Cherries
Summary: What could have happened that day if Ryan and Esposito hadn't interrupted Castle and Beckett's "cherry" moment?
Chapter 2: How It All Happens
The next morning, the crime-fighting duo decided to carry out their plan of deception. They wanted to trick all their co-workers into thinking they were together now. And when they all fall for it, Castle and Beckett will get to have the last laugh at how easy marks their friends are.
"All right, so, my place at 8?" Castle asked loud enough for the whole room to hear.
Kate smiled at the obvious resurfacing of his 12-year-old self. "Why not just pick me up?"
This made Castle raise an eyebrow. "Oh, I didn't know you liked it the old-fashioned way, Detective."
Kate then moved closer to Castle, close enough to have them breathe each other's scents. "Oh, there are many things I like done the old-fashioned way." With this said in a seductive voice, she winked at him then backed off to distract herself with her paperwork. "What was I thinking? Getting that close to him? Stupid." She mentally shook herself.
"Getting another sniff of that lovely scent…heaven. I can barely focus on her words. All I could see were those lips; those fine inviting lips…Stop!" He mentally scolded himself for thinking that way. "Okay, honey. No need to torture me so badly." He closed his eyes. "Oh my…calling her 'honey' just felt so right."
"Honey? What the?" Kate smiled a fake smile to hide the glare that she so desperately wanted to send Castle. Castle took this opportunity to leave.
"See you later, my dear." Castle said but he just couldn't stop himself from doing what he was about to do. He stood right next to Beckett and kissed the top of her head. "Take care now." Then, he left quite quickly.
Beckett was left there with an unknown mixture of emotions – anger for having been surprised, and giddiness like a lovesick teenager. She looked at the direction where Castle's retreating body was and smiled to herself.
Ryan and Esposito were quite shocked to have witnessed such a new side of Castle and Beckett's relationship. "Are they…together?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know. Let's find out." Esposito answered as he slowly approached the smiling Beckett. "Hey Beckett, you look like a lovesick puppy. You…and Castle?"
With this, Beckett knew she and Castle had them all following their plan for revenge. She just looked at them, grinned with an eyebrow raised and left.
"Damn!" They both exclaimed in unison.
Later that night, in Beckett's apartment, she just couldn't stop thinking their plan through. "We just started executing with the plan, but I'm not sure I want to continue going through with it. I mean, it's working, all right. But I'm afraid it might backfire like…what if my secret gets revealed without my noticing it? Just the proximity makes the butterflies in my stomach flutter. What if I fall deeper than where I already am? I don't want to get hurt; especially knowing that I partly planned what'll possibly hurt me." She took a deep breath, then another, then another. "No, backing out will make it even worse. Because then, I'll need to explain myself. And I can't do that. Those blue eyes just bore holes through me. I can't lie to him…" She looked at the mirror now. She was done with her makeup. "No, I've lied to him before and he fell for it. I can do it again Pretending to be in love with him can' be that hard, right? I mean, I don't think I need to pretend…" She then put on her bright red button-up shirt, leaving the three top buttons open for the right mixture of modesty and a little bit more of silent seduction, which she knew will drive Castle crazy. She closed her eyes and relaxed as she breathed deeply. She heard the doorbell ring and sighed. "Here goes nothing."
When she opened the door, she was met by a bouquet of red roses that smelled so sweetly. "Castle?" She asked as she moved forward to try to locate his face. She cursed when his head popped out of nowhere, causing his forehead to bump her in the nose.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He said as he settled the roses on the doorstep. "Are you all right?" Castle asked as he held her face in place to make her look at him.
"I'm fine." Kate said with her hand still on her nose.
"Let me see." He said as he gently removed her hand. "I'm really sorry. I just…I wanted to surprise you. Does it hurt?" He asked as he started rubbing her nose and massaging. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I said I'm fine." She chuckled a bit. "It's not bleeding, see? No broken bones. You didn't hit me that hard anyway." She said as she held onto his arms, trying to stop him but failed.
"Don't worry, you are still beautiful." He said now as he held her cheeks and kissed her nose.
"Oh my God. Make it stop!" The detective in her shouted. "No, let it flow accordingly." The Kate inside her shouted back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to regain her focus. "Castle, we don't have to pretend now, no one can see us." She whispered.
"Oh, just so you know, I saw Ryan and Esposito's car down the street. I think they're onto us." He whispered back.
"Oh?" She asked. "Oh, so that was all pretend…" She thought. She hated herself for feeling so disappointed. "So you think they're watching us right now?" She whispered again but this time, with a fake smile plastered on her face.
"Who knows? Now, just take the flowers…" He said as he got them from the floor. "Put them in a vase and let's go now."
"Okay." She said as she did what she was told. She turned then stopped herself to face Castle again. "Hey, since when did you get to order me around?" She asked in her normal voice.
"Ever since you agreed to date me." He winked at her. "Now, let's go. Alexis is at a sleepover, and my mother lives with Chet. So…we'll have the apartment all to ourselves."
"What do you have up your sleeve, Castle?" She said with a raised brow, with her hands on her hips.
"I'm thinking…" He said quietly as he motioned for her ear. "Revenge-plotting over hot cocoa and takeout."
"Sounds like fun." She smiled and bit her lip. "So, what are we waiting for?"
Castle offered her his arm, which she took. Then they went on their merry way to Castle's loft.
"You see that, man? They're in it for real." Esposito said with obvious enthusiasm. "Still think we should watch them?"
"Yeah…at least till we see them close Castle's door. We've invaded their privacy enough."
"All right, Honey-Milk." Esposito smirked and got an eye-roll in response.
Esposito and Ryan just stayed there in Beckett's apartment's street to shake off any suspicions that might be spiking up in their co-workers' imaginative minds. They watched from the lobby as Castle opened the car door for Beckett, let her in, and then he followed. When they saw the car drive away, that's when they got into their cars and drove very slowly as they followed the car. It stopped at Italiano Joe's and they watched as Castle went out of the car, into the bistro, and then emerged with bags of takeout.
"Takeout? Way to drive a woman in on a first date." Ryan shook his head at that. "I thought Castle was a romantic."
"Who knows, this might not be their first date." Esposito said casually. When he realized that what he said was possible, he and Ryan exchange glances.
"No way?" They both shouted as they went on to their stalking spree.
