Southland Fic: If a Tree Falls
Mar. 2nd, 2010 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annundrielIf a Tree Falls
Sherman, Cooper/Sherman-ish
R
617
Spoilers for 1.06-1.07.
The things we do when no one is watching.
So, yeah, I'm trying my hand at Southland now apparently. This has actually been sitting around for a day or two and is not the fic I referenced earlier. I figure post it! or it will haunt me. Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sdrohc_ratiug and ginnith for giving it a read.
Cooper’s been watching him since the moment they met, of this Ben is sure. He’s not blind or stupid, unobservant; he knows what it feels like to have people looking. People do. It’s not something he’s entirely comfortable with and he doesn’t seek the spotlight. That doesn’t keep it from happening, though.
It’s different with Cooper. Been feels Cooper’s eyes on him and knows Cooper’s looking for any chink in the armor, any sign of weakness or hesitation.
He’s not going to find it. Ben’s got years of practice perfecting what the rest of the world sees.
Cooper continues to watch him. A lot. In the car, on the scene, at the station. Never in the locker room, at least as far as Ben’s noticed. Cooper’s gaze is speculative, not appreciative, resting heavy between Ben’s shoulder blades, against his skin. He can feel it there, just like he can feel Cooper’s presence across from him in the patrol car; Cooper trying to puzzle him out, figure out what makes Officer Ben Sherman tick.
Ben puts it to the back of his mind. He doesn’t think about it.
When Daisy shows up at his door, Ben offers her the comfort and support she needs. He sleeps with her because he likes her, he’s always liked her, and he likes the way she feels against him, soft and feminine. Likes the way she warms his bed. The sound of someone else in his home, however brief.
Fireworks exploding in the distance, Ben finds himself alone, thinking about Cooper and all the things he doesn’t think about.
He thinks about Cooper’s eyes on him, always on him, watching and dissecting, waiting for him to give something up, give something away. It leaves him feeling jumpy, not nervous, itching under his skin. On edge and primed for…something.
He’d be lying if he said he didn’t know what. He listens to his body, knows what it needs. Knows what he wants.
Wrapping a hand around his dick, sheets cool against his skin, Ben closes his eyes and thinks about a body that isn’t soft or feminine, one that’s anything but. A voice that’s full of confidence and command, passion and belief and pain and disappointment. Experience. Hands that are strong and capable.
Ben strokes himself and thinks about Cooper watching, always watching, open and obvious and right there, nowhere left for Ben to turn but inward. Even then Cooper’s eyes never leave, burning hot and bright and curious. Across the room, behind shades; it doesn’t matter, Ben knows they’re there. Every time.
He wonders what Cooper sees, what Cooper thinks he knows and actually does. If he’ll look at Ben after this weekend and know what Ben’s been up to. Know that Ben slid his cock through his own fist and wanted it to be Cooper’s, that he fucked himself open with his own fingers and wanted Cooper there instead.
Wonders if Cooper will know that even though it was Daisy that Ben could still smell on his sheets, it was Cooper’s name—John—on his lips when he came.
Catching his breath, Ben wipes his sticky hand on the sheets. He showers and turns into the spray, feels the water beat against his shoulders to run down his back. He gets out when the air’s full of steam, towels off, pulls on shorts and a t-shirt. Standing in his bedroom, he stares at the bed for a moment before pulling the sheets off. He remakes it and crawls between sheets that smell like nothing more than his laundry detergent and dryer sheets.
Ben turns off the light, listens to the sounds of people celebrating far away, and doesn’t think about it.
Sherman, Cooper/Sherman-ish
R
617
Spoilers for 1.06-1.07.
The things we do when no one is watching.
So, yeah, I'm trying my hand at Southland now apparently. This has actually been sitting around for a day or two and is not the fic I referenced earlier. I figure post it! or it will haunt me. Thanks to
sdrohc_ratiug and ginnith for giving it a read.Cooper’s been watching him since the moment they met, of this Ben is sure. He’s not blind or stupid, unobservant; he knows what it feels like to have people looking. People do. It’s not something he’s entirely comfortable with and he doesn’t seek the spotlight. That doesn’t keep it from happening, though.
