"I'm in Seattle" Shawn answered, frustration apparent. He could hear the disappointment in his father's sigh. It never got old even as his father aged. He could read his father's sounds like an encyclopedia with almost all the pages.

"Of course you are. Look Shawn, if this is about Gus then aren't you being a little immature? So you lost your favorite toy; it was bound to happen eventually."

"What?" Shawn was jerked out of his thoughts, watching the raindrops play chase on the window.

"Well you had to realize at some point that Gus would get tired of always following after you and taking care of you."

"What are you talking about? I've never asked Gus to do any of that?" Shawn insisted.

"But he did, didn't he? He took care of you and went with you wherever you went. Jumped in front of flying objects for you—"

"That was once and it was eighth grade—"

"You couldn't have expected him to keep that up forever." Henry finished.

"But why did he have to stop so suddenly?" Shawn asked, holding his phone closer to his ear. The man next to him was eyeing him oddly, he knew he sounded a little frantic but he didn't believe it warranted staring.

"Think about, around what time did he start to change?" Henry fed Shawn the clues skeptically. They seemed so obvious to him and he couldn't see why Shawn couldn't put them together.

"After the reunion. That night actually." He added.

"And what happened that night?"

Shawn tried to remember. He drew and a picture of chatting up Abigail by the punch bowl while A- Ha played in the background. He concentrated on what was going on behind Abigail's head. Gus was smiling sadly as one of his old science teachers was talking to him. Shawn tried to read his lips. "I expected you to be a successful doctor or a big business man by now, Guster. You were always a delight in class."

He frowned and conjured another memory. Gus was coming down from the stage after Shawn's speech. Jessica Hawkins had cornered Gus, a drink in hand. "So where is she? I can't imagine you came here alone. If I wasn't married I'd snatch you up myself." Gus smiled and answered politely.

"Actually I came here with Shawn." At her sudden interest, he explained more thoroughly. "Not with Shawn. As friends."

She took a thoughtful sip of her martini. "I was sure you'd be married by now, Guster." She tapped him lightly on the arm and excused herself, her heels clicking as she drunkenly walked away. Gus frowned and leaned his head back against the wall. Shawn read his lips as he mumbled "Me too."

"Shawn pulled up several events from that night. Many of them similar. Lots of classmates and teacher appeared so shocked to learn that Gus was working as a pharmaceutical rep and single. How had Shawn not noticed that? How had he not noticed how upset Gus looked? Simple, I didn't care, Shawn thought, I was wrapped up in Abigail. No wonder he left.

"He said 'I'm not going to come running every time you call.' I didn't know what that meant. Everyone kept saying they expected Gus to have done more with his life." Shawn recounted, knowing his father could hear the regret in his tone.

"Uh-huh, and what did you say?" Henry bored.

"Something stupid about caller-id." Shawn slid out of the booth, grabbing his jacket. "Listen dad, I need you to book me a flight back."

"Just do it, please." Shawn insisted, pulling out his umbrella.

"Shawn, Gus isn't going to drop everything because you say so." Henry stated but Shawn could hear the familiar of his computer's browser.

"I know that. That's not what I want. Not anymore anyway."

"Then what is it you want?"

"It's not important; it's his turn to call the shots."

"And if this is what he really wants?"

"I'll keep the lease on my apartment."

"Shawn, Santa Barbara is big enough for you and Brian you know."

"Maybe. But if I stayed, I couldn't guarantee I won't stop trying."

Gus grinned, kissing Brian goodbye. "Tell her 'hello' for me." Brian nodded, stealing another kiss before settling down inside the car and shutting the door. He backed out waving to Gus as he disappeared from Gus's view.

Gus walked inside turning lights off as he made his way to his room. Well, his and Brian's bedroom. That was still a new concept to him. He'd only really dwelled on it the other day when he saw a painting he wanted to hang in his bedroom and then realized he would have to consult Brian first. It took some getting used to and surprisingly his parents had taken to the idea faster than he had.

They were surer than he was. His sister, Joy, had even bought them the large sleigh bed as a house warming gift. And maybe under different circumstances, he would be able to accept the support. If it was coming from the person he needed the most.

The last Gus had heard, Shawn was in Portland; or was it Baltimore? No one knew, not even Henry. He'd rented the Psych office out to an old friend from Austin. What hurt the most was that Gus had received this information in an email. He hadn't even bothered to call.

Gus sighed, stripping down to his boxers. He entered the shared bedroom to see Shawn sitting on the bed in a black suit and blood red tie. Of all the things he could think of say, "Where the hell have you been?", "An email, really? I didn't even earn a phone call?", "Are you okay?"; what came out was "What are you wearing?"

Shawn couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face as he observed the bemused look on Gus's face. "My work uniform. I was working as an event coordinator. Pay was awesome, shitty weather though. "

Before he knew it, Gus was rushing forward and enveloping Shawn in a tight embrace. "I missed you so much. So much you don't even know." Shawn's breath was warm against Gus's neck.

""I thought you promised not to do that to me again. I mean an email Shawn?" Gus chided, holding Shawn closer still.

"I didn't know how to tell you. But listen," Reluctantly Shawn pulled back from Gus's embrace, "We need to talk. I know why you started pushing me away."

Gus looked surprised. "You do?"

"The reunion. Gus," he watched as Gus sighed and sat down on the bed. "Why didn't you tell me what everyone was saying?"

"I didn't want to interrupt you. You were having such a great time with—"

"Yeah but you weren't. You could've said something and we could've left. We could've rented a movie and ordered Chinese." Shawn stated.

Gus laughed quietly. "You know I never would've done that to you. No matter how bad a time I was having."

Gus looked up to see Shawn with an annoyed look on his face. "But why Gus? Who would you just sit there being miserable and not say anything? Why would you do all that just so that I could get a number I would only call fifteen times?"

"It's just who I am." Gus admitted. "Who I was anyway."

"That's another thing I don't get. Why did it have to be all or nothing? I would've been fine if you'd just stopped doing everything for me."

Gus frowned. "Not after I tried leaving you alone freshman year. You ate Instant Noodles for two months straight. You didn't even know where the grocery store was. You still don't know."

Shawn smiled, flushing as he took Gus's hand, not at all surprised at the pull in his stomach. He reasoned it was because he'd been thinking about it for so long. "I admit I don't do too well on my own."

"I just needed a break from following you from one crazy scheme to the next. And I found Brian along the way. I—"

"If you say 'I found myself' I will shoot you where you stand, Guster." Shawn joked, laughing as Gus pushed him.

"Shut up."

"Fine. I took you for granted and I'm sorry. You don't realize how good you have it until it's gone.

He met Gus's stare, placing his right hand tentatively on Gus's neck. Shawn pulled him into a soft but searching kiss before burying his face into Gus's chest, the smell of lavender and fabric softener making his eyes tear. He breathed the moment in, whispering apologies into Gus's skin. He stole a few more kisses, relishing in the new but somehow familiar feeling. He didn't know exactly when he drifted off, just that Gus's hands never left him, even as he slept.