Family
Family
By Thalia
Beta-ed by Leonarbo
Disclaimer: I am neither psychic nor am I a detective; therefore I can lay no claim of ownership on Psych. Sad Day.
A/N: I'm aware that this doesn't necessarily flow, but it's supposed to be sort of a Shawn stream of consciousness, and since Shawn's thinking aloud is rarely linear I figured his internal monologue wouldn't be much different. Enjoy!
After his talk with Dutch the Clutch, Shawn had gone back to the Psych office and sat at his desk reviewing the last few days and the case. He would have been throwing paper balls and rubber bands at Gus, but he'd needed to go do his other job, so Shawn was left alone to contemplate. As he did, one particular conversation came to mind.
"Do you know how many times I've had a gun shoved in my face because of you?" Gus asked pointedly.
"Three," came Shawn's flippant reply.
"Wrong Answer," Gus stated emphatically as he followed Shawn into the mobile home.
The truth was Shawn knew exactly how many times Gus had had a gun trained on him. In fact, he knew every single time Gus had been in serious danger since his parents had divorced.
With his mom gone and with him being at odds with his father, Gus had been the only family he'd had in a long time. That's why when Gus had texted him about having to leave Psych he'd gone into full blown scheming mode. Because he couldn't lose Gus but he wanted Gus to be happy too.
And that's why he'd understood Dutch the Clutch. That's why he'd known exactly what to say.
It didn't take a psychic; it just took someone who knew the meaning of family. And despite all the times he fought with his father, he still loved him. And no matter how many times he manipulated Gus into working a case with him or made fun of him or ate his food . . . well all that was because he loved Gus like a brother.
He needed Gus. Gus balanced him. Both he and Gus where smart capable individuals but when they pooled their knowledge, resources and collective experiences they were practically unstoppable.
Everybody needed family, and Gus was Shawn's family. And because Gus was family, Shawn knew every moment Gus had been in danger, every time he had courted death because for Shawn those moments stopped; those moments where frozen, eternally etched in his perfect memory. And every time Gus seemed to be nearing his limit with all of Shawn's crazy adventures, schemes and teasing, those moments would rise to the forefront of his mind, unbidden, bringing all the feelings of the moment with it reminding him that he couldn't lose Gus, that he needed him.
Shawn had been reminded of that today. So, instead of sitting in the dark in the Psych office for the rest of the night he was going to go commandeer Gus for Chinese food and a drink. He'd also stop and pick up a pineapple to leave on Gus's desk because he knew how much Gus loved the spiky fruit. Ok, so maybe Shawn loved it more, but if Gus got pineapple he got pineapple, and Shawn didn't see anything wrong with that.