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Shawn hadn't really paying attention while Juliet and Lassie went through all the facts they had found before he had been brought on the case. He looked through all the photos of the victims home and body, picking up things the detectives were not.
"Our victim must have come back from a costume party," Lassie said with a hint of mockery in his tone. "She kind of looks like a clown in all that makeup."
And in that moment, Shawn had connected dots in his brain, the victim wasn't dressed like a clown, no, she was dressed like Dr. Frank-n-Furter from Rocky Horror!
"Hot patootie! I'm getting something!" Shawn shouted as he begun his usual flailing, seeing the independent theatre poster in the photos. "Frankenstein! Uh... Freddy Kruger! Jason Voorheese-"
"Is it something to do with horror movies?" Juliet asked.
"Yes! Graphite! Selenite! Um... Dwayne Johnson!"
"Spencer, those are rocks!" Carlton exasperated, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah!" Shawn shouted. "The spirits gave me rocks and horror! Or alternatively, in Spanish, 'rock y horror'!"
Juliet sat there for a moment before it hit her, She shot out of her chair excitedly.
"Rocky Horror!" Juliet beamed. "She had just gotten back from seeing Rocky Horror at the local theatre!"
Lassie had looked between the two excited detectives until it hit him as well.
"No!" he said immediately, crossing his arms over his chest, Shawn and Juliet's faces fell both fell in disappointment at the head detectives protest. "No! I'm not staking out in a room full of weirdos in costumes to find a killer!"
"What do you mean 'no!'" Shawn asked. "It would be a great experience for you Lass!"
"I already spend enough time around weirdos when you and Guster waltz in!"
"Well, it's two against one Carlton," Juliet told him. "So you are going whether you like it or not!"
Lassiter gave up trying to get out of it at this point, it was no use, he was going to have to suffer though the show.
"Great!" Shawn smiled, he clapped his hands together before grabbing his things. "I will meet you two outside the theatre at eight o'clock!"
"See you at eight Shawn!" Juliet called happily, Lassiter murmured a goodbye as Shawn turned the corner out of the station.
"Why don't you want to see Rocky Horror Carlton?" Juliet asked from across their desks.
Lassiter knew exactly why he didn't want to see it, the musical brought up too many feelings he just didn't want to feel, but the last thing he wanted to do was pour out his chest to his partner more than he had to.
"I don't want to." Carlton answered plainly.
"What do you mean you don't want to! It's one of the best movies of all time-"
"O'Hara!" Carlton snapped, looking up from his paperwork. "I don't want to see Rocky Horror because I don't want to waste an hour and a half on an investigation that will probably get us nowhere!"
Carlton felt awful as soon as Juliet sighed, he didn't mean to yell at her at all, but his frustration just took over.
"I'm sorry," he said in a softer tone. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings O'Hara."
"It's fine, but we are going to see that show because we have a job to do."
"And everything Spencer touches seems to land him in danger." Carlton chuckled.
"Come over to my house at seven," O'Hara instructed, Carlton looked at her confused as to why he had to stop by her house and not just meet her and Shawn at the theatre. "We are going to a show where it is custom to be wearing a costume, you can't just show up dressed like that!"
"Like what?" Carlton asked, looking down at his clothes self consciously.
"Like a stuck up cop!" Juliet exclaimed. "Everyone will know you're a virgin!"
Carlton gasped. "O'Hara!" he hissed, trying to bring down the attention she had brought the pair.
"Not like that!" She quickly corrected. "Someone who has never seen Rocky Horror before is called a virgin!"
Carlton rolled his eyes, that didn't make the situation any better. Carlton was not a Rocky Horror 'virgin', well not completely, he had watched censored version of the movie once with Victoria , he had also snuck out to see it with a friend when it first came out, which he was scolded for for by his mother when she found the ticket in his room.
"Fine, I'll be over at seven on the dot."
o0o
"Shawn!" Gus snapped over the phone. "Taking Lassie to Rocky Horror Picture Show? He'll combust!"
