At Leslie's House:

Leslie enters the house timidly. She saw Ben's car parked outside and he knew where she hid her spare key. Leslie had a feeling that he's already waiting for her inside.

She finds him on the couch with a beer in his hand. He looks over to her when he heard the door creak open and sees her still standing in the doorway with a sheepish expression on her face.

"I'm not mad." His declaration makes Leslie release the breath she was holding. She walks over and sits next to him, resting her head on his chest, as he places his arm on her shoulder. She kicks off her shoes and tucks one leg under the other.

"I know this secret dating thing is starting to take a toll on us. I really wish there was a way to have our relationship out in the open." Leslie says while taking Ben's hand and absentmindedly playing with it, tracing her finger all over his palm. This is her favorite part of the day, where they can touch freely and just fit into each other perfectly.

"Every time I looked over to you, I just wanted to tell you how beautiful you were, you know. And I always have to watch myself and make sure I'm not staring at you all the time. I just bottled up so much tension that I snapped a little. I'm sorry if I overacted."

"We just have to hang in there. At least until we figure out a loophole."

"What if there's no loophole?"

"Then we'll draw straws and see which one of us has to murder Chris."

Ben laughs, he loves how Leslie always find a way to end a serious discussion with a joke. He kisses the top of her head and takes her hand in his. He places the beer on the coffee table and stands, pulling Leslie off the couch and pulling her close to him. The top of her head only reaches up to his nose and he loves seeing her raise her face to him. Her glowing face in that angle is his favorite thing in the world. "It almost broke me to see another man's hand on you."

"I'm sorry. Does it help if I told you that I only ever want your hands on me?"

"It does a little." Ben cups her face in his big hands and pulls her up for a kiss. Leslie tiptoes to reach Ben's mouth as they give each other a deep and slow kiss. Her hands rest on Ben's hips for support as she leans in further.

Ben's hand slides down to her waist and he hoists her up with one strong effort. Leslie instinctively wraps her legs around Ben's hips, her arms circling his neck, their lips still locked together. He carries her to the bedroom to release the tension that he'd been holding all day.

At City Hall:

"This is one of our murals entitled 'Traveling Magician' which depicts a traveling magician who came through town one time and he pulled a rabbit out of a hat, and the mob burned him at the stake for being a witch." Leslie presents the mural to Seth who looks at it with raised brows.

Seth had dropped by Leslie's office this morning, unannounced with the excuse of wanting a tour around City Hall before his meeting with Councilman Howser.

"Are they burning the rabbit too?"

"Unfortunately, yes." This makes both of them laugh uncontrollably.

"Leslie Knope?" Leslie jumps at hearing her name. She turns around to see Chris and Ben and feels a little guilty that Ben catches her with Seth. "Ah and Seth Myer, I see that Leslie is giving you a tour of our lovely murals. These are literally the most beautiful paintings about the tragic history of Pawnee."

"Yes, indeed." Seth gives Leslie a smile and a knowing look as if he was sharing an inside joke with her.

Ben tries really hard not to show any signs of emotion. He's well aware that Chris knew him enough to notice if there was a change of mood in him. It was a struggle because he really wants to wipe the smug smile off of Seth's face. He didn't realize that he could feel this kind of jealousy until he started dating Leslie. He wonders if it was due to the fact that no one knew Leslie belonged to him.

"I'm so sorry to cut this conversation short, but I must head off to meet with Councilman Howser." He shakes Chris and Ben's hands and then turns to Leslie as he asks, "Leslie, if you are free tonight, would you like to grab some dinner before I head back to Muncie?"

Ben notices Leslie's mind scrambling to find an excuse not to. He knows she is about to say yes so, he quickly blurts out without thinking, "Actually, she's not free tonight." He might have said it a bit too forcefully as all of them suddenly turn to face him.

"Uh, we have a meeting tonight to go over the, uh, budget." Ben wants to kick himself for using the lamest explanation he could think of.

"Well, this must be very important to warrant a meeting after work hours."

"See, this is why I call Ben and Leslie my dynamic duo. They are two of the most hardworking people I know. Always wanting to get things done as soon as possible." Ben feels relieved that Chris is oblivious.

"Right. Well, ok then. I hope that I can visit again soon." He turns to Leslie and gives her a meaningful smile. "Leslie, thank you for the tour." He walks off to the direction of Councilman Howser's office.

"He looks like a fun-" Chris pauses for a few seconds leaving Ben and Leslie to stare at him with perplexed expressions. His face suddenly lights up as he exclaims, "Oh, I just thought of a GREAT idea! Pawnee should collaborate more with Muncie Parks Department! Leslie, Ben, why don't both of you head over there this weekend and stay the whole week. See what activities we can set up in partnership with them."

"That is a great idea, Chris." Leslie means what she said. This will give her and Ben an excuse to spend time on the weekend and in another place far from Pawnee where they can act like a real couple.

"Awesome. Now, excuse me as I go for my pre-lunch run."

Ben and Leslie watch Chris start jogging towards the exit, unbuttoning his shirt and removing it to reveal his jogging jersey underneath, he does it with such flair similar to how Superman does it in the early movies. They both try to squash the laughter bubbling up at this ridiculous sight.

Ben turns to Leslie and asks, "A whole week away from Pawnee, do you think you can handle that, Leslie?"

"A whole week with me, Wyatt. Do you think you can handle that?" Leslie gives Ben a sly look.

"Fuck me." He uncharacteristically curses as he suddenly realizes that they would have the whole week to themselves.

"Oh, you bet I will." Ben laughs at Leslie's loaded answer. He looks around him to make sure no one overheard their conversation.

-End Scene-