"Fruitcake?" Kate questioned. Her eyes were hazy, her shirt untucked. She looked exactly the way Castle had been imagining her for days, except those fantasies had not included Ryan and projectiles made of what felt like cement.
He gritted his teeth and tried not to groan. Partially because whatever-the-hell Ryan had just dropped in his lap was so heavy it might have cracked his femur, but mostly because his hands were no longer on Kate. Therefore, he was now significantly further away from having sex with her than he had been just thirty seconds ago.
And he might have been shaking just a bit; the damn thing had fallen perilously close to an area of his lap that would have ensured that he didn't have sex tonight at all. Or maybe ever. Thank God for small favors, because he really, really needed to be with Kate. Right now, preferably, but if he had to he could make it a couple of hours. Probably.
Castle didn't know what had triggered it – this wasn't the first time they'd been apart since they'd gotten together – but the separation had made him anxious. All week he'd been plagued with dreams of the summer he'd left for the Hamptons without her. Dreams of the summer she'd been shot.
He'd missed Kate so hard he'd ached with it, and he knew it was stupid but he needed her. Needed her right now, touching him, skin to skin; to reconnect and reassure himself that she was okay, that they were real, and their lives hadn't taken the path of the nightmares.
Kate's fingers were soft and cool along his neck. An exquisite torture that sent a delicious ache straight to the pit of his gut. It almost made him forget about the throbbing pain in his leg. Almost.
Castle scowled and grabbed the foil wrapped weight from the floor. It was like lifting a brick. "This cannot possibly be a fruitcake."
"It is. They are." Ryan's shoulders were slumped, his voice despondent. "Jenny made one for everyone."
"Everyone?"
"Yes. I've already handed most of them out at the party. These are the extras. And yours." Ryan's attempt at a smile died at the look on Castle's face.
"We're supposed to eat it? Or is it a fruitcake carved out of marble?"
"Decorative fruitcake?" Kate asked. Castle loved her just that much more.
Ryan shook his head. "It's the alcohol. That's what makes it so heavy." He snatched the alleged fruitcake from Castle and gently placed it on the table, much the way one would handle explosives. "Are you okay? Last Christmas my dad dropped one on his foot and had to go to the emergency room."
"Do you need to go the emergency room?" Kate reached out as if to touch his thigh but hesitated, her hand basically hovering over his crotch and oh God, oh God, look away. Castle swallowed hard. Right at this second it was debatable which ache was worse, his leg or … Shit, he could actually feel the heat from her hand. Dead. He was going to die.
"No." He had to cough, the desire clogging his throat and making him gruff. "I think I'm okay." Castle couldn't stop himself from sliding an arm around her waist, just to touch her. Kate shifted closer, her fingers once again gently rubbing his neck.
Okay. He was just going to breathe through this. He could make it two hours. Castle exhaled slowly and looked up at Ryan.
"So I'm this year's traditional fruitcake injury? Awesome. And what do you mean, the alcohol?"
Ryan was scurrying around retrieving the fallen fruitcakes and hefting them onto the table. "The recipe is 'Drunk Fruitcake'. You soak the fruit in alcohol, and then soak the loaf with a cup of rum after it cooks." He stood up, arms laden. "It's delicious. Honestly."
"The fruit and the loaf are soaked in rum?" Kate stilled. "Seriously?"
Ryan nodded. "Everyone loves it."
"I bet." Kate was eyeing the fruitcake speculatively. "Maybe it's because after the first bite they don't know they're eating fruitcake. They think they're doing shots."
"It's a huge family favorite! Unless, of course, they end up in the emergency room. But that was only my dad. And Jenny's brother year before last, but we're not sure that was a true fruitcake injury."
Castle startled as Kate wrapped her hand around his wrist. "A true fruitcake injury?" Her voice was strangled; he could tell she was holding in the laughter. "What constitutes a true fruitcake injury?"
"Wellll, he fell down the stairs after eating three quarters of a loaf by himself, so it wasn't a direct fruitcake injury. It was fruitcake adjacent. He wasn't hit by a flying fruitcake or anything."
"I was. I was hit by a flying fruitcake, Ryan." Castle frowned. "Also, you've said 'fruitcake' so many times it's lost all meaning."
"I'm so, so sorry." Ryan was shifting his weight back and forth, cradling his fruitcakes. "I hope it doesn't mess up your evening. Are you going to another party after this?"
"Yes." Kate jumped in, her voice dry. "We do have another party after this. It's at Castle's, and I really, really don't want to miss it."
Castle felt his mouth drop open, even as a new wave of heat hit him, stronger than the pain in his leg. Kate was never, ever this blatant in the precinct. Either she had downed half a fruitcake when he wasn't looking or she was as desperate to be alone as he was.
"I didn't know you were having a New Year's par…" Ryan's eyes widened when he got a look at Kate's face. "Oh. Oh! Right, right, of course. Sorry guys. I hope the fruitcake just hit your leg and nothing else, was, um, injured – "
"Me too!"
"Okay!" Kate clapped her hands together, clearly done. "Let's move this party to the actual party so we can – "
"Get to the private party?" Castle wiggled his eyebrows at her while her thumb stroked the center of his palm, making him shiver.
He'd spoken under his breath, but Ryan had still heard. He narrowed his eyes. "I said I was sorry, you guys. There's no need to be gross."
