"Looks like you're riding with Novak again," Chuck chuckled as he looked at the names written on the board.

"Fuck," the other officer groaned, and found his name. "Who are you riding with?"

"Tran; remember, I'm his new TO since he requested a switch," Chuck replied after finding his name just below Dean's.

"Trade with me," Dean begged. "I'll put those tires on your car. You know, the ones you've been on my ass about since May." Dean was desperate; he didn't want another shift with Castiel Novak, it would be his fourth in three weeks.

"No way, Winchester. I'm not trading. I did that already when you got Fitzgerald two days ago. You're also not a TO. And besides, Kevin owes me lunch since I volunteered to take him on. I'm thinking that Italian bistro downtown." Chuck backed up and winked at Dean before turning around and walked out of the parade room.

"Damn it," Dean growled, glaring at the door where Chuck disappeared.

"Looks like I'm with you, again," said a familiar gravelly voice from behind the officer.

"Oh really," Dean sneered and rolled his eyes. "I didn't notice." Dean smirked when he heard the irritated sigh, and turned around to face his partner.

The officer was only a couple of inches shorter than Dean. He had almost raven coloured hair and deep blue eyes—it had been the first thing Dean had noticed when they had first met. Then they had been intense and alluring. Now, all they did was piss Dean of every time he met his partner's gaze.

Castiel just rolled his eyes and grunted, "Jeez, only ten minutes into our shift; new record for you?"

Dean didn't dignify the comment with a response and stalked out of the room, Castiel close behind.

"I'd rather not spend the day bitching with you," Dean grumbled as he unlocked their patrol car.

"You're the one that started it. I was just making an observation. It's not my fault you can't be civil." Castiel started pointedly at Dean as he opened the trunk.

Dean gritted his teeth and shoved his bag into the trunk with a little more force than necessary. Damn it, why was it that the two of them could never go a shift without the other making a smartass comment. Granted, it usually was Dean, so he had to give Cas that, but it was still annoying as Hell. Most of his partners usually would just shut up and listen, but not Castiel.

"Okay, fine," Castiel sighed and moved to the passenger side, looking over the car to Dean, "I'll promise to behave, if you promise to behave."

"Fuck that," Dean snapped. "I'm not doing anything that you tell me to do. Got it?" He yanked open his door and slid into his seat.

"We're partners, Dean," Castiel deadpanned. "We're supposed to work together and 'listen' to each other." He sighed heavily when Dean continued to ignore him and start up the car. "Okay, look," he spoke after a couple of minutes in silence, "it's a ten hour shift—let's just try to get through this without killing each other."

"Always the peacekeeper. Aren't you?" Dean's tone was mocking when he finally spoke.

"Dea-"

"Fine," Dean cut him off. "I'll try."

Castiel nodded and relaxed in his seat. Neither spoke for a long time after that.

"Hey there! Novak! Winchester!" Chuck shouted from the side of the road. "You two haven't killed each other yet. That's what I like to see!"

"It's still early!" Castiel called back.

Dean and Castiel were currently sitting in the bottleneck traffic of New York. Chuck and Kevin were currently parked at the side of the road, in front of a cafe.

"But you made it to noon. That's got to be something," Kevin joined in.

"Easy there Tran, don't knock your superiors," Dean retaliated. "Hey, Chuck! How's the babysitting going?"

"You're never going to let that one go, are you? Unlike you, I actually am doing my job. Right, Kevin?" Chuck smirked and turned to the rookie, who just smiled and nodded his head.

"I feel obliged to say 'yes'," Kevin answered in an affirmative tone.

Castiel and Dean burst out laughing at the sight of Chuck's deflated face. "Looks like you've got him on a short leash. He knows where his allegiance has to be," Dean teased.

"You've definitely made him your bitch," Castiel smirked as Chuck flipped them off. Kevin, the good kid that he was just smiled. He was used to the officer's teasing; there was no malice behind any of it.

"Yeah! Yeah! You both are fucking hilarious. Knock it off." Chuck narrowed his eyes at the other two men, but his smirk reassured them that it was all in good nature.

"Hey, did you hear what happened to Garth and Anna?" Chuck asked, changing the subject. "Some little shits paint-balled their car while going down Lewis. Crowley is furious."

"Did they at least catch the punks?" Castiel called out. The fact Garth and Anna now had Crowley up their asses and a damaged squad car, meant that those two would be pulling extra hours. Staff Sergeant Crowley wasn't one to be trifled with, and if anything resulted in a less than perfect day, everyone was in for it.

