Shawn had never had an office romance. Though that probably had something to do with never being in a job long enough to start one, that and it had been a while since he'd gotten past the first date.
Nine dates in and Shawn was starting to see the benefits of working with your girlfriend. He liked meeting her for breakfast before work, he liked seeing her eye roll and knowing smile when he performed his psychic act for the chief to get in on a case, he liked pushing her in the right direction when she was stuck on a case in return for help on a case of his own and he liked that he got to see her even when she was busy working a case.
Of course there were drawbacks as well. Like her working late while he had the day off. But even then Shawn tried to work it to his advantage.
"Chow Mein?"
Juliet looked up from her mountain of paperwork, her eyes landing on Shawn standing in front of her, holding up a paper bag in his right hand. The place was unusually quiet but it was a Sunday evening. Most beat cops were out on patrol, the chief was at home with her daughter and even Lassiter seemed to have somewhere to be. Like the good partner she was, she'd taken on the rest of his paperwork and resigned herself to the fact that she'd be spending the entire evening alone.
Her lip quirked, "There better be sesame chicken in that bag."
Shawn frowned for a second, he opened the bag and peered inside, he dipped a hand into the bag and pulled out a carton as a grin slowly formed on his face. "With extra sesame." He placed the bag down on the adjacent desk and pulled out the other carton and chopsticks.
"You didn't have to do this you know," Juliet spoke, taking the offered carton and chopsticks. She pulled the sticks apart and rubbed them together then opened the carton lid, moaning as the smell filled her nostrils.
"And spend the evening alone? I don't think so," Shawn replied. He gripped the back of Lassiter's chair and pulled it alongside Juliet's. He reached over to the other desk and retrieved his own carton and chopsticks.
"Where's Gus?" Juliet pushed her chopsticks into the food and pulled out a piece of chicken, popping the hot food into her mouth and chewing quickly.
Shawn gave a half shrug as he opened his own carton. "Some work function, apparently plus one doesn't include life-long friends." Shawn stabbed at his noodles but made no move to eat any. "It does however include brunette shop assistants who he's known all of five minutes."
"Well," Juliet began, putting her hand over Shawn's, "if policemen had balls, you would be my plus one."
"I should hope so," Shawn put his carton down. "Switch." He held out his hand.
Juliet rolled her eyes but handed over her sesame chicken, used to Shawn's indecisiveness during mealtimes. "You finish the Grayson case?" Shawn asked.
Juliet nodded. "Squealed like a little pig after five minutes in interrogation with Carlton," she grinned.
"Should I be worried how much enjoyment you get from that?"
She rolled her eyes. "Eat your chicken," she ordered, poking Shawn's hand with a chopstick. She put her carton down on the desk to the left and picked up a pen, ready to write and eat at the same time.
Shawn frowned, "What are you doing?"
"Shawn, if you want me to finish this any time soon –"
"What if I help?" Shawn asked before Juliet could finish her sentence.
"You want to help me with paperwork?" Juliet questioned disbelievingly.
"Just because I don't like doing it doesn't mean I'm incapable." Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Come on! I spent my childhood in this place, I sat and watch my dad fill in paperwork for hours." Juliet still wasn't convinced. "I can even forge your signature," he added.
Juliet stopped and looked at Shawn in surprise. "You can forge my signature?"
"It's not that hard, you just put a little loop on the-"
"You fill in the forms," Juliet picked up a pile of papers and dropped them in front of Shawn. "And I'll sign them," she added.
Shawn grinned but said nothing. He opened the first file and starting filling in the boxes. It was all easy enough to keep one eye on the file and the other on Juliet. He could see she was exhausted. She'd left his place early in the morning when he was still fast asleep and he knew she'd been running around all day. This was the third time this week and Shawn knew Juliet wouldn't be able to keep up the long hours much longer, proven when Juliet yawned loudly.
"Hey."
Juliet looked up at Shawn wearily.
"Get some rest," he told her.
She shook her head. "I'm fine really" she assured him
"Yeah, and I'm Burton Guster," Shawn replied. "Seriously, rest. I'll wake you up when its time to go." He pulled off his jacket. "Here." He scrunched the jacket into a ball. "Instant pillow."
Juliet narrowed her eyes "You're being nice," she said suspiciously.
"I can't be nice?"
"You can, but I've known you for over two years and you'd rather lock yourself in a room with your father than willingly doing my paperwork while I sleep."
"Okay," Shawn put both his hands up, "I admit I'm doing it for purely selfish reasons."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, you're cranky when you're tired."
Juliet slapped his shoulder, "Hey!"
"See?" Shawn replied, rubbing his shoulder, "Cranky!"
Juliet glared at Shawn, and snatched the jacket, "I'm going to sleep." She put the jacket down on the desk and rested her head down on it, curling her arms around her head.
Shawn chuckled silently, shaking his head before getting back to the paperwork. He wanted to get it finished quickly so he could get Juliet home and into a proper bed. He didn't like that she had to sleep over a desk. He'd been surprised when he first started dating Juliet how protective he'd become over her welfare. He'd never cared for someone enough to bother checking if they'd had dinner or slept enough. A part of him was scared by it. Commitment had been a foreign word to him for such a long time that he didn't know any different. Why would he want to commit to someone and then have it fall apart just like his parents divorce?
For some reason those thoughts never entered his mind when he was with Juliet.
He whizzed through the paperwork quickly, putting the finished files in a new pile on the desk ready for Juliet to sign them, though that could wait until the morning.
He laid his hand on her back. "Hey," he called softly, "Wake up sleepy head." She began to stir. "Jules."
"Huh?" She groaned as she sat herself up, her back ached from sleeping in such an awkward position.
"Let's go."
"What about the paperwork?" She mumbled, still trying to wake herself up.
"All done," Shawn told her. He hooked his arms under her armpits and lifted her to her feet then slid an arm around her waist. "Let's get you to a bed."
Juliet frowned. "Shawn," she whined, "I'm too tired for that."
Shawn grinned, he pressed a kiss to Juliet's cheek, "Well, as much as I'd like that, I'm talking about sleep." He picked up her bag in his other hand and began leading her towards the door.
"More sleep, 's good."
"Glad you agree."
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
Juliet laid her head on Shawn's shoulder, "Next time buy spring rolls."