Boundries

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at [Link]

Rating: Not Rated

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandom: Twin Peaks
Relationship: TruCoop, Dale Cooper/Harry Truman, Dale Cooper & Harry Truman
Character: Dale Cooper (Twin Peaks), Harry Truman (Twin Peaks)
Additional Tags: Seriously why did they not get together in show, they had such great
chemistry, Fluff, Mutual Pining, First Kiss
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2018-08-28 Words: 3,546 Chapters: 1/1

Boundries
by littlepurplepanda

Summary

Dale Cooper has always wondered how he and Sheriff Harry Truman got along so well

Notes

My contribution to the Twin Peaks fandom since I never see much of this ship, which
should be named #TruCoop

See the end of the work for more notes

He really couldn’t figure it out how they had connected so easily. Almost immediately, Sheriff
Truman had put his trust in Cooper, something that never happened with local law enforcement in
the past. Harry listened to Dale whenever he talked, even when talking about Tibet, or his dreams
that any normal person would’ve just brushed off. Harry could’ve easily done that, just labeled it as
a sign of Dale overworking himself. They both knew Dale did this a lot.

Harry always let Dale know when he was leaving for the night, and if Dale would still be sitting
with work in front of him, Harry would add, “you should too.” For Cooper it reminded him of a
parental thing, knowing he was being looked out for. Sometimes the sheriff would help him clean
up all of the papers that they had gone over a million times, even if Dale wanted to look it over just
once more. Other times he’d tell Harry that he’d be heading to the lodge for the night soon and that
he didn’t have to wait for him. But Dale knew very well that Harry did wait in his car until Dale
would leave. It was things like that made him appreciate the man.
But it was probably the little gestures that had really first strengthened the bond between them.
Cooper was a bit of an overly touchy person. He was so with everyone. But especially with Harry.
It started with just pats on the shoulder, a hand on the small of the back, or a friendly squeeze of
the collarbone and shoulder in excitement. These movements weren’t new for Dale, having done
this on the past with many coworkers. Dale would think nothing of it. In fact, most of the time he
wouldn’t even realize he could be crossing a line until he’d see Harry look at the hand on shoulder
that would rest for a moment too long, or Harry smile at him and Dale would realize how close he
had just moved into the sheriff’s personal space.

After a while though, he did notice that Harry would return the favor with the same kind of friendly
gestures. And on more than one occasion, he was sure that Harry would move into the gesture, a
further sign that what Dale had done was okay.

It hadn’t been okay with others. While Cooper would usually stop after catching himself a few
times, there had been a few negatives. More than one person, usually men, would physically move
his hand away, or give him a look of distaste or confusion. One woman grabbed his hand and told
him stop, while another attempted to make a sexual advance towards him. In both occurrences, he
replied “I didn’t mean it like that.”

And he hadn’t. And still didn’t. Cooper was happy with how the relationship with Harry was. He
was happy that with every pat on the back or playful nose grab, Harry would return the favor in one
way or another. It was nice, and something that Dale needed during this investigation.

It had been very hard, seeing the photos, reading the graphic details, talking to such seemingly
good natured people as they went through tragedy. That’s usually when Coop would meet people
outside in the real world. Something would happen and Cooper would have to go to fix it.

He usually was good when it came to not letting cases get to him personally. But Laura Palmer’s
murder was different somehow. He hadn’t even realize how upset he was until late one night when
Harry walked in. Seeing his tired and overworked friend led to a wave of grief wash over him, and
the tears suddenly formed in his eyes. Cooper was perhaps too busy studying the many papers
sprawled out in front of him to acknowledge the overwhelming guilt and sadness. Harry had
immediately come over and taken a seat next to him, asking him what was wrong. Dale couldn’t
remember what he had said to Harry, because at the time it felt like everything was wrong at once.
But he did remember Sheriff Truman taking his hand and linking his fingers with his own. That
was what calmed him, that and Harry’s voice. Dale remembers listening to Harry as he talked, and
Coop didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to. So Harry just kept talking, calming him and
rubbing his thumb on Coop’s palm.

