Day 12

Author's Note: It's not really holiday themed, but fit decently well. Yes, the Chinese part is true and yes, I did post this on 12/12/12, no matter what FF may say.

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He flits around the entire morning, unable to focus on one thing. Beckett ignores it for the first hour or two, happy that he's not being too distracting and is getting her coffee every now and then. But as the morning progresses, his fidgeting worsens to the point where she wants to push the chair across the room and force him to sit there.

And the biggest problem is that she can't figure out why he's so excited. Or at least, she assumes he's excited about something from the way he bounces ever so slightly in his chair and grins at her whenever she looks over at him. However, his foot also twitches nervously, so she's not 100% sure what to think about that.

"Castle, you going up to get more coffee anytime soon?" she asks, pushing the mug towards him. She really doesn't need the caffeine right now, but the tapping fingers in the edge of her vision is really starting to bother her.

He looks up from his holiday themed game of Subway Surfers, shoving the phone in his pocket and picking up the mug. "Oh yeah, sure."

Finally, she can get work done. Yet she can't focus on work anymore, with the mystery of Castle's behavior at the front of her mind.

Around noon, her and the boys decide they want Remy's for lunch after a thumb war and an intense game of rock, paper, scissors. "Want to walk down the block with me to get it?" Beckett asks her partner, grateful for the break.

He nods. "Sure, but can we wait a few minutes?" he asks, looking at his phone.

The brunette glances over at the screen, confused when she notices that all he's looking at is the lock screen. But then she sees the date. December 12, 2012.

He must want to make a wish.

"Come on," she commands lightly, pulling him towards the exit. "You can still see the time on your phone when you're in the elevator."

After a reluctant glance and a few confused stares from the boys, he quickly locks his phone and follows Beckett into the elevator, pulling out the device again as soon as the doors close.

"It's 12:12! Make a wish!" He announces to the quiet elevator, leaving it in silence for a moment. "Did you make one?" the writer finally asks Beckett, one eye open.

"No-"

He gasps. "You have to make one before it's too late!"

Reluctantly, she closes her eyes for a second, opening them again as the doors open. "Fine, I made one," she tells him, weaving her way through the precinct lobby. "Why is it so important, anyways?" the detective questions, pushing her way through the main doors and onto the cold street, the writer directly behind her.

Castle huffs dramatically, catching up to her. "Why is it so important, Detective Beckett? There's three reasons. First of all, it's the last day for another ninety years where we''ll get to have the day, month, year, and time all be the same number. Secondly, everyone all across the world agrees on the date today, so it's much less of a hassle," he concludes, nudging against her on the busy sidewalk.

"Wait, what's the third one?" she asks, concerned about her partner's counting skills. "In Mandarin, today's date is pronounced yao er," he starts, his voice fiddling with the tones. "That sounds similar to yao ai, which means one love. So basically, to people that speak the language, it'll sound like you're saying 'one love' over and over when it's really just the date."

She gives an impressed hum before adding, "But what does that have to do with anything?"

He stops under the Remy's awning, pulling her closer to him. "You're that one love for me. I can't imagine loving anyone else in the way I love you," he whispers, his breath tickling her ear. "So to celebrate, do you want to go out tonight? We'll get dressed up, go to a nice restaurant. It'll be fun," he convinces, his eyes warm and inviting.

"I don't know..." she teases, grinning. "Let's call it a date."