A/N: A huge big thank you to twistymaven aka liviafan1 for both the idea and the betaing! You are the best! I hope everyone likes.
Castle looked sad.
Of course, things had been so weird between them lately that she wondered if it had to do with her. He was by her side again but things were…awkward to say the least.
She leaned forward in her chair slightly, wondering if she should ask him what was wrong. She fiddled with her pen, staring at the paperwork in front of her. Decision made, she reached out and touched the sleeve of his shirt, pulling him away from his deep thoughts.
"You okay?" she asked softly.
He started to nod and then sighed.
"It's just….Alexis."
She waited for him to continue, her fingers curling around his arm. She needed him to know that she was there. Plus, she needed to make things right between them although she wasn't quite sure how.
He sighed once more and then explained.
"She won't play laser tag with me anymore."
That was not what she was expecting him to say. She knew that he was worried about her going off to college but laser tag?
"She said she's not going to Columbia or NYU because she'd be home all the time." He paused. "And she won't play laser tag with me anymore. Said we 'need to be adults'."
Her heart clenched at the forlorn expression on his face.
"She's growing up I know." he continued. "But I just thought there would still be time for us."
"I'm sorry Castle." She squeezed his arm and he glanced over at her, as if he just realized that she was touching him. She let go and picked up her pen again, watching him slump a bit further in his chair.
It wasn't enough. He needed more from her. The synergy of their partnership was completely off and while she wasn't quite sure how to go about fixing that, she could do this one thing for him to make him feel better.
She stood up and reached for her coat, trying to ignore the fact that it was 2pm on a Thursday afternoon.
"C'mon."
He looked up at her in surprise and then stood, grabbing his jacket and following her to the elevators. They passed a surprised Esposito who simply nodded when she asked him to cover for them.
Both the elevator and the car were filled with silence. The tension that had swirled around them in the last few weeks had not dissipated and as Beckett drove she wondered if she was making the right decision.
As she pulled up to his place, she steadied her resolve.
"Uh, Beckett?" he asked. "Any reason why we are here?"
"You'll see, she replied cryptically, leading him up to the loft. She waited for him to unlock the door and followed him inside, heading straight for his office.
She found what she was looking for and turned, bumping into him as he barrelled into the office.
"Geez, Castle, I was coming right out. Did you think I was snooping?"
She saw his tense expression fade away.
"Err…no… just…the new book; I didn't want you to see yet."
She flicked a glance at the papers on his desk before holding up the items in her hand.
"Wanna play?"
He looked down at the laser tag equipment she was holding and back up to her face, a grin spreading across his own.
He nodded and she handed him his vest while slipping on the one usually reserved for Alexis.
"I have to warn you Detective Beckett. I win every time."
She scoffed. "Please Castle, I'm sure Alexis kicks your ass."
He went around and turned down all of the lights and shut the blinds and soon the vests were being activated and the game had begun.
At first they were hesitant, unsure of how much fun to have together. They hadn't laughed and smiled and joked in so long that it was almost like starting all over again. But slowly as they started to stalk each other across the apartment, they began to have fun.
"So am I the Rebel Alliance or the Empire?" she shouted, before quickly changing her position so he wouldn't know where she was. Currently she was crouched behind the piano in the living room, waiting for him to appear within her sight.
"It's the forces of Voltar and you are the rebel scum." Came back the muffled reply. She smiled, creeping forward a bit to see if she could ascertain his position. She heard a squeak on the floor and immediately launched herself forward, shooting at the now moving target in front of her. She slunk down behind the couch, knowing that he didn't have anywhere to go without being caught in her line of sight.
She suspected he was near the bookcases and she inched herself over to the right arm of the couch. He was there all right. She could see his bare feet poking out from beside them and she knew it was time to make her move.
She looked around for something to distract him with and settled on the book resting on the coffee table. Getting down on her stomach she slunk along the floor, hoping he wouldn't see her.
"So are you the king of Voltar?" she asked, her hand reaching out and grabbing the book. She scooted back behind the couch, as he responded with an affirmative. The question had distracted him.
Now it was time for phase two.
She tossed the book up in the air and heard him move forward. In that second she stood up and shot him dead center, his lights dying on his vest.
"Yes!" she shouted. "Gotcha Castle."
"That was unfair. That was totally my trick."
But he wasn't pouting. He was grinning from ear to ear and as they stood there for a moment, staring at the smiles on each other's faces the tension started to drift away.
It wasn't everything.
But today, maybe it was just what they needed.