Title: A Story for the Ages
Chapter One: Introduction
Disclaimer: I do not own Psych
Author's Note: This is based on psychfic's 100 prompt challenge.
Tick tock, tick tock…
The constant ticking coming from his wristwatch was slowly getting on his nerves. To him it was the countdown of the few seconds of life he had left. It only added to the stress and pressure he was already feeling. His hands were sweating heavily. He kept drying them on his pants but after a while it made no difference whether he wiped them or not. His forehead was damp and he was sure that if he checked under his armpits he would see huge pit stains. He felt as if he were about to choke, or faint, or both. Every sound made by one of the flight attendants or one of the other passengers gave him the urge to jump, but he tried to resist as much as he could so as to not wake up the blonde nymph sleeping on top of his right shoulder.
Jules… A whiff from her hair relaxed him for a while. It was the effect her scent had on him, the ability to bring him down and relax him, no matter what he was feeling or what was going on. Focusing on her scent he tried to convince himself that it did not matter what he was about to do right now, nor the ordeal he would have to go through for the week and a half they were staying at her parent's house in Florida. No, the only thing that mattered was that he would get to spend a week and a half with her, with the first woman he had ever loved. Not that she knew that, but it did not matter. She would find out soon enough.
About thirty minutes before the flight landed Juliet finally woke up.
"Shawn…" she called to him groggily.
"You know, it was very cute the way you drooled all over me in your sleep. Totally a picture perfect moment; too bad my camera is in the afterlife."
"Shut up." She smacked his shoulder as she sat up, but he did not miss the smile that cradled her lips. He reached out and kissed her temple. That made her lean back against him again.
"I like this…" She said as she squeezed him and sighed.
"What?" He asked kissing the top of her head and messing up her hair.
"This… this part of dating…the cuddling…" She closed her eyes.
"Yeah me too…" Just as they were about to fall asleep again, the pilot announced that they were proximate to landing. The couple sat upright trying to shake off the tender nets of Lady Sleep. Immediately Shawn's nervousness returned. He groaned loudly.
"Don't worry. He is going to love you. He loves people with a sense of humor, and you have the largest one in the whole country; even my dad says so." Juliet tried to console him.
"No, he is going to hate me." His shoulders drooped. He had met her parents before and they had immediately clicked. He had met most of her brothers and they had quickly become friends. But Robert, her oldest brother, had not been able to come to Santa Barbara to see his little sister since she had been transferred and they had yet to meet. It did not help that he knew for a fact that Robbie was Jules favorite brother and that the impression Shawn made on him was the one that mattered the most.
"You have no way of knowing that." She said as they finally landed.
"Of course I do. I am the guy who is sleeping with his baby sister. As an older brother, he is programmed to hate me." He said as he stood up and grabbed their carry one bags.
"Oh please. It is not as if it is any of his business… Besides I don't think he cares. You will never guess what he bought me for my twelfth birthday." She had a mischievous grin on her face.
"I don't think I want to know. It will only add to my nerves. I wish Gus was here! At least I wouldn't be hated alone then." They got down from the plain and went straight towards baggage claim. Through some miracle their bags were the first ones out.
"Don't be such a baby." She finally answered him. They walked away from the ramp, past the seating area and outside into the main parking lot. There was a bright red car that stood out from the rest blandly colored vehicles. Resting against it was a muscular young, blonde man with tight clothing and dark sunglasses. The huge grin on his face told Shawn immediately who this guy was. In Robert's hands there were two smoothies dwarfed by the size of his fingers.
"Oh my God, he is huge! I am so dead. I knew I should have played one last round of Battleship with Gus before leaving. Now he will have nothing to remember me by." Shawn stopped dead in his tracks.
"Come on." Juliet dragged him through the handle of one of the suitcases he was carrying. When she was near enough she started running towards her brother and threw herself in his arms, nearly making him drop the two smoothies.
"Careful Julie! You do not weigh ten pounds!" He said as he hugged her as best as he could while balancing the two smoothies.
"Are you calling me fat?" An argument between siblings quickly began. Shawn had no other choice but to look on and smile awkwardly, like an idiot. It wasn't until about ten minutes had passed that they finally seemed to remember him.
"Hey! This one is for you! Pineapple, just like Juliet said you liked them." Robert handed him the yellow smoothie with a huge smile. The offering surprised Shawn. He had not expected Robert to be nice to him. No he had imagined him intimidating trying to scare off this intruder in his sister's life.
"What about me?" Juliet asked in the small pout that so often made Shawn forget how to breathe.
"Strawberry…of course…" He rolled his eyes as his sister smacked his arm.
"So…you are the guy who intends to date my sister?" Robbie asked abruptly as he took Shawn in from head to toe.
"No," said Shawn calmly, as he took a sip from the pineapple smoothie. There was something about the situation that had relaxed him and filled him up with a little bit of courage he had never imagined he could have mustered up on this trip. But, this was the right moment, he could feel it. Juliet stopped sipping from her smoothie to look at him intently with a sad look in her eyes.
"Oh rea-" Robert started to stay something but was interrupted by Shawn.
"I am the guy who intends to marry your sister." He said this as he threw a small, blue ring box he had taken out of his pocket, towards Robert.
The only thing that was heard for the next couple of seconds was the splatter of a strawberry smoothie hitting the floor.