Hi guys! Okay, this is my first original fanfiction in English (I previously wrote and published it in French but I am mad so I translated it and decided to publish it). Here's the thing: this is my vision of a pre-series scene that could have taken place, since we know that Beckett had a 'wild child' phase and that Lanie and her know each other for a long time, since Lanie talks about her prom dress in season one, so I imagined that at one point, they kissed each other. Of course you can disagree, that is totally fine with me, but please don't bash me for thinking that. And also note that English is not my first language and that this work is not beta-ed, hence all mistakes are mine. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: The only thing that's mine here is the idea. The rest belongs to people far richer than I.

I kissed a girl

I kissed a girl and I liked it, don't mean I'm in love tonight - Katy Perry "I kissed a girl"

It was a quiet night at the Old Haunt. Castle and Beckett went here to celebrate the closure of the case of the week with a drink, along with Lanie and Esposito. Ryan and his wife were at Jenny's parents for dinner. Conversations and laughter were exchanged amongst the friends, and everybody had had enough to drink to be on the relaxed side. Castle took this opportunity to ask for a truth or dare game. Everybody agreed, laughing. He then turned to his girlfriend.

"Sooo, Kate… Truth or dare?"

"Mmmmh… Because I don't want to do something stupid, I'll go with truth." answered Beckett.

"Afraid of a little… action, Detective?" challenged Castle playfully

"I think I already proved you that 'action' was a great friend of mine, Castle" teased Kate. "Now, ask me your question."

"Okay, okay… Have you ever kissed a girl?"

Kate smiled and she and Lanie exchanged a meaningful glance. The detective nodded imperceptibly, asking her best friend for a permission. Looking at the two women, Esposito spoke up.

"Wait… you two?"

Lanie leveled him with a heated look, saying

"Well…"

"No, no, no, no. Seriously? Beckett and you? How… how did it happen?"

The two men looked rather interested now, and the girls couldn't help giggling, proud of them.

"Shall we tell them?" asked Kate to Lanie with her bedroom voice.

"YES!" answered the boys simultaneously.

It was the beginning of the 2 000's. The young Katherine Houghton Beckett just got transferred from Stanford to NYU, and, while methodically applying her mascara, wondered once again how she could have let Maddie convince her.

A little more than a year had passed since her mother's murder and there wasn't a day when she didn't miss her, the hole in her heart still gaping, the wound still fresh. But she decided not to let herself down and be strong, finish her studies, get into the academy and catch the son of a bitch behind her mother's case. And her therapist had suggested her that in order to do that, she should try and lead the normal life of a 20-years-old student at NYU.

That's why the young girl had accepted to go out that night, with Madison Queller, a girl she met in French class, and Lanie Parish, an Afro-American girl she met in science and whom she appreciated, thanks to her humor and quirky replies.

"Becks! Hurry up, we're gonna be late!"

The whiny voice of Madison through the bathroom door pulled her from her thoughts. She finished fixing her make up quickly and got out, grabbing her purse and her heels in passing.

"Okay, okay, I'm ready!"

Madison was waiting for her in the living room of her tiny apartment, wearing a short red dress that hugged her in all the right places. When Kate reached her, she studied intently the tiny black dress and the artistic make up that gave the brunette doe eyes and let out a sigh.

"Seriously, Kate, if I weren't your friend, I could fall in love with you."

"Hum, well, yeah… when does Lanie join us?" asked Kate, blushing at her friend's statement.

"She's already there, so move your lovely butt" answered Madison, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her outside of the apartment.

Twenty minutes later, they were in front of the gymnasium of the college, from where escaped the loud bass of whatever Bon Jovi song was playing.

Lanie greeted them warmly before giving them a beer. Kate wasn't legally allowed to drink, but she didn't care, and she knew her father was in no place to judge. At this time, he was probably passed out drunk on his couch, blaming everybody and everything for his wife's death. Not that she blamed him.

Kate shook her head to clear her thoughts and focused on the party. Loud music, alcohol and people kissing each other in the corners. She smiled and took a sip of her beer. This wasn't different from what she had experienced in Stanford. Young Americans were the same, wherever they were.

She was jolted from her daydream by someone who was pulling on her arm with insistence and discovered Lanie, who was making a sign to invite her to dance on the pop song that was currently playing. Laughing, she followed her friend on the dance floor. Madison was nowhere to be seen, surely searching for a one night stand.

