I admit: I love Alexis and Kate fluff.
I do not own Castle, but all mistakes are mine.
*Moved from Anything Goes.
"Kate!" Alexis cried out as she barreled herself through the loft door, remembering - just barely - to close it behind her as she hurried across the room and fell onto the couch beside the brunette.
"Alexis? Hey, sweetie. What's wrong?" Kate's voice oozed with concern as she placed aside the book she had been reading, turning her full attention to the young redhead.
"I can not stand boys, at all. They should all be sent to live in Canada." She let out a frenzied breath as she let herself turn on the couch and her head fall into the other's lap. She crossed her arms over her chest as she shut her eyes tight, begging her mind to calm down.
"What'd Ashley do?"
"He will not leave me alone! We have different Spring Breaks this year and his is this week and, of course, it's the week that I have midterms. I need to study and he wants to hang out. I love him and it's adorable that he wants to be there but, my gosh."
She pushed out another breath as she felt the detective chuckle underneath her, her eyes flashing open to give her a dirty look. She watched as the smile immediately fell from the older woman's face to be replaced with concern.
"Have you tried talking to him?"
"I did. And he said he understood but it took him about two hours before he was right beside me again asking if I wanted to go out to eat."
"Are you making sure to eat while studying? We both know how you are.." Kate raised an eyebrow, studying Alexis' face for signs of lying.
"Well.. I mean, I had a few crackers around lunchtime but I guess not. No." The frown that graced her lips looked guilty as she rubbed at her eyes, trying to give her a moment to rethink this information.
"He's just looking out for you, Lex. I'm sure he also just wants to spend time with you, but he's been around almost as long as I have and he just knows how you are. When you get in that study-zone of yours, you don't stop or think about eating."
Alexis sighed as she felt Kate's fingers make their way through her hair, her body relaxing just a little more at the comfort that came from this.
"You're right. Now I feel horrible."
"Don't. Trust me. That boy is crazy about you, he just wants you to be okay." Kate smiled as she continued to run her fingers through the red locks, knowing the calming effect it had on her. "You're just like your dad - anytime he has a bad day, or we have a rough case, all I have to do is rub his hair."
"Speaking of dad," Alexis crossed her legs as she stared up at the ceiling now. "Where is he? I expected him to be here."
"He went to kidnap Lily so Ryan and Jenny could go out tonight. He should be back soon, though."
"I miss you guys," Lex started quietly as she turned slightly to get a better view of Kate, wrapping her arm around the woman's waist. "I was so used to dad being there, and you too."
"We miss you too, Lex. Your poor dad didn't know what to do with himself after we got back from dropping you off, he sulked around the house for days. I thought we were going to have to move in to the dorms with you for a while there."
"I always knew he would take it bad, I guess I just didn't know how bad. I'm glad you were here to hold him together."
The two smiled at each other for a moment before Kate's phone started ringing, her eyes flashing her apology as she reached over and grabbed it. Glancing only briefly at the caller ID, she smiled and showed Alexis the word 'Rick' before answering.
"What did you do?"
Alexis smirked as she settled in to listen to the one-sided conversation, her mind no longer racing as she simply allowed herself to soak in the calmness that Kate presented.
"He did what? No way, Jenny would so not let him do that." The brunette's eyes widened as she shook her head with laughter etched on her face. "Please tell me you're calling Esposito next. Good. Oh, by the way. You have a present waiting for you when you get home."
The smile came back to the redhead's lips before turning into a look of mock horror at Kate's next words.
"No, Rick. Not that kind of present. It's in human form." The detective rolled her eyes as she patted Alexis' arm. "You won't know until you get here. Yeah, okay. Love you too. Bye."
"He thought you were waiting for him, didn't he? In the sense of very little clothing and.. Just, ew. You two are babysitting tonight!" Alexis shuddered at the thought before composing herself, looking up at the woman.
"It seems that we aren't. Ryan somehow managed to slam into the wall in his stairwell as he was showing Lily why she couldn't ride the banister down like Uncle Ricky." Kate rolled her eyes as she placed her phone back on the table. "He broke his nose so they had to go to the hospital and won't be going out tonight."
"That sounds more of a dad story than a Detective Ryan story. Are you sure dad won't be coming home with a busted up nose?"
"He better not," the brunette said sternly before pursing her lips together. "He's going to stay at the hospital until Ryan gets discharged to watch Lily while Jenny stays in back with Ryan and then he said he'd grab something to eat before heading home."
Alexis simply nodded before letting her eyes close, her body slowly giving in to the sleep that she desperately needed from studying for two days straight.
"Can I stay the night?"
"Lex," Kate poked her nose before smiling. "This is your home, too, you know. Just because you go off to college doesn't mean you can't come back."
"I know, I just.." The redhead sighed before pushing her eyes open to look up at the woman she had came to love and respect. "It's nice to be home for the night."
"You're always welcomed here, no matter what."
Alexis nodded as she allowed her eyes to close again, the warmth of Kate's body only encouraging the sleep that wanted to overtake her body. She felt the older woman's fingers in her hair again, a soft sigh escaping her lips.
"I love you, Kate. Thank you. For.. Everything." The words were murmured but filled with emotion as she curled up, her breathing slowing.
Kate smiled, reaching behind her to pull the cover from the back of the couch before covering the sleeping body. Leaning down, she pressed a soft kiss to her temple as she went back to running her fingers through her hair - content with just sitting there and enjoying the quiet.
"I love you too, Lex."