Disclaimer: Psych is not mine. I own nothing nor am I affiliated with the show.

There they were in a freezer at the back of the butchers. Shawn Spencer and the serial killer he'd been helping the SBPD track down. The pseudo-psychic was bound by ropes and laying awkwardly on the ground. A gun was pointed at him threateningly, which was pointless as he couldn't move anyway. Meat hooks surrounded them, which the murderer would have no trouble stringing the skinny man on.

Was Shawn scared? You bet he was!

You couldn't tell from his seemingly calm face and sarcastic quips what he was really thinking. Paranoid thoughts were running through his head, random thoughts about what had past and what might never come. Freezing temperatures were torturing his body, causing involuntary internal shudders.

It was another technique that his overbearing father had taught him, never show fear. Shawn could hear the lectures in his mind. The moment you showed fear, the perpetrator owned you. It was through showing fear that people were shot, mistakes were made and lives were lost. Not wanting to be another statistic on the butcher's criminal record, Shawn tried to remain light-hearted and made a joke about the irony of a butcher taking the job a bit too far.

It had worked. Peter, as the killer was better known, had decided not to shoot Shawn. Instead, he left him locked in the freezer. Leaving Shawn to freeze to death, being convinced that no-one would find him for days.

Shawn laughed as best he could when Peter left him behind. Of course someone was going to save him. Even as he shivered from the cold, Shawn had faith that Lassiter, O'Hara and Gus would no doubt find him. He went as far as making a mental joke about how in the movies the bad guys always left a guy behind for a slow death, when it would be smarter to shoot them on site. He'd get away, he was sure.

At least he was sure for a while; until the weakness began to overtake him. The cold was becoming too much. He tried to take his mind off it, but it was just freezing. He felt like a giant icicle. Trying to work out how long he'd been bound there, Shawn was slowly giving up hope on being found.

Suddenly he heard some noises. His heart was beating loud, hoping it was the good guys. The commotion was getting closer and his hope was rising.

"Spencer?"

Lassiter came into view, lowering the gun he had and rushing over to the pseudo-psychic. His blue eyes were wide and filled with concern. Immediately he began making quick work of the ropes.

"Lassy." Shawn managed to say, an attempt at a smile on his face.

Carlton had basically ripped the binds off quickly. He helped Shawn to his feet, worrying about the state he was in. That concern never left his eyes.

"Can't walk. Too cold. Can't feel." Shawn stammered as he managed to bring forth the words.

"It's okay." Lassiter hushed Shawn, still supporting him. "Try the best you can."

Shawn went along with the head detective. He was surprised at how strong Lassiter was. What he also couldn't help but notice was that it was just them. Questions were racing in his head before a light hit his eyes and he was sitting on the ground.

Blinking, Shawn saw that they were in the alley behind the butcher's shop. He turned to Lassiter, giving him wordless thanks with his eyes. A slight warm sensation filled him and Shawn realised that a jacket was around his shoulders. Lassiter's jacket.

"Thanks Carly." Shawn said, trying desperately to stop shivering.

"Don't mention it." Carlton kept a grip on Shawn, while reaching for his cell phone and calling quickly for an ambulance.

Shawn was never a fan of hospitals and even in his state was dreading a trip there. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"You could have hypothermia you idiot." Lassiter was staring at him in disbelief, rubbing Shawn's back with a surprisingly gentle hand.

"Just a little numb is all, I swear I'll be okay. Since when did you care so much about me?"

"Just shut up until the ambulance gets here." Carlton put up a front, but the worry was still plain on his face.

Lassiter knew that he had to do something, as the ambulance was going to be a little while. A part of him hated what he had to do, but his pride was over-ruled by one look at the state Shawn was in. Using all the strength he could muster, Lassiter pulled Shawn onto his lap and wrapped his arms around the skinny frame. He pulled Shawn closer, so that they were pressed together.

"Well, well, it seems you like me more than I realised." Shawn joked, still a little confused.

"I'm using my body heat to warm you and save your life. But if you keep pissing me off I could leave you here." Lassiter kept his eyes glued to the wall in front of him, anything to keep them off the man in his arms.

"I knew there was some warmth in you somewhere." Shawn snuggled up even closer. He shut his eyes and relished the feel of being in Lassiter's lap. There was something about being there, a feeling of safety and security.

"Leave it to you to make jokes when you're like this." Lassiter rolled his eyes and unintentionally looking down at Shawn in the process. Seeing him that way, he couldn't help but ask seriously. "How are you, really?"

"Better now that you're here, my big strong hero." Shawn managed a little chuckle, pulling the jacket a little tighter around him. "See look, I can move my hands."

Carlton decided to be silent. Shawn just wasn't one for being serious, even when he could have died. Sure, he obviously wasn't in there long enough to cause extreme damage, but he could have been. Carlton didn't want to admit just how worried the whole situation had made him. However, Shawn brought it up.

"Why are you here by yourself? Where's Gus or Jules, anyone?"

"We figured it all out and I knew you'd be stupid enough to come here yourself and try to do this. Even after I told you this guy had threatened your life." Carlton almost felt angry at Shawn for it all, but it passed as he felt the younger man shivering. Unconsciously, his arms tightened around Shawn to provide more warmth.

"You came because you care about me." Shawn cheered up a little at this realisation. He couldn't resist teasing the older man. "You like me."

"Doesn't look good for us if you die, does it?"

