FIC: Quarter Life Crisis (22/24) - Carlton/Shawn - PG-13 - Psych
Title: Quarter Life Crisis (22/24)
author: PookaSeraph
pairing: Carlton/Shawn
rating: PG-13
disclaimer: Not mine, Never will be
summary: Shawn talks himself around to a big change.
notes: Never fear, even though QLC is winding down, I have other ideas on the horizon. Hopefully more fic will happen when QLC finishes up.
Previous Parts:
[One] | [Two] | [Three] | [Four] | [Five] | [Six]
[Seven] | [Eight] | [Nine] | [Ten] | [Eleven] | [Twelve]
[Thirteen] | [Fourteen] | [Fifteen] | [Sixteen] | [Seventeen] | [Eighteen]
[Nineteen] | [Twenty] | [Twenty One]
Current Part:
Chapter 22:
Shawn sent Carlton off to work the next morning and bummed around his apartment, vaguely tidying up. The whole place was over-cluttered. Shawn usually relied on the fact that he moved every few months to cut down on the various knickknacks that he accidentally accrued. A bigger apartment would mean Shawn could actually keep the junk, but there was something that made him feel pressed to throw things away.
He was going to move in with Carlton. Shawn had never really lived with someone, unless you counted trading sex for a place to live when he traveled around. This was different.
And Carlton wanted to move in together, wanted to buy a house even. Carlton had sometimes talked about the aggravation and hassle of the divorce and being forced to move out of his own house. And he wanted to put himself into that again, for Shawn.
Shawn's childish hesitation towards owning something seemed unimportant in the face of that.
He picked up his phone and called Henry. He answered on the second ring.
"Hey, dad?"
"Shawn, is everything alright?"
"Oh, yeahyeahyeah, everything's fine. I was just wondering: how do you buy a house?"
"You want to buy a house?"
"Yes!" Shawn paused. "No! I mean, Carlton wants to and I'm thinking about it."
"So you two are moving in together?"
"I know you always dreamed of walking me down the aisle for a white wedding, but that's not a option, so the next logical step would be moving in, yes." Shawn was thankful he didn't have any great attachment to the institution of marriage, and likewise glad Carlton seemed to have gotten it out of his system after one go-round.
"That's a big step, Shawn." His dad had the condescending tone that drove Shawn nuts.
"Yes, I know, believe me dad, the thought has not escaped me. I've stooped to calling you, does that pass everyone's little seriousness tests?"
"Seriousness tests?"
Shawn couldn't have this conversation with Henry. At least Annette seemed to accept that Shawn was serious without him having to make some oath or whatever else seemed necessary for people to accept Shawn actually loved Carlton.
"You know what, never mind dad, I'll figure it out myself."
"Shawn, I'll help. You just need a direction. Go see what's out there, and what it costs, then talk to Carlton about how much you can afford and where you want to live. It's the financing and paperwork that takes a long time and is the hard part. We could talk about it at dinner tomorrow."
Shawn had grunted an assent and headed out on his bike, cruising areas of the city that might have houses. He would up collecting dozens of one page summaries, looking in windows, scoping out neighborhoods, cross-referencing them with the crime statistics he had memorized, and making guesses at commuting times for Carlton and to the beach front office for Shawn.
Around one he realized Carlton had called a few hours ago. Shawn listened to the message asking if Shawn wanted to get lunch and instantly felt guilty for missing the call. Carlton had called two more times but hadn't left messages.
Shawn called back just to apologize.
"Lassiter." Shawn smiled at his crisp answer.
"Hey, Carlton. Sorry I was out riding didn't hear the phone."
"Everything alright?" Carlton had that slightly concerned tone. It was fair, Shawn didn't just hop on a bike and ride for no reason.
"Yeah, I'll see you for dinner right?"
"I'll be home before seven."
Shawn continued his quest for the prefect house, only ending a little after six when he heading back to his apartment, with a pit stop to pick up something for dinner. House fliers and dinner in one hand he went in the door where he found Carlton pacing, beer in hand.
Carlton set the beer down instantly and pulled Shawn in to a fierce hug. Shawn melted into the hug running his free hand against Carlton's back.
"What brought this on? Bad day at work?" Shawn tossed his collected fliers and food on the breakfast bar so he could wrap both arms around Carlton. Shawn was quite surprised, Carlton was not usually this needy.
