed had clutched in his hands. Ben had no idea what any of it said.
“Okay, whaddya want me ta do?”
“I need you to spin me on this at a constant velocity,” Reed answered, mouth stumbling slightly over the large words. “Can you do that? Don’t stop until I tell you to.”
Ben made a face. “But what if you throw up?”
“I won’t, pinky swear.”
“Okaaaay.” Ben gripped the bars at the edge of the merry go round as Reed scooted into the middle. When Reed shouted, “Go!” Ben started running, pulling the merry go round up until it was going fairly quickly, then stopped and pushed the bars as they passed. Reed sat in the middle and jotted things down in his notebook and didn’t even look sick. How was he doing that?
“Benjamin.” Ben’s head snapped up and he hit his hand on one of the passing bars.
“Ow!”
“Careful, you oaf.” Victor stood passively next to him, arms clutched behind his back. “What are you doing?”
“Helpin’ Reed wit somefin’.”
“Well I have need of you.” Victor smiled and reached out and grabbed Ben’s hand, and Ben’s face got all red and his hand got all sweaty and when Victor started pulling him away he didn’t even look back when Reed started yelling “Ben! Where are you going?! BEN!”
When Reed finally stumbled off the merry go round and finished throwing up in the bushes, he couldn’t find Ben anywhere; meanwhile Ben spent the rest of recess in a corner of the playground, helping Victor ‘practice’ something he’d seen his parents doing where they held each other’s faces and pressed their lips together. It was weird and spitty and a little awkward but it was probably the best recess of Ben’s eight years of life.