Shawn rummaged through his closet while his best friend rattled off the reasons why the head detective should sit out of this undercover mission.
"What?" Shawn said. Gus was right, Rocky Horror probably wasn't in Lassiters' comfort zone, but there was nothing wrong with testing peoples comfort zones.
"You know I'm right Shawn!" Gus' 'told you so' tone rang into Shawn's ear.
"Yeah, I know you're right," Shawn responded, he pulled a pair of yellow swim shorts out of the closet and threw them onto his bed. "but Gus?"
"Yes Shawn?"
"Don't be Brad Majors as he proposes to Janet in the middle of a funeral."
"You did not just compare me to Brad Majors!" An appalled Gus shouted as Shawn hung up the phone.
o0o
It took Carlton a while to actually get out of his car when he got to Juliet's house, so he didn't exactly show up at seven 'on the dot' like he promised.
"Carlton!" Juliet welcomed happily when he finally knocked on his partners door. "You are surprisingly late?"
"Only by a little bit," Carlton chided. If he could, he would turn right back around and go home, But he can't because he's pretty sure if he did, Juliet would blow a gasket.
He followed Juliet into her living room as she rambled about costume ideas, slightly distracted by his new surroundings.
"So! I had the the idea at first for us to go as Riff Raff and Magenta-"
"Who?"
"The maid and the butler," Juliet explained. "But then I realized we should probably not stick out too much, so I made the executive decision for us to go as Brad and Janet!"
"Okay? Carlton felt super uneasy all of the sudden, he wasn't looking forward to the night ahead of him. He didn't want to wrestle with the emotions he's always held with the movie...
The feelings he felt Tim Curry first came on screen...
When Brad gets hit with the Medusa machine...
And when his mother screamed holy hell when she found out he snuck out to see it...
o 1980 o
"Carlton Jebediah Lassiter!"
Carlton froze the moment he heard his mother shout from the top of the stairs, he had been doing his homework at the dining room table because he needed a bigger workspace.
"Yes mother?" he gulped, slowly walking up the stairs to find his mother. His mother, who happened to be in his room, was going through his things.
"Tell me Carlton..." his mother said slowly, she held his ticket to the Rocky Horror Picture Show in her hands. "What is this?"
"It's a movie ticket mother," Carlton stammered, he didn't break eye contact with his mother, knowing that if he did, his punishment would be worse.
"A ticket to a movie I told you, countless times, you weren't allowed to see!" his mother exploded. Carlton flinched, His mother never really got angry, but when she did she was the last person anyone wanted to be around.
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry doesn't cut it!" his mother shouted back. "Why did you go after I specifically told you not to?"
"I was curious!" his voice was wavering, he was curious and and now he was just really confused. He liked the movie, and he liked the way he felt when he watched the movie. Carlton couldn't understand why his mother had so much hatred in herself for it.
"Curiosity killed the cat Carlton!" his mother went from shouting to talking in a venomous tone, Carlton's heart shattered as his mother ripped up the movie ticket in her hands, each rip punctuating every word that came from her mouth. "That film is for filthy queers and children of Satan! And as far as I'm concerned Carlton, you. are. NEITHER!"
"Yes mother," Carlton held back a sob, holding himself in his arms as if to keep himself for falling to pieces. "I'm sorry."
"Clean up this mess and get back to your homework," his mother said sternly, clearing her throat as she walked to his bedroom door. "And Carlton?"
"Yes mother?"
"I hope you ask our heavenly father for forgiveness tonight." And with that statement, his mother shut the door and walked downstairs, presumably to care for his sister.
o 2007 o
"Carlton?" Juliet asked softly, snapping her fingers in front of his face. Carlton blinked a couple of times before shaking himself out of his thoughts.
"Yes O'Hara?"
"Are you okay?" she asked again. "you zoned out for a moment there."
"I'm fine Juliet," he reassured, Carlton hardly called Juliet by her first name, but she didn't mention it.
"If you say so," Juliet smiled softly, her eyes widened slightly as she checked the time on her watch. "Hey! we should get ready or we are going to be late!"
"Absolutely!"
