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1. Coffee with Pastries
Shawn walked into the police station carrying a drink carrier with three coffees and a box of pastries. He smiled at the main desk and asked for Officer McNab. A minute later he smiled at the tall officer walking over to the desk.
“Buzz!”
“Shawn. Good to see you!”
“You too, man. Here, this is for you.” He grabbed the vanilla latte from the carrier and handed it to the officer. “Thanks for the information. I owe you one.”
“No worries. The detectives work hard and deserve a sweet treat every once in awhile.”
“I totally agree. Where are O’Hara and Lassiter?”
Buzz motioned behind him. “Lassiter is at his desk, O’Hara is down in interrogation.”
“It cool if I go deliver these?”
Buzz nodded with a smile. “Oh sure. Just don’t go anywhere other than to their desks, yeah?”
“I promise, Buzz. Scouts honor.” He saluted to the officer before slipping past and heading to Carly’s desk. “Lassie!” He held up the drinks and box for show as he approached. He almost lost his smile at the sight of Carly tensing. The man didn’t even look up from his paperwork.
“Spencer. What do you want?”
He did frown at the use of his last name. “I, uh, brought the coffee and pastries I promised last week.”
“Right.”
“If you’re busy, I can drop these off and leave. No big deal.” Shawn’s earlier confidence disappeared.
Carly finally looked up and Shawn put on a small smile - those blue eyes took his breath away. He knew he still had a lot to do to gain Carly’s trust, and he planned to do whatever it took. He held up drinks and pastry box again.
“Where do you want them?” Shawn asked.
Carly stared for a second before moving some files around on his desk to clear a spot.
Shawn set the stuff down. “Alright, no one really knows what you like, so I got a few different goodies for you to try. Make sure you report back so I can bring the best stuff next time.”
“Next time?” Carly asked.
“Yup! Now the cheese danish is for O’Hara. I was told its her favorite. But the rest is for you!” Carly said nothing so Shawn kept rambling.
“The lattes have your names on them, so as long as you can read, you’ll get the right one. I know you’re busy so I’ll leave you to it, but I’ll see you next week!” He waved before turning around and heading towards the entrance. He nodded to Buzz as he left.
He didn’t catch his breath until he’d reached his motorcycle. Fuck. He needed Carly to forgive him.
2. SBPD vs FDSB Softball Showdown
For once the stands of an FDSB (Fire Department of Santa Barbara) softball game were full, on both sides. The FDSB softball team was made up of firefighters from all 8 stations in the Santa Barbara area, and they tended to have full stands with significant others and fellow firefighters that were there to support their brothers and sisters in red. But the game against the SBPD? Well that drew in an even bigger crowd, and the SBPD were able to fill their sides as well. Everyone wanted to see the ultimate showdown of the season.
For once, Shawn was nervous about the game. Carly played for the other team and Shawn was still struggling to earn the man’s trust. Two weeks of pastries hadn’t fixed everything like he’d hoped. He honestly didn’t know what to do next to fix things.
“Spence! You ready to kick some police department ass?!”
Shawn looked over from where he was watching the SBPD team gather in their dugout to see the FD starting pitcher, Jennings “Jen” Hahn, walking over to him from the parking lot.
“Hell yeah,” Shawn said with as much enthusiasm he could muster.
“We gotta keep our winning streak going,” Jen patted the shorter man on the shoulder before heading into the dugout.
The FDSB had won the last five time the two teams had faced. The FDSB were actually undefeated in their season so far. It really helped that their first baseman was like 6’3” so Shawn wasn’t able to overthrow him very easily, given his yips problem he’d had since he was a child. Thanks Henry.
Shawn went back to staring at the SBPD bench and barely kept back the heart eyes at seeing Carly standing there in baseball pants and damn, did he want to sleep with that man.
“Get your head out of the gutter, Lieutenant.”
Shawn once again turned away from the police dugout and nodded at Ty Manetti, the only other player from Station 7. “My head’s in the game, Manetti.”
“Sure it is,” Manetti winked at him before running onto the field. Shawn sighed and followed.
First, he’d help his team win the game. Then he’d flirt with Carly. Game first, then flirt. He could do this.
