Hi guys! Here's my new Esplanie thing...Well, not that new...Already wrote it a few months ago, and published it in French, but as I know some of my Esplanie shippers friends don't speak French, I decided to translate it. Hope all the readers who will try this story will like it :)
Actually, since Esposito was on a date with Scarlet Jones in 5x12 and invited Lanie for Valentine's day in 5x14, I thought something was missing...because it was too easy...So I came with this story. Also wanted to see Kate supporting Lanie, instead of always having Lanie supporting Kate in the show...
Hope you'll like it!
Love Espo and Lanie together...soooooo much!
Enjoy, and I apologize for my English since I'm not bilingual...but I try my best ;)
ALL OR NOTHING
« God, I thought this day would never end ! » Lanie Parish sighed, as she stepped out of the cab she and Kate Beckett called just after a long day of work. It was almost 8pm, and the two good friends used to go dinner in their favorite Italian restaurant each Friday night, when of course, their schedules allowed them to do so.
« And it can't stop rainning… » Lanie muttered, opening her umbrella.
"Yeah…" Kate sighed as she quickly eyed the sky, while stepping out of the car.
A few seconds later, they entered the cute and charming restaurant. Lanie closed her umbrella as Kate eyed all around her, with a smile. She loved the place, and Lanie too. Not only because it had the best Italian food of New York, but also because the waiters always used to offer them their favorite drink. A lovely song of Pink Martini made her smile even more. It was quite a long time since she didn't have had any free time to enjoy a nice dinner with Lanie, and she was sure that was gonna be a perfect night to catch up on the latest news in her friend's life.
Kate's smile widened as she spotted a free table near the window, her favorite area in the whole restaurant. She kept eying all around her, when suddendly, she stopped smiling. Without bliking, she kept looking at a table, at the bottom of the restaurant's room…It was a familiar face, and ever more familiar to Lanie. Kate only could see the back of the girl he was with, but she did recognize the guy perfectly. Latino, handsome, with a charming smile…Javier Esposito. A few seconds later, she even recognized the girl he was with…None other than Scarlet Jones, the body guard girl of their current case.
Kate swallowed and muttered a small "oh no" near-silent, then turned to Lanie, who luckily did not see anything.
"Lanie, actually…Do you mind if we try another restaurant?"
Lanie raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me? Why?! It's our favorite place!"
Kate nodded.
"I know but you could try something else for a change, right?»She added, determined to prevent another tragedy.
Lanie looked at her friend intensely, getting suspicious.
« Okay, Kate Beckett…what's happening ? It took us almost forty minutes to get there with the damn traffic, it's pouring outside, and you wanna leave already? » Lanie summarized, surprised.
"Besides, there's even a free table in the…."
Lanie couldn't finish her sentence. Her eyes froze as she looked further. Kate closed her eyes and bit her lips... Too late. Lanie just spotted Esposito and his date.
"Oh." she stammered, still looking at them.
« Lanie… » Kate sighed with a soft voice, as she tried to grab her friend's arm.
«You saw him already, right ? » The ME coldly asked.
« A few seconds ago…I'm sorry…"
«And you wouldn't tell me...»
"I didn't wanna hurt you...I'm sorry...I have no idea of what he's doing here… »
Lanie couldn't help and laughed.
« Oh that's pretty clear… »
The way Esposito was smiling at that girl actually broke her heart more than she expected.
« Who's that girl anyway ? »
« It's a girl from our case, Scarlet Jones… » Kate replied.
Lanie raised her eyebrows again.
« A girl from your case…You mean like a potential suspect ? »
« Yes…well we're not sure… But whatever. Come on, Lanie let's go…we don't have to see this…Let's find another place to have dinner, okay ?» Kate asked, as she tried one more time to grab Lanie's arm. But the ME didn't move. She couldn't take her eyes off of Esposito.
That's when Esposito and Scarlet rose from their chairs, grabbed their coats respectively, while continuing their conversation with both a big smile on their faces.
« Oh my…Looks like they're leaving their table…they're….they're coming to us ! » Lanie stammered.
« Even a better reason to leave…» Kate said as her eyes widened. The detective actually feared a confrontation between her friend and the Latin guy, who had both strong characters… But it seemed like Lanie couldn't move at all…She was completely paralyzed.
When Javier Esposito realized who actually was standing ten meters away in front of him, he couldn't even listen to the end of the sentence pronounced by Scarlet at the moment. He even stopped walking, and opened his mouth, paralyzed to see them. Kate and Lanie. But it was seeing Lanie that had made him speechless. He didn't expect to see her there, standing in front of him ... and god, how beautiful she was... He swallowed.
That evening, the gorgeous M.E was wearing a rather low-cut gold dress she had worn for him in the past. Too many precious memories came back in his mind… Her long black hair was slightly wavy and her beautiful black and deep eyes were stuck on him, making him shivering everywhere.
Like him, she couldn't blink anymore. As he wasn't walking anymore, Scarlet turned to him after a few seconds and frowned.
« You okay ? » she quickly asked. Javier needed a few seconds to realize she had asked him a question.
« Yes, I'm…I'm good. » he lied with a smile, as he started to walk again. But he still couldn't look away from Lanie. And he couldn't avoid her and Kate, since they were standing just on the way they had to take to leave the restaurant.
When Javier and Scarlet arrived right in front of the girls, the silence remained a few seconds, until Javier talked.
"... Hi. "he mumbled still staring Lanie so deeply that Kate wondered if he had seen that she was there too.
« Detective Beckett ! » Scarlet Jones smiled, surprised.
« Hi Mrs Jones.. » politely answered Kate, even though she was incredibly ill at ease while Lanie and Esposito couldn't stop staring at each other.
Then, Scarlet's cell phone started ringing, breaking the awkward silent, and the body guard quickly touched Javier's shoulder.
