Rippner, December 21, 2010 (Untitled) 2
No One Has to Know
Christmas was officially an hour and half away. Ever since she was a little girl, Jules had camped out in the living room next to the tree on Christmas Eve and attempted to stay awake as long as she possibly could. As a child she had barely made it past nine, and even though she was more able to stay awake now she still found herself wanting to drift off to sleep at ten thirty. Juliet had never been one to stay up late, she would rather get to work hours before the sun come up than stay up to beyond 'bed time.' She snuggled into her pillow as she watched the colorful lights twinkle on her large Christmas tree. Her hips wiggled a little, trying to get comfortable on the little leather couch. Sleep was simply something that her whole family had always valued at a rather high price-there was almost nothing on planet Earth that could make her pass up a good opportunity to sneak in a little nap. Chief Vick had even been known to let Juliet into her office to take a small snooze, power naps like that had tended to let her clear her head and she see her project in a whole new light.
A girlish little smile stretched across her lips as her eyes fluttered closed. Despite her best efforts to stay awake for the whole nine yards this year, there was simply nothing she could do if her eyes refused to remain open any longer. Within seconds she was two worlds down, her mind reeling with never ending thoughts about little men in green tights and pointy hats. Her mind conjured up the best image of 'sugar plum' that she could imagine. Though… she never could figure out exactly what a sugar plum looked like-when she asked Shawn and Gus they had promptly directed her towards The Grinch. The two men had been rather disappointed when she didn't agree with the directors' depiction of a sugar plum. She just could not see millions of children going to sleep on Christmas Eve only to dream about nothing more than a regular plum covered in white glitter.
The sound of two loud knocks on her apartment door jolted her from her deep slumber. Juliet rolled onto her back and rubbed her face with the palm of her hands. Not even Shawn should be coming over announced at this hour. At least not tonight, any other night it would be more than welcome-almost expected, Shawn made it a point to drop in unexpected at least once a week. She groaned as she sat up.
This was their first Christmas together, maybe he had decided to drop in today as a way to kick off Christmas early.
Another knock sounded this one louder and more urgent than the last one-it forced Juliet to stand up and start for the door.
"I'm coming!" She shouted, slurring her words a little bit.
She stopped in front of the mirror by the door to fix her hair; she pulled up her pajama pants and adjusted her shirt a little before her hand closed around the door handle.
"Shawn, its Christmas Eve-"her voice caught itself mid-sentence and her lips froze.
Standing in her doorstep was a figure that she wasn't sure she would ever see anywhere close to her apartment. Not that she had ever really given any thought as to whether or not Detective Carlton Lassitor would ever wind up on her doorstep on cold Christmas Eve night wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Juliet had never seen him in anything other his usual business suit-even when Shawn and Gus had talked Chief Vick into having them go speed dating under cover he had shown up dawned in his detective gear.
"D-Detective Lassitor…" She started then took a breath, finding that she couldn't continue.
He tried to smile at her, but it came off as more of an uncomfortable smirk. Carlton stuffed his hands deep inside his front pockets and rocked back on the balls of his feet.
"Can… can I come in?" The words sounded so… foreign coming from his mouth.
"Umm… sure, yeah, come in." She stepped aside so he could walk in. This is so weird…
Lassitor stepped into the small apartment, nonchalantly glancing around until his eyes caught the Christmas tree. His smirk grew a little, but he didn't turn back towards Juliet. After a few moments of watching his back, Juliet finally cleared her throat trying to cut through the silence.
"Is there something I can help you with Carlton?" She made her way over to the couch, trying to catch his eyes as she gently sat down.
He rubbed the back of his neck, his other hand still in the front pocket of his jeans.
"I… I was just…"
"Do you want to sit down?" Juliet offered.
He looked at her blankly for a moment, "Sure, yeah." Carlton stepped around the side of the couch and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees.
Juliet nodded at him, waiting for him to continue his thought. "You were saying?" She urged on when he didn't continue.
"Oh." He snapped back to life. "This… this last case… well, it got me thinking." Carlton rubbed his chin, "watching you and Spencer together… the way you two worked together. The look in your eyes…" he shook his head.
"Carlton, I don't understand-."
As if taking her confusion as an invitation, Lassitor turned around and without any warning, his mouth was on hers. They both were still for a moment-Juliet because she was so taken off guard and Lassitor because he was waiting for her to react.
Once her mind caught up with her, she gently pulled back, slowly. Just barely enough so she could look him in the eye. When she didn't pull back, Carlton leaned forward again, only this time Juliet took ample part in the kiss. Her hand moved from her lap to the side of his face, her thumb gently rubbing over his cheek. She crumbled a little, loving the feeling of his prickly fresh facial hair against her hand and the edges of her lips. Juliet opened her mouth ever so slightly to tease his bottom lip with her tongue which elected a small moan from the older detective. She grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer to her.
"Mmm… Juliet-"
Juliet wasn't sure if it was the sliding off the couch that did it, or the smacking her face against the hard ground, but either way, she was awake now. Really? She slowly started to sit up, holding her head against her forehead. Resting her back against the couch, Juliet glanced at the clock.
12:01
She laughed a little to herself and looked back at her Christmas tree again. That was the weirdest dream… Juliet brushed some hair from her eyes and eyed some of the gifts under the tree as she though over the non existent events that her mind had conjured up. Her milky white cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as she thought about the kiss.
She shook it off, her eyes falling on the brightly wrapped gift in the front. She grinned deviously as she read the package once again.
No one has to know…
'from: Carlton
to: Juliet'
xXx
Hey guys! This is my first Psych fanfic, so thank you for reading! Please review, I love hearing what people think!
-Rippner