It took twenty minutes for the initial shock to die off; forty five minutes for it to sink in; fifty eight minutes for it to really hit them. They had shifted over enough to be leaning against the breakfast bar and her head was on his chest, listening to his heartbeat while her thumb toyed with the ring on her finger. He spun a lock of her hair around his index finger and watched it fall back into place before kissing her temple and closing his eyes.

"You know I was terrified for the entire car ride over here," Ben mumbled into her hair. She hummed out a laugh, shifting a little closer as he tightened his grip around her waist. "I think I ran four red lights. And that's like, all the red lights in the entire city,"

She scoffed and elbowed him lightly in the side and felt him grin against her. "I had to call Ann for your ring size," he admitted, almost sounding embarrassed, like it was something he should have just known. Leslie lifted her head from his chest and shifted so she was looking at him. For whatever reason, that did it. That made it real, that made tears well up in her eyes again.

She had forgotten how to breathe for the second time that afternoon.

"I love you so much," she said awkwardly, like it was misplaced and didn't fit. He sat up straighter, taking her biceps in his hands and just stared at her for a second. Ben pulled her closer to her so her knees were resting against his thigh where they were bent. He kissed her forehead and down her temple and over her cheeks and her lips and anything he could reach and just basked. He was in such awe of her, always had been, and most certainly always will be.

Sometimes he could barely wrap his mind around the fact that she was even real.

"You're the best person in the universe," she said softly, dropping her head to his shoulder and let her fingers toy with the buttons on his dress shirt. She felt him reposition the clasp on her necklace and kiss her hair again.

"That feeling is definitely mutual," And for five more minutes they just stayed there on the floor of their new home and soaked everything in. That was, until, Leslie realised something.

She gasped a little and lifted her head from his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Ben hummed, stopping his fingers from going back to her collarbone.

"There's champagne in the fridge," she said, standing up. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

"How? We've owned this place for like, nine seconds,"

"Housewarming gift from Ann," Leslie explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and wiping her cheeks where they were still slightly damp. She placed the bottle on the counter behind her and made to grab glasses out of the cupboard before realising that, yeah, they'd lived here for (for all intents and purposes) nine seconds.

"We have no cups." She said bluntly. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and his chin hook over her shoulder before she even knew he had gotten up.

"I'm not afraid of your germs," he said gently, kissing the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder and making her shudder and breathe in sharply. He felt chills run under skin and couldn't help but smirk just a little. "I've had your tongue in my mouth on multiple occasions," She grinned bashfully and turned her head to place an off-centered kiss on his cheek.

"I love you," she said again. He spun her around by her hips and rested her forehead against his own. He leaned down slowly, kissing her lips gently and deeply. He skimmed his tongue against her lower lip and nipped at it gently before pulling back just in time to see her cheeks flush with colour.

"See?" He said, brushing his thumb against her warmed cheek. "Told you I wasn't afraid of your germs,"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes a little before snatching the bottle of champagne by its neck and making her way back to their previous spot. Her shoes were discarded somewhere between making out on the floor and when the top few button's of Ben's shirt came undone. His suit jacket was folded neatly next to her and when he slid down to sit beside her, Ben draped the jacket around her shoulders.

"What are you, the quarterback now?" She teased, untwisting the wire cage surrounding the cork of the bottle. He scoffed a little and watched her toss the cage away. She twisted the cork just enough to pop it, but stopped.

"Wanna do it with me?" She asked, almost sounding shy and suddenly he hoped that will never go away. He hoped that ten years from now, they can still make each other feel like high schoolers on a first date, like they're sixteen and haven't grown out of being self-conscious. Her hair came untucked from behind her ears, making a curtain between them. He reached out and tucked it back into place and kissed her cheek. It was so light she almost missed it but then his hands were covering hers over the bottle and they were pushing with their thumbs, a happy pop! echoing against the bare walls.

Suddenly she saw them doing the same two months from now at Christmas, once they were settled and moved in and together.

"I would like to propose a toast," Leslie announced, taking the bottle away from him. Ben shifted so he was sitting up a little straighter and linked his fingers through hers. His thumb stroked against her index finger slowly and she smiled.

"To finally having the chance to really be together. No sneaking around, no campaign managing, no long distance; just us. Finally." She said again. It seemed as good a word as any to describe their relationship. Finally.

For a split second, and not a moment longer, she had a horrible thought that maybe because they've never really been together, that they would somehow realise they weren't meant to be together or didn't know each other well enough or didn't get along or that maybe she had blown in out of proportion. But then she looked up and saw the way he looked at her, and realised that maybe he had always looked at her like that. The sunlight came shining through the window and caught the diamond on her finger and just like that, there wasn't a doubt in her mind.

She loved him more than anything in her wildest dreams and she would never question that he felt the same.

"Cheers," Ben said lowly, taking a small sip from the bottle and then passed it to her. She took a drink before setting it back down between them and closed her eyes. His hand cupped her cheek and kissed her lips slowly and lovingly, like they were made of honey and he couldn't get enough. She covered his hand with her own, the cool metal band pressing against the knuckle of his middle finger and she could feel him smile against her lips.

Ben whispered "I love you"'s against her lips between kisses and her heart sped up just a little inside her chest, wondered if he could feel it.

Yeah, she thought, as he left a trail of kisses over her jaw and down her neck. This will work out just fine.