Prompt: 'Season 3 AU: After Beckett leaves with Josh at the precinct ("Punked") Esposito confronts her, telling her she's doing the exact same thing (parading boyfriends at the precinct) that drove Castle away during the summer.'
The elevator doors have just slid open, Josh's arm squeezes at her shoulder as he takes a step inside and she forces a smile for him while she begins to follow, but the quiet but clipped call of her name has her pausing.
"Yo Beckett, you got a sec?"
Josh arches an eyebrow at her, gaze flickering between her and Esposito, but she merely pats his hand and promises it'll only be a second before slipping from underneath his arm and following Esposito towards the drink machine a few feet away.
"What's up?" she murmurs, feeling far too many pairs of eyes on her back.
Esposito crosses his arms and tilts his head at her, a familiar expression of really? on his face, as if she knows she's done something wrong and is purposely evading the subject.
"You remember that talk we had before Castle left for the summer?"
Kate huffs and shakes her head.
Why do you think he's been following you around all this time?
How could she forget?
The guy's done enough research to write 50 books.
"This is completely different."
"Is it? Because it looks pretty similar to me," Esposito muses, rocking back on his heels. "Castle hanging around for something that has nothing to do with books, you parading around another guy…"
"Since when are you on his side?" she questions, irritation over Esposito's sudden decision to lecture her growing at a rapid speed.
Esposito shrugs. "Just saying."
"Like I said," she states through gritted teeth. "This is different and it's not as if Castle's waiting around to whisk me off to the Hamptons anymore. He has Gina for that."
Her lips fall into an involuntary frown at the words, at the memory of Castle sauntering out of the precinct with his ex wife on his arm. Esposito offers her a sympathetic look, one that looks suspiciously similar to the one Lanie always gives her every time they discuss this particular subject.
She knows Esposito means well, but it isn't as if she had planned for Josh to show up here. She was supposed to be the one picking him up, but she wasn't going to feel bad about her… new interest (yeah, that works) coming inside her workplace to pick her up for a date. Even if it did hurt Castle's feelings.
"He broke up with her."
Her eyes snap up from the floor at that. "What?"
"He mentioned it today while we were in the break room. They broke up earlier in the summer," Esposito informs her, looking smug, but also a little regretful on her behalf. "He was going to ask you on a date after we closed this case."
Her heart plummets, deep into her stomach, and she has to lean against the wall as she wobbles slightly in her heels.
Castle was going to ask her on a date?
"Look, Beckett, I'm not trying to meddle in your life, but you know how our job is. I just don't want to see you miss out on something that could make you happy."
She glances up at her friend, her brother, sees him shift a little awkwardly at the rare display of concern for her and her best interests, and she realizes… he's right.
She feels Esposito tense next to her, but her brain is too busy running in circles to register the approaching footsteps. She startles at the hand on her shoulder, her head whipping around to find Josh watching her with impatience hinting in his eyes.
"Kate, are we leaving anytime soon?"
Her mouth feels dry as her gaze drifts over Josh's shoulder, back to the bullpen to see Castle staring at her, an anxious twitch causing his fingers to fidget at his side. By the look on his face, he knows exactly what Esposito told her and he looks terrified.
"Kate," Josh huffs and she shrugs his hand from her shoulder.
"Do you mind if we don't?" she replies, biting her lower lip as his brow furrows.
"You… want to have our date here?"
Esposito scoffs from behind her and she represses the urge to roll her eyes.
"Uh, no. I meant - just me. I have to stay here."
Understanding and a glimpse of annoyance flash in his eyes, but he nods his acceptance, takes a step back.
"I assume you won't be calling to reschedule?"
Josh is a good guy, a smart choice, a safe choice - she recognized that within the first few dates. She had sworn to herself that he would be the man who helped her move past the irrational heartache Castle had caused her over the summer, and deciding to dump him on impulse was a risk that scared her, left her vulnerable to the man still watching her from across the room, but she was growing so tired of playing it safe.
"I'm sorry," she says softly and Josh sighs, but reaches out, squeezes her arm.
"It was nice while it lasted. Good luck, Kate."
His hand falls away and then Josh is retreating to the elevator and Kate is forcing her legs to work before she can think better of it.
Ryan and Montgomery scatter from Castle's side as she comes closer, her determination growing with every stride.
"Beckett," he starts as soon as she reaches him, his voice a pitch higher than normal. "Whatever Esposito said, he-"
"C'mon Castle," she interrupts, snagging his fingers and tugging him towards the service stairs instead of the elevator, not wanting to take the chance of an awkward run in with the man she just turned away. "We're going on a date."
"I should be a professional matchmaker," Esposito sighs, watching from beside Ryan as Castle and Beckett disappear down the stairs.
Ryan bites back his laugh.
"Never knew you were such a romantic, Javi."
The wistful smile vanishes and Esposito's head swivels around to glare at his partner.
"Just wait until they get married. Who do you think they're going to want to be the best man?"
Ryan huffs, lightly shoves his shoulder. "You wish."
"I know."
"Rather than planning a wedding," Montgomery announces, brushing past them to drop a bundle of files in the middle of their shared desks. "I'd get to work."
Ryan and Esposito groan, but their captain is smiling as he circles back to his office, the thought of his best detective and her shadow of a writer combined with marriage surprisingly pleasant.