#thread: shawn and koda

[lovesspell]

Location: Somewhere in the Hallowed Woods Starter for @pyrighteous

"I told you that I'd beat you here today." The first time he had run into Koda in the woods had been by chance but after a few times, Shawn figured there really was no way to avoid each other. He was finding that apparently he wasn't the only one who felt connected to the outside which had been proven even further after the time he had spent talking to Annette. "I was half expecting for you to fly out of a tree somewhere," he joked, holding up the thermos of coffee he had in his hands. "You want a cup?"

[softboywriting]

"Good Morning, Ice Princess" // Christmas Shawn AU

I heard someone wanted some fluffy Christmas/winter AU Shawn. Here it is! And I love it! I hope it’s alright because I half ass edited it.

Ending up waist deep in freezing cold water was not how you planned on ending your Christmas Eve, but here you were; legs so cold they burned and ached with each kick, arms desperately clinging to the ice in front of you while you screamed for help. You try for a solid two minutes to get out of the hole in the ice but to no avail.

If only you could get your coat off because it was really not helping at all. The arms were restrictive and when you reached forward the fabric pulled taut along the back and didn’t allow you to fully move. God damn coat. You should have bought the pea coat and not this one when you were at the shop in the airport last month. But no...no you had to have the pretty black coat with the gold stitching along the quilted pleats. Nevermind that it was a snug fit. You HAD to have it. Well. Good on you. Idiot. You’re going to die in this coat. You’re sure of it.

You can hear a vehicle approaching but you can’t see it. The noise dies down as if someone parked nearby. Suddenly just beyond the edge of the pond you can see someone walking with a couple of dogs and your heart skips a beat. A person. Finally someone who can help or call for help. “Hey! Help! Help!” you scream out into the frigid early morning air. The dogs start barking and you can see that they’re running in your direction, their owner not far behind them.

“Help! C’mere boy! Come on doggy!” you shout as the dogs approach the pond and stop. They pace around the edge and are close enough that you can see they’re both large malamute mixes. They’re whining and pacing back and forth, looking anxiously to you and back to their owner who is jogging up behind them.

“Oh shit,” the owner says and you feel like you could just cry. “Hold on! I’ll get you out!” he yells and you start to shake violently from the cold enveloping your lower half. Both of your legs have already gotten numb and you were starting to fear for the worst.

“Please b-be caref-ful,” you chatter. He drops the backpack on his back and rummages around for something. He pulls out a coiled up rope.

He makes a loop on the end and throws it out to you but it’s not close enough for you to reach. “Fuck...I’ll try again!” He shouts and you reach for it on his second throw. This time you can reach it and you cling to it with your frozen hands. “Put it around your chest, like put your arms through it!” the guy instructs and you do as you’re told.

“I’m going to have the dogs pull you out. Is the rope tightly under your arms?” he asks and you just barely nod. He threads the rope through the leash loops on the back of each dog’s harness and knots it before grabbing the little bit of slack left and ordering the dogs to pull.

Within seconds you’re being dragged out of the water and across the snow covered ice. Once you’re to the edge of the pond the guy peels his coat off and wraps up your legs with it  and puts his backpack on before he scoops you up in his arms. “Th-thank you. I thought I was going to d-d-die,” you shiver against his warm figure as he walks you away from the pond and toward a truck just down the hill.

“How long were you in there?” he asks as he loads you into the long back seat of his old truck. He clicks his tongue a few times and the larger of the two dogs jump up into the seat with you and lays on your legs. The other one jumps into the front of the truck.

“I-I don’t know. Maybe ten minutes? I was just w-walking home from w-work. I shouldn’t have tried to take a sh-shortcut.” Your hand finds the dog’s head and it’s so warm you can’t help but bury both hands into the fur around it’s neck.

“I’m going to take you to my place, it’s just over the ridge. I don’t think you’ll have any frostbite but if you do I’ll take you to Dr. Harper in town. Is that okay?”

