Castle – Kate and Alexis (romance)
A dull knocking sound resonated from the door through the living room of the loft.
"Alexis ? It's me, Kate !" Alexis hurried to place the little bowls filled with tortilla chips and salsa dip on the table and ran over to get to the door. She opened it and was greeted by Kate. Her hair was tied back in a loose high ponytail, she wore a navy blue sweatshirt and had a backpack slung over her shoulder. "Good evening, Kate.", Alexis said. Surprising Kate, she immediately went in for a hug. Kate reciprocated and smiled broadly.
"Hey Alexis. Nice of you to invite me." Alexis took a step back and let Kate in. The detective put down her backpack and placed it next to the couch.
"Oh, it's a pleasure to have you over, really. With Grams working on her movie in L.A. and Dad on book tour, it gets quite lonely sometimes. Plus, I really enjoy your company." It was only due to Kate's detective training that she managed not to blush.
"I feel flattered. But, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't you invite some of your friends ?"
Alexis sighed heavily. "Its … complicated. Mary and Jonas decided to spend Spring Break in Florida, Danny is busy preparing for his next exams and I kinda cut ties with Lilly."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. "
"Don't be. It was my decision. She started to hang out with the wrong people months ago. Then she got arrested for possession of and dealing with drugs. That was the last straw. I tried to help her, I did. But she called me an intrusive bitch and told me to stop meddling with other people's business. Now she has to drag herself outta this mess by herself."
The two women sat down on the couch. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm a horrible hostess. Do you want something to drink ? We have iced tea, soda, coke, water and juice."
Kate smiled. "I'd like some iced tea, yes." Alexis left for the kitchen and came back shortly after, a glass in each hand.
"Okay, some iced tea for you and lemon soda for me. So have you decided on a movie yet ?" Kate shook her head.
"I'm not much of a movie person, so I'm gonna have to trust your recommendations. Anything you want to watch ?"
Alexis pondered her options for a minute. "Nothing in particular, no. Maybe we can find something on Netflix." Alexis turned on the TV and breezed through her Netflix collection. "I don't care much for romantic comedies, do you ?"
Kate laughed. "Oh no, I despise them. Way too predictable. The girls get back on the guy, the man makes a fool of himself, the best friends kiss in the end. It just gets boring as soon as you know where the movie's headed. What if we just watch TV ?"
Alexis nodded. "Fine with me.", Alexis ended Netflix and changed to the usual TV program. After zapping through some channels, the two women decided on a baking show. They watched in silence for a few minutes before Alexis noticed Kate shifting in her seat uncomfortably.
"Hey Kate, you alright ?"
Kate was shaken out of the stupor she was in and answered. "Of course, why wouldn't I be ?"
"Because you keep shifting in your seat. Is something bothering you ?"
Kate bit her lip. "It's nothing important, don't worry." But Alexis wouldn't be Alexis if she let herself be fooled so easily.
"And now the truth, please. I can sense there's something off with you. So just spill the beans and tell me."
Kate's head hung low. She cleared her throat and started to explain.
"We chased a guy through an alley today. Javier, Kevin and I managed to corner him eventually. He had taken a little girl hostage and was forcing her to act as a shield between him and me. Kevin managed to distract him long enough for me to attack him and wrestle the little girl from his grip. But when I tried to bring her over to the guys he pulled a truncheon. I pushed the kid towards the boys to make sure she wouldn't get hit and stood between the suspect and her. He took a swing with the truncheon and hit me. I was lucky he didn't have a gun on him. I forgot to grab a vest, a shot wound could've been fatal."
Alexis' eyes had started to bulge. "And you didn't tell anyone ?"
Kate shook her head. "Ryan and Esposito noticed of course. But I told them I'd get myself checked out at the hospital later today."
"And you didn't do so, am I right or am I right ? Where did it hit you ? And don't you dare try any of that 'I feel fine'-bullshit."
Kate hesitated before grabbing the hem of her shirt and slowly pulling it over her head. About halfway, she moaned in pain and visibly had a hard time to undress herself all the way.
"Wait, I'll help you." Alexis grabbed the hem of Kate's sweatshirt and gently aided Kate in pulling it over her head.
"Thank you.", Kate mumbled as she disposed the shirt. She wore a light blue top underneath and Alexis couldn't help but stare at Kate's slim, well-formed torso for a moment.
"Where did he hit you ?"
"Back.", Kate mumbled. But if you wanna see, you'll have to roll the shirt up yourself. I'm not of much help, I'm afraid." Alexis did what Kate asked for. She bunched up the fabric just under Kate's neck and shrieked. Kate's left shoulder blade was red and swollen. Parts of it had already begun to glimmer in a sickening green or blue.
"Oh my …" Alexis brushed her fingertips across the discolored skin as lightly as possible.
"It's not broken or sprained, it was just dislocated.", Kate said. "Already popped it back into place myself. It just hurts like a bitch because the muscles are stiff as hell and the heating pack I applied to it didn't help."
Alexis got an idea. "So basically, we just have to make sure the muscles relax for the pain to subside ?" Kate nodded. "Yep. But I didn't have any muscle relaxants at home and I didn't want to bother Lanie."
Alexis shook her head. "Turn around, please."
"I beg your pardon ?"
"You heard me just right, Kate. Turn around. And it would also be beneficial if you could take down your bra straps. Do it as far as you can, I'll be back."
Alexis vanished for half a minute and returned with a small bottle of what looked like oil. Kate's eyebrows rose up.
