A/N: I've had this idea since i rewatched the entire show a couple months ago and found myself sobbing through the end of this episode. There's literally nothing I love more than fics that get Leslie and Ben back together before they do in canon, so here we are. The title is from The Gabe Dixon Band song "All Will Be Will" which plays during the end of "The End of the World." Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Parks and Recreation, but some dialogue is taken from "The End of the World."
"I know what you're doing Leslie," Ben said from where he was standing in front of her in the dark.
Even in the dim light of the streetlamps, Leslie could see that he was serious. No hint of a smile played at his lips to soften the blow; this was real. Her heart sank.
"I'm showing you a part of rock and roll history," Leslie replied, her words pleading. Bringing Ben to this abandoned gas station owned in the 1950s by M. Jagger had been a long shot, but she had hoped that it would at least keep Ben away from Shauna and Tom's End of the World Party for the night. Apparently she had been wrong.
"You can't do this," Ben continued, his expression downcast. "You know, we broke up, and I kind of feel like we shouldn't hang out together, just the two of us, because every time we do, it just makes it harder, you know?"
"Okay," Leslie answered simply as Ben turned away from her to walk back through town.
"Okay."
Leslie drove back to Ramsett Park mechanically, barely registering the couple cars she passed along the way. This was the end of her and Ben. She'd thought she'd known that since they broke up, but, now that she actually considered it, maybe she hadn't really known that. She had been so wrapped up in campaign stuff for the past few months that she had been able to put Ben out of her mind, or as much out of her mind as she could manage, but the idea of him dating Shauna Malwae-Tweep, or anyone for that matter, just made Leslie's stomach hurt. It wasn't fair. He was the greatest guy she had ever dated, but they had had such a short time together. Why couldn't she run for office and date him? Why were government ethics so annoying?
Leslie parked her car and lay her head down on her steering wheel. If only the world were actually ending. She knew exactly what she'd do.
She sighed and left the car, heading back to where the Reasonablists were sitting with their hands raised upward to welcome Zorp. She spotted Ron sitting nearby on a picnic bench counting the money he had made selling recorders and flutes.
"What would you do if the world was really gonna end?" Leslie asked, sitting down beside her friend.
"I'd go home, drink some whiskey," Ron replied without any consideration, "then I'd go see my ex-wives."
Leslie turned to him in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah," Ron answered, with a slight nod. "I want to watch them meet their fiery end with my own eyes." He offered Leslie a look resembling a smile. "What would you do?"
Leslie paused for a moment. "Can I speak with you about a personal matter?" she asked Ron seriously.
"Normally, no," Ron replied, as Leslie had expected. "But given there's only 20 minutes until the end of human existence, also no."
Leslie ignored him. "I lost my mind tonight," she said, not looking at her friend. "I tried to screw up even the potential of Ben dating someone else."
"Did you not hear me when I said no?"
Leslie continued to ignore Ron. "We broke up because of me, but I have to tell you, Ron," she glanced over at her friend, "if the world was ending tomorrow, I'd want to be with him." Leslie turned back to stare at the cluster of cult members.
"Well, that's significant," Ron said evenly. He paused for a moment. "The problem is, Leslie, the world's not ending tomorrow. The sun's going to rise right over there." He pointed in the direction Herb and the other Reasonablists were facing. "It'll be a regular Friday, and you'll be in the exact same position you were in before."
"I know," Leslie replied, sadly. She thought of Ben off at Entertainment 720 dancing with Shauna Malwae-Tweep at Tom's party. She felt sick. Leslie took a deep breath and made a split second decision. Screw campaigns, she wanted to be with Ben for the end of the world.
Leslie stood up and turned to Ron. "I know the world's not ending tomorrow. I know I'm going to have to deal with this whole situation, but, Ron, I'm miserable. I don't care about what this does to my campaign. I just want to be with him."
Ron stared at her appraisingly, his eyebrows raised. After a moment he nodded. "This is your choice, Leslie. Do whatever you think you should."
That was all Leslie needed to hear. She practically ran to her car and turned the key in the ignition. She would check Ben's house first. Hopefully he had just gone back there after their fight instead of going to find Shauna at the Entertainment 720 Headquarters. Leslie really didn't want to have to end up fighting with a reporter on a dance floor at a party over a guy. That would spell the end of her campaign and likely the end of any chance she had to get Ben to be okay with her again.
Leslie parked her car in front of the house Ben shared with Andy and April and walked quickly up to the door, crossing her fingers that Ben was there and, even more importantly, that Ben was alone.
