It should have been a cut and dry case, Carlton thinks as he watches the perp through the window. He's clearly nervous, looking anywhere but at Shawn, legs bouncing in his agitation.

He notices the way that Shawn watches him, looking at every detail of the man in an attempt to determine what he can use to get the man to crack.

It was supposed to be easy.

~~~

"Why is the police department getting involved?" Carlton asks, brows furrowed and arms crossed as he glares at the new woman in the office.

Miss Conrad, a fair young lady from the fire department, had found her way into their station, mumbling something about arson and detectives.

As far as he was concerned, arson was a matter for the fire department and he wanted nothing to do with it, even if arson was a crime and he thought it should fall under their jurisdiction.

"Because—" she starts, a huff coming from her. She doesn't get more than a word out before Shawn and his sidekick Guster come bursting into the room, hands raised and voices loud, boasting about the case as if they actually knew anything at all.

Despite knowing he was a fraud, he couldn't figure out how Shawn knew these things.

Carlton rolls his eyes.

~~~

There was a body in the walls.

Against all reason, there had been a body.

How Shawn had known there was a body there, he'd never know. He'd have to ask the man later and hope he got a real answer.

Upon hearing that the man had been murdered, he finds himself shoving Shawn down to his knees before him. He wasn't thinking about his actions as he pretends to pop him in the head with a bullet.

He freezes after realizing what he'd done, the thought only registering as a bright red flush burns across Shawn's cheeks, his lashes fluttering as he looks up at him.

Carlton's breath hitches and he pushes himself away from the younger man, quite embarrassed, but he couldn't help thinking about how pretty Shawn had been down there.

He knows that Shawn is thinking the same thing he is, or at least something along the lines of what he is, when not even five minutes later he can feel Shawn staring at him, checking him out as he argues with Miss Conrad.

He feels flushed as he tries to focus on the case, having finally gotten her to agree on investigating with them instead of against them.

~~~

O'Hara grabs Carlton's arms, pulling him aside as they all leave the morgue, brows furrowed in thought. "Did she just ask you if you and Shawn were together?" she asks him, her brows now raised high.

Carlton feels himself flush and he refuses to look her in the eye, in case she could read whatever thoughts had been floating through his head for the past hour or so.

"Yes."

O'Hara chuckles, shaking her head, clearly amused. "Obviously she can't read people as well as she thinks she can," she says as she chases Shawn and Guster up the stairs. "You and Shawn. What a riot!"

Carlton barely stifles a laugh.

If only she knew.

~~~

Carlton is just starting to get frustrated, rubbing his hands down his face in his irritation. He can't seem to figure out any leads.

He feels the vibrating in his pocket and wearily draws it out. He isn't sure he could handle Shawn's antics at the moment, no matter how much he loved their back and forth.

Shawn Spencer: Thr ws nother fire. Do't wory. Wer sfe

For a moment the world seems to stop spinning as he stares down at the words on his phone, unsure that he'd read them right. Shawn was a notoriously bad texter. Maybe he just read it wrong.

However, upon rereading the text, he determined that he had indeed read the words right and his heart drops into his stomach, thundering painfully in his chest, the blood roaring in his ears as the panic starts to grip him.

There was another fire and Shawn had been involved somehow. Why else would he be texting Carlton to let him know about it?

How did he know there was another fire in the first place? Did he go in? How did he get in?

How had none of the other firefighters notice that he was in there?

He seriously doubted that the world would suffer if there were no firemen. Clearly they weren't very observant if Shawn, and probably Guster, were able to make it into and out of a building on fire without being noticed.

The panic started to ebb in the face of his anger and the comfort in knowing that Shawn said he was okay.

It was a start at least.

~~~

Despite his trust in Shawn, especially with the text saying that he was alright, Carlton couldn't seem to breathe properly until they had found themselves back in the morgue less than an hour later.

Shawn pressed himself up against him, as close as he could get without making it obvious that he was comforting Carlton, as if he knew that he'd caused Carlton some panic earlier and was trying to remedy it.

Knowing Shawn, he likely did know that.

He still drags Shawn aside after their conversation in the morgue - a conversation about a potential second body and any leads towards the next building to be burned.

"Pulling me into a dark corner, Lassie? You could have just asked for a kiss if you wanted one," Shawn offers, a cheeky grin on his face.

Carlton rolls his eyes, exasperated, but entirely fond of this man.

"This is serious, Shawn," he whispers and he sees the moment the Shawn realizes that he isn't joking and calms down.

"This is about the fire isn't it?" Carlton doesn't say anything, eyes on the ground, feeling embarrassed by the well of emotions that he can barely keep hidden. "Look, the firemen tried to keep us out, but you know me. I had to know what was going on so I had to sneak in. We weren't in there very long."

"Shawn," Carlton starts.

"Aaaand," Shawn interrupts, rambling nervously now. "Gus and I went through the firemen training before we went in, which is the only reason we did."

"You had firemen training?" Carlton asked, momentarily distracted by the image of Shawn covered in soot as he slides down the pole.

He flushes as he finally understands why women would faun over a fireman.

"Don't worry, Lassielips, we can play with that fantasy of yours another time," he says with a wink and Carlton finds himself blushing further.

~~~

Carlton rocks forward on his feet, anxious, as he watches Shawn work.

Shawn sits in front of the perp, body language entirely relaxed as he eyes the man. He starts talking about some bullshit psychic, wiccan, mumbo jumbo that, despite all odds, actually seem to work.

