Teenage Dream
Chapter 1: Not a Date
You think I'm pretty
Without any makeup on
You think I'm funny
When I tell the punch line wrong
I know you get me
So I let my walls come down
Beckett walks out of the interrogation room, frustrated with herself and the case in general. With a sigh, she tosses the file on her desk.
Castle slowly approaches her, "You've got proof, Beckett. They'll convict him."
"I don't know, Castle. Most of it is theory. Sure, we have his fingerprints on the murder weapon, and he doesn't have an alibi, but we don't really know why. It's just… speculation that you and I came up with."
"Kate," he says gently, reaching out to touch her arm. He knows this case had been difficult for her, and he wants to comfort her, but before he can do anything, Ryan and Esposito walk over.
"He's not talking?" Esposito guesses from her expression.
"He's lawyered up and denies killing her."
"What can we do?" Ryan asks.
She checks her watch, "It's up to the DA now. Go on home; I'll take care of the paperwork."
"You sure there's nothing we can do?"
"Yeah, I've got it. If the DA wants more, we'll just go over everything again I guess."
"You're off tomorrow, aren't you?"
"Yeah. Go enjoy your evening. I'll see you Friday."
"Bye, Beckett," the detectives say before heading out.
Castle remains next to her, "So you're off tomorrow?"
"Yes," she repeats, sitting down and opening the file that she had tossed onto her desk moments ago.
"So what are you going to do tomorrow?"
"I… don't know. Relax. Run errands."
"So I won't see you tomorrow?"
She looks up from her paperwork, "No. Castle, this case was hard enough as it is. Go home so I can get this paperwork done in peace."
"No. When were you going to tell me that you had the day off?"
"Before you left. If you won't go, at least shut up."
"Do you want to do something together tomorrow?" he asks, ignoring her.
"Why?"
He tries not to feel offended at her sharp tone. "Because… I… like spending time with you."
"Are you avoiding your work again?"
"You are my work, Beckett." The detective glares, and he changes his answer. "No. In fact, I'm almost done with the next book. I have to figure out how to end it."
"With Nikki and Rook getting the bad guy."
"Yes, well, she's angry with him again so… they have to make up too."
"Or he could just quit following her."
"Are you trying to hint at something, Beckett?" he smirks.
"Maybe," she doesn't look at him.
"I really don't think you want me to do that, Detective. You like me too much."
"If like means tolerating your childish ways, then yes, I do like you."
"Please, Beckett? It'll take your mind off this case. And you won't be missing work. And you'll get to spend time with me."
"And why would I want to do that?"
"Because we're friends."
"Castle…" she begins, about to deny that they were friends, but then realizes that that is exactly what they were. And it is probably all that they will ever be because they are both too afraid to ruin their relationship by seeking more.
"Kate."
"What exactly did you have in mind?" she sighs, starting to give in to him.
"Maybe a movie, lunch or dinner… a walk through the park. Whatever you want to do."
"This sounds suspiciously like a date," Kate eyes him.
"It's not. Just two friends spending time together. Unless you want it to be a date…"
"No," she answers a little too quickly.
He smiles, "Sure?"
"Yes. Friends, Castle. That's it."
"I can do friends."
"You're paying."
"I wouldn't expect anything other than that."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow. Don't make me regret it, Castle."
"You won't," Rick grins at her.
She tries to return to her paperwork, but his staring is very annoying. "Please, Castle, stop staring, or I'll change my mind."
"Sorry," he quickly says, looking away from her. "Do you… have a piece of paper I can use?"
She opens her desk drawer and gets a sheet out for him. He grabs a pen from her stash and quickly begins to write on it. "You know you don't have to stay, Castle. If you have writing to do, I can finish this up without you."
"No, I want to keep you company. And sometimes I prefer the old fashioned way of doing things," he says, not once looking up from his sheet.
"Did you figure out how to solve your problem with Nikki and Rook?"
"Yep."
When he doesn't elaborate, she goes back to her own paperwork. It takes her about half an hour to finish it up, and Castle is still busy writing when she is done. She looks toward the murder board and decides it is time to clean it off for the next case. Leaving him at her desk, she begins to take down the pictures of the victim and crime scene. After all the evidence is boxed up, she erases the marker, the clean white board now ready to bring justice to the next victim.
"I'm going to take this down to be put away in storage," she tells him. He doesn't respond, too engrossed in his work, so she just leaves.
Ten minutes later she walks back into the bullpen. "Where'd you go?" Rick looks at her curiously, glancing down at the completely filled paper in front of him.
"To put the evidence away."
"Oh… You leaving now?"
Avoiding his question, she asks one of her own. "Since I agreed to spend my day off with you, can I see what you wrote?"
"No," he quickly grabs the paper and shoves it in his pocket.
"Castle."
"Beckett."
"The book is about me. I deserve to know what you're writing."
"You don't need to know right now."
"Why not?" He just looks at her. "Were you writing another sex scene, Castle?"
"…Maybe." At her glare, he tries to defend himself. "Come on, Beckett. I've already written like four scenes where they sleep together."
"And each time they humiliate me more."
"Who teases you?" he asks, concerned.
"Everyone in the precinct."
"What's so bad about them? It's not like I'm writing them from experience with you."
"They think otherwise."
"Kate… I'm sorry," he whispers, the first time he had ever apologized for what he had written.
"It's okay, Castle."
"No. They shouldn't judge you. You didn't want this; I forced you into this situation."
"Look, Castle… I do like you. And I've gotten used to you as my partner… and my friend. And I don't want things between us to change. So I put up with it. It's really not a big deal."
He studies her for a long moment, "Let me know if it happens again."
"What are you going to do? Beat up a bunch of cops?" she smirks.
"Okay, so I really can't do anything. But you can."
"It's not worth it," she says, then decides to change the subject. "So what time are we meeting tomorrow?"
"I'll pick you up at noon."
Together they step on the elevator and leave the precinct for the evening.
A/N: So... Countdown was pretty good. If only one of them had said something during the four times they tried... And I totally thought she would be leaving Josh. Guess I was wrong. Anyway, I think I wrote this one around Thanksgiving so there's probably a lot that's changed since then, but I figured it didn't really matter since it wasn't focused around an episode specifically. I think I meant it to take place sometime late in season three, but I don't really remember. Hope you enjoyed it. Next up: he picks her up for their nondate. Possibly posted tomorrow if I get enough interest by then; if not, probably not until Friday or Saturday. Thanks.