You nod and lay your head back on the seat. Your body was exhausted from fighting the cold and struggling to get out of the ice. The truck door slams and the guy gets in the driver's seat and starts it up, blasting the heater as he heads away from the pond. He looks back over the seat and says, “I’m Shawn by the way. That’s Nala and Koda.” He gestures to the dogs and you open your eyes to look at them. Koda was the one on your lap and Nala was in the passenger seat with her head rested on the back of the bench seat staring at you worriedly.

You give him your name and close your eyes. Your legs were burning, tingling and stinging as the sensation was starting to come back to them. You hoped the drive wouldn’t be much longer.

Shawn carries you into his cabin and into his bedroom. You can’t help but notice how warm the place was and you see a fireplace on the far wall of the bedroom with some dying coals in the hearth. No wonder it was so warm. The fire looked like it had only recently died out.

The moment Shawn had you sat down he was tugging at your coat and peeling it off of you. “We need to get you out of these clothes as fast as possible. It’s only holding the cold in.” he explains as he kneels in front of you and works on getting your boots off. They land with a wet plop on the hardwood floor where he tosses them aside.

You try to unbutton your jeans but your fingers are still too cold to function. Shawn pushes your hands away as he makes quick work of the button and zipper, glancing up at you as he does so. You can’t help but flush. He was gorgeous. Dark wavy hair, angled jaw, plush lips and soft brown eyes. He wasn’t like the other guys you saw in town all day. They were big rough lumberjack types mostly. In fact in the month since you’d moved to the small town of Twin’s Pass you definitely hadn’t seen him. He wasn’t one you were going to forget.

Shawn pushes you back on the bed and grabs the waistband of your pants to peel them down off your legs. “H-hey!” you protest but quickly forget why because looking down, you see your skin is borderline frozen and way too pale to be normal. You sit up again and pull your half soaked shirt and undershirt off over your head so you’re sitting in your bra and panties. Shawn goes through a doorway on your right and you can hear water come on before he returns with a wet towel. “This is for your legs. We need to get your blood circulating again. The warm wet cloth will help,” he says as he holds the towel out to you.

“Thanks...” you mumble as you rub it down your thigh to your calf and ankle. It feels great and you run it over the other leg. You keep doing it as Shawn digs through his dresser and pulls out a long sleeve shirt and some sweatpants.

He comes over, giving you the clothes and kneels in front of you again. He lays his hands on your thigh and looks up at you. “Do you mind if I help get the circulation going?”

Did you mind? Did you /mind/ if this tall drink of cocoa literally caressed your legs and made them warm again? Of course not! Who in their right mind would say no to him?

“I don’t mind, as long as it get’s me warm,” you say, quickly realizing how suggestive it sounded and he grins, ducking his head and you put on the shirt he brought you. His hands are warm as they rub and squeeze down to your ankle and back up before switching off to the other leg. You can already feel the pins and needles of the coldness easing up as he works.

Shawn stands up after a few times over each leg and turns around so you can take off your still soaking wet underwear. Look down at them as you toss them aside, you can’t help but wish you had worn a cuter pair.

“I think you’ll be alright. I’m glad I could get you out when I did. Any longer and you might have needed to go to the hospital.” He sits down on the end of the bed next to you and you can’t help but fidget with the sleeves of the shirt that was too big for you. “What were you doing out there anyways?”

“I was heading home from work. I thought I could just cross the pond and get down the ridge faster but...obviously that didn’t work out. God...I should have just walked around the pond like I do everyday,” you run your hand through your hair and shake your head. “I’m so stupid.”

Shawn elbows you with a chuckle. “I wouldn’t say you’re stupid. Just reckless. You’re not from here are you?”

You look over at him and laugh softly. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah, yeah it is. But hey, everyone in Twin’s Pass came from somewhere. I’m not judging you. But I am going to judge your choice in winter attire. It’s not quite canadian mountain ready and especially not if you’re going to be walking to and from work.”

