Fic: Cold Spots
Title: Cold Spots
Author: dawning_star
Pairing: Zach/Shaun
Rated: Teen
Word Count: 912
Disclaimer: Neither Shelter nor Ghost Hunters belongs to me. Pity about that.
Note: Written for shelter_diner's Halloween!Fest 2010 prompt involving ghost hunters.
Summary: It wasn't time for cold weather in LA ...
Nothing strange ever happened in their condo. Lights, when turned off, stayed off. Doors remained appropriately open or closed. And it was California - cold wasn't something they ever dealt much with. The condo was safe, warm, and welcoming. It had room for Shaun's writing, Zach's art, Cody's exuberance.
Nothing ever creaked unless touched, no one ever spoke that wasn't actually present.
The condo was safe.
Zach wrapped his arms around his knees and fervently wished they'd never left it.
“Leave me alone,” he murmured, too quiet for most to hear. “Leave me alone.”
Nothing audible truly reached his ears, but he almost swore he heard mocking laughter.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Babe, I'm back!” Shaun called out loudly as he walked into the house, bags thumping on the floor. “You here?”
He heard no answer and frowned to himself. Cody was off for the week, visiting with his 'Gammy and Pop-Pop', as his mother and stepdad had insisted on being called. When Shaun and Zach had agreed to the trip, Shaun had quietly arranged for a vacation of their own - a small rustic cabin off a well-tended mountain path. No risk of snow in the summer, little risk of any interruption. It had seemed idyllic when the travel agent had described it, and Shaun had fallen in love at first sight for the second time.
Zach had been jumpy from the first day. Shaun hadn't really asked him why - he was a city boy after all and it was an adjustment to be without all the noise.
He'd hoped the jumpiness would ease.
“Zach?”
The man in question was sitting tucked up in one of the living room recliners, arms wrapped around his knees. He looked up and Shaun saw the dark circles around his eyes, the tear tracks. Without thinking, he ran forward, threw his arms around him.
It seemed almost an eternity before Zach hugged him back.
“Shaun,” Zach whispered against his neck, voice muffled. “I …. I think that something is here.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Shaun liked to think of himself as an open-minded man. Sure, he still held a “grudge” against his stepdad for marrying his mother, but it really was more of a joke nowadays than anything else. He might grumble and gripe, but there were always gifts under the Christmas tree and Shaun knew he could call the man for anything.
It had taken more than open-mindedness for Shaun to hold onto his faith in the early days of his and Zach's relationship, particularly during that first, terrible fight. But something made him pick up the walkie-talkie and answer him when all he'd wanted to do was leave to nurse his wounded heart.
So he was an open-minded guy, very much in love with the man shaking in his arms. The man that helped bring him a family, make him a father.
The man that had just told him they were being haunted.
Zach had told him about the red eyes he saw in corners, the faces just out of the corner of his eye. His sketchpad disappearing, only to reappear in the unlit fireplace. Something grabbing his hand hard when he reached in to get it.
He told him about the lights going on and off, and the scratches on his back.
Shaun helped him lift his shirt and saw them, parallel lines of three, too deep for Zach's nails to make, impossible to create by himself.
He listened, he saw, and he believed, even though nothing had happened to him.
“I believe you, babe,” he murmured against his head. “I believe you. Let's get out of here.”
~ ~ ~ ~
They packed.
Zach's hands still shook slightly when he reached into dark places to pull out his belongings.
Shaun found himself looking as he worked. He saw nothing. Aside from their ragged breaths, he heard only silence.
But he felt something, now that his mind was open to feeling it. He felt something, something that wanted their torment, wanted them gone.
Packing took all of ten minutes, and Shaun was almost as eager to get out as Zach. Almost.
But he was the one leaving with marks on his back. Shaun couldn't really blame him.
~ ~ ~ ~
Shaun dropped an email to the travel agent that had recommended the place. It was only a few short sentences, terse and to the point.
Had a lovely stay until whatever is occupying that cabin decided to torment my boyfriend. Would definitely not recommend to anyone else.
Zach's scratches healed and the worried look eventually left his eyes. They both welcomed Cody home enthusiastically and tried to put the cabin out of their minds. For the most part, it worked, though Shaun occasionally had to sooth Zach back to sleep.
He never minded that.
Several months later, idly flipping through the channels, a teaser made him freeze.
Next on Ghost Hunters: In a small remote cabin, just 75 miles away from Los Angeles, vacationers find themselves booked for more than they ever bargained for---
Shaun shook his head slightly. “Better you than me,” he muttered before turning off the TV. It was almost time for Zach to come home from school --- Shaun wanted to surprise him.
