A/N: Outline, shmoutline. Here's half a chapter to hold you over, lol.
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Mistletoe? Great. No, really great.
Castle could feel himself starting to grin. Being a lover of Christmas, and a, uh, big fan of Beckett, he'd had many a mistletoe fantasy in his years at the precinct. He lowered his eyes from the accommodating branch to look at Beckett, who looked positively dismayed. Her eyes were wide, and as she looked out at their audience she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Very funny, guys."
"Oh, no, Detective," Montgomery casually leaned back against a desk, still doing a fair job of containing his obvious mirth. "Not funny at all. The 12th precinct's tradition of the first mistletoe kiss is serious business."
The ring of police officers grinned and nodded along. A murmured chorus of "very serious" made it's way around the group. Their laughter was becoming a steady background buzz.
"Captain, you can't be serious."
"Last year," Montgomery continued, "it was Ryan and Jenny. And rumor has it there's been some recent ring shopping."
Ryan sat up abruptly and punched Espo in the shoulder.. "Shut up. No. That's supposed to be on the down low, man." Esposito only shrugged, smirking.
"The year it was Santa and the UPS girl. I've still got a picture of that on my phone. And years ago, it was Esposito-"
"Sir, no. We don't talk about that," Esposito interrupted, ears taking on a distinct red tint. Intrigue, Castle thought. Determinedly, Espo turned back to the couple currently in the crosshairs. "So, come on, Castle. Lay one on her."
When Beckett turned back to him, her jaw dropped. She must have been able to read the amusement on his face. Castle only shrugged and turned to face her fully.
"You can't be serious."
"It's tradition, Beckett."
"Really?" The word held both a note of scorn, and also an honest question. Really, Castle, you're going to do this?
Playing to his audience now, Castle grinned at them with a little bow before turning back to Beckett and miming his way through a small play. He flexed his knees, lowering himself so they were the same height before standing back up and frowning. He leaned back, one hand pulling at his imaginary beard, and considered her. He cast a twinkling gaze over the watching officers and winked.
"We don't normally do this. Some preparation is key."
"Castle," Beckett hissed.
"Hmm?" He held his hands out at arms length to grasp her coat, tugging and adjusting so that she was forced to shimmy a little closer to him.
"Five minutes ago you were hiding behind me because you were afraid of them."
"Five minutes ago, I thought they were mad at me," Castle countered, to the sniggers of the crowd, and then let his hands rest on her shoulders. Meeting her gaze a little more seriously, he lowered his voice so only she could hear. "Now I know they only want what I want."
Beckett's eyes widened even more if that was possible, before she seemed to relax into the moment. Her mouth opened as if to say something, but then Montgomery's voice was booming across the bullpen.
"We don't have all day."
Castle smiled broadly at that. The moment was upon them and his mind was made up. He tugged her closer, making sure they were both standing under the mistletoe, noting the blush that was creeping up her neck. He took it as a positive sign, and when combined with the fact that she was actually still standing there in front of him, as acquiescence. For better or for worse...
With a hand at her jaw to guide her to him, Castle leaned down and kissed her. When their lips touched, there was laughter and clapping from the group around them. Despite the crowd, Castle could feel himself falling into the woman who meant so much to him and pressing more firmly than appropriate for a public setting. Beckett's lips were soft and she tasted like chap stick and oh then she was kissing him back.
There were wolf whistles and whoops when he palmed her cheek more fully and slid his other hand around her waist to draw her closer. She was really warm, her lips moving slowly under his, one hand now curled around his bicep. They continued to kiss, Castle angling his head a little to create more friction, and the others in the room grew uncomfortably silent. It wasn't until Beckett released a harsh puff of air against his lips, a kind of silent gasp, that he realized he had started to push her backward, looking for something to press her against. The hand on his arm squeezed tightly in warning.
Oh.
Right.
They pulled apart slowly, the air flowing between them cold compared to the hot touch of skin, their breath coming a little more quickly than normal. Almost afraid of what he might see, Castle chanced to look at the watching officers. He found that the group had dwindled considerably, and that those left were watching with slack faces, eyebrows raised. Montgomery pursed his lips and tilted his head in a silent reprimand, You took it too far, Castle, though his lips twitched on a suppressed smile. He left, collecting Ryan and Esposito, both of whom looked strangely impressed and scarred at the same time, and guiding the rest of the group away.
They were relatively alone. Finally dropping his hands to his side, Castle looked back down at Beckett and realized she hadn't so much as moved an inch. Her cheeks were still flushed and her eyes were downcast.
"Kate," he began, but she looked up at him and took two steps backward. Unspeaking, she touched the fingers of one hand to her mouth before shaking her head at him. She turned, and escaped into the nearby stairwell.
Castle stood very still. It had been a mistake, hadn't it? He should have just given her a peck, or a kiss on the cheek, or declined completely. But, no, how could what they'd just shared have been a mistake? It was like getting a window into the kind of thing they might be doing more in the near future. Audience or not. Contrived or not. He didn't care. He wasn't sorry.
Except that Beckett had just slipped away from him looking like she'd been slapped, not kissed, and now he had to find her. The elevator dinged, and the small crowd of off-loading people pushed Castle to the side, and spurred him to motion. With a small rush of adrenaline, he took off after her. When the stairwell door slammed behind him, he called, "Kate! Beckett!"
In his blind haste, he almost ran past her where she was leaning against the cement wall, but once again her hand was on his arm and restraining him. She let him go quickly, and Castle took a deep breath while he regarded her. There were bright spots high up on her cheeks and her breathing was still too quick. Her mouth was pursed. Damn it.
"I'm sorry," he started. It was an offering, a please don't be mad at me.
"Sorry?" She was looking at him with quiet, dark eyes. But she wasn't yelling at him and she wasn't running away.
"I shouldn't have..." but Castle stopped himself. Bad idea or not, he wasn't going to apologize for a thing he wasn't sorry for. "I'm sorry you're angry."
Beckett's eyes flashed upward at him. "Angry?"
Monosyllabic Beckett was a new thing, and Castle felt a tight knot forming in his chest. "I know, it's my fault. I shouldn't have, I mean, I didn't have to take it so far, I guess. I got carried away."
"I'm not angry, Castle."
And then she was smiling at him, just a small thing at first that grew until she was practically beaming. Castle felt his own face go slack with wonder. He reconsidered her flushed cheeks, her rapid breaths.
Oh.
"You're not angry with me?"
Beckett shook her head, teeth catching on her lip to reign in the ridiculous dimensions of her smile. "No."
"You're not angry." Castle was flooded with relief to the point that he could physically feel the anxiety leaving him, his breath coming more easily, his shoulders relaxing. Beckett shook her head again.
"Not angry," he repeated, lowering his voice. "I can work with that."
He stepped closer to her, and the flutter of her lashes and the brightening of her cheeks was all the evidence he needed. No, she wasn't angry at all. One of Beckett's hands reached out hesitantly, fingertips catching his lapel lightly, tugging. Not angry. Wanting.
He could work with that.
Stepping closer, never so happy to be out of the spotlight than at this moment, Castle leaned in and kissed her the way he'd always wanted to. Finally.
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A/N: Thanks for reading! Would love to know what you think!
