Dancing
“Is this really the first time we’re going out dancing?” Leslie asked. Her phone was resting on the beside table, and she was stood next to it, holding up a dress to the mirror to see if it would work.
Ben’s laugh came through the loudspeaker, the quality making it sound tinny, but Leslie loved it nonetheless.
“Have you seen me dance?” came his response. “I’m surprised it’s happening at all.”
“It must be my powers of persuasion,” Leslie replied with a laugh.
“You got that right.”
“And for the record, I have seen you dance, and I thought it was cute.”
“Well get ready for a cute overload, because I’m… actually excited for this. I’m going to dance my pants off for you, Leslie Knope.”
Leslie heard him chuckle at his own joke before she replied with: “I hope your pants come all the way off, Ben Wyatt.”
That shut him up. For a good five seconds, and Leslie was left smirking at her own reflection. Finally, Ben replied.
“We’ll see how it goes.”
Leslie grinned to herself. Oh, they would.
***
The reason they were going out at all was because Donna told them that couples got in for half price on Fridays at the Snakehole. She had told them discreetly- maybe she wanted them to have a date night, or maybe she was worried about one of the other office couples ruining the vibe, Leslie wasn’t sure. She for one would have loved to have her friends there, but the more she thought about it, the more she wanted a date night with Ben. Just the two of them.
Ben was picking her up in ten minutes. That left eight minutes to finish her makeup, and two minutes to look at herself in the mirror and worry that she had overdone it.
She had gone with a dark dress. It was black, but when it hit the light a certain way, glitter on the dress made it light up. It was a good cut for her body shape, and Ben had bought it for her not one week prior.
All this had really come at the right time, because she had wanted an excuse to feel good in herself for a while. And who better to feel good with than the one person who made her feel good the most? Aside from Ann, obviously, but she doubted Ann would want her tongue down her throat tonight. Not without the promise of ice cream first.
Her mind had drifted to a government plan when she heard the clangy ding-dong of her doorbell. Her whole house was old- it had been her family home, before her mother downsized to a more reasonable flat, given the fact that she didn’t need the space. Marlene’s words, not her. Leslie had wondered in the past if she herself should downsize. It would cut down the opportunity for her to hoarde as much and, until recently, Leslie hadn’t seen herself having a family.
Until she met Ben. It hadn’t been long. This was their second shot at love with each other. The first time had been wonderful, but this time round, it felt right. And now she was seeing his face in her future- every single turn, every obstacle.
The first time it had been uncertain, messy, and hesitant. This time round… sure, it was still uncertain and messy, especially with the campaign. But there was no hesitation at all. She was going at it full throttle, and hoping he would too.
***
“Good evening, madame,” Ben said with vigour when Leslie opened the door. He was in a dress shirt and tight black jeans. Leslie almost wanted to take his pants off right here on the doorstep, he was so handsome. He had been grinning theatrically, but when she opened the door all the way, his face froze.
“Woah!” he exclaimed, his inner nerd coming back out. “Woah- Leslie- you look incredible!”
“It’s the dress you bought me,” Leslie replied shyly, swishing the ends of it left and right, loving how he was captivated by her.
“I- I know,” Ben replied, before shaking himself. He leant over to kiss her, and Leslie melted into it instantly. Her hands graced his chest, before moving down to his jeans. She put her hand on the top of his thigh, rubbing slowly, and he groaned. Then she was bringing her hands up to his back, and her breath caught in her throat when his hands were on her chest.
“I thought the pants were coming off after the dancing,” he whispered.
“Oh they are,” Leslie shot back coyly. “I’m just giving you a preview.”
***
They got a taxi to the club. Ben was unnaturally confident tonight. Maybe he knew he looked good. Leslie had told him seventeen times, after all. And each time, he had told her that she looked better. But that didn’t stop the shy smile on his face when he looked down at his shirt, or when he smoothed his jeans. Leslie was happy to see him so confident in himself, for once. It almost reminded her of when they had first met. He was so certain, and almost forcefully confident in the way he ran his job. Leslie had hated him for it- but she couldn’t deny that she had found it unspeakably attractive. He was here to slash her budget, sure, but every document he presented sealing their doom had been so well-filed. It was a good job he had fallen for her, really.
They got out the taxi, and Ben’s hand easily found Leslie’s He was leading her into the club, and she was squeezing his hand when the crowds got thick. If they let go of each other, they could get lost. Best to stay as close as possible.
