It almost midnight before Cooper made it back to his place. It had been a long ass night, garbage calls every fucking hour. Cooper was exhausted, but he wasn't tired enough to go to bed. He went over to his fridge and grabbed a beer and cracking it open. Taking a long swig, he stripped off his shirt and hung it on the back of a chair. Just as he had plopped into his couch, a knock came on his door.
"Fuck me," he whispered, setting his beer down, grabbing his gun and making his way towards the door. Unlocking his deadbolt and door handle lock, the door swung open to reveal Ben Sherman. Cooper stuffed his gun in the back of his pants and stepped to the side, allowing Ben in.
"Sorry," Ben murmured and watched as Cooper shut and lock the door.
"A little overprotective?" Ben asked as Cooper turned to face him. Cooper gave him a look before brushing passed him.
"Makes me think you were looking at my ass," Cooper replied and grabbed another beer from the fridge. Ben smiled and shook his head, grabbing Cooper's beer and taking a long drink of it.
"I guess you can have that," Cooper replied and sat down at the edge of the couch.
"You aren't even going to ask why I'm here?" Ben asked after a few seconds of silence. Cooper shrugged his shoulders and took a drink.
"You'll talk when you're ready." Ben sighed and drained the last of the beer in his glass.
"I didn't want to be alone," Ben said and looked down at the floor, waiting for an arrogant reply like "don't be a pussy," or something along those lines.
"Nothin' wrong with that," Cooper said after a minutes thought. Ben pursed his lips and tried not think about how they had found a dead little boy, murdered by his dad, who was barely five. The bastard had shot him 12 times and slit his throat for good measure. Ben felt anger rise in him and he tried to calm himself by taking a deep breath, but it didn't work. His hand tightened over the neck of the bottle and before he knew what he was doing, he threw it hard against the wall. Tears streamed down his face and he allowed himself to break down.
"God fucking damn it," Ben gasped for hair. Cooper scooted closer to Ben and pulled him into a tight hug. Cooper felt him shaking, trying to catch his breath and not destroy anything. Cooper wasn't heartless; he didn't need to break down though. Ben was new to this, he didn't know how cruel humanity could be, but John did. Minutes passed and Ben finally pulled away, his eyes puffy and red. With John's arm wrapped around him still, Ben looked over his face. He looked sympathetic and sad all at once.
"You okay?" Cooper asked and watched Ben closely. He gave a slight nod and snuggled closer to Cooper's bare shoulder. Cooper smiled slightly because Ben reminded him so much of a little kid. He was still Boot to him though.
"I just don't understand," Ben murmured against his shoulder.
"You will sooner or later Ben," John said and pulled him closer if that was even physically possible. Ben nodded against him and sighed softly.
"You're something else Cooper," Ben said softly and John smiled.
"I know," he replied and rested his chin against Ben's head, placing a soft kiss against Ben's head. That was the last thing Cooper remembered doing before they both fell asleep from exhaustion.
Sunlight streamed in, hitting Cooper in the face, waking him up. Slowly, his eyes opened and he looked around at his surroundings. He must've fallen asleep on the couch. A groan alerted his attention to the body laying next to him. Turning to look down, Cooper noticed Ben with his arms wrapped around his waist and his head on his chest. Ben snuggled deeper into him and Cooper just shook his head, a smile taking place on his face. He wrapped his arm around Ben and placed his head back on the pillow he was laying on. If only this was under different circumstances, Cooper thought, if only.
