A/N: This has been beta'ed by my friend IRL, so it should be devoid of petty mistakes. Review as per always, please! :) Reviews make the world go 'round and give me more motivation too. Even if it's a comment, I really appreciate it. Hope you guys enjoy, and we're almost to the halfway!
4). The entire department knows now.
It was because the two happened to walk into the precinct, hand in hand. At first, it shocked everyone. But after the second week of the hand-holding, the whole precinct just let it go.
Now, the head detective and the fake psychic can walk into the building, hand in hand. It's not like anyone really cares anymore.
Karen knows because Lassiter's paperwork output has gone down. She lets it slide because Lassiter seems so much more relaxed now, and is more willing to ask for help. His success rate has skyrocketed. Shawn has become less of a pain in the ass, and his craziness has decreased slightly. Ever so slightly. Plus, his success rate remains at a constant 100%.
Juliet knows because she's been expecting it to happen for a while. So, when she sees them, even though she's extremely jealous of Lassiter, she greets them politely. The head detective smiles more, and the junior detective thinks her work is better for it. Her thinking is that even though she's lost her chances with Shawn, it's less stressful to work with a happy Lassiter. Because happy Lassiters make happy campers. Juliet lets it slide because she's happy for Shawn, happy for Lassiter, hell, even happy for herself. As long as she can stay friends with the two, she's fine. Also, because if she did get Shawn, Gus would resort to flirting with some other chick. Which is just so wrong.
Buzz knows because he's caught Shawn and Lassiter, on multiple occasions, making out in the interrogation rooms (where else can you enjoy lunch by yourself with a somewhat shielded view?). Of course, Buzz has seen this coming from just about day one, and has compounded evidence for his conclusion over the years that the two have known each other. From the annoying nicknames to the harassment, he's been able to see through the fake psychic and the head detective and realize that the two have just been too damn scared to admit that they were in love after so much hurt and heartbreak. So, it's obvious that he lets it slide when he recognizes (after the third time) that this is not an accident, but something real. He doesn't let them know, either, that he's caught them. Because secretly, he's taping them.
Gus knows not only because he's Shawn's best friend, but because Shawn's his best friend. He was the one who got the late night phone calls about how Lassie did this, Lassie did that, oh do you think I might be overanalyzing this, what's wrong with me, why do I like him, yadda yadda yadda. The pharmaceutical salesman just rolls his eyes every time the two walk in together and just goes back to flirting with Juliet but not really flirting with Juliet. Secretly though, Gus takes it hard. Now that Shawn and Lassiter are dating, there's less Shawn and Gus time. But he sucks it up and shows that he's able to take one for the team. Because after all, he is Shawn's best friend.
More importantly, the rookies don't even bother asking now. They assume it's just part of the culture of the precinct. And… it adds for more drama in the workplace. And although they've all had their share of high school and college drama, it adds flavor and spice. Who doesn't like that?
