Hey folks! This is my entry for the Castle Writers Drabble Challenge. The aim was to write a story of maximum 500 words whilst repeating a certain word in every sentence. I chose the word 'ear'. Hope you like it.
A major thank you to Ky03elk for being understanding and supportive and cheering me on through this one.
(Story length: 497 words)
XXX
"Castle...," she murmurs demurely, but the words she wants to say never make it to his ears. She's been holding onto them for a day now, ever since she passed by the study door late at night and her keen ears picked up a very alarming telephone conversation.
He's lost in the moment, oblivious to the turmoil in her head, his fingernail lightly scraping the shell of her ear, as he pulls a strand of hair away from her face.
"Do you know you have pixie ears, Beckett?" he says, his voice a low, teasing growl.
"Don't make me twist your ear again, Castle," she fires back, fuelled on by his roguish smile (which makes her already difficult mission tougher). "I resent being compared to a long eared dwarf."
He rubs his own ear, a particularly sore memory making itself felt in the present, silencing any further witty remarks.
She's been avoiding a confrontation, hiding underneath the playful ribbing even though she knows he's always lent her a patient ear when she wanted to talk things through. She hadn't intentionally aligned her ear with the keyhole, but still the words she chanced upon, plague her subconscious.
"Can we talk?," she manages, immediately doubting her decision but his ears have already picked up her serious tone and he's alert now, waiting for her to speak.
"I'm all ears," he says, letting her know that he won't let her shrug it off as nothing.
"Last night..on the phone, you were talking about a prenup and I kinda heard and I'm not freaking out because if that's what you want I'm completely ok with it and if you want to talk about it, I'm willing to lend you a fair ear."
A silent pause fills the room and he strains his ears to make sure that he's hearing right.
"The walls have ears, Castle," she responds to the horrified expression on his face.
"Kate, I was talking to my lawyer about an alimony issue with Meredith, who has been a flea in my ear about it since forever."
She's baffled for a second, wondering whether she really had become one of those insecure fiancées or if her ears have just been playing tricks on her.
"Kate, I love you and those goblin ears of yours and I'd trust you with everything I own and I don't need any piece of paper to prove that to me," he says resolutely, gripping her hand in his.
She sighs in relief, his words, a reassuring, soothing melody to her ears, bringing back the smile across her face and the mischievous twinkle in her eye.
She catches him off-guard when she pulls him in for a kiss and when he's completely distracted, she grips the lobe of his right ear and yanks hard.
"Call my ears names again and there will be no mercy."