#coppernauts

“I should ask you the same thing,” Benny mumbled, untangling himself from his sheets. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

The corners of Bad Cop’s mouth quirked upward ever so slightly. “Something like that. Good Cop’s residual memories have been bleeding into my own for some time now, but now my imagination has decided to get involved as well. What about you?”

“Something along the same lines.” Benny sighed and sat up. “I’m mostly over it, but sometimes it still sneaks up on me…” He gave Bad Cop a pleading look. “Can we go sit on the deck? I just… I need to see the stars, and get out of this cabin. I feel a little claustrophobic.”

“Sure, Ben. I could do with some fresh air myself.” He stepped back to let the astronaut make his own shaky way down, and together they made their way up to the deck. Benny waved to Metalbeard as he went straight for his spaceship. Bad Cop only shook his head, somehow not surprised, as the astronaut climbed in. “What happened to feeling claustrophobic?”

“I’m not going anywhere, I’m in no condition to fly right now,” Benny chuckled mirthlessly. “Just more comfortable, is all.” He tilted his head toward the passenger seat. “Care to join me? I mean I know it’s not warm milk and a comfy sofa, but it’s the next best thing I can think of.” Bad Cop shrugged and hopped in next to him. The canopy remained open, letting the warm breeze pass through.

“So what’s your story?” he asked after several minutes of silence.

Benny swallowed hard. “I had an accident in space,” he answered. “It was… a long time ago, really, you were maybe just a kid when it happened. Feels like it was only five years ago to me, though.”

Bad Cop remembered what Benny had said, about being in stasis for around twenty years, and nodded. Out of curiosity, he did the math, and his eyes went wide. “I actually remember hearing about that, everyone at school was talking about it. That was your ship?”

“Yup.” Benny’s gaze was trained resolutely on the sky. “My pod floated around the ocean for a while then washed up on the shore of some uncharted island, just a little place that would have been hardly more than a speck on a map anyway. Metalbeard found me and revived me, and they took me to Cape Space, figured their hospitals would be the best for me. They declared me mentally unfit to return to space, when I recovered,” Benny finished with a shrug. “But by then it didn’t matter anyway cause we’d discovered I was a Master Builder so I had to go underground, so to speak.”

“That first time I nearly caught you,” Bad Cop remembered. Benny nodded. “Do you remember what caused the accident?”

“No… And I’m not sure how much of it is repressed memory, and how much of it’s actually just gone. Cause sometimes, I think, in my dreams… I’m reliving what happened, but it’s always gone as soon as I wake up again.”

“Is that part of why you were declared mentally unfit?” Benny winced. “You can tell me to bugger off if my questions make you uncomfortable, Ben…”

“It’s just… still a touchy subject for me, ya know? I worked so hard to be able to go into space, and I wound up washed up at a mere twenty-six… I think that was only my second trip.” His gaze dropped, and he picked at the hem of his t-shirt. “You’ve noticed my helmet is cracked, right?”

“I have.”

“Oxygen deprivation.” Benny hugged himself. “Didn’t affect just my memory. I don’t always smile simply because I’m in a good mood, you know? It just… comes. So I hide it behind humor, so people don’t see how loopy I really am.”  He smiled sheepishly. “Kinda hard to hide the spaceship obsession, though.” His fingers twitched even as he said it, as though suddenly gaining an itch to build one.

Bad Cop stared him down. “Well you’re still one of the most capable people I’ve ever met,” he finally decided upon after a minute of thought. “Not many Master Builders can say they’ve escaped me three times, after all.” Benny started to perk up. “And they certainly didn’t stop you on Takos Tuesday, did they?”

“Well, no, they didn’t.” He smiled widely at Bad Cop. “It was fun, wasn’t it?”

Bad Cop simply raised an eyebrow and answered with, “you were driving like a maniac.” Benny cackled. Bad Cop settled contently back into his seat, glad he’d been able to lift Benny’s mood. It didn’t suit him, being so melancholy. After a moment, he had an idea. “You know,” he started, drawing Benny’s attention back to him, “I thought about studying astronomy for university, but I knew I would just be taking up space.”