"Your costume is right there," Juliet pointed out, picking up the mood instantly. "You can get ready in the guest room."
o0o
When Carlton and Juliet got to the theatre, Juliet stopped Carlton before they got out of the car.
"We need a game plan." She stated. "and some ground rules."
"Ground rules?"
"Yes Carlton, Ground rules!" she laughed as she took her gun out of her clutch and put it in the glove compartment of the Crown Vic.
"Woah!" Carlton was visibly confused as to why his partner was disarming herself before their stakeout. "What are you doing O'Hara? Are you out of your mind?"
"We can't take our guns into the theatre Carlton, you know this!" Carlton grumbled unhooking his gun from the holster, putting his gun with Juliet's. "Plus, I don't think we'll need them tonight anyways."
"You said something about ground rules O'Hara?" Carlton continued to grumble, he just wanted to get this night over with and fast.
"Yes!" his partner smiled. "You are going to play nice with Shawn, at least act like you are having a good time, and if you are going to act like anything, can it not be a cop?"
"I can stick to those rules." Carlton promised, opening his door to get out of the car. "Now, can we please go find Spencer and get this over with?"
"Absolutely Detective grumpy gills!" Juliet smiled following suit. "Let's get inside!"
Shawn was nowhere to be found when the two detectives made their way into the theatre, they both checked everywhere the psychic would be. He wasn't at the snack counter, in both men's bathrooms in the building, and he wasn't flirting with any of the scantily clad women either.
"Great!" Carlton sighed angrily. "He blew us off on his own undercover-"
"Or!" Juliet quickly cut Carlton off, stomping one of her white keds on his foot. Carlton winced, cursing quietly as Juliet started walking to the front of the auditorium. "He might just be late? We should grab a seat and save one for Shawn when he gets here."
"I do thank you, O'Hara, for not giving me an extravagant costume," Carlton thanked Juliet as they sat down. All Carlton had to put on was a ugly sweater vest, a brown jacket loaned to her from by her step-father, and his own glasses he usually kept on him.
"You're welcome Lassie!" Juliet was practically buzzing with excitement beside him, she was bouncing around in her seat looking around for Shawn, who still hadn't showed. "Your costume was much easier to put together than mine, I had to dig through all of my clothes to find the ones I got for that sorority assignment back in March. It took forever!"
"You still have all those clothes?"
"Well yeah! They're cute clothes and they were super expensive!"
Soon, a monotone voice came over the auditorium speakers.
"Hello guests..." the voice was in the least bit unnerving to Carlton as the crowd cheered. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show will be starting in a moment."
"At this point Juliet, I don't think Shawn is coming," Carlton told his partner, the lights in the auditorium dimming as the blinding stage lights came on.
"Well he probably couldn't find and sat behind us somewhere." Juliet happily retorted.
On the back of the stage, a projector screen was drawn down and a projector in the back of the auditorium lit up.
"And God said 'Let there be lips!' and there were! They were glorious!" The crowd around him, including Juliet, shouted. And with that, the opening credits rolled.
Carlton was shocked with all the obscene comments coming out of Juliet's and the rest of the crowds mouths, but the actors acting out the show alongside the movie served as a great distraction. They were nearing the end of 'Dammit, Janet' as Carlton was following along with the crowds heckles during the song because they were simple enough and didn't move to fast.
He still felt the same admiration for Brad as he did when he first saw him when he was younger, he also still felt the same catholic guilt that burns in his chest every time he thinks about him. As the song came to an end, a familiar voice completely stopped Carlton's thoughts.
"The man in the next scene has no fucking neck!" Shawn's voice rang across the crowd loudly, Carlton looked around him to find Shawn, but he still could not find the psychic.
"I told you he was here!" Juliet whispered loudly as the investigator on the screen monologued. "Stop looking so suspicious Lass- ASSHOLE! SLUT!"
"She's not a slut yet, give her a chance!" another audience member pleaded.
"We gave her a chance last week!" Juliet quipped back. "And she blew it!"
They fell back into a comfortable silence as the actors returned to stage, continuing with the movies main plot.
