Something quick that just kinda spewed out of me, if you'll forgive that metaphor.
Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, I just like bossing them around.
The hour hand on the clock had long since inched its way past the twelve and was now hanging, almost upside down, while the other hands spun lazily around it. Castle sat at his desk, laptop and eyes open, fingers poised above the keyboard even though he could barely remember when he had last typed anything.
A document, entitled 'Frozen Heat', was open, but completely blank.
In fact, it had been in this state for months. And tonight, not for the first time, Castle had made a deal with himself. He had sworn that until he had written the first chapter, he could not go to bed. Or allow himself to nod off on the welcoming keyboard.
Needless to say, this was not the first sleepless night he had had.
But despite this promise, Castle's mind was not on Nikki. He was calculating, his eyes out of focus as they poured through memories of the last few years. Each time, he arrived at the same conclusion. The same thought.
And now, his fingers knew what to type.
He was a writer, he didn't like to keep his feelings bottled up inside. Instead, he poured them out on to the page, offloaded them. It cleared his head. He had been doing so for years, but somehow it wasn't enough anymore. The words that left his head for the soft glow of his computer screen were not free, just in a different prison.
I love her.
The cursor blinked lazily. As if asking him what came next. He didn't know. But he knew that he couldn't keep these words locked up forever. Time to act. Tomorrow, he thought, then remembered the time and corrected himself. Today. Today, I'll tell her I love her.
Castle smiled, and rested his head on his closed laptop, and said softly, 'chapter one.'
I hope you liked it! Oh, and, this is the part where I shamelessly beg for reviews.