Work Text:
The snow continued to gently fall as Leslie rested her head against the passenger seat, one hand drawing shapes into the condensation building up on the window as her other hand clutched her husband's. She still got butterflies at that word. Granted they had only been married for about 3 hours, but even after almost 3 years, Ben still made her weak in the knees, so she wouldn't be surprised if the butterflies stayed around for a long time to come.
She looked over at Ben as he drove, smiling softly as she saw him in his dress shirt and bow tie, a goofy grin on his face while he watched the road. As if he could feel her eyes on him, Ben glanced over at the passenger seat, his smile broadening as he looked at his wife, lifting their clasped hands to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles.
The two sat in silence as Ben drove them from City Hall, neither wanting to break the happiness induced trance they were both in. However, as the car approached a familiar site, Leslie's eyes widened and she sat up abruptly.
"Ben, pull over! Pull over into the parking lot," she exclaimed, her hands rapidly tapping against her husband's shoulder in an unnecessary attempt to get his attention.
"Pull over? Leslie, it's 3 o'clock in the morning and it's snowing outside."
"Please," she begged. "We just have to stop there. You know we have to."
Between the conviction in her voice and her pleading eyes, Ben found her impossible to refuse. He pulled into the empty parking lot and stopped the car right in front of the flickering lamp, Leslie running out before Ben even had a chance to kill the engine.
"Les-" he called out to her as she leapt from the seat, but he was too slow. By the time he stepped out of the car, Leslie was standing in the middle of the small park, her eyes closed and face raised up towards the sky, the small flakes of snow catching onto her hair and eyelashes.
She looked so peaceful and happy that Ben almost didn't want to disturb her, but she was standing in the freezing cold in just her wedding dress, and he felt obligated to wrap his tuxedo jacket around her before she got sick. He had managed to book a romantic honeymoon in record time, and none of his plans involved his wife catching a cold in the Indiana snow.
Walking up slowly behind her, Ben draped his jacket on Leslie's shoulders before wrapping his arms around her from behind, his face immediately burying itself in the crook of her neck. Leslie turned her face towards her husband, her nose brushing against his hair, inhaling his musky shampoo and just the faintest hint of sweat. It was the smell of Ben, and she always associated it with this place.
Although tonight, in front of her closest friends, she vowed to spend her life with this man, Leslie knew that really, in her heart, she pledged her love to him well over a year ago at this very park. He was, and still is, worth every possible risk.
"Sorry I'm making you stand outside in the snow in the middle of the night," Leslie said, finally breaking the silence. "I just felt like we needed to come here tonight. Kind of a fitting first place to go as husband and wife."
"Don't apologize, I understand," Ben replied after he placed a chaste kiss on the side of her neck. "I can't explain it, but it just feels right to be here. But why do we almost always have these moments in the freezing cold?" he joked lightly.
"Oh, are you cold? You can take your jacket back," Leslie replied quickly, not catching onto his teasing tone.
"No, babe, I was just kidding. I'm a Minnesota boy, remember? This is nothing to me. It's actually really peaceful here."
"Yeah, it is. Our first of many parks," she said with a smile before turning to press a kiss to his cold cheek. It was then that Leslie fully noticed that constant flickering of the lamp light above them. "Hmmm, I need to call Public Works tomorrow and have them come change that."
"Nope. Tomorrow we're sleeping in, having tons of sex, and then catching our flight to Honolulu. No work allowed. Text Donna or someone and have them call it in. Please," he added as he noticed her conflicted expression, ”let's have at least one day that's just us. No paperwork, no calls to Public Works, no City Council obligations, just you and me."
Ben loosened his grip on Leslie's waist in order to turn her face towards his own, his thumb caressing her chin as he gazed into her eyes. "We've been working so hard lately with this Gala, and we did it, Leslie. All of your hard work, the years you spent dreaming about this park, it finally paid off. Pawnee Commons is going to happen. We deserve some time just for us now, don't you think?" he questioned, sealing his plea with an Eskimo kiss.