That wasn’t the last time they had held hands. And it wasn’t the first time they had made hand
contact either. Lots of brushed fingers to eventual pats on the hand. It was just another expanded
boundary. So neither of them said anything when the sheriff offered Dale a hand in order to get
down a few rocks and Dale didn’t let go of it until they reached the crime scene and their focus on
work resumed. Or when it was Dale’s turn to comfort Harry during his own emotional outburst
about how he couldn’t help his town, and Dale had taken his hand and probably gave him along
the lines of the same speech Harry had previously given Coop. Or when they discovered the body
of Maddy Ferguson. Dale wasn’t sure who took who’s hand first, but he knew the sight had sent a
wave of sadness over both of them, so neither of them complained.

Their boundaries would expand rather than get crossed. That’s how Dale mentally described it. He
had come to that conclusion after a while. Sometimes he’d look for a sign that he went too far,
something he’d often look for in others which usually occurred if he wasn’t too careful. But Harry
never minded. Even when he’d visibly look at Dale’s gestures, he’d smile, which caused Dale to
resume his giddiness and smile back at him. It was such a nice warm smile, and Dale felt so happy
whenever he saw it.

But Dale still couldn’t figure how they had connected so easily. What had made the sheriff so
accepting of his quirks? Did he share the same feelings as him?

Perhaps. Perhaps Harry didn’t even realize it yet. He was still seeing Josie after all, which honestly
made Dale twinge with a tiny bit of jealousy (just a twinge, he told himself, because he respected
other’s relationships and he especially respected Harry), but also nervousness because it meant the
feelings could possibly never be there.

Cooper never thought they would be there. He just thought he was happy to have such a lovely and
rewarding friendship with Harry. And he does. Perhaps he didn’t realize the feelings until a few
nights ago because his subconscious wanted to ignore them and let things be how they were.

But it was the dream that put things in motion. It wasn’t the strange, patterned floor and red curtain
dream that he occasionally had. Or the one with the giant or the little man or Laura Palmer or any
of that. Instead, it was in the woods somewhere.

Dale saw Caroline in the distance. She smiled and waved to him, and he waved back. He tried
moving towards her, but his legs wouldn’t move his feet. They felt weak, nowhere near as strong as
the flutter in his stomach when he saw Caroline. Cooper turned a bit and saw that a few other girls
were there, ones that he briefly lusted over or just thought they were attractive. Nothing compared
to Caroline. Cooper turned once more and saw Harry standing there, just a few feet in front of him
which was closer compared to everyone else. Coop was genuinely surprised to see his friend.
“Oh! Harry!” Coop found that he could walk over to the man with ease. “I didn’t expect you to be
here.”

Harry smiled at him, and it caused Dale to smile back.

“Well Coop, the mind does many tricky things.” Harry told him, putting his hands in his pockets.

“It does.” Dale said quietly, looking around once more. “The subconscious is a marvelous thing
that we will probably only theorize about but not fully understand.”

“Just like something else.” Harry said, and took a step closer to him. “Unless you tell me.”

Dale inhaled sharply, and held his breath.

“Harry...do I love you...romantically?”

Just then Harry moved very close and put his hands around Dale’s waist, a new boundary for
sure. Harry leaned in for a moment Dale thought he was going to kiss him, and hoped so. Instead
Harry moved his face to Dale’s ear.

“Tell me.” Harry whispered and Dale felt the man kiss his cheek ever so softly. His cheek grew
warm, no doubt filling with color. Cooper closed his eyes and breathed in Harry’s scent.

The last moment had almost been in slow motion, he remembered, and Coop had wanted it to last
forever. It had been a wonderful dream, but had left him very confused and with a lot of things to
think about. And feelings to reflect on.

In the present, Dale could feel the kiss again on his cheek. He realized that his eyes were closed,
and opened them, remembering where he was.

He was in one of the meeting rooms, papers and files scattered in front of him. Harry sat across
from him, and caused a mix of relief and panic in Dale. He studied Harry for a moment, watching
the man carefully reading today’s reports over with concentration. He must’ve felt Cooper’s gaze
because he finally looked up at him.

“Oh, look who decided to come back to reality.” Harry smiled at him.

Dale chuckled. “I got lost in thought for a moment there. I didn’t realize I had closed my eyes.”

“I figured you were just resting your eyes for a moment, maybe even fell asleep. I didn’t want to
wake you.”

“Harry, you’re more than welcome to wake me, especially when we have work to do. Although,”
He met Harry’s eye. “I did mentally sort some things out, clear my head a bit.”

Dale put down the papers he was holding and leaned forward a bit. This caused Harry to lose his
smile and put down his papers as well.