They were up 3-2 and the bases were loaded when Shawn walked up to the plate. If he hit a homer, he’d basically seal the win for the FDSB with only the bottom of the inning to go. He could do this. He swung the bat once before stepping up to the plate and facing the opposing pitcher. He was so grateful he couldn't tell what shade of blue Carly’s eyes were from this distance. He met the man’s intense glare before letting out a breath and focusing on the ball. He could do this.
“C’mon Spence! Get ‘em home!” Jen called from the bench, followed by cheers of his teammates.
He wouldn’t let Carly knock him off his game.
Carly threw the first pitch and Shawn swung. He felt the hit through his arms as his bat hit the ball. He swung through and watched the ball go far enough that he started running. He heard loud cheers behind him and watched as the ball didn’t get hit out of the park, but landed far into the outfield. He rounded first and headed to second. One run in. 4-2. As the ball was thrown towards the infield, Shawn bolted around second. Two runs in. 5-2. His third base coach motioned for him to slide and he did. He slid into third as the ball was caught by the third basemen.
The crowd fell quiet. Everyone turned to the ump. A second later, “SAFE!”
The fire department roared to life from the bench and the crowd cheered from the bleachers.
Shawn beamed as he climbed to his feet. He met Carly’s gaze and he shrugged innocently. He smiled harder when Carly didn’t glare at him, instead nodding respectfully. That was progress.
The game ended 5-3, with a run hit in by the SBPD in the bottom of the inning. The FDSB continued their unbeaten streak. The firefighters were on a high as they lined up to shake hands with the police officers. Shawn stood last in line and smiled brightly as he exchanged “good games” with the opponent. He stopped when Carly high fived him, they were the last two in their respective lines.
“Good game, Carly,” he said, just loud enough to be heard by Carly alone. “That was a hell of a pitch.”
“That was a a hell of a hit. Good game, Shawn.”
Shawn was on cloud nine for the rest of the evening while having drinks with his team. First names again? Definitely progress.
3. Gun Range
He’d never admit it, but Shawn actually enjoyed shooting a gun every once in a while. Ever since he had the cop legacy removed from his shoulders and he became a firefighter, he didn’t mind going to the shooting range and keeping up on his skills. Which was how he ended up at a private shooting range, that mostly catered to cops and hunters, on a Saturday, ready to shoot away his feelings.
He’d brought pastries to Carly a third time, following the softball game, and had to leave them with Buzz since Carly had been out at a crime scene. He was still disappointed a day later, so he was ready to shoot something to get his mind off of it.
He nodded to the main desk employee that was always there on Saturdays before heading out to the range. He owned his own Sig hand pistol inside a hand case and headed to his reserved lane. He was settled and ready in 2 minutes. With his first shot he felt the stress of his life, job and love life slowly release. Once a whole mag was empty, he didn’t have a single problem left in his mind for the blissful thirty seconds it took to reload. He glanced around the range, taking a second to relax in this problem free mindset. Then he spotted him. Fucking hell.
Three lanes down, Shawn spotted the one, the only, Carly Lassiritos.
All his feelings hit him again like a brick. He was really far gone on Carly.
He almost went over there, to chat it up with his favorite detective, but he knew, from what little he knew about Carly from their bar conversation and the information he’d been getting from Buzz, that it would likely not be appreciated.
Shawn knew, that when he, himself, was in the zone at the gun range, the last thing he wanted was a distraction of a rambling, obsessed with him, stalker type. So Shawn turned back to the targets and resumed the task at hand.
If Shawn was disappointed to see Carly gone when he finished up, well, he tried his best to ignore it.
Shawn disassembled and put his gun away before heading out of the range and checking out at the main desk. He turned to leave and pulled up just short of running into a taller man. He looked up and couldn’t stop the smile at seeing it was Carly - the man must not have left immediately.
“Carly!” Shawn moved so Carly could continue out the main door.
“Are you stalking me now?” Carly’s voice was tense as he walked out.
Shawn followed and chuckled awkwardly. “I can see why you’d think that, but no. I’m a member here. I come here to clear my head sometimes.” He motioned to his gun case for proof.
Carly nodded. “Right, sorry.”
“I saw you shooting in there - you weren’t using the typical glock. Can I ask what your preferred gun is?”