Benny stared at him. “Did you just…”

“I’ve been reading a book about anti-gravity, it’s impossible to put down.” Benny worked his jaw, brain scrambling for a response, but nothing came out. Bad Cop slowly started to grin. “One morning I got up around five and wondered ‘where did the sun go?’ and then it dawned on me.” Benny squeaked. “An astronaut broke the law of gravity and got a suspended sentence.” He giggled. “An astronaut wrote about flying to the moon twice. It was double-spaced. Benny, a space cowboy- ‘what in starnation?’”

“Dude, stop, that’s awful!” Benny wheezed, swatting at him for the last one, and Bad Cop started laughing. Benny’s stomach did a weird little flip at the sound, and he realized this was the first time he’d ever heard his cop friend laugh- a real, proper laugh, not one of his snorts of amusement. It was also the first time he’d heard any of the puns Bad Cop was supposed to be notorious for. Before he could even begin to ponder what that meant, he realized Bad Cop had caught his wrist, and was now frowning slightly.

“Your pulse is still racing, Ben,” he murmured. “Just how bad was that nightmare?”

Benny blinked, then shuddered. “Man, did you have to remind me…” he complained. “I’d just forgotten about it completely.”

“Oh…” Bad Cop released him. “Sorry, that was stupid of me…”

Benny heaved a sigh. “No, it’s fine. I’m okay now, really. In fact, I think I’m ready to go back to bed.” He hauled himself over the side of the spaceship, floating back down onto the deck. A shuffling sound told him Bad Cop was climbing out as well. Trying not to think about his nightmare or anything that had transpired within the last few minutes, he headed below deck and raised a hand to knock on the girls’ door.

“What are you doing?” Bad Cop interrupted before he could make contact, and he jumped.

“Oh, uh… Unikitty usually lets me cuddle with her after one of my nightmares,” he explained, somewhat sheepishly. “It helps, having someone right there to keep me grounded. Otherwise they have a tendency to make a repeat performance.”

“Don’t wake the girls,” Bad Cop told him. “There’s enough room in all these bunks for two.”

“Um. Okay?”

“Just… consider it repayment for letting me fall asleep on you that one time.”

Benny gave a weak snicker. “Sure it’s not cause you need some reassurance-snuggles too?”

“Shut up, Ben.”

“Just sayin’. I mean I get it, you got a grumpy, tough guy reputation to uphold. I don’t have to worry about that, mine got shot to pieces ages ago.” He floated up, draping his arms over Bad Cop’s shoulders in a loose hug. “Thanks, though. I don’t care what the others say, you’re actually a really good friend.”

“…Thank you, Ben.”

“Even if you are a major dork. Officer pun-master.”

“…Thank you, Ben…” Benny grinned and released him, floating into the room as Bad Cop pushed the door open. He grabbed his pillow and dove into the bottom bunk, wriggling under the covers as Bad Cop closed the door once more.

“Sleepover, sleepover~” he sang, bouncing on the mattress. Bad Cop gave him a weary look.

“What are you, six?” Benny snickered. “Scoot over.” He did just that, and as soon as Bad Cop had stretched out on his back Benny was on him like a barnacle, curled up against his side with his head resting on his chest. “What are you doing?!”

“Shush, heartbeats are soothing…”

“It’s too warm for this, Ben…”

“Shhhh. Sleeping now.” Bad Cop gave up with a sigh, closing his eyes to try to get some sleep himself.

Oddly enough, President Business had let him have at the Micromanager scraps, and he’d been able to build himself another spaceship- this one quite a bit smaller than the battleship he’d built out of the studio. Almost the size of a fighter jet, really, but more space-worthy, and with room enough for a passenger (it had occurred to him to include it after Emmet pouted about missing out on riding the battleship, so he’d promised his new friend a ride once everything calmed down).

