Chapter 10

Shawn slowly woke up the next morning, disoriented, wondering why there was a pair of warm arms wrapped around him…and then he remembered. Oh, right. Lassi had let him crash at his place last night. As well as let him sleep in his bed. Shawn stretched slightly, pleased to feel feeling back in his legs, no pins and needles, and he shifted slightly in the detective's arms, hoping to fall back asleep and enjoy at least an hour more of Lassi's arms around him…

But then Lassiter said, "So help me, Shawn, if you fall back asleep, I will strangle you." He moved his arms out from under him, shaking his left arm that had been pinned under the younger man's side, and Shawn turned and said, "It's too early, Carlton…go back to sleep."

He reached out for him, wanting back the warmth of the taller man, but he was already sitting on the edge of the bed, and glaring at Shawn over his shoulder.

"I told you I had to get up early. You can stay if you want, but if you do, don't you destroy my kitchen or, so help me, I will shoot you."

With that, he stood and walked over to the bathroom door, not even bothering to close it all the way as he stripped off his undershirt and proceeded to start up the water in his shower. The door was just enough in the way that Shawn couldn't see any more, but he could hear Lassiter's boxers hit the floor and the swish of the shower curtain. Motivated with new found purpose to move, the fake psychic stretched his body across the bed and hung his head off the side, trying to get a better view, straining his neck, until…

Whump.

He could hear Lassiter's laugh from where he lay on the floor.

"Nice try, Shawn! Not happening."

Shawn grinned.

"Not happening yet, Lassi-ass!" he shot back, pleased with the new private nickname that he now had for him. Carlton didn't respond, so he decided that since he'd already fallen out of bed, that he would surprise him. Not in the nice way that he'd like to (they weren't there yet), but with some breakfast.

His shirt horribly wrinkled, he tore it off and pulled open the second drawer and snagged one of Lassiter's casual t-shirts. Shawn had "broken in" often enough to know where everything was. He smiled at the one he found. It was the Depeche Mode shirt that he'd seen him wear several weeks ago. He pulled the t-shirt on and headed to the kitchen to whip up a quick breakfast for his cop boyfriend before he went off to work. Boyfriend, he thought to himself as he pulled out a package of bacon and some eggs from the fridge. Is that what he is, now?

Shawn thought about it as he moved the eggs around, making an omelet.

Well, they had been going on dates. Lunch dates, which were casual and could be considered just two friends hanging out, but knowing Lassiter and that he didn't do casual, they probably meant something. There had also been flirting. A lot of it. And, well, of course, there was the kiss. Mind you, there hadn't been a second one, but Shawn could live with that for now.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket and started belting the Go Go's "We Got the Beat".

Moving the spatula to one hand, he answered.

"Hello, Jules! Miss me already?"

"Not exactly, Shawn. Lassiter had me pull an old case file last night but left before we could take a closer look at it. He asked me to call you for your help."

Shawn's hand stopped moving, and he stood there, slightly stunned. After a second, he quickly recovered and said, "Gee, that's nice of him. Do you think it's a trap?"

He could practically hear her shrug over the phone as she replied, "He seemed dead serious. I know, big shocker for me, too, but I guess since you two have been hanging out together, he's been trusting you more. Which is kind of nice, really. I hate having to run interference all the time." Juliet paused for a moment, and then added, "You're a good influence on him, Shawn. I hope you know that."

He laughed, flipped the omelet one-handed, and started a second one as he replied, "Oh, Jules, of course I know that! So, when do you want me to come by?"

"As soon as possible? Is that too early for you?"

He scoffed.

"I'm already up, it's not a problem."

He could hear her smile on the other end of the line, and they said their goodbyes and hung up. Shawn quickly texted Gus, telling him to meet him at the precinct in half an hour.

A few seconds after he'd hit send, Lassiter walked into the kitchen, surprised to see Shawn standing at his stove, cooking breakfast. He rolled his eyes and said, "Look, if you're gonna use my food, at least buy me replacements, alright? I've gotta go." He went to finish tying his tie, but his fingers stilled when the younger man replied, "But aren't you gonna eat?"

He looked up at Shawn and saw him putting the freshly made omelet, along with a side of bacon, onto a plate and on the table.

