July 2000

A small beeping startled them awake. Dean's hand reached over and smacked the off button on the alarm clock, accidentally knocking it off the nightstand in the process. Seamus groaned and rolled over toward Dean, cuddling up to his chest, "Why was that even on?" He mumbled irritably.

"Because we have to go to work?" Dean said, but he didn't move to get out of bed. He just let his arm lay across Seamus and tried to slowly wake up.

"No we don't, it's Saturday." Seamus whined softly, scrunching his eyes up to avoid having to open them at all.

"No it isn't. It's Wednesday and you know it." Dean said with a little laugh.

"Goddammit." Seamus grunted irritably, forcing himself to sit up, pushing off of Dean's chest and rubbing his eyes. Dean threw his legs over the bed and stood, stretching with a grunt that forced its way out of his chest. He didn't notice Seamus watching him with a small smile. They quietly fell into their new morning routine. Seamus and Dean brushed their teeth in the bathroom, side by side, making silly faces at each other in the mirror. Seamus lightly bumped Dean's hip with his, but the tall man was still groggy enough to lose his center of gravity and nearly fell over. Seamus laughed so hard he spit toothpaste onto the mirror and sink. "It's not funny," Dean tried to say around a full mouth of paste. Seamus quickly rinsed out his mouth before he managed to make more of a mess. As soon as his mouth was clear he started laughing again as he left the bathroom. Dean rolled his eyes.

Seamus fussed about just down the hall in their room, trying to make out an outfit. He was an auror now, which meant he technically just had to wear plain wizard robes. But he couldn't help but be selective about the outfit he wore underneath his robes, as if anyone was ever going to notice or see it. Dean, meanwhile, was shaving in the bathroom. He knew that Seamus preferred him with a little scruff, but he hated it. He much preferred his skin to be smooth across his face. "You ain't using magic are ye?" Seamus asked from the room. He knew the answer, which is why he had asked it. "Of course not. You think a magic blade wouldn't cut me silly?" Dean said, repeating a running joke. Seamus always mocked his reluctance to use magic in his grooming habits. Seamus used magic to do just about everything, having been raised by his magic mother. But Dean tended to not use magic, but especially not when it came to his hair. It was hard enough to find a muggle who could cut his hair, he doubted any magic would do any better than his favorite barber.

Seamus finally finished dressing himself (only to put the robes on over) and peeked back into the small apartment bathroom. Dean was washing his face clean now, and so did not notice Seamus standing in the doorway. He popped his head back up from the sink and jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance. "Jeez, Shay, why do you have to do that?"

Seamus laughed, "Why not? C'mon, you're running behind. Get some clothes on."

"How odd, normally you're telling me to do the exact opposite." Dean teased as he nudged past him to the room.

"Oh hush," Seamus said from the hall, blushing a bit.

"You know, I'm hardly behind schedule. You're the one that takes forever to get dressed," Dean said as he popped in and out of the room, getting dressed in less than a minute. "Unlike you, I don't worry much about it."

Seamus stuck his tongue out like a child as he bumped down the hallway with Dean toward the rest of the apartment. "What d'you fancy today, Shay?" Dean asked as he entered the kitchen. Without much discussion, Dean had become the one who was more likely to cook. It just seemed like a bad idea to let the one who was prone to explosions to handle a muggle stove.

"Surprise me," Seamus said lazily as he flopped onto the couch and flipped on the morning news. He was fascinated by the issues the muggle world faced.

Dean leaned into the open fridge, examining its meager contents. They'd only been living in the apartment for a couple of weeks, and they were in desperate need of another shopping trip. But there was still two eggs and two sausage links left at the bottom of the fridge. He quickly started up the frying pan as Seamus laughed in the living room. Dean glanced up, but couldn't see whatever it was on the telly that was cracking him up. "Did you know that we get an American channel on here?"

"How is that possible?" Dean asked, suddenly wondering if that would be an extra charge on the cable bill. He cracked the egg in the pan, and briefly reeled at the thought of a cable bill. He had bills to pay now. Somehow this was more alarming than the fact that they had access to an American channel.

"Yeah. They sound ridiculous."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure if they heard you talk they'd think you sound ridiculous." Dean teased mercilessly.

"Oh, y'know that isn't true."

"Whatever you want to tell yourself." Dean laughed, flipping the egg to make it over easy just like Seamus liked it. He threw a link of sausage in beside it in the pan. "Are you really just watching the channel so you can laugh at their accents?"

"Maybe."

"I take it there was nothing interesting on the news?"

"Same old same old. Politicians up to no good, the world in utter turmoil." Seamus called from the living room. Dean could hear him flipping through channels, bits of audio being cut off one after another. He had the attention span of a gnat, but Dean didn't mind. It kept things interesting.

"Oi, come and get your food." Dean called. Seamus appeared at his side in record time, like an overexcited puppy. Dean couldn't help but laugh as he dished the last of their food off onto a plate for him. "You're cute, you know that?"

"You say it often enough," Seamus said with a smile, briefly kissing his cheek before returning to his spot on the couch. He alway sat on the far right, and Dean always sat on the far left. When they watched together they usually sat with their legs intertwined somewhere in the middle. It was a little odd, but it was surprisingly comfortable. Dean sat down with him a few minutes later, laughing when he noticed that Seamus had managed to swallow his food in that time. He really was like a puppy in so many ways.

Seamus glanced at the clock that was on the wall just behind the TV and sighed, "See, we are behind schedule." The clock face read 7:57.

"Oh for the love of Pete." Dean said, swallowing his food as fast as Seamus usually did, burning his throat a bit.

"Who the hell is Pete?" Seamus said, sounding a bit too concerned.

"It's a muggle expression, Seamus. I don't know anyone named Pete, trust me." Dean said, trying to hide his amusement at Seamus' rush of jealousy.

Seamus just nodded, seeming a bit relieved, as he flicked the television off.

"You know, I don't know why you worry so much. It takes seconds to apparate." Dean said as he quickly put their dishes in the sink.

"Better early than late, as mum always says." Seamus said. Dean smiled to himself. Seamus always had a come back, without fail. He returned to Seamus' side and gave him a kiss, making it last a little longer than normal. "I love you. Send an owl if you have to stay late." Dean reminded him quietly. Seamus nodded, silently promising as he always did. The two said one last goodbye before disapparating at precisely 7:59 in the morning.