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"You sure you want me to do this, dude?" Benny asked as he removed his helmet to set it on the table. He began to slip out of his suit and sighed. "I mean, I heard about your track record before, so…"
Good Cop watched Benny closely, smiling as ever, and nodded. "We can try at the very least. And if not, you could always just take over."
"It might get a little heated once we get things going," Benny added, removing his suit to reveal long sleeved, casual clothing. "You'll have to listen to me. I don't want you hurt the first time."
"We're just making cookies!" Bad Cop argued, his face turning red. He ignored the inappropriate comments Good Cop whispered between laughs in the back of his head and groaned. "So, do you only put on that weird garment thing when you know you're going to space? You're wearing regular clothes right now."
"Oh, yeah, of course," Benny nodded. "It's kind of a pain otherwise." He rolled up his sleeves and grinned. "Alright, ready to get started? Your mom told me you're crud at cooking when she visited last week, so let's see if I can do any better teaching you."
"I don't know," Good Cop frowned. "I did manage to burn the salad once."
"Salad?" Benny asked. "How did…? Salad?"
"I, uh…" Bad Cop cleared his throat. "Accidentally dropped it on the stove."
"Dude, what."
"I'm not good at creating things, okay?" Bad Cop argued. "Same with building. I don't get how you Master Builders do it."
Benny sighed and shook his head. "Well, to be fair, not all Master Builders can cook."
"Then why can you?"
"Dude's gotta eat," he grinned. "It's not exactly one of the things I forgot after the accident. I may eat space food a lot now, but I used to cook up a storm back in the day. I- I think… I, uh… probably did. Gosh, I'll have to ask Jenny…"
Bad Cop stared at him for a long moment. "Maybe you should just make the cookies instead of me."
"Ugh, fiiiiine," Benny sighed. "At least stay in the kitchen and hand me the things I need. You got everything I asked you to?"
Good Cop nodded and began to get out the things as Benny asked for them as Benny washed his hands.
"Measuring cups?" Benny asked after the long list.
"Uh…" Good Cop hesitated and looked around.
"Dude, you got to have measuring cups," Benny pressed on. "Making soup is one thing. You can estimate with that. But we're baking. You can't estimate that or you'll end up with gross cookies."
"No, no, I have them," Bad Cop assured him. "I just need to figure out where."
Benny nodded and watched him search around the kitchen. "You have measuring spoons too, don't you?"
"Darnit, I don't cook often, Benny," Bad Cop growled.
"You better have cookie sheets. We can get away without having wire racks, but if you don't have cookie sheets..."
He rolled his eyes and bent down beside a cabinet. He opened it and dug around inside, first pulling out cookie sheets, which Benny gladly took, and then a small plastic box and a wire rack.
"Oh, neat!" Benny grinned and took the rack and set it aside. "What, is that the cabinet you just throw all the things you never use into?"
Good Cop chuckled nervously and shoved the box into Benny's hand. "Maybe…"
Rolling his eyes, Benny smiled and opened the box. As he looked inside, his eyes widened and he pulled Bad Cop into a hug. "Dude! You have cookie cutters! Space themed cookie cutters!"
"I do?" Good Cop asked, tugging the box closer. Along with the measuring cups and spoons, there were a moon and star cutters along with… "Is that a spaceship?"
"It's a spaceship!" Benny cheered. "Forget the chocolate chip cookies. We'll make those some other time. We're making SPACESHIP COOKIES."
Bad Cop groaned and gently shoved Benny off of him. "Don't yell. And don't get too excited. I'm sure you don't want to ruin the cookies."
Benny took a deep breath and nodded. He began to explain the process to Good Cop, and Good Cop smiled and nodded, making sure to get Benny the things he asked for.
"Okay, where did those cookie cutters come from?" Bad Cop asked while Benny was busy talking about the ingredients they would use. "I know we didn't get them."
"Mummy did stop by the other day," Good Cop mused. "After we called her and said we went into space with Benny."
"We did mention that Benny decided after we landed that he wanted to teach us to make cookies…" Bad Cop added. "She had to have brought them over, especially if she already told Benny how bad we are at cooking. What exactly is she planning with that?"
Good Cop rolled his eyes. "You're always so suspicious, even of our own mother. How do you live with yourself?"
"I don't. I live with you."
"And you're better for it. Everyone would be terrified of you if you were left on your own."
"Oh yeah? Well, if you-."
"Dude, stop fighting with yourself and listen," Benny interrupted.
Good Cop smiled. "What makes you think I was fighting with Bad Cop?"
"You looked annoyed," Benny shrugged. "And with how much you like cookies, it can't be anything I did. Are you going to listen now?"
"Yes, of course." Good Cop leaned close and listened as Benny continued to show him what to do, flinching when Benny asked him if he understood. "Well, yes, but…"
Benny grinned and stepped away from the mixing bowl. "Great! Then do what I told you."
"Benny, this is a bad idea," Bad Cop insisted, his eyes darting to the daunting task of mixing everything together properly.
"It'll be fine, don't worry," Benny laughed. "I'll be here to take over if you mess up too badly."