Carlton pulled Shawn away, hands curled hard against Shawn's shoulders, holding him at arm's length for a moment.
"I thought you'd run off again."
Shawn stood for a moment, trying to figure out why Carlton would think he had run off. Shawn realized he had every right to have thought that, Shawn ran away. Running away was something Shawn had a lot of experience with. Carlton had actually probably gotten used to Shawn's disappearing acts after a tough conversation.
"No, I was ... driving around town." Shawn grabbed the fliers and held them out to Carlton. "I was looking at houses that were for sale. I didn't know what our price range is so I just sort of took one of everything. I went out to Carpinteria too, in case you wanted to live near your mother. I know you like suburban, so I spread out, looked all over. A lot were real run down. I know my dad likes that sort of thing, but I guarantee I didn't inherit whatever makes men want to lay tile." Shawn had to stop babbling so he clamped his mouth shut and waited for Carlton to say something.
"You were out all day looking at houses?"
"You were so excited about having a house again. You don't need to settle for a slightly larger apartment." Shawn looked at his feet. This sort of thing made him so uncomfortable. Opening your mouth and saying you wanted something made it real. He'd hardly admitted to himself how much he'd wanted Carlton, and it was only after they'd been dating for months that he'd said it out loud to anyone.
"Shawn, that's --" Carlton took the fliers and pulled Shawn in for another hug. "Wow."
Shawn smiled into Carlton's neck, letting the warm feeling that fell over him linger. He loved the surprised and awed tone of Carlton's voice and the fact that he had been the one who put it there.
"I got sandwiches for dinner, since I didn't have time to cook." Shawn showed the bag in his hand. Carlton smiled, kissed Shawn on the temple and went to the kitchen to get plates, catsup and a beer for Shawn while Shawn pulled out the subs and fries.
Carlton took his own seat and unwrapped his sandwich.
"I haven't worked out any of the numbers since I thought we were going to look at apartments, but I can figure that out this evening. In the meantime, tell me about the houses you liked."
The rest of the evening was devoted to Shawn listing the various pros and cons of the houses he had visited, eventually picking out a half dozen that both of them agreed to check out the next free day they had.
Later that night when he curled up against Carlton and was about to drift off to sleep he knew he had to say something more.
"Carly?" Shawn whispered. Carlton made one of his grumpy noises that Shawn knew meant he preferred 'Carlton'. "I'm not going to run away again."
Carlton kissed him on the forehead and mumbled a soft response.
"I believe you."
* * *
Shawn's resolve to his former promise was tested almost instantly a week later. Carlton and Shawn had picked a house, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom (with a promise from Henry to help repair some of the obvious warts, including a rundown bathroom), near the beach. It was slightly more than Carlton had wanted to spend, but still in their budget. Bank financing had been approved and it was time to put the final signatures to paper and actually *buy* a house.
Shawn was in his living room, in a nice dress shirt and jacket, but wearing jeans, pacing. He even stooped to fussing with his hair, which was quite atypical for him. Carlton was watching him with a nervous worry.
"We don't have to buy the house, Shawn."
"Nonono, yes we do. Dude, it's an awesome house. It's perfect." Carlton didn't look convinced. "Maybe I should have bought my bike from Annette as a warm up."
"Shawn, there will be other houses, we can wait a little longer, it's ok."
"Carlton Lassiter!" Carlton looked both terrified and amused from the use of his full name. "Dude, Stop trying to talk me out this! Now, lets get in the car, go to the real estate office, and then come home and have sex on the couch."
Carlton quickly glanced at the couch in a way that let Shawn know he was wondering if he could get away with changing the order of Shawn's suggested tasks. Shawn smirked and pushed Carlton out the door towards the car.
The ride over was silent with Shawn trying to stop the jittering of his legs while Carlton drove.
Nancy, the very nice real estate agent, who thought Shawn and Carlton were adorable, greeted them with handshakes and led them over to her desk were far too much official paperwork was stacked.
Shawn's knuckles were white from gripping the pen too tightly and he was relatively sure he was leaving bruises on Carlton's shoulder where he clutched it for support.
Shawn signed on every line where Nancy pointed, feeling his freedom slipping away but finding he didn't mind at all.
"That's everything," Nancy informed them, sounding quite perky. "Congratulations on your new home!"