“Tell me about it,” you chuckle and sigh. “I was thinking the same thing when I was waist deep in that pond. I told myself if I got out then I’d go buy a new coat from the shop in town, one that is actually warm and let’s me move around.”

Shawn looks over at you and you look at him. The two of you share a moment of silence, just looking at each other until he breaks out into laughter and you can’t help but do the same. Both of you are just sat there laughing at nothing and it’s kind of the best thing you’ve experienced since moving to town.

You find yourself curled up on his couch, both Nala and Koda curled up beside you on top of the blankets Shawn gave you to warm up with. He had convinced you to stay for dinner. He already had a small roast in the crockpot after all. Way too much for him to eat alone. It was Christmas Eve after all. Might as well make the best of it right? He had showed you to the couch and gave you the blankets before disappearing into the kitchen to finish the rest of dinner and hour or so ago. The dogs were all over you the moment you sat down and you couldn’t say you didn’t like their attention. They were sweet giant fluff balls.

Shawn walks in with an apron on that has the body of a bear on the front and says IM A BEAR IN THE MORNING across it in big loopy red letters. You stifle and giggle as he sets down two mugs of hot chocolate and he smirks at you. “What? You don’t like my apron?” he asks, gesturing down himself to ridiculous article of clothing.

“It’s...wild?” you ask and laugh at your own punny joke as you mute the new channel you had put on to watch while he was busy.

Shawn sits down on the other side of the couch and pats Koda’s back a few times. “It was a gift from my little sister last christmas. She thought it was the funniest thing ever.”

“Well she’s not wrong.”

He just shakes his head and takes a sip of his cocoa. “So what do you do? What’s your job in town?”

“I work for Bruce and Marcella Applegate at the hardware store. They’re my godparents actually.” You grab your mug and take a sip. It’s outstandingly good cocoa. This man was after your heart at this point. “I moved here from Toronto after I got into some trouble with my ex and his friends. I’m not in trouble now or anything, I just had to get out of there for a while.”

Shawn grins big. “I’m from just outside Toronto actually. Small world huh?”

“Mmmhmm,” you smile over you mug and he smiles back. He was so cute. There was no way he was real. “So how about you? What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“I actually care for sled dogs in the off season. Koda and Nala here are retired runners and I adopted them from a man who’s dog’s I’ve taken care of for years. I usually only take care of one team at a time and it’s usually because the owners don’t have space for them where they live. But the owners try to come out weekly to be with the dogs and help me keep them exercised and in top form.”

You can’t help the way your jaw drops. This man literally had the job of your dreams. He got paid to babysit dogs for months at a time. “So the dogs you care for, are they dogs that race in the Iditarod in Alaska?”  Shawn nods. “That’s amazing. Do you have some here now?” you ask, looking around the cabin living room as if several large dogs were just going to appear out of nowhere.

“Not right now. It’ll be a few weeks before John brings his dogs out for me. He’s got them with him for the time being. And they don’t stay in the cabin with me,” he chuckles and pets Nala’s head as she lays her face on his lap. “I have a small place out back for them, fully furnished and everything of course. Only Nala and Koda get to stay in here.” He leans down and holds Nala’s face in his big hands. “Isn’t that right Nala? Only the best doggies get to stay in the house!”

You smile warmly at him. The love he had for these dogs was amazing. You could feel your heart flutter. What was he doing to you? First he rescues you and makes you dinner. Then you find out he’s a dog sitter and has a huge heart. He was practically perfect.

“How’re you single?” you mumble quietly, so lost in thought that you don’t realize you’ve spoken until you notice the surprised look on his face that turns into a cheeky grin. You cover you mouth and look down at Koda who is looking up at you with big brown eyes that matched his owners. You close your eyes as you say, “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”

“I don’t think it was rude. A little upfront maybe,” Shawn chuckles and you’re glad he’s got a good sense of humor. “I am single though. If you haven’t noticed, there isn’t a lot of women in town close to my age so...y’know....”

