Sealed Lips

AN: This takes place a little after 'Always' and assumes Beckett is firmly back at the precinct – which we all know is inevitably going to happen… It is a crime/cop show after all.

Let me know what you think!

Alexis is under the strictest instructions not divulge a word about the change in her father and his detective's relationship. Beckett is not sure of the exact speech Castle gave his daughter, but she caught something about loss of birthrights at the tail end of the conversation. It's not that they don't explicitly want it out in the open, it's just that it complicates things – a lot. Especially where Gates is concerned. It's a mess of bureaucracy that Beckett really does not want to become entangled in. They've made it four years with all this tension bubbling just under the surface, surely they can make it – hmm, the rest of her career? – with no one catching on. It's a solid plan. Foolproof. Plus, it keeps Beckett out of the damn media and to be honest that's not somewhere she particularly wants to be. As much as Castle was disappointed at first that he couldn't run out and show her off to the world, she's convinced him that the stealthy cloaks-and-daggers approach is practically living the life of a spy. A very debonair spy, and since then he's been literally bouncing with excitement over the idea of leading an illicit double life complete with an oh-so-torrid love affair.

They have a minute of quiet solitude together in the elevator, leaning against the back wall, shoulders touching. She breathes in the coffee she's clutching and relishes the warm press of her body against his. A quiet sigh of contentment escapes her lips without her conscious permission. Castle shifts closer towards her, brushing his lips over hers. The kiss is quick, chaste and has a habitual sense to it, yet it somehow still sends tingles curling through Beckett's body.

"Castle," she warns, partly because he knows the rules and partly because she so wants to do it again. Damn him. Damn him and his perfect coffee laced lips. He shoots her a smirk in response, the blush crawling steadily up her cheeks probably isn't helping her restore the order. She wonders if she'll ever get used to finally be able to kiss him whenever she wants. Probably not. Even resolved there's still too much sexual chemistry sizzling in the air between them. She's pulled from her thoughts by Castle's fingers on her cheekbone, stroking…

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you look today?" he murmurs thoughtfully, his eyes unashamedly drinking her in.

"Several times," she replies, jaw tight, voice strained. Not that she's complaining, she's really not, it's sweet. She is, however, exercising all her self control to keep herself from jumping him in this small, so small, contained space. He's really not helping. She swats his hand away, he hums deep in his throat, taking it all in stride, linking their pinkies to rest in between their bodies as he pulls away. "What did we say about hands to yourself, Castle?" she remarks wryly – but doesn't move to pull her hand from his.

"Well, the thing is, Beckett… I don't think you realise how deeply you've penetrated my soul, you are a part of me," he says it with all the sincerity in the world and Beckett has to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She isn't at all successful as a giggle bursts free, echoing loudly around the enclosed space. He beams at her reaction and she quickly tries to school her features into a quirked eyebrow. Castle sees right through her so she concedes and grins back at him.

"I didn't think even you were capable of that level of sap," she teases, attempting to train her smile into a smirk. He shrugs melodramatically.

"What can I say? You bring it out in me, Detective." She hums gently in response, before noticing that they are seconds away from ascending the final leg to their floor.

"Foolish man," she adds, tacking on a quick, "I love you," as the elevator sounds their arrival. They reluctantly step apart, Beckett's comforted in the fact that they're still standing close enough for her to feel the heat radiating from his body. Although, by this stage she's that hyper-aware of him he could be standing at the other end of the building and she'd still physically feel his presence. Hiding their relationship wasn't rocket science but it was still hard, especially in that undeniable physical sense. Sometimes she'd forget she was in the precinct and lean into him, unconsciously seeking his touch only to startle away seconds later often with a smirking Esposito or Ryan watching on. She'd just glare, roll her eyes or mumble something about being exhausted and they let it drop. It was fair enough, she'd seemed like she was in a relationship with Castle for years. Plus, she was fairly certain the boys expected Castle to alert them with a neon sign to a change in relationship status. They were going to be in for a little bit of a shock when the truth came out – only little though because after all, they'd all been hoping and desperately willing it to happen for years. It seemed inevitable, time the only thing in question.

As the elevator doors spring apart Ryan and Esposito swing into sight. Beckett masks her surprise at their proximity and is glad she managed to pull her hand from Castle's milliseconds earlier. The boys block them from exiting the elevator, stepping inside.

"We got a lead," Ryan offers by way of explanation. This elevator ride is sufficiently different to the previous one. For a start, Castle is silent for the most part and he isn't deliberately tempting her willpower which makes for a refreshing change.

"Oh, Beckett," he hums as they near the end of the descent. She shifts her gaze to him and waits for the punch line. "Alexis wants to see you, she says it's been too long, although I'm fairly certain she just wants to pick your brain about college. I've been giving her the rundown but apparently she doesn't trust her father's wisdom." It takes all of Beckett's strength to suppress the eye-roll she's aching to display in light of that ridiculous comment. Castle knows full well that she saw Alexis that morning, at breakfast, in the loft. He's really committing to this secret agent, double life charade though and apparently this is a ploy to highlight that Beckett has not been spending copious amounts of time at the loft.

"She'll be fine at college, Castle. I can talk to her though if she'd like. Just tell her to give me a call when she's free," she tries – hard – to keep the sarcasm from her tone. Ryan and Esposito haven't felt the need to comment which is always a good sign. They like to throw their two-bits worth in every now and then – which loosely translates to at least several times a day.

