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Something very few people knew was that Shawn was a trans man. Gus knew, obviously, and so did his parents, both of whom were fully accepting, though he knew Henry was just ok with it because he’d always wanted a son, not a daughter. His doctors knew, as well, but that was a given.
No one at the station knew, though. Not Vick, not Lassiter, not Buzz, not Juliet, not any of them. And he liked it that way. It was 2008, and though the world had come a long way since he came out at the age of eleven, it was by no means good. He wasn’t certain how they’d react, and since Psych was literally his entire life at the moment, it wouldn’t be smart of him to tempt fate by coming out.
He was fine with them not knowing, though. He passed well and no one had bat an eye at his appearance or voice in many years, so there really was no reason to tell them. It didn’t affect how he did his job or how he interacted with them…though if his crush on Lassiter ever became less fantasy and more reality, he’d definitely need to say something…
He hardly ever thought about it anymore. He was a man, and that was that. The problem with that was that he forgot about them. Meaning, his top surgery scars. He forgot that cis-het people wouldn’t react with the same indifference to the sight of them…which was why he wasn't ever super careful in hiding them. He should've known that would eventually lead to an incident.
And it did...
He, Gus, Juliet, and Lassiter had been chasing after a suspect, an arsonist, when the man suddenly pulled out a match, lit it, and threw it at them. He clearly had just meant to create a diversion, not necessarily to hit one of them, but that’s exactly what happened.
It hit Shawn’s shirt, instantly lighting it on fire, and Shawn immediately acted…by taking his shirt off, throwing it to the floor, and stamping out the fire. He wasn’t sure if the gasps were because of the arsonist, who was now being handcuffed and led away, or them seeing his bare chest.
Either way, by the time the flames on his shirt were put out, it was practically ash, and not wearable in any way, shape, or form, so now everyone could see his scars out in the open. So, there he was, practically broadcasting the fact he was trans to the world. Lovely.
He stood before them, completely tensed up, and holding his hands out weakly in front of him, trying to block their vision of his scars. It clearly hadn’t worked, judging by the way Juliet and Lassiter were eyeing him with confused, surprised expressions, and Gus just seemed a little uncomfortable.
“Um…surprise?” he finally said, shrugging and sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to make it seem like a non issue…which it hopefully would be.
Juliet blinked slowly, frowning at him and clearly trying to avoid looking anywhere other than his chest. “You… Uh, you’re a girl…?” she asked slowly, uncomfortable and concerned.
Shawn flinched. He knew Juliet probably wasn’t well versed on trans issues, but damn, even after all these years, that felt like a punch in the gut. But Gus came to his aid, before he could get the chance to respond.
“No, he’s definitely not," Gus said firmly, emphasizing the correct pronoun.
A pause.
"So...you're transgender…” Lassiter frowned, turning to him, brows knitted together. “Right?”
Shawn nodded, a bit hesitant. “Yeah.” A pause. “I never really meant for you guys to know, to be honest, but, look, it doesn’t affect my job and I can still solve cases, and this really shouldn’t change anything, so–”
“Shawn, it’s fine,” Juliet interjected. “We understand, and we’re not going to cast you away,” she reassured him, offering him a small, encouraging smile.
He let out a sigh of relief. This had gone exponentially better than he thought it would. “Ok...good. That’s good...” Then he cringed. “But, uh, please don’t call me a girl, or a woman, or a she, or anything like that. It causes some pretty bad dysphoria.”
She nodded, appearing pained. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, sounding genuinely regretful. “It’s just…I was caught off guard. But I’m not judging you or anything. This doesn’t change anything. You're still the same Shawn we all know.”
“Thanks, Jules.” He smiled softly, appreciatively, sharing a glance with Gus, who seemed equally as relieved as him. It was good to know he had his friends on his side.
She just smiled in return, and Lassiter coughed awkwardly, drawing all eyes to him. “O’Hara’s right. This won’t change anything. As far as I’m concerned, nothing out of the ordinary even happened today,” he said.
He sounded a bit uncomfortable, but he was clearly doing his best to be supportive, so Shawn couldn’t fault him for it. He grinned brightly. “Thanks, Lassie!” he chirped.
The four stood in awkward silence for a moment, before, “Anyone have a spare shirt...?”