« Can't miss that…I'll be right back. » she told him, her hand still on his shoulder, and Lanie wanted to kill her for that.
Scarlet left them, and Kate wish she could escape as well of this awkward situation. Besides, Lanie and Espo were still eying each other, tirelessly.
"Me too I… have to…call Castle.." Kate stammered, showing them her Iphone. But they didn't even look at her and clearly, they didn't care.
When it finally was just the two of them, they remained silent a few more seconds, before Lanie decided to break the awkward silence.
"So…I can see you're enjoying some good company…Model I presume?" She smiled, folding her arms.
Javier sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Scarlet is a body guard. We met during the Beau Randolf case…."
"I don't care about all the details." Lanie abruptly stopped him. "Wait…a body guard, huh?" she added, eying Scarlett again, as she was still on the phone a few meters away.
"Isn't she a little thin to be a body guard?" Lanie scornfully mocked her.
Javier rolled his eyes again.
« Listen, Lanie… »
« No I don't wanna listen anything from you. All I can see is that…things don't change. » she stammered.
This time, Esposito frowned.
« What the hell is that supposed to mean, Lanie ?! I should stop liking other girls just because we're not dating anymore, but you still want me in your bed ?! »
Lanie's eyes widened. She didn't have expected that kind of answer from him...and Lanie didn't like the tone of his voice, clearly showing he was starting to get mad. But so was she.
« You know what? I don't think I wanna be with a guy who just wanna have sex with pretty much all the girls he can see around him, and who even flirts with women he meets during criminal cases…and I even less wanna be with a guy taking his new girlfriends to the favorite restaurant of his ex girlfriend…How sweet of you. » she laughed, sarcastic.
« She was the one suggesting this place. » he retorded. « Besides she's not my new girlfriend. »
Lanie rolled her eyes.
« Anyway, your date. »
« Not my date. »
Lanie eyed him.
« How stupid do you think I am, Javi? So you mean it's a professional meeting ? Not with that low-cut outfit she's wearing, honey. » she laughed again, eying Scarlett one more time.
Esposito sighed.
« Lanie, stop it. And why do you care that much anyway ? You dumped me. Almost two years ago now. Already forgot that ? »
« Nope I didn't…Actually I wonder why I didn't dump you earlier… »
Of course she didn't mean it...but she was too mad at him.
"Right..." Esposito laughed. «That's why you're still crazy jealous right now ? »
Her dark gaze almost killed him.
«Javier Esposito, don't you dare saying I'm crazy jealous again. »
« What if you are ? »
« I am NOT jealous. »
Esposito sighed, nodded and started smiling.
« Of course you're not. You're just making a big deal of me with a girl on a date in a restaurant because you're NOT jealous. Makes sense.»
She glared at him, with her darkest eyes again.
« Okay you know what ? I don't get why I'm still losing my time with you. » she barked, hurted by this conversation and situation.
« Me neither.» was all he retorted, without even looking at her.
« I'm out of here…Enjoy your night. » was the last words she said, before she left the restaurant, quicker than a tornado, and without even checking on Kate.
In a corner, Detective Beckett, who secretly watched the whole scene with Castle on the phone, hang up on him before he could actually finish his sentence.
« Lanie ! » she yelled, as she started running. When she was near Esposito, she stopped and gave him a killer look.
« Congratulations. »
Javier's eyes widened.
« What the hell did I do ?! »
« Oh because I have to explain you now? »
« I didn't do anything wrong here…Not my fault if Lanie freaked out. She's too lunatic sometimes…»
Kate rolled her eyes.
« I like you Javi, I really do…But keep hurting Lanie like that, and I'll kick your ass. »
Esposito frowned.
« How can I hurt her anyway ? She was the one breaking up with me. »
Again, Kate gave him the look.
« You don't get anything about women, do you ? »
Javier sighed and run a hand through his short hair. He already regretted his confrontation with Lanie.
« I'm kinda lost here… »
Seeing how affected he was, Kate quickly touched him arm.
« Do you still…feel something about Lanie ? »
« You know I do. It's just…crazy complicated since we broke up…she's been acting weird and, I really don't understand what she wants from me. »
Kate nodded in a shy smile.
« I know… Relationships can be tough. »
« What should I do ? »
Kate shrugged.
« Nothing for tonight. I'll talk to her. »
She smiled at him one more time and left the restaurant, hoping that Lanie would have waited for her outside and wasn't already gone.
Javier watched Kate leaving and closed his eyes in a deep sigh. He couldn't believe he had a fight with Lanie Parish again. Another one…
« Something wrong ? »
Javier opened his eyes. Scarlet was back, with still her lovely eyes and beautiful smile. As sad as he was, he smiled back.
« No…I mean…just an argument with… »
« Detective Beckett ? » Scarlet asked, arching an eyebrow.
Esposito shook his head.
« With the other woman who was with her. »
« A girlfriend ? » the body guard asked with a suspicious smile.
« Ex girlfriend would be more accurate. » Javier clarified, still disappointed to admit that that was Lanie was to him now…just an ex.
« Well, given your reaction and the way you looked at her…it doesn't seems like she's an ex at all. » She answered as she put on her coat.
Javier started at her a few seconds, a little surprised and smiled even more.
"You wanna talk about it?" she asked him.
Esposito had a quick, almost nervous laugh.
"That wouldn't be…weird?!"
« What…to talk about your ex ? No... » Scarlet smiled. « Look, I like you, Javier, and I can see you like me too, but we don't have to go to my place… We just can go back to our table, ordering a dessert, and…just talk? I'm pretty sure ice cream doesn't only fix girls' broken hearts." She joked.
Esposito couldn't help but laughed and shrugged.
« Sure. We can do that. »
TBC!