Bad Cop scowled and Good Cop sighed. "Okay…" he answered, hesitating over what to do first. Finally, he began, glancing up at Benny constantly for reassurance as he went.
"Wait, let me do the eggs," Benny interrupted, reaching for them. "You're doing alright so far, but if you're not used to cracking eggs, then I rather not get eggshells in the cookies."
"By all means," Good Cop smiled, stepping aside. Once Benny took care of the eggs, he stood to the side again, leaving Good Cop to let out his breath and continue.
Benny nodded periodically, and then bounced on his heels. "You're doing great so far! Here, let me help with the mixer." He reach for Good Cop's hand to guide it, but Bad Cop jerked his hand away.
"I can do it on my own," Bad Cop mumbled.
"Great!" Benny giggled. "Then do it!"
Bad Cop stared at him for a few seconds before groaning and getting to work on mixing the dough.
"Alright, that's enough," Benny told him, gently taking the mixer from him to turn it off and eject the metal parts. "Alright, we have to refrigerate this for at least an hour, so you could start watching TV or something while I finish up here for now."
"I really didn't do badly?" Bad Cop asked.
"You were following instructions," Benny told him, turning to smile at him. "That's what recipes are. I mean, sometimes it's better to cook with improvisation, but you did pretty well considering things."
"Following instructions, huh?" Bad Cop frowned and shook his head. "Well, if that's any evidence I will never be a Master Builder…"
"Dude, do you even want to be one?" Benny asked, lifting his brow at him. "Besides, I told you how I became one. I started by following instructions too."
"Well…" Good Cop smiled and shrugged. "I suppose I don't like creating things as much as other people, so it's alright if I don't become a Master Builder."
Benny hummed and put the dough in the fridge. "Hey, I'm going to clean up here… Like I said, go watch TV. I'll be out in a moment."
"Alright," Good Cop nodded and quickly left the kitchen. He plopped down in front of the television and flicked through the channels.
"I think he's planning something," Bad Cop mumbled in the back of their mind.
Good Cop sighed and shook his head. "You're still being suspicious. I don't understand. What brought this on again?"
"No, I mean it this time. I think he's going to ask us something and pull us into some weird conversation where we'd probably have some sort of epiphany or whatever nonsense like that."
"Oh, in that case…" Good Cop stopped on some TV show he didn't recognize, but judging from the space ships and laser guns, he could tell it was something science fiction.
"What are you doing?" Bad Cop asked.
"No epiphanies until the cookies are ready," Good Cop answered. "Maybe this will distract him."
"Good Cop, you sly little devil."
Benny poked his head in and then hurried next to Good Cop on the sofa. "Oh, wow, I haven't seen this show in ages!"
Bad Cop hummed and leaned forward. "It's not very realistic, is it?"
Benny scoffed and nudged Bad Cop with his elbow. "Dude, this is a documentary. That stuff actually happened."
"What?!" Bad Cop asked, turning his head towards Benny and then back at the screen. "But all of the… What?"
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Alright, Cops, here's the thing. This is from 1989, that spaceship right there is the SP-Striker. This is around the time the Space Police started doing rounds because of the Blacktron groups that started to terrorize the Futuron groups… I told you about the Space Police before, right?"
"Yes, I believe you have," Good Cop nodded. "So, then, it just looks so strange because the technology is old?"
Benny nodded and began bouncing on the couch, grinning wider and talking faster the more he continued. "Yeah, I guess, if you want to call it 'old'. Okay, to be fair, Penny sent me some photos of the current spaceship models and they're really, really awesome, but she also suggested I make some new spaceship designs for when they decide to upgrade the spaceships since everyone thinks having a genuine Master Builder making the spaceship designs would just make everything a million million times better, but the Black Hole Gang likes to steal the spaceships from…"
"Spaceman!" Bad Cop interrupted, frowning at him. "I can't understand you when you talk like that. All I caught was you saying 'spaceship' a lot."
Benny took a deep breath and then shook his head. "Never mind, don't worry about it. Anyway, this is an old documentary about the start of the Space Police. I heard the current police force is busy trying to round up the Black Hole Gang, a bunch of criminal aliens that keep causing problems and stealing their technology… But back at the end of the 80's, they were fighting against the Blacktron instead."
"Hmm, I see," Good Cop nodded.
Nodding, Benny leaned into Good Cop's arm and casually glanced to the ceiling. "And you know, speaking of police…"
"No epiphanies before cookies!" Good Cop cut in quickly.
Benny pulled away and stared at him. "Huh…?"
"Nothing," Bad Cop recovered, frowning. "Just… Just forget about it."
"Dude, wha…? O- Okay…?" Benny faced front and watched the TV screen again, muttering the names of the different spaceships as they flew across the screen.
Bad Cop let out his breath and leaned back. "Hey, Benny… Why aren't you in your spacesuit right now? Last time we did something like this, you had to put back on your suit when you saw Miss Fellow and the Xenon X-Craft."
"What?" Benny turned towards him and blinked a few times. "Oh, I… I, uh… didn't really think about it… B-But, I know I'm on Earth right now, so I'll be fine, right…? I… Um..."
Flinching, Bad Cop quickly shut off the TV. "Good Cop, do something," he ordered.