"Nope," Kevin replied, but the noise he made after hinted like there was something more to it.

"Punks got away, and wait until you fuck up," Chuck addressed Kevin. "Trust me; we'll be the ones laughing at you."

"23-03 requesting back-up at 702 14th Street. Apartment 204."

"You going to get this?" Dean asked as the call echoed through the two cars. Dean lifted his radio and waved it at Chuck.

"No way! That's you. Besides, I'm still on my break." Chuck made a point by taking a large bite of his sandwich.

"Here," Dean shoved the radio at Cas, while rolling his eyes at Chuck.

Castiel pursed his lips and grabbed the radio from Dean. "Mark, 23-07 responding," he said into the radio.

"See you later," Dean called and drove off down the street.

"You know, it's concerning how our co-workers assume that we are going to kill each other every time we work together."

"It's just a joke, Cas, lighten up." Dean said, sounding almost bored as he continued staring at the road.

"It might be a joke, Dean, but it's embarrassing that everyone thinks this. It's unprofessional."

"It's embarrassing to you," Dean corrected. "I don't have a problem with it; it's not stopping me from doing my job. You just need to lighten up."

Castiel scoffed and turned to stare out his window. Of course Dean would act that way—make him feel like he was the problem, and had no sense of humour. It was something Dean always did when he felt like Castiel was just feuding.

"And not everyone thinks that way," Dean added, continuing to aggravate the situation. "You're just choosing to look at it that way."

"Whatever," Castiel grumbled just as they pulled up to the apartment complex.

"204, right?" Dean asked when they walked to the apartment entrance.

"That's what the call said," Castiel responded snidely, which resulted in Dean letting go of the door just before Castiel stepped over the threshold.

"Jackass," Castiel muttered, following his partner with narrowed eyes.

"I told you to get out of my fucking face, bitch!" a man yelled, echoing around the hall.

Dean gave an annoyed huff and Castiel just rolled his eyes. A domestic, what else is new?

"Vic?" Dean called, steeping through the open apartment.

"Henrikson," Castiel corrected, which earned him another eye roll from his partner.

"Officer Winchester; Officer Novak," Victor greeted them with a curt nod. Victor was currently standing in front of a middle-aged man, who was sat on the couch, handcuffed and reeking of alcohol.

"What's the problem?" Dean and Cas glanced around the apartment, taking notice of the broken picture frames and upturned furniture.

"It's all his fault!" a woman piped up, drawing Castiel and Dean's attention to the connected kitchen. "If he had-"

"I told you to shut the fuck up, bitch!" the man yelled, cutting off the woman.

"For God's sake," Victor sighed. "Officer Walker, please take Ms. Staub outside—get these two away from each other."

"So, do you want to fill us in?" Dean walked over to a broken off chair leg and some glass, which was everywhere.

"That bitch attacked me! She just came here and- " the man began to shout again, causing Victor to raise his voice again.

"We received three noise complaints to Mr. Staub's apartment. When we got here, these two were going at it. They took a couple of swings at each other, not to mention Mrs. Staubs threw a couple of things, as you can see." Victor waved his hand illustratively. "We called for backup, and just as you guys got here we were finally able to get control over the situation."

"Do you know what they were fighting about? Or have you not been able to get that far yet?" Castiel moved to the other side of the couch."

"Yeah, according to him, he and his wife have been fighting over their assets; they're getting divorced. She's demanding more than she deserves, and has been harassing him for the past couple of weeks. She came over today to get some of her things and they started arguing over money. He claims that she punched him; judging by the state of Mr. Staubs and his wife, he's right, but we're taking both of them in for assault."

"Okay, so we'll take the wife?" Dean walked back out into the living room, following Victor. "Novak," he snapped and pointed to the door to leave.

"Oh, and hey," Victor called just as Dean and Castiel reached the door. "It's good to see you two with your heads intact." He gave them a cheeky wink.

"Ha ha, yeah," Castiel laughed humorlessly. "Really, Dean? Not everyone?" He groused as soon as they were out in the hallway. "Seriously, were getting a reputation."

Dean just rolled his eyes—again—and stepped into the stairwell. "They're just having fun—let them."

Castiel gaped at his partner and his unconcerned attitude. "Really? It doesn't bother you at all that-"

"Hey, Aiden!" Dean called out when they exited the building, promptly cutting Castiel off in the process.

