Chapter Text
They had spent multiple nights in a row together. Lassiter and Shawn were basically inseparable and had officially both said the “L” word to one another. Yet, Lassiter didn’t feel like things were moving too fast or that this relationship was too good to be true. Everything about it felt just right, like everything in the universe was finally working itself out. Shawn understood him and knew what his job meant for the relationship. The job was always a deal breaker for a lot of people, either not understanding the stress he was going through, the long hours, or the fact that despite all the negative factors Lassiter was born to be a cop and it’s something he loved and valued. Shawn even had a knack for police work himself, which astounded him to no end.
“Where were you all my life?” Lassiter whispered as he lay in the dark room with Shawn curled up next to him. He was putting off getting up as long as he could. Despite the hectic few weeks and the last few days being especially eventful, he still had to go into the office and pull yet another long shift to wrap up the case officially. Hopefully he’d be getting home before it was dark today. At least the end was near.
When the sun started to peek out of the windows, Lassiter arose and started getting dressed. Shawn immediately stirred and he felt bad about waking him.
“We both gotta head to work early today, huh? Do you mind dropping me off at The Blueberry Beanery? I’m opening. There's coffee in it for you if you help me out.”
“Sure,” Lassiter smiled. “I can really go for a coffee right now.”
“I’m glad you have a caffeine addiction,” Shawn smiled.
They said their goodbyes with a quick kiss in the Beanery’s backroom and Lassiter’s gut churned that it was so secretive. He shouldn’t be hiding the man he loved.
Shawn got him out of his reverie with a steaming hot Latte. It was his favorite.
He was on his last few sips by the time he arrived at the station wishing for and wondering if Shawn would bring him another on his lunch break.
“Blueberry Beanery again?” Juliet smiled as she looked up from her desk.
“Yes.” Lassiter took his last sip and tossed the empty cup into the trash and plopped down at his own desk. “I dropped Shawn off at work, so.”
She raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “You did?”
He froze, realizing his misstep. There wouldn’t be any reason for him to drop Shawn off this early in the morning unless he had spent the night. “I did…” He cleared his throat. “Because…”
There was a long, drawn out pause as she patiently waited. Shawn deserved a man who wasn’t ashamed to be with him. Shawn deserved a whole hell of a lot better and he wanted to be that better man. “Because… he’s my boyfriend.”
A wide grin spread across Juliet’s face and she let out a high pitched squeal. “Awwww!” She sprang from her desk and wrapped him in a crushing hug, bent down with him sitting awkwardly in his desk chair. “Carlton, I’m so happy you finally told me. I feel so much closer to you now.”
“What do you mean, finally?”
Juliet blushed a deep red. “Well… I mean. I am a detective, you know.” She paused. “And… I may have snooped. A little. Took me awhile to put all the pieces together though.”
Carlton huffed. “O’Hara!”
“I’m sorry!”
Carlton eyed her barely suppressed smile. “No, you’re not.”
“No, I’m really not,” she laughed. “I just wanted to know who was making my partner so happy! And Shawn seems like a great guy. I’m happy for you.”
A warmth blossomed through Lassiter's chest at the praise of his boyfriend. “Yeah, he is.”
“So… when are we going on a double date?”
His smile wiped right off. “Juliet.”
“His best friend, Burton Guster, he’s cute and I think we would be a good match. He has been nothing but lovely to me ever since we met at his store and I feel like there was a spark when we went to Le Cigar Volant undercover together.”
“Has he even asked you out yet?”
“No. But I was planning on asking him out soon…” she trailed on “Please say yes to the double date. I think he’d be more willing to say yes if you do. Not that I don’t think he’d say yes if it were just me and him alone,” she clarified. “It would be fun and I can get to know Shawn more as well.”
Lassiter gave her a skeptical look. He wasn’t one to mix work and pleasure but it seemed it was too late to stop and he was in too deep now. Lassiter officially had himself some friends to go out with. Juliet, despite being green and a little too enthusiastic at times, was a good officer and a good person that he would consider a friend. She liked him despite his gruffness and cheered him on with support any chance she got, which he couldn't say for most people in his life. She was a friend, and friends could go on double dates to get to know each other and each other's partners more. Besides, she didn’t really ask for this kind of thing of him often so the date with Gus must have really mattered to her. “If you ask him out,” he said steadily, looking at the overwhelming glee in her eyes, “I guess Shawn and I can go out with you too.”
. . .
Gus said yes! Shawn hadn’t seen him so ecstatic since he found two prize rings at the bottom of the cereal box when they were seven. Lassiter set up a double date for the four of them and Shawn couldn’t be happier either, learning that Lassiter came out to his work partner, something that was very difficult for him to do. Shawn would have been happy with their relationship no matter what. Even if Carlton decided to stay in the closet forever, he would still be with him,
Instead, they were able to share their relationship with their best friends and it sent a deep warmth through Shawn. Something about being with Carlton felt so right in a way it never had with anyone else before. It was so comfortable, effortless. And Carlton was killer at put put mini-golf. They were absolutely crushing it.
The date was all set for the weekend. Gwendolyn was covering the coffee shop for the whole evening. Shawn had spent the night at Lassiter’s but had opted to ride with Gus so that Lassiter could pick up Juliet at her request.
Lassiter had been to Juliet’s place a few times but he could count on his fingers the amount of times he had been over for non-work related activities. Usually the circumstances he found himself at her apartment was something along the lines of dropping or picking up case files. He was determined to not feel awkward about this double date, but he had never been on one before.
“Carlton!” Juliet waved at him as he pulled up in his car. She had her hair down and was wearing a pink shirt that showed off her shoulders. He himself was wearing a ¾ sleeve button up with the first 2 buttons open and slacks. “Wow! You look good. I don’t think I often see you not wearing work clothes.”
