A/N: Sorry guys that this took so long. It's finally done! :) Please review~
10). He, the great Carlton Lassiter, has said it himself.
Carlton never thought he would ever be in a relationship again after Victoria divorced him. He thought he would be a lonely bachelor for the rest of his life, dying cold and alone.
Carlton never thought he was capable of love again. The gruff head detective never thought that he could utter the l-word with the words "I" and "you" in one sentence. And he, of course, never thought that he would fall head-over-heels in love with Shawn Spencer, resident "psychic" detective—consultant.
Carlton never thought he would ever look forward to waking up to staring at a mess of brown hair, or gazing into groggy green-hazel eyes. He also never thought he would almost constantly crave the taste of pineapples on his lips (both in fruit form, and also from the taste of his boyfriend's mouth). The older man was beginning to see why Shawn loved the spiny fruit.
And, of course, Carlton never thought he would ever say, "I love you" followed by the name "Shawn." (To be quite honest, nobody did. Well… except Buzz. And maybe Juliet, and Gus, the Chief, and… well, Shawn, duh.)
So, once Carlton wakes up from movie night on the couch next to his boyfriend, he runs over the sentiments exchanged and words said.
I love you, Shawn.
"Wow," he thinks aloud. "I really did say that."
The brown muss of hair, which is now scruffier than normal, moves upwards.
"You said… what?" comes the fake psychic's voice, laced heavily with sleep.
Lassiter chuckles, wraps his arms around his boyfriend and draws him in towards his chest.
"I realized that last night, I told you I loved you."
The older man can feel Shawn blush in his arms.
"And I told you that too, Carlton."
Shawn's stubbly face is prickly to the touch through the head detective's thin t-shirt, and Lassiter holds back a laugh.
"So, now that we've realized that we're like high schoolers in a relationship for the first time, do you wanna finally watch that movie?"
The faux psychic nods his head.
"I wanna be able to make fun of you for watching a chick flick."
Carlton swats at his boyfriend's arm playfully, but reaches for the DVD remote and switches the TV on. He smiles blissfully as he feels Shawn lean back into him. A few minutes in, the younger man looks up at him.
"Can I hear you say it again?"
"What…?"
"You know, the phrase that begins with I and rhymes with 'shmuv foo.'"
"I shmuv foo? That's the best you could come up with?"
The fake psychic giggles a bit before lightly slapping Lassiter's face.
"Say it!"
"I—I love you, Shawn."