AN: I know this is a little different, but I wanted to have some fun with Castle and Beckett finding other ways to settle minor issues besides laser tag, see my other story Totally Inappropriate, and this is what I came up with. I am rating this T for suggestive situations and language. I do not own Castle, the characters etc., add in all the other usual disclaimers here.

Thank you to Tammy for the use of her fantastic fan art - you can find her on twitter at Tamiie_ or Tumblr at tammycoccinella. tumblr

And to JoanaCTeixeira for your photoshop skills!

Please note that words in italics are coming from the game itself, virtual characters, misc. voices over the phone, police radio etc., not Castle and Beckett. This will probably end up being about 3-4 chapters total. Constructive reviews are always welcome and appreciated.

Stretching her arms and legs, back arching, a small smile pulls at the corner of her lips; Saturday, her first one off in what feels like an eternity. Her eyes slowly flutter open, the sunlight shining in through the blinds creating shadows, thin strips of darkness that fall across her skin. Raising a hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn, her eyes come to rest upon the shadow box on the wall, their shells; Mrs. Castle, she can't believe that in less than a year they would be married. If someone had told her five years ago she would be engaged to Richard Castle, she would have laughed hysterically and called for a psych eval., but now she can't wait.

A light coating of frost on the window pane, a signal that the weather man was correct for once, today was predicted to be a cold day, a perfect day to stay in bed; and if she was going to stay in bed, she could definitely think of something or more specifically, someone to do. Inwardly groaning at her horrible pun, her left hand slowly sweeps the bed behind her, the sheets surprisingly cold to the touch. Umm, now that is odd, it's not like Castle to be up before her, especially if she has a day off. The heels of her hands rise up to rub away the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes, the distinct sound of mumbling coming from the office catches her attention. Pausing to indulge in one last stretch, throwing back the comforter, she grabs her robe from the chair beside the bed, heads towards the office and pulls open the door.

"Castle! Have you been playing that game all night?

Nothing, not a response at all, his fingers beating out a steady rhythm on the buttons of the controller, eyes glued firmly to the screen in front of him. Glancing around the room, her eyes take in the discarded candy wrappers, numerous empty soda bottles and his disheveled appearance; she doesn't need him to answer, he most definitely had. Spinning on the spot, all previous thoughts of doing anything even remotely related to spending the day in bed with him has been replaced with all the ways she could kill him instead. She heads to her dresser and grabs her jogging gear, dressing quickly, spurred on by the frustration pumping through her, she straps her IPod to her arm and heads back into the office.

"Castle, I am going for a run...naked."

"Ummm...sounds great, take a coat."

"I may be gone awhile, I saw Demming yesterday and he asked if I wanted to have coffee."

Her mouth agape, as she watches the scene before her unfold; without even a glance in her direction, he waves a hand at her in dismissal.

"Alright have a good time"

Closing her eyes, she draws in a deep calming breath, counts to ten and exhales it slowly. Fore finger and thumb squeeze the bridge of her nose, her eyes once again scan the disaster that used to be his office and she feels the pressure of a headache starting to build just behind her eyes. Forcibly tearing her gaze away from the aftermath of Hurricane Castle, she strides across the room, carefully avoiding the trash that litters the floor, grabbing his ear and twisting.

Gasping, startled by her touch, his whole body shifting away, his free hand flying up to cover his heart. "Owww..Apples! Apples! Geez Beckett, way to give me a heart attack", but as his eyes meet her murderous gaze, suddenly a heart attack seems like a pleasant way to go. He's seen that look before, where was that again, that's right, Animal Planet, right before the lion took down that poor gazelle, a shudder travels through his body as he recalls the scene.

Straightening up, she releases his ear from her vice like grip, placing her free hand on her hip, the toe of her Nike tapping against the hard wood floor in annoyance.

"Castle! Did you hear a word I said?"

Removing the headset and dropping the controller, giving himself the extra few seconds to come up with an answer, to a question he didn't hear, and from the look on her face he's relatively sure she knows he didn't hear it either. No matter, he can do this, its morning, it's Beckett, and he vaguely remembers the topic of coffee and going out; he goes with the odds.

"Yeah I heard you, coffee sounds great and could you grab me a bear claw?"