Shawn met Carlton's eyes in a deep and meaningful stare. "It's more than that. Don't try and fool me. I am a psychic."

"You're driving me nuts. I thought sick people weren't supposed to talk this much. O'Hara should be coming here, maybe she can warm you up instead."

"Tempting, but I'd rather be with you." Shawn was starting to feel a little better and warmer. Something else stirred inside him too. "Nobody warms me like you, Lassy."

Lassiter could sense the teasing tone in Shawn's voice, but he noticed something else. The tone was joking, sure, but it was because the pseudo-psychic was trying to cover up something serious. His heart stopped, before it began racing rapidly.

"What are you thinking about?" Shawn whispered.

Lassiter wasn't sure how to answer that. Gulping back some more dignity, he moved a hand and tilted Shawn's face gently so their eyes met again. His look turned serious and lips opened in a slight pucker. Snapping out of it, Carlton realised how crazy it all was and dropped his hand. In the silence that followed, Carlton could feel his heart pounding in his ears.

"You know what would help warm me up even more?"

Carlton was glad that Shawn didn't make a comment on his potential moment. He actually smiled at being back on the subject of Shawn in danger. Anything was better than the humiliation of what he'd nearly let himself do. "What would warm you up? Let me guess, a hot chocolate with pineapple in it."

"Don't tease, it's cruel." Shawn replied and turned serious again. "I'm talking about a kiss."

"Come again." Lassiter's mind was swearing. Shawn had noticed after all.

"You were about to, I saw." Shawn stated, his hazel eyes filling up with truth that Carlton had never seen. "I wouldn't have turned away you know. Kiss me."

"This is ridiculous. I'm not going to kiss you!"

"You expect me to initiate a kiss in my condition. I'm a sick man, Lassy. I could have died. Makes you think what you could miss out on." Shawn kept staring at the other man, trying to meet his eyes again.

"Don't make jokes about dying. Besides, you said that you were fine." Lassiter told him, bluntly. He hoped more than anything for a subject change.

"Why don't you grab life by the little Lassiter's and do what you really want to do?" Shawn cried out. "We're as close as two guys can get right now. A minute ago you were about to take me to new worlds. Now you're back to this whole grumpy, hard-ass…"

Whether it was to shut him up, or something in his words actually got to him, Lassiter didn't know. Whatever the reason, he had crashed his lips onto Shawn's. At first it was rough and desperate, but gradually softened into something warm and romantic. Shawn managed to open his cold lips, inviting Lassiter into his mouth. However, when Shawn's hungry tongue greeted his, Lassiter pulled back.

"Come on, what's a kiss without some tongue?"

Lassiter let a hand wander into Shawn's hair, bringing the other man's head to his shoulder. "Not here, okay. We don't want to get caught." His voice was gentle, but still had a harsh order disguised in there.

Shawn nudged his head against Carlton's neck. "I don't care. Just say you were warming me up extra special. You know you want to." He planted playful kisses on Carlton's neck. "Please."

"Stop doing that." The words were clear, but the message was hardly threatening.

"I guess I'll have to do it myself." Shawn managed to get himself in position to seize Lassiter's lips quickly. "Tastes like sweets. My guess is you just had coffee."

"Spencer, just sit tight. We'll talk about this later."

"I think we're way past the point of last names here, Carlton." Shawn, with all the strength he could manage, forced their open mouths to meet again. He snaked his tongue into the older man's mouth, making it dance with his own.

Lassiter felt the hunger rise inside him. Nothing else existed but the kiss. It was like nothing he'd ever felt, at least that he could remember. Shawn's kisses were different somehow. Not just because they were from a man, or the stubble that grazed him. It just felt almost forbidden, like he shouldn't want it as much as he did.

"Shawn, what the heck do you think you're doing?" A shrill cry echoed through the alley, which the two men recognised immediately as Gus.

Lassiter pulled back, looking like a deer in headlights. Of course, Shawn thought it was no big deal. He just kept cuddling into Lassiter's lap, which he dubbed his favourite place in the world.

"You and you….your lips were….You and Lassiter!"

Shawn nodded to his best friend. "Yes, my boyfriend and I were sharing an intimate kiss which you so rudely interrupted."

Lassiter snapped back into reality with the mention of the word. "Woah, I am not your boyfriend."

"Ummm, yeah you are. You kissed me with tongue and you can't get rid of me after one night and never see me again. So yes, Lassy you are my boyfriend."

"No I'm not. We just shared a kiss, which I regret more than life itself right now." As he said it, Lassiter knew it wasn't the truth.

"Plenty more where that came from." Shawn noticed the paramedics with a gurney for him and a couple of blankets. "Here comes the cavalry, but I'm fine. No hospital for me."

"Take him to the hospital, now." Lassiter helped the paramedics lift Shawn onto the gurney.

"See that is something only someone who truly cared about me would say." Shawn pointed out as a blanket was wrapped over him. "These blankets can't warm me like my boyfriend. Gus I hope you have the car because my boyfriend is going to be riding in the ambulance with me."

"Shawn I swear, one of these days..." He walked along with the gurney until he was in the back of the ambulance with Shawn.

"I knew you cared about me."

Lassiter placed a hand on what he guessed was now his boyfriend. "Just don't push it." He planted a kiss on Shawn's forehead to show just how much he really did care.

"Love you too, Lassy."

NOTE: Something random I wrote from a random idea. Hope you like.