Author's Note: Ever since the Knockdown kiss way back when, I wanted Esposito and Ryan to find out about it because I thought it'd make for some great humor at Caskett's expense. When this idea started floating around in my head a couple of nights ago, I just had to write it out. I always try to keep the characters, well, in character and I try not to make them say or do things that they wouldn't normally do; that's something that is very important to me. I hope you guys like it, reviews are always appreciated, and thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: [Insert clever line about how I don't own the characters here]

It was one of those rare, slow days at the 12th precinct. The team had closed a fairly simple murder-suicide the previous afternoon. Evidence was in storage, the murder board was wiped clean, and all that was left was the paperwork, which Beckett was filling out now. Castle was sitting in his chair at the side of her desk, watching her as intently as if she were performing brain surgery. He used to go home when there was no case to be solved. Now he was there every day, no matter what, watching her. Kate thought he must have run out of things to do at home... Who was she kidding? She knew exactly why he was there all of the time.

It was early evening, the sun just starting to set, and pretty much everybody else had gone home. Even Gates had packed it in early, headed off to some town meeting. Ryan and Esposito were both stationed at Javier's desk, watching some ridiculous cat video online. When they were through with that, Ryan stood up. "We should do something. Play a drinking game," he joked. Castle brightened up at the suggestion. Although he could stare at Kate all day, his butt was starting to fall asleep. "Yeah we should!" he answered excitedly. Beckett did her signature eye roll, but she couldn't quite fight off the smile that crept to her lips.

"Bro, we're still technically on duty. Ryan was joking, we can't play a drinking game," Esposito pointed out. "I know that. We don't have to use alcohol. How about some of Officer Preston's vegetable juice?" Ryan and Esposito both made a face at the suggestion but agreed to play for lack of anything better to do. Officer Preston was obsessesd with fad diets. This week it was vegetable juice. He had about three jugs of it in the break room refrigerator and it was his day off, so he wasn't around to notice when Castle swiped them.

When he returned with two of the three containers of vegetable juice and some paper coffee cups, Castle turned to Beckett. "Are you gonna come play?" he asked, his eyes twinkling and full of hope. "Sorry Castle, unlike you three, I actually have some work left to finish. I'll just listen and observe," she replied. "Suit yourself," Castle said as he pulled his chair over to where Ryan and Esposito were already seated.

"So what game are we playing?" Esposito questioned. "How about 'Never Have I Ever,'" Castle suggested. "Never heard of it," Ryan said. "Me neither, bro," Esposito concurred. "When Alexis was younger, she'd come home from school upset because the mean girls used to use this game to create drama," Castle started to explain. "They didn't drink, obviously," he added after seeing the looks Ryan and Esposito were giving him. "Anyway, every time she would tell me about it, I would think about how it would make a good drinking game." Beckett again rolled her eyes. Leave it to Castle to be thinking up drinking games while his daughter was trying to tell him about girl drama. It was amazing that Alexis had turned out to be such a good kid...

"Okay, fine how do we play?" Ryan asked. "Everybody takes a turn. They have to say a statement starting with 'never have i ever' such as, 'Never have I ever dated an older woman.' Anyone who has done that, takes a drink. If you're the only one drinking, you need to give an explanation about the details," Castle explained. Ryan started off. "Never have I ever been arrested." Castle immediately lifted his cup to his lips, wincing as he swallowed a glob of vegetable juice. Beckett laughed back at her desk. "Castle, shouldn't you have to drink for every time you've been arrested? If that's the case, you're gonna need to pour yourself another cup," she called to him. "Ha ha, very funny Beckett. Not for every time, but if it makes you happy, I'll drink for every time you arrested me, because all those times were so much fun." He took another three sips as Beckett completed yet another eye roll. Castle wondered if her eyes ever got tired from doing that so much.

"Alright, Castle, time to spill the details about all of these arrests," Esposito said. "Ah yes, well, there's disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, stealing a police vehicle, indecent exposure, public nudity. Then the lovely Detective Beckett here arrested me for felony theft and obstruction of justice the first time I met her, and then of course there were those fun times when you, Beckett, and Annie Oakley arrested me, twice might I add, for murder," Castle ticked off each time on his fingers as he listed them. "Must we still call me Annie Oakley? You were armed!" Ryan complained.