Shawn, at seeing Carlton frozen, walked over and reached up without asking, brushing the detective's fingers to the side as he said, "Here, let me do that for you," and quickly and flawlessly tied his dark blue tie into a double Windsor. After he'd pulled away, Carlton moved in a haze towards the table and sat down, rolling up his still undone sleeves, picking up the fork Shawn had placed to the side and took a bite of the omelet. It was good.

Not making any eye contact as Shawn sat down across from him with his own food, he ate, trying not to notice how nice it felt to have someone cook for him and genuinely enjoy it, and not be expecting anything in return. He brushed the feeling of domesticity off, knowing that it could never happen, and then he noticed the shirt the fake psychic was wearing…

"Is that my shirt?"

Shawn looked up and glanced down and nodded.

"Yeah, hope you don't mind. Mine was a mess and I needed something clean to wear. Is…is this okay?"

Not sure how to respond, his body responding in a strange, almost pleased way at seeing the younger man wearing one of his shirts, he simply nodded and swallowed another bit of food.

"Yeah…uh…sure."

They said nothing as they both finished their breakfasts, even though Shawn kept on stealing glances across the table to see if Lassi was enjoying his food. Yes, he was insecure. Hell, he'd never cooked breakfast for anyone before, and they hadn't even…well…you know. He watched Carlton more than he ate, but then smiled when he realized that the detective had already cleaned his entire plate. Shawn quickly poured the coffee that he'd started into a cup, secured the lid, and handed it to the detective.

Carlton grabbed it, shot back up to his feet and absently ran a hand down his tie…and then looked at Shawn and said, "Did you bring your bike?"

Shawn nodded.

"Yeah, I brought it. I'll see you there in a few."

Lassiter nodded putting down the coffee long enough to button his sleeves, and then grabbed his coat and his keys before stalking out the door and closing it behind him. Shawn watched for a moment longer, staring at the door, trying to understand what had just happened…and then brushed it off. Just as he stood, with the dishes in his hands, Lassiter suddenly stormed back in, walked over to him and wrapped a hand around the back of Shawn's neck, pulling him into a breathtakingly hot kiss, tongue included, that sufficiently shut down all of the fake psychic's brain cells.

There was a clatter as Shawn dropped the plates and reciprocated in kind, one hand reaching down for his waist, the other tangling in the short hairs at the back of Carlton's neck.

They pulled away at the same time, and Lassiter gave him a look, one eyebrow arched.

"You'll be here tonight?"

Shawn nodded, rendered speechless, still recovering.

Oh, yeah. He'd definitely be there.

Gus walked into the station with two coffees in one hand and a pineapple smoothie in the other. The instant he saw Juliet, he smiled, handed her one of the coffees, and said, "Shawn texted me and told me get here as soon as I could. So, we have a case?"

She shrugged, taking a sip of the caffeine he'd given her, and then handed him a copy of the case file and replied, "Not exactly. Lassiter insisted on going over a closed case and now says that we need Shawn on it because it was too easy." Gus raised an eyebrow, and she gave him a strained smile. "Yeah, I know. Weird, right? That he's asking for Shawn's help on this?"

Gus shrugged, trying not to give too much away.

"Well, I guess…but, you know, they have been spending more time together, you know. All those lunches and everything..."

Juliet smiled and nodded, looking pleased.

"Yeah, they have. Lassiter told me about the two of them just yesterday. I'm just really happy for them, you know? They're more alike than they realize and it's really nice seeing them like this. You know what, Gus? I think they're a pretty good team."

Gus nearly spit out the coffee he'd just taken a drink from, and said, surprised, "Wait a second…you know?"

"Of course I know! Geez, Gus, do you think Lassiter's a robot or something? We talk, just like good partners are supposed to, and he told me all about him and Shawn last night."

"Then you're okay with the whole…you know…relationship?"

Juliet rolled her eyes and nodded, saying, "Of course! God knows it took them long enough to get here. Now that they're at this point, I think things will be easier when we work together."

Gus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Needing to make sure he was hearing her correctly, he leaned in closer, took a furtive look around the bullpen to make sure that no one would overhear him, and whispered, "So…you're okay with the kiss? That didn't make you jealous or anything? I mean, I know you kind of had a thing for Shawn at one point, but you must be over that if you're okay with him and Lassiter."

She looked at him, her eyes wide with shock.

"Kiss? What kiss? Gus, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that your partner and my best friend are in a romantic relationship!" he hissed out, wondering how her words could have been interpreted any other way. "What the hell were you talking about?"