It took four days to get the city cleaned up, and another three for the multitude of Master Builders to repair the buildings that still stood, and replace the ones that didn’t. It probably would have taken even less time if they hadn’t kept trying to ignore the instructions and do their own thing, but Emmet did just as good a job of keeping them in line as he had his small band of saboteurs. President Business and Bad Cop were still trying to wrap their heads around the idea that this simple construction worker could be such a force of nature- and Business had even been on the receiving end of it. It was little wonder that Emmet had won the revolution.

Benny stayed in touch with Bad Cop’s parents right up until they left when reconstruction started, on account of “we would just be in the way, rather than a help, now”. Trying to be the Cops’ friend was a lot tougher than the astronaut had been expecting. He thought he’d made some headway on Wednesday, only for Bad Cop to be just as abrasive and snarly as he had been Tuesday night the very next day. On the rare occasion Good Cop was out, even he kept everyone at arm’s length. So he did the only thing he could think to do, and turned to their parents for some insight.

“For all that Alastar is the more sociable one, neither one of them were ever great at making friends,” Mrs. Callaghan (or as she insisted Benny call her, Ma) sighed. “Their condition isn’t exactly rare or unknown, but it’s uncommon enough that most still find it weird, and, well, Cary’s grumpiness is enough of a deterrent on its own. Trust has never come easily for either of them.”

“And I’m sure what President Business did to them didn’t make things any easier,” Benny huffed.

“Yes,” Ma agreed, her voice quiet. “They still haven’t really opened up to us about they did for him, but we’re slowly putting together bits and pieces based on what they don’t say.” She was silent for a moment. “You just keep being you, Benny. Show them you’re someone who is honest and can be trusted, and they’ll come around.” She offered him an encouraging smile, and he smiled back.

“Hey, I’ll get them talking to you soon enough, just you watch.” Benny grinned. “I can be pretty convincing.”

“Here.” Ma slipped a piece of paper into his hand. “If you have any more questions, that’s our home phone number. Please don’t hesitate to call us.”

“Of course, thank you.”

Benny had figured maybe they were just being shy or something, but as three more days passed with their interactions becoming increasingly rare, Benny grew more concerned. It felt like they all were being actively avoided- even Emmet’s attempts to get to know them better were constantly shot down, and Benny didn’t know how anyone could say no to those puppy eyes.

So on the final night of reconstruction Benny decided to stage an intervention all by his lonesome, a large pepperoni pie from the “best little pizza place in Bricksburg” tucked away in an insulated sleeve to keep it warm while he kept his eyes open for a familiar motorcycle to make its way toward the parking lot. It was getting to be ridiculously late, and proving most difficult to keep his eyes on the pavement rather than the skies, but eventually the rumble of the bike reached his ears and he glanced downward to see it pulling into Bad Cop’s usual spot. He pushed himself back to his feet and picked his way through the unkempt rooftop garden back to the stairwell.

Bad Cop released a long sigh as he closed his door behind him, leaning against it. He was working himself ragged, he knew, but it kept his mind off things, and if he was so exhausted when he finally got home that he passed out as soon as he laid down, well, that was all the better. He dragged himself to the bathroom, pulling off his aviators to rub at his tired eyes. Good Cop’s spectacles rested on the edge of the sink, and he stared down at them for longer than he cared to admit. So far he’d done a good job of keeping everyone in the dark, but that was mostly accomplished through avoiding those that knew him best, a feat he couldn’t keep up forever. Those Master Builders were remarkably persistent.

He grabbed the glasses and leaned back against the wall, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor as he rubbed a thumb over a cracked lens. Good Cop was gone. It had been more than a week, without even the faintest sense of his twin in the back of his mind, and it was time he accepted that Alastar was never coming back.

