Moonlight

Summary: Castle and Beckett interrogate a suspect but end up cross-examining personal principles and beliefs. Castle ends up proving to Kate how she is his 'moon'.

Timeline: Season 3, post Anatomy of a Murder; but imagine Gina and Josh being non-existent in our beloved couple's lives.

Chapter 1: Eventually

"Under a lover's sky, I'm gonna be with you, and no one's gonna be around.."

"Monique Kirsten, age 22, bar singer. She has red hair and a medium build. Said she was pretty, and is the ex-girlfriend of the victim. They met at the…" Detective Beckett read her notes out loud enough for Castle to hear despite the volume of the music in the bar. She went on and on, not realizing that she could practically be talking to a wall.

Castle was enjoying the music and the scenery; perhaps too much that he did not even notice the detective's efforts to brief him on their suspect. Once his mind registered that he knew the song – in fact it was one of his favorites – his ears shut off all the other sounds, including the detective's voice. The bar was not like any other bar he had been in. It had some kind of 'homey' effect on him, like it somehow relaxes him. Then, his eyes focused on the woman singing on stage. "Oh, there she is."

"Oh, you noticed?" Beckett sardonically as she rolled her eyes.

Castle didn't notice the sarcasm though. "Yeah. And it's pretty convenient; our victim was a musician. That must have been their connection. They must have met somewhere...musical."

Kate looked at him with eyes exuding half-surprise and half-confusion. She examined his face and slowly shook her head. She saw a particular glint in his eyes that was absent before they entered the bar. She knew he was amused; she wasn't sure though which of two reasons: the bar's scenery or the girl. The suspect was a pretty face after all, so she's leaning more on the latter. "Yeah, Castle. Did you even hear a single word I said earlier?"

His head turned to her but his eyes remained glued to the woman on stage. "Yeah, I heard 'pretty'; and I guess you were right." He smiled.

"So the latter (the girl) it is." She stated before she even realized she said it out loud.

"What do you mean?" This time, he turned his full attention to her.

"Umm, uh, nothing." A strange twinge in her stomach puzzled her though. It was the weird feeling that she usually felt when she was jealous. "What? Why would I be—No way." She thought but decided to shrug it off.

"So, where do you think they met?" Again, his attention went back to the stage.

"Juilliard School of Performing Arts."

"Whoa, that's a long shot, detective…" He trailed off and looked as though he was in deep thought. She narrowed her eyes at him and raised her eyebrow. "You really think so?" He continued.

"No, I don't think so; I know so." She smirked when his head bolted and turned to her with confused eyes. "Ha! I knew it. You didn't even listen to a word I said." She turned to face him. And with each succeeding question, she took a step closer to him to emphasize her point. "What if we got separated by circumstance? What if the suspect was right in front of you together with dozens of other pretty girls, huh? How would you know which one of those pretty girls is the one? What if you got so blinded by the pretty girl that you didn't even notice that she had a gun directed at you?" By this time, they were in each other's personal space, and breathing in each other's faces. Kate let out breath she wasn't aware that she held. She couldn't quite fathom why she felt so frustrated.

Castle gulped because he was beginning to feel nervous. He decided to mask it with a question. This question was followed by subtle flirtation. "Are you…jealous?" He looked straight into her eyes, and then his gaze slowly travelled down to her mouth, then back up into her eyes.

She quickly moved away and mentally shook herself. "What does jealousy even have to do with this?" She turned to him once again with an unconvinced and slightly frustrated expression on her face, and a voice that was slightly higher than her normal pitch.

He snapped his finger as he said, "There! You didn't deny it! You are jealous."

Her expression was wiped off her face. She began to feel the heat inside her make its way up to her cheeks, giving them a reddish color which she quickly hid by turning away once again. "Don't flatter yourself, Castle. I just didn't want your blood on my hands." She glanced at him then looked down.

"Do I detect actual concern for my well-being?" He regained his composure and put on a smug smile as he raised his eyebrow in question.

