Hello everyone,

Sorry for the little delay, I was kind of busy with work!

But here's the new chapter guys! The inspiration came from my fav Castle episode/scene EVER. I think I watched the episode ten times and the scene at least 100 times.

I try to give it justice.

Here's the link of the scene in case you never watch it! watch?v=jygxAUVNfPE

10 months priors

Ressler hates undercover missions. He hates this one even more because Cooper imposed Liz as his partner. It's not that he doesn't want to work with her or that he doesn't trust her and her skills, she's no doubt better than him when it comes to undercover mission. She's brilliant and she sees things that he doesn't, but she can also be reckless, stubborn, and she often refuses to give up on a mission even if the danger is evident. Now that she's only a consultant for the FBI, she can't carry a gun to protect herself. That means that Ressler needs to put his guard up even more now to make sure both of them make it home in one piece.

It's been an more than an hour since they parked on the outskirts of town, just outside of a bar where their blacklister was last spotted. They were preparing to try and take him down to avoid giving him the chance to run away.

"We're good on the plan?" he asks a little nervous, gaze raking over the determined form of Liz's mouth in the shadowed light of the parking lot.

He has asked that question at least ten times now and he knows she is growing tired of it. She only nods, loose brown hair bobbing over her shoulders, mostly bare, but for the straps of her blue dress.

"It's not a complicated plan Ressler. We've been through more dangerous stuff than that, remember," she breathes, managing to communicate both playful teasing and impatient exasperation in words barely loud enough to hear.

Liz leans back in her seat to peer behind his head and he hears her breathing falter just slightly. It was hardly noticeable, if he weren't so busy carefully observing everything, he wouldn't have perceived it.

"He's out."

And so are they, stepping out of her car with stumbling movements, the second they reach each other, they pitch together. Liz tucks herself against Ressler like a puzzle piece sliding home. He laughs and she giggles as they press close together and completely ignore their target. They act the part of a slightly intoxicated couple too wrapped up in one another to notice or care who might be watching.

It's a slow march forward, Liz pretends to trip over her heels and Ressler awkwardly shuffles, to catch her and tugs her a little more securely into his side. The scent of lilies invade his every thought when she burrows against his clavicle and for a long second, too long given the circumstances, he almost forgets that this is a mission, that they're trying to play the guy hesitantly approaching, but then Liz is muttering between the warm trill of her laughter.

"He's not buying it Ressler," and he looks up just long enough to confirm before his fingers are gliding down her bare arm and spinning her carefully by her wrist.

She twists in his grasp and presses back against Ressler's soft lips and in those first brief seconds she realize what he means to her. Because this, it's so much more than any kiss she has shared with any other man. Two years of working side by side has given her the clarity to know her feelings for him even if she doesn't know his, but the way his mouth is moving across her's answers a lot of recently unasked questions.

They pull apart, gasp for air, and suddenly they're both pretty sure this isn't entirely about the bad guy they desperately need to fool. Ressler's jaw is slack, his face open and amazed as they trade disbelieving gazes. There's no pushing or pulling, just a mutual fall back together as they are balancing a precarious edge between their mission and the tension that's building between them.

Honestly, it's almost entirely luck and coincidence that the exhale of a chuckle catches Liz's attention and throws her eyes open. Their target is retreating now, wide open for an attack and so she tears herself away from Ressler and twists herself around, using the momentum to land a closed fist against the back of his skull that knocks their blacklister flat .

"That was amazing," Ressler breathes heavily, still a little bewildered, an audible awe coating the words.

Those feelings are going around though, so she can't blame him, even as she turns to give him a look part puzzled, part curious. What, precisely, was amazing?

"The way you knocked him out, I mean," he stumbles, tripping over his words in a way he has never done with her before.

She wants to analyze, organize, examine, and postulate because she's not sure she can go back to the way they were, only partners. But they're standing in a parking lot, over an unconscious body. Liz doesn't have a lot of high expectations for her love life but this is definitely not the place for this conversation, not if it can be helped. So, "let's go, yeah," spills from her lips before either of them can breach the elephant in the room before they're ready, or worse, before the blacklister wakes back up. Turning, she leaves Ressler with the body and makes her way to unlock the car for their trip back to the Post Office.

Ressler watches her go for what feels like forever before collecting his scattered wits their passed out bad guy, and meeting her at the car.

Next chapter will come sooner, I promise!

Thanks to my beta for the precious help!

So, who do you think will talk about it first?