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Anything. I just don't want him to panic."
"Anything, huh?" By the tone, Bad Cop knew Good Cop was grinning like a maniac and he could only hope for the best as Good Cop switched out. "Benny, will you please do something for me…?" he asked as sweetly as he could.
Benny blinked and struggled to smile. "Uh, uh, sure, what?"
"Write a poem for me," he answered, fluttering his eyes.
"What, really?" Benny asked, scrunching up his face. "Dude, do you know how long that would take to come up with anything good?"
"We have time," Good Cop replied, shrugging. "We have to wait at least an hour for the cookies, after all. Besides, with how much you pester Bad Cop into singing ever since you found out he could..."
"Okay, fine, fair's fair, I guess…" Benny sighed. "Can you get me a pen and a lot of paper? It might take a few tries…"
Good Cop nodded and got up to get the things. He found Benny seated at the dining table and set the things down next to him.
"Thanks," Benny grinned. "Now get out."
He frowned and furrowed his brow. "Why…?"
"I don't want you seeing anything before it's done," Benny answered matter-of-factly. "So, get out. Go watch TV or something."
Bad Cop rolled his eyes. "Fine. Let me know when you're finished."
"Will do!" Benny answered, waving as Bad Cop walked away.
Bad Cop sat in front of the TV again staring at it before shaking his head. He reached into the side table and pulled out a magazine and then settled down to read it.
"Robotics Weekly?" Good Cop asked. "Skip to the article about new Octan robots. If we can't have our robot police force until these are finished, I want to know what President Business is saying about them."
Bad Cop nodded and flipped through the pages.
Sometime later, he woke up with the sickening sweet smell of cookies assaulting his nostrils. He pulled the magazine off his face and stuffed it back into the drawer before squinting towards the kitchen, wondering who was baking in his house.
"Benny," Good Cop mumbled groggily. "Are the cookies done yet?"
Bad Cop pushed himself to his feet and then wandered into the kitchen, where he found Benny at work, putting some sort of frosting on the spaceship cookies. "Where'd you get that?"
"It's chocolate," Benny answered. "From the chocolate chip cookies we were going to make?"
"Sounds delicious," Good Cop answered, yawning. "Can I…?"
Benny motioned vaguely to a plate of cookies to the side and Good Cop hurried to it to taste one of them.
"Not too many at once," Bad Cop reminded.
Good Cop rolled his eyes and reached for another cookie. After taking the first bite, he chewed pensively and then faced Benny again as he swallowed. "Did you manage to write a poem?"
"Aw man," Benny winced. "I was hoping you forgot…"
"Well?" Good Cop prompted, smiling.
"Let me go get it," Benny sighed.
"Recite it?" Good Cop asked, fluttering his eyes again.
"Dude, that doesn't do anything," Benny frowned at him.
Good Cop pouted and his eyes widened pathetically.
"How are you a cop?" Benny asked, almost aghast.
"I wonder that a lot too," Bad Cop mumbled.
Benny sighed and wandered out of the room. "I'll be right back."
Good Cop polished off both of his cookies and then stared at the door Benny went through. "Does he seem different to you?"
"Different how?"
"More… More like you. No nonsense, more serious…"
"Like how his space pals said he used to be?"
Benny burst back into the room, holding two sheets of paper. "Okay, so, I couldn't write a poem specifically for you right away, so I wrote a bunch of poems about spaceships first, like maybe twenty, and some of them are actually pretty cool…"
"False alarm," Good Cop thought in relief.
"And then I finally wrote one for you, but you were asleep, so I went and finished the cookies first," Benny finished. "Okay, ready?"
Nodding, Good Cop took a seat and waited eagerly.
Benny took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes…" He brought the paper up and read over it.
"The best of descriptions are in terms of space,
Where I'm caught in your orbit with nothing but grace.
Both bright as the sun and dark as the moon,
With the passion of flares and a mystery strewn.
Yet you have your own axis to rotate, like the Earth.
Likewise, full of life, both sides of your worth."
"That's so beautiful," Good Cop gasped, reaching under his glasses to wipe away a tear.
"Really?" Benny asked, scrunching up his face. "I liked the spaceship poems better…"
Bad Cop frowned and stood up. "Ben, I have a serious question for you."
"Yeah?" Benny asked, looking up at him.
"Have you gone this whole time without wearing your spacesuit?"
"Dude, what does that…?” Benny dropped his hands and the papers, and his eyes widened slowly. "Y-Yes," he whispered. "Gosh, did I really…? This is the longest I've gone without it without being at my house by far…"
"Do you think you're getting better?" Bad Cop asked.
Benny shook his head, trembling, and hurried to get his suit back on. "Darn, darn, darn! I have to go, bye, thanks for the cookies."
"Benny…" The spaceman was out of the house before he could stop him. Bad Cop sighed and bent down to pick up the fallen paper and gather the other paper from the dining room.
"At least we had the epiphany after the cookies, right?" Bad Cop mumbled.
Good Cop frowned. "Do you think he'll be alright…?"
"We'll check on him tomorrow. Let's give him time to cool off now. He obviously doesn't want to be around us at the moment."