“What, you don’t like your women a little older and more experienced?” you giggle and he bursts out laughing. “Oh c’mon! You don’t wanna date old Jodie down at the bar?”

“Oh my god no!” Shawn wheezes in his fit of laughter. “She’s like sixty something and she’s always hitting on me when I stop in. I swear she’d hit on any man with a heartbeat though.”

You’re laughing so hard your sides hurt. He wasn’t wrong, Jodie was a terrible flirt and everyone in town knew it. It was hard to tell if she was serious or just being a cheeky old woman. Either way talking to her lead to some crazy stories.

“What about you? Is Mr.Jake not your type? I mean he’s been a barber for thirty years,” Shawn grins and you start another fit of laughter. Jake was the town barber if needed and he ran the general store. He loved to tell people how he had some of the finest clientele back at his old shop in new york and we ought to be blessed to have a man of his talents in our town. He would talk for hours if you let him.

You and Shawn spend a good hour or so swapping stories about yourselves and people around Twin’s Pass. A buzzer starts going off and Shawn jumps up, toppling Nala off his lap as he hurries into the kitchen to get his baked potatoes from the oven. You crawl off the couch, wrapping a blanket around your shoulders. You make your way to the kitchen, trailing the dogs behind you. The moment you step in the kitchen Shawn turns to look at you, a smile breaks out across his face. “You look like you’ve made yourselves a friend,” he says to the dogs who have taken up residence on either side of you.

“They do seem to like me don’t they?” you giggle and bury your hand in Nala’s neck fur.

Shawn leans against the counter. “They’re never this friendly. Are you sure you don’t have treats on you?” he asks playfully, looking you over a few times.

“Oh I’m sure you would have found them when you were so forward and stripped me down in your bed.”

Shawn’s face turns bright pink and he bites his lip. Guess he hadn’t been expecting that kind of flirty sass. “I- you know I was only so forward because you were freezing to death.”

You giggle and say, “Suuurreee you were.”

The dogs leave your side as Shawn crosses the small kitchen to pull the roast out of the crock pot. They’re obviously spoiled babies if the way they sat right beside him begging was anything to go off of. “Y’know I wouldn’t mind doing it again,” he says with a glance back at you and this time it’s your turn to flush.

“Well alright then,” you smile as you take a seat at the small dining table. “I wouldn’t mind helping you out of your clothes sometime either.”

Shawn sets two plates of food on the table and smirks at you. “Hey now, that’s a little forward don’t you think?” You laugh and start eating.

The sound of the fire crackling wakes you up and you look around the dark bedroom. It’s around 4am according to his alarm clock and you rubs the sleep from your eyes as you sit up. Shawn is standing in front of the fireplace stoking the coals as he tosses another log on. “Good morning Ice Princess,” he says and flips on the overhead light.

“Ice Princess? You think you’re real funny huh?” you laugh sleepily and he crawls onto the bed next to you.

“Mmmhmm. Koda and Nala think I’m hilarious.” He brushes your hair off your shoulder and smiles as his eyes drop down to your bare chest. “I seem to remember you thinking I was pretty funny yesterday too.”

“Oh shut up,” you giggle and he places a kiss on your shoulder. “Why are you up so early?”

“The dogs are used to having breakfast at this time.”

“Mmm gotcha,” you hum as you run your hand through Shawn’s hair. It’s so soft and so thick. It was giving you flashbacks to last night when you were pulling at it desperately. He leans his forehead on your shoulder and asks, “Did you have plans for today?”

“Just dinner and a gift exchange with Bruce and Marcella tonight. How about you?” Shawn shakes his head. “Do you want to go to dinner with me?”

“I’d love to,” he says and wraps his arm around you, pulling you down and against his chest. “I’d love to spend all day with you in bed too. If that’s alright with you?”

You run your hand over his chest as you look up at him with a smug little grin and say, “I can’t think of a better way to spend Christmas morning.”