Shawn knew he’d asked the right question when Carly’s face subtly lit up. The taller man pulled out his gun from its holster and started explaining all its details.
Shawn listened intently, enjoying every second of it.
4. The Letter
Shawn was out of ideas. He didn’t know what else to do to get Carly to trust him - he would be okay with them being friends even, if that was all Shawn could have. Carly had seemed to be opening up to Shawn again, until two days ago when Shawn and Carly had gotten into it at the scene of a car crash. Carly and O’Hara had been in a high speed chase with a potential killer when the guy had lost control and hit a median.
The fire department had been called, and Shawn had been in charge on scene. Carly had yelled at Shawn that the man was dying and they needed to hurry and get him out of the car - they needed him alive because they didn’t have proof he was for sure the killer. They needed more proof or a confession.
Shawn had tried being nice, but when Carly had called his crew incompetent, he’d lost it. They had a huge argument on scene before O’Hara dragged Carly away so Shawn could return to his job. Shawn may have said things he wasn’t proud of, and he knew in his heart he’d fucked their relationship up again. Not like they had a relationship to begin with.
Now he was sitting on his bike in the police station parking lot, trying to decide whether he should deliver the letter that was in his jacket or not. Gus had suggested he confess his feelings for Carly and be totally transparent with the man about his intentions. Shawn knew he’d never be able to get the words out, at least not well spoken, so he wrote a letter. He’d written it 10 times before he’d decided it was good enough.
He sighed and climbed off his bike. He headed inside and up to the main desk. They waved him through, he’d been there once a week, every week for almost two months. They knew he was there for Carly. Shawn was thrilled to see Carly wasn’t at his desk, and neither was O’Hara. He set the letter on Carly’s desk and left as quick as he came.
Now he would wait.
5. Fishing
Shawn got a text during the last hour of his shift. He was eating a late dinner with his crew, when his phone dinged. He checked it and couldn’t help but smile at seeing it was from Carly. That was until he read the message.
“You want to get to know me? Meet me tomorrow at 5 am at the docks. We’re going fishing. - Carlton”
Fuck, he hated fishing.
“Problem there, Lieutenant?” Manetti asked from across the table.
He looked up to see his whole crew looking at him. “No, all’s good,” he reassured.
Manetti raised an eyebrow in question but didn’t say anything else.
Shawn sighed. “Apparently, I’m going fishing tomorrow.”
“You hate fishing,” Beth “Stevie” Stephens said.
“I don’t…hate it.”
“Yeah, that was convincing,” Stevie said. “What, did Carly ask you to go?” she asked, jokingly. For a moment, Shawn hated that he confided in her, best friend at the station be damned. He didn’t dare respond. “Oh my gosh, he did!” She laughed.
“You’re still pursuing that detective?” Manetti asked.
“Maybe,” Shawn mumbled.
“The one that yelled at us?” Charlie “Berns” Bernsen asked, disbelief in his voice.
“Maybe,” Shawn said. “He’s not normally that much of an asshole.”
“Uh huh, sure,” Berns said, not believing Shawn’s half-ass excuse.
“It doesn’t matter, the Lieutenant won’t be able to fish and Carly will realize he’s not a good catch anyway,” Stevie joked.
“I can fish,” Shawn defended, remembering Henry forcing him out onto the boat too many times for his liking.
“We’ll see.”
Shawn parked his bike at 4:45 and headed down to the docks, following Carly’s instructions. He wasn’t completely surprised to see Carly already there, and he was grateful to see the older man holding two fishing rods - Shawn hadn’t wanted to ask Henry for gear.
“Carly!” He greeted with a smile. “Thanks for the invite.”
“You ever been fishing before?” Carly asked as he handed Shawn his extra rod, he had a small smile on his face that made Shawn’s heart want to explode.
“Yup!”
“Good. I borrowed a friend’s boat. It’s this way.” He turned and led the way to the boat.
Shawn followed, taking a second to admire Carly in casual wear. The cargo pants and button up left Shawn breathless, and he loved the bit of stern bush that peaked out where the top couple of buttons were undone.
“Do you go fishing a lot?” Shawn asked.