Ben headed straight to the bar, and he ordered four shots.
“Alright!” Leslie said excitedly. “I’m liking your energy tonight, Wyatt!”
“We’re forgetting about the campaign for tonight,” Ben told her. “We’ve both worked so hard this week, we need a break.”
“You’re the best,” Leslie told him, sincerely. Ben smiled at her.
“Well, we couldn’t afford a break if we didn’t have such an excellent candidate.”
“Oh yeah?” Leslie asked, and then she was kissing him again.
They were interrupted when the barman coughed, prompting Ben to pull back and pay their bill. They then turned their attention to the four shots in front of them.
“What flavour?” Leslie asked. She had been too busy admiring how confident he had been ordering the drinks to pay attention.
“Watermelon,” he replied. “A bit unusual, but it’s all part of the experience, right?”
“Right. I mean, this whole place is a bit unusual.”
“Too right.”
They necked both shots in quick succession. Leslie knew that two shots would get Ben in the mood to party. There had been a time when they weren’t able to dance together in the club, back when they longed for each other from afar. Oh, how times had changed.
The man she loved was pulling her onto the dance floor, and they were going for it. And Leslie laughed immediately, because when Ben went for it… well, it was a sight to behold.
“Look at you!” Leslie shouted over the thumping music. “Dancing your pants off!”
“Hell yeah!” Ben shouted back.
Leslie and Ben danced and danced. It was electric- there were people around them, but all they could feel, all they could sense, were each other. It was the pulsing music, pulling them into an atmosphere that was indescribable. Then Leslie was kissing him, and Ben’s hands were in her hair. They were being jostled by other club-goers, but Ben’s hands were on her back, keeping her safe.
When they pulled back, they both had matching grins on their faces.
“Thank you for coming out with me tonight,” Leslie told him.
“Of course!” Ben replied. “I may not be a good dancer, but I’ll dance with you any day, Leslie.”
Leslie blushed, but in this lighting it was hard to tell.
“You’re acting differently tonight,” Leslie commented. “Not in a bad way, you just- you seem more confident!”
“I wanted to give you the full experience!” Ben replied with a smile. “I wanted to take you out to a club and buy you a drink and dance with you all night long. I know you've not exactly had that from a boyfriend before, so I wanted to change that.”
Leslie nearly melted on the spot.
“I love this side to you,” Leslie told him. “But I love every side to you.” She increased the volume of her voice and stood on her tiptoes to his ear. “Watching films with nerdy Ben, napping with tired Ben. I love all of you. Okay?”
“Thank you, babe, I know.” Ben told her. “I was more than happy to do this, I promise..”
Leslie just smiled, and Ben’s eyes widened.
“Oh!” he said. “And I love you too!”
Leslie chuckled. There was her dork.
***
They got home at just past two o’clock in the morning. Home that night was Leslie’s house. Of course, home was wherever the other person was, really. But as romantic a notion as that was, pillow fort and Gatorade night at the Ludgate-Dwyer residence wasn’t really their vibe that night, so they returned to Leslie’s hoarder house.
The two of them stumbled drunkenly over at least four boxes on the way to the bedroom. They had each had six shots that night, and the two of them were giggling wildly. Leslie was singing the last song of the night under her breath as she opened the bedroom door.
And then Ben was unzipping her dress, and she stepped out of it just to turn around and unbutton Ben’s shirt. They were hungry and eager. That was paused when Ben started swaying as he took off his jeans. Leslie looked at him.
"I'm dancing my pants off!" he whispered, and Leslie laughed.
"You're a loser. I love you."
Soon, they were both totally bare in front of each other, and that hunger turned to desperate, passionate kisses. Kisses turned to touching, touching turned into, well…
“I love you,” Ben was moaning.
“I love you too,” Leslie mirrored, and then her back was arching under his pressure, and she was coming undone beneath him. He fell on top of her, breathless.
***
“That was a good night,” Ben whispered, a little later. “We should do it again.”
“You want to?” Leslie asked. “It’s not too out of your comfort zone?”
“Nah,” Ben said with a smile. “And if you can take one night off for me, I can certainly dress up and dance for you.”
Leslie sighed happily in his arms. Sometimes, making tiny changes in yourself for the benefit of the other person was worth it. Neither of them would ask the other to change, but they found that, as their relationship grew and blossomed, those tiny changes were exciting. And it just made them love each other even more.