His vision blurred and he closed his eyes, ignoring the wet warmth tracing trails down his cheeks. Bricksburg was safe once more, cleaned up and rebuilt and the Master Builders and normal citizens seemed to be getting along fine. He wasn’t needed anymore, maybe he could just… be gone, too. Just quietly withdraw from the world, let it forget him. It would get on just fine without him. God, he was so tired…

A knock on his front door pulled him from his contemplations, and he scowled in its direction, really not in the mood for visitors. With an annoyed huff he pushed himself back to his feet and wiped his face before going to answer the door. Persistent Master Builders, indeed. A certain short ginger astronaut stood on the other side, with a pizza box and a hopeful smile. “Mind if I come in? I brought pepperoni.” He raised the box in his hands.

“Sure, why not,” Bad Cop grumbled, stepping away from the door to let Benny in. The pizza did smell good though, and his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything since the spaceman had shoved a bagel and a coffee into his hands that morning. He missed the concerned look that Benny sent his way.

Bad Cop looked even more worn down, Benny noted, now that he didn’t have to put on a face for the public. As Bad Cop slipped off his leather jacket, Benny noticed he was frighteningly thin as well. No wonder he seemed so worn out. He set the box on the table and slid out a chair for himself, only faintly surprised that there was even more than one there, and plopped himself down in it as Bad Cop eased down into the chair across from him. “Come on man, talk to me,” Benny implored, giving the tall cop his best ‘worried friend’ look. “What’s going on with you? I’m not dumb; you act like everything’s okay, but I know you haven’t been ‘fine’ for a while.”

Bad Cop sent him a baleful glower that, had he not been a man on a mission, would have sent Benny running for the hills. As it was, the astronaut steeled himself for what was likely to be a very difficult conversation. “I’m doing as well as can be expected, considering I’m missing half of myself.” He looked like he was only just barely managing to restrain himself from snapping, and Benny felt certain that, had he been anyone else, he’d be feeling the full brunt of that fury. He tried not to quail under it, just barely getting his shakes under control before they became visible.

His mind turned back to Takos Tuesday as it sank in just what Bad Cop had said. “But… The scribble face…?”

Bad Cop looked as though his strings had just been cut, the way he slumped in his chair. “Still me,” he admitted, the very image of despair. “I thought that… If I pretended, if I just kept pretending, he’d come back…” It was like a dam had burst, and he leaned forward to bury his face in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Benny was at his side in an instant, wrapping his arms around him and murmuring comforting nonsense even as he listened to the string of incoherent words that poured from Bad Cop’s mouth. He had brothers, of course, and they were close, but even that wasn’t nearly on the same level of Bad Cop’s experience. They’d shared everything, even their deepest secrets- occupying the same mindspace tended not to leave anyone with any privacy, but it had worked for the two brothers. They depended on each other in ways Benny would never understand. The best he could liken it to, was that despite being two separate people, they were still two halves of one whole.

Bad Cop slumped against him after a while, apparently having cried himself out, and Benny chewed on his lip. He hoped the taller man wasn’t about to fall asleep on him- he could use his anti-gravity powers to lift him easily, so weight wasn’t an issue, but his ridiculous six-foot-four frame was. “Come on dude, don’t fall asleep on me, I can’t wrangle you into bed…”

“Can’t sleep,” Bad Cop muttered. “Can’t keep fronting like this, but can’t switch out either… Alastar always talked a lot, lulled me to sleep…”

Benny quirked an eyebrow. “Well, I supposed I could do that much for you, if it’ll help, just don’t ask me to sing you a lullaby. You won’t like it.” Bad Cop snorted. The astronaut chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment. “Actually I have an idea. Something Mom used to make for me when I was a kid, on nights I couldn’t get to sleep.”

“You couldn’t get to sleep? I’m surprised.”

“That’s enough sarcasm out of you, sir.” Benny nudged Bad Cop until he sat up, then stood up himself. “Go get comfy while I make it.” Bad Cop frowned as Benny helped himself to the fridge and cupboards, then shrugged and trudged back to his bedroom to change into an old, soft tee shirt and a pair of pajama pants. When he came back, Benny had… something heating up on the stove top. “So I had a thought. When was the last time you took a vacation?”