The perp starts talking and Carlton is fairly surprised, but more than a little proud of Shawn.

This case was turning out to be a little harder than the thought it would be

~~~

Carlton is sitting in the passenger seat of his car - a rare occurrence- pouring over the files he has strewn about his dash as he and O'Hara are chasing some half baked lead.

A shrill ringing echoes around his car and it takes him a moment to realize that it's his phone.

"Guster," he greets, ignoring the annoyed side eye that he receives from his partner at the rude greeting.

His thoughts slow to a trudge, like he's walking through syrup, as Guster tells him about what's going on.

Miss Conrad has been taken, right from underneath their noses while they were coming up with some ideas. They had no leads on who the arsonist -arsassin, he hears Shawn say in his head- was, but somehow, Shawn had figured out where the next fire was going to be.

It's not the words that have him panicking though, as he regurgitates Guster's words to O'Hara, who flips a U-Turn and takes off towards the abandoned building, knuckles whitening as her grip on the steering wheel tightens.

Carlton finds himself pleading to whoever would listen, to any god that may exist, that Shawn would keep his promise, that he wouldn't run headfirst into that fire.

Unfortunately, he knows the man and he knows, without a doubt, that Shawn had taken off into that building the moment he realized Miss Conrad had been taken, especially if he thought that hey wouldn't make it in time to save her.

He's not sure they would and he can't fault Shawn, despite how much it frightens him, because if he were in Shawn's place, he'd likely run in after her too.

~~~

He's unbuckling his seatbelt before they even pull to a stop in front of the building, blocked from getting closer by the mass of firetrucks surrounding it.

He tumbles out of the car and onto the rough asphalt, nearly slipping as he makes his way over to O'Hara, heart thundering in his chest.

The explosion rattles his bones and he falls back against his car as the world seems to narrow to the fire billowing out of the crumbling building in front of him

He'd noticed, when they pulled up, that the blueberry had been empty, that Shawn and Guster had been noticeably absent and he knew exactly where they were.

He feels nauseous as his knees give out from underneath him, his breath coming faster, though he doesn't feel like he's getting any air.

He vaguely hears more sirens as an ambulance comes speeding into the clearing, but it can barely be heard over the roaring of his blood in his ears.

The flashing red and blue make his eyes sting, or is that the smoke, and make the scene feel so surreal.

He's vaguely aware of his surroundings, of O'Hara crying, a hand pressed over her mouth, of the smoke and questions, of the gravel pressing into his knees, of the pounding in his head and chest as he takes shuddering breaths.

"Shawn," he chokes, the word incredibly painful as it pulls itself from his throat, scratched raw from what was likely a scream of agony the moment the building blew up.

He didn't even notice.

He chokes on a sob as another explosion ricochets through the building, his heart shattering along with it.

His vision blurs and he can't tell if it's because of the tears or the smoke or the lack of oxygen as he struggles to capture any breath.

There's a movement inside the doorway and his heart jumps into his throat, trying to stamp down the hope that fills him.

That had been two explosions. He'd be incredibly lucky to have survived one, let alone two.

He stumbles to feet and towards the doors, despite the firefighters pushing him back, but there he is. There's Shawn.

He's holding something, but that doesn't matter to him as he breaks into a sprint towards the younger man, only vaguely aware of Guster coming out of the building just seconds later.

"Lassie!" Shawn shouts as Carlton barrels into him.

He's alive.

He's here.

He's okay.

Carlton pulls him into a hug, arms wrapped tightly around him, one on his waist, the other cradling his neck as he breathes in Shawn's scent.

He was so sure he'd lost the man.

Sobs wrack his frame as Shawn whispers reassuring words in his ears, rubbing his back gently.

Carlton would normally feel embarrassed. Shawn was the one who just got out of a burning building and he was likely in an insurmountable amount of pain, but here he was reassuring Carlton that he was okay.

Carlton chocks back another sob as Shawn squeezes him tighter.

"I'm okay, Carlton," he whispers, pressing a gentle kiss into Carlton's hair as he presses further into Shawn's neck like he was trying to mold themselves together.

At least then he wouldn't have to worry about the other man so much.

"I'm okay, babe. We're okay."

Carlton hiccups as he starts to pull away, refusing to look Shawn in the eye as he gets his bearing back, breaths evening out, his surroundings roaring back into reality.

There are shouted questions from policemen and firemen alike as they drown out the fire. The ambulance is peeling away with two people inside.

O'Hara and Guster are gawking at the two of them and he feels himself flushing in embarrassment.

Before anyone can say anything, an officer approaches them, sheepish and asking Shawn some questions about what happened, the younger man stuttering as he tries to gather his wits.

Carlton has never been more angry in his life as he pulls Shawn away.

"Hey!" he starts, growling. "Shawn just went though something life threatening and he is going to need recuperate before he gives any statements, which we will do at the station tomorrow."

Carlton glares at everyone as if daring anyone to challenge him, or to object.

"Now," he starts, hand squeezing Shawn's shoulder, nodding when he sees Shawn's grateful smile. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to take my husband home and make sure he's okay."

He pulls Shawn by the hand towards his own car, fingers intertwining with his as he takes a shaky breath, realizing that he'd just exposed them both to so many people.

"What!?" O'Hara shouts.

"Husband!" Guster shouts. "Shawn!"

Shawn grins sheepishly as he climbs into Carlton's car. "Not how I thought we'd come out. Way to go out with a bang."

Carlton can't help the laugh bubbling in his chest as Shawn joins him.