Aiden Walker was a young cop, just transferred from precinct 13 after an undisclosed dispute. The guy was always eager and sometimes missed obvious things because he was distracted. Personally, the kid irritated Dean, but he wasn't a bad guy.

"I just got her statement," the young officer informed, when the other two cops approached the car. "Her story is almost identical to her husband's, except for the fight, where it's exaggerated more in her favour. So, I guess assault for both of them. You'll take in the wife."

"Got it," Dean walked over to the car and opened to the door. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to step out of the car."

Dean stepped back and let the woman shift her legs. "Fine. Whatever. And it's Nicole, not ma'am." she sighed and almost rolled her eyes to the back of her head. "It's not like he didn't deserve it. Dumb bastard never gave me anything," Nicole continued to rant as Dean walked her to the other squad car.

"You're being taken in for assault, you understand that?" Castiel explained as he followed behind.

"Yeah, yeah. Little boy blue over there explained it all to me. As I said, he deserved it. And besides, he attacked me."

Nicole let Dean seat her in the car before continuing her griping. "Aren't you going to do anything about that? He hit me."

"We know and we will deal with it." Dean shut the door and walked to the passenger, since Castiel was already at the driver's side.

"I took the keys for a reason, Cas," Dean grumbled and yanked open his door.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Castiel feigned remorse. "Did you want to drive? You've driven for the past three shifts we've worked together. It's my turn or don't you trust my ability?" He spit out the last part.

"God, you're conceited. Just drive." Dean dropped into his seat, leaving Castiel standing outside the car.

"You were supposed to go left onto Willett St," Dean snapped when Castiel went straight through the green light instead of stopping.

"There's more than one way to get to a place, Dean, and besides Columbia Street is backed up due to construction."

"No, that was yesterday. It's open today or do you not listen to the morning traffic report?"

Castiel gritted his teeth, but didn't say anything. His grip was tight on the steering wheel and he may have taken the next turn a little too sharply.

"Aww," Nicole cooed from the back. "You're just like my husband and me. You know: before all this." Nicole moved her hands to the side, hinting at her cuffed hands. "Though, judging by pretty boy's grip, he's struggling not to deck you."

Dean glanced down at Castiel's hands, which were tightly wrapped around the steering wheel and showed no sign of loosening.

"You two married?" Nicole spoke up again, which caused Dean to almost blanch.

"W-what?" Dean babbled. Castiel let out a small chuckle, but didn't look away from the road.

"Married?" Nicole repeated, like it was the most obvious thing. "Wife? Girlfriend?"

"Oh," Dean suddenly felt a little hot and was now cursing for acknowledging the woman. He shifted in his seat, staring ahead at the car in front of them.

"So are you?" Nicole asked again. Both officers ignored her this time. Nicole took the silence as confirmation and clicked her tongue. "Just as well; you'll only get screwed in the end. You know I-"

"You talk a lot," Dean interrupted, "Why don't we practice silence."

"I'm just trying to make conversation. You're the one that can't seem to handle friendly small talk."

"Mrs. Staub," Dean protested, "You've been arrested; you're not supposed to have anything to say."

"Dean," Castiel warned, peaking at Dean at the side of his eye, "don't bother."

"It's Nicole," the woman corrected hotly. "Haven't been Mrs. Staub since I walked out on that loser."

Dean remained silent for the rest of the car ride. Nicole continued talking, but Dean begrudgingly took Castiel's advice and didn't bother answering.

"Milton," Dean greeted, walking into the booking room with Nicole shuffling next to him. "Thought you were on desk duty."

"Was switched," Anna grimaced and handed Dean a plastic bin. "Officer Bell had to leave, thus here I am."

"I heard about the car, and I just wanted to say, I am so sorry," Dean made an effort to keep his features solicitous.

"No, you're not," Anna scoffed with a mocking smile. "You're just relishing in my misery."

Dean chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "This is Nicole Staub. She was picked up for assaulting her husband. And, uh, just her I.D." He handed the bin back to Anna. "Nicole, this is Officer Milton, and you will address her as such. Henrikson should be here soon with her husband."

"Actually," Anna smirked and walked around the desk, leading Nicole to a holding cell, "George Staub is already here." She pointed to the first cell where the beat up man sat, watching them. "Beat you here by ten minutes, I think."

"We'll at least I beat her at something," George laughed.

"Oh, don't be so proud of yourself. You're in a fucking cell," Nicole bit out, struggling to get over to the other cell.

