Work Text:
Shawn had a problem with Wally. Now normally, when Shawn had a problem with Wally it was quickly solved by talking about it like the adults they were but this time it wasn’t something he was sure about how to go about. One problem was he didn’t know the words in English he was looking for. True, he was very good at speaking, and even thinking, in English to a degree, but there were some things that he still didn’t know. Like whenever Wally would say some random combination of words that was supposed to mean something in English but was basically gibberish until explained.
Shawn hadn’t had problems with not being a native English speaker in years other than the aforementioned expressions and slang. Usually, he’d ask someone but he was afraid that asking around would lead to questions and he wasn’t sure what to do.
Mentally he dubbed the problem the whatchamacallit problem. Whatchamacallit was the first word that had gotten him and Wally into a bit of a fight. Shawn said that it was too long to be a single word and Wally disagreed. They ended up asking Sammy, who seemed rather annoyed that he was their go-to mediator, and Sammy said it was slang. Wally said slang counted as a word. Shawn disagreed. Sammy was fed up, said they were both right, and kicked them out of the music department. The memory made Shawn smile just as he did every time he’d used the word since.
But he still had the problem. He wished Wally knew Irish but that was extremely unlikely. True, Wally had picked up a little, very little bit of Irish from Shawn but that was almost exclusively curse words. Which was fine. Wally had taken to randomly whispering Irish curse words to Shawn when he was trying to work but it was admittedly quite funny to hear Wally, who made a point not to cuss in front of nearly everyone, whisper profanities for no reason. As for the non-curse words those were said in the privacy of their own bedroom during very specific times and while exciting for their own reasons those words weren’t going to be helpful either.
“You alright?”
Shawn turned to look at Wally to his right. They were sitting at their little dining table on a rare day off. It was late morning and they had been sharing their coffee and joking about their plans for the day. Unless Wally really did want to streak through the police station, in which case the whatchamacallit problem wasn’t the only one they had. But mid-conversation about how poorly the police would react to such a stunt Shawn had zoned out.
“Just thinkin’. I want to say things to ya but I don’t know the words.”
Wally laughed and took a swig of his coffee, somehow not burning himself with the scalding liquid. “You know me, I don’t need fancy words, and even if you could give them to me I might not understand them.”
Shawn picked up his mug, “You’re not so much of a fool, that ya think you are.”
Wally laughed again, shaking his head and placing his hand on Shawn’s thigh. “I’ll remember you said that. Next time we’re fightin’ over something stupid I’ll remind you.”
Shawn took a sip of his coffee, still too hot for his taste, and said thoughtfully. “A rúnsearc.”
“Gazuntite,” Wally said with a slight smirk, he tilted his head and waited for Shawn to continue.
“It’s what I wanna call you. At least here at home, dunno how good of an idea it’d be out an’ about but…” Shawn set down his coffee mug and placed one hand on top of where Wally’s was still on his thigh. “There’s another word I don’t know either, but maybe you can help me with this one.”
Wally reached out with his free hand and tilted Shawn’s head towards him. “Yeah?”
Shawn took Wally’s hand with his and sighed. “I know it ain't legal, and it’ll be more trouble than it might be worth if we’re found out… I want you to want to marry me. I don’t know what the word for someone waiting to be married is. And I know we can’t get married, not here or anywhere. But I want us to be as close we can to it. You’re my a rúnsearc.”
Wally was misty-eyed and flushed pink, a wide smile gracing his face. “Fiancee. I think it’s a French word or something like that. Look, Shawn, if you think that I’d ever be outta here when it comes to the two of us, you're crazier than Sammy. Yeah, it might be scary, but for goodness sake, you’ve seen Joey when he’s upset. If we can deal with him we can deal with anything else.”
“So, you want the impossible then?” Shawn smiled and leaned in for a kiss.
“Yeah, guess so. You’re gonna be stuck with me now.” Wally said before closing the distance between them.
After a moment Shawn broke the kiss. “So, you’re my whatchamacallit now?” Wally just laughed, getting up and taking Shawn by the hand and back towards their bedroom.