runs_the_show (runs_the_show) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-07-23 17:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | pepper potts, thor |
WHO Justine & Benji
WHAT Reunion!
WHEN Recently, before the memories stuff
WHERE On the Strip
WARNINGS None
Justine had been in Las Vegas for a few days now and she knew she was just putting off seeing Benji out of anger and pettiness. Honestly though, it was his fault that he left, that he didn’t trust her enough to just tell her about the voice. She hated him for leaving and hated him for not being dead because that was the only excuse for what he did, as far as she was concerned. Sure, having Thor as the voice in his head was worrying and yes, she’d seen the movies so she knew all about Loki and how dangerous he was but he was over there and she was over here. That made perfect sense! Plus, it wasn’t like she couldn’t take care of herself. She’d been practicing since Dubai and she’d only practiced harder after Benji left. Even Mike had been getting winded at the end of their spars before she left. Balancing those lessons with her ballet schedule was hard but worth it. Benji would’ve been disappointed if she hadn’t. The thing she missed the most about London wasn’t the cooler temperatures, overcast clouds, or her favorite rain boots. It was ballet. She’d spoken with Mr O’Hare, the Ballet Master in charge of her section, who was more than a little disappointed that she just up and left without a word. Justine felt bad, she really did, but family came first. She tried to explain that to him but it still wasn’t enough. She could miss one more rehearsal but after that, her contract was in black and white. Giving up ballet like this wasn’t what she’d expected when she’d gotten on the plane. All she had wanted was to find her brother, but now she was holding back. She was scared. Trying to distract herself from the conflict, Justine decided to scope out ‘O’, the Cirque du Soleil show playing at The Bellagio. Being unfamiliar with the Strip, she’d asked at the front desk for directions but as soon as she’d stepped out into the heat and the crowd, Justine just blanked. Trying to make a go of it, she turned down one direction and just started walking. The brightness of everything and the crowds, not to mention the various people advertising this show or that, or handing out cards for hookers, distracted her even more and she walked right passed the Bellagio. To be slightly fair, it was on the other side of the street, but she didn’t know that. Confused, slightly annoyed, and really just wanting to get to the box office, she reached out to tap the shoulder of a man standing just in front of her, with his back to her. “Pardon me, but would you be so kind as to point me to the Bellagio?” The British accent explained that she was a tourist just as easily as her question did. Thor hadn't been needed on his side of the door, they were still waiting for the last two members to come in for the kvidr when Ben returned to Vegas. He still hadn't heard from Lizzy, but he wasn't worried yet. Though he might not have seen his family in years, that didn't mean he didn't understand the drive to help them when they needed it any less. She'd call when she could, he was sure of it. In the meantime, he'd check on the apartment and make sure everything was all right before heading to the other side again. It was almost easier than being here in a way. It wasn't the heat, nor the fact that Lizzy was gone, but since Justine had showed up on the journals, Ben hadn't been able to do anything but think of her and his family. He missed them -- more than he could ever express. He still thought that anything on Thor's side of the door could harm them and he wouldn't put them in harm's way, but now what Justine was here... all he wanted to do was see her. Even if she hit him and hated him and yelled at him until she was purple, he'd take it all as long as he got to see her again. Those thoughts ran around his head until he realized that he'd completely missed the road he was supposed to take to get to the apartment. As he was walking, it wouldn't take much to turn around, but he decided to keep going instead. Being outside, even if it was as hot as an oven, was good for him. Only, he didn't realize how good it would be until he heard that voice. Four years later and he still knew it like it was yesterday. His breath catching in his throat, it was like being plunged into ice water, he turned around to face his sister. "Jujubead." If Justine had listed off every last possible scenario, accidentally asking the one person she simultaneously wanted and loathed to see wasn’t even on the list. She hadn’t thought anything of the dark hair or the broad shoulders, things she always associated with her brother. How often had she been out and about, looking for any familiar features of her brother in the crowds? But that had been when she was sixteen, distraught and abandoned, not when she was twenty and trying to convince herself that she was moving on after four years of nothing. Of course, it was just her luck that the person she asked for directions was Benji. Her Benji. He was older, that was the first thing she realized even if it was a given. A little taller, a little more worn around the edges, but otherwise, he was alright. He was whole, alive, and healthy from the looks of it. Relief