Bad Cop froze, halfway wondering how Benny even knew he’d come back already, and gave him a confused stare. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Cause you seem like the type who never goes on vacation. Or at least never got the opportunity to once you started working for Lord Business, I’m sure he expected you to work twenty-four seven like his robots.” Benny rolled his eyes at the very idea of it. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that you should take a vacation. Get out of Bricksburg for a while. Go stay with your parents maybe, and for heaven’s sake, talk to them. It’s kinda sad you’re pouring your heart out to a guy you’ve only known a week before you tell them something this important. And if Business even thinks of telling you no, we’ll take care of him,” Benny finished with a smirk.

Bad Cop stared at him. “…Thank you,” he said after a moment, almost too quietly to hear. “For the pizza, and the advice, and for just… listening, and caring enough to do any of that at all, even if I don’t really understand why.”

“Cause you’re my friend, duh,” Benny reminded him, grinning. “And you’re welcome. Now come on, eat at least one slice before you turn in for the night, I could hear your stomach growling. Have you had anything since that bagel I shoved at you this morning?”

“No,” Bad Cop admitted with some embarrassment, and grabbed a slice from the box. Food did seem a little more appealing now, so he took a bite.

Emmet wasn’t kidding, it really was the best pizza in Bricksburg.

“Whoa, slow down!” Benny laughed as he practically inhaled the rest of it, and shooed him toward the couch. “You’re gonna make yourself sick!” He grabbed the remote and turned on the television, changing the channel to what Bad Cop strongly suspected was the Discovery Channel before turning the volume way down.

“Ben. What’s the point of turning on the TV if you’re just going to make it so I can’t hear it?”

“Just sit down and relax, geez!” Bad Cop raised an eyebrow at the clinking of ceramic, but did as he was told, easing himself onto the couch. He closed his eyes and let out a comfortable sigh as he sank into the cushions. When he opened his eyes again, it was to find Benny had set the pizza box and a pair of mugs on the coffee table. He reached for one of them.

“…Warm milk?”

“With a bit of honey and vanilla. It always put me right to sleep.” Bad Cop cautiously took a sip. It wasn’t as sweet as he’d been expecting, and honestly wasn’t half bad. As he continued to sip at his milk, Benny began to talk, about his life growing up in the Old West, the difficulty of wanting to be an astronaut in a realm full of cowboys and outlaws, which then turned to the topic of his college days in Cape Space, his excitement to study subjects he was passionate about, and the teasing he got for his accent that he’d wound up working so hard to train himself out of. Bad Cop found himself dozing off as Benny launched into the tale of his first mission into space. Benny trailed off as Bad Cop began to slump against him, his breathing deepening, and grinned triumphantly. “Works every time,” he muttered. “Alright, off to bed with you.”

“Whuh?” Bad Cop jolted upright again, blinking at him.

“As exhausted as you look, I’m not about to let you pass out on your couch. You’re getting a proper night’s rest in an actual bed, if I have anything to say about it.”

Bad Cop set his empty mug down and gave Benny a long look. “…I think I know why I feel so at ease around you now.”

Benny looked up from where he was closing the pizza box. “Yeah?”

“You’re a lot like him.”

The astronaut gave him a dazzling grin. “I hope that’s a good thing.”

Bad Cop found himself smiling back, if not quite as brightly. “It is. You two… you would have got on great, I think. He would have enjoyed snarking right back at you.”

“Goodness, no wonder you’re good at it, you’ve already had practice.” Bad Cop huffed at him, before turning a concerned look to the mess on his coffee table. “Go, I got this. I made the mess anyway. Do you need me to tuck you in?” Benny grinned at him, waggling his eyebrows.

“Knock that off, you lunatic.” Benny snickered and waved him away.

“Good night, Cary.”