Disclaimer: The wording is mine but the characters aren't

OOOOOOOOO

She gave a quiet sigh, acknowledging the idea and the way he was trying to make this easier on her. She briefly nudged his shoulder and in an uncharacteristic act of contact, took the hand still cuffed to her own and used it to spin and drag him out of the underground car parking.

OOOOOOOOO

They slid into the cab without too much trouble. He was glad that they had managed to flag a cab quickly outside the precinct. They had only had to wait a few minutes but in that short time he saw several startled glances being thrown in their direction. He wondered at it for a split second before remembering he was in handcuffs. Apparently Beckett noticed it too because he saw her shoulders tense. He took pity on her and draped his heavy winter jacket across the chain between them, hiding it from view.

"Thanks," she said giving him a small smile.

"It must be weird for you, being seen as a criminal."

"It's been a while," she admitted. She seemed to catch herself and he watched as she bit her lower lip and stare even more resolutely in the other direction. If she thought that he hadn't noticed, she was sorely mistaken. He put it in his Beckett-box for later, figuring things were going to be interesting enough from now on without finding that she had a criminal record. A brief image of her in handcuffs and scanty attire flashed into his head and he physically shook his head. He was going to have to be really careful in the next 20 hours.

He watched the city move slowly by and she seemed content to do the same. Several restaurants caught his eye and he was reminded of one of those daily living things that they were going to have to take care of. Obviously going to a restaurant was out of the picture. They'd probably get arrested as runaways or something. Or they'd think that he had taken her hostage.

Another fantasy flickered in his mind before he quickly quashed it. He could cook, in fact he would love to cook for Kate, but he remembered the state of her cupboards and fridge the last time he had stayed over. He wasn't sure even he could make something with furry bacon. And he was quite the experimenter.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and she looked over at him.

"Chinese or Pizza?" he asked.

She got a little deer-in-the-headlights look. "Ummm,…"

"Well you always get Chinese so we'll try something else." He scrolled through the numbers saved into his phone. He read through them mumbling about the pros and cons of each one. She leaned over and soon the two of them had narrowed the list down to two restaurants.

He wanted a little Mexican place and she wanted Italian. He argued that Mexican had more food groups and that Pasta was too everyday. She argued it was everyday because everyone liked it. And maybe she actually wanted pizza. He snorted at this and hit the call button for the Mexican place.

"Castle!"

He studiously ignored her and had to look away before he laughed at the expression on her face. By the time he finished ordering the Mexican to be delivered to her apartment, she had more of a resigned look on her face. She was about to say something but he just held up a finger sharply and she swallowed her words with a surprised look on her face. He couldn't look away for a moment. She was just too cute. The voice on the other end snapped him back and he placed the order. In Italian, taking a minute to check in with the man on the other end. He and Alexis had been long time patrons and always made sure to inquire after his health. He could feel her stare on him but he made sure not to look at her. He had a pretty good idea of what her face would look like and he didn't want to crack up on the phone. She didn't have to know he could only barely order his usual meal in Italian.

"Ci. Ci, Gratzie."

"Castle." There was curiosity, surprise and annoyance in her voice.

"What? Don't complain until you've eaten it." He decided to address the annoyance. It was his arm after all. Plus a guy had to have a few secrets. Harder than it looks when you spend all days with detectives.

She just shook her head slightly with a small smile.

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It took a little juggling, but he managed to fish his wallet out and after paying the driver made it into her building. As soon as they entered he felt the tension which had dissipated in the taxi begin to rise again. This was new. They weren't at work, and they weren't driving (or being driven). She was taking him up to her apartment for the night. He wasn't just inviting himself over for a drink or a chat. This was definitely new territory. He could almost feel the waves of tension from her and he could barely mask his own nervousness. He tried to remain as innocent and unimposing as possible as he waited for her to unlock the door.

He followed her as she did her customary check of her apartment; checking the windows and locks. It seemed second nature and he supposed she didn't even realize she was doing it. Her face certainly registered shock when she turned around after checking and found him right on her heels. He quickly looked away, pretending to look out the windows so she didn't feel like she was on display here in her own apartment.

He heard her blow out a deep breath and he took that as a sign that it was safe to look back at her.

He gave her a smile, trying to recreate normal, and he got a small one in return.

"Just dump your stuff by the door," she said. "You'll have to keep your jacket but sitting on your keys isn't going to be comfortable."

"Hold on a sec," he said fishing out his wallet again and taking out some bills for dinner. He was acutely aware he was going to be in his suit jacket for the rest of the night. He figured that was better than Beckett's leather.

Oh yeah. I'm going to be dead by tomorrow, he thought as they just stared at each other awkwardly. I wonder who's going to win the bet…He could just see his friends betting on how long it would be before Beckett's patience finally snapped and she killed him.

Castle was in her apartment. For the night. He was standing opposite her, staring as always, just waiting. She had to give him credit. He was trying really hard not to annoy her. The least she could do is try and keep it together and not make it any more awkward than it already was.

"So, dinner?"

"Will be here in about 10," he said gratefully, with a small smile.

She made an effort to be normal, like he was obviously trying to do. "Well, how about we go and choose a movie to watch with a dinner?"

