This is just a little something I wrote up because class today was really awful and this helped make me feel better.
They didn't announce it right away – Bad Cop disliked talking about his personal life, and it never really occurred to Benny to tell people "oh yeah by the way I'm dating Bad Cop now." But they didn't exactly attempt to keep it secret, either. One day, they weren't dating, and the next, they were. No fuss, no muss. They slid into the new pattern of life with ease.
Bad Cop had given Benny a stern lecture about being professional in the workplace. Benny had listened very carefully, and promptly forgot everything but the "no kissing on the job" rule. He took to draping himself over Bad Cop at every opportunity. It took a little getting used to for Bad Cop. Benny was very tactile, and Bad Cop was unaccustomed to regular physical contact, especially the friendly kind.
A few weeks passed. Good Cop was returning, but the progress was painfully slow. He wasn't nearly strong enough to take any form of control, and often days would go by without Bad Cop hearing from him. And so that was another thing between just Bad Cop and Benny – Good Cop wanted to be able to tell people himself that he was back.
It was the afternoon, and one of Good Cop's better days. Bad Cop was sitting at his desk, slogging through the fresh paperwork that was beginning to pile up again, feeling a bit envious of Benny, who was out on patrol. He could hear Good Cop humming faintly in the back of his head. The humming suddenly stopped, and Good Cop said, I've been thinking. His voice was still weak and whispery.
"Uh oh," Bad Cop said dryly.
He felt Good Cop smile. You should tell people, he said.
"Hm?" Bad Cop said, half-distracted by the report he was reading. "Tell who what?"
Your friends, Good Cop replied. About you and Benny.
Now Bad Cop was listening. "I don't see why," he muttered.
You're not afraid of their reactions, are you?
Bad Cop thought of Emmet, who was the least judgmental person ever, and Wyldstyle, who he was 99.9% sure wasn't completely straight, and Unikitty, who didn't even have a gender. "Of course not," he said. "I just don't like talking about myself."
I know, buddy, Good Cop sighed. But I think you should try. When Bad Cop failed to respond, Good Cop added, It would probably make Benny really happy.
"Oh, you're pulling that card, are you?" Bad Cop growled.
Bad Cop could tell Good Cop was running out of energy, because he didn't respond with words, just a feeling of general smugness.
"Fine," Bad Cop grumbled. "Have it your way." He pulled out his cell phone, selected a number, called it. After a couple of rings, Emmet answered cheerfully, "Hey, Bad Cop! What's up?"
"Ben and I are dating," Bad Cop snapped, and hung up.
That's… not exactly what I meant, Good Cop said faintly.
"Well, it's what you're getting," Bad Cop retorted as he stood and crossed to the door. Yanking it open, he stuck his head out and barked, "Jenkins!"
The young cop appeared within seconds. "Sir?" she asked, slightly out of breath from sprinting across the room.
"Step into my office for a moment," he said, moving aside to let her in and closing the door behind her. He sat down again, and she stood across from him, the look on her face telling him she was mentally running through all the things she might have done wrong.
"You're not in trouble, lass," he said.
She relaxed a little.
"I've recently been encouraged to be more open with people," he said, folding his hands together. "Since I don't feel like shouting the news at the entire station, I'm going to tell it to you, and you can pass it on to whomever you see fit.
Jenkins was looking worried again, but for a new reason.
Bad Cop gritted his teeth. "Ben and I are dating," he said for the second time in as many minutes.
Her face split into a huge grin, then bit it back as hurriedly as she could. "Understood, sir," she said, struggling to keep the smile from creeping back.
Bad Cop was immediately suspicious. Narrowing his eyes at her, he said, "Dismissed."
"Yessir," she said and all but scrambled for the door.
Once she was gone, he watched the door, tapping his pen on the desk. There were a few moments, then muffled shouting broke out, quickly followed by hissing to be quiet. He shoved away from the desk and stormed to the door, wrenching it open.
Everyone in the station froze. Jenkins was holding an envelope and in the middle of collecting currency from the others. She looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"What the brick is going on here?" Bad Cop hollered.
Every cop looked like they wanted to sink into the floor.
"Have you lot been betting on when Ben and I would get together?" he bellowed.
All faces turned to look at Jenkins. She cleared her throat nervously. "N-no, sir," she said. "We were betting on, uh…" Her eyes flicked around the room, seeking some kind of support from her fellows. None was forthcoming. "On when you would admit it," she finished.
Bad Cop went crimson, and if looks could kill, everyone there would have been reduced to nothing but piles of ash. His mouth opened and shut wordlessly, and finally he shouted, "You're all fired!" and stomped back into his office, slamming the door shut behind him.
There was a brief moment of silence, then Jenkins said, "Okay, who put their money on two weeks?"