“Dobson and I will make our way onto the water two to three times a month, work schedule permitting.”
Shawn nodded. “I haven’t been fishing in years, so I will take any and all tips you got.”
Carly climbed onto a boat and offered Shawn a hand in. “I’m sure I can show you a trick or two.” Shawn took it, feeling on cloud nine. Maybe fishing wouldn’t be so bad.
It didn’t take long for them to head out onto the water.
“You been fishing most of your life?” Shawn asked, not able to stay quiet long.
“Yeah, it’s one of the few things my father taught me that wasn’t a terrible life lesson.”
“I could say the same for Henry.” At Carly’s curious look, he explained. “My dad.”
“Henry Spencer? Your father isn’t retired detective Henry Spencer, is he?”
Shawn forced a smile. “The very same, sadly.”
“And you became a firefighter?”
“Mostly to spite the old man. He was not a fan.”
Carlton chuckled. “That tracks. Grudges between cops and firefighters are legendary.”
“But not between all cops and firefighters,” Shawn said as he nudged Carly with his shoulder. “So, how far out are we going?”
As soon as Carly showed Shawn the ropes, the detective enforced the “no talking while fishing” rule. Shawn was going insane. He’d never been quiet for this long in his life. It had been almost 45 minutes of silence according to Carly’s watch and Shawn could barely take it.
Carly had already caught two fish, but Shawn’s kept getting away because he was too distracted by the silence to pay attention. He tried to keep the fidgeting to a minimum, last thing he wanted to do was irritate Carly, but damn was it hard.
Carly had rolled his sleeves up as the sun came up, and all Shawn wanted to do was tell Carly how sexy he looked. He bit his tongue to keep quiet.
He shifted his legs again, staring out at the water so he wouldn’t leer at the handsome detective.
“Alright, you can talk.” Carly glanced at his watch. “Get it all out in the next ten minutes. Then we’ll go back to silence.”
Shawn had never been so grateful for someone taking pity on him. He turned to face the detective. “Damn, Carly, you are fucking sexy when you fish, and I’m sorry if that crosses a line. I cannot keep that thought to myself anymore.”
Carly smiled and Shawn noticed the slightest blush on his cheeks. “That’s whats been on your mind this whole time?”
“Pretty much, you’re driving me insane.” He smiled when Carly gave him a not so subtle once over.
“You’re not too bad yourself, though you’d be sexier if you actually caught a fish,” Carly jabbed.
“Did I mention yet how much I actually hate fishing?” Carly tilted his head in a silent question. “I despair it. I really do, but I wanted to spend time with you, and I want to know everything about you. So if that means I sit in total silence, doing an activity I hate, I will do it in a heartbeat as long as I’m with you.”
“I think you mean despise, not despair.”
“I’ve heard it both ways,” Shawn responded automatically.
Carly laughed, and Shawn knew right then and there, that he would fall in love with Carly so hard, if the man would let him.
They were out on the water for almost three hours, and Carly would cancel the call for silence twice more for Shawn before they headed back to the docks. Shawn honestly couldn’t be happier with how the morning went, and he even caught a fish, with Carly’s help. He’d then demanded they throw it back in before Carly could add it to their bucket. Carly did so.
Shawn had never had a good time fishing, usually due to Henry’s presence. He could now say fishing wasn’t so bad, as long as he had his Carly by his side.
When they got to shore, Shawn helped Carly pack up and grab their stuff. He reluctantly accepted two of the fish, wrapped in paper, from Carly knowing Berns would love having fresh fish to cook at the firehouse.
He helped Carly pack up his car before standing there awkwardly, not wanting the morning to end.
The taller man surprised Shawn by stepping into his personal space. Shawn’s eyes glanced at the detective’s lips before meeting his eyes.
“Alright, Shawn, I forgive you.”
Shawn, for once, didn’t know what to say.
“And I wouldn’t be opposed to going on a date with you.”
“Really?” Shawn struggled to get out, at a complete loss of breath.
Carly then surprised him again by leaning down and kissing him.
+1. First Official Date
He was nervous. He could not fuck this up, because if he did, Carly would break his heart. Shawn wasn’t used to having feelings at risk, especially this early in the game. Though he’d hardly ever made it past date two.