filled her, glad that he wasn’t grievously injured or anything like that. Then she was mad because he’d used his nickname for her, the one he’d used since she was a little girl. Benji had taken care of her, fed her, changed her diapers, taught her how to walk and potty trained her! For all that, all he’d left was one stupid note. That was what it all boiled down to. She could take him running away, take him trying to distance himself to protect her, but he couldn’t leave her something more? Didn’t he love her best? Tears sprang in her eyes and she took a step back without thinking. “Benji?” she whispered, more in shock than anything. It was like she was sixteen all over again, hurt and angry in the backyard with Mike and she let her fist fly in the hopes that it would connect with his cheek. Going to the Bellagio or looking into seeing 'O' were the last things on her mind. She didn’t even care about the fact that they were surrounded by strangers on the busy thoroughfare. He, too, recognized that she was older. A little more grown up, but those blue eyes were still the same ones that he remembered from all his life. "Justine," he whispered, taking a step forward as she took a step back. He couldn't let her run away, not now, not when he'd seen her again. All of that came to a brilliant, painful stop as her fist connected solidly with his jaw. Grunting with the impact, and more out of surprise than actual pain, Ben took a little stumbling step before he regained his balance. "Shit, Justine, how much have you been practicing with Mike?" He asked as he stood up straight again, one hand rubbing the side of his jaw. This time he was watching her though, careful in case she decided to hit him again. While it had been more surprising than painful, he wasn't going to bet that a second one would be the same. Her hands came up to cover her mouth, stifling the gasp of surprise at the fact that she’d actually hit him. “I am so sorry,” she rushed to say, though as soon as they were said, she wanted to take them back. “Well, not really, because you deserved it. I practiced every day for two straight years. Now it’s limited to a few times a week,” Justine replied, focusing on that as she crossed her arms over her chest. She did it to stop herself from hitting him again and from reaching out to hug him. “Mike and Gary taught you how to evade a punch better than that.” She worried her lower lip, a sure sign that she was upset, but otherwise did nothing. At that particular moment, she wished she was anywhere but right there. Justine would have much rather initiated a meeting with her runaway brother at a time and place of her choosing, not randomly running into him on the street when she wasn’t even the least bit prepared for it. She kind of wished that flailing was appropriate because that was what she felt like doing. Running away wasn’t an option, not after what he did. Ben didn't believe the apology for a moment -- she meant it, but he didn't hold it against her. He knew he deserved it. "Yeah, but I wasn't expecting that," he said, giving his jaw another rub, trying to keep his lips from curling up into the smile that wanted to grace his lips. As mad as she was, and deservedly so, she was still his little sister and he hadn't seen her in years. The crossed arms, nor the way her lower lip jutted out just slightly were enough to stop him from wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. Even if she hit him again, he'd consider it well worth it. "Justine..." Four years. It had been four years and he couldn't stop from picking her up, crossed arms and all, and spinning her around in the air like he had since he had been big enough that he could. The first time he'd done it, he'd still been too small and they ended up tumbling to the ground in a heap of arms and legs and squealing laughter. They didn't this time, but he kept spinning her until he was the one dizzy with it. A smirk started to form at his words and when she saw the telltale hints of a smile, Justine nearly went to hit him again. He didn’t get to smile, not after running away. Not after leaving her. The same went for hugging her, but that didn’t seem to stop him from wrapping his arms tight around her and then lifting her up, spinning her around like they were kids again. “BENJI!” Her screech wasn’t the least bit happy and she kicked her feet, wriggled her arms, and tried to make him put her down. It only made him hold tighter and she ended up just resigning herself at first. It was only when he set her down that she gave in, staying pressed against him even though it took her a few minutes to wrap her arms around him. Once she was hugging him, Justine couldn’t be anything else but glad that he was finally found. The tears came next and if he complained about her getting his shirt wet, she was so hitting him again. That thought was enough to make her smile through her tears as she clutched tightly to him, hoping that if she never let him go, he’d never leave her again. “You left! You missed four years, Benji! Four!” She hated him for leaving her. Justine used to think, at least at the beginning, that it would’ve hurt less if her father up and left, that she would’ve preferred it. A horrible thing to think but she’d missed Benji too much. Ben didn't care if they were making a scene on the sidewalk, between him spinning her and her screeching, followed