She was stunned by the dance moves of Lanie, who was moving her body like an animal, every gesture oozing raw sensuality, the deep blue dress she was wearing accentuating her sex appeal. Maybe it was the alcohol going through her veins, but she felt something weird in her belly… something that evaporated quickly as Lanie looked at her, laughing, her brown eyes shining with joy. She laughed with her and they danced together for a long time, only stopping to refill their drinks.

Roughly two hours and a dozen drinks later, Madison had miraculously reappeared (and her bra was mysteriously missing), and the three girls were outside for some fresh air, along with some other students they met during the night. They were chatting about nothing and everything – the Tom Cruise movie that premiered last week, the cute boys they knew, and old, current and future boyfriends. Madison turned to Kate and asked

"Oh, by the way, how's Sean?"

"Sean? Sean Thompson?"

"Yeah, the grunge you were dating…"

"Oh, I dumped him before I came back to New York. He never really got over Kurt Cobain's death, you know…"

"It's been six years though… and how did he take it?"

"You know, I'm not even sure he noticed. He was perpetually high these times, I began to think he wanted to follow his idol…"

A wave of laughter followed her statement, and then one of the girls, Hayley (or maybe her name was Melissa?) stumbled onto an empty tequila bottle. Her gaze lighted up with an idea, and she picked it up, asking to do a game of spin the bottle.

The girls around glanced at each other before they accepted with a smile. Kate volunteered to begin and made the bottle spin, which stopped before… Lanie. The young woman quirked an eyebrow and stepped inside the circle formed by the group of students.

Kate suddenly felt unsure. She didn't know why. Kissing a girl wasn't a death sentence. And Lanie was a very attractive woman, let's be honest. Someone pushed her towards the girl and, taking her courage in both hands, she quickly pecked her lips.

The girls around them booed and a sexy blond, Jennifer (or Brittany?) whistled mockingly

"Oh come on Kate! That wasn't a real kiss! Put some tongue in it! We want a French kiss!"

The two friends looked at each other while the other chanted "a French kiss! A French kiss!" and suddenly, the only thing that Kate heard was the chorus of the Placebo song that was currently booming from the inside of the gymnasium

No hesitation, no delay
You come on just like special K
Just like I swallowed half my stash
I never ever want to crash
No hesitation, no delay
You come on just like special K

And then she didn't care anymore. She grabbed Lanie by the shoulders and smashed her lips on hers. Soon, their tongues were dancing with each other, much like the way the two girls were a few hours ago. In fact, when she closed her eyes, Kate could easily forget the fact that she was kissing one of her closest friends, and Lanie was a really good kisser. She tasted like alcohol and something wild that was only her. Really, it was exactly the same as kissing a man. Except that the moan that escaped Lanie was not masculine at all.

That was what pushed Kate to end the kiss. The two girls leaned back, panting, the emerald of one gaze fixing the dark chocolate of the other during a moment, before they turned to judge the reaction of their public.

Everybody was gaping, eyes wide open, before they exploded in a round of applause and wolf whistles. Kate laughed softly before she turned back to Lanie, who smiled and said

"You are a very good kisser."

"Yeah I know, I often hear that" laughed Kate before she walked away from the little crowd of girls.

Sometimes, it's with a kiss that the best friendships start.

Once they finished their story, Lanie and Kate looked at their respective boyfriend. Both of them were fixing them, gaping, lust battling with wonder on their faces. Kate couldn't help her giggle. Men. Talk to them about two women kissing and they can't keep their hands to themselves.

Castle was the first to break his reverie and asked

"And… that's it?"

"What do you mean, that's it?" questioned the detective.

"Well, I mean… it didn't go any further?"

"Of course no. I mean, Lanie is a great kisser…"

"Hey, thanks girl!"

"You're welcome, Lanie. As I was saying, Lanie is a great kisser, but I am first and foremost attracted to men."

Esposito then quipped, his eyes never leaving the medical examiner

"And did you kiss each other since?"

"Well, you know, pretending to be lesbians is a very effective thing to do to let down a pushy loser" shrugged Lanie.

Hearing that, Esposito gaped, wonder filling his gaze, gone into a fantasy that ended brutally when Lanie snapped her fingers under his nose to make him startle.

"Aha… and… you wouldn't want to… make a little demo, wouldn't you?" asked Castle (almost) innocently.

"Not even in your dreams, writer boy!" laughed Kate.