"Hate to tell you princess, but so are you."

"Hey!" Anna snapped after closing the cell door on Nicole, "Quiet. I don't want to hear you mutter a single word to each other."

"I guess I'll leave you here. Have fun," Dean sing-songed and walked out the door.

"Hey, Winchester."

Dean felt an arm fall over his shoulder.

"Aww, fuck. No, Tessa." Dean pulled away from the woman. "I am not doing whatever it is you need."

"Oh, come on, Winchester. I haven't even asked," Tessa rolled her eyes and flipped open the folder she was carrying. "I just need a uniform; Crowley said to help myself. Rumour has it; you're paired with Novak today. Just thought I'd save you from the torture."

"Thanks for the offer, Detective, but I think I'd rather sit in a car, torturing myself than in an interview room with some pompous prick who grew up on daddy's money."

Tessa raised her hands in surrender and tsked at him. "Your loss, Winchester. I'll see you later." Tessa turned on her heels and walked down the hall.

"Dean!" Castiel voice snapped, catching his attention. "Let's go! Our shift isn't over and it's not lunch yet."

Dean followed him out of the station and to their car. "I assume you're going to drive, again."

"Well, I still have the keys." He pulled out the ring of keys, dangling them in front of his partner with a triumphant smile.

"Do you want something to drink?" Castiel reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of bills. "My treat." He had calmed down in the past hour and was trying to make peace with the man.

They were currently on break. After an extensive disagreement over where to go for their lunch—Dean wanting a burger and Castiel arguing that they always go where he wanted. They finally agreed on some hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. They were now parked outside a café because Castiel wanted an iced tea.

"Nah," Dean took his water bottle and held it up. "I'm good."

"Are you sure?" Castiel's eyebrows raised. "You are never fine just with water. Are you sure you don't want a coffee? Lemonade?"

"I'm fine. Just go get your stupid drink."

Castiel huffed and got out of the car. He returned five minutes later with an iced tea and a coffee. He placed the coffee in Dean's cup holder, ignoring Dean's bemused expression.

"I know you'll want it later," was the only explanation Castiel gave before pulling back onto the road.

The rest of the shift went by without much bickering. They got into it when a call came in for a noise complaint and Castiel wouldn't take it because it was "too tricky" to turn around.

There was also the occasional snide remark from both partners. However, Dean did end up drinking his coffee, which resulted in a smug smile from Castiel, and Dean telling him to "fuck off".

By half past five, Castiel was changed and walking out of 23 to his car, ready to head home. Dean had disappeared as soon as they walked into the precinct. He either was already gone or dicking around with one of his friends.

"Hey, Novak!" a voice called out just as Castiel reached his Prius. The man turned to see Victor walking up to him.

"Victor," he greeted politely and turned his attention to the other man.

"A bunch of the guys are going out for drinks. Wanna join us?"

"It was a common tradition for a group of them to go to local bars and just hang out. Recently, it had been every night since the warmer weather had begun. Normally Castiel would join them, but tonight he was too tired to spend any time around people.

"Thanks for the invite, Victor, but I'm going to have to decline." Castiel tried to make the weariness in his voice evident so Victor wouldn't try to persuade him—he wasn't in the mood.

"Winchester give you a tough time?" It was meant as a joke, but Castiel could only manage a small chuckle and a grimace.

"Something like that," he muttered and fiddled with his keys. "I'll probably just run some errands and head home.

"All right. Well you know where to find us if you change your mind."

Castiel nodded and got into his car. He made a stop at the grocery store and picked up a few things he needed, and stopped at a Chinese restaurant to get takeout. He wasn't in the mood and couldn't be bothered to cook anything for dinner, especially if he was going to be eating alone.

The rest of the drive was a drag. Castiel had hit rush hour traffic and the normal fifteen minute drive took him twenty-five minutes.

"Damn it," Castiel mumbled when he pulled into the underground parking garage. He pulled into his spot, but the space next to his was empty. Yep; he would be eating alone tonight.

"Dean? You're still here? Our shift ended an hour ago."

Dean turned to see Chuck still in uniform, standing at a desk. "You're still here," Dean shot back, "And you're still in uniform."

"W-well I, fine," Chuck groaned and pushed a hand through his hair. "Tessa's on my ass about this case she's on. It was supposed to be you, but she dragged me in as her minion. I'm a training officer; I don't get dragged into investigations."