"Yeah, you're right," Leslie conceded with a smile, "but I can only guarantee that I can comply with the no work policy for 24 hours. I may or may not be able to control myself once we're in Hawaii."
"Well," Ben drawled as he moved his lips right behind her ear, "I was hoping to occupy you in some other ways, so you might not have the time to work on anything else."
Ben smirked to himself as Leslie shivered in his arms and he knew for a fact that it wasn't from the cold.
"I would like to see you try," she shot back with a sultry grin.
"Challenge accepted."
Leslie continued to lean against her husband as she once again directed her attention to the flickering light bulb above their heads.
It was hard to imagine that not so long ago, she was at a place in her life where she compared herself to another light bulb just like that one, weak and flickering, unable to make out with the light bulb that she wanted to make out with. But so much had changed in those two short years. She was no longer weak and flickering, but strong and vibrant, an elected official that was known and respected within her community. She was passing laws, building parks, and kicking ass. Plus, she was now able to do a lot more than just make out with the light bulb of her dreams.
"Hey, is the light really bothering you that much? You've been staring at it for the last minute" Ben asked, pulling Leslie away from her thoughts.
"What? Oh, no. It was just reminding me of a different time in my life, and I was thinking about how far I've come since then."
"A light bulb reminded you of all that?" he asked incredulously, but Leslie simply smiled in response.
"It's a long story, but yeah, it did," she answered before turning around fully in his arms, her fingers lacing behind Ben's neck. "I've accomplished so much in these last few years, things that I couldn't have done without your help, and I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life."
Ben smiled down at his wife, touched by her statement, but his modesty didn't allow him to take the credit. "I think you would have been fine without me. You were always destined for great things; I was just along for the ride. If anything, I'm the lucky one."
Leslie rolled her eyes and smirked up at him, her usual reaction when Ben failed to accept a compliment. "Well, the fact remains that youwere there, and you still went above and beyond to help me achieve my dream. I'm so glad that I'll never have to go through anything alone ever again, not as long as I have you. You're all I need," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion as she repeated the line from her vows.
"Ditto," Ben replied with a smile and misty eyes before leaning down to capture his wife's lips in his, their kiss slow and chaste, his hand gently caressing her cheek as she ran her fingers through his hair.
They have shared many kisses in this park since that first one well over a year ago, some long and desperate, like that first night, and others short and sweet, but none of them would ever be like this. This was their first kiss as husband and wife in the tiny park that changed both of their lives-- their tiny park of new beginnings.
The couple eventually broke for air a few moments later, their puffs of breath as visible in the cold night air as their smiles. Leslie broke her husband's gaze when another strong gust of wind blew, her hands moving to wrap Ben's jacket more securely around herself.
"Okay, well, as much as I love it here, it's getting a little too cold," Leslie said through chattering teeth.
"I couldn't agree more. Besides, it's already late, and I still have to carry my wife over the threshold," Ben said back with a grin, lacing his fingers with Leslie's and walking back towards the car.
"Your wife, huh? She must be something pretty special."
"She is. She's amazing, and I can't wait to get home and show her how much I love her."
Stopping in front of the passenger side door, Leslie squeezed Ben's hand, her eyes once again filling with unshed tears.
"Your wife is very lucky."
"That makes two of us," Ben replied, leaning in once more to give his wife a brief kiss before making his way to the driver's side.
As they drove away, Leslie couldn't help but look back at their small park, the lamp light still flickering as the snow continued to swirl around it. Going back there tonight had been like coming full circle, a chapter of their lives closing in the same place that it began while a brand new one took its place. It had been the perfect addition to an already perfect night--a night that was only going to get better.
***
Two days later, the newlywed couple celebrated their first day in Hawaii wrapped in satin sheets, a bottle of complimentary champagne forgotten on the night table. The same time that the Pacific Ocean breeze wafted through their open window, a simple white street lamp flickered to life over four thousand miles away, illuminating the bench and fountain beneath it. So while Leslie and Ben drowned in one another, all thoughts of Indiana far from their minds as soft groans and sighs filled their hotel room, new light shined on their little park, strong and vibrant--just like them.