Hey all!
I was listening to Ben Howards album Every Kingdom when I was writing this, and it really helped set the soft nostalgic mood that I wanted for this one-shot. I totally blame OneLastBird, and their bizarre pairing that just lept out of their story The Hero With the Cracked Helmet. The pairings just clicked, and they work really well! Hope you enjoy!
Thanks LostLyra.
The night was young, but old enough for stars to blink in the sky, hanging like diamonds upon a dark navy tapestry. A light breeze ran through the grass and ruffled the trees leaves playfully, sending them into an annoyed frenzy. All of this went unnoticed by a man, who sat with knees brought to his chin, staring out into the distance. Soft music was playing, it's lilting harmonies relaxing his troubled thoughts. The song was one of his favourites, and ever since Lord Business's takeover he'd not been able to listen to it, as any music that wasn't Everything is Awesome! Had been horribly disposed of, in a pit of burning flame, and a destructive EMP bomb. Shrugging off the thoughts the man moved so he was resting his chin on his forearms, rocking slightly to the song.
And wondered did she remember?
Did she remember the flirtatious looks, the daring kissings in secluding corridors of the winding council rooms? Did she remember chasing dragons through Middle Zealand? Did she remember the lazy nights they'd spent lying contentedly on the sprawling plains of the Old West?
He grunted to himself, there was every possibility that she didn't, it was every possibility – the dreaded possibility – that she had completely forgotten their short, fiery scattered romance, and had flown off with that self-absorbed, red caped super-hero.
Yeah that was probably it, that's what she'd probably done, that's what everybody expected. What the movies, comics and tales dictated, what public opinion dictated.
He let out a melancholy sigh, and flopped back unhappily onto the grass, grabbing some nearby bricks and making a small hand-holdable spaceship.
"Hmmm," he narrated, wiggling the ship around above his head, imagining it flying through the blackness of space as the twinkling sky above gave him a backdrop. "Benny we need your help! The evil Lord of Terror has taken over our city!" he mimicked people crying out for help. "Don't worry I'm coming!" he lilted quietly. "Hero Master Builder Benny to the rescue!" he zoomed the ship around above his head, making little chink, ping, noises imitating the lasers firing from his ship. "I shall use the Lasso of Truth!" he exclaimed. "To make you talk and understand why you are causing this chaos!" picking up another brick he pretended it was the self-acclaimed Lord of Terror. "Okay I was only trying to assert my dominance because I'm lonely! I just want friends! I'm lonely!" he sighed, at his antagonist's statement, and his own. "You and me both bud," he glanced at the little brick he held in his hand. "You and me both."
He placed the toys next to him and raised his arms above his head, imagining that he could reach out and grab one of the stars hanging above him. It wasn't normal for him to allow this quiet moments of moping solitude, but he required them to function sometimes, and he hated that these dark emotions settled upon him every now and then.
"We get it on most every night, when that moon is big and bright!" the verse of his beloved song came on once again, and he wondered if he had the record stuck on repeat.
"It's a supernatural delight everybody's dancing in the moonlight!" he sang along softly, scrubbing the sudden tears from his eyes. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned on his side, resting his elbow on the grass.
"Hello?" a soft feminine voice was swept towards by the breeze. "I heard music is anybody-" she stopped, and he saw her.
For the first time in years.
He properly saw her.
Not just fleeting glances in the council room of the Dog, but now a properly silhouetted figure, standing before him. Her hair as glossy and silky-looking as he remembered, and her figure, man her figure could do things to him that he'd not felt in such a long time.
"Oh," she stepped backwards, surprise hitching in her voice. "Oh hey Benny, long time no see,"
"Yeah," he scrambled to get himself up from the ground, but was stopped by an outstretched hand.
"Don't bother, I was only just taking a walk," she glanced at the record player sitting innocently to the side, and still playing that one song. "And I heard music, particular music, so I thought I'd come and check it out," there was an awkward pause. "Don't trouble yourself, I'll go,"
"Wonder Woman wait!" he gasped, heaving himself from the ground, he reached out and grabbed her arm, preventing her from flying away, something that he knew she would do.