Dale took a deep breath. “Harry, I need your opinion on something. And I need you to try to have a
mindset of someone else’s beside your own.”

Harry nodded, unsure what was happening. “Okay.”

“Do you think what we do, what I do, is okay?”

Harry blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Harry, I know I’m what some might describe as overly ‘touchy’ or ‘affectionate.’ And I’m like
that with nearly everyone I work with. It’s just natural for me. I realize that people might see this as
me wanting a romance to blossom, but that’s rarely the case.” Dale takes a another breath and
smiles at him. “But with you, I’ve noticed a change in myself.”

Dale let out a soft chuckle, looking at the table separating them and wishing it was gone.

“I don’t know what it is about you.” He continued. “Normally I’m not this way with other
coworkers in the past. I mean I am to a certain degree, but usually they don’t return it, a few even
showing their despise for it. But in my opinion you can form relationships with others while being
primarily focused on the case. I know I go above the normal boundaries of human interaction. But
so do the people I’m trying to catch. If anything, it gives me a break, a reminder that even though
I’m seeing all of this, I’m still human. And I think other people need that reminder too when it
comes to cases like these.”

He looked back up again at Harry, meeting his eye. Dale could see that the sheriff was ever so
slightly blushing. It felt good to see.

Harry’s lips formed into his signature smile. “I figured that. Either that, it was one of your Tibet
things. So I trusted you and I went with it. It keeps me human too.”

“Harry, I’m honored that you trust me. And that I can call you my friend.”

Harry nodded. “Well I really like you Coop, and everything you’ve done here for us. You’re one of
the best men I know. Why wouldn’t we be friends?”

Dale’s smile grew wider. “I like you too. I like being human with you.”

They continued going through their paperwork and whatever else needed to be done for the
evening. Cooper had grown well aware that after their conversation that their shoes were touching
along the sides. It was a subtle gesture that was normally meaningless, but neither of them moved
their foot away until they had finished and stood up. Cooper, who had attempted not to let his mind
wander on the topic of the sheriff for too much of the rest of the night, had managed to come up
with a short plan.

“Harry, I know it’s late,” Cooper said as they started to grab their jackets. “But would you care to
join me for a walk in the woods? The trees around here smelled amazing this morning after last
night’s rain and I wanted to enjoy the last of it before the wonderful dew goes away.”

Harry smiled as he or on his jacket. “Sure thing Coop. But it’s actually supposed to rain later this
week too.”

Cooper’s eyes lit up. Not only because of his plan but he really did want to enjoy the scent of the
woods. “Fantastic.”
After checking to see if anyone was still in, Harry locked the doors behind them. It was getting less
and less unusual that they were the last two left. Harry previously had given Dale a key so that he
could be the last to leave and the first in the morning whenever he wanted, which was occasional.

They turned towards the woods, walking past their cars and Dale felt the shift from parking lot to
grass below his feet. It instantly calmed him. He wasn’t too nervous about his plan, and even
linked his arm around Harry’s casually as they lazily strolled through the woods. Dale made a
mental joke to himself that they were like the couples you see in school hallways. They exchanged
a few words, but were comfortable in the silence, as they often were. Harry eventually took Dale’s
hand off his arm, causing Dale to panic for a moment. But instead Harry moved Dale’s hand to his
own and they linked fingers before exchanging a few giggly smiles. Harry’s naturally rough voice
made the giggles sound cute and ironic, and caused Coop to smile wider.

Eventually they got to a part of the woods where the sky was clear and the moon shown upon them
enough so that they could see each other clearly. It had been wonderful walking with Harry in the
dark, just naturally there with him, but Coop wanted to see the handsome man’s face. They sat
down next to each other at the bottom of a wider tree trunk, and each sighed, soaking in the scene.

For a moment Coop wondered if he should do this. Because things were perfect the way they
already were. He didn’t need to know Harry’s feelings for him to be able to take a walk in the
woods with him. And Harry didn’t need to know Coop’s feelings for him in order to hold his hand.
Dale thought for a moment, then looked at Harry.

Harry looked so damn beautiful . Dale could see the details of his curls and the outlines of the
other man’s face. And he could see the dark brown eyes perfectly when they came into full view as
Harry turned to look at Coop. They were sitting close to each other, and Dale couldn’t help but to
think back to his dream he had with Harry.