He shrugged. “Can’t wear a suit mini-golfing.”
She laughed as he climbed inside. “I’m guessing you didn’t pick the date?”
“Mini golf? No, that was Shawn’s idea,” he said. “But we’ve been a few times, it’s actually pretty fun.” And it had been; Shawn could get just as competitive as he could and that makes for a great game. They may have to tone it down for Juliet and Gus, though.
“Wow. It’s like seeing a whole new side of you. I think Shawn is really good for you, Carlton.”
He tried not to grin. “Just drive.”
At the complex, Lassiter was in the middle of buying tickets when he heard Shawn arrive. He spun around to see his gorgeous man riding up on his motorcycle, Gus on the back, and a dizzying mixture of jealousy and arousal swept through him. Shawn was in one of Carlton’s favorite t-shirts, the dark green apple jacks one that brought out his eyes, and tighter than necessary jeans that clung to his thighs. Carlton wanted to see what they did for his ass when he hopped off the motorcycle.
“Sir?” the attendant prodded. “How many in your party?”
“Oh, ah. Four, thanks.” He cleared his throat and handed over his debit card.
“Great. Enjoy.” He handed the group their putters and golf balls.
Lassiter took the dark blue ball and handed the yellow one to Shawn, his usual. Juliet was right behind him and went for purple. Gus ended up with orange, which he would have picked anyways since it contrasted the color of the green.
There were a few courses to pick from and the group decided on choosing the hardest of courses. “I played golf in college,” Juliet said excitedly.
“So did I,” Gus said. “It's a pretty extreme sport. Lots of concentration and control involved,” he said, eyeing Shawn.
“And that's why I prefer the mini version,” Shawn said. “The courses are easier to memorize. It's been awhile, but I'm confident I still remember all the tricks to this one.”
“We'll see about that,” Gus said.
Gus took on the task of holding onto the paper scorecard and tiny pencil to mark the score of each hole they played. It was a surprise that they were all almost easily matched in skill, the top score changing hands each and every round. They all were pretty competitive, but it was still fun. The company of Gus and Juliet added a whole other flair to the game.
Even better than the double date, Carlton thought privately, was that he was able to spend time with Juliet as friends. She was fun to be around and he was lucky to have her as his partner, and lucky she never gave up hope after all those years of giving her the cold shoulder.
But the date still was a lot of fun. Carlton managed a hole in one on the octopus and a tricky raised up narrow pathway with a sandpit course. Shawn, however, managed three holes in ones, and neither Gus nor Juliet had gotten even one. They didn’t seem overly invested in the score near the last few holes when Juliet started hovering over Gus and correcting his stance with her hands on his hips.
They ended the course and retired to the pizza joint next door while they teased each other about the game. Carlton absentmindedly took Shawn’s hand in his while they all talked, and Shawn gave him the most heart melting smile. Carlton could really get used to being out.
“No, really, you should have seen Shawn. I swear it was stuck inside the windmill door and three security guards had to pry him out. I never thought he’d play mini golf again,” Gus snickered. He knew Shawn hated that story, but Juliet couldn’t stop laughing. And, and, her hand was on his arm. Score.
“Wow, I wish I could have been there,” she finally wound down. “Tonight was really fun, guys.”
“Very, very fun,” Shawn pointed out. “Because I crushed Carlton… again.” And later Carlton would be crushing him down on the mattress.
Carlton rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I let you win.” He didn’t.
Gus couldn’t take his eyes off Juliet the entire time, transfixed. “Maybe next time we go out, it could just be you and me…”
“I’d like that,” she said. “Tonight was fun.”
The respective couples said their goodbyes and headed home. Lassiter felt the car ride back to Juliet's place wasn’t nearly as bad as the ride over. He legitimately had a fun time and was glad he had agreed to it. “You know,” he said. “That was one of my first times getting to know Gus like that too. It seemed like you guys were old friends, do you think it's going to work out?”
“I think so,” O’Hara said hopefully. “I’m glad we all took a chance on one another.”
“We’ve been together awhile now.”
“How long?”
Lassiter had to stop and think about it. “I think it's going to be six months tomorrow.”
“Six months and you never said anything!”
Lassiter shrugged. “I really didn’t think about how long it had been until now. A lot’s happened since I first met him and some of our first dates might have just been hangouts and not real dates. I don’t know?”
“Are you going to do anything special tomorrow?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think Shawn remembered either.”
“I see,” Juliet said. “Either way, that’s quite an accomplishment.”
“It is,” Lassiter agreed. “Six months…” he said out loud, pondering what this meant to him personally and what it meant for their relationship. He put it out of his head when he pulled up to Juliet’s home.
“We should do this again,” she said. “I got a good feeling about this.”
Lassiter nodded, smiling. “We should. Have a good night, Juliet.”
She waved him off, and after she was inside he drove back to his place. To his surprise, right outside his house he found Shawn leaning against his motorcycle looking gorgeous in the moonlight.
“Hey, Lass,” he said, voice soft. “Hope I wasn’t being too presumptuous, coming over uninvited after our date.” But that grin gave him away, and Lassiter laughed. Of course Shawn was welcome, as he always was, plans or not. He could show up any time. Though he’d need a house key for that…
“I’m never going to say no to a handsome man like you coming over to my place late at night wearing those pants. Don’t think I didn’t notice you in them all evening,” he joked back. Shawn smirked, knowing.
He held out his hand and Shawn took it.
Lassiter leaned in for a kiss, soft and slow, something more than just a hot pull of want. Something deep and meaningful.
“Let’s go inside.”
The End