musicalluna

Title: 019 Gray - One Hundred Reasons
Fandom: Psych
Author: MusicalLuna
Rating: T
Characters/Pairings: Lassiter/Polly
Genre: Fluff
Warnings: None
Complete: Yes
Summary: One of my responses for my 100 themes collection revolving around Lassiter and Polly.
A/N: You have Jenn to thank for the rockin' idea behind this fic. XDDDDDD
Disclaimer: I don't own Psych or it's characters.

Lassiter glared out of the corner of his eye. "Will you stop that?" he said and was only rewarded with a renewal of the giggling pouring from beneath Polly's hands. "What is so funny?!"

"I'm sorry, it's just—you—and the blindfold—and—" she burst into laughter again. "It's just so clichéd!"

Lassiter scowled. "I can turn the car around."

"No, no!" she said, "It's very sweet...it's just...where did you get the idea?"

Lassiter didn't answer for a long moment. Finally, mumbled under his breath: "...girlie movies."

His admission only made Polly laugh harder and his cheeks flamed.

Trying to ignore her laughter, he pulled into a parking space, eyeing a single dark gray cloud hovering over the far side of the park he'd chosen for their trip, daring it to come closer. It had taken him three hours and Juliet's help to find the perfect place, but he'd done it, and no way was some little gray cloud going to ruin his hard created surprise.

"Oooh, are we there?" Polly asked as he slipped out of the car. "Can I take the blindfold off?"

"No," he said and slammed the door, moving over to her side of the car to help her out.

After retrieving the picnic basket he had meticulously prepared from the back seat, he took her hand and led her into the park.

"Where are we Carlton?" she asked, clinging to his arm.

"It's a surprise," he said. "Meaning you don't get to know."

"Ooh!" she exclaimed as they moved through the edge of a playground erected in their path. "Sand? We're at the beach? Why are we at the beach? You're not going to swim are you, Carlton?" she asked, delight growing in her voice.

"No!" he said sharply. "I'm not swimming! Will you be quiet? It's a surprise, would you stop trying to ruin it already?"

Polly laughed, her hands squeezing around his arm as she leaned into his shoulder. "You're so easy to rile up, Carlton."

He huffed and muttered under his breath, "I'll show you riled up..."

The threat only made her giggling worse.

After another few minutes of walking, and gritting his teeth against Polly's incessant questions, they arrived at the lakeside he'd chosen and he released her hand. "Stay," he commanded.

She bit her lip, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth and waited patiently as he pulled out the blanket, tossing it out and spreading it across the grass. A small family of ducks swam past and Lassiter rolled his eyes. Polly would love it.

"Can I take it off yet?" Polly asked eagerly.

"No," he said sharply. "You can't take it off until I tell you you can!" He paused for a brief second and then said grudgingly. "You can take it off now."

Polly grinned delightedly and lifted her hands, tugging the blindfold free. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted and then her expression simply lit up, her smile threatening to overtake her face. "Oh Carlton!"

Gruffly, he said, "You're always talking about those picnics with your grandmother and I thought..."

Tears began pricking at the corners of Polly's eyes and she lunged forward, pulling him into a hug. "Oh, Carlton, it's perfect. This was so sweet!" She pulled his face down, kissing him.

When she pulled away he said awkwardly, "So you like it?"

Polly laughed again, smacking his shoulder. "Carlton, don't be ridiculous. I love it."

He smiled hesitantly. "Good."

“Did you bring bread?” Polly asked eagerly, crouching to dig around in the basket. Lassiter smiled as she worked to keep her hair out of her face in the breeze.

“Of course I brought bread. O’Hara reminded me about five hundred thousand times not to forget it,” he said.

Polly grinned at him, standing with several slices in hand. “She’s a smart girl.” Moving to the lakeshore she said, “Oh my goodness, look at the cute little ducks!” As she began tearing off pieces of the bread and cooing over the ducklings as they moved closer, Lassiter smiled to himself. His gaze moved briefly to the sky and he immediately frowned. The gray cloud was closer and larger now. He glared at it before moving to join Polly on the shore. She was surrounded by ducks now and giggling delightedly as they gobbled up the bits of bread as she tossed them down. “They’re so cute,” she gushed.

“Yeah, cute,” he agreed, but it wasn’t the ducks he was watching.

He continued to watch as she fed the ducks, joining in only when she forced a piece of bread into his hand and told him, “Come on, it’s fun.”

The sky continued to slowly darken above them, the breeze picking up and twisting Polly’s skirt around her legs so that she had to hold it down with one hand. It was incredibly cute and Lassiter enjoyed sneaking glances at her as she struggled to keep it in place. That was, until the first drop struck him on the nose. He cursed and Polly hardly had the time to open her mouth to scold him before it was pouring.

They were soaked in just moments.

“Dammit!” he swore furiously as he gathered up the picnic basket and caught the blanket before it could blow away. Polly meanwhile laughed delightedly, her arms stretching out as she lifted her face to the sky. “It was supposed to be sunny all day!” Lassiter said furiously. “SUNNY!”

He caught Polly by the hand and pulled her beneath the picnic blanket, holding it over both their heads. “Come on!”

The pair of them took off, Polly keeping close to his side and laughing as they ran. Deciding it wasn’t worth it to try to get to the car just yet, they veered off at the abandoned playground, clambering up the chains stretched out in front of the tower. The pair of them were too large to fit entirely, even with their backs against the opposite wall, and their feet dangled out over the chain climber. Muttering darkly under his breath, Lassiter wiped at his face, trying to get rid of some of the water.

“It’s all right, Carlton,” Polly said gently, a faint smile on her face.

“It’s not all right! I planned everything and now it’s totally screwed up. It—I—” He growled in frustration.

Polly took his hand, interlocking their fingers and she smiled at him a hand smoothing over his wet shirt. “I don’t know, Carlton, I think it worked out pretty well.”

He stared at her in astonishment. “Well? The picnic was ruined, Polly!”

“The food is still dry, Carlton,” she said, trying to stifle her amusement. “And now it’s just you…and me…in this little playground sanctuary.” She pressed a slow, warm kiss to his neck that sent tendrils of warmth snaking into his chest. He turned to look at her, a frown still creasing his forehead.

“You’re not upset?”

She smiled. “This is shaping up to be the best picnic ever, Carlton,” she said and kissed him. “I’d say ‘upset’ is the opposite of what I’m feeling,” she murmured.

The rest of Lassiter’s anger melted away as she leaned into another kiss, her fingers teasing the damp hair behind his ear.

Rainy day picnics were starting to look like his new favorite activity.