Chapter One:
"Beckett, I ran the alibi for the douchebag Aarons and it checks. He was in fact checking into a hotel with his mistress." Esposito announced walking up to the murder board. Beckett cursed under her breath.
"Damn. If only we could arrest him for being a creep." She moved to the board and moved his picture off to the side. She turned around to say something just as Ryan came rushing in, late.
"Sorry, over slept this morning. What did I miss?"
"Oh nothing much, just our main suspect alibiing out" Beckett answered, giving Ryan a quizzical look. Normally impeccably dressed, today he was in nice jeans and a simple button up. And his hair! Usually Ryan had it slicked back with plenty of product but today it hung natural around his face.
"Shit! We got any new leads?" Ryan went to stand next to Esposito. Beckett noticed that he seemed to stand a little closer to his partner than usual.
"No, not yet. But I want you two to go over the surveillance videos again. Find something we missed." She watched them walk away. Beckett had really noticed the way that Esposito and Ryan's relationship had changed. She turned and sat on her desk to study the board. Castle walked in with her coffee and sat down next to her. "Late night?" she asked.
"Up writing. I got into a flow and didn't want to stop. Did Aarons' alibi really check out?" he replied noticing the board.
"Yeah. He may be a cheater but he isn't a murderer."
"Where are the boys?" Castle glanced around.
"Checking videos again." Beckett saw Castle grin to himself as he took a sip of coffee. "You've noticed it too" she stated.
"Well duh! They were always close friends but now it's a bit ridiculous. Are you ok with it?" Castle questioned her.
"Yes. They seem happier and they are way more in sync then they have ever been. I'm just worried about what will happen if everyone else finds out. The NYPD has strict rules against fraternization. This could end very badly for everyone." Beckett's eyes were saddened by the thought of losing one or both of her boys. They had been a team for so long she didn't know if she could do this job without them. She saw an odd look on Castle's face and her defenses kicked in.
"Wait, you don't have a problem with them do you?"
"What?" Castle looked startled. "No of course not. Those guys are my friends too and I want them to be happy."
"Then why did you get that look on your face?" she asked as Castle made the particular face again. "Yes that one."
"I was just wondering if they would let me put this in my next Nikki Heat book." Castle looked at Beckett with a clown size grin on his face. Beckett just shook her head and walked away.
Chapter Two:
"I cannot believe you!" Ryan spit out as he and Esposito walked into the video viewing room.
"Aww come on bro. It's not a big deal. It's only hair gel." Esposito laughed as he set up one of the surveillance videos.
"My hair looks completely stupid now!" Ryan set up a separate video so they could tackle Beckett's project faster.
"I like your hair like that. I can't wait to run my fingers through it while you're on your knees later." Esposito smiled a suggestive smile, knowing what it would do to his partner. Ryan didn't disappoint him. Ryan's cheeks immediately turned red while his bright blue eyes blazed with fire.
"Don't do that!" he growled. Ryan shifted in his seat to relieve the pressure on his growing member. "You know we have to keep "us" quiet. If you keep putting those images in my head I'm not going to be able to control myself. And I highly doubt our co-workers would appreciate the spectacle we would create." Ryan smiled when he noticed Esposito shift in his own chair.
"Ok. I'll behave. But once I get you home all bets are off."
"I'll hold you to that." Ryan responded. The boys turned their attention to the task at hand. However, Ryan's mind couldn't focus on the video in front of him, especially since his hair kept falling into his eyes.
When he got out of bed this morning he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. His partner always took a run before work so he wasn't around when Ryan stepped into the shower. As he stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist, he saw his partner standing in the doorway. Ryan's body reacted before his brain could even process that the man he shared a bed with was standing without a shirt on, covered in sweat.
"I'd offer to take care of that for you bro, but we don't have time." Esposito walked up to the still speechless Ryan and kissed him full on the lips. His tongue just barely teased the other man's mouth. Ryan moaned and leaned into the other man. He grabbed Esposito around the waist and pulled him back into the shower.
"We'll make it quick." Ryan finally answered. He threw his towel out and turned on the water.
"I hate when we have to make it quick." Esposito growled, running his hands over Ryan's wet body. Ryan smiled and kissed him.
"I'll make it up to you I promise. Now please Javi, just touch me." Esposito could do nothing but comply. Hearing his first name and seeing those bright blue eyes begging him caused him to give in to whatever his partner wanted. They came together in a fierce kiss. Esposito pushed Ryan against the cold tile and grabbed his hard on. Ryan moaned and returned the gesture. The boys pulled and stroked and twisted each other into oblivion. They exploded onto each other. After they washed each other clean and stepped out of the shower, Esposito kissed Ryan one last time and walked into the bedroom to get dressed. It was when Ryan turned to the sink to finish getting ready that he noticed his hair gel wasn't on the sink where he left it. He had been keeping a lot of his things at Espo's place because that is where they always seemed to end up at night. "Hey Espo, have you seen my gel?"
"Just a little experiment bro. I want to see you au-natural today" Esposito yelled. Ryan turned to confront him for taking his gel when he heard the front door slam shut. Ryan ran into the bedroom to check the time and realized that he was going to be late for work. He went to the closet to grab his clothes and cursed his partner. The only thing hanging there was a pair of jeans and a button down.