Disclaimer: Yeah, not mine, but they're so much fun to play with! ;)
Summary: First in the series as Castle and Beckett begin test the boundaries of their new relationship. Kate's first day back at the 12th.
A/N: Many thanks to my buddy, Li. :)
When Kate takes the coffee from Castle, he can barely hold the smile in as her fingers brush across his. She's always done this, but today, it's like new.
And in a way, it is.
He knows she picked up on his amusement, and gives him her death glare. At least, that's what he calls it. He can't help it; the glare is so hot, makes him want to take her right now, on her desk.
However, they made an agreement - No one can know their secret. So, yeah, jumping her in the middle of the bullpen on her first day back might not be a good idea.
It's kind of like pretending to be a spy, and Castle knows he can do this, or die trying. (Hopefully he won't have to do the latter.)
But teasing her now, knowing there will be some form of payback at the end of the day? Man, it's an awesome feeling, and he can't help himself.
"Sleep well last night, Detective? You look quite refreshed," he comments loudly and waits on her to come up with some sort of reply. He knows exactly how she slept; what position, where he kept finding her hands each time he woke up in the night...
Oh, and this look is priceless.
Kate answers, trying to mask the playful glimmer in her eye, "I slept fine, Castle. I had a little trouble sleeping at first, but when I tried re-reading Flowers for Your Grave, it worked perfectly. I was out by page five."
Wow. He didn't expect that sort of reply, and it actually stung a little.
"Really?" he asks, leaning slightly toward her. If he lets it show that her barb hit the mark, he'll lose this battle quick. "If you really wanted a good night's sleep, you could have tried reading Hell Hath No Fury. I've heard it'll knock you out by the second page."
"Self-depreciation doesn't become you, Castle." She smiles and leans back in her chair, stretching just right so her shirt tightens across her chest. That's an image he won't be able to get rid of any time soon. Kate's winning this little tiff, and she knows it.
She stopped stretching several seconds ago, and his eyes are still on her chest. Or, well, everywhere but her face, where he really should be paying attention.
"Hey!" she whispers, quietly trying to get his attention, "Quit!"
"Quit what?" he asked, also keeping his voice low, maybe adding that bedroom lilt to it he knows she enjoys so much. "It's not like I haven't always looked at you like this. You're just more aware of it now."
Castle starts to reach toward her, he really doesn't know why, but slams back against his chair when he hears Esposito approach.
"Here's the file you were looking for, Beckett," he says as he hands her the file.
Kate's perfectly composed, yet somehow manages to give Castle another warning glare. "Thanks, Espo. We got anything new?"
"Not at the moment," he answers, the expression on his face is one of suspicion as he glances from her to Castle. "We're waiting on the financials to come in and Ryan's still working on the security footage. He should be finished in about half an hour."
"Great. Let me know what he finds."
"Sure thing," he gives Castle a questioning look, then walks on to his desk.
When his eyes meet Kate's again, he can't help but laugh at the amount of irritation she's directing at him. "What?"
She drags a hand through her hair, and there's a spark of fire in her eyes. "You should really go home before you get us caught!"
"What, and miss this? You trying to keep it together, when you should just act like you always have? I don't think so." He smiles, knowing and loving how much all this means to her, because he completely gets it.
Kate rolls her eyes and places an errant lock of hair over her ear. She starts typing notes into the computer, never looking back at him, "Is this some kind of joke to you? Because, if it is, it's not funny."
He picks up where she's going, "Hey, you know me better than that. I'm just pulling your pigtails. You're the one who insulted my writing. I would never make a joke about something as amazing as what we have together."
He loves how she lifts that one eyebrow and studies him. Castle leans just a fraction closer to her and speaks quietly, "But it is very possible that I do enjoy pushing the limits and find it... very hot... and sexy... when you get angry."
Kate closes in, leaving mere inches between them. She glances at his lips as she whispers in some accent he can't identify because all the blood just rushed south. "And maybe when I tease?"
He forces his mouth to work. "Yeah," his voice cracks, and he clears his throat, "Yeah, especially when you tease."
The air just got thick and he needs to remember how to breathe.
"I should go," Castle jumps to his feet and takes his jacket from the back of his chair, tries not to make it obvious how careful he is to keep it folded over his arm and in front of him. "I... I've got, you know, writing... writing, yeah, I should be writing, and stuff. I should, yeah, I should go."
The smile Kate gives him is pure evil. "Well, if you really think you should," she says, sounding way too innocent to his ears.
Castle nods and makes a quick exit. He breathes a sigh of relief when he finds himself alone on the elevator. They really shouldn't play like this at the precinct, but it's just so much fun...
After a moment, his phone buzzes and he sees she's sent him a text message. He hopes he hasn't left anything there... he really doesn't want to go back into the bullpen today.
He opens the message and smiles.
Beckett 1, Castle 0