Thank you to Karen for her beta; sorry that this is crappy fluff. :)
"I have ten fantastically-structured reasons for why you should go out with me!" Shawn said vehemently, plopping himself with little grace on the edge of her desk. Friday afternoon at 5:30 and save for a junior detective somewhere on the other side of the bullpen, they were alone for the moment.
It was an odd sensation, to be in a place that was characterized by movement and bustle while it was silent, at rest. It was these moments that she savored; his entrance had done nothing but upset the pleasant placidness of the setting. And if he hadn't been wearing such a deviously-adorable smile, she might have told him-without rancor-to leave her be.
Instead, Juliet simply rolled her eyes and saved the case report she had fastidiously been working on. With a voice that was something between amused and uninterested, she sighed. "Ten whole reasons, huh? I would think I was worth at the very least... twenty." For a brief moment, she glanced up at him, a sarcastic smile delicately fitting her lips. But then she went back to playing their game: she ignored him and he pursued relentlessly.
"Let me just say that... number five makes up for the other nine reasons, but I can't tell you what it is here, that would be inappropriate." Shawn's voice took on a decidedly mysterious tone, but she wasn't biting. "I could however, inform you of all ten over a candlelit dinner, maybe on the pier, nice bottle of pinot grig and... not pasta with red sauce obviously, but some sort of pasta dish." Caught up in his own mind, he sounded distant, though still grounded in reality, and she couldn't decide whether he was really thinking about what he was pretending to think about.
Clearing her throat, Juliet opened a desk drawer and placed some papers neatly inside; going about the routine of ignoring him, she set to straightening out her desk. "No," she said easily, recapping a few pens. It took all of her strength not to turn and smile sweetly at him.
"No to what? To the pier, to the pasta-are you allergic to gluten? We can work around that!" he exclaimed brightly, uncapping two of the pens she had just recapped.
With a huff, she grabbed the writing utensils and placed the caps back on them, tossing them in the top drawer with a bit more force than she had intended. "Shawn, you bring me bagels at least once a week, don't you think I would have told you already if I was allergic to gluten?" Juliet blinked. "Or wouldn't you have sensed it, at least?"
Hopping down from the desk with his trademark flare, Shawn crossed his arms over his chest. "Valid point. Now, back to number five, I know I have you intrigued with number 5, so what do you say?" When she said nothing, he pressed on. "Seriously, number 5 is so great it has subparts, subsections, submarines; I know you want to hear what it is, you know you want to hear what it is, so just come with me and... hear... it." Finishing lamely, he watched on as she packed up her purse and slapped her palms down on her hips.
Juliet blinked a few times, tilted her head to the side and regarded him carefully; they were silent for a very, long moment as she sized him up, thought about all the previous times he had asked her out, the odd ways he would find to try and create a "moment." "You realize," she began quietly, carefully. "That if I say yes to you, that if I say yes to you... if I ever said yes… to you…" Juliet paused and crossed her own arms over her chest, mirroring him, though relaxing her stance a little. "That it could be construed as a conflict of interest and you... and the Chief... might have an issue with hiring you as a consultant in the near future?"
There wasn't even a pause; his face serious Shawn said, "Absolutely. You think I haven't thought about that? Jules, come on." Then there was a softness that overtook his face, a look that was balanced somewhere between bashfulness and tenderness. It was a look, Juliet decided, that she had only seen once before... when he had tried... when they had almost…
Shaking herself from the thought, knowing where it might lead her, she swallowed deeply. "You'd be okay with that... even if it meant, just one date?" Who knew if it would only be one date? It might be two, might be something a lot more… But did he realize what she was saying? Did he realize what he was saying?
Things weren't computing; it didn't make sense to her. Giving up his livelihood just to go on a date with someone, it didn't make sense at all. She would never consider giving up her career for anyone, but here was Shawn, willing to lay one of the only things in life that gave him fulfillment, on the line.
The notion shocked her, floored her, but above all else, touched her. "One date is all it'll take," he claimed, feigned-arrogance laced in his voice.
"For what?"
"For you to fall head over heels for me, of course." She smiled at him good-naturedly before rolling her eyes.
Juliet shook her head and began to walk to the front entrance of the building. "You understand how ridiculous all of this seems to me, right?"
Shawn walked along side her, catching and holding open the door for her as she passed into the cool Santa Barbara evening. For a moment there was nothing but the sound of their shoes moving across the pavement. "No more ridiculous than anything else I do, is it now?"
He was ridiculous; he was. At least he admitted it. Turning away from him, she grinned, "I guess not." He would not win this battle, he would not…
It took them a moment, but they reached her car; Shawn, hands in his pockets, was about to speak when, as she opened the back door, she said, "So where are we going?" Her briefcase landed with a thunk against the seat as she spun and once more crossed her arms securely across her chest. Her throat was just a touch dry and there was a sort of uneasiness in her stomach, not quite a fluttering, but something rather similar.
And then there was another pause; a long pause. A period of silence so long, she wondered if he had heard her. But then, shaking his head, as though he'd heard her wrong, Shawn eeked out a "What?"
Clearing her throat, Juliet explained. "I need to know where we're going so I know what to wear." Her tone was delicate and reserved, almost bashful, and her eyes flitted to the pavement between them before meeting his eyes once more.
His face seemed almost emotionless when he immediately replied, "Anything, wear anything."
"Seriously," she pleaded, stomping one foot half-heartedly on the ground.
Shawn shook his head, a small, awe-inspired smile on his lips. "Seriously. Wear anything; I have no idea where we're going."
"But... you asked me out."
"Yeah, I never thought you'd actually say yes." Juliet's face morphed into a mask of incredulity. "What!?" he defended, holding his hands out in front of him as though to stop her from attacking him. "You break a guy's spirit enough... you know what I'm saying?"
Biting her lip while fighting back an annoyed grin, she bit out, "So... you've been asking me out this entire time, never believing I'd say... yes?"
"Uh, yep. Yep that sounds... yeah, that's it." Bouncing on the balls of his feet a little, she could almost see the cogs and wheels spinning in his head, devising plans.
Chuffing out a laugh, she popped open the driver's side door. "That's a little sad for you, isn't it?"
His mouth turned into the tiniest purse of an embarrassed smile. "Yes."
With that, she got into her car, "Pick me up at 8:30."
Running a hand through his hair, he took a languid step back from the car. "I'll be there; and I know you're thinking a dress, but pants are a better choice."
"Stop reading my mind," she teased in a low voice and shut the door, starting the car and pulling out into rush hour traffic.
"I can't help it," he said, smiling to himself as he walked away.
