Work Text:
Benzaiten Steel’s last day of life started like any other since his twin moved out of the apartment. He got up and got ready to go to the studio. Dressed in loose clothing he grabbed something small from the kitchen and made note that he would have to do the dishes that night before Juno came over. His twin was so against him staying with their mother that he would find anything to fight with him about it. Ben was so tired of it. He decided to stay, their mother wasn’t that bad to him, he could handle it, and someone had to help their mother.
Benzaiten grabbed his dance bag as he made his way out of the door. He didn’t have a car but it didn’t bother him, walking was a good way to get ready and it wasn’t far to the studio anyway. As he made it to the studio he saw one of the other instructors. “Hey! El, are you ready for waves of little kids this afternoon?” The other instructor dropped their head into their hands.
“That’s this afternoon?” They groaned.
“Yes, it is. It’s been on the schedule for weeks. Old Town Elementary dance lessons.” A voice spoke up from behind Benzaiten. Ben turned to them and gave a big smile. “Also Benzaiten please tell me you have your key?”
Ben nodded and dug through his pockets producing a set of keys. "Why haven't you guys asked for sets of your own?"
"We have Steel. Jameson just doesn't trust us like he does you. He really is looking for you to take over the studio when he retires." El says as Ben goes to unlock the building.
"I mean I guess, but you guys are just as good as I am with the classes."
"I mean we are, but you just have a better sense of all the dance styles. Also, you are still better with the younger classes than us." Ben shrugged and the other two shook their heads.
After that, the three split up to go to different rooms of the studio to get ready. Once they were, Ben met back up with El and they started to work on choreography together. They worked on it until lunch, which was a hurried affair down the street and got back just in time to greet the hoards of five and six-year-olds.
Ben, unlike the other two instructors with him, spent the entire lesson smiling. Once they dismissed that class Ben waved bye to the other two and made his way back to the apartment. His comms went off and he pulled it out to see a message from his twin.
Ben smiled at the message, typing out his message confirming the time to pick him up for their planned dinner. He put away his comms as he unlocked his apartment door.
Benzaiten took note of the things around the apartment as he walked back to his room. He didn’t think from what he saw his mother was home. He made his way to his room to change his clothes.
Benzaiten was humming to himself as he changed his clothes. He hadn’t realized that he was dressing similarly to his twin till he looked in the mirror. Smiling at himself and heading out of his room to start picking up the mess in the main areas and wait for his twin.
It wasn’t long into that before he heard the door open and turned expecting to see his twin, but instead was met by his mother. “I thought you still had work today?”
Sarah doesn’t say anything. “Ma, why are you back early? You promised that you would be able to keep this job.”
“I can’t find my meds, little monster. Did you take them?”
“Ma, what are you talking about? I didn’t take your meds.”
“Little monster, you have always hated me, you’d take them just to see me lose my job.”
"Ma-"
Sarah reached into her purse and pulled out a blaster. "No, listen here you little monster, where are my meds!"
“I don’t know, ma. I can help you look for them if you put the blaster down.” Ben was starting to sweat, the last time he had a blaster pointed at him, he’d almost been shot, and it was only the quick thinking of Juno that had stopped him from being shot. And Juno wasn’t here yet.
"Juno, don't you dare lie to me, little monster. You were the one to take them!"
Ben was about to say something when the door to the apartment slammed open. Sarah didn’t even look to see who it was, her finger squeezing the trigger. Ben only felt the pain for a few seconds before he hit the ground.
“Ben!” Ben heard as another blaster fired into the room. It was seconds before he felt familiar hands on him. “Ben, look at me!”
Ben wasn’t sure when he closed his eyes but he found it hard to open them again, but when he did he was looking up at the distressed face of his twin. Ben tried to smile at his twin, but it came out more as a grimace. “Hey look at that you were early-” Ben was cut off by his hacking cough that brought blood to his lips.
“Stop talking. You're wasting your energy.” Juno tore off his jacket and placed it against the gaping wound on his twin's chest. Ben groaned at the pressure.
Juno shuffled and pulled out his comms keeping pressure on the wound. Ben let the blurry words of his twin calling for an ambulance fall through his mind. "Benzaiten, please open your eyes. Please, don’t leave me."
Ben struggled to open his eyes and when he did he was looking at the tear-stained face of his twin. "I don't want to leave you either, Super Steel." Ben took a deep breath and then started coughing again.
"Stop talking, Benten. Save your energy." Juno pulled one of his hands-free and ran it through Benzaiten's hair.
Benzaiten could hear the sirens coming, but also he was so tired. He couldn't hold open his eyes, even as he could hear Juno begging him to stay awake. "Ben, don't you dare leave me. Open your eyes."
And with his last bit of energy, Ben let out a breath of air that formed the shape of, "Sorry." And then he was no longer feeling pain as he fell unconscious and then breathed his last.