Title: Sometimes...
Fandom: Olympus Has Fallen
Pairings/Characters: Benjamin Asher, (pre-slash) Mike Banning/Benjamin Asher, (past) Maggie Asher/Benjamin Asher
Summary: Sometimes... sometimes... oftentimes, Ben dreamed of the life he might have had, had Maggie not died. He dreamed about finishing out his presidential term, of completely leaving the political office, of endless days spent with Maggie and Connor... and Mike.
Series: Hope, Family, Promise and Love - Part 2 in the Series
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Set post-Olympus Has Fallen.
Author's Note: I have had big plans in the works for a while for a long multi-chapter story that revolves around the evolution of Ben and Mike's relationship... it's equal parts romance, fluff, drama, intrigue and smuttiness, but I haven't quite got there yet. I know, I'm a tease... But I swear, it's going to happen. However, to get myself into the grove of writing in this new fandom, I wrote another short character study ficlet that centers around Benjamin Asher. I'm hoping that this is just the precursor to the longer, plotty story that this series centers around, but until the longer story "After the Fall" is written and posted, here is a short little interlude to wet your whistle.
Sometimes... sometimes... oftentimes, Ben dreamed of the life he might have had, had Maggie not died. He dreamed about finishing out his presidential term, of completely leaving the political office, of endless days spent with Maggie and Connor... and Mike. He dreams of the promise of what might have come had they been given the chance to let the love between them all unfold and become the family he knew they had been meant to be.
But that promise was ripped away, sheared off by an icy winter storm that not only ripped Maggie from their lives, but ripped away the possibility of finally letting his heart guide his actions in the love he felt for that man, for his best friend, confidant, protector, councilor, the other love of his life.
It was funny how how he could have two great loves of his life and lose them both on the very same night. One to death, and the other... to the pain, anger, frustration, despair and turmoil that came from Maggie's death.
After that night, Ben struggled to even get out of bed and meet his obligations as the leader of the free world. He struggled to not crumble in the face of his overwhelming grief because of the things he had lost that night. It was Connor who kept him going, even in the moments where losing Maggie felt like his heart had been ripped to shreds, was continuing to be ripped to shreds with each new day.
That grief and despair, that anger and frustration, Ben took it out on Mike because he was the only one left, because he didn't go for Maggie first... because Ben was so thankful that Mike wasn't dead as well.
It was that thought that really started it all; that moment shortly after the limo careened down into the icy river below with Maggie inside... for a moment Ben was grateful that at least Mike was standing beside him, holding Ben in his arms, while Maggie had no doubt been dying right that very second as his mind voiced that treacherous thought.
How do you live with that kind of guilt? That anger? Watching the woman that you loved died before your eyes and seeing the face of the man you loved standing beside you and being thankful for that. Ben couldn't look at Mike after that without feeling the grief, that anger and guilt, and not letting it overflow.
Mike was sent away, reassigned they said, and Ben was relieved.
For eighteen months Ben lived with that wealth of emotion caught in his throat, stuck in a cycle of relief, anger, grief, guilt and longing.
Then came the day that Mike came back into his life... the day that the White House was taken hostage and Mike did everything he could to get Ben and Connor out alive.
It was like all that anger, pain and guilt bled away and what was left, well, that was love.
Ben remembered why he loved that man, remembered why he could rely on him, why he could rest assured that there was no one else in this world who could protect their family like Mike Banning could.
... and that was what they were, family. One born of love, of a promise that even though it was tarnished and not quite what it once was, it was still there... still waiting for the two of them to realize it's potential. To accept that in this world where nothing was ever guaranteed that when you find love, you should always hold on to it as tightly as you can.