Shawn grabbed Carlton, pulling him into a tight hug as the ink dried on their future.
author: PookaSeraph
pairing: Carlton/Shawn
rating: PG-13
disclaimer: Not mine, Never will be
summary: Shawn talks himself around to a big change.
notes: Never fear, even though QLC is winding down, I have other ideas on the horizon. Hopefully more fic will happen when QLC finishes up.
Previous Parts:
[One] | [Two] | [Three] | [Four] | [Five] | [Six]
[Seven] | [Eight] | [Nine] | [Ten] | [Eleven] | [Twelve]
[Thirteen] | [Fourteen] | [Fifteen] | [Sixteen] | [Seventeen] | [Eighteen]
[Nineteen] | [Twenty] | [Twenty One]
Current Part:
Chapter 22:
Shawn sent Carlton off to work the next morning and bummed around his apartment, vaguely tidying up. The whole place was over-cluttered. Shawn usually relied on the fact that he moved every few months to cut down on the various knickknacks that he accidentally accrued. A bigger apartment would mean Shawn could actually keep the junk, but there was something that made him feel pressed to throw things away.
He was going to move in with Carlton. Shawn had never really lived with someone, unless you counted trading sex for a place to live when he traveled around. This was different.
And Carlton wanted to move in together, wanted to buy a house even. Carlton had sometimes talked about the aggravation and hassle of the divorce and being forced to move out of his own house. And he wanted to put himself into that again, for Shawn.
Shawn's childish hesitation towards owning something seemed unimportant in the face of that.
He picked up his phone and called Henry. He answered on the second ring.
"Hey, dad?"
"Shawn, is everything alright?"
"Oh, yeahyeahyeah, everything's fine. I was just wondering: how do you buy a house?"
"You want to buy a house?"
"Yes!" Shawn paused. "No! I mean, Carlton wants to and I'm thinking about it."
"So you two are moving in together?"
"I know you always dreamed of walking me down the aisle for a white wedding, but that's not a option, so the next logical step would be moving in, yes." Shawn was thankful he didn't have any great attachment to the institution of marriage, and likewise glad Carlton seemed to have gotten it out of his system after one go-round.
"That's a big step, Shawn." His dad had the condescending tone that drove Shawn nuts.
"Yes, I know, believe me dad, the thought has not escaped me. I've stooped to calling you, does that pass everyone's little seriousness tests?"
"Seriousness tests?"
Shawn couldn't have this conversation with Henry. At least Annette seemed to accept that Shawn was serious without him having to make some oath or whatever else seemed necessary for people to accept Shawn actually loved Carlton.
"You know what, never mind dad, I'll figure it out myself."
"Shawn, I'll help. You just need a direction. Go see what's out there, and what it costs, then talk to Carlton about how much you can afford and where you want to live. It's the financing and paperwork that takes a long time and is the hard part. We could talk about it at dinner tomorrow."
Shawn had grunted an assent and headed out on his bike, cruising areas of the city that might have houses. He would up collecting dozens of one page summaries, looking in windows, scoping out neighborhoods, cross-referencing them with the crime statistics he had memorized, and making guesses at commuting times for Carlton and to the beach front office for Shawn.
Around one he realized Carlton had called a few hours ago. Shawn listened to the message asking if Shawn wanted to get lunch and instantly felt guilty for missing the call. Carlton had called two more times but hadn't left messages.
Shawn called back just to apologize.
"Lassiter." Shawn smiled at his crisp answer.
"Hey, Carlton. Sorry I was out riding didn't hear the phone."
"Everything alright?" Carlton had that slightly concerned tone. It was fair, Shawn didn't just hop on a bike and ride for no reason.
"Yeah, I'll see you for dinner right?"
"I'll be home before seven."
Shawn continued his quest for the prefect house, only ending a little after six when he heading back to his apartment, with a pit stop to pick up something for dinner. House fliers and dinner in one hand he went in the door where he found Carlton pacing, beer in hand.
Carlton set the beer down instantly and pulled Shawn in to a fierce hug. Shawn melted into the hug running his free hand against Carlton's back.
"What brought this on? Bad day at work?" Shawn tossed his collected fliers and food on the breakfast bar so he could wrap both arms around Carlton. Shawn was quite surprised, Carlton was not usually this needy.
