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The over-confident, cheery smile Leslie Knope flashes Ben Wyatt the first time they meet has him rolling his eyes inwardly.
He immediately recognize this as the expression of a person who will not go down without a fight, and she gives him a look of absolute optimism that makes him want to slash her budgets mercilessly. (Okay, so maybe Chris is right and he is a bit of a sadist. Just a little bit.)
Ben knows that this woman is the type who holds on to the belief that her town is unique and extraordinary and deserving of time, money, and attention. So it's going to be his job to show her she's wrong. Ben has unfortunately learned the truth of government budgets: no one and no place is anymore special than the next. Everybody wants more than their share, and Ben is tasked with taking and leaving.
He really hates being the destroyer of dreams, but someone has to be do it- and on the plus side it pays pretty well to be a state auditor.
To be honest, Ben's kind of disappointed when he wraps up the budget cuts. Leslie's vivacious personality is draining and, frankly, terrifying, but he thinks, under different circumstances, they might be something along the line of friends. Maybe.
Never before has he had to face someone as intensely driven as her. He hopes he never has to again, and god have mercy on whoever's next in Leslie's way.
And then, almost too suddenly, Ben’s leaving Pawnee. No big deal. He’ll move on, him and Chris, and they’ll be the same as they always were. Floating from town to town, never even thinking about settling down or even wanting to.
It’s not like he’s lonely or anything, no siree. Just isolated. Kind of friendless. Normal stuff, really.
God. Ice Town really did fuck up his entire life. From the moment of his impeachment onward, Ben has been an absolute mess. Who in hell thought teenagers were a good idea? Who thought being a teenager was even necessary?
Ben’s almost certain that getting that little almost-hick Indiana town out of his system is exactly what he needs.
(He’s only slightly wrong.
Okay, really wrong.)
But hey, Leslie Knope has been an absolute pain in his ass for what feels like five years, so hanging around her and her crew of incredibly lazy office workers is almost like closure. It’s just a little while longer, and it won’t actually mean anything.
Until it does.
Leslie’s almost as invigorating as she is infuriating. She’s compelling and annoying and really, really scary sometimes. But despite all that he’s always in the mood to talk with her, about anything really- the terribly exciting life of an auditor, the true comedic value of Steve Harvey, even the mass appeal of that tiny baby horse that Ben just doesn’t get.
She’s always down to debate the plots of the best TV shows, even though she gives him constant shit for being a ‘complete uber-nerd’, and knows the best time to crack a lame joke or reference an even lamer movie.
Ben surprises himself by coming the conclusion that he and Leslie are becoming pretty close friends. Maybe even more than that.
He tries not to let himself hope, but it’s so, so hard not to wish he could kiss her when she does something amazing that no one else could ever come up with (the Freddy Spaghetti concert made him kind of sort of love her forever) or how she’s so fragile and vulnerable when she’s sick with the flu he can hardly stand not being able to magically cure her. And the best part about Leslie is that she doesn’t ask any questions about Partridge when she finds out.
So really, Leslie’s great and amazing and kind of wonderful and Ben might just be crazy about her. This could pose potential complications.
--
When they kiss in Indianapolis, he’s pretty sure the small issue of his crush on Leslie just became a giant problem.
On the way home (and wow, isn't that just wild- he already thinks of Pawnee as home) all he can think about is Leslie.
--
In the Smallest Park, she grins a mega-watt smile with enough voltage to power a small country. Right as he leans in to kiss her, he looks into her hooded eyes and is so, so glad he's risking his stupid job to be with this woman. This extraordinary, incredible woman who makes Ben's heart race and turns him on like he's twelve again and discovering his dick for the first time. (Leslie's far too classy for Ben to even think about that analogy, but know this: she is sunlight, she is five feet and two inches of pure force, and he is hooked on her like she's the best drug.)
And then they kiss, and every cliché possible fits the moment perfectly.