by the unmistakable wetness of his shirt that could only be from her tears. There was no thought to complain though, nor of letting her go. He'd just gotten her back and all he could was hold onto her as tightly as she was holding onto him. "I know, Juju, I know," he said quietly, pressing his mouth to the top of her head, he gave her a quick kiss. First he'd gone back to Norway to see if he could get rid of the voice in the same place he seemed to have picked it up from and when that hadn't worked, he'd gone south to see if he could find a way to deal with having an extra person in his head. It had worked, but the more he learned of Thor's world, the more worried he became about anything from there showing up here, and more importantly, hurting her. Given what had happened a few months ago when Loki had brought a lindworm into Las Vegas, his fears weren't completely unfounded. "I'm here now, Jujubead. I'm not going anywhere," he promised. It was obvious from they way they hugged each other that there was a deep, profound love shared between them and that would always be there no matter what. She’d missed him way too much to let him go any time soon. A fresh round of tears came when she felt his lips press against her head and she just held him tighter, if such a thing were even possible. She’d argued with her parents, demanded that either Mike or Gary went after Benji, posted on Facebook and went to the police to file a missing person’s report despite the fresh round of arguments that brought at home. She resented the fact that he didn’t think she couldn’t take care of herself or that he wouldn’t be able to protect her. She had Silver now too, so wasn’t that just another person to look after her? And he had a vested interest in her well being because of Tony and Pepper! Couldn’t that just be enough? Now wasn’t the time for that argument though, not when he was promising that he wasn’t going to run away again. “You better not,” she replied, trying to sound serious and threatening even though all he’d really be able to hear was the desperation. “You can’t.” Still, she didn’t let him go, not quite ready yet. Even if she had sounded serious and threatening, he would have known the desperation under them. Now, with nothing to hide it, Ben squeezed her, and dropped another kiss onto the top of her head. "I'm not going anywhere, Juju," he promised. Would promises ever be enough? Ben didn't know, but he knew he'd keep making them until he could no longer speak and no longer offer her that small peace. "You know it all now." The one thing that had kept them apart for years, the reason he wanted to keep Justine as far away as possible was no longer an option. The only thing left to do was to keep her safe. Thor would keep Pepper safe -- he heard the other man agree in the back of his mind. "And I'm not going anywhere." He couldn't walk away from her a second time and even if he could, where would he go? Leaving Vegas wasn't an option and he remembered the one time Felicia had stood outside the door waiting for Thor to return. Ben had no doubts that if he went missing beyond the door for any period of time, his sister would do the same. Justine wasn’t sure if she could believe his promises now when he’d gone back on so many just by leaving. Still, it was a comfort that she’d take every time he offered it and she wouldn’t be afraid to ask him for it either. Finally, she pulled away just enough to look up at him, to really look. Four years had been too long and she had no idea if they’d ever make up for it. She knew she’d changed in the past four years, but the question she was afraid to answer was had they both changed so much that it would affect their relationship? She didn’t want to think about it just yet. “Do you...want to get something to eat?” She wasn’t sure if she was even hungry but she didn’t want him to leave just yet and she wasn’t sure if she could walk away from him. Justine wasn’t ready to move in with him or anything, she’d gotten too used to her freedom from living on her own, but at least they could exchange working telephone numbers. Her head went back to his chest and she tightened her arms around him for a brief moment. She just wanted it to be back to the way it was before he left. "Yeah," Ben said automatically. "Or, you know, tea. Coffee. Something. You can come back to the apartment and beat me up some more if you want," he said, almost teasing her as he watched her dark head drop back down to his chest. Whatever she wanted, it didn't matter so long as he got to keep her for a little longer. "Or we can watch a movie. You can tell me how awful my cooking is and we'll order out." She could have said she wanted to put makeup on him and dress him up like a drag queen, and he would have gone out to buy a pair of heels that were big enough for his feet. “Tea. Definitely tea.” She hadn’t had a good cup since leaving her flat and if anyone could make a cup the way she liked, it was Benji. “We can go back to your place. I don’t know if I want to beat you up some more. I haven’t decided yet. Tea is a good place to start though.” She offered him a wide smile, the truest one she’d given thus far, and let one hand drop from around him, moving to stand next to him. “Lead the way,” Justine said, ready to spend the whole day with Benji. The show could wait. He would always be more important to her. |