"Castles don't have phones asshole!" Everyone shouted before Brad and Janet sang their way to Frankenstein's place.
o0o
Carlton enjoyed watching his partner follow along to the steps and dance along to 'Time Warp' meanwhile he struggled to follow along, he had never seen Juliet look so happy. He was glad that she was enjoying herself even if his emotions were hindering the night for him.
"Do you need water Juliet?" Carlton asked Juliet, who was panting when they all sat back down.
"Nah, I'm good. I just need to catch my-" Juliet had been cut off by both Janet's screaming. It was Frank-n-Furter's big entrance and the actor for the mad scientist wasn't on stage.
Carlton's confusion was answered when one of the spotlights aimed at the stage moved into the crowd. It felt like a swift kick to the chest when he saw Shawn under the spotlight, sauntering down aisle to the music.
Shawn went the whole nine yards with his makeup and costume, wearing the signature platform heels and a tight black lace corset, his chest exposed and shimmering under the light. Carlton's heart skipped a beat when his eyes moved the Shawn's lower half, a red garter belt and panties to match hanging low on his hips. The detective thought Shawn looked absolutely captivating in that costume and he wanted nothing more than to just touch the psychic in this moment.
"I'm not much of a man by the light of day, but by night I'm one hell of a lover." Tim Curry's voice sang over the speakers as THE Shawn Spencer began to straddle Carlton's lap.
Time seemed to slow down as Shawn's hips swiveled to the beat, Carlton's heart pounded in his chest as his hands slid up Shawn's fishnet clad thighs. Carlton jumped slightly when Shawn's hands grabbed his as he leaned in to whisper in Carlton's ear, he felt his hands graze over the younger man's ass as they were placed to sit at his waist, feeling his own slacks grow tighter.
"Is that a gun in your pants Lassie or are you just happy to see me?" The psychic taunted, he then kissed Carlton on the face , leaving a mark.
Carlton crossed his legs as soon as Shawn got off his lap. Taking deep breaths, he grabbed his bottle of water off the floor and took a nice long swig, to say his mouth was dry was an understatement. By some miracle, Juliet said nothing to him as that moment replayed in his head. The moment felt so right, but his thoughts ran rampant in his mind to ruin it for him.
"I see you shiver with antici-" Shawn looked lustfully at Carlton and winked as the crowd shouted.
"SAY IT!"
"-pation!"
o0o
Lassiter was surprised when the first thing Juliet did when they found Shawn after the show was hit the man with her clutch repeatedly.
"I cannot believe you didn't tell us you were in the show Shawn!" Juliet said with little anger in the tone.
"I'm sorry Jules!" Shawn laughed as he tried to block the hits with his arms to no avail. "I didn't know I was going to be in the show until I got here!"
"Hold on-" Carlton said , watching as Juliet accidentally hit Shawn in the face and stopping to check if he was okay. "You didn't know you were going to be in the show until you got here?"
Shawn nodded. "I got here at seven and was wandering the auditorium when the girl who plays Columbia walked up and pulled me backstage," Shawn explained how the actress told him he'd be a 'perfect fit' for a temporary Frank-n-Furter and connected the dots that their victim wasn't just at the show, she played the mad scientist.
"So what you're saying is that someone in the show might have killed her?" Lassiter asked.
"Yes," Shawn smiled, happy that Carlton was taking him seriously for a change. "We just need to figure out who."
"So, we should call cast and crew down to the station tomorrow morning." Juliet stated, her partner nodding in conformation. "You were really good tonight by the way!"
"Thank you Jules! I'm glad you liked it!" Shawn turned bright pink at the compliment. "I'm glad you liked it too Lassie, even if you won't say anything about it."
"As a matter of fact Spencer," Carlton started, blushing himself thinking about the psychic grinding on everything on that stage, running a hand through his hair smiling. "I really enjoyed myself tonight, thank you."
"Wow Lass, you really know how to make a mad scientist blush-"
"Yeah, yeah I know, but-" Lassiter said looking at his watch. "If we are going to make it to to work on time tomorrow, we are going to have to leave now O'Hara."