There are fireworks, he's breathless after two seconds of her lips meeting his, and all he wants in the world is to never stop kissing her as snowflakes gently dust their hair and shoulders.
And as much as Ben would most certainly like to, they can't just sit on a bench in the snow and make out forever, but when they go back to his motel room, she makes a joke about feeling cheap and slugs his arm so hard he stumbles into the wall. She laughs and helps get him some ice, and they don't even fuck, just cuddle and talk quietly but optimistically, and he knows that he is completely, unabashedly in love.
Yeah, okay, he might be fucked. But he's so in love that at this point he doesn't actually give a shit.
--
Every time they make out in Ann's office, she smiles mischievously at him and places at least one hand on his ass. And every time he starts slightly, because he will never quite get over her fixation on his butt. But that's fine, because Leslie's lips are something that deserve to have entire chapters written about in textbooks. They are soft and pink and he never wants to stop kissing her, not even if his entire office and all his files were burning.
She's that good.
(Meaning that he’s this close to wanting her to stay forever.)
When they're alone together at work, it's rushed and too careful but not careful enough, and Ben just stresses the fuck out about every little detail. Someone's going to hear them, see them, report them. Leslie will lose her job and all chances of pursuing her dreams of running for city council. Ben will be fired and disgraced for sleeping with an employee.
But when everyone goes home and it's just them heading back to her mess of a house or April and Andy's, Ben doesn't even care that he's about to have some of the most amazing sex of his life. He's so wrapped up in Leslie that all he knows is that Leslie's smile is his sky and her slow, languid kisses are the stars.
And sure they're risking a ton of shit, but he loves her, is certain of it, and he's pretty sure she loves him too. Ben knows that in the worst possible scenario, they'd both lose their jobs. He'd be fine, accounting has always been his fallback, but Leslie would be crushed. She loves every single person in the Parks department, and they all love her back. Even Ron loves Leslie, as reluctant as he is to even think about affection. Hell, the entirety of City Hall runs off of Leslie Knope's ability to do her job. She is the most vital piece of the Pawnee government, even more than crucial than the backbone, and she knows it, too.
They're careful. Yeah, okay, they screwed up once or twice (Ron never quite looked at them the same when sitting together after hearing the accidental voicemail), but with Ann covering for them when necessary, they’re okay for now. They may constantly be walking on eggshells and be forced to have their 'more-than-coworkers' chats behind closed doors, but they're okay.
--
They get caught.
Of fucking course they get caught. Ben knew it would happen eventually, but now of all times? During the middle of the campaign?
He's pretty sure the universe might collectively hate him.
So when Leslie's put on trial, and he's sitting outside the courtroom with that creepy picture behind him, there's only one thought running over and over in his head: Leslie loves her job, and I love her.
The answer is obvious.
He goes to Chris and resigns because, let's face it- Leslie's job is one of the most important parts of her life, and Ben cares a whole lot more about her than he does for his own job.
He resigns, and he's okay with it. Leslie's still going to be doing what she loves, and that is what's important.
And then he says he loves her, because it's true, and he immediately knows she will somehow find out. Because that's what she does. That's just Leslie, really.
She comes to April and Andy's house, and it's snowing, and she looks like some sort of angel standing there, snow dusting her hair and shoulders, and it's just like their first kiss at the Smallest Park. And then Ethel Beavers tells Ben that Leslie loves him, and it's not all that much of a shock, but god, he loves her so much it aches in the pit of his stomach.
And then they kiss in the snow again, and the fireworks erupt in his chest and he just wants to stand there and cradle her head in his hands for the rest of his life.
In the exact moment he thinks that, he knows without any doubt (was there ever any to begin with?) that he's going to marry her.
He is going to marry this woman someday, somehow, because he doesn't know how he could live without her.
(Sure she's too energetic to even be real and might be a little completely crazy, but Ben thinks he'll be completely fine. Better than fine, actually.)