Disclaimer: Channeling the humorous side of our writers for this one. But unlike them, I don't get paid for it.


"God, stop moving for, like, two minutes!"

He didn't. Shifting again, an arm braced on the side of the room, Castle rolled his eyes. "If you haven't noticed, Detective, it's a little tight in here."

"Really?" Kate responded sarcastically. "Couldn't tell from the ATM currently digging into my back." She let her head fall back against the machine, trying to ignore the press of Castle's thighs against hers. "Can you check the door again?"

It rattled but didn't unlock as Castle shook the handle. "Still stuck."

"This is all your fault, you know."

Castle looked affronted, blinking across the small space at her. "My fault? Who was the one that insisted on checking out the ATM records at midnight?"

"It is not midnight. And you were more excited than I was to come out here."

"Yes, well, consider me unexcited at this point in the investigation."

"I'll put that in the official record. At approximately ten forty, Richard Castle is unexcited."

They examined opposite sides of the tiny vestibule, avoiding the other's eyes. Their hands brushed against each other, adding to the zips of heat from their connected legs. Outside, the wind battered against the door sending wisps of cold air into the small room.

Kate couldn't help the shiver that rippled through her body, the muscle spasms bringing her just the smallest bit closer to Castle. She pushed back the coinciding spread of heat from the points where her legs met his. Now really wasn't the most convenient of times to feel any sort of desire except the one to get the hell out of here and back to her apartment. Never again would she think it was a good idea to visit ATMs in sketchy parts of the city after dark. Especially with Castle.

"Any idea on how to get out of this place?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Castle. Why don't you write us out of here?" she tossed back at him. "Isn't that sort of your job?"

"Not when it comes to us. Fictional characters I can handle." His eyes were teasing, dark in the confined space. "The real life version of Nikki is so much harder to control, you know."

Kate had to kick him. She couldn't resist the urge and the space between them was so small that even the tiniest movement of her foot had her boot connecting with his ankle. "Shut up, Castle."

"Just saying. Maybe if we got those cuffs back out…"

Another kick, this time to his shin. It didn't wipe the smile off his face as she crossed her arms. "You are incorrigible, Castle."

Her breath washed over his face and Castle swayed forward, his hands brushing her thighs. They skimmed up to her waist and tugged her closer to him before Castle could really think about what he was doing. It took him a moment to realize that she wasn't really fighting the move. In fact, he could feel her fingers lace through his hair as she pressed herself against him.

"Interesting…" was the only part of his sentence he managed before she kissed him.

He pushed her back against the wall, his hands pulling at where her shirt was tucked into her pants. Kate let her head fall back on a gasp as his fingers hit bare skin. His mouth moved down the column of her throat. She felt him unbuttoning her shirt even as her own fingers fumbled with the large buttons of his peacoat.

The beam of light from a passing black-and-white's spotlight fell on the glass doors. Kate pushed Castle away from her, her head hitting the wall behind her as she caught her breath. He honestly didn't look to be in much better condition as his hands flexed against his side. She hastily re-buttoned her shirt, praying that everything looked completely normal and knowing the exact opposite was true.

One of the officers had jumped out of the cruiser and jogged over to the ATM. He gave the door a tug, his finger flicking at the lock from the outside, and opened it.

"What's going on in here?" the man asked as Kate stepped out from the space.

Castle was right behind her as Kate found her shield in her jacket pocket and held it out for the uniform to see. "Detective Beckett, Homicide with the Twelfth. Just got stuck in the vestibule when the door locked behind us."

The uniforms looked unconvinced but shrugged. "Glad to help you out. You gonna be okay getting wherever?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we'll be good."

They waited until the black-and-white pulled away from the curb before getting into Beckett's unmarked. There were their phones, nestled together in the center console, awaiting the trip that should have taken less than five minutes and instead found them in a way more interesting situation. Kate took a moment to catch her breath before turning the key in the ignition.

His voice broke the silence and she could sense the grin that was across his face, the barely-contained laughter as it threaded through the air.

"You missed a button."


A/N: This is an old prompt from, you guessed it, thejetsetgirl. Because who else would want to see how Castle and Beckett react to being stuck in an ATM vestibule? I think I liked the outcome, don't you?