"Speaking of going home." Shawn interrupted. "May I please have a ride home Lassifrass?"
Carlton nodded tiredly and all of them left the auditorium.
o0o
"Have a night nice Jules!" Shawn had his head out of the car window as Carlton started to pull off.
"Shawn," Carlton groaned. "Get your head inside the car or I'm closing it in the window."
Shawn did as he was told, It was far too late and they had far too long of a drive for Shawn to test Lassiter's limits. He sat in the comfortable silence, he glanced at Carlton who looked deep in thought about something.
"Hey, uh..." Shawn said quietly, catching the detectives attention. "Can I ask you something?"
"You just did."
"Why were you so apprehensive about seeing the show?" Shawn asked hesitantly, watching the streetlamps pass as they drove by. "You seemed to have a genuinely good time tonight."
Carlton sighed, chewing on his lip he tried to think of an answer, and couldn't think of anything other than the truth.
"I never had a good history with that movie." Carton put simply. He knew that answer wasn't good enough for the younger man, Shawn's face twisted in confusion before he opened his big mouth.
"What?" he lightly laughed in confusion, turning his body to look at Carlton. "I don't understand, what do you mean?"
"I mean I couldn't watch the movie without people telling me I was being a 'filthy queer.'"
"What! You're just watching a movie? It's not like you're gay-"
Carlton sighed deeply when those words fell from the psychics mouth, Those two words he had been fighting with since he first watched the musical all those years ago. To his side, Shawn let out a sound of surprise as he put the puzzle pieces together quickly.
"Spencer, if you are going to be judgemental about that, I highly suggest you duck and roll out of my car right-" Carlton voice rose with frustration, but Shawn quick to respond.
"So that wasn't a gun in your pocket, was it?" Lassiter then slammed on his breaks, causing Shawn to go hands first into the dashboard.
"SPENCER!"
"WHAT?"
"That is completely inappropriate!"
"We're both adults Carlton!" Shawn said angrily as he pushed himself back into the passenger seat of the car. "If you could fucking act like it and keep driving! That'd be great!"
Carlton had to admit to himself that Shawn saying his name like that was breathtaking as he continued to drive to Shawn's place, but that was not the point right now. The rest of the car ride was silent until Carlton pulled into the parking spot next to Shawn's motorcycle.
"Thank you for the ride home Lassie," Shawn said as he waited for the car door to be unlocked.
"You're welcome Shawn," Carlton looked at Shawn, even though he had since changed out of the lingerie from earlier, he still looked captivating. As the street lamp reflected off of Shawn's overly gelled hair, Carlton felt like this was a 'do or die' moment.
"Hey Shawn?" He asked asked softly, unsure of himself as he thought his decision through.
"Yeah?" Shawn responded, looking into Lassiter's icy blue eyes as the detective made up his mind.
Carlton picked 'do'.
It felt like a drug was pulsing through his veins as he and the psychic kissed, and it was only amplified when Shawn reciprocated. Shawn's lips were slightly chapped and scratched against Carlton's and his hands were surprisingly cold when he cupped Carlton's face, but he wouldn't have it any other way. There was a brief pause of heavy panting as the two men pressed their foreheads together.
"I really like you Shawn," Carlton whispered, laughing slightly from his nerves. "But I would like to take whatever we have slowly?"
"That's okay!" Shawn smiled softly, moving to press a kiss to Carlton's forehead. "We can take this relationship as slow as you'd like."
o0o
Since dropping off Shawn at his apartment, the only thing Carlton could think of was his psychic...
His psychic in that tight corset...
His psychic in that pair of red panties that hung off his hips just right...
His psychic straddling his lap...
His psychic kissing him softly in the front seat of the Crown Vic...
So here Carlton was, deep in his thoughts of Shawn and his catholic guilt, when his phone rang. The detective practically leapt off the couch he felt glued to and answered.
"Lassiter." He said quickly, voice cracking in the process.