He’d planned the perfect date, so he logically knew he shouldn't be nervous. Yet, here he was, sitting on his bike outside of Carly’s home, trying to convince himself to walk up to the door. He sat another five minutes before he finally took off his helmet and climbed off the bike.
He walked up to the door and knocked. Carly immediately opened the door.
“I wondered how long it’d take you to knock,” Carly said with a fond tone.
Shawn ran a hand through his hair. “I may be a little nervous,” he admitted, never wanting to lie to Carly again.
Carly nodded. “If it makes you feel better, I am as well.”
“Really?” He got a good look at Carly then, noticing all the signs of nervousness, fidgeting hands, slightly messed up hair and a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Yes,” Carly said.
“Well, let’s knock that off, yeah? I planned a great date, so we should have a fun evening.”
“Am I driving? Or is riding your motorcycle part of the planned fun?” Carly teased.
“Is my motorcycle okay with you?”
Carly shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me.”
“Perfect. Let’s get going then.”
Carly hadn’t been lying. Usually when newbies got on his bike, they’d squeeze him to death from behind. Not Carly. He held Shawn close, but the firefighter could tell it wasn’t nerves.
“You’ve ridden before?” Shawn asked as they walked towards the movie theatre.
“Nope.”
The response warmed Shawn’s heart. Carly trusted him.
Shawn paid for the tickets and the snacks, and he loved watching Carly’s excitement at hearing they were watching a Clint Eastwood double feature. He had definitely picked a good activity to start the night.
Following the movie, they went to dinner at Shawn’s favorite breakfast all day place. He ordered a huge stack of blueberry pancakes (no matter how often he went, they refused to put pineapple in the pancakes) and Carly ordered the cinnamon dulce waffles at Shawn’s suggestion.
When Carly moaned around his first bite, well, Shawn may have had to think about a half eaten rotten pineapple to keep himself presentable.
They finished the night with a 30 minute drive down the coast to Shawn’s favorite, lesser known, strip of beach. They sat on the blanket Shawn had brought, stared at the stars, and listened to the waves as they talked for over an hour.
Shawn learned that Carly loved to do civil war reenactments, had a fondness for horses, he figure skated as a child, and he hated squirrels. Shawn shared that he was arrested as a teen, he is obsessed with the show the Mentalist, he loves pineapple, and he hated his gift of hyper-observance because it reminded him of his father’s pressure on his childhood.
Shawn hated that the night had to end. Carly gave him a gentle squeeze before climbing off the back of Shawn’s motorcycle. Shawn slipped off his helmet and climbed off as well, so he could give Carly a proper goodbye. Shawn accepted the extra helmet Carly handed him.
“I had a great time,” Shawn said, breaking the peaceful bubble that had surrounded them since they left the beach.
Carly smiled. “Me too.”
Shawn laid his hands on the taller man’s hips and pulled him close. He leaned up and kissed the detective, putting all his feelings into it.
They only broke the kiss when air became necessary.
“You want to come inside?” Carly asked.
Shawn wanted to, desperately. But sex had gotten him into trouble before and he couldn't mess this up. “Not tonight, I want to do this right,” Shawn reassured. “Next time?”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Carly said.
Shawn kissed him again, briefly this time, before letting go of the man’s hips. “Goodnight, Carly.”
“Goodnight, Shawn.”
He watched Carly until the man closed the door behind himself. Then he stared a minute longer before climbing on his bike and heading home.
Bonus: The Letter
Dear Carlton Lassiter, aka Carly Lassiopolus,
You may not have noticed, though you probably have since you’re Head Detective, but I like you. Like really like you. Like pull on your pigtails and push you over on the playground, like you.
I know I messed up. I used you and hurt your feelings, and I am sooooooo sorry for it. I made a mistake and I want you to know I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you. I’ll do anything for you, and if you only want to be friends, I’ll take it.
I need you in my life, Lassie-face.
I want to know everything about you and I want to have you by my side for the rest of eternity.
I will do anything to gain your forgiveness.
Please let me make it up to you.
Shawn
P.S. I would burn down a pineapple juice factory for you if that’s what you wanted, even if it’d go against everything I believe as a firefighter.