Chapter Five: Beach Days

A/N: The quick update is just a result of wanting to get a lot of this out there before I am sufficiently distracted writing tags for all the new episodes. Oh and this one is definitely Rated T for a smattering of innuendos.

Elizabeth persuades him to go to the beach with her in order to swim (her most powerful argument is that otherwise, he'll never get to see her new bikini). His argument is that he doesn't do swimming. Or at least, he doesn't do public swimming, with so many people around, taking up his space. But he's used arguments like that before. Every time he uses words like doesn't, can't, won't, she always manages to turn the argument around and it always ends up that he does, can, and will.

She meets him at the car when he comes to pick her up. When she looks over at him from the passenger seat, her smile turns into a scowl at the sight of him. He's wearing his civilian clothes, which consists of his work clothes and a 'casual gentleman shoe.'

She lets out an exasperated sigh. "You dressed like that for the beach? You're going to look ridiculous, you know. You should have brought shorts."

"I hate shorts," he replies. "I don't even own any."

She shakes her head. "Well, I know what I'm getting you for your birthday. Are you at least wearing swim trunks under there?"

"Yes," he answers firmly. "Although I still don't wanna swim, so..."

"You're swimming. Get over it."

He grunts in response.

The beach is just as crowded as usual, but they manage to find a spot to themselves. She throws a blanket down for them, and places the small cooler with their lunch on top of it. Then she shimmies out of her shorts and takes off her blouse, revealing the bikini underneath.

Polka dots. Blue ones.

He tries not to gape.

"Come on, let's go swimming."

He looks around, feeling self-conscious and awkward. "I could just wa-"

"Carlton Lassiter, don't make me take those clothes off of you myself. This is a family place, and by the time I got to your zipper...well, that would just look wrong."

Carlton makes a face at the thought, then shakes his head and sighs. He removes his jacket and leaves it on the blanket, then he works off his tie and starts to undo the buttons of his shirt. "You're going to pay for this later," he mutters, but it's an empty threat and she smiles because she knows it.

"God, I hope so. I keep asking about those handcuffs of yours..."

He groans, a slight red flushing his cheeks. "I keep telling you, they aren't toys. We really can't be using them like – "

"I'm just kidding, anyway." she interrupts. "Well, sort of. I'm kidding until you finally say yes."

He kicks off his shoes and socks. He slips off his pants, and tosses them onto the blanket. He's only in swim trunks now, and he's pretty sure he's blushing deep red, but she smiles at him. "Come on," she nods to the ocean, and together, they make their way down to the water.

It's cold when it hits their toes, but he knows that there is no point in arguing or suggesting they do something (anything) else. He grits his teeth and follows her into deeper water. He watches her dip down bravely beneath the surface. He waits for her to pop back up. When she does, she grins at him. "It's less cold when you just go for it."

"I'll take your word for it."

She grins evilly and swipes her arm across the surface of the water, so that it splashes him in the chest and face.

He sputters. "Hey!"

"You asked for it."

"No, you did." he replies, and before he even thinks about what he's doing, he's swiping his arm across the waves as hard as he can. The blast of water hits her and she narrows her eyes at him. She dips below the surface and he barely has time to wonder at her evil schemes before something hits his shins.

Effectively thrown off balance, he falls back and his head goes under. There's a tangle of limbs and hair and ocean. His eyes sting with saltwater, and when he regains his sense of direction, he pushes upward and breaks the surface. While he's gasping for air, he hears her chuckle behind him.

He smirks, a plan already formed in his mind. When he turns, he swipes the water again, with two arms this time, and the blast hits her squarely in the face. While she's still rubbing the water from her eyes, he takes his turn at retaliation. He dips beneath the water and swims with powerful motions. He aims and hits her at the knees. She tumbles down with him. They're both underwater for a long moment, wrapped in each other. When they finally break the surface again, they're both completely drenched and laughing together.

"Don't start the game if you don't want to play," he says, smirking. She smiles playfully back at him, and a small part of him realizes that they are both acting like children. He allows himself only a second to wonder why he's letting himself behave this way, but then he remembers that he doesn't care.

He doesn't care too much about anything right now, besides enjoying the moment.

That is, until he hears the all-too familiar voice of a certain person that is completely unwelcome.

"Lassie?"

Carlton and Elizabeth turn and, sure enough, they see Shawn and Gus bare-chested and standing nearby in waist-deep water.

Lassiter holds back a groan. Nothing, in his opinion, is worse than having to see Spencer on what is supposed to be a Spencer-free day. Elizabeth, however, actually smiles at the pair. "Hey, Shawn. Hey, Gus."

Gus smiles politely. Shawn grins. "Hey, Lizzy-face. Wait a minute...Lizzy-face?" he questions himself. He looks as if he's realizing something for the first time. "Lassie-face. Lizzy-face. Lassie-face. Lizzy-face. I can't believe I just caught the symmetry there!"

Lassiter feels his hold on his anger break. "If you've got a point, Spencer, get to it!" he growls.

"My point is this, Lassie. I can't believe you're actually here, swimming and having fun. You're almost like a normal person!"

Gus nods in agreement. "I think I actually heard him laugh, Shawn. I didn't know he could do that." remarks Gus in a tone of slight wonder.

Carlton's irritation mounts, but before he can say anything, Shawn is speaking again, this time to Elizabeth.

"You're good for him," he tells her, and his voice has a level of seriousness that none of them are used to. Lassiter waits for the joke, the sarcasm, but it never comes. Shawn just smiles at Elizabeth for a long (and weird) moment.

Then he shakes his head and comes back to himself. He turns to his best friend. "Hey, Gus. I'm feeling stirrings in my belly. I think its hotdog time. What do you say?"

"I hear that," nods Gus.

Shawn turns back to Lassiter and Elizabeth. "We'll be seeing you guys. For the moment, though, we've got eating to do. Bye Lizzy and Lassie!"

Gus says goodbye as well, and then the two turn and start heading back to shore.

Carlton blinks as though stunned. "I really thought they were going to try and stick around to be a pain in my ass...they never usually leave me alone."

Elizabeth places a hand on his shoulder, watching the backs of the pair as well. "I think that they wanted to let us enjoy our date...you heard him," she smirks. "I'm good for you."

"You are, but that would imply that Spencer wants me to be happy. And since he devotes countless hours to making that an impossibility, it's obviously not that one."

"Obviously not." she says, humoring him.

Carlton nods. "He must have been really hungry. That's all."

A/N: Reviews are amazing and much appreciated.