"So you're the one Tessa picked? Ha, tough break." Dean patted Chuck on the shoulder and stepped back. "Tough break, dude."

"It wasn't me. She chose some dick up on the desks, but he fucked up the photocopy. So she's asking for my help."

"Again: tough break."

"Yeah, I know you're just devastated over this." Chuck batted Dean's hand away and glared at the man jokingly. "Anyway, a bunch of us are heading down to that pub we went to for Victor's birthday. Want to join us?"

Dean grumbled inwardly. This would be the third invite into two weeks he's declined. It wasn't that he didn't want to go, he just preferred to be alone for a few hours after being paired with Castiel. All the bickering just exhausted him, and as hard as he tried to be civil with his partner, they just constantly butted heads on every single thing.

"Thanks for the offer, Chuck. But I'm just going to have to pass. I'm just going to get some food and head home."

Chuck made a noise of disappointment and patted Dean on the arm. "Well, offer is always open if you decide on a change of scenery."

"Thanks, Chuck," Dean nodded and walked out of the building and to his car.

Traffic was unusually steady for a six at night. The sun was still up, considering it was June, it wouldn't darken for another few hours.

Dean was tempted to drive up to Yorkville to see Sam, but he knew his brother wouldn't take too kindly to the visit. He would never admit it, but Dean could tell it pissed Sam off when he dropped by unannounced. He would always feel rushed and ignored when he visited Sam. It was a little insulting and sometimes Dean wanted to confront Sam, but at the same time, he couldn't be bothered with confrontations. His brother would only stay pissed and possibly drag their friends into it.

It was still reasonably early for the night. It was Tuesday, which meant Dean had tomorrow and the next day off, so there wasn't really any rush to get home and relax or wake up at an ungodly hour.

After driving around for a bit, Dean was seriously contemplating taking Chuck up on his offer, but the bar was over on the west side, and he really wasn't that desperate to drive the twenty minutes it would take.

Driving home was the only option in his mind. He was hungry, but wasn't in the mood to fight for a parking spot in front of some mediocre diner.

He parked the Impala in his spot and noticed the blue Prius parked next to his spot, as usual.

The elevator ride was quick and Dean walked down the hall to his apartment.

"Glad to see you're home," the man on the couch greeted him without taking his eyes off the TV. "I was starting to get worried."

"Like you would worry," Dean huffed and dropped his bag next to the closet.

"There's leftover Chinese in the fridge if you're hungry. I wasn't going to save you any but morals got the best of me."

"Geez, you're a fucking angel," Dean replied, the sarcasm clear in his voice. He walked past Castiel and into the kitchen. There were actual leftovers for him, and not just pitiful servings. There were two containers half filled.

Dean took the containers and a beer before walking back into the living room. He kicked off his boots and took the other end of the couch.

"I'd ask you how your day was, but I think we both know how it went." Castiel threw Dean a flirty wink before looking back at the TV.

Dean gave Castiel an unimpressed look before glancing at the TV, trying to figure out exactly what his husband was watching. "Why do you watch this? Reality shows are crap." It was some show where a team of celebrities were playing against another team and guessing pointless shit.

Castiel sighed heavily and mirrored Dean's unimpressed look. "I don't always watch this. There was nothing worth watching, but I didn't feel like turning off the TV."

"Well, isn't there a playoff game or something? I feel like this is going to rot my brain."

"Don't be so melodramatic," Cas complained. "And the game is tomorrow."

"Well find something else to watch. I don't want to watch this."

Castiel made a growl low in his throat and tossed the remote to Dean. "You find something then if you're so concerned. And we have two TVs. You can just go into our room."

Dean ignored Castiel's comment and flicked through the guide, trying to find something else to watch besides Castiel's shitty show. Why was there never anything good on to watch on Tuesday nights? There was nothing but cooking and home improvement shows.

Grumbling incoherently, Dean closed the guide and tossed it to the middle of the couch. Dean ignored Cas' satisfied smile when the show returned from its commercial break.

They sat quietly on opposite ends of the couch, watching as the show faded into another reality show—this one didn't look familiar.

Two beers and four and a half hours of random TV later, Dean was crawling into bed, ready to sleep. Cas wanted to finish an email to one of his brothers, which meant he wouldn't head to bed until well past midnight.

Whatever; like Dean cared. They haven't gone to bed together in weeks. To be honest, he liked having the bed to himself when he went to bed before Cas. There wasn't any awkward maneuvering to avoid each other.