Kate Beckett never backs down from a classic banter; not with an ordinary man, and never with Richard Castle. She raised her brow and took a step closer as she found a clever retort. "You know how it goes, Castle, you watch me do paperwork. Death means more paperwork, and I don't want that any more than you do." She watched as his smug expression was wiped off of his face. She turned back to the suspect. It was her turn to smirk. She just loved to watch him squirm. He was silent for a while after. And this surprisingly made the detective uncomfortable. She was so used to him blabbing about anything and everything. She never thought she would actually miss it when he finally shuts up; she would never admit that though.

Neither of them noticed that they were still invading each other's personal bubble. "I'm glad we came in here when we did." Castle's voice startled her. It seemed like a loud and airy whisper since he was standing so close. She was waiting for him to explain but he didn't.

His breath tickled her ear and she took that as her cue to move away, but not farther than a mere step. "Why is that?" She asked when he didn't continue.

"Well, I just—I like this song. In fact, it is one of my all-time favorites. LeAnn Rimes's Can't Fight the Moonlight. It was played in the movie—" Castle started explaining but he was cut off.

"Coyote Ugly." She said. She couldn't help smiling when he stared at her in surprise. "What? I watched movies too, you know. But not as often as you do."

"Yes, that is a not-so-secret secret." He nodded in agreement.

"A what now?"

"A secret that isn't really that much of a secret." He felt childish pride wash over him.

The agreement was short-lived for argument triumphed yet again. "Then why call it a secret?"

"Because…" He attempted to explain but gave up instead when he couldn't come up with a good one. "Nah, I got nothing."

"I win." Beckett loves the feeling of victory, especially over Castle. "So, why do you like this song?"

"Well, it has a romantic ring to its lyrics. As you know, I may be a crime novelist but I have a knack for romance." He winked at her.

"Ugh." She wore a mockingly disgusted look on her face the rolled her eyes. "So…you can try to resist, try to hide from my kiss—" She started reciting lines from the song but was cut off.

"Oh, detective! You know I won't try to resist you, nor will I try to hide from your kiss! I would gladly give you one right now. All you have to do is ask." He smiled. He knew what she was getting at but he just couldn't help himself from flirting with her.

She sent him a glare that could pierce his eye sockets like needles, figuratively. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, how does that line represent romance? And what's so special about the moon and the light it gives off?" She raised her eyebrow as if she was challenging him.

"Well, the key is to not look at each of the song's lines per se; look at it as a whole masterpiece." He said with confidence. "Like a book. Take Heat Wave for example, you won't understand the entire story unless you've read all the pages." With this, he watched Kate show comprehension by nodding. "But then again, I bet you would agree with me when I say that page 105 could stand alone." This earned him a smack on the arm. But she let out a carefree laugh and kept the smile on her face so he quickly added, "Much like the line in the song that goes: There's no escape from love once a gentle breeze weaves its spell upon your heart." He looked straight into her eyes. He was hoping that she would get the message he has been trying to convey for a long time now. In his mind, he continued, "No matter what you think, it won't be too long till you're in my arms…I hope."

Their eyes locked in a moment that was similar to the "you'll-never-get-rid-of-me-I-love-you" scenario back at the precinct in their previous case. But that was coincidental; this was more…deliberate. His eyes never left hers. He was searching them for a sign showing that his message was delivered and received. He watched her expression change from relaxed to uncomfortable as she looked away. Conveniently, Ms. Kirsten had just finished her number and was about to exit the stage. "Great, she's done. Let's go have a talk with her." She was expressionless for a moment. She smiled hesitantly at him and then turned to walk towards the backstage. "Whew. What was that just now?" She thought then shook her head as she proceeded backstage.

He couldn't hide the disappointment he felt so he stayed there for a while to take a deep breath and regain his composure before he followed her. He had his casual expression back on. He decided to let it go and wait. She'll come around. It might not be now, but he believes that she will…eventually.

Author's Note: I assumed that all the readers know what the song is and what page 105 of Heat Wave contains. But for those of you who don't, it contains the sex scene that had Dr. Lanie Parish reaching for ice water. :D