Laundry Date

Note: None of these characters are mine.


"Castle," Kate whined, coming to a halt in the middle of the sidewalk. "It's so hot out here!"

"Shush, Beckett," Castle said, grabbing her hand and tugging her along behind him. "You said I could take you out on a real first date, and damn it, a real first date is what you're going to get!"

Beckett made a show of dragging her feet. "I said that ten very, very hot blocks ago! I didn't mean today – I meant a day when it's not 103 degrees in the sun!"

"Open door…open door…box fans…open door," Castle muttered to himself as he marched past yet another block of restaurants with no air conditioning.

"Let's just go back to your apartment where it's cool!" Beckett pleaded. Castle shot her a glare over his shoulder as he charged on down the sidewalk. She shook her head but followed dutifully. "If you're going to keep this up, at least buy me an ice cream!"

"Beckett!" Castle stopped suddenly, causing Beckett to slam into him with a squeak of surprise. He put his hands on her shoulders and shook gently. "Four years waiting to take you out - I'm not going to wait one minute longer! We're going to have a real first date, with a real meal that doesn't start with dessert!"

Beckett quirked and eyebrow at him and he realized he'd been shouting a bit crazily. Flustered, he took a breath, wiped his sweaty forehead on his sleeve, and said quietly, "So if you please, keep the peanut gallery comments to a minimum."

"Aye, Aye, Captain." Amused at his manic determination, she tolerantly let him pull her along for another ten blocks. Halfway through the eleventh block, she suddenly tugged open the nearest door and pushed him through it. He gave an indignant shout of protest and then looked around, perturbed.

"Laundromat?"

Beckett shrugged and patted him on the chest. "It's the first closed door we've seen so far. Closed doors equal air conditioning. Air conditioning equals happiness."

"But –", Castle protested, but Beckett was already steering him towards a bank of chairs along the wall.

"Sit," Beckett ordered. Castle sat, pouting. She pointed a finger at him, "Stay." Beckett headed towards the back of the Laundromat, winking at him over her shoulder.

Two minutes later, she plopped cross-legged into the seat next to him, holding two bottles of water and a bag of mini Oreos. Beckett opened the cookies, perching the bag on his knee, and then handed him a bottle of water. She raised her water bottle, looking at him kindly, hopefully.

After a moment of indecision, Castle nodded. Smiling softly, he raised his bottle and tapped it to hers.

"To a perfect first date."


Thanks for reading!