1. The Guitar Lesson

"Put my fingers here?" Castle asked, his hand bent in an awkward position as he tried to hold down all of the necessary strings to play the chord.

"Almost..." Kate said, grabbing hold of his index finger and stretching it out until it reached the next string over.

Castle grimaced, "This is extremely uncomfortable."

"I told you it wasn't easy, Castle," Kate smiled.

"I wasn't expecting it to be easy," Castle scoffed. "I just didn't think guitar lessons would be so painful."

"Are you giving up?" Kate asked as he let go of the strings he had been dutifully holding down.

"No," Castle said as he flexed his hand, "I'm just taking a break."

"Ok," Kate said, her eyebrow raised to accompany the amused smirk on her lips.

Castle cracked his knuckles, and grabbed the neck of the guitar once again, "Ready," he chirped.

"Ok, our next chord is an E-minor 7," Kate instructed. "Here, copy my fingers," she modelled her position for him to mimic.

"E-minor 7 sounds like a code word for some kinky sex position," Castle noted as he pulled his fingers into the right spot.

"Everything sounds bedroom related to you, Castle," Kate remarked sarcastically.

Castle strummed the chord, making Kate wince as the notes bent out of tune.

"It's ok," she said, "You're really close, you just need to put your middle finger here," she bent in towards him and adjusted his hand position, "And your pinkie here."

Castle leaned in and whispered, "Where does my pinkie go?"

Kate looked up at him, his features softened in the candlelit apartment. "Focus, Castle. You have five more minutes to get through. Then we can talk more about that," she said, her tone becoming increasingly seductive.

Castle shivered in anticipation, "Ok. Let me try again." This time he strummed the guitar, a perfect E-minor 7 chord.

"Wow," Kate said, a bit taken aback. "That was really good."

"Was it?" Castle murmured, leaning towards her.

"Mmhmm," Kate came towards him until their lips were almost touching. "Two more and you'll get a 'good-job' kiss," she pulled away.

"Tsk, tsk, Detective Beckett," Castle tutted, "Such a tease."

"I taught guitar to kids when I was a teenager; and out of all the complaining, bratty, spoiled nine-year-olds I dealt with, you win the prize for most difficult student," Kate said. "You know why?"

"I'm easily distracted?" Castle guessed, making eyes at Kate.

"You're lying," Kate said bluntly.

Castle sputtered, "Why Detective Beckett, I would never do such a thing!"

"Come on, Castle," Kate scoffed. "It's obvious you've been playing guitar for years."

"Damn it!" Castle slapped his knee good-naturedly. "What gave it away?"

"Only experienced guitar players have these blisters on their fingers," Kate said, pulling Castle's hand towards her and running her fingertips on the raised bumps dotting the top of his palm.

"Ok, you got me," Castle confessed, loving the feeling of Kate's fingers trickling over his. "I happen to be quite well-acquainted with this particular instrument," he said, dropping the I-don't-know-how-to-play-guitar hand position and adopting his own. He proceeded to strum at the guitar strings, playing a complicated, upbeat string of notes that he finished with a flourish of scales.

"Show-off," Kate smiled. "What was the purpose of the requested guitar lesson, then? Considering you're the real expert, of course."

Castle slid the guitar onto the ground and pulled Beckett into his grasp, "Isn't it obvious?" he kissed her.

"You know," Kate said between kisses, "You don't have to make up reasons to come over here," she moaned as he kissed her neck. "My door's always open."

"That was a very slutty thing for you to say," Castle breathed, continuing to kiss down her neck.

"Come on, Castle," she pulled him towards the bedroom. "Don't trip over the guitar."

Castle broke off his kissing session to ask, "Can I say something really corny right now?"

"That's never stopped you before," Kate smiled.

"Kate Beckett, let's make music together," Rick said.

"God, Castle. That was the worst line -" she was cut off by Castle pressing his lips on hers once more, and the pair made their way into the bedroom for the evening.


A/N: A short idea of what this non-linear fic will be like. Like it? Hate it? What could be better? Feel free to leave a review, or just continue reading :)

Chapter 2 preview: Kate's wisdom teeth extraction!