In retrospect, helping Castle pull a prank on Captain Montgomery may not have been the best thing to do less than a week before Thanksgiving, especially since the station is always a little short handed around the holidays. So, yeah, Ryan decides as Esposito slowly drives them through a beat, chances are they'd be snug with their families right now instead of dressed in blues and cramped in a stuffy car if they'd just kept the super glue in the desk drawer. Or at least not gotten that chicken involved.

Ryan's trying to figure out whether or not his mom would have gotten the turkey out of the oven yet when Esposito manages to find the one free parking spot in the city an d puts the car in park. He's immediately on alert, wondering whether Esposito saw something he didn't, but his partner doesn't seem concerned, so he tentatively relaxes. Esposito notices-when does he not?-and rolls his eyes at Ryan as he turns and pulls a cooler out of the back seat.

"Chill, bro. Just thought we could do with a little turkey dinner."

The cooler's packed with tupperware full of turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and more sides than Ryan knows what to do with, but he pauses when Esposito offers him a leg.

"No offense, but you didn't make this, did you? It's only that I remember the Sandwich Incident, and I really don't want to end up in the emergency room again."

Esposito starts to pull a face, but he can't even get halfway to a pout before he cracks up and shakes his head. "Nah, my mom put together a care package for us." He pokes Ryan in the side, grinning when he squirms, but can't get away. "She thinks you're too skinny and wants to fatten you up."

Ryan glares-he's slim, not skinny-but all of his annoyance melts away when he bites into the moist, tender turkey. "Bro," he says, nearly moaning the word around a mouth full of meat. "You know I love my family, but I'm coming to your house next year."

Esposito laughs and drapes an arm around Ryan's shoulders, fondly ruffling his hair, then tugs on his earlobe." So it was worth all the hassle with Senor Pollo and the Mexican wrestler?"

"My mom's on a diet and refuses to cook with butter or sugar." Ryan leans into Esposito's touch and holds out the turkey leg so that he can share a bite. "As far as I'm concerned, God bless Senor Pollo."


Thank you for reading! Feedback is overwhelmingly appreciated.

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.

I finished up my baking earlier than I expected to this morning, so I thought I'd try a little Thanksgiving drabble to get myself in the spirit. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :D