She hears him do that obnoxious throat clearing thing that people do when they want to get your attention. She's not sure if she's ever thought it obnoxious before, but it definitely is now. That smirk grates on her nerves.

"Well, I guess this is it," she offers, trying to broadcast 'at least I didn't kill you.'

He doesn't seem to realize how fortunate he is. "It doesn't have to be, we could go to dinner. Debrief each other." Did he seriously just wiggle his eyebrows at me?

"Why Castle, so I can be another one of your conquests?" There's no need to lie to herself—she's loving the repartee. With Richard Castle. The Richard Castle whom she's idolized for so long. Although I don't know if that'll be the case from here on out…

"Or I could be one of yours," he replies, still dashingly handsome.

Even with his quirks and annoying habits and utter incompatibility, she really, really wants to say yes. She can already hear Lanie's disbelieving voice in her mind. Instead, she simply says, "It was nice to meet you, Castle."

"It's too bad. It would have been great."

She bites her lip, debating with her better self. She really, really shouldn't…but what the hell. She leans in, so close that she can smell what must be his cologne mixing with the perspiration of running. "You have no idea," she whispers.

And then, just for kicks, she struts a bit as she leaves him there, somewhat shell-shocked.

------

He already knew better than to expect any sort of recognition from this detective Kate Beckett. She was one of those super concentrating focused people.

Idly, he wondered if she even knew anything about him. He could see her as one of those disconnected, dedicated civil workers…maybe just dying for some outside interaction…

He cleared his throat to get her attention, but before he could speak she had already cut in.

"Well, I guess this is it."

He's seen enough coy behaviour to last him a lifetime. "It doesn't have to be, we could go to dinner. Debrief each other." Ooh, clever word play. It's been a while since he's managed to slip one of those into conversation.

"Why Castle, so I can be another one of your conquests?"

Well that debunked some of his earlier story. Time to salvage the situation, then. "Or I could be one of yours."

She looked amused at that, and he began cycling through his list of restaurants for a suitable venue. Something small, probably, not too noisy…he had a few questions for her, actually, and it would have to be someone where they could talk…

"It was nice to meet you, Castle."

A rejection! How novel. So she was just the stereotypical hardened detective, then, perfectly content to live at home with fifty cats. Pity, that. "It's too bad. It would have been great."

He has no idea why he threw that out there—normally, he loves seeing people fawn over that line. It's like women bait, completely irresistible.

But she leans in and whispers, "You have no idea," and suddenly his world shifts upside down.

And as she walks away, hips swaying, he realizes that Detective Kate Beckett is like no other woman he has ever met.