"Sounds like a plan," he said easily. "I vote home movies."

"Yeah right," she snorted.

"Oh come on, you must have some. I bet you were adorable."

"Castle we are not watching home movies!"

"So that means you do have them! You didn't deny having them!"

"Castle!"

"Come on, don't make me go begging your dad."

"You wouldn't dare!"

He made a show of dragging out his phone.

She made a wild grab for it and he twisted away. She tried to restrain the undignified sound that escaped her mouth as she felt herself being dragged off balance by his twist.

His free arm snaked around her waist as she fought to regain equilibrium. She felt her mouth drop at this contact, more aware of the feel of his arm grazing her ribs than glad that he hadn't let her fall.

Her mouth didn't seem to be making any signs of picking itself off the floor. He tried not to stare at it, but the look on her face was priceless. She seemed too confused and surprised to be angry and he figured that was all good-unless she stored it up and ripped his arm off later.

Then again maybe it was worth it to feel her tight in his hold.

She managed to pull herself back together when she heard the door bell ring.

"Ooh, dinner's here," he exclaimed and started off for the door quickly, pulling her along. She tried not to trip again as she was suddenly tugged with surprising force. She knew the instant he realised what he did, because she saw his shoulders freeze and draw up a little around his ears, as if waiting for a blow. It was so comical she let it go but got a glare ready for when he turned around to face the music. Twice in a minute. She watched as he paid for both orders, all the while keeping his shoulders hunched. The longer she watched the harder it was for her not to laugh.

Was she really that mean?

"Sorry." The word was blurted before he even made the full rotation around to face her. Then he thrust the bag of containers out at her as a peace offering. She kept the glare on her face as she snatched the bag from his free hand, managing not to smile at how adorable he looked when he was anxious.

She let him suffer for a few seconds longer as she led the way back to the couch. She threw herself down, suddenly exhausted by the day, happy to be home.

She opened her eyes and saw him watching her, obviously still waiting for her to explode and unsure where to sit. She rolled her eyes. Taking pity on him, she pulled her arm and him by extension down on the couch next to her. She couldn't fight the smile at his surprised face as he was pitched forward or at the grin that was threatening to split his face as he settled himself down next to her. He really did look more comfortable there than he should. She decided that being cuffed to him was not the best time for her to think about why that was. So she began digging out the containers from the bag.

Her eyebrows got higher the more containers she dug out.

"God, Castle. How much do you think we're going to eat?"

"Well as much as I would love to cook you dinner," she ignored the feelings that statement evoked, he rattled their chain, "I can not do it one handed, but I have to make sure you get your nutrition somehow. And leftovers are always good."

She looked at him and only saw sincerity and suddenly all her arguments weren't relevant anymore. Why was it that the sincere Rick always managed to sneak behind her defenses? And she couldn't help but respond.

"Thanks, "she gave him a smile and caught his eyes. They were light and gentle with a hint of something more hiding at the back. She was sure that as they shared this moment her eyes were probably just as telling. At least to him. It was a two-way thing. It was frustrating at times when she wanted to keep something to herself. No mater how under control she felt, one look from Castle and he would know instantly if it was an act.

That was the one thing that kept their relationship going. He was annoying and she had a temper, not to mention the way their verbal sparring could get very heated. To outsiders it would look like they were really fighting, but in each others eyes they always found humor, acceptance and any tells that they were pushing too hard. Lanie called it eye-sex.

She abruptly broke the contact, looking back at the assortment of packaging. She felt a little pang of annoyance that she was always the first to break these little moments. She reached for a tortilla and took a forkful, studiously ignoring him. He reached for a slice of pizza and they ate in companionable silence. She was a little surprised at how hungry she actually was once she had started.

Eventually his staring became too much and she turned to look at him.

"What?" she asked.

"What, what?"

"What are you looking at, Castle?"

He just grinned. God he was infuriating. She focused on the sensation to stop herself from worrying that she had something on her face and he was just not telling her.

"I knew that you would eat the Mexican," he finally said, gloating.

She just looked down at the takeout in her hand and then at him.

"It's O.K," he held up his hands. "I needed you to order the Italian so I could eat it."

She didn't have a response for that one.

He just shrugged and gave her shoulder a friendly bump with his own. "You always order better than I do."

She smiled. "Well thanks for ordering the Mexican for me."

"Why do you think that is?" He asked a few minutes later.

"Why what?"

"Why is it that you always end up ordering what I really want?"

She shrugged. "Why do you order what I want?"

"I really did feel like Mexican in the car," he defended himself, helping himself to another slice of pizza.

"And I wanted Italian," she shrugged.

"Maybe I just know you."

"Yeah right," she snorted.

He just gave her a steady look and she struggled not to drop out first. But the longer he stared, the more she knew he was right.

She sighed in relief when her phone went off and she juggled her food and the cuffs as she tried to reach her phone on the coffee table. Being closer, Castle leaned over after switching his slice to the other hand and picked it up and hit the receive button.

"Beckett," he said easily.

"Castle," she hissed leaning over and snatching the phone from him. "What do you think you're doing?"

He just shrugged and went back to eating.

"Beckett," she said into the receiver.