Esposito went next. "Never have I ever told a girl I was gay to avoid a date." Ryan and Castle both grimaced and took a sip. "Really?" Esposito asked. "Both of you?" "Come on Espo, is it really that hard to believe that people would buy it?" Beckett jokingly asked. Ryan and Castle gave her fake dirty looks. The game went on for about another hour before the boys had started to run out of things to ask. Beckett was long done with the paperwork and there was only half a container of vegetable juice left.

With still a half hour left on the clock before the detectives could go home, they had started asking ridiculous questions that obviously nobody would have done. "Never have I ever made out with Iron Gates," Esposito blurted out. Beckett was starting to think they might really be drunk despite the lack of alcohol... "Never have I ever kissed Beckett," Ryan laughed.

Beckett's eyes widened as Castle's cup made it halfway to his lips. He froze. His back was to Beckett but he could feel her glare as it bore through his back. Ryan and Esposito were silent. Everybody turned to look at Castle, his hand still frozen with the paper cup in it, halfway between his lap and his mouth. He was terrified to turn around; he knew what look would be on Beckett's face. He hadn't been thinking. They had been playing for so long it had just been instinctive. He wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this one.

Esposito finally spoke up. "So Castle, since you are the only one about to take a drink, maybe you could put that cup of yours down and tell us about it." He hadn't even realized he was still holding his cup. He placed it down on Esposito's desk beside him. "I didn't take a drink," Castle said, unconvincingly. "Yes but you were very clearly going to," Ryan added.

"It was undercover!" Beckett groaned from her desk. "In fact, if it didn't happen, you too would probably be dead thanks to Lockwood! There was a guard at the door, there was no way we were gonna get past him if he knew we were cops. Well, knew that I was a cop. Anyway, we pretended we were a tipsy couple and I knocked him out when he turned around to walk away." She left out the part about how amazing that kiss was and how she thought about it all the time.

"So you couldn't play tipsy couple without making out?" Esposito smirked. "We didn't make out," Beckett whined. "We kinda did..," Castle muttered. Beckett shot him another look. "Oh look what time it is," Ryan said as he stood and dragged his chair back to his desk. "We can all go home now." Esposito followed Ryan's example as he too stood and pulled his chair to his desk. "See you guys tomorrow. Better watch out for the guard for this building, you may have to 'act like a tipsy couple' to get past him," Esposito joked as he grabbed his coat.

While Ryan and Esposito were gathering their things, Castle stood and walked over to Beckett. "I'm really sorry, I wasn't thinking, it just happened," he blurted out. "Yeah well, thanks to you we're gonna get made fun of forever now. Especially from Ryan, he still gets flustered about that Annie Oakley thing and now he has something to make fun of us for." Beckett was trying to sound serious but Castle could see how hard she was trying to fight back a smile. "Well, I think I know how to make it up to you...," Castle said with a grin. "Oh, and how's that?" "You could come over for dinner. We can order whatever you want." Beckett glanced down to her feet and then back up to Castle. "Okay but I don't know if that will cut it Castle, we might have to go out for ice cream later too," Beckett beamed. "Your wish is my command," Castle said as he swept the now empty vegetable juice containers and paper cups into the trash.

They walked to the elevator and waited for it to come back up. Esposito and Ryan had just gone down. When it returned, the two of them stepped inside. Beckett hit the button for the first floor. Castle turned to her. "I know I already apologized, but I really am sorry. I'll talk to the guys and tell them not to bring it up." "Don't worry Castle, the only way to make them stop making fun about that is to give them something better to talk about." "And how do we do that?" he asked as the doors opened, not sure where this was going. Ryan and Esposito were chatting outside on the sidewalk just outside the doors. "Easy," Beckett said as she closed the distance between herself and Castle and pressed her lips to his, locking her arms around his neck. She pulled away and headed for the door. "Well that was one way to give them something better," Castle said, half to Beckett, half to himself. He hurried after her as she pushed through the doors. Ryan and Esposito stared in silence. "Goodnight guys, see you tomorrow," Beckett said as she headed down the sidewalk to catch her and Castle a cab like nothing had just happened.

Once inside the cab, Castle looked at Beckett. "So was that really just about shocking the guys, because it felt like a lot more then just shocking the guys." Beckett smiled at how hard Castle was trying to regain his composure. She had totally thrown him off guard. "That was about me letting you know that I'm done making you wait for me. I'm ready for this, for us." Castle smiled. "And I really did enjoy shocking the guys. You know, a killing two birds with one stone kind of thing," she joked as she placed her hand on his thigh.

Castle laughed. "So I was thinking Chinese for dinner," he said. "Sounds great."

THE END