Stepping out of the living room, he absently shivered. Odd. It wasn't time for cold weather in LA …
//end//
Author: dawning_star
Pairing: Zach/Shaun
Rated: Teen
Word Count: 912
Disclaimer: Neither Shelter nor Ghost Hunters belongs to me. Pity about that.
Note: Written for shelter_diner's Halloween!Fest 2010 prompt involving ghost hunters.
Summary: It wasn't time for cold weather in LA ...
Nothing strange ever happened in their condo. Lights, when turned off, stayed off. Doors remained appropriately open or closed. And it was California - cold wasn't something they ever dealt much with. The condo was safe, warm, and welcoming. It had room for Shaun's writing, Zach's art, Cody's exuberance.
Nothing ever creaked unless touched, no one ever spoke that wasn't actually present.
The condo was safe.
Zach wrapped his arms around his knees and fervently wished they'd never left it.
“Leave me alone,” he murmured, too quiet for most to hear. “Leave me alone.”
Nothing audible truly reached his ears, but he almost swore he heard mocking laughter.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Babe, I'm back!” Shaun called out loudly as he walked into the house, bags thumping on the floor. “You here?”
He heard no answer and frowned to himself. Cody was off for the week, visiting with his 'Gammy and Pop-Pop', as his mother and stepdad had insisted on being called. When Shaun and Zach had agreed to the trip, Shaun had quietly arranged for a vacation of their own - a small rustic cabin off a well-tended mountain path. No risk of snow in the summer, little risk of any interruption. It had seemed idyllic when the travel agent had described it, and Shaun had fallen in love at first sight for the second time.
Zach had been jumpy from the first day. Shaun hadn't really asked him why - he was a city boy after all and it was an adjustment to be without all the noise.
He'd hoped the jumpiness would ease.
“Zach?”
The man in question was sitting tucked up in one of the living room recliners, arms wrapped around his knees. He looked up and Shaun saw the dark circles around his eyes, the tear tracks. Without thinking, he ran forward, threw his arms around him.
It seemed almost an eternity before Zach hugged him back.
“Shaun,” Zach whispered against his neck, voice muffled. “I …. I think that something is here.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Shaun liked to think of himself as an open-minded man. Sure, he still held a “grudge” against his stepdad for marrying his mother, but it really was more of a joke nowadays than anything else. He might grumble and gripe, but there were always gifts under the Christmas tree and Shaun knew he could call the man for anything.
It had taken more than open-mindedness for Shaun to hold onto his faith in the early days of his and Zach's relationship, particularly during that first, terrible fight. But something made him pick up the walkie-talkie and answer him when all he'd wanted to do was leave to nurse his wounded heart.
So he was an open-minded guy, very much in love with the man shaking in his arms. The man that helped bring him a family, make him a father.
The man that had just told him they were being haunted.
Zach had told him about the red eyes he saw in corners, the faces just out of the corner of his eye. His sketchpad disappearing, only to reappear in the unlit fireplace. Something grabbing his hand hard when he reached in to get it.
He told him about the lights going on and off, and the scratches on his back.
Shaun helped him lift his shirt and saw them, parallel lines of three, too deep for Zach's nails to make, impossible to create by himself.
He listened, he saw, and he believed, even though nothing had happened to him.
“I believe you, babe,” he murmured against his head. “I believe you. Let's get out of here.”
~ ~ ~ ~
They packed.
Zach's hands still shook slightly when he reached into dark places to pull out his belongings.
Shaun found himself looking as he worked. He saw nothing. Aside from their ragged breaths, he heard only silence.
But he felt something, now that his mind was open to feeling it. He felt something, something that wanted their torment, wanted them gone.
Packing took all of ten minutes, and Shaun was almost as eager to get out as Zach. Almost.
But he was the one leaving with marks on his back. Shaun couldn't really blame him.
~ ~ ~ ~
Shaun dropped an email to the travel agent that had recommended the place. It was only a few short sentences, terse and to the point.
Had a lovely stay until whatever is occupying that cabin decided to torment my boyfriend. Would definitely not recommend to anyone else.
Zach's scratches healed and the worried look eventually left his eyes. They both welcomed Cody home enthusiastically and tried to put the cabin out of their minds. For the most part, it worked, though Shaun occasionally had to sooth Zach back to sleep.
He never minded that.
Several months later, idly flipping through the channels, a teaser made him freeze.
Next on Ghost Hunters: In a small remote cabin, just 75 miles away from Los Angeles, vacationers find themselves booked for more than they ever bargained for---
Shaun shook his head slightly. “Better you than me,” he muttered before turning off the TV. It was almost time for Zach to come home from school --- Shaun wanted to surprise him.
Stepping out of the living room, he absently shivered. Odd. It wasn't time for cold weather in LA …
//end//