"Hey Lassie!" Shawn's voice didn't have it's usual upbeat tone, to Carlton he sounded almost scared.
"Spencer, I dropped you off twenty minutes ago," Lassiter chuckled nervously. "You're not backtracking on what you said earlier are you?"
"No! Not at all-" Shawn reassured, the reassurance made Lassiter feel much better about the call, but that didn't last long. "Lassie, I think someone broke into my apartment!"
Carlton froze. "What?" Carlton hissed into the phone.
"Someone broke into my apartment! Meaning that when I went to unlock my door when you dropped me off, it was unlocked, and one of my kitchen knives are gone! All the knives were in the block when I left!" Shawn hissed back, that was evidence enough for Carlton to rush back out to the Crown Vic and fire up the engine.
"I will be right there!" Carlton said sternly into the phone, pulling out of the driveway. "Don't do anything stupid and be careful Shawn."
"You know I can't make that promise Lassie-" Shawn said as Carlton hung up and spend toward Shawn's apartment.
When Carlton made it to the apartment, he hardly pulled his keys out of the ignition before bolting to the psychic's door. Knocking on the door, the detective drew his gun, silently hoping he didn't find his new found lover dead. He heard a scuffle from behind the door before Shawn's voice came through the door.
"Come in!"
When Carlton opened the door he was welcomed with the sight of the someone holding the missing kitchen knife to Shawn's throat.
"SBPD! put down the knife!" Carlton growled, the knife welder stiffly shook his head.
"Hi, My name is Shawn Spencer and I am auditioning for the role of why this guy is going to jail!" Shawn said shakily as the knife was held tighter to his throat.
"Shut it, role stealer!" the guy shouted, slapping his hand over Shawn's mouth. "We wouldn't be in this mess if you and your police friend here didn't come to the-" The guy yelped in pain as Shawn bit his palm.
"He killed our victim!" Shawn told Carlton, struggling to wriggle himself free from the attackers arms. "He was jealous that she got the role of Frank and he got cast as Doctor Scott, so he broke into her house and killed her with one of her own kitchen knives!"
Carlton tried to take a aim at the disgruntled actor as the Shawn continued to struggle against him, but he couldn't.
"Come on asshat!" Carlton said trying to get the actor's attention. "Let Shawn go and put down the knife!" The actor shook his head again when Carlton realized he had a clear shot through Shawn's legs, smirking as he took aim.
"Carlton, In case you forgot, I have a knife to my throat! Please don't do something stupid!" Shawn rambled quickly before Lassiter pulled the trigger. Just like that, both the knife and the actor hit the floor, but Carlton was more concerned for Shawn.
"Shawn, are you okay?" Carlton holstered his gun as he walked over, kicking the knife to the other side of the living space. Shawn stood still as he held his throat, tiny beads of blood peaking out from underneath his hand.
"Tis but a scratch, I just need to patch myself up." The psychic smiled weakly, moving his hand for his detective to assess the minor wound. "Thank you for being my knight in shining suit pants, but please get that guy out of my apartment and to a hospital... or the station, either works."
"I was getting to that Spencer, I just needed to make sure you were okay first." Carlton sighed, kissing the top of Shawn's head.
As Carlton knelt down to cuff the actor, Shawn made his way to the bathroom and tended to his wound. Shawn smiled softly hearing Lassiter read the guy his rights.
"-If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you." The detective grimaced as he lifted the actor off to floor and half carried him to the door.
"Hey Carlton?" Shawn called after him, making him stop in his tracks, turning to look at Shawn.
"Yeah?" his demeanor softened when he looked into Shawn's hazel eyes. Even with the 'I'm fine' charade he put on, Shawn seemed small and timid.
"Can I stay at your place tonight?" Shawn's voice was softer than normal, Carlton half smiled at the young man.
"Of course!" he nodded understandingly, Shawn eyes brightened at the response which made Carlton smile a bit brighter. "Do you want me to drive you there?"
"I'll take my bike and meet you there," Shawn answered as Lassiter picked the actor up from leaning against the door frame half carrying them down to the Crown Vic.
fin