Well at least the video game has not completely destroyed every brain cell, although, he missed the naked jog and coffee with Demming, so maybe she should be slightly concerned about partial brain damage. Storing that thought for another time, right now she needs to either shoot him or go for a run; weighting her options for far longer than she would ever admit, the latter seems to be the best choice; if only to avoid the tricky body disposal issue. Arms crossed over her chest, head tilted slightly, she gives him her best eye roll.

"You know what Castle; I was going to ask you to "warm" me up this morning, but seeing as you're going to be too busy cleaning up this mess." Her hand gestures in a sweeping motion around the room. "I will warm up on a run instead."

At the sound of the front door slamming shut, he rises up from his seated position on floor, and heads into the kitchen to grab a garbage bag; he really did make a mess. His knee protests with each bend as he gathers up the miscellaneous wrappers and discarded bottles carelessly tossed in his video game haze. Chucking the last piece into the bag, he collapses with a grunt onto the sofa, relaxing back into the cushy surface. A quick glance at the clock perched on his desk; he surmises that it will be at least an hour before Beckett will return from her run. Running his fingers along his jaw, the rough stubble scraping along the pads of his fingers; perhaps a shower and shave is in order. Pushing himself up and off the sofa, his eyes fall to the soft glow emanating from the buttons on the controller, the green power button pulsing, his fingers twitch in synch with its steady beat. Like a sirens song drawing him in, bewitched, he sinks slowly to the floor, grabs the controller and depresses the play button.

Stepping off the elevator and releasing the Velcro strap on her iPod armband, she fishes her key out of the hidden compartment on the back. Inhaling a deep breath, as she slides the key into the lock, silently praying that he is not in the exact the same place she left him in an hour ago.

"Oh my god Castle! What is it with that idiotic game anyway?"

His whole body flinches at the sound of her voice; his head snaps back, the controller momentarily bounces in his hand, eyes wide in shock. "Holy shit Beckett!" Blowing out a quick breath, his heart beats a thundering staccato in his chest. "This is the second time today you have almost given me a heart attack! Seriously, I need to put a bell on you!" Pausing, he draws in long breath, feels the adrenaline draining from his body, his heart slowly returning to its normal rhythm. "And for your information, Gangster City is not "idiotic", it's awesome! It is going to be the next big thing, I am sure of it. You just don't want to play because you know I would beat you mercilessly. This game requires hand to eye coordination, quick reflexes and the ability to think on the fly."

"Really Castle? You do realize that you just described all the things I do on a daily basis, I am a cop remember?"

"Well, you have been sending Espo and Ryan out to do all the work lately, maybe your skills are getting a little…rusty."

"Rusty! Alright Castle you are on, but let's make this interesting, when I win and I will, I get to pick our honeymoon location and….no more video games on my days off. And by the way, the only thing that is rusty is the shovel I am going to use to dig your grave after I beat you."

"And when I win, and of this I have no doubt, I get to pick the honeymoon location and your "attire" for the trip."

Squinting her eyes, brow furrowing, teeth sunk deeply into her lower lip, he can tell he's losing her, just one last push.

"Of course you could just concede defeat before we even start Beckett, save yourself the humiliation of losing to a civilian. I have the TheBootyBoutique. com book marked; I saw a few items that caught my eye last time I was there."

"You're on Writer-boy!"

His excitement barely contained, he leans over and begins digging into the box on his left.

"This is going to be awesome Beckett! Since you are going to play with me, we will be using the two players setting which means I will get to test out the virtual glasses."

"Easy Kitten, it's just a game and after ignoring me this morning you better enjoy it, I have a feeling this is the only "play" time you will be getting any time soon."

"First of all Beckett, don't be jealous, your still my favorite toy, and secondly; Gangster City is not just a game, it is the latest in virtual gaming technology, a true 3D experience, not even on the market yet, prototype actually, but lucky for me, I know a guy."

"Yes, "lucky" is exactly how I feel having been sucked into your gaming extravaganza and on my first Saturday off in forever. I am curious though, seeing as you are probably easily approaching hour ten of your gaming marathon, can you actually still feel your ass, or have you crossed the threshold of fond memories of ever actually having one."

"Your concern for my ass is touching detective, but you may want to pay attention here so you don't get yours handed to you in the game."