Carlton pulled Shawn away, hands curled hard against Shawn's shoulders, holding him at arm's length for a moment.
"I thought you'd run off again."
Shawn stood for a moment, trying to figure out why Carlton would think he had run off. Shawn realized he had every right to have thought that, Shawn ran away. Running away was something Shawn had a lot of experience with. Carlton had actually probably gotten used to Shawn's disappearing acts after a tough conversation.
"No, I was ... driving around town." Shawn grabbed the fliers and held them out to Carlton. "I was looking at houses that were for sale. I didn't know what our price range is so I just sort of took one of everything. I went out to Carpinteria too, in case you wanted to live near your mother. I know you like suburban, so I spread out, looked all over. A lot were real run down. I know my dad likes that sort of thing, but I guarantee I didn't inherit whatever makes men want to lay tile." Shawn had to stop babbling so he clamped his mouth shut and waited for Carlton to say something.
"You were out all day looking at houses?"
"You were so excited about having a house again. You don't need to settle for a slightly larger apartment." Shawn looked at his feet. This sort of thing made him so uncomfortable. Opening your mouth and saying you wanted something made it real. He'd hardly admitted to himself how much he'd wanted Carlton, and it was only after they'd been dating for months that he'd said it out loud to anyone.
"Shawn, that's --" Carlton took the fliers and pulled Shawn in for another hug. "Wow."
Shawn smiled into Carlton's neck, letting the warm feeling that fell over him linger. He loved the surprised and awed tone of Carlton's voice and the fact that he had been the one who put it there.
"I got sandwiches for dinner, since I didn't have time to cook." Shawn showed the bag in his hand. Carlton smiled, kissed Shawn on the temple and went to the kitchen to get plates, catsup and a beer for Shawn while Shawn pulled out the subs and fries.
Carlton took his own seat and unwrapped his sandwich.
"I haven't worked out any of the numbers since I thought we were going to look at apartments, but I can figure that out this evening. In the meantime, tell me about the houses you liked."
The rest of the evening was devoted to Shawn listing the various pros and cons of the houses he had visited, eventually picking out a half dozen that both of them agreed to check out the next free day they had.
Later that night when he curled up against Carlton and was about to drift off to sleep he knew he had to say something more.
"Carly?" Shawn whispered. Carlton made one of his grumpy noises that Shawn knew meant he preferred 'Carlton'. "I'm not going to run away again."
Carlton kissed him on the forehead and mumbled a soft response.
"I believe you."
* * *
Shawn's resolve to his former promise was tested almost instantly a week later. Carlton and Shawn had picked a house, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom (with a promise from Henry to help repair some of the obvious warts, including a rundown bathroom), near the beach. It was slightly more than Carlton had wanted to spend, but still in their budget. Bank financing had been approved and it was time to put the final signatures to paper and actually *buy* a house.
Shawn was in his living room, in a nice dress shirt and jacket, but wearing jeans, pacing. He even stooped to fussing with his hair, which was quite atypical for him. Carlton was watching him with a nervous worry.
"We don't have to buy the house, Shawn."
"Nonono, yes we do. Dude, it's an awesome house. It's perfect." Carlton didn't look convinced. "Maybe I should have bought my bike from Annette as a warm up."
"Shawn, there will be other houses, we can wait a little longer, it's ok."
"Carlton Lassiter!" Carlton looked both terrified and amused from the use of his full name. "Dude, Stop trying to talk me out this! Now, lets get in the car, go to the real estate office, and then come home and have sex on the couch."
Carlton quickly glanced at the couch in a way that let Shawn know he was wondering if he could get away with changing the order of Shawn's suggested tasks. Shawn smirked and pushed Carlton out the door towards the car.
The ride over was silent with Shawn trying to stop the jittering of his legs while Carlton drove.
Nancy, the very nice real estate agent, who thought Shawn and Carlton were adorable, greeted them with handshakes and led them over to her desk were far too much official paperwork was stacked.
Shawn's knuckles were white from gripping the pen too tightly and he was relatively sure he was leaving bruises on Carlton's shoulder where he clutched it for support.
Shawn signed on every line where Nancy pointed, feeling his freedom slipping away but finding he didn't mind at all.
"That's everything," Nancy informed them, sounding quite perky. "Congratulations on your new home!"
Shawn grabbed Carlton, pulling him into a tight hug as the ink dried on their future.