"Benny," she tugged on his light grip. "Don't do this, I'll fly away,"
"I can catch up to you!" the spaceman counter, "I might be older now, but I have been getting faster over the years," the statement seemed to make her change her mind, and she relented, relaxing her arm causing him to let go.
"Why are you still listening to that damn song?" she asked lightly, but he heard her voice become blocked with sudden sadness.
"Because I love it, it's one of my favourites, and ever since Business was in power I couldn't listen to any of my old music, or watch my old films,"
"Yeah I get it," she was still turned away from him, and for some stupid reason it hurt. "Congratulations on saving the universe and uniting the people and all that," she complimented.
"Er, thanks but it wasn't just me, I went along for the ride, I figured, that the guys could use a spaceship at some point, and I liked Emmet,"
That caused her to turn, "The guys?"
"Yeah, they're my friends, my buddies, I knew that Emmet would need all the help that he could get , after the reception he got at the Dog, Old Vit would have never picked him if he didn't know that he was at least special,"
"I'm proud of you," her voice was soft and genuine.
He smiled bashfully at her. "I didn't do it for the fame," he explained truthfully, rubbing his arm self-consciously.
"I know that," Wonder Woman pressed, timidly putting a hand on his shoulder.
Everything inside Benny spiked, his body going into over-drive and his pulse quickening. Why was he still so stupidly in love with her?
"Yeah well..." he bit his lip, and glanced to the record player, trying to gather the courage.
Screw it, a voice in his mind decided. Just ask her.
"You wanna dance?" he questioned. "Just for old times sake?"
It was the smile he received that surprised him. "I'd love that,"
"I would too Diana," he took her hand from his shoulder, and placed his other hand gently on her waist, and they started their slow swinging half-embrace.
"No-one's called Diana for such a long time," she murmured above the music as they swayed together.
"Not even the other Master Builders?" he asked quietly, his eyes softening with his voice.
"No the other supers and Master Builders only really knew me as Wonder Woman, I've never let anybody get as close as you Benny,"
"I was 1980's Something Spaceman for a while too," they both laughed. "Well after I got stranded on the Cloud I just kinda blended into the madness,"
"I'm sorry," the apology was surprising for both of them, and he met her eyes.
"Why?"
"Ever since Lord Business took over, I was so self-absorbed about doing the right thing, becoming the hero that I thought I had to be, Superman and Batman weren't any help about it either. It was almost as if I had got sucked into a monotonous job as those back in Bricksburg. I," she swallowed, and looked passed him, avoiding his eyes. "I completely forgot about us, completely forgot about everythingbefore the takeover, I only remembered my true purpose when we were captured that time in the Dog,"
"It's not your fault," Benny consoled gently.
"You don't understand," she pulled away from their embrace and Benny immediately missed the warmth. "I fell, in my own way, under Lord Business's spell! We all did," she took a shaky breath and pulled fully away from Benny, ignoring the way the other Builder's face dropped. "We can't do this Benny, we grew dumb to what was happening-"
"You are not blaming the rise of Business on our relationship Diana!" Benny burst out, surprising them both. "I was playing our song tonight cause I was wondering if you still remembered, remember what fun we had when we were together, those nights. Were some of the best nights of my life, you can't deny that they were pretty damn great ones of yours as well," he paused to take a breath and watch her face fall and twist into an upset frown. He could see the battle that was going on inside her head. "I miss chasing the dragons Di, I miss hanging with you out in the desert. I miss you," he grabbed her hands as he saw her fight or flight instinct kick in, and he knew that she wanted to run away from the truth, that they both still had feelings that ran deeply within them. Giving her hands a quick squeeze he continued. "I'm sorry as well, we – all of the Master Builders – shouldn't have let Business quest for controlling chaos run out of our control, but we did. I also regret telling you what I should have told you all along," he swallowed, building his courage. "That I regret telling the most beautiful woman I ever laid eyes on that I loved her," his confession came out quietly, blushing all the while and now trying not to meet eyes with the Amazonian.