She knocked rapidly on the door and than waited for a moment, holding her breath.
She heard movement inside the house and then the door opened. Ben was staring at her, still dressed in the clothes he had been wearing at the park. Leslie could tell that he wasn't as angry as he had been at the gas station, but he still seemed upset and almost annoyed.
"Hey, Ben," she said warily, eyeing the door, feeling like there was at least some possibility that he would slam it in her face. "I was wondering if we could talk."
Ben continued to stare at her for a moment before finally sighing and gesturing for her to come inside.
Leslie walked in front of him into the living room but stopped as she saw a gaping hole in the sliding glass door that looked as if someone had crashed through it. Shards of glass littered the floor, but the broom propped up on the sofa told Leslie that Ben had started to clean it up.
Leslie turned to Ben, extremely confused.
Ben sighed again. "I have no idea," he said, shaking his head and shrugging hopelessly. "I got back, and this is what the living room looked like. Andy and April left a note that they would be back 'sometime,' and neither of them are answering their phones."
Leslie took a step closer to get a better luck at the mess. "I'm sorry." She turned back to him. "You want some help cleaning all this up?"
For the first time that night, a smile appeared on Ben's face. "That would honestly be amazing, if you really don't mind."
Leslie grinned back at him. "Of course not! This is insane, and it'll be way easier with two of us."
It took them just a few minutes to sweep up the shards of glass, and then Leslie vacuumed the floor while Ben taped up some garbage bags to cover the hole until he could call someone to fix it in the morning.
"Thanks so much," Ben said gratefully and in a much better mood as Leslie put away the vacuum. He sat back on the sofa, motioning for her to do the same. "What did you want to talk about?"
Leslie took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for dragging you to Mick Jagger's abandoned gas station. Shauna Malwae-Tweep thought you were cute, and I didn't want to let anything happen with you guys because I was having a really hard time letting go."
Ben kept his gaze locked on the floor as Leslie spoke.
Leslie knew she could stop there and just make this an apology, but she couldn't go on like this. She was done pretending that Ben Wyatt wasn't the first person she thought of in the morning and the last person she thought of before she went to sleep. Maybe he would choose his job over their relationship, but Leslie knew she couldn't anymore.
"But, Ben," she said finally, "I know I'm the reason we broke up. I know this could wreck my campaign and even get us fired, but I was sitting there watching those Reasonablists go on and on about the end of the world, and all I could think of was that if the world were actually ending tonight, I would want to be with you."
Ben looked up at her words, surprise and confusion in his eyes. "Leslie, what –"
Leslie held up her hand to stop him. "I know the world's not actually ending, and there's so many consequences that I wish we didn't have to deal with, but I can't do this, Ben. Of course I want to win the election and keep my job in the Parks Department, but, more than all that, I just want to be with you. Please."
Ben stared at her, processing her words. Neither of them spoke.
Without warning, Ben moved and wrapped his arms around her, pressing his mouth to hers.
Leslie's arms wound around Ben's neck instantly as she responded enthusiastically. She had missed this. Oh God, she had missed this.
Ben pulled back from her for a moment, his eyes still questioning. "Are you sure about this Leslie? Your campaign. Your job."
Leslie locked eyes with him, her gaze steady and serious. "I'm sure."
That was all Ben needed. In an instant he had pulled her back to him. "I've missed you so much," he said frantically as he kissed her, one hand running through her hair as the other slipped lightly under her shirt.
"I've missed you too," Leslie said, tears filling her eyes.
Ben clearly noticed as he pulled away from her again. "Leslie, what is it?"
She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm just really, really happy."
Instantly a matching smile appeared on Ben's face. "Yeah, me too." He swiped at her tears with his thumb and then let his hand rest on her cheek. "I can't believe you're here."
Leslie reached her hand up to interlock with Ben's. "Well believe it. I'm not going anywhere." Leslie hadn't been this happy in a pretty long time, and no worries about her career or the campaign could change that. She had Ben back, and Leslie was sure that she could do anything. It was all going to be okay.
She glanced down at her watch and laughed.
Ben raised his eyebrows. "What?"
"It's time for the end of the world." She smiled softly at him.
Ben stroked her hand lightly with his thumb as he stared at her. "For the record," he said after a moment, "if the world was actually ending, I would have wanted to be with you too."
"And now that it's not?" Leslie asked, smirking.
Ben pressed her hand to his lips. "Same answer. Always the same answer."
"Good." She leaned her forehead against his and sighed contentedly. "Perfect."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are the best!