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The scene was set outside Partridge's city hall. The entire town was outside, booing him. Some were even throwing tomatoes at him, like a scene stolen from a poorly written movie.
Ben heard his mom yelling first, telling him he could kiss his freedom goodbye, he’d surely be grounded, staying in his room unless he was at school.
His dad’s voice came next, telling him what a failure he was. How he’d never been more disappointed in his life, he was disappointed Ben was his son.
He could hear Henry and Steph criticize him, too. He was used to them appearing in this dream, yelling at him, but it always stung a little more than when his parents did. Henry and Steph stuck by him through the incident, so when they showed up in his dreams, taunting him and hating him, it pained him.
Up until that point Ben’s dream had been normal, so he was expecting his ex-girlfriend, Cindy Eckert, to scrutinize him next.
Except it wasn’t Cindy. His dream self turned his head and saw Leslie looking back at him.
“You’re such a failure. You were poison to my campaign, you almost got me fired. I can’t believe you think I’d want to marry you.”
He’d woken up shortly after, unable to listen to another second.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The moonlight shined down on the Knope-Wyatt deck. Ben closed the door, quietly leaving the house. He and Leslie spent the better half of the day furniture shopping. They had just moved into their new home, and his fiancée insisted the two buy new furniture. “It’ll make this place feel more like it’s ours if we get rid of my furniture and buy some together.”
He had to admit she had a point. Besides, it was nice to be able to go to sleep in their new bed, even if it took way too long to get it set up. Curse upstairs bedrooms.
Unfortunately, the sleep hadn’t lasted long for Ben. He’d fallen asleep with Leslie in his arms around 10, which was fairly early for her. He’d been relaxed until he’d fallen asleep as well.
His dreams were plagued with a small town called Partridge, Minnesota. He almost never dreamed of the Ice Town fiasco anymore, he had no reason to. He’d lived Indiana for longer than he’d lived in Minnesota, and he’d done a lot of amazing things since he was impeached. He ran a congressional campaign, for hell's sake.
But for some reason, on rare nights like this, he woke up in a cold sweat, heart rate elevated and mind running a mile a minute.
He hadn’t had this particular dream before, but usually, when he’d have trouble sleeping, he’d go sit out with Leslie. She’d always been a calming presence, but tonight she was out cold.
Which led to Ben sitting on their deck, staring up at the sky, lost in thought.
He kept hearing her words in his head, repeating like a mantra, at first they were quiet, but slowly getting louder. He growled, putting his hands in his head and trying to shake it.
He knew it wasn’t real, but that didn’t make it seem any less like it was. Rationally, he knew Leslie didn’t think he was a failure. He knew that Leslie didn’t think he was poison. He knew he didn’t almost get her fired, they both had made the choice to tell Chris about their relationship way back when. And, most of all, given by what happened less than a week ago, he knew she was more than excited to marry him.
But the less rational part of him, the part Leslie lovingly called Ben Wyatt, Human Disaster, couldn’t help but wonder if she really did feel like that, and she was just trying to be nice to him by keeping it a secret.
He felt hot tears spill into his hands and immediately felt even worse, annoyed that he let his stupid dream work him up so much.
While he was calming himself down, he didn’t hear the door opening and slamming shut.
He felt his fiancée’s soft hands pry his own away from his face. He looked up at her, making eye contact, her beautiful blue eyes now laced with concern. He let out a soft sob before he even realized he was doing it.
“Oh, Ben,” she said softly, quickly pulling him up and into a tight hug. “Hey, hey, hey, I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
She rubbed his back and let him cry, something he was thankful for. She always allowed him to be emotional, and he knew some men weren’t that lucky.
After a few minutes, when she felt his breathing slow, she pulled away, wiping the last few stray tears away. Then she quietly grabbed his hand, pulling him towards a small, cushioned bench they’d bought earlier. He sat down, and she sat down next to him, leaning into his side. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.
They sat in comfortable silence, Ben stroking her hair, Leslie running her thumb over his knee.
“It’s a nice night tonight,” she said softly, looking at the sky.
He nodded. “Surprisingly clear for a town surrounded by Sweetums smog.”
She smiled at him, traces of concern still lingering in her eyes, but more relaxed than when she’d first found her fiancé earlier.
“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Ben sighed, nodding. “I’m a lot better now,” he answered, matching her volume level.
She nodded, allowing her gaze to drift back to the view straight ahead, waiting to see if he had any more to say before pressing him on it. “Do you want to talk about it?” She didn’t want to steamroll and force him to open up, but truth be told, it had been a long time since she’d seen him this worked up, and she was worried.
“It’s really stupid,” he answered back.
She met his eyes again. “Hey, nothing that makes you upset is stupid. You know you can tell me anything, right?”
He nodded, taking a deep breath. “I just had a dumb dream about Ice Town. You know, right after the impeachment. Nothing I’m not used to, it’s just…”
He saw Leslie nod and took another breath. “You were there, too. Usually, it’s just my family yelling at me, maybe a friend or my ex sprinkled in to change things up. But I haven’t had this dream for a while, so I wasn’t expecting...you.”
She stayed quiet, taking everything in. She knew Ice Town still affected him, despite every amazing thing he’s done since then. “What did I say?”
“Leslie, we don’t have to do this-”
“What did I say?” she repeated, a little softer this time.
“You said...In the dream, I mean… you said I was a failure, poison to your campaign, and the reason you almost got fired...and that I was crazy to think you’d want to marry me.”
Another stray tear ran down his face, which Leslie quickly wiped away. “I know it’s stupid and none of it is true, and I shouldn’t be this affected by it, but it caught me off guard.”
“You’re allowed to feel this way,” Leslie said softly. “It was a traumatic time in your life, you’re allowed to be affected by it. But let me just tell you this. You, Benjamin Wyatt, are not a failure. You’ve done so many amazing things for Pawnee, for our friends, and especially for me.
“You are the reason I won my seat on the city council. I never would have done as well as I did without you, even if the beautiful Ann Perkins was in charge.” That earned a small chuckle from Ben, which made Leslie smile. “You didn’t almost get me fired, you resigned in disgrace. You did that for me, to ensure I could keep doing what I loved. You protected me and my dreams.
“And lastly, don’t ever think for one moment I don’t want this,” she said softly, raising her left hand which was sporting her new ring. “I love you so much, Ben. I’m crazy about you. I never want a day to go by where you’re not by my side. I'll stand by you, no matter what.”
He nodded, smiling. “God, I love you so much, too, Les. How did I ever get lucky enough to find you?”
“I ask myself the same about you every day,” she smiled back, and then pulled him in for a kiss, although, thanks to their smiles, it was mostly teeth.
“Now let’s go back inside,” she whispered, quickly kissing him again. “I want to show you just how much I love you.”
And really, how could Ben object to that?