"Benny?" she prompted, her voice equally low, and shocked at his revaluation. "Ben why didn't you ever tell me this before?"
"Cause I didn't," he bit his lip, and trailed off, wanting to let go of her hands but finding her squeezing back ever so slightly. "There were so many better Builders out there that could have done fathoms more better than I would have. Think about it I mean Super-"
"Don't you dare say that Ben," she snapped. "Don't you dare, and don't get me started about bricking-damn Superman either, he's been trying to get with me the last eight years," she paused. "We did date once after us," and she watched in horror as Benny's face fell into a despondent frown. "But he was so self-absorbed, so about me being with him, like he made me come with him because of his amazing good looks, as he called them," she kept a firm grip on his hands. "Damn it Benny I wish we had never split, and of course I missed chasing dragons, I miss everything, but I don't think that I could go through the heartbreak of losing somebody I love again," she looked at him, and he knew that in her own way she was telling him that she loved him as well.
His heart soured, all along he'd hoped that their feelings were mutual, and now he knew that they were more than that.
A heck of a lot more than that.
There was a pause in their confessions, only broken by the rustling of the leaves in the trees as they were caressed by the light night-time breeze. The breeze itself whipped up a light chill, causing an untameable shiver to seep through Wonder Woman. Asking her permission with his eyes Benny stepped forwards and pulled the heroin into his warm embrace. Secretly delighted when she pressed her face into his neck and sighed, wrapping her arms around his middle and holding him.
"I missed this," she whispered, against the breeze, her breath leaving a warm trail on his neck.
"I did too," Benny replied, resting his hands lightly across her back, and squeezing her into the hug gently. They stayed in their hug for several minutes, just drinking in the heat from each others bodies, and the touch that they had missed and craved for so long. "You don't think I'm crazy?" the odd question hung in the air and Wonder Woman pulled back, a surprised look passing across her face.
"No why?" her eyes locked with his, and at that present moment they felt like they were the only two characters in the world. "And don't ask me again cause I've got my Lasso on me,"
Benny chuckled, and brushed a strand of her dark ebony hair tenderly from her face. Deep inside he knew that his calm, stoic demeanour would shock his friends back in the city, so used to him being so full of life and so insane.
"I just wondered, 'cause people talk-"
"Well tell me who they are and I'll beat them up!" Wonder Woman challenged, causing him to laugh again at her determination. "You're not crazy Benny, you're just you, it's part of who you are," she paused, brushing his cheek through his empty visor-less helmet. "When was the last time you took this damn thing off?" she asked, rubbing the worn plastic affectionately.
The spaceman shrugged. "I can't remember really, not after it was cracked anyway, I really didn't want to ruin it, it's my last one,"
"Can I?" she asked. "I miss seeing your whole face,"
Touched and blushing at the same time Benny nodded. Tenderly and carefully Wonder Woman lifted the helmet off his face, smiling as the rest of his features became visible. Reaching up she ran an experimental hand through his dark, closed-cropped hair causing him to smile. "There's my Benny," she stated happily, running her hand down to rest on his shoulder, letting the helmet hang down his back, holding onto to the precious object gently.
There was a pause and Benny found that he was having to, once again, work up more courage to ask her the simplest of questions.
"Di, Princess Diana of Themyscira, I would really like to kiss you. I suppose I have to ask as we've been separated for such a-"
"Don't Benny," she let out a pretty tinkering laugh. "You don't have to ask me permission, and never use my full name again,"
Grinning at her teasing he lent forwards, and they met, their bodies finally molding into one after eight long, lonely and tiring years.
And it was perfect.
Was it eight or six years? When the film was set after the Piece of Resistance was stolen, I really can't for the life of me remember, but it's quarter-to-one and I'm going to bed, so somebody please remind me!
I was going to add a bit on with Emmet, where he finds out that they are together, but I thought that this was the perfect way to end it.
Hope you weren't too weirded out by the pairing, I find it quite sweet.
I'm thinking of more little one-shots along those lines, but tell me what you think of this one first!
Hope you enjoyed it!
Night night I'm off now,
Ciao,
LostLyra.