[****]
"You guyssssss! You made it!"
Esposito waved his hands wildly as he started toward them from the other end of the room, his gait oddly loose. The party was in a large conference room on the fifth floor, and it was packed. Esposito kept tripping over people on his way across the room.
"Wow. Everyone's already here." Castle surveyed the party, his fingers thoughtlessly cupping her elbow. Kate knew she needed to put some distance between them, but couldn't quite make herself move. How long did they have to stay? Two hours? An hour and a half?
"Well, it did take us a while to get here, what with Castle limping up the stairs. I told you we should have taken the elevator." Ten minutes to get up the stairs with Castle wincing like a drama llama on every step seemed to have dulled Ryan's remorse.
"I thought I could walk off the pain! Pain I wouldn't have if it weren't for Jenny's fruitcake." Castle glanced around the room. "Where is Jenny?"
"She'll be here in a little bit. She had to wait for the ferret-sitter."
"The what –?"
"No." Kate grabbed his arm, shaking her head adamantly. That was a road they were not going down, not tonight. "Don't even ask."
Castle opened his mouth, probably to protest, but just then Esposito stumbled to a stop in front of them. Lanie was trailing in his wake, her lips twisted in amusement or disgust. Maybe both.
"You're here!" Esposito sounded inordinately delighted, considering Kate had seen him less than thirty minutes ago. He also seemed to have forgotten the rules of personal space, since he was hovering about a foot from her face.
Kate reared back, slapped with a blast of alcohol fumes. "Espo. My God, how much have you had to drink? You've only been here half an hour."
"What? No! It's not the drinks, it's that fruitcake!"
Lanie snorted. "The fruitcake and the three gin and tonics you pounded without stopping to breathe."
"Nooooo. It's the fruitcake." Esposito swayed a little, unsteady on his feet, his words blurry. "Jenny makes it with alcohol."
"We heard." Kate leaned back to escape the fumes and bumped into Castle, his body solid and warm at her back.
"It's lethal. I think she soaked the fruit in Everclear or something. It should be a controlled substance."
Kate had to force herself to not to turn into Castle as she felt him nod, his chin brushing her hair.
"It should be classified as a weapon. I think I have a bone bruise." Castle sighed and rubbed his leg, giving Kate a look that made her wonder if the break room was empty, and how long it would take them to get back there. It would be faster if they took the elevator. Ohhhh, the elevator -
"Wait." Esposito's face was horrified. He leaned forward, whispering in that not-quiet drunk person hiss. "You have a boner bruise?" He eyed Castle's crotch incredulously before raising his gaze to Kate. "Just what the fuck have you two been doing?"
"Oh boy." Ryan threw his arm around Esposito's shoulders and started steering him toward the door. "Waaaay too much fruitcake for you. Let's you and I take a walk to the coffee machine."
"Nooo." Esposito was trying to turn back, but Ryan had a pretty firm grip. "I want to hear about Castle's boner."
Ryan frantically shushed him as at least five heads swiveled in their direction. Kate quickly stepped away from Castle – really, really difficult to do now that his boner oh my God how was her life this ridiculous was front and center in her mind - and pretended not to notice. She fixed her gaze on Lanie. Not helpful, because Lanie's lips were twitching, her eyebrows were sky high as she slowly looked Castle up and down.
"Yes, Castle. What about your boner? Let's hear it."
"I said bone bruise." Castle was rubbing the hurt spot. Since it was practically on his crotch, it wasn't really helping his case. He seemed remarkably unfazed by all the talk about his boner. "Apparently it's a traditional holiday fruitcake injury. And I was saying that it really hurts and I might need to go home. I should probably be in bed." He gave Kate the side eye. A very, very sexy side eye.
Kate tilted her head and put her hands behind her back to keep from reaching for him. "Maybe you should have some fruitcake to dull the pain."
Castle cocked an eyebrow at her, his eyes hot and knowing. "I know something else that will dull the pain."
And just like that her stomach clenched as yet another wave of desire hit her with such force she almost had to sit down. Kate swallowed hard and tried to tear her eyes from Castle's. She couldn't, not while images of each and every way she could dull his pain flashed across her mind.
Lanie made several very realistic gagging noises before she pointed an accusatory finger at them. "No. Stop it. You two stop that right now, or I'm going to need three gin and tonics. And half a fruitcake."
"What?" Castle shook his head and shrugged. He was trying for innocence, but it came off as confused instead. Confused and sexy. Kate did a quick mental review of the available supply closets on the fifth floor.
"Oh Lord." Lanie rolled her eyes. "This is going to be a long night."
No joke. It had already been the longest night ever and it was only…Kate glanced at her watch. Shit. It was only 6:30.
"Mr. Castle."
Kate froze; felt Castle stiffen beside her as he, too, recognized the voice behind them. Lanie was staring past them with her face stuck somewhere between horror and hilarity.
Slowly, Kate and Castle pivoted.
"I hear you've received an injury while in the precinct?"
Gates.
The night just got longer.
A/N - This is unbeta'd, so if you see something egregious, please let me know. Angie and Karen, I might be talking to you.:)
Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews and follows, you guys are awesome. I think this miiiiggghttt actually be four parts, which will come as no surprise to anyone who has had any interaction with me whatsoever. I'm terrible at judging how long things are/will be.
Happy, Happy New Year to everyone! May it be free of fruitcake.:)
