Fake It 'Til You Make It

Chapter 3

They'd hashed out their bargain more thoroughly over the course of their dinner that night, and met up a few more times over the following two weeks to make sure they really could tolerate each other for long enough to pull their plan off. Benny was honestly somewhat shocked that Bad Cop didn't seem to mind his rambling. Benny wasn't certain Bad Cop was even listening when he decided to wax poetic about his interests, but at least he wasn't annoyed. "We don't understand a word you're saying," Bad Cop admitted after Benny's third monologue about spaceships, "but believe me, you are far more tolerable to listen to than Business carrying on about his schemes." Benny decided he'd take that.

He was somewhat surprised when Bad Cop eventually invited him over to his apartment. "We need to make this look like it's real, don't we?" Bad Cop asked with some amusement. Benny grinned. "We should probably work on getting to know each other a little better, too. There'll probably be questions if we don't make it look like we're 'making progress'."

"You've got a point," Benny admitted. "What do you want to know?"

"What was your childhood like? Was there ever a time where you wanted to be something other than an astronaut?"

"Nah, not really," Benny answered. "The very first book I was ever able to pick up and look through by myself was a book about space. I guess I knew right from the start it's what I was destined to be. Probably comes as no surprise that I got bullied a lot when I was little for being 'that weird space kid'. I had a hard time making friends, everyone just wanted me to shut up and go away."

Bad Cop frowned. "That's cruel... Not that we faced anything better."

"Were you always a 'we'?"

Bad Cop nodded. "We got our fair share of bullying too. I got into fights like clockwork; the other kids picked on Good even worse than they did me. They figured out pretty quick I'd start throwing punches without a moment's hesitation and thought he'd make an easier target."

"Only you'd take over to defend him." Bad Cop nodded. Benny managed a smile. "That's actually kinda sweet."

"Not that I didn't eventually learn to fend for myself," Good Cop said as he switched out. "I managed fairly well, until Business..."

Benny was silent for a while. "Is he what happened to you?" he asked quietly.

"Business was furious with us, after Wyldstyle broke Emmet out of the Melting Chamber. He told us to Kragle our parents as punishment for the Special escaping. I said no." Benny flinched.

"So he tried to get rid of you..."

"'Tried' being the operative word there," Good Cop said with a weak smile, trying to lighten the mood. "I was down for the count for a while, but not gone. I didn't actually wake up until after the Kragle exploded."

Benny's eyes widened. "So that whole time in the studio- it was Bad Cop helping us?" Good Cop nodded. "Why was he pretending to be you?"

Good Cop managed a wry grin. "He's terrible at apologizing. Plus, I think he figured you all wouldn't be too keen on accepting help from him."

"Maybe the others wouldn't have," Benny agreed. "But hey, anybody that tells me I can build a spaceship is okay in my book." Good Cop laughed.

Bad Cop's parents were thrilled, of course, to hear that not only was their first 'date' successful, but they'd been on more. Jenny and Denny were far less so once Benny finally decided the plan was actually working out and told them. Denny was apoplectic.

"Benny, what the absolute fuck?!" his eldest sibling blurted after a long, stunned silence. "Bad Cop?! After everything he did to us, you're dating BAD COP?!?"

It took every ounce of self-control that Benny possessed not to burst out laughing, or even grin. "He's not so bad," he said with a nonchalant shrug. Jenny was still gaping like a fish. "And I gotta admit, he's kinda hot." That, at least, was the truth- now that Benny'd had the chance to get a look at the man without his literal and metaphorical armor, he had to admit, Bad Cop actually was attractive. He had to catch himself and remind himself it was all only a plot to infuriate his siblings, every time he started to get lost in those shockingly blue eyes. And just because they were getting along so far, that didn't mean the plan would change. They were still calling it off in a few months' time.

Benny would never develop feelings for his hunter. They barely even qualified as friends.

"He's-" Denny let out a long, aggravated sigh. "What the fuck is wrong with you."

"Really? You're gonna get pissed that I finally found someone that things are actually working out with? After aaalllll those failed dates you two set me up on, you're pissed cause I found someone on my own?"

"We're pissed cause of all the people in the world you could have possibly chosen, you picked the worst monster of them all!" Benny fought not to flinch- or start snarling. Granted, they'd only really started to get to know each other for going on three weeks now, but now that Benny knew a little of what it was like to work for Business, he found it harder now to truly think of Bad Cop as a monster. Really, forcing him to Kragle his own parents? Now that was monstrous.

"Nah, that'd be Business." He was quite proud of how calmly that came out.

"Second worst then," Denny growled. Jenny finally found her voice again.

"Benny, you know you're only setting yourself up for heartache, shacking up with Bad Cop, right?"

"At least he hasn't told me to shut up yet," Benny muttered mutinously. That silenced his siblings for a while. That seemed to be the most common point of contention for all of Benny's failed dates, was their inability to tolerate his inability to not constantly talk about spaceships and space and how much he loved both.

"...He actually listens?"

"Ah, well, sort of," Benny laughed. "I think most of my rambling goes right over his head. But he really doesn't mind it at all."

"I still think you should be careful," Jenny cautioned. "He was Business' right-hand man for a reason."

Benny heaved out a sigh. "I'll be fine, quit fussing."