I hope you enjoy this little piece of fluff. I don't own Castle, though that would be awesome. Oh, and for those who read this before I noticed and fixed it, sorry for the no spaces with the italized words.
Castle was staring. Again. At her, well really what else did he ever stare at? All Beckett knew right then was that it was annoying, in an I-am-really-tempted-to-use-my-gun-on-an-unarmed-man kind of way.
"Castle!" she snapped, causing a couple of police officers walking by her desk to jump in fright.
"Yes Detective?" Castle replied. He was smiling at her and it was a little unnerving but Beckett held her ground.
'You have been sitting there for four hours doing nothing but watch me do paperwork! Haven't you got somewhere else to be?" Beckett asked. She was never going to get through the mountain of paperwork she still had left on her desk if he continued to distract her like he was. She didn't know what annoyed her more: that he could distract her so easily just by sitting there or the little twang in her belly when he smiled at her like that.
"Nope. Alexis is at school all day then she's going out with Ashley and Mother is working on a new play so she won't be home till the early hours of the morning. And I haven't just been sitting here; I played some Angry Birds on my phone for a bit while you were checking something with Lanie." Castle said.
"Ugh, well please go get some coffee or something or even better: go home so I can actually finish some of this paperwork," Beckett sighed, hoping he would get the message and leave her to do some work for a bit.
"Why detective, I'm not distracting you or anything, am I? I mean, I'm just sitting here."
Damn.
"No. It's creepy, that's all." Beckett replied giving him one of her famous glares.
"Okay. Well, I'll tell you what. I will leave you to your paperwork for the rest of the afternoon." Castle said as he leaned forward slightly in his chair.
"Oh yeah? What's the catch?" Beckett asked. He would never just leave like that. It usually took a lot of persuading especially when there was nothing major going on between them as there so often was.
"You have to come over for dinner when you're done. And before you protest, let me just remind you that I know you. And I know that as soon as you're done here which will probably be around ten you will go straight home and forget to even feed yourself. So you are coming over for some home cooked food." Castle said.
"I… no, Castle I'll be fine. Really. I promise to feed myself something to eat when I get home." Beckett said slightly flustered. Dinner with Castle? And didn't he just say that his mother and daughter weren't going to be home? Nope, no way was that happening.
"Fine. I'll just stay here then. I've got nothing better to do," Castle said leaning back in his chair and making a show of getting comfortable. Beckett sighed and turned back to the papers she was filling out.
She had only gotten through one sheet when she felt his eyes watching her. Though she should be used to it by now, he had been following her for three years, it still made her feel self-conscious when he watched her like that.
Ignore it. Beckett thought to herself, taking a breath and moving on to the next sheet. Then came the tapping.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Was he trying to make her shoot him? Castle was now tapping one of her pens against the desk as he watched her, occasionally glancing over at Ryan and Esposito or at someone who walked pass before inevitably turning back to Beckett.
"Fine!" Beckett practically yelled. Castle dropped the pen on the floor and bent down to pick it up.
"What?" he asked smiling. He already knew what she was going to say though even before the words came out of her mouth.
"I'll have dinner with you! Just go and stop annoying me!" Beckett said. Castle grinned like a Cheshire cat as he stood up from his seat by her desk.
"I'll see you at seven detective, you should have your paperwork done by then," Castle said as he turned to walk towards the elevator. Beckett only grunted in reply.
Ah, peace. Finally! She thought.
When seven rolled around Beckett sighed, not with relief but with frustration. How had he managed to rope her into having dinner with him again?
By being the most annoying human being possible she thought.
Beckett tensed slightly as she reached up to ring his doorbell. The door swung open to reveal Castle wearing jeans and a dress shirt, he had changed since leaving the precinct.
"Beckett! Good, you're right on time. Here, let me take your coat," Castle said acting the gentlemen. Or maybe he simply was a gentleman. Then again, gentlemen don't usually trick their partners into having dinner with them by being as subtly annoying as possible.
Beckett walked into the Castle residence and moved towards the kitchen where the most glorious smell was coming from. She hated to admit it when Castle was right about her welfare but she really was starving.
"What are we having for dinner?" she asked 'It's smells good".
"Lamb ragú and gnocchi. Something simple but oh-so-delicious, trust me" Castle said flashing her a smile before turning to stir what she assumed was the ragú in a saucepan on the stove.
"Sounds good. You know you really didn't have to trick me into eating dinner with you. You could have just asked," Beckett said.
"Trick you? Why Detective Beckett, I would never," he replied moving over to lean against the opposite bench.
"Oh come on Castle, you were being annoying on purpose just so you could propose this. You've probably had it planned since you woke up this morning." Beckett said laughing slightly.
"Well, maybe but admit it. You're glad you're here now that you have smelt the food," Castle said.
"Hmm, it does smell good. As to glad to be here, well we'll see. When do we get to eat?" she asked.
"A couple of minutes. Shouldn't be too long now."
Thirty minutes later Castle and Beckett were finishing off their food and Beckett was seriously considering licking her bowl it was so good.