“I know I’m not the better detective here, but you look like you want to tell me something.” Harry
said softly, making Cooper return to reality. He realized he’s been holding breath and let out an
inaudible sigh.

Cooper smiled. “I do Harry, I really do. I just feel so human with you. I-“ His mind wandered
again, wanting to say so many things. “I really like you Harry. I trust you. And I trust you not to
judge me too much whenever I tell you about a dream. But there’s one I had few nights ago that
I’m sure you’ll look at me differently for.”

Harry shakes his head. “No, you know I wouldn’t judge for anything. I’m surprised you didn’t tell
me before about it. Does it have to do with the case?”
“No. That’s the problem. It was a more personal matter.” Dale said flatly, recalling the dream. “It
was about you. And me. And that’s why I’m not sure if I should tell you about it.”

Harry’s eyes widened a bit when Dale said he was in the dream, but he could also thought he saw a
sparkle in the sheriff’s eyes.

“You can tell me anything.” Harry said softly.

“I’m not sure if I should tell you about this one.” Dale turned to look ahead of them, feeling a bit
awkward.

He really wasn’t sure if he should do this. But then he felt a hand go to his waist and stay there,
and felt Harry moving closer to him.

“Tell me.” Harry whispered against his ear and Cooper could feel the unmistakable feeling of the
sheriff’s lips pressed against his cheek. It was so soft, and felt exactly as nice as it had in the dream.
And, it was exactly what had happened in the dream.

“Fascinating,” Dale heard himself say and turned to look at Harry, who had leaned away a bit but
still remained close. The hand stayed on Coop’s stomach. “That is exactly what happened in the
dream. You kissed me, and it was wonderful.”

He then told Harry about the dream he had, about Caroline, about the women, and about the
feeling he had gotten when Harry had kissed his cheek. The same buzzing in his stomach that he
had now. Hearing him describe the dream out loud brought a wave of relief over him. Harry
listened quietly, registering Dale’s words and smiled when he described the kiss and the
wonderfulness it brought Dale.

“So that’s what made you realize....you had a thing for me?” Harry smiled.

“Yes, the dream helped. I’m sure I would’ve realized eventually. It’s been bothering me for a
while now.” Coop told him. “I really liked the way things were. I’m so honored to be your friend.
And I’ll respect you and your wishes if you don’t want this. Because I know I can come off a little
strong-“ There was too many things he wanted to say. He closed his eyes and gave out a little
frustrated huff. “I really want to kiss you sometimes, Harry. More times than not wanting to. And
I’d like to do so now.”
Harry smiled immediately, and Dale heard him sigh in relief. Harry took his hand and intertwined
his fingers with Coop’s.

“I think about kissing you too.” He said softly. “I just never....I don’t know. I mean I never saw
myself falling in love for another man before. Not that I’m against it, I just never saw it
happening.”

Dale blinked at the word “love,” which he had mentally used to describe his feelings for Harry at
least twenty times now.

“I feel the same way, Harry.”

They both smiled, and for a moment listened to each other’s soft breathing. Dale looked over the
man’s features, amazed again at how beautiful he was. He could hear the frogs chirping
somewhere, and could feel Harry’s thumb stroking his palm. This moment was so perfect, Dale
was worried he was dreaming again.

“Can I kiss you Harry?” Coop asked softly, and it took everything to look at the sheriff’s eyes
rather than his lips, wanting to make sure this was all still okay. They crinkled when Harry smiled.

“Yes, Cooper.”

Without another word he pressed his lips to Harry’s. Harry lips were a bit chapped but otherwise
soft, and Dale was happy to notice his friend didn’t pull away from the contact. Harry deepened the
kiss and Dale let him. He tasted like sugar and coffee, and smelled like pine and musk. Dale
moved his hand to Harry’s neck, his fingers touching the dark curls that he had wanted to touch for
so long.

The other man pulled Dale closer and Dale smiled into the kiss before finally breaking the contact
at their mouths. He still remained close to Harry’s face, taking deep breaths and still holding the
sheriff’s face tenderly as if his friend were made of glass, and in a way he was. They both smiled,
and Harry puts a warm hand to Cooper’s cheek. Dale leaned into the hand, closing his eyes for a
moment and soaked in the feeling of the hand and the kind words that followed.

“I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so glad I met you. Everything feels right with you.”
 “Thank you Harry. Same to you.”

And Dale meant it. It did feel right.

End Notes

What a cheesy ending. Hope you liked it.

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