It was Valentine's Day at the 12th. Not much was different. A few suspects were interrogated, the murder board was put to good use, and nobody seemed to be acting different. Sure, Castle had left early to 'just do some cleaning around the house' and Beckett would stare at the blank murder board for minutes on end and then suddenly start to grin like a madman. Of course, that was Castle and Beckett. There wasn't really a normal between them. Yes, the 12th had remained peacefully free of the Valentine's Day effect. That was what Esposito was thinking as he didn't really pay any attention to the paperwork he was 'reading'. That is, until Ryan walked up to his desk and wordlessly placed a slip of paper in front of his hand. Esposito looked up at Ryan, eyebrow raised.
"What's this, man?" he asked. Ryan shrugged uncomfortably.
"Just… Just look at it." And with that, Ryan walked back to his desk and grabbed his coat, then made his way to the elevator to go home for the day. Esposito blinked, then grabbed the paper (possibly a bit excitedly, but he'd never admit it). It was a simple sheet folded in half with nothing on the front. But, when he opened it, there was some sort of design on the top of the surface of the paper, and the words 'Happy Valentine's Day, Javi' in Ryan's perfect, clear print handwriting below it. Esposito could help but smile. But, his eyes seemed to be drawn to the design. It was a series of loops that seemed to never end, despite the fact it was contained in a one-inch area. No matter how many times Esposito tried to follow the line with his eyes, it kept repeating itself. Somehow, if he didn't focus directly on it, it made a sort of heart. He must have stared at the card for minutes, because the clock was way more ahead than his head was. He finally managed to drag his brown eyes away and make his way to his car.
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The next day, when Esposito met Ryan in the break room, a question tugged at the back of his mind.
"Hey, bro, I wanted to ask... What's that design called on the card you gave me?" he asked. Ryan smiled slightly, probably thinking 'Ha! You did read it.' He leaned against the counter casually, his blue eyes lit up with amusement and maybe something else.
"It's an Irish love knot."