[lovesspell]

"Oh absolutely. Olive, and a big K on it, I'll make sure my designer gets the notes," he told her with a smirk. "Yeah? You think I can sell people on rentals? I mean I've only seen so many movies," he admitted. "But I don't know, as gross as it is, the community center is kind of growing on me. But if you have part time gigs, I definitely don't say no to some extra cash." Maybe then he could get some actual furniture for his place. "Yeah I hear you on that. Kind of makes you curious enough that you want to stay," he admitted. "I've also lived a lot of places. Look at that, another thing we have in common. We gotta be careful here or we might actually become friends." Shawn hadn't had many actual friends in his life as other people did and he wasn't sure he could be a good friend. But he was sure that he could drink coffee with Koda in the woods and feel at peace. That felt like start. "Then again, that might mean I need to get my own cape if I'm friends with you. Or I don't know something fit for a sidekick. A nice hat. Anything but tights."

༝༝🔪 ༝༝

"Could you get a big K on it too? I think that would be pretty siiick," she asked with a waggle of her eyebrows as if to entice him with her suggestion. "Olive green sounds perfect." That might've been her favorite color but sky blue was at a close second. Koda wondered if she'd told him that or if he just so happened to say it. Either way, her contentment was sealed with a nod. "I like it black usually unless I'm feeling wild," the blonde laughed, a change in coffee order being one of the more minute things she did. The sound only continued as he explained the day he'd had, not laughing at him but at the reality of the unpleasant situation. In these moments Koda was glad the worst she had to do was rewind everyone's tapes because almost no one bothered to. "I don't know how you do it. Maybe you should apply to come to work with me at the video store." A suggestion she didn't intend on him taking but gave for his consideration. The silence that a hot cup of coffee brought was unmatched. She hummed softly, breathing in one of her favorite scents. "I get you," Koda replied with her eyes on the horizon. "That's why it's so nice out here." They both understood that about the forest which was part of how they connected in the first place. "You know, it's grown on me. I've lived a lot of places but there's something about this weird little town."

[lovesspell]

"Should I get you a cape then? Not a red one, that's too flashy. Maybe green to blend in. A nice olive," he told her, making a funny voice as he said it. He laughed before realizing how much of his personality he was showing and turned away for a moment as if watching a bird fly by. "Good, I've got some sugar in my bag too if you don't want to drink it black. I always change my mind halfway through," he admitted, taking his bag off and taking a seat so he could pour out a cup for them both. "You work today? I had to clean up a bunch of stuff I don't even want to talk about today. I hate when the kids come for tours. It's like they eat a bunch of shit beforehand just so they can be sick right where I just mopped." Shawn shook his head, almost laughing as he heard himself. Concerned with things at a stable job? Maybe he was growing more than he thought. "Anyway," he handed her the cup and pulled out the sugar before reaching for his own. He was quiet as he took his first sip, closing his eyes for a moment as he let it warm him up. "I think I'm starting to get a hang of this place. I mean here, where the trees are at least. Rest of the town I don't know, kind of feels like..." he couldn't really think of a good word to use so instead he shrugged. "Do you like living here?"

༝༝🔪 ༝༝

They were friends or something like that. Koda wasn't too sure if anyone she met would stick around if they knew the truth about her, enjoying the company while they were blissfully ignorant. Shawn had stumbled onto her a time or two and it was impossible to keep her nose out of anyone's business that now it became a regular thing. It was unusual for her to miss a day, even if it was just for a walk after work, she enjoyed the safety her trees brought. Of course, now she had to share them but he seemed to care for them in the same way Koda did. "Okay, showoff," she half-teased giving her face a scrunch of mockery. It was only short-lived as a smile crested her lips moments later as she stepped further into the foliage they shared. "Maybe next time I will, you never know. I have to keep you on your toes." That hadn't been a bad idea, in fact, it would be tucked away for later when he least expected it. Her wandering eyes lingered on the object in his hands until his voice broke through with an offer. "I'm never going to say no to that." The blonde's blistered hands were already outstretched in preparation and a satisfied smile had now settled place.