"Wow Castle, that was really nice. You're a good cook." Beckett said deciding that it probably wasn't very ladylike to lick the bowl.
"I prefer chef to cook but thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it," Castle said. He put down his fork and looked up at Beckett catching her eye for a second.
Uh oh.
"Um… I should go. I have to be at work in the morning." Beckett said standing up.
"Stay." Castle said. Beckett froze. "Stay, watch a movie with me. I was thinking about watching Pirates of the Caribbean, you like that film right?"
How did he know that? Beckett thought.
"I don't know Castle, it's getting late." It was a lame excuse and Beckett knew it but there was no way she was going to be staying.
"Come one, it's only a quarter to eight and you'll just do more work if you go home. Stay and relax for a little bit," Castle said. He could tell she was still hesitant but he knew how tempting just sitting and watching a movie would be to her.
Okay, that does sound pretty good. Beckett thought. Oh what the hell.
"Okay, fine. I'll stay." Castle grinned and picked up their dishes.
An hour into the movie Beckett found herself drifting off, it had been an exhausting case the day before and she still hadn't caught up on sleep properly yet. She closed her eyes slightly as Johnny Depp chased after his ship.
Castle smiled. He liked seeing Kate so relaxed. He watched as she slowly closed her eyes. In a few minutes she would be fast asleep and he knew it but he didn't wake her up.
Predictably enough Beckett was soon fast asleep, drained from her lack of rest. Castle was still watching the film but before he knew it he could feel his eyes growing heavy. He closed them slightly thinking about how he really should wake Beckett up so she could go home. When he opened them again it was to the sound of his front door clicking shut. Confused somewhat as to why he was in the lounge room and not in his bed he shifted slightly. That was when he noticed the dead weight lying on top of him.
Beckett. Shit. I must've fallen asleep. Castle looked down at the sleeping Detective and smiled. She looked adorable when she was asleep.
"Richard, darling, what are you doing down here? Did you fall asleep during a movie ag…" Martha Rodgers stopped her talk as she moved further into the living area and spotted the pair on the couch. Castle lifted a finger to his lips and motioned towards Beckett.
She's asleep? Martha mouthed. Castle nodded and his mother shrugged her shoulders, whispered Goodnight, and then went upstairs to bed, secretly hoping that the Detective would still be there in the morning. She liked that girl.
Castle smiled to himself and settled back down into the cushions. Beckett's grip on his shirt tightened slightly and for a short moment he was afraid that she might wake. He didn't want this to end just yet. He liked holding Beckett. Thinking how he could get used to this Castle drifted off to sleep once more.
Ugh. Sun. Go away. Beckett thought, squeezing her eyes tight to block out the offending interruption to her sleep. Why were her curtains even open? She usually shut them after she brushed her teeth. Wait. She didn't brush her teeth last night. Damn it. That meant she hadn't gone home. Which meant that she'd fallen asleep at Castle's and…
Squinting one eye open Beckett confirmed her fears. She was lying on top of Rick Castle. Rick Castle the author. Rick Castle the shadow. Rick Castle who currently had his arms wrapped around her in a death like grip that would impress an anaconda. Beckett moved, intending to get up and disappear as quietly as possible only Castle's death like grip proved to be a lot stronger than she had anticipated. He tugged her closer and smiled in his sleep. He's liking this, huh? Fine. I'll give him something to like. Beckett thought.
Still trapped in his arms, Beckett moved so that her face was hovering over his, smiling a bit as she moved her mouth next to Castle's ear.
"Oh Castle," she whispered. "Castle, time to wake up."
"Hmm… Kate," Castle said. Maybe this is a bit cruel Beckett thought as she brought her right hand up to stroke his ear. Watching as he grinned in his sleep, she gave his ear one last gentle stroke before she tugged on it, hard.
"Oof!" Castle grunted, rolling in his surprise. Which wasn't really all that good an idea considering the width of Castle's couch. The pair rolled simultaneously onto the floor, Beckett landing on her back on the rug with a thump. Castle, thankfully, braced himself before landing on top of her so as not to crush the now giggling detective.
She's laughing? Castle thought. Fine. He'd show her something funny. Leaning down he captured her smiling lips with his own, grinning a little at her obvious surprise.
Beckett hesitated for a moment in surprise before her traitorous lips started kissing Castle back.
Kissing Castle! Not good. You really need to stop Kate. Right now. But… wait. Beckett's thoughts slowly faded to nothing as she got caught up in the kiss. He really was a good kisser, she'd forgotten since that time in the alley. It seemed like such a long time before her senses returned and even longer after that for Castle's to.
The pair broke apart, panting, Castle hovering above her with a concerned look on his face.
"Kate…" he started to say but stopped when he saw her shaking her head. She grinned at him and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, drawing him close. Bringing her lips up to his ear she kissed it slightly before saying:
"Shut up and kiss me Castle". And he did. Till she was late for work and Martha was phoning Alexis to tell her about the new developments. She really should come around for movie nights more often.