"And what do plan on doing ?"
Alexis rolled her eyes in a manner she had obviously adopted from her dad and sat down next to Kate "What do you think ? I'm gonna give you a massage. And now-" Instead of talking, Alexis got rid of Kate's top and brushed the bra straps down her shoulders. Kate was frozen in place and in no position to object. She kept still, even as Alexis tied her ponytail into a messy up-do so it wouldn't be in the way and started to pour some oil onto the now exposed skin.
"Are you sure ?", Kate asked timidly. "I don't want to make you do things you're not comfortable with or – or – oh fuck."
At the end of the sentence, Kate had to bite down on her tongue to make sure she would not moan. But she lost that battle quickly when Alexis' surprisingly strong hands began kneading her shoulders, the thumbs rubbing her neck at the same time. Alexis barely suppressed a smirk playing across her lips. She had imagined those sounds coming from the detective's mouth for a long time. But actually hearing them now, even though in a slightly different context, was so much better.
"Oh my god, Alexis." Alexis felt the blood pooling in her lower belly. "Who taught you this ?"
Alexis smiled coyly. "Dad often suffers from back pain when he sits in his chair for hours while he's writing. And he can be a pain in the ass about it. So I taught myself some techniques to shut him up before he could start the top notch whining."
Kate laughed huskily.
"Would you like to lay down ? It would help me work out the kinks in your entire back, not just your shoulders." Alexis moved to stand up and Kate didn't hesitate to lay down, arms folded beneath her head.
"You really are a miracle worker, Alexis. Just be mindful of your own back, even though I wouldn't mind helping you out as well." Kate's tone had turned somewhat flirty during that comment and Alexis blushed furiously. Kate's hands running over her hot, naked body … just the imagination made her wet.
"I know how to prevent that. May I ?" Kate nodded and Alexis carefully climbed on top of Kate. After a bit of shuffling, she sat safely on Kate's butt. "Perfect. Now close your eyes and relax." Alexis took the time to switch off the TV program and activated the music player. A few seconds later, soft piano music played out of the speakers and Kate closed her eyes. Alexis' hands found all the right spots and seemed to know just how to work them. Kate had long since given up to try and suppress her moans. The stiffness and pain finally subsided and were replaced by pure bliss.
"Holy fuck … Alexis – I o-owe you something. Big time." Alexis answered by shaking her head and smiling softy.
"No, you don't, Kate. I like being able to help. And if I can help you with something as simple as a back massage, I'm glad to do it. Speaking of it, anything else that hurts ?"
Kate couldn't fight it this time; her face and neck flushed beet-red. "No, that's it."
Alexis' left eyebrow almost disappeared into her hairline. "Haven't you learned what it means to hide the truth from me yet ? Come on, where is it ?" Kate mumbled something under her breath Alexis couldn't quite make out but she was sure she heard the word "legs" somewhere. "Okay, no big deal. Gimme a second." Alexis climbed down from Kate's ass and stood next to the couch. "Turn around and spread your legs."
If possible, Kate's face became of an even darker red. "W-What ?" Her palms became wet and she resisted the urge to wipe them on her jeans.
"I asked you to lay on your back and spread your legs. Hmm, wait. You can't wear your jeans during this." And for the third time this evening, Alexis was off to another room. This time however, it took her several minutes to return. When she finally came back, she held a pair of black sport shorts. Kate gulped audibly. These things wouldn't even reach her mid-thigh. "Change. They should fit.", Alexis said and threw the shorts at her. Kate caught them in one hand and quickly shimmied out of her jeans. As she slipped on the shorts, she noticed Alexis had been watching her the whole time. When she had pulled the new pants all the way up, she sat back down and watched Alexis expectantly. "Lay down flat on your back and spread your legs a little." Kate did as she was told to and Alexis sat down in between her feet.
"Don't worry, I showered before coming here.", Kate joked.
"I do hope so. Relax and let me work my magic again." Kate's eyes fell shut and shortly after, she felt Alexis starting to work on her right foot. "Are you ticklish ? Or do I have to be mindful of any old injuries ?"
Kate sighed and whispered: "Just my right knee. I played baseball during my time at the police academy and tore a ligament during a game when I tried to reach the home base in time. I had to have surgery afterwards, but I scored the final point for my team and we won."
Alexis laughed loudly. "I see you haven't changed much over the past years."
Alexis resumed her task and her fingers caressed Kate's calf. She still had a hard time grasping the fact that she sat here and the woman she had been secretly in love with for the past year sat next to her, almost naked, and she was touching her the whole time. Suddenly, Alexis got an awry feeling inside her gut. She had expected Kate to trust her. And trust her she did. Otherwise, Kate surely wouldn't sit here only being clad in a bra and skimpy shorts. Wasn't it wrong of Alexis to feel her up like this when Kate thought she just took care of her broken body ? She felt like a teenage boy feeling up a drunken party girl. She paused. She couldn't do this. Not like that. Not without Kate knowing the truth. Kate was such an amazing, loving woman. She owed her this much.
"Hey Kate, can I ask you something ?" Kate's eyes opened. This sounded serious.
"Of course you can. What do you wanna talk about ?"
Alexis seemed to have taken a sudden interest in her soda glass. Even though Kate still felt an uncomfortable amount of tension in her back, she sat up to see eye to eye with Alexis. "Alexis ? Come on, talk to me. You can tell me everything, you know that."
The Young woman still seemed unsure about voicing her question. Suddenly, she blurted: "May I kiss you, Kate ?"
Silence.