musicalluna

"Well fancy that. Juliet O’Hara."

He smiled as she turned, a half smile already quirking the corner of her mouth. She was sitting in the back corner of the bar, half-hidden in the dim lighting. And even if she hadn’t been lurking where prying eyes would have a hard time finding her worth the time, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, all traces of make-up gone except for the slight sheen of a possible coat of chapstick. She was trying to be frumpy in a pair of worn old jeans and a casual tee, but, well, quite frankly, it just wasn’t working. She still looked gorgeous. She, as they say, would look great in a feed sack.

"What are you doing here, Shawn?" she asked and her tone said that she knew as well as he did that this was no accident. "Are you stalking me?"

His mouth curled in a grin and he shrugged casually, sliding onto the stool next to her. "Only if you want me to."

She rolled her eyes and took a sip of the beer sitting in front of her. "What are you doing here, Shawn?" she repeated. "I didn’t ask for company."

"Am I not allowed to come to a bar just to enjoy a drink and the music? I happen to like the Graham Cracker Band," he said.

"Graham Colton Band," she corrected him.

"Whatever." He waved down the bartender and ordered a beer of his own. Turning back to her he said, "It’s okay, Jules. We don’t have to talk. We can sit in companionable silence."

"Maybe I can," she muttered and a grin crept onto her face at his indignant squawk.

"That was so uncalled for, Jules!" he exclaimed.

She laughed. "I don’t think so. You are stalking me after all."

"It’s not stalking if the spirits drew me to you, Jules," he said pointedly.

"Oh, so now it’s the spirits who are stalking me. Shawn, you’re not making your case any better," she said and he tried to keep his gaze from lingering too long on her mouth as she took another sip of her beer.

"I didn’t know I was making a case," he said and tipped his head gratefully at the bartender when he handed him a bottle.

They shared a few moments of companionable silence, Juliet turning to watch the band for a few minutes and Shawn trying to be sneaky about eyeballing the tiny sliver of skin peeking out from between her shirt and her jeans. It still amazed him how unfailingly he found her attractive. There was always something, always a curve somewhere that he couldn’t take his eyes away from.

Juliet caught him staring at her mouth again. Her forehead creased adorably and she said, "What are you looking at?" and ran a hand over her mouth self-consciously.

He couldn’t help it. He flushed and grinned and ducked his head, taking refuge in his beer. "Nothing—just—spacing out. It’s nothing."

She eyed him suspiciously for a minute before finally shaking her head and clearly deciding that she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. "So what are you doing here?" she asked casually. "Aside from stalking me."

A off-hand remark bounced on his tongue and came out as: "I didn’t have anything better to do tonight, and I thought I might run into you here."

Juliet stared at him, obviously as surprised by the straightforward honesty of the answer as he was. "...So you were stalking me."

A grin broke across Shawn’s face and he said, "This is what I get for enjoying spending time with you Jules? Harsh—and false, might I add—accusations? Is it my fault you refuse to even consider hanging out with me outside of work?"

"I do not refuse!" Juliet protested.

He shot her a look. "Oh you don’t."

A blush quickly spread across her nose and cheeks. "I—well—you—"

Shawn smirked. "Uh huh. That’s what I thought. I am capable of cross-gender friendship, you know."

Juliet snorted. "Oh so you treat your guy friends the same way? Funny, I’ve never noticed the flirting with Gus."

"What’s wrong with a little harmless flirting?" he asked defensively.

She rolled her eyes. "Harmless. Right."

"It most certainly—ooh." He perked up and set his beer down, catching her by the hand. "Great song, come on, let’s dance."

"No—Shawn, I don’t want to—"

Before she could muster up the appropriate refusal, Shawn had her on the dance floor, his arm around her waist and they were swaying along with the beat. "See?" she said. "This is exactly why I won’t let you take me out."

"What, two friends can’t dance together?" he said and gently swung her around. "Personally I think everybody should dance."

Juliet almost didn’t notice as he pulled her a little closer. She couldn’t deny that it did feel good to dance again, to feel someone holding her close, moving in time with her. The song was perfect too, not too slow.

"So," Shawn said, voice lower and more subdued, "things okay at work?"

"You don’t give up, do you?" She sighed, looking up and meeting his gaze. The faint annoyance of having her alone time interrupted began to crumble, because she recognized the look in his eyes. It was the same look she’d seen when he’d been sneaking around in the Chief’s office, calling himself Kkarlton. Her hand tightened just slightly around his arm and she glanced away again. "Work is fine," she replied. "It’s just…my parents."

"Ah, parents," Shawn said knowingly. "Can’t ignore them, can’t shoot them and bury them in the backyard…"

A smile flickered across Juliet’s face. "Something like that."

"Overbearing?" Shawn queried.

She sighed again. "Yes. They keep pushing me to get married and have babies when I’ve made it clear to them that neither do I have a beau right now, nor any interest in starting a family. They just won’t—"

"Listen?" Shawn smiled. "I have no idea what that’s like…"

"I love them. Honestly, I really and truly do. I just…"

"Want to strangle them?"

"Yes!" Juliet said fervently and Shawn laughed.

"Expectations can be a bitch."

"You’re telling me," she muttered. Without even realizing it, she leaned in, letting her head rest just slightly against his chin. "I just…wish they weren’t so pushy. I want to get married and everything on my own terms."

"Mm," Shawn agreed. "I’m sure they’re excellent terms too."

"I mean, it’s not like I don’t want to get married," she continued. "I just haven’t clicked, you know?"

She didn’t notice when Shawn’s eyes closed, his brow pinching in the center, and he swallowed.

Their steps slowed as the song came to an end and she looked up, just to find her face centimeters from his. This was the second time she’d found herself in unsettling proximity to the psychic. His eyes were green and brown in places this close and she held very still, trying not to feel his breath on her lips, as those eyes scanned her face, settling briefly on her mouth. He swallowed again and she whispered, "Shawn, this doesn’t seem like something friends would do."

He met her gaze and whispered back, his lips just barely brushing hers, "I never said I could be friends with you."