Better Together

[musicalluna]

Title: Better Together
Fandom: Psych
Author: MusicalLuna
Rating: T
Characters/Pairings: Shawn/Juliet
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Warnings: None
Complete: Yes
Summary: Juliet feels down. Shawn cheers her up.
A/N: It's the end of the semester, and as per usual, time for my biannual blues. The stress of not knowing whether or not I'm doing well in my classes and just general wintery moodiness always strikes around this time, and it was bumming me out this afternoon. Hooray for being an emotional basket-case. *rolls eyes*

I was talking to Jenn and confessed that I was feeling less than cheery and she wanted to help me feel better. I decided that I needed to write something utterly and excessively mushy, because a good chunk of sappy no-holds-barred romance always makes me feel better. I was clean out of ideas though, and Jenn suggested several things. This was the one that struck me hardest.

So I spewed out this total gush-fest of holiday mushy goodness. It succeeded in it's task, with the assistance of my BFF Jill (aka Jenn) and I thus present it to you, because she said she would do something really painful (I can't remember exactly what...) if I didn't.

So thank you Jenn, you srsly are the best BFF Jill I could ask for, and you are SUPERB at cheering me up. YOU PWN GIRL!
Disclaimer: They're not mine. Probably better they aren't.

 

Juliet wrapped her hands around a toasty mug of hot chocolate, curling up on the couch. It wasn’t all that cold outside, even in December, but then, it never got particularly cold in Santa Barbara. The mug of hot chocolate was warm and reassuring though, and helped ease the heavy weight in her chest.

It had begun creeping up on her after Thanksgiving, the way it always did. This particular time of year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas always came with a bittersweet touch. Her grandfather had passed away the year of her sixteenth Christmas and they had always been close, so it was a hard thing. Even now, almost thirteen years later, it still hurt to have to see the beginning of the Christmas season springing to life around her without him there to share it with her.

Her eyes began to prickle with moisture and she took a sip of the warm mixture in her hands, trying to swallow the lump growing in her throat. Now was a bad time to be alone.

And as if on cue, the doorbell rang.

She sniffled a little, blinking rapidly a few times to try and clear her vision before unfolding her legs as she set the mug on the coffee table and padding across the floor to answer the door.

Pulling it open, she paused, surprised. He really was psychic.

Shawn smiled warmly back at her, a striped scarf hanging from where it was tucked beneath the collar of his brown leather jacket. His bike was parked at the curb in front of her house, a tiny wreath with a large red ribbon hanging from the back of the seat. The air outside was just nippy enough to have turned his cheeks pink on the drive over and it gave him a warm rosy glow. "Hey," he said, his voice soft. It was easy to see that he knew exactly how she felt tonight. He was too perceptive for his own good.

She struggled to keep her composure—it was silly to be crying—but it was a loosing battle, and she fell into his arms, which came up at just the right moment to pull her against his chest.

Usually this breakdown was something that she reserved for private moments, late at night, when no one could see her falling apart, but that never stopped her from yearning to have a warm body that she could cry into. Shawn had exactly the comforting feel that she had always longed for.

He held her close, one hand on the back of her head and the other pressing against her back, his body warm against hers and his mouth breathing reassurances into her ear. With each hitching breath her nose filled with the soothing scent of his leather jacket as it mingled with the faint smells of his shampoo and soap and detergent.

She had no idea how long she cried into his shirt, clinging to him like a lifeline, but when the tears finally ebbed she felt better than she had in over a week. She sniffled, her forehead resting against his shoulder and her hands tangled inside his jacket and around his waist. He gave her a moment and then shifted, taking her face in his hands and tenderly wiping the lingering tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Better?" he murmured.

She nodded, tempted to let her eyes slide shut so that she could focus on the feeling of his hands on her face. "Better," she whispered.

He nodded and laid a gentle, lingering kiss on her forehead. "Get your coat," he said quietly, and the twinkle of a smile was back in his eyes. "I have a surprise for you."

Grabbing her coat off of the nearby rack, she couldn’t help being curious as to what Shawn had planned. He helped her slide it on and then took her hand, his own heating her icy fingers rapidly.

"Come on," he said and they stepped outside, the door closing behind them. The air outside was wonderfully crisp, making her nose and cheeks tingle. It was amazing how a little chill in the air and the soft glow from the strings of colored lights on the houses in the neighborhood could make it feel so exquisitely like Christmas.

"Where are we going?" she asked. He simply smiled in return and led her around the side of the house. She gasped when they rounded the back corner, her eyes going wide as she took in the spectacle that Shawn had created.

An enormous Christmas tree had been erected in the center of her small backyard, and then draped with a spectacular array of tinsel, ornaments, and sparkling lights that scattered their multihued glow across the entire yard. "Your grandfather always said the best view was from beneath the Christmas tree, didn’t he?" Shawn whispered in her ear.

Tears sprang to Juliet’s eyes all over again and she whirled, her hand leaping to Shawn’s jaw and pulling him into a fervent kiss. "Thank you," she breathed. "Thank you, Shawn, this is beautiful. It’s perfect."

He grinned, kissing her forehead again. "Come on. I want to lay here with you, and see just what your granddad was talking about."

Crossing the yard, the pair of them got down on their knees, Shawn lying down beneath the tree first before beckoning her to lie down at the crook of his shoulder. Snuggling close to his side, Juliet kissed his cheek as she settled in. Even knowing Shawn as she did, she couldn’t believe that he had remembered what she had said about her grandfather. As she looked up into the tree to see the sparkle of the lights reflecting on the silvery tinsel, the familiar pricking in the corners of her eyes returned. Grandpa had always been right. It was so beautiful down here. He had promised her that one day she would find someone to share this special view with and now…

Her hand sought out Shawn’s, interlocking their fingers and he smiled, pressing his cheek gently to her temple.

He pulled her closer to him, never taking his eyes off of her face, memorizing every sparkle of light in her glassy eyes.

"Yep," he whispered. "The best view is definitely down here."