"Ugh... go on Castle, but maybe you could pick up the pace a tad, you are not getting any younger."

"Big talk from someone I caught checking for grey hairs yesterday."

"I was most certainly not Castle! Maybe you should get your eyes checked, you know at your age glaucoma, cataracts, and host of other eye issues are always possible."

"You know you are really killing the mood here Beckett."

"Welcome to my world"

"What?"

"Nothing, please, by all means continue."

Raising a questioning eyebrow, knowing she said something, but choosing to leave the battle for game time, he continues.

"When you put these glasses on, the image on the lens is the game, the image you would normally see on the television. Just like real life, we will not be able to see each other until we are occupying the same area, like a street, building etc. You control your characters movements with this controller and you can interact and communicate with me, and the coolest part is you are able to interact with the virtual characters as well through the headset."

"Maybe they will actually pay attention when I talk."

"Very funny Detective, are you done interrupting me?"

"Continue Castle, I am listening to you, unlike some people, I pay attention when you talk."

"The red bottom fires your weapons, blue cycles through your inventory; guns, wardrobe, etc. The knob controls character movement, and if you flip the controller up towards you it becomes a steering wheel. I am going to set it for a custom match, three kills to win, and full weapons."

"Now for the fun stuff, you want to be the cop or gangster Beckett?"

Dropping heavily down next to him, flattening her palms to the floor, she pushes back, stretches her long limbs straight out in front of her, grabs the controller and relaxes back into the couch.

"Cop, definitely."

"Then, that leaves me as the gangster. Are you sure Beckett? As a cop, civilian kills will take one of your lives. Gangsters and criminals are fair game, of course"

"Yes, plus it's been forever since I have arrested you personally, you know I am a sucker for nostalgia."

"If you want to use your handcuffs on me Detective, all you had to do was ask."

"Don't hold your breath Castle."

Snagging the controller from her, a menu pops up on the television, her virtual self taking shape with each click of the button. After cycling through various selections, even she has to admit that the likeness is uncanny. With a nod of satisfaction, mischievous twinkle in his eye he passes the controller back to her open hands.

"You named her Detective Heat? Really Castle, is that the best you can come up with?"

"Well Beckett, this is your virtual self, and seeing as Nikki is your alter ego per se, in the world that I write on paper, which is a virtual world unto itself, it's really the obvious choice."

"What! That doesn't make sense in the real or the virtual one."

Raising one sculpted eyebrow in challenge, she holds her hand out in front of her, palm up.

"Hand it over Castle."

Brow furrowed in concentration, her fingers begin taping a quick rhythm on the buttons, with a smug smile, she tosses the controller back at him.

"Ricky the Mouth?"

"Well Ricky, you talk too much in real life, so I have to assume your alter ego will talk too much in the virtual world as well, so clearly, it's the obvious choice."

"That made more sense when I said it."

"Let's just play...Ricky."

Stretching his legs out, and crossing them at the ankles, rolling his head on his shoulders, his finger hovers over the start button, with one last glance in her direction, he puts on the glasses as he simultaneously hits the start button.

Raising the glasses to her eyes, controller clutched in her hand, the scene opens before her, a police station, not unlike the 12th, other officers milling about, phones ringing, a hub of activity. She's mesmerized by the realism, the feeling as though she is actually in the game, the ringing of her desk phone draws her attention.

INTERIOR 6th PRECINCT

"Becke…..Heat!"

This is Dispatch; we have a 211S in progress at Grand Savings and Loan.

TBC

Additional AN: A 211S is a robbery alarm, silent. The TheBootyBoutique. com is from my other story Totally Inappropriate, if you want to go check it out. If you would like to follow me on twitter you can do so at Pak_321 I also have an additional twitter account where I use the quotes to recreate the scene from the show, twitter sized. You can follow that at Castleficlets Once again, thank you to TSHLW for the hours spent helping me put this story together, beta skills, story suggestions and encouraging me to keep going when I thought that this story was a little out there, even for a fanfic. My thanks KJF3333/Flashpoint, for putting up with reading multiple versions, your super ninja beta skills and story suggestions, you both are the best. And a shout out to at JoanaCTeixeira for taking the time to read my stories in advance and share her opinions, I appreciate it.