THIS IS IT THE LAST CHAPTER
Bad Cop woke up slowly. He hadn't had any nightmares, for the first time in the last couple of weeks. Groggily, he reached up to rub his eyes and realized that one of his arms was pinned under something. Something warm.
Suddenly he was wide awake, and he turned his head to look. Benny was sleeping peacefully next to him, the side of his face smushed into the pillow, a small puddle of drool forming at the corner of his half-open mouth. He'd tangled himself around Bad Cop's left arm and leg. Early morning sunlight filtered in through the blinds. Bad Cop smiled to himself, calm settling over him.
Then he realized he needed to pee.
He disentangled himself from Benny as carefully as he could, trying not to wake the spaceman up. His efforts were successful. Benny stayed fast asleep, and Bad Cop slid out of bed, grabbing his boxers where they'd been discarded on the floor on his way to the bathroom.
As he washed his hands, he looked at Good Cop's cracked glasses, where he'd left them on the counter beside the sink. He wondered what his better half would think. Good Cop would probably rib him into next week. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Bad Cop wondered if Good Cop would feel the same way about Benny. He probably would. Good Cop fell in love easily. Affection came to him as naturally as breathing. That had never been the case for Bad Cop. The very few relationships they'd had in their lifetime had all been instigated by Good Cop, with Bad Cop just along for the ride, but Bad had never really minded that. Now Bad Cop was the one who'd made a relationship, and he thought maybe Good Cop would be proud.
Without really thinking about it, he picked up the glasses and slid them on, contemplating his reflection. They didn't actually need glasses, but it made it easier to determine who was who. Bad Cop couldn't wear his sunglasses all the time.
He tried smiling, but he couldn't match Good Cop's sunny grin. With a sigh, he took off the glasses and rubbed his thumb around the rim. "I wish you could be here, buddy," he murmured.
And he felt a response. It was dim and faint and wordless and he almost missed it, but it was there, really there. His heart leapt into his throat.
"Hey, Bad?"
Bad Cop yelped and the glasses slipped from his fingers, clattering into the sink. He whipped around, leaning back against the counter, chest heaving.
Benny looked alarmed. "Whoa, sorry, man," he said. "Didn't mean to startle you there." Then he saw Bad Cop's expression. "Are you okay?"
"I felt him," Bad Cop replied breathlessly. "He's alive, Ben." His legs shook, and the only thing supporting him was the counter behind him. "He's alive."
Benny's face lit up, and he pulled Bad Cop into a tight hug. Bad Cop sagged against him, whispering it over and over again, and Benny guided him back to the bed and sat him down. He took Bad Cop's face between his hands and looked him in the eyes. "How you feeling, dude?"
Bad Cop was smiling uncontrollably now, and he took Benny's hands in his and kissed him soundly. Benny leaned into him. After a long moment, they separated and Benny said with a grin, "I'll take that as a 'pretty good'."
Bad Cop nodded happily, and Benny put his arms around Bad Cop's neck, sitting on his lap. "I'm happy for you, man," Benny said. "Things are looking up, yeah?"
"Yeah," Bad Cop replied, wrapping his arms around Benny's waist. He fell backwards, dragging Benny with him. Benny let out a half-shriek, half-laugh as they tangled together again.
Later that morning, the phone rang a few times, probably the precinct wondering where they were, but it went ignored.
There was always tomorrow.
update: the story isn't quite over yet! go to my profile - there is a sequel in progress called Fall Awake.