"About the fact that they were finally getting over their petty differences and were finally friends!" Juliet hissed back, confused. However, after a second, she realized that was Gus had just told her explained some of the more unexplainable behavior of her partner from the day before. The pineapple chocolate. The way he'd flushed when she'd said, Does it have something to do with Shawn?, and the way that he'd glared at her when she'd pressed about the crime scene from the night before. Hold up…

"Gus," she whispered, trying to get her stories straight. "When did the kiss happen? Was it two nights ago?"

Gus looked at her and nodded.

"Yeah, but how did you know that?"

Juliet let out a frustrated sigh and said, "That's why he was acting so weird at the crime scene! Ugh, I feel like an idiot! This is why Shawn's been acting off for weeks! He's been hoping to make a move on Carlton, it explains everything! The more mature behavior, the way he was taking everything more seriously. It's the only way Carlton would ever even consider him!"

Gus gave her a look, one eyebrow arched, and replied, "Uh, Juliet…Shawn told me that Lassiter kissed him."

At that information, she shook her head.

"Wait, then…dammit, now I'm confused…"

Gus snorted.

"That makes two of us."

Just as they were about to talk about it some more, the head detective walked through the front door, coffee in hand, his steps seeming lighter than they usually were, his stereotypical glower nowhere to be seen as he walked over towards Gus and his partner, saying, "O'Hara, good to see you're already here. I think I might have thought of a way to break into the rocky alibi." He saw Gus and said, "Oh, looks like Shawn already texted you. Well, you might actually be useful, so why the hell not."

He then went and sat down at his desk, humming under his breath.

It was less than a minute later that Shawn burst through the doors, singing Sinatra at the top of his lungs, not sounding all that bad.

"I've got the world on a string, sittin' on a rainbow, got the string around my fiiiiingeeeer! What a world…this is the liiiiife…I'm. So in looove!"

Juliet looked at him, and then glanced back at Lassiter, who was completely ignoring the psychic, and she said, "Hey, Shawn. Glad to see you're in a good mood," she added as he grabbed her by the waist and swung her around in a circle, grinning like a maniac.

"Oh, Jules, you don't know the half of it," he said, his eyes bright and mischievous.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," she jabbed back at him, and he stopped swinging her around and gave her a look…and then he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "The spirits are telling me that Gus spilled the beans about me and Lassi, didn't he?" She nodded. He let out a short laugh and whispered to her again, saying, "Don't let Gus know that I know, okay?" She nodded again.

He pulled back and threw himself on the edge of Lassiter's desk, at which Lassiter groaned.

"Spencer, I was in a good mood…"

The psychic waggled his eyebrows at him and said, "Oh, and why was that, Lassi-face?"

"None of your damn business, Spencer," he snapped back, but with slightly less venom than usual. "Now, why don't you go throw yourself at someone else for a change?"

"Would you really want that?" Shawn quipped, and Juliet had to bite back a smile at seeing an almost jealous look cross her partner's face, before he squared his shoulders and said, "You can do whatever you want, Spencer, so long as it doesn't interfere with my work."

The younger man's eyes lit up and he dropped from the edge of the desk and said, "As you wish, Detective Lassiter. Now…where's this case you wanted my help on?"

He shoved a file in his direction.

"Take a look. Without the singing."

Shawn smirked.

"Anytime, Lassi-lips," he said, and Juliet had to keep from laughing at seeing the flush that covered Lassiter's face. No she wouldn't say a word. Not to Gus that Shawn knew that he'd spilled the beans, and not to Lassiter that she knew that he and Shawn were in a relationship. It was cute, actually.

As Shawn walked away, she turned to Gus and said, "He's wearing Lassiter's shirt."

Gus startled and replied, "What? But that's a Depeche Mode shirt. Lassiter doesn't like eighties music."

Juliet smiled.

"He wore it three weeks ago and took it home. Wonder where Shawn got it from?"

Gus blanched and Juliet grinned…but, as she sat down at her desk, a dark thought crossed her mind. Some of her friend's behavior had been explained away because of his secret relationship with her partner, but the rest of it didn't quite add up. She realized that Shawn had lost some weight, and he'd been more…well, clumsy than usual, and not in the on-purpose way that she'd seen in the past. This was different.

Deciding to simply be happy for her two closest friends, she let it go for the time being. Shawn would tell her when he was ready.

Part 10/?