Work Text:
It felt weird being back in a school, waiting outside of a classroom like he had been sent out and was waiting for the teacher to scold him.
It wasn’t like that at all. In fact, it was a parent/teacher night. And for Ben, he would be meeting his daughter’s first grade teacher. HE received the letter a week ago, telling all parents that Ms Knope wanted to meet each of them individually to ensure that everyone got a fair chance to talk to her about their children.
Honestly, Ben was hoping he’d be in and out within a few minutes, that he was aware of his daughter, Zoey, was well behaved. He never got a letter home telling him that she’d been bad and she always left school with a big smile on her face.
Ben always assumed that Ms Knope would be a stuffy old person. She always assigned homework, not much, just little assessments that involved some form of a talking animal with a speech bubble coming out of it’s mouth, telling them what to do. They were first graders, did they really need homework?
The door to the classroom soon opened and Ben looked up.
There she was, and she wasn’t old and stuffy at all.
Ms Knope had a head full of bouncy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a floral blouse and sleek black pants. Ben found himself gawking at her.
She smiled at him. “You must be Zoey’s dad?” she asked.
“Uh, yes,” Ben said as he stood up, adjusting his tie before shaking her hand. “I’m Ben Wyatt.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr Wyatt,” she replied. “I’m Leslie Knope, Zoey’s first grade teacher.”
She motioned Ben to come in and he took a seat opposite her desk. Leslie tucked a curl behind her ear and looked at the shelf behind her desk. There was a row of coloured binders. She hummed for a moment and then picked one off.
“Ah, here we go.”
Ben smirked. “Do you have binders on all the kids?”
“Yes,” Leslie smiled. “I like to be thorough and these help me keep them apart.”
She thumbed through the pages. “First off, Zoey is a smart, talented girl, and you must be very proud of her.”
Ben beamed proudly. “I am indeed.”
“She’s good at spelling,” Leslie said as she looked back up at him. “Her week point at the moment is multiplications, so it might help if you go through them with her a few times a week. We’re not doing anything too tough, only up to four times tables.”
“Okay, sure,” Ben replied, making a memo on his phone.
“She’s very artistic too, and loves drawing. She’s obsessed with Star Wars, which I’m sure you know. So most of her drawings are Star Wars related,” Leslie continued.
Ben smirked and nodded. “Yep, we love Star Wars in our family, her middle name is actually Leia.”
Leslie smiled. “I love that. Why didn’t you make her first name Leia? Let me guess? The wife wouldn’t let you?”
Ben hesitated. “Actually… Zoey’s mom… uh… left us when she was just a month old.”
Leslie gasped horrifically. “Oh my god. She died? I’m so sorry.”
“No, no!” Ben jumped in. “She left us literally… as in just got up one day and never came back.”
He cleared his throat. It was still a touchy subject remembering that day six years ago where Jessica said she was going to get diapers and didn’t come back. He was so worried, he called everyone she knew, until her parents finally called him, saying that she couldn’t handle the post natal depression anymore and wanted out. He saw her a few years ago, covered in tattoos and drinking herself into an oblivion.
Ben didn’t take Zoey over, he couldn’t. In their household it was just him and her. No one else mattered. He’d never let anyone else come into their lives again. He dated, sure, but honestly, he was content with Zoey just being in his life.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything,” Leslie said, nervously fiddling with a page on her binder. “I can tell it’s a hard subject for you.”
Ben looked at her. “What gives you that impression?”
Leslie smiled sadly. “You haven’t said anything in like five minutes.”
Ben made a startled noise and shook his head, getting thoughts out of his head. “Sorry, it’s just weird talking about it, that’s all.”
“Look, Mr Wyatt – ”
“Oh, please call me Ben.”
Leslie blushed. “Okay, Ben. You don’t have anything to worry about Zoey; she’s a great kid. Smart, funny, she’s got a lot of wit to her. Maybe a little too talkative sometimes but hey, we all have minor flaws.”
Ben chuckled at that. He sometimes found himself having to tell Zoey to be quiet after hearing her talk for hours on end.
“I’m really honoured to have such a sweet girl in my class,” Leslie said, and Ben felt small tears pooling in his eyes, he quickly blinked them away.
“She really loves you too,” Ben said, and Leslie looked surprised. “She always comes home from school talking about Ms Knope and how great Ms Knope is. I really can’t thank you enough for making sure she’s happy at school.”
Leslie grinned. “Oh, I’m just doing my job. I wouldn’t be doing my job is these kids came home from school miserable. I’m dedicated to making sure they have the best few years of their lives here.”
Ben leaned back on his chair, feeling a little comfortable. “Do you have kids of your own?”
“No,” Leslie looked bashful. “One day, hopefully. I’m still waiting for mister right.”
She looked away quickly. “Oh god, I shouldn’t have said that. Why am I saying stupid things today?”
Ben chuckled, and Leslie giggled along with him. Okay, she was really cute, and Ben found himself unable to look away from her. When she laughed her nose crinkled up and her teeth nibbled at her bottom lip slightly.
He felt it, a swooning feeling inside of him, something he hadn’t felt in years. Not since Jessica…
His thoughts were interrupted when Leslie gasped, looking at her watch. “Crap on a cracker. I’m late to see Mr and Mrs Langman. They really don’t like me, if I keep them waiting any longer they’ll report me to the school board again.”
“Again?” Ben asked curiously.
Leslie sighed. “I was teaching the children about marriages, and said that men can marry men and women can marry women. Their child, Maxwell, went home and told them and I was reported for it. According to them, gay marriage ruins marriage for the rest of us. What am I supposed to do? I have little Cassie in my class, her parents are both men.”
Ben looked surprised. “Wow. They really need to get a life.”
Leslie agreed, and watched sadly as Ben gathered up his things. She stood up and shook his hand.
“It was really great meeting you Mr Way- Ben.”
“Likewise, Leslie… I mean Ms Knope.”
Leslie giggled again and Ben’s heart soared. “Please, Leslie is fine. Only the children call me Ms Knope.”
Ben nodded and went to leave, but something pulled him back. Maybe it was the urge to keep Leslie from having to see the Langmans. But he still turned around.
“I was wondering,” he cleared his throat nervously. “If there was a policy on parents asking out their child’s first grade teacher?”
Leslie looked up and Ben’s words slowly made sense in her head and she blushed and gaped at him. “Um… oh… n-no there isn’t actually…”
Ben grinned at her. “How about I pick you up tomorrow night at 8?”
Leslie let a shocked smile grace her beautiful face. “That would be great. I’d really like that.”
She jotted down her number and handed it to him, allowing her fingers to linger against his briefly. “Here, call me after 6, I should be home by then.”
Ben nodded. “I will.”
He placed his door on the handle and gave her one last smile. “Good luck with the Langmans.”
He winked at her, leaving Leslie looking giddy and flushed.
Ben chuckled to himself, gave the unimpressed Langmans a friendly nod and walked back down the hall. The paper with Leslie’s number on it tucked safely in his hands.