It’s different with Cooper. Been feels Cooper’s eyes on him and knows Cooper’s looking for any chink in the armor, any sign of weakness or hesitation.
He’s not going to find it. Ben’s got years of practice perfecting what the rest of the world sees.
Cooper continues to watch him. A lot. In the car, on the scene, at the station. Never in the locker room, at least as far as Ben’s noticed. Cooper’s gaze is speculative, not appreciative, resting heavy between Ben’s shoulder blades, against his skin. He can feel it there, just like he can feel Cooper’s presence across from him in the patrol car; Cooper trying to puzzle him out, figure out what makes Officer Ben Sherman tick.
Ben puts it to the back of his mind. He doesn’t think about it.
When Daisy shows up at his door, Ben offers her the comfort and support she needs. He sleeps with her because he likes her, he’s always liked her, and he likes the way she feels against him, soft and feminine. Likes the way she warms his bed. The sound of someone else in his home, however brief.
Fireworks exploding in the distance, Ben finds himself alone, thinking about Cooper and all the things he doesn’t think about.
He thinks about Cooper’s eyes on him, always on him, watching and dissecting, waiting for him to give something up, give something away. It leaves him feeling jumpy, not nervous, itching under his skin. On edge and primed for…something.
He’d be lying if he said he didn’t know what. He listens to his body, knows what it needs. Knows what he wants.
Wrapping a hand around his dick, sheets cool against his skin, Ben closes his eyes and thinks about a body that isn’t soft or feminine, one that’s anything but. A voice that’s full of confidence and command, passion and belief and pain and disappointment. Experience. Hands that are strong and capable.
Ben strokes himself and thinks about Cooper watching, always watching, open and obvious and right there, nowhere left for Ben to turn but inward. Even then Cooper’s eyes never leave, burning hot and bright and curious. Across the room, behind shades; it doesn’t matter, Ben knows they’re there. Every time.
He wonders what Cooper sees, what Cooper thinks he knows and actually does. If he’ll look at Ben after this weekend and know what Ben’s been up to. Know that Ben slid his cock through his own fist and wanted it to be Cooper’s, that he fucked himself open with his own fingers and wanted Cooper there instead.
Wonders if Cooper will know that even though it was Daisy that Ben could still smell on his sheets, it was Cooper’s name—John—on his lips when he came.
Catching his breath, Ben wipes his sticky hand on the sheets. He showers and turns into the spray, feels the water beat against his shoulders to run down his back. He gets out when the air’s full of steam, towels off, pulls on shorts and a t-shirt. Standing in his bedroom, he stares at the bed for a moment before pulling the sheets off. He remakes it and crawls between sheets that smell like nothing more than his laundry detergent and dryer sheets.
Ben turns off the light, listens to the sounds of people celebrating far away, and doesn’t think about it.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-03 06:36 am (UTC)If you're looking for a place to post, there's
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-03 08:33 pm (UTC)Ooh, thanks for pointing out the comm. I am definitely thinking about it.
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Date: 2010-03-04 07:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-05 06:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-04 07:24 am (UTC)typing is HARD
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-05 06:22 pm (UTC)(Typing IS hard. My fingers are too fast for my brain sometimes.)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-04 08:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-05 06:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-04 09:33 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-05 06:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-04 09:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-05 06:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-06 04:35 pm (UTC)I like your story, I've been wondering what Sherman was thinking about sitting on his front steps all alone
(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-07 08:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-26 04:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-03-26 07:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-03 06:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-05 06:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-12 02:51 am (UTC)This is awesome! I love how Cooper comes off so intense in this when he's not even there. It's the Cooper inside Ben's head, and it's spot-on. I just love the dynamic between these two, and Ben being all confused, overeager puppy about John. All the time XD
(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-13 05:13 pm (UTC)I love the dynamic between them, too. Especially the way they just seem to keep circling each other.
I'm so glad you liked it, thank you!