"Great," Castle replies, he comes across as completely genuine without even trying. Beckett doesn't appreciate the smug undercurrent. "I'll text her now," he casually tacks on with a grin.

"That is great of you, Beckett," Esposito mentions with a very deliberately quirked eyebrow.

"Yeah," Ryan adds, "It's nice to see you and little Castle getting on so well these days."

"Oh you know, we've bonded…" she pauses for effect as the boys – most of all Castle – look a little apprehensive, "…mmm, over the shared wealth of knowledge about the many idiotic things that make up Richard Castle." Let him mull over that one. He knows better than to be messing with her at work. He pouts and the boys chuckle. Serves him right, while their team loves Castle first and foremost they'll always be her boys.

They take the one car to the warehouse that Ryan has tracked the suspect to. Castle is under strict instructions to stay back and for once he at least pretends to listen. They're not expecting the suspect to be armed or dangerous in any capacity so he's doing an excellent job of keeping his overprotecting hovering contained. Beckett and the boys sweep the warehouse coming up clean. It's a bit of a shock as the lead seemed solid. She motions to her team with a shrug and they trug out into the alley. Castle has disappeared and Beckett groans. Can't the man just stay still for five minutes? Seriously.

"Castle," she shouts across the lot. No response, it's a little odd. He didn't have time to wander far. A resounding clang sounds down the alley adjacent to the rundown building and Beckett tenses. It's a strange noise, it sounds a bit like metal on metal. Ryan and Esposito signal her their intentions and move around the building in an attempt to head the suspect off. She takes the direct approach, cautiously moving into the alley, gun drawn. The sun doesn't reach into the latter half of the alley and it takes a second for Beckett's eyes to adjust to the shadows. She almost trips over Castle's prostrate form in the process. Oh god. She lowers her gun and drops to her knees, a strangled noise escaping her. "Castle," she breathes, gentling shaking his shoulders. The reaction is immediate. He stirs and offers her a bashful, albeit strained grin.

"Ah…Beckett, hi," he mumbles.

"Are you okay? What happened?" her voice is tight, concern etching over her features in stunning waves.

"Err…Umm…Well," he ruefully averts his gaze.

"Spit it out, Castle," she sighs, helping him into a sitting position. He rubs his forehead gingerly, wincing slighting at the action.

"I…uh…saw the coolest pigeon ever, it was almost completely white except for this big splotch of black on its back that was an exact replica of the batman icon. So, I very carefully followed it in here to try and take a picture of it – it so would have gone viral on Twitter, Beckett! I wasn't exactly looking where I was going and I tripped over that pipe and hit my head on that bin. Guess it knocked me out for a second there. I did put my full weight into the fall…" he's rambling on and on…

"Hang on, a pigeon?" Beckett grits out incredulously. "A pigeon," she shakes her head. "I'm dating a child…"

"Sorry?" he offers tentatively before resuming rubbing the egg on his head. "Please don't be mad, Beckett, this is punishment enough as it is," he sighs.

"Hurts?" she asks, her tone softening. He merely nods and she purses her lips momentarily before conceding and pressing a gentle kiss to his injury. "All better?" He smiles, opening his mouth to respond, but he's cut off by –

"Oh Ryan, I just pulled my notepad from my pocket and sustained a paper cut," Esposito's tone has the clear markers of gloating.

"Dear, dear," Ryan replies shaking his head dramatically, "let me kiss it better." Ryan's face comes within millimetres of Esposito's hand before he whips it away.

"Hang on, that doesn't seem like platonic partner behaviour…" he teases, staring pointedly at Beckett and Castle, still on the floor of the grimy alley.

"You're right, bro, it doesn't," Ryan continues. "Hmm, what do you think that means?" he meets Beckett's gaze with a smug grin.

"Do you two have something you'd like to share with the class?" Esposito adds, stepping towards them, arms crossed, eyes clearly shining with unshed laughter.

"No?" Castle attempts weakly.

"Wrong answer, bro," he replies, shaking his head. "Wait, Ryan, did we leave something out? Oh, that's right…" both the boys mimic Beckett in unison, "I'm dating a child." Beckett groans into her hands. So much for plausible deniability. Castle face is plastered with a forlorn expression, Beckett knows it's because he's going to miss teasing her so that she'll be the one to slip and reveal their "double life".

"You know my favourite part?" Ryan says, turning to Esposito with a broad grin, "I think I just won the pool. Looks like my unborn children are going to be able to afford to go to college after all."

"Congrats man," Esposito offers his partner a brisk handshake. "I'm impressed, it's a highly sought after victory."

"I think the term prestigious has been thrown around…" he beams. Beckett shakes her head at the pair of them. Castle gently tugs on a strand of her hair, effectively gaining her attention.

"You know," he stage whispers, "we should start a new pool, which one of these idiots caves and tells Lanie first." Beckett frown shifts into a devious grin.

"My money's on Espo, the stakes are higher," she declares and her hands find Castle's and she tugs him to his feet.

"Definitely. He's way more scared of her," Castle adds gleefully, ecstatic that Beckett is playing along – partners, always. His hand naturally falls to her waist and he nudges her towards the cruiser leaving the boys in their wake with slightly slipped smiles.