Title: Walking Through Water
Fandom: Southland
Pairing: John/Ben
Rating: R
Wordcount: 400
Written for the slashthedrabble prompt: Shhh
Warning Character death.
Summary: Ben goes to his father's funereal
It was a hot summer day. The kind of day where the heat was physical wall pressing down on you. Ben was standing in a church surrounded by flowers and people dressed in black. Ben was wearing his dress blues only because it made his mom happy and he thought that his dad would have loved all the attention. Behind him his mom and sisters were sobbing, in front of him his father lay in a coffin. As he looked down at his father's lifeless body he thought you damn bastard.
Ben turned around and looked at his mom. She was holding onto both Olivia's hand and Chloe's hand.
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When John and Ben returned home Ben felt very strange, he felt heavy and slow almost as if he was walking through water.
Ben walked over to John's couch and collapsed onto the cushions. John sat down next to him and was about to say something when Ben felt tears well up in his eyes. Ben shut his eyes tight and started to cry. Deep sobs shook his body.
'Shit,' Ben heard John say.
Ben felt John's arms wrap around him and he let himself be pulled into a hug. As Ben buried his face in John's shoulder he couldn't help but smell John's cologne and shampoo. It was strangely soothing.
'Shhh. It's okay, let it out,' John said as he held Ben and kissed his forehead.
Ben sobbed until there were no tears left, until he felt empty and spent. He opened his eyes and pulled away from John.
'Thanks,' Ben said as he wiped his face.
John leaned forward and kissed the corner of Ben's mouth. 'Don't mention it. I'd ask you if you feel better, but that's probably a dumb ass question, huh?
'Yeah. Could you go get me a beer?'
'Sure,' John said as he got from the couch.
When John came back with the beer Ben took a swig letting the cold liquid slid down his throat. John sat down next to Ben and put his hand on Ben's knee.
Ben leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. He thought about why he cried. He was certain he wasn't crying for his father, he had no tears for him, not now, but he couldn